Chapter 02
The Father and Daughter Who Want to Sever Ties (Page 1/2)**
After fooling around outside for a few days, successfully extending her lifespan to one month, Ye Qiong contentedly returned to the mansion.
Just as she stepped through the gate, she was nabbed by Eunuch Fu, who had been waiting at the entrance, and hauled back to the palace once again.
Only this time, it wasn’t the Empress Dowager who had summoned her, but His Majesty himself.
When Ye Qiong arrived at the Imperial Study, she saw her father, who was supposed to be locked up in the Imperial Clan Court, also present.
Prince Duan caught sight of his daughter and quickly signaled her with his eyes.
*’Daughter, did you cause trouble?’*
Ye Qiong shook her head and signaled back.
*’Father, did you cause trouble?’*
Prince Duan shook his head. *’Then why did your Imperial Uncle summon the two of us?’*
Ye Qiong thought, *’Maybe he thinks we’ve behaved well recently and is lifting our restrictions.’*
Prince Duan felt his daughter’s reasoning was quite sound and immediately straightened his back.
The Emperor watched the father and daughter kneeling below, heads bowed, communicating with their eyes and showing not a shred of remorse. Thinking of the past few days, with the desk piled high with memorials impeaching Prince Duan’s household, and his mother, the Empress Dowager, locking herself in the small Buddha hall and knocking on her wooden fish in anger because of these two scoundrelsā
A surge of rage shot straight to his head. He slammed his hand on the dragon desk.
“Wretched scoundrels!”
“Kneel properly!”
The father and daughter jolted in fright and immediately straightened their backs, kneeling ramrod straight.
The Emperor gritted his teeth. “A prince, and a commandery princessāthe face of the imperial family has been utterly disgraced by the two of you.”
The father and daughter looked up in unison, utterly baffled.
Prince Duan looked wronged. “Imperial Brother, I’ve been staying in the Imperial Clan Court these past few days and haven’t gone anywhere.”
“Exactly, Imperial Uncle. I’ve been staying in my room copying the *Female Admonitions*!” Ye Qiong quickly chimed in.
Although she had climbed over the walls several times during her confinement, she had been careful to avoid the household staff, especially at mealtimes when she appeared promptly at Prince Duan’s mansion. So far, no one had discovered she’d slipped out.
The Emperor looked at the two clueless fools and felt his temples throbbing.
He instructed the eunuch beside him: “Fuhai!”
“I am here, Your Majesty.” Eunuch Fu quickly responded.
“Tell these two scoundrels exactly what has happened in the capital these past few days.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Eunuch Fu cleared his throat and began to explain slowly to the two masters of Prince Duan’s household: “A few days ago, the madam of Spring Breeze Pavilion sent a bill to Prince Duan’s mansion. As it happened, Prince Duan was in the Imperial Clan Court at the time. The steward of Prince Duan’s mansion, seeing the large sum on the bill, was undecided on what to do and had no choice but to send the bill into the palace.”
He paused, sneaking a glance at the Emperor’s increasingly dark expression, and lowered his voice slightly.
“After the Empress Dowager saw the bill, she learned that Prince Duan had actually purchased the entire brothel.”
Upon hearing this, question marks slowly appeared over Prince Duan’s head.
When did that happen?
Could it be that he had been drunk and, in a stupor, been tricked into buying a brothel?
Eunuch Fu continued, though his next words carried a hint of indignation.
“Just yesterday, in broad daylight on the capital’s streets, Prince Duan actually had a man forcibly seized and brought back to his mansion.”
“What!”
Prince Duan shot to his feet.
“Imperial Brother, this is slander! Someone is deliberately ruining my reputation!”
“I did not take a single step out of that Imperial Clan Court yesterday!”
“And as for the Spring Breeze Pavilion, I definitely didn’t buy that either!”
“Imperial Brother, investigate this! Someone is trying to harm your little brother!”
In his fury, Prince Duan was on the verge of running over to grab his Imperial Brother’s leg and wail.
After spending a few dark, oppressive days in the Imperial Clan Court, now he was being falsely accused and framed.
He was too wronged~
Eunuch Fu cast a sympathetic glance at Prince Duan, then explained: “The Spring Breeze Pavilion was purchased by the Commandery Princess in the Prince’s name. As for the street abduction, the slogans shouted were also those of the Prince.” “Now, word on the street is that the Prince not only likes women, but also abducts men in broad daylight and has certain unspeakable proclivities.”
Prince Duan, who had been bouncing around the Imperial Study, loudly proclaiming he was a victim of treachery with no one to plead his case, felt that this was preposterous alarmism.
He slowly turned his neck to look at his daughter, who was kneeling on the ground, shrinking her neck and trying hard to make herself less conspicuous.
Sensing her father’s death glare, Ye Qiong slowly raised her head and gave a very sheepish smile.
“Father, let me explain.”
Prince Duan glared at her, grinding his teeth. “Fine, explain!”
He wanted to see how this unfilial, father-ruining wretch would defend herself.
Ye Qiong’s knees hurt from kneeling, so she simply sat cross-legged on the floor.
“Father, I originally wanted to invite the Courtesan Miss Liu to the mansion to keep me company while I copied the *Female Admonitions*. But the madam of Spring Breeze Pavilion absolutely refused to let her go, saying that Spring Breeze Pavilion has its rulesāthe girls in the establishment absolutely do not do house calls, especially not a top courtesan like Miss Liu.”
“Rules are dead, people are alive. I had no choice, so I bought the Spring Breeze Pavilion.”
“Then why did you use my name!”
“Your daughter didn’t have enough money, so I had no choice but to put it on Father’s tab.”
“What about the street abduction of that man?”
“Your daughter was rescuing a damsel in distressāer, a man in distress.”
Ye Qiong felt wronged too.
Yesterday, after buying the Spring Breeze Pavilion, she was happily heading home, pleased with her newly gained 10 days of lifespan.
Who knew that on that bustling street, by sheer coincidence, she would collide with a man. Their eyes met, and she knewā
Fate had arrived.
Sure enough, a name appeared on the light screen: [A’Nu].
At first, she wasn’t sure if the person who bumped into her was indeed called A’Nu.
But then a group of people came chasing after him, shouting, “A’Nu! Stop right there, young master!”
Ye Qiong took a look.
The Gu family.
She remembered the Empress Dowager’s words from a few days ago: *’If I hear of you causing trouble and ruining your reputation outside again, I will send you straight to the Imperial Clan Court to keep your father company!’*
Ye Qiong shuddered. She immediately started yelling her father’s name at the top of her lungs, hoisted the man onto her shoulder, and ran for home.
Luckily, every time she snuck out, she dressed as a man and wore servant’s clothes to avoid being recognized.
“Then why did you have to use my name to abduct a man in broad daylight!” Prince Duan was exasperated.
Although he was a bit of a mess, he had never been involved with women, let alone men.
His usual daily misdeeds were just getting drunk on fine wine and, after sobering up, going to the gambling den to fight crickets.
If he was feeling particularly reckless, he might, annoyed by the censors’ impeachments, go to their houses and throw a drunken tantrum.
“Then I couldn’t possibly use your daughter’s name, could I? Your daughter is a woman! If word got out that I abducted a man in the street, what would become of my reputation!”
“And my reputation doesn’t matter?!”
“Father, your reputation has been ruined for so many years, one or two more incidents won’t make a difference. Your daughter is still young and has a great future ahead of herāI can’t let it be destroyed!”
“Unfilial wretch! Your future is important, so my future isn’t?!”
“Father, what future do you have?”
“Father’s future is Prince Duan’s mansion.”
“But Prince Duan’s mansion will be mine sooner or later!”
The Emperor, seated on the dragon throne, watched the two scoundrels below argue about everything from reputation to future prospects to inheritance, finally and resolutely deciding to sever their father-daughter relationship. They even demanded that he, the Emperor, immediately issue an edict decreeing that the father and daughter have nothing to do with each other for life.
The Emperor felt an overwhelming urge to strangle the both of them.
