The chapter title is a bit of a giveaway but … …
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Chapter Sixty Three Trapping Ning Wang
By now, Rui Wang was the most infamous person in Jing City. First of all, he was suspected of attacking his didi, and now he was suspected of doing the same to his gege. Such ruthless conduct, disregarding all fraternal duty. Even though it had not been proven, in the eyes of everyone, Rui Wang had now charged with being unfraternal along with being arrogant and domineering.
Qing De Emperor hadn’t thought that the two matters would have become intimately connected to three of his sons. He looked at the arrow which had been presented to him by the commander of the Imperial Guards. A beat later, he sighed. Regardless of the truth, Yuan’er wasn’t suited to become an Emperor.
“Your Majesty, Shu guifei niangniang requests a meeting,” The chief taijian entered the room and knelt in front of him.
Qing De Emperor stood and walked to the window and saw the woman waiting outside. He closed his eyes as he refused, “Tell Shu guifei to return. Just say that zhen is too busy and cannot see her right now.”
A flicker of surprise appeared in the chief taijian’s eyes before he instantly recovered. He bowed and retreated. It seemed that the Emperor had lost hope in the Third Highness.
“Guifei niangniang, Emperor is concerned with state matters at the moment so he cannot meet you.” The chief steward walked in front of Shu guifei, respectfully announcing, “Please leave.”
“Emperor doesn’t want to see ben gong?” Shu guifei looked at the wide open door, anger rising up within her. She turned and left, clearly furious at the conduct of the Emperor.
“Respectfully sending Shu guifei niangniang,” The chief taijian serenely bent at the waist. He looked on as Shu guifei hurriedly left his view before slowly straightening. A smile, just like any other smile he had given before, appeared on his face. Shu guifei’s personality hadn’t changed after all these years. But what was she doing by having a tantrum at this time?
Shu guifei came out of the main gate of Tian Qi Palace. Her face had darkened considerably as she entered the step-carriage. Not even the bright sunlight could lighten up her mood.
When Jing guifei met Shu guifei in the Imperial Gardens, she was holding two roses in full bloom. Seeing the ugly expression on the other’s face, she smiled as she asked: “Meimei, what has made you so angry?”
“Jiejie seems to be in a good mood,” Su guifei snorted, “I see that His Highness Duan Wang’s injuries weren’t that serious.”
“It was the Heavens that protected him,” Jing guifei handed the flowers to the palace maid beside her, “I just don’t know how the victim feels right now.”
Shu guifei smiled coldly. She had always looked down on Wei shi’s act, using pretty words to make His Majesty happy. She indicated for the taijian supporting the step-carriage to continue since she had no desire of disembarking.
Jing guifei narrowed her eyes as she saw the procession of Shu guifei leave in a huff. She smiled lazily: “Ben gong loves her temper.” Otherwise, how else could she have climbed to such a high position?
Just as everyone assumed that the matter was definitely related to Rui Wang, the Associate Justice Tian da ren gave a report at Court which surprised everyone with its contents.
Tian da ren reported that the Supreme Court had, just three months before Duan Wang was attacked by assassins, received a report from a steward of Rui Wang’s property. He said that the mountain had lost a large number of trees. It wasn’t very valuable, but to prevent others from having nefarious aims, the steward had immediately notified the Supreme Court.
“So what Tian da ren means to say is that given the report from san di’s fu, this incident has nothing to do with san di,” He Qi said amusedly before asking, “But didn’t da ren think that this may have been purposefully done by san di?”
“What the truth of the case is, this official does not know. This official is only reporting what is known to the Emperor,” Tian Jin Ke didn’t care for Ning Wang’s nitpicking. He gave a bow to Qing De Emperor before continuing, “Emperor, this official has also found that three months ago, the Imperial Guards had run across some wagons transporting wood. When they asked, they were told that they were the servants of His Highness Ning Wang. One of them had even revealed His Highness Ning Wang’s medal.”
“Nonsense, ben wang had just been fixing up a property in the suburbs. Half a year ago, the residence was burned, everyone in Jing knows that. What does Tian da ren mean to say?” He Qi hadn’t thought that Tian Jin Ke would divert the matter onto him, instantly yelling back: “ben wang thinks that you have treacherous aims and is purposefully slandering ben wang in front of fuhuang.”
“Please quell your anger, Your Highness Ning Wang. This official has already said that he is only saying what he has found, and has not said this matter is connected with Your Highness,” Tian Jin Ke gave a bow with two hands pressed together, “Perhaps it is only a coincidence.”
Qing De Emperor narrowed his eyes at his eldest son. He trusted Tian Jin Ke. This was a person that he had met before he had succeeded the throne. He impatiently interrupted before He Qi could defend, “No need for discussion. Let the Ministry of Works investigate how much wood you used to fix your estate so we can find out the truth.” He turned to ask Tian Jin Ke, “Beloved Official Tian,[i] do you know how much wood was purchased by Ning Wang?”
“This official has already investigated. Emperor, please take a look.” Tian Jin Ke bent his body as he presented the evidence with both hands. After the palace hall taijian presented the account to the Emperor, he silently retreated to one side.
“Fuhuang, you don’t believe er chen?!” He Qi looked in disbelief at the man sitting at the top. He knelt with a loud bang, “Er chen definitely wouldn’t do anything unfraternal, fuhuang, please investigate thoroughly.”
“Hasn’t zhen sent someone to investigate? Get up,” Qing De Emperor irritably waved his hand, “Tomorrow, zhen wants to know the results. End of Court!”
Once the Emperor left, the officials started to leave. He Qi looked fiercely at Tian Jin Ke. The other’s peaceful expression made him even angrier, “Tian da ren is such a good dog, when you bite, you take half of a life.”
Tian Jin Ke raised his eyelids, and lifted his hands up as he drawled: “Your Highness Ning Wang is making jokes. Instead of wang ye joking around with this official, shouldn’t you check to see if there is anything wrong with the lumber?”
“Such a good Tian Jin Ke!” He Qi’s face was black as he swept away.
Tian Jin Ke watched as Ning Wang savagely rushed out of the discussion hall. He calmly adjusted his own clothing and continued to walk at a sedate pace towards the entrance.
In Fu Lang Manor, Qu Qing Ju sat in the bathtub. She looked at the man bathing beside her, one of his arms raised high. She used a cloth to wipe his chest, caressing the other’s muscles. She nodded in satisfaction, “Wang ye’s body isn’t bad.”
“How my body is, Qing Ju should know best, “He Heng smiled as he rubbed Qu Qing Ju’s hair. He abruptly asked, “Has Qing Ju ever wanted something very much as a youngster?” His gaze swept across the jade gourd that was hanging on her chest. His eyes passed her white and tempting chest and slowly moved away.
“Wanted very much?” Qu Qing Ju didn’t stop her hands and wiped down his stomach. She teased him a few times before smiling, “When I was young, I wanted so many things. It was different each day. When I saw other people’s beautiful clothes, beautiful hair ornaments, I felt that I really wanted them. Afterwards, when I grew up, I wanted a peaceful life, a person to accompany me through my days, to accept and love me.” She then laughed out loud, in either joy or self-disdain.
He Heng assumed that the ‘other people’ she’d mentioned were Qu Yue Su and the Qu Family. He smiled as he reassured her, “In the future, you don’t have to admire others. I will give you many good things and have others admire you instead.” He reached out to touch the luminous jade gourd, “I will accompany you and love you.”
Qu Qing Ju’s hands stilled. She smiled at He Heng, something swirling in her eyes, “I believe that right now, wang ye’s words are sincere.” In this world, many men were sincere when they were spoke. But the length of this sincerity could be one month, one year, even a lifetime. No one knew for sure.
As a gentle and soft hand smoothed over the other’s back, Qu Qing Ju laughed as she promised: “If wang ye loves qie for a lifetime, then naturally qie won’t leave.”
He Heng’s heart stopped. For some reason, he felt a slightly numb yet piercing pain as a sweet yet sour feeling took over his heart. He reached out to grab her waist. The waist in his embrace was very soft, but it gave him the feeling of strength. In this instant, he suddenly understood that even if a more remarkable woman appeared in front of his eyes in the future, there wouldn’t be anyone who could make him feel the way he did right now.
The steam from the bathtub blurred the figures of the two, spreading out so that their eyes became hazy like the steam. It was beautiful and somewhat unreal, but it made one feel that it should be like this.
At Court on the second day, all the officials stood in fear as they listened to the people of the Ministry of Works reporting the strings of numbers. They focused their absolute attention to the result announced at the very end.
“… … this official and subordinates, after investigating all night, have found that the amount of lumber His Highness Ning Wang had brought and the amount he had actually used did not match up,” The Minster of Works trembled as he finished reciting the numbers in his hands and submissively shrunk his head as he stood to one side.
He Qi hadn’t expected that he would be implicated to this extent. He moved forward a step to plead: “Fuhuang, er chen has nothing to do with this matter. Lumber would have been wasted when they were reconstructing the residence. These numbers might not all be correct. Fuhuang, please re-investigate.”
“If it has nothing to do with you, why did the fingernails of the assassin’s corpses have pollen from the balsam and rose flowers in your estate?,” Qing De Emperor threw a secret report in front of his eldest son. He watched as the other knelt down with a face full of disbelief. He continued, voice full of hurt, “And the shoes they were wearing and their clothing, they were the handiwork of the embroidery women on your estate. Did you assume that others couldn’t find out because they were just minor details? If you didn’t want others to know, you shouldn’t have done it in the first place.”
“These assassins, they wore the same clothes as the ones who tried to assassinate Cheng Wang. Even the blades and arrows were from the same craftsmen. How do you explain all of this?!” Qing De Emperor ranted furiously before coughing harshly, “As the eldest son, you tried to frame and kill your brothers. Do you still have zhen, or your brothers in your heart?!”
“Fuhuang, er chen is innocent!” He Qi didn’t understand how his assassins were now mixed up with the unknown assassins who attacked He Heng. He kowtowed furiously, “Fuhuang, er chen didn’t know anything about this matter. Fuhuang, please investigate!”
“Zhen had asked you to investigate the case of the attacked envoys. The truth seemed to have been uncovered, but who knew that the true mastermind was you, an unfilial son,” Qing De Emperor pointed at He Qi, not wanting to hear his explanation, “zhen will pretend to not have an animal like you as a child. Come, imprison him in the Bright Moon Tower within the Jing suburbs. He will not be released in this lifetime!”
When he finished speaking, his body swayed and he fainted against the arm of the dragon chair.
“Fuhuang!” He Qi saw Qing De Emperor faint, his already bad expression becoming even more ugly. Before he could stand, the Imperial Guards held him and started to drag him out of the hall.
He struggled to raise his head in the hands of the Imperial Guards. He could only see, in the pandemonium of the great hall, a crowd of officials escorting fuhuang out.
At that moment, he suddenly thought that if the evidence had pointed to He Yuan, would fuhuang have made the same decision?
He twisted his body and stopped fighting when he found that he couldn’t break free. He allowed the Imperial Guards to drag him away in a wretched state. He raised his head to look at the clear sky that stretched for thousands of miles. How did he lose?
Had he underestimated He Yuan’s intelligence, or was it that He Yuan was too smart that he had bought his act as just an arrogant and brash imperial son?
He lowered his head, the finely crafted white jade coronet in his hair dropping to the ground. Looking at the coronet on the black stone, he gave a low laugh.
[i]爱卿: term used by Emperors to refer to officials, usually those he is close to. The translation is beloved official.
thank you very much!
what—–?! well, i mean, he was indeed responsible for the attack on he ming, and the assassins that attacked he heng were probably his…i’m still not sure about those assassins, but, anyway…i thought rui wang would fall first, but hmph, seems that he qi was the one who fell instead. anyway, after this, will the emperor continue to investigate about rui wang and the money lending thing, that which he ming was sent to investigate. i mean, we all know that rui wang did indeed do the money thing. i’m thinking the emperor might be biased and let it slide, but i also greatly doubt it. even if he isn’t an outstanding emperor, he tries to be upright when dealing with matters, and listens to his officials…so hopefully he won’t let his bias affect justice! also, i really want to say that the emperor is truly lucky to have trustworthy, not corrupt officials in his court. -nods nods-
wait, wait—! i forgot to say! ah, has he heng truly fallen in love with qing ju? well, at the very least, he feels some sort of love for her! i’m unsure about qing ju’s feelings though. i know she cares for him, but…love? i’m still unsure—!
He already asked his mother to be nicer with QQJ. If that wasn’t out of love, I don’t know what that is.
well, they did say he was a sanctimonious person. and that, it may or may not be romantic love. it could just be caring.
If I’m getting it correctly, the assassins that went after He Meng was sent by He Qi but the assassins that went after He Heng was actually He Heng’s men. Because when He Heng and He Ming were drinking, QQJ had a servant remind He Heng that he needs to drink less for his injury. And she thought to herself that if he was going to fake being assassinated, he should act the part.
Yup!
oh yes, you’re right! the assassins that went after he heng was indeed hinted to be his own. i was thinking that the assassins could belong to someone else, but he heng knew that they did not aim to kill him.
It’s actually quite logical when you think about it. Who’s more dangerous? He Qi is smarter than He Yuan and is the eldest. So He Heng is now the eldest possible candidate. He Yuan? He’s too easy to destroy.
lol— ahaha, true, true! kill the one which is a greater threat, eh? indeed, if he yuan became the emperor, it would be much too easy for he heng to gather the officials and rebel.
I thought it would be Rui Wang but it turned out that its He Qi would be illiminated. Actually, should be the two of them out in one move. He Heng’s scheems are deadly.
Thank you so much!! 😘😘😘
Thanks. Hrm, so it wasn’t HQ who attacked HH. It’s now between HY and HH as the suspects behind the attack on HH.
Wow, what a huge gap of treatment between Rui Wang and Ning Wang… the first was politely asked to wait in his fu, the second was immediately emprisoned LOL. That Emperor seriously, what a disgrace XD
“there wouldn’t be anyone who could make him feel the way he did right now”
Also, little HH fell in QQJ’s trap reaaaal good 😀
Thanks for the chapter!
Yeah, the Emperor isn’t a very good one.
Wait…wait…wait…I don’t quite like He Yuan because if his self-centre attitude but he did not try to assassinate his younger brother He Ming and suposed assassinated He Heng. Assassinate mean killing someone…
He Yuan’s crime was money laundering that ended with an officer trying or tried to commit suicide, right.
Yes, the emperor is very bias towards his four sons but his sentenced towards He Qi was just at this stage. He Qi did send someone to assassinate He Ming and a minister then implicated He Yuan.
But this time He Qi got implicated by He Heng who both He Qi and He Yuan thought someone who r not interested in fighting for the throne. As a saying said, “lying dog usually are more dangerous than its bark.”
You’re wrong, He Qi did send someone to attack He Ming, but assassination was never the plan (though the Emperor doesn’t know that). He Qi just wanted to use the “tentative” against He Yuan to discredit him for the throne
.
On the other hand, He Yuan was clearly planning to get rid of all evidences of his money laundering (which means assassinate everyone involved if necessary).
I don’t agree with you hinting He Qi was worse then He Yuan.
Then again, the issue lies in the fact that there was as much proof pointing at He Yuan than proof pointing at He Qi, however the Emperor only found He Qi of them guilty without a second thought while he dragged it on when He Yuan was in trouble.
Worst, the assassination attempt against He Ming was He Qi’s scheme indeed, but there was NO proof against He Qi himself since everything was made to incriminate He Yuan (that would be stupid of him if he made such mistake there, and he’s clearly not that stupid).
However, you can clearly see in this chapter that the Emperor used He Qi as a way to quickly clear He Yuan of all charges against him: he put everything on He Qi, even the 1st attempt with all proof pointing at He Yuan!!!
Yes, exactly. It was unfair of the Emperor to let He Yuan go when his crimes are just as bad as He Qi’s was. With the assassination attempt on He Ming, his main purpose was to frame He Yuan, and he did try (though half-heartedly) to avoid hurting He Ming. But, yes, the Emperor really moved quickly once he had “proof”.
The thing with the evidence is that He Heng was in the shadows from the beginning. The secret report that the Emperor had received couldn’t be faked — it’s from the Shadow guards of the Imperial Family (who He Heng cannot control). It was in layers. He Qi made it seem like it was He Yuan putting out an assassination on He Ming, while He Heng seeded down the things (clothing and pollen etc) which would point to He Qi in the end. The thing was, because He Qi had been put in charge of the first investigation, he wouldn’t have really investigated and so He Heng was able to slip the evidence below his nose, as the evidence He Qi had was all faked to point towards He Yuan. He Qi was so blind in trying to frame He Yuan that He Heng was able to use him to first deal a blow to He Yuan and then cause the Emperor to imprison He Qi, and so He Heng rid himself of the biggest obstacle to power.
Considering how long he’s been going at it with He Yuan … I’m not sure that any officials really like He Qi since no one spoke up for him. Of course, some would support him because he’s still a better choice than He Yuan.
Also, guess who was really valuable? Qu Qing Ju’s uncle!
It was high-interest loans (illegal), participating in the salt trade (also illegal) and selling government posts (*drumroll* illegal), which is also bad for society in general and totally undermines the stability of the country.
He Qi “tried” to kill his brothers (illegal and unfraternal).
The point is, if He Yuan committed what He Qi did, he wouldn’t get the same punishment because what he has already done was more than enough to merit He Qi’s punishment yet he still walks free.
Of course, He Heng isn’t much better. He Heng was just better at using other people and not actually participating in broad daylight.
He Ming is probably the only “clean” one.
I don’t think He Qi really tried to kill his brother (even if he didn’t care about killing the official who was with the brother)…
I personally find He Heng better though lol. He didn’t try to kill anyone, he just schemed to make it seems like it. Then again, I only know what I could read about him so far. He may be a cold blooded killer for all I know!
It’s just that i feel like He Heng is going for the throne because he thinks He Qi and He Yuan aren’t good enough (one only wants power while the other wants to trample over everyone).
Even He Ming is a schemer, if I understand it correctly, during the assassination attempt he injured himself to have an excuse to stay away from He Qi and He Yuan. He Ming’s goal are just to live his life peacefully I guess, that’s what makes him “clean” I think. He doesn’t have much ambition.
I don’t any clean image here. People do what they ought to do to get what they want. In an unclean environment and competitive world like that, i didn’t see anybody’s act which can be said as clean. Even HM. It’s a pitu that he got such an uncapable mother and his age is so young. That’s why it’s difficult for him to compete. But he need a good, peaceful life in a future. If not as an emperor, he can have a bettr life as noble prince under HH. That’s why he inevitably chose that side. I think if he has even a 10%chance of becoming an emperor he won’t let it go. Like QQJ said before, she’s shocked that HM will involves like this and support HH publicly
I actually think that Jin An Princess would just rise up and take over if the first three brothers died. Well, I can dream.
The main character is so cunning that you never knew what he would do until it happen and he even have an amazing team (Jing guifei, QQJ, his loyal guards/servants) for support and succeed. Ah Duan Wangye ah~ you are just daebak! And you can’t hate him much when he appears so sweet on his own wifey. Are you a villain or hero??
Anyway, thank you! ❤️
the emperor is biased, of course he wouldn’t treat HY the same way as HQ.
But can’t believe HH wants to add a catalyst onto his brother’s battle
HH sure is deadly o-o I never thought he could be so ruthless against his brothers without even batting an eyelid lol for sure he is meant to become emperor!! The current one is useless both as emperor and as a father! Also reading in a 3rd person mode sure is hard to guess our main leads feelings for each other. XD i fear that HH might actually change feelings shen he is emperor…lol thank you so much for the updates!!! 😀
Actually, he’s pretty tame in comparison. He only framed them. Other people send assassins or outright kill their fathers/brothers.
I agree.. HH might change his mind after a few years when he found another amusing toy…but QQJ wasn’t naive either…that’s why she said as long as HH loves her, she won’t leave. But once HH love is gone, i bet she won’t bat an eyelid and be gone with the wind immediately. Her self-controll sometimes are amazing. She’s clearly falling in love with HH but her mind refused to, to prevent any mishap in the future.
I kind of feel bad for HQ.. Seriously, the Emperor is so unfair. He needs to leave the throne ASAP and give it to HH. Smh.
He Heng you are so genious.. trickery.. and i love the part when He heng is in Lovey Dovey scene with his wife. thank you for this chapter.. and i want to recomended you to translate Chu Wanfei, the story is good.. the transalation just stop in chapter 5.. such a pitty when this book really good. and I am so happy to open your blog your translation is enjoyable to read and you did in fast time to upadating.. thank you so much for your hard work.. i really Like QQJ and HH couple thanks to you
Chu Wang Fei has been translated by other translator. 🙂
https://rosyfantasy.wordpress.com/index/
How old is QJ supposed to be? Is she the same age as He Yuan?
Dang..the fight for the throne is starting, I’m scared for everyone lol
I find QJ is borderline cynical about love, He Heng is already too deep in love, I wonder if QJ will be too
Well, the Qu Qing Ju that time-travelled over is definitely not below 20. The body of Qu Qing Ju is 16 or so.
He Qi it wasn’t He Yuan who set you up but that He Heng who none of you are watching for lol
I have been reading every one’s comments. Initially I was pretty confused. I thought HQ was invest aging the assassination attempts but now ended up by implicated.
Sad that the Emperor is so biased towards his son. No action has been taken in HY while HQ ends up in prison.
He investigated the assassination of He Ming. Tian Jin Ke and the others investigated the assassination of He Heng. (See how biased the Emperor is even from this?)
No, He Qi did not lose to He Yuan. It’s just He Heng play some magic trick!!
P.S. this is from my imagination…
P.S.2 Thanks for the chapter!!
This mess all started because the emperor is not capable to love his sonbs equally. I kinda angry with the outcome that HQ get imprisoned right away while HR can get away easily. I don’t favor HQ but I feel bad for him now and his poor mother.
HH is really scary indeed! He can observe and predict someone actions then manipulate without even involving himself to the chaos. And his wife is QQJ! What a match made in heaven. In this saga, I agree w/ everyone tht HM is the most innocent obe.
As for HR, I can not wait to see him trample. Specifically by his weakness.I want to see him fall to the abyss by QQJ. Just because he treated woman really badly, it’s only right that he meet death because of woman too. Ha-ha ha
The thing I’m worried about is that now that the emperor knows He Yuan wasn’t the one who plotted to assassinate his brothers and that he was wrongfully accused and suffered from these ordeals, that the emperor will become even more partial towards Rui Wang. In the future, any attempt to discredit Rui Wang will be met with the retort that he was already framed twice and now you’re going to try to frame him again? It’ll become even harder to take Rui Wang down.
Thanks for the chapter!
Such a pity HQ? Even if he was the one who sent the assassins over HM,but i think HY deserved to be taken away first.
Yeah true, but the thing is as ofv now HY has gradually lost the emperor’s trust and favour, the same goes for the heart of the people.
Also HY will be the cause of his own death, hence HH doesn’t need an elaborate plan to get rid of him. For someone like HY who is the apple of the emperor’s eyes, he needs to be caught red-handed if not it won’t be good enough reason.
thanks for the chapter!
I was wondering why HH will take out HQ first, but then I realise there’s no point trying to cleverly take out someone that can and will self-destruct lol!!
HQ might not be smarter than HH, but he’s sure smarter than HY. If HH wants a smooth sail it’s best he takes out HQ.
I want to see HY’s reaction to the whole situation.
BTW what will become of HQ’s Wang fu?
One down one to go