Chapter 102: Ye Yu Goes Missing, the Emperor's Fury, and Clues (Seeking Monthly Votes)

"Young Master, my senior brother sent a letter asking when my Yu'er would be returning, but Yu'er set off over ten days ago! I beg you, Young Master, please help me find him."

Liu Yuheng said with a face full of anxiety.

The Iron Sword Sect has many disciples, but she and her husband have always raised their few personal disciples as if they were their own flesh and blood.

That is why Ye Yu's disappearance made her so worried.

"Madam, please calm yourself. It is inevitable for young people to be a bit restless. Could Young Hero Ye be visiting friends or out having fun somewhere?" Pei Shaoqing hurriedly stepped forward to help her sit in a chair, soothing her with a gentle voice.

Liu Yuheng shook her head, pursed her warm, jade-like lips, and said, "That cannot be. Yu'er has been sensible and obedient since he was a child; he is an honest boy. Whenever he was sent out to handle some task, he would always return as quickly as he went."

Clearly, she did not know that every time Ye Yu came down from the mountain, he would visit brothels, just as many parents in modern society believe their children studying or working away from home are sensible and obedient, never knowing that some have even secretly had abortions.

"Then I shall order someone to draw a portrait of him based on your description, Madam, and have people investigate to see if we can find any clues," Pei Shaoqing said after a moment of contemplation.

Upon hearing this, Liu Yuheng nodded repeatedly and said with a face full of gratitude, "Many thanks, Young Master. I have troubled you."

"Given my relationship with Lan'er, I should also call you 'Master's Wife'; why must we be so formal and distant like strangers?" Pei Shaoqing shook his head, turned, and said to Ye Hanshuang, "Call Chen Zhongyi to take charge of this matter."

"Yes!" Ye Hanshuang nodded and turned to leave.

Soon, under Liu Yuheng's description, the artist in the Hundred-Household Office who specialized in drawing portraits of wanted criminals drew Ye Yu's likeness, which looked about sixty to seventy percent accurate.

To be able to draw to this extent based solely on another person's description could already be considered the work of an expert.

Pei Shaoqing said to Liu Yuheng, "Madam, it is useless for you to wait here. Go back first; once I have news, I will certainly inform you at the first opportunity."

"Mm, I leave it to you, Young Master." Liu Yuheng gripped Pei Shaoqing's hand tightly, looking exactly like a mother worried about her child, and then left, filled with anxiety.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Wei Yue returned to the Capital alone and went straight into the Imperial Palace to report to the Jingtai Emperor.

The first words the Jingtai Emperor said upon seeing Wei Yue were: "Is that bastard dead?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Shu Prince's intent to rebel has been confirmed without doubt, and he attempted to force a breakout by force; there are no survivors in his entire household," Wei Yue replied in a deep, resonant voice.

"Hmph!" The Emperor casually tossed the jade brush he was using to mark documents aside and said with a cold face, "Liu Hai, draft a decree."

"Yes." Liu Hai immediately responded.

The Emperor stood up with his hands behind his back and said with an expressionless face, "The Shu Prince has rebelled, his crimes are proven, and I sent Minister Wei to hold him accountable. The rebellious vassal actually raised an army to resist, and his entire household has been executed. Effective immediately, remove his lineage from the Imperial Clan."

"Bestow upon Wei Yue the title of Anyuan County Baron, and grant him an Iron Certificate of Merit and a Bull-Fighting Robe. Promote Pei Shaoqing to Jing'an Guard Hundred-Household, and reward him with one Lower Grade Dragon Blood Treasure Horse, one set of Qilin Robe, and a seat at this year's Mid-Autumn Imperial Banquet. Order someone to ride the Dragon Blood Treasure Horse and announce this to the world with the greatest speed."

Although he spoke very briefly, Liu Hai used his extremely fast hand speed to write a very long passage according to the format of an Imperial Decree.

"Your subject kowtows to thank the Imperial grace." Wei Yue knelt to thank him without joy or sorrow; titles were of no use to him.

He did not even have an heir, so how could he pass it down?

The Emperor's tone was calm, "Minister Wei, you may rise."

Wei Yue stood up, lowered his head, and stood quietly.

"Liu Hai, leave." The Emperor waved his hand.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Liu Hai lowered his head and withdrew.

After the door was closed, the Emperor stared at Wei Yue with burning eyes and asked, "Jianghuai, where is that ghost?"

Jianghuai was Wei Yue's courtesy name, which he had chosen himself.

"Your subject is incompetent and has disappointed Your Majesty; that old ghost committed suicide," Wei Yue said with his head lowered.

"Committed suicide?" The Emperor's expression changed violently. He slammed his hands heavily onto the desk, his old, wrinkled face twisted in a ferocious expression as he breathed rapidly, saying word by word: "I did not allow him to die, how could he die!"

"Your subject is guilty!" Wei Yue knelt down again.

The Emperor looked down at him from above, his eyes flickering with uncertainty: "Did that old ghost say anything?"

"Your Majesty, they were all treasonous words; I feared they would dirty your ears," Wei Yue said in a calm tone.

"Speak!" The Emperor suddenly raised his volume.

Wei Yue could only say truthfully: "He said Your Majesty wanted his method for prolonging life, said he would never be controlled by the Yan rebel, and said he was waiting for Your Majesty below."

He never told lies when facing the Emperor.

"Ha! Hahahaha!" The Emperor changed from his previous rage and burst into laughter, saying with a disdainful and casual tone, "This old ghost underestimates me too much. As the ruler of a nation, how could I fear life or death? I merely wanted to see if I could find the previous dynasty's lost treasures through him, yet he viewed me as someone as greedy for life and afraid of death as he is."

"Remnants of the previous dynasty, frogs in a well—how could they know what kind of person Your Majesty is," Wei Yue said in a deep voice.

The Emperor smiled, "Very well, you may go."

"Your subject takes his leave." Wei Yue stood up and left.

Watching the door close, the smile on the Emperor's face gradually vanished. He transformed into a 'desktop cleaning master,' furiously sweeping everything on the table onto the floor.

When Wei Yue led the Jing'an Guard out of the Capital riding the Dragon Blood Treasure Horse, the Capital knew that something major was surely about to happen.

Sure enough, news soon spread from the Imperial Palace that the Shu Prince had rebelled and his entire household had been executed, shaking the Capital.

Beyond the shock of the Shu Prince's rebellion and execution itself, what was even more shocking was that Pei Shaoqing had actually achieved the merit of suppressing the rebellion in this matter and was heavily rewarded.

He had only been promoted to Probationary Hundred-Household this month.

Now, that "probationary" word was immediately removed.

He was also granted a Qilin Robe; although this was the lowest grade among imperial-bestowed robes, even a first-rank high official, if not bestowed by the Emperor, would have no qualification to wear it. It was an honor!

And the Dragon Blood Treasure Horse—many generals who had performed great deeds in battle would at most be granted the right to use one for a period of time, without ownership, to be returned when the time was up.

More importantly, the seat at the Mid-Autumn Imperial Banquet—this kind of banquet itself was nothing, and Pei Shaoqing had often attended in the past, but this time the Emperor had specifically pointed him out to return from the provinces to attend, indicating that he specifically wanted to see him.

With all these things, what kind of supreme favor was this?

Since the beginning of the month, Pei Shaoqing had undoubtedly become the most prominent figure among the younger generation, making countless people envious, jealous, and hateful, to the point where all kinds of sour remarks were almost tiresome to hear.

Now, some in the Capital believed Pei Shaoqing had turned over a new leaf; some believed he had been deliberately hiding his talents; and others believed the Emperor was expressing his favor for the Weiyuan Marquis through Pei Shaoqing.

As the eldest daughter-in-law of the Pei family, Nalan Yujin felt that Pei Shaoqing must have been deliberately hiding his talents in the past.

Facing this brother-in-law who had repeatedly performed great deeds and brought glory to the family, she now even suspected that Pei Shaoqing's attempt to force himself on her back then was merely a means of self-defilement.

It was not that he truly wanted to violate her, his sister-in-law.

After all, looking at Pei Shaoqing's current performance, how could such an outstanding person commit such an absurd act?

Thinking of how her brother-in-law had been silently enduring so much humiliation from the outside world for the sake of this family, while also bearing her own misunderstandings and cold looks—and never once offering a defense—Nalan Yujin actually felt a bit of self-reproach.

She decided to have a good talk with her brother-in-law when he returned to attend the Mid-Autumn Imperial Banquet, to apologize, resolve the various unpleasantries of the past, and become a loving family.

She also had to write a letter to her father-in-law and husband to send off.

She would tell them her own guesses and analysis, striving to resolve their misunderstandings and prejudices against her brother-in-law.

At the same time, at the Anning Earl Mansion.

Anning Earl Xie Wenjin remained silent for a long time after digesting the news he had just received; only after a good while did he slowly exhale and say to his wife, "Find some time to write a letter to Qingwu; how long has it been since that girl sent a letter?"

"Back then, it was you, the father, who was afraid of being implicated by your son-in-law and forbade me from contacting Qingwu." The Anning Earl's wife's eyes reddened, and she choked out, "Qingwu doesn't write because she must have realized we wanted to distance ourselves from her, and her heart has been completely broken by us."

Xie Qingwu had not written at first because she was being controlled by Pei Shaoqing, and later she did not write because she realized that both she and Pei Shaoqing were people who had been abandoned.

"Oh, wasn't all of that for the sake of this entire family?" Xie Wenjin's old face could not quite hold its composure, and he defended himself, "At the time, who would have thought Pei Shaoqing could gain the Emperor's favor? The one he beat to death was Wan Guifei's nephew! Even Pei Shiqing was about to sever ties with his son; did I dare to contact Qingwu?"

"When it comes down to it, you were all just afraid of being implicated by your juniors." The Anning Earl's wife wiped away her tears and sobbed, "Fortunately, our son-in-law is capable, otherwise I don't know how much my precious daughter would have had to suffer."

"Regardless of how you put it, at least I chose a good husband for her," the Anning Earl said, his expression unchanging.

Hearing this, the Anning Earl's wife gave him a sharp look, too lazy to even mock his face.

………………………

The matters in the capital had nothing to do with Pei Shaoqing.

He had found some clues regarding Ye Yu on his end.

He called Liu Yuheng over to listen together.

"My Lord, Madam, according to our investigation, after Young Hero Ye left the Pei Mansion, he went to Qunfang Yuan and requested five girls..." Chen Zhongyi said.

"What?" Liu Yuheng's expression changed, and she stood up abruptly, saying in disbelief, "You say Yu'er went to a brothel? How is that possible? He... he is such an honest and obedient child; he even blushes when talking to girls."

"Madam, it is indeed so; the procuress at Qunfang Yuan and the girls he requested can all testify." After finishing, Chen Zhongyi added, "The procuress also said he definitely wasn't there for the first time; he is a veteran among flowers."

"This... he, he, he..." Liu Yuheng was so angry that her pretty face turned a shade of blue and white, her delicate fists clenched tight.

Recalling that she had spoken with such certainty in front of Pei Shaoqing that morning that Ye Yu was an honest child, her face burned as if she had been slapped.

Seeing that she was in an awkward position, Pei Shaoqing quickly said, "Madam, calm your anger. Eating and sex are human nature; Young Hero Ye has reached the age where he should take a wife, and it is normal for him to play around outside. It is just that these things are not easy to tell you all."

"You men are all no good!" Liu Yuheng glared at him fiercely and said crossly.

Pei Shaoqing looked innocent. "No, Madam, you are angry at Young Hero Ye, how can you implicate me?"

"Hmph!" Liu Yuheng thought of how he had used her bottom as a whetstone on horseback yesterday, trying to grind an iron rod into a needle, and she let out another cross huff.

Pei Shaoqing shook his head helplessly, deciding not to bicker with the beautiful woman, and looked at Chen Zhongyi. "Continue."

(End of this chapter)