Nine Princes Struggle for the Throne: The Mad Prince

Chapter 49 Sending the old lady to the brothel, physically castrating the Fang family man.

"Your Highness, everything is ready, but with so many people arriving suddenly, we can only have a simple lunch for now."

Qi Ye arrived at the pavilion.

"Alright, let's leave it at that for now. Have the kitchen prepare dinner properly."

"Father, Aunt, let's take our seats!"

Qin Wu nodded and spoke to the Eastern Qin Emperor and the Grand Princess.

"Okay, let's have lunch first."

The Emperor of Eastern Qin rose.

The group arrived at the dining hall.

Lunch was finished quickly.

In the afternoon, the younger generation showcased their talents.

Everyone chatted and laughed.

It gives people a feeling that harmony in the family brings prosperity in all things.

The Emperor of Eastern Qin was also very pleased.

It was almost time for dinner.

People from the Grand Princess's residence have arrived.

"Your Highness, a woman has come to the manor with this jade pendant, requesting an audience with you, saying that she asks Your Highness to uphold justice."

The nanny handed a jade pendant to the Grand Princess.

The Grand Princess took the jade pendant and examined it carefully.

She immediately recognized the jade pendant; it was a gift she had given to her best friend.

"What's wrong, little sister? This jade pendant looks familiar."

The Emperor of Eastern Qin looked at the jade pendant in the Grand Princess's hand and asked a question.

“Brother, this is my jade pendant. I gave it to my best friend before I got married.”

The Grand Princess explained.

Emperor Dongqin then remembered that this was a birthday gift he had given to his younger sister when she was young.

It's just been so long since I've seen you that I didn't think of you for a moment.

"Go and bring the man."

The Grand Princess said to the nanny.

She wanted to see who was bringing the jade pendant she had given to her best friend, so she could ask her to uphold justice.

Before long, a young girl dressed in coarse linen clothes was brought in.

The woman was pale, clearly malnourished.

Judging from the faded white clothes he was wearing, it was clear that he lived in extremely poor conditions.

"Who are you? And why do you possess the jade pendant that I gave to Yu'er?"

The Grand Princess looked at the kneeling woman and asked her a question.

"Your Highness, my daughter's name is Fang Yueming. She is the eldest daughter of the Fang family, and her mother is Dongfang Yu."

Fang Yueming reported.

When the Grand Princess heard that it was Dongfang Yu's daughter, she was somewhat incredulous.

As Dongfang Yu's close friend, and from a good family, her daughter should have a very comfortable life.

Why would someone dress like that?

However, upon closer inspection, Fang Yueming does indeed resemble Dongfang Yu somewhat.

And she had indeed heard that Dongfang Yu had married into the Fang family.

However, she had been away from the capital for too long and was unaware of Dongfang Yu's situation.

"Your mother is Dongfang Yu from the Dongfang family? She is the apple of the Dongfang family's eye. How could you, as her daughter, be in such a sorry state?"

The Grand Princess inquired.

She wanted to confirm whether what Fang Yueming said was true.

“Your Highness, my mother is indeed Dongfang Yu from the Dongfang family. The reason I look like this is because my father favored his concubine over his wife. My mother and I were locked up in a cold courtyard by my grandmother.”

“Now my mother is seriously ill and there is no one to treat her. I heard that Your Highness has returned to the capital, so I came to ask Your Highness for help. I hope that Your Highness will save my mother in consideration of our past relationship.”

After Fang Yueming finished speaking, he kowtowed repeatedly to the Grand Princess.

Upon seeing this, the Grand Princess immediately instructed her maid to help the person up.

"Your mother and I are like sisters. If I didn't know about her affairs, that would be fine, but if I did know, I wouldn't just ignore them."

"But why don't you go to the Dongfang family for help?"

The Grand Princess was somewhat puzzled.

Given the power of the Dongfang family, they might not care if their daughter was mistreated by her husband's family.

“My maternal grandparents have long since left Beijing and returned to their ancestral home. My mother and I are also under close surveillance, making it very difficult for us to go out. Today, I had to crawl through a dog hole to escape.”

Fang Yueming burst into tears as she spoke.

Over the years, they had lived worse than servants in the Fang family; anyone could bully them.

If it weren't for her mother's protection, she probably wouldn't have been able to grow up.

"The Fang family, what a Fang family, daring to bully my Yu'er like this."

Upon hearing this, the Grand Princess could no longer contain her anger.

"The Fang family? The Fang family of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue?"

Jiang Pingyue felt sorry for Fang Yueming, so she asked him a question.

There is more than one Fang family in the capital, but the most famous one is the Fang family where the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue is located.

The Fang family is the only one qualified to form a marriage alliance with the Dongfang family.

She had never heard of Fang Yueming, a legitimate daughter of the Fang family.

"Yes, my father is the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."

Fang Yueming said, crying.

"That's not right! I've never heard of a legitimate daughter named Fang Yueming in the Fang family! Rumor has it that the legitimate daughter of the Fang family is in poor health and has been sent to the countryside to recuperate."

Jiang Pingle said.

"This is all to keep it from the outside world."

“My mother and I were locked up in the cold courtyard of the Fang family when I was a child. My father locked my mother and me up in order to marry the second daughter of the Left Prime Minister’s family, and claimed to the outside world that we were in poor health and had gone to the countryside to recuperate.”

Fang Yueming explained.

Upon hearing her words, the Empress's expression changed.

Previously, her sister had not been implicated, so even if His Majesty blamed her, it would only be a charge of favoring a concubine over his wife.

Given the power of her Left Prime Minister's residence, she wouldn't face any major punishment.

But now it involves her sister and the Left Prime Minister's residence.

This is no small matter; it could very well implicate the Left Prime Minister's residence and lead to punishment by His Majesty.

"How dare you! My sister and Minister Fang were childhood sweethearts. She married Minister Fang as his concubine because of mutual affection. Moreover, the women of my Left Prime Minister's residence have been taught all kinds of rules and etiquette since childhood. How could we possibly bully you and your mother?"

The Empress scolded.

She needs to remove her sister's genitals first.

"Your Majesty, why bully a mere woman?"

The Grand Princess was very dissatisfied with the Empress's actions.

"Since we don't know if it's true or not, let's just check it out directly, Fu Hua."

Qin Wu said with a smile.

He wasn't planning to get involved, but he saw that Jiang Pingyue felt sorry for Fang Yueming.

Since he was an old friend of the Grand Princess, he reluctantly took charge.

This is a perfect opportunity to annoy the Empress.

"Your Majesty."

Fu Hua appeared.

"Go and investigate. If it's true, bring the person here. Oh, and remember to bring my whip too."

Qin Wu gave the order.

He detested those who favored concubines over their wives.

If you don't like it, you can keep it. If it really doesn't work out, you can divorce it and let it go home.

There is absolutely no need to be harsh on them.

It's not like we can't afford to support a high-ranking official of the third rank.

Half an hour later.

Fu Hua led a group of people in carrying in a weak, middle-aged woman.

"Your Highness, the person has been brought. When we arrived, several vicious old women were interrogating Madam Fang."

Fu Hua originally thought the investigation would take some time.

But when he arrived at the cold courtyard, he saw that the servants were bullying their master, so there was no need to investigate.

"Have the royal physician examine Madam Fang thoroughly."

Qin Wu confessed.

"Mother."

Fang Yueming and the Grand Princess heard that people from the Shenwu Prince's Mansion were carrying a middle-aged woman back.

Fang Yueming came over to take a look and immediately rushed over when he saw the woman on the stretcher.

The Grand Princess also hurriedly went up.

"Yu'er, how could my Yu'er have become like this?"

The Grand Princess recognized the woman on the stretcher at a glance.

"The Fang family, how dare they? How dare they?"

The Grand Princess said sadly.

"Aunt, let Madam Fang go and get her injuries treated first!"

Qin Wu stepped forward to help the Grand Princess.

At this moment, the Emperor of Eastern Qin and others also came out.

Seeing the person lying on the stretcher, I couldn't help but feel a chill.

The wife of the dignified Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was tortured to this extent.

Emperor Dong Qin still remembered how exceptionally talented the eldest daughter of the Dongfang family was; she was a renowned woman of great talent in the capital.

I never imagined that he would be tormented into such a state in just over twenty years.

"Your Majesty, the Fang family dares to humiliate my Yu'er like this. I beg Your Majesty to do justice for Yu'er."

The Grand Princess knelt down directly before the Emperor of Eastern Qin.

She would never let the Fang family off the hook. Even if the Fang family had the support of the Left Prime Minister's Mansion, she would make them pay the price.

"Little sister, get up quickly. I will definitely take care of this matter for you."

Emperor Dong Qin quickly stepped forward to help the Grand Princess up.

"Xiao Jiu, what do you think we should do about this?"

The Emperor of Eastern Qin looked at Qin Wu.

"Father, how about I just slaughter the entire Fang family?"

Qin Wu said indifferently.

It's as if you're talking about something trivial.

"By the way, this matter involves the Left Prime Minister's residence. Should I kill the entire Left Prime Minister's family as well?"

Qin Wu looked at the Empress.

Use the calmest voice to say the harshest words.

Everyone present was quite frightened upon hearing Qin Wu's words.

Qin Wu truly lived up to his reputation as a madman, acting without any regard for the consequences.

"That won't be necessary. Favoring a concubine over the wife won't necessarily lead to the extermination of the entire clan."

The Emperor of Eastern Qin quickly stopped Qin Wu.

His son is outstanding in every way, but he has an insatiable thirst for murder.

They kill people without hesitation.

This time, they even want to kill the entire clan of the Left Chancellor.

If he were to actually kill the Left Chancellor's entire family, that would be no small matter.

"Fine, whatever Father says goes. But the Fang family dares to favor their concubine over their wife so much, they should be punished properly."

Qin Wu didn't care; if he didn't want to kill them, he didn't have to.

Anyway, they'll be killed sooner or later, it's just a matter of time.

He is in no rush.

"So what do you think should be done?"

The Emperor of Eastern Qin inquired.

"The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue favors his concubine over his wife; his character is questionable. Why not just demote him to Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue?"

“The concubine bullied the mistress and the legitimate daughter, demoting her to a lowly concubine. The old lady of the Fang family just let it go. Why not send her to the brothel for education?”

Qin Wu said indifferently.

The final punishment, in particular, was a complete slap in the face for the Fang family.

With the dignified matriarch of the Fang family being sent to a place like the Jiaofangsi (a brothel), the Fang family would probably be too ashamed to stay in the capital.

This is to nail the Fang family to the pillar of shame.

"Your Majesty, this is unacceptable! Favoring a concubine over one's wife is not a serious crime; such punishment is far too harsh."

After hearing Qin Wu's words, the Empress quickly stopped him.

After all, the Fang family is related to the Left Prime Minister's family by marriage.

If the Fang family is punished like this, the Prime Minister's mansion will lose all face.

Moreover, favoring concubines over wives is, to put it mildly, just a matter of character.

There was no need for such severe punishment.

In fact, the Emperor of Eastern Qin was also frightened by Qin Wu's words.

Putting everything else aside, sending a woman in her sixties to the brothel is hard to believe.

Everyone knows what the Jiaofangsi is.

"Alright then, Vice Minister Fang will be demoted three ranks, and his wife will be demoted to a concubine. As for the old lady of the Fang family, she has not managed the household properly, so she should no longer be involved in affairs and should devote herself to Buddhism!"

The Emperor of Eastern Qin made a decision immediately.

To prevent Qin Wu from saying anything outrageous again.

“Father, the Left Prime Minister has failed to properly educate his daughter. Should we give him a hundred lashes? Your son is willing to carry it out personally.”

Seeing that the Emperor of Eastern Qin had already convicted and punished the Fang family, Qin Wu didn't know what to say.

However, he still wanted to annoy the Left Chancellor and the Empress.

"No."

The Empress grew anxious.

If Qin Wu were to personally give his father a hundred lashes, his father would probably be beaten to death.

I'm afraid they won't even be able to leave behind a complete corpse.

The Emperor of Eastern Qin was also startled.

If Qin Wu were to take action himself, the Left Chancellor would likely be killed in just a few blows.

He didn't believe Qin Wu would show mercy. With a Grandmaster like him, the Left Prime Minister would probably be beaten to a pulp.

"Alright, the Left Prime Minister is indeed at fault. I will handle it, so you don't need to worry about it."

The Emperor of Eastern Qin also interrupted Qin Wu.

He thought to himself that it would be best not to let Qin Wu get involved in such matters in the future.

Otherwise, if he keeps wanting to kill people, how many officials will be left in Dongqin if he continues to kill like this?

"Your Majesty, I have another request. Please grant Yu'er permission to leave the Fang family with Yueming and a divorce."

The Grand Princess spoke from the side.

“Aunt, divorce is bad for a woman’s reputation. How about this, I will have someone physically castrate the other party to remove the root of the problem, so that he will no longer be able to favor his concubine and neglect his wife.”

"Moreover, with Aunt Fang backing up Madam Fang, they dare not bully her anymore. If they still dare, I will help the entire male clan of the Fang family get rid of the root of trouble."

Qin Wu spoke again.

His words fell silent.

If we're talking about ruthlessness, Qin Wu is truly ruthless.

They resort to physical castration at the drop of a hat, trying to remove the root of the problem.

This is more humiliating than killing them.

"Little Jiu, I think it's better to just get a divorce. There's no need for physical castration to get rid of the root of the trouble."

The Emperor of Eastern Qin said awkwardly.

He was genuinely afraid of his youngest son.

"All right!"

"It's up to you, but Father Emperor can give my suggestion a good consideration."

Qin Wu saw that the Emperor of Eastern Qin objected, but he didn't say anything more.

Anyway, he was just offering a suggestion.