Chapter 524: One Must Not Disturb His Majesty

"This Han family money—doesn't it burn your hands to hold it? You hold an office under His Majesty, yet you take the Han family's money. What, serving two masters?" Chen Sihai's tone was thick with mockery, and his face was full of contempt.

At this moment, Chen Tang couldn't say a word, not knowing what he was feeling right now.

Chen Sihai couldn't be bothered to waste words with Chen Tang, and said directly: "Alright, since you've delivered yourself to our doorstep, don't bother going back. Come along with me. Let's have a good talk about your affairs."

"Lord Xu." Having said that, Chen Sihai turned to Xu Xianchun and said: "Hold Chen Tang here for now. I'll fetch the men right away and conduct a proper investigation and interrogation here. You have space to spare, don't you?"

"Of course." Xu Xianchun smiled and nodded, saying: "We've got plenty of room here. Lord Chen, use it as you see fit."

Chen Sihai nodded and called out: "Two of you, come take Chen Tang away. Let's have a proper discussion."

Having said that, Chen Sihai turned around, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked out.

Two men soon came in from outside, hauled the collapsed Chen Tang to his feet, and dragged him out.

Xu Xianchun watched this scene with a calm expression, then said slowly: "Alright, the fuss is over. Time for us to get down to business. Go make the arrests—start with the Han family. We've got plenty of evidence in hand."

What would have required hesitation and deliberation before was now unnecessary. Using Han Guotai as bait had reeled in a whole string of people—first Mao Qiguang, then the garrison eunuch Zhang Wei, and now Yangzhou Prefect Chen Tang. Add what he'd already uncovered himself, plus Yangzhou Transport Commissioner Chen Zhenglin, and the Han family had no way to escape.

These men had done plenty of wicked deeds, and over the years they'd helped the Han family commit no small number of misdeeds. Under such circumstances, with the evidence they held, there was naturally no reason to hesitate in moving against the Han family.

There was no need to wait any longer. So Xu Xianchun gave the order: "Make the arrangements. Have our people get ready."

"Yes, my lord." His subordinate acknowledged and hurried off to relay the orders.

For this kind of work, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was thoroughly experienced.

The first thing they did was place the principal family members under surveillance—they couldn't let anyone in the family slip away. That was crucial.

Beyond that, there was the investigation of family assets. The preliminary survey was also important—how much property the family had, roughly where it was distributed, how many trades it touched, how it should be handled after the seizure, and so on and so forth. A complete plan had to be drawn up. This was how you did things professionally.

Normally, wherever the Embroidered Uniform Guard went, they had their own people on the ground, and this kind of work took little effort. But Yangzhou was different—Mao Qiguang had already been corrupted and was finished, so no one up or down the Yangzhou hierarchy could be trusted. They could only feel their way forward on their own.

But Yangzhou had the Lichun Court, and that was staffed with Embroidered Uniform Guard veterans, so there was naturally no problem.

At the Lichun Court, Zhu Youxiao was still enjoying himself.

To be honest, these past days hadn't been bad.

When handling matters in Shandong, Zhu Youxiao had still done things personally. But since the Zhangjiakou affair, Zhu Youxiao rarely did that sort of thing anymore.

The reason was simple—most of his subordinates had matured, and they commanded considerable power. Even if something went wrong, it didn't matter.

And if things really fell apart, Zhu Youxiao still had the army to put down any rebellion. In plain words, his margin for error was now high, and he could let his subordinates work with free rein. Even if they did a poor job, it didn't matter. So he simply didn't care.

On this trip to Yangzhou, Zhu Youxiao's main role was to hold the fort; if anyone stirred up trouble, he was responsible for putting it down. Everything else could be left entirely to his subordinates.

After receiving the news from Xu Xianchun, Zhu Youxiao tossed the routine memorial straight to Wei Chao and said: "Handle it exactly as written here. And tell Xu Xianchun to be thorough."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wei Chao quickly acknowledged and turned to see to the matter.

After Wei Chao had left, Zhu Youxiao reached out and tapped the table.

Someone then approached from the side—it was Wei Changsheng, the head of the Lichun Court.

Wei Changsheng's face wore a respectful smile, tinged with a hint of delight.

Ever since the Emperor had arrived in Yangzhou, Wei Changsheng had served with utmost dedication. Chen Yu'er now belonged to His Majesty, and with his excellent performance during this period, his future was clearly in sight.

Wei Changsheng knew he was about to rise to prominence.

"Go fetch Huang Changzong." Zhu Youxiao said after a moment's deliberation, without even opening his eyes.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wei Changsheng acknowledged and immediately sent someone to make contact.

At this moment, Zhu Youxiao lay with his head on Chen Yu'er's thigh, utterly comfortable as she massaged his temples, occasionally letting out a soft grunt of pleasure.

Zhu Youxiao reached out and took Chen Yu'er's hand, asking: "Would you return to the palace with me?"

Hearing this, Chen Yu'er was startled.

She hadn't expected the Emperor to ask such a question at this moment.

To be honest, she really was torn—if she said she wouldn't go back with the Emperor, would he fly into a rage and have her beheaded?

But if she went back with the Emperor—once through the palace gates, the depths were as vast as the sea!

"Your slave's origins are humble. If I follow Your Majesty back to the palace, I fear there will be gossip." Chen Yu'er said, her expression subtle, with a faint trace of hope hidden in her heart.

"And if you don't come back to the palace with me, what do you plan to do?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Chen Yu'er and asked with a smile.

In truth, though she hadn't been with the Emperor long, no one would think Chen Yu'er wasn't the Emperor's woman.

If this Chen Yu'er stayed in Yangzhou, things would likely become troublesome. The world was never short of bold men—and this was the Emperor's woman, after all.

"Your slave would find a temple, tend the lamp before the Buddha, and live out the rest of her days." Chen Yu'er said slowly, watching Zhu Youxiao carefully, afraid that her words might anger the Emperor before her.

Zhu Youxiao chuckled softly, brought Chen Yu'er's hand to his nose and sniffed it, saying: "A beauty this fragrant—how could she spend her whole life like that?"

"Come back to the palace with me. Whatever you want, you can tell me, and I'll see what I can give you."

"In answer to Your Majesty, your slave wants nothing." Chen Yu'er said: "As long as I can serve Your Majesty, that's enough."

Though Chen Yu'er had never seen it, she had heard of it—the struggles within great households were bloody and cruel, and the imperial palace was even more so.

Now that she was going to the palace, having the Emperor treat her well was what mattered most.

Women of her sort were shrewd in such matters.

"I can't give you the position of consort, but for now you'll stay by my side and serve." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile: "Once you bear me a child, I'll give you a position then."

"Your slave will obey Your Majesty in everything." Chen Yu'er bit her lip and said.

In any case, from the day she met Zhu Youxiao, her fate had essentially been sealed—she simply couldn't break free or pull away.

Trying to run—how could that be easy? She simply couldn't leave.

Zhu Youxiao stood up, glanced at Chen Yu'er, and said: "From now on, don't refer to yourself as 'your slave.'"

Having said that, Zhu Youxiao reached out, took Chen Yu'er's hand, and led her toward the bed.

Chen Yu'er's cheeks flushed slightly—she naturally knew what the Emperor intended to do.

After all these years, were the skills she'd learned finally going to be put to use?

But facing the Emperor, was it really appropriate to use such things?

Or was it not?

Chen Yu'er's face was slightly flushed, and her heart was tangled with conflicting emotions. Though she had long since prepared herself mentally, knowing this day was unavoidable and would come sooner or later.

But now that the day had truly arrived, Chen Yu'er's heart was still extremely nervous, and she felt somewhat at a loss.

After all, doing this kind of thing for the first time was enough to make anyone flustered — and from what the other girls had told her, it hurt a bit.

Leading Chen Yu'er to the bedside, Zhu Youxiao wrapped his arms around her waist in one motion and asked in a hoarse voice, "I hear that all of you were taught how to serve a man before you came to the Courtesans' House. Were you taught?"

"Yes, I was." Chen Yu'er nodded. "I've been instructed since I was young."

"Is that so?" Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao suddenly became intrigued.

In his past life, Zhu Youxiao had known that such occasions involved a great many tricks and techniques, most of which had been devised by people to attract customers.

However, in the modern era, most of these things were illegal, and the traditions behind them had been passed down for only a short time — what they came up with was nothing much.

But what was before him now was different — this was a heritage passed down over several hundred years, even several thousand years.

What sort of skills lay within this tradition — he genuinely wanted to experience them for himself.

Zhu Youxiao said, "Then today you shall serve Us well, and let Us broaden Our horizons."

Chen Yu'er's face flushed slightly. Biting her lip, she nodded gently and said, "Then allow your servant to undress Your Majesty."

Zhu Youxiao smiled and nodded, rising to his feet.

Hearing the sounds from within, Chen Hong silently took his position at the doorway.

Though there were guards on duty here, Chen Hong still stood there himself.

This was his duty — only those who fulfilled their duties diligently could come to a good end.

Wei Changsheng came up from below at that moment, and seeing Chen Hong standing at the door, he was taken aback.

Still, Wei Changsheng stepped forward, cupped his hands toward Chen Hong, and said, "Eunuch Chen, His Majesty wishes to see Huang Changzong. The man has now been brought."

"Wait a little while." Chen Hong looked at Wei Changsheng and said, "His Majesty is presently engaged in an important matter, and no one may disturb him. Once it is finished, I will send someone to announce it. You and he should both go downstairs and wait."

"Yes, Eunuch." Wei Changsheng quickly acknowledged and turned to head back downstairs.

In truth, his ears had just caught some faint, rustling sounds from within the room.

Having worked in this line of business for so long, how could he not recognize what was going on?

So Wei Changsheng knew exactly what great matter His Majesty was attending to.

"Then you'd better leave quickly — you absolutely must not disturb His Majesty's pleasure. Otherwise, we're done for."