A Precious Pearl in the Imperial City

Despite Prince Chen's desperate attempts to dissuade Jiuzhu, he couldn't stop her. Dragging the protesting prince along, she marched over to Yun Yanze, who lay sprawled on the ground, and kicked him again.

A pained scream tore from Yun Yanze's throat as he rolled twice like a gourd, howling in agony.

All traces of his usual grace and elegance vanished in an instant.

"When people spoke ill of you, His Highness not only defended you but also ordered others to keep it quiet. And you—a royal prince, a lofty son of the emperor—what did you do? You seduced a palace maid and had her attempt to assassinate my husband?!" The fury Jiuzhu had bottled up finally erupted. "Listen well, Yun Yanze. You're lucky today. If anything had happened to His Highness, I would have ended you."

Emperor Longfeng coughed, snapping out of his daze. He shot a meaningful glance at Liu Zhongbao, who hurriedly shooed the servants outside the hall—this was not a conversation for their ears.

Yun Yanze, his mouth bloodied from the fall, struggled to sit up despite his injuries. "What impressive ferocity, Princess Chen. You're so enraged for Yun Duqing today. But what if one day his affections shift? You might regret ever helping him."

Hearing this, Prince Chen himself stepped forward, ready to deliver a kick.

"Your Highness's feet are too precious. Let me handle this." Jiuzhu pushed the prince aside and planted a kick squarely on Yun Yanze's chest, sending him crashing to the ground, blood spewing from his lips.

Liu Zhongbao winced. That kick… likely caused internal injuries.

The usually gentle and cheerful Princess Chen—what could have driven her to such violence? She must have been pushed beyond endurance.

"Even if His Highness ever shifts his affections, I will never regret what I've done today." Jiuzhu, who always wore a bright smile, now glared with razor-sharp intensity. Emperor Longfeng watched his daughter-in-law and was reminded of the Ming brothers from years past.

Back then, they too had stood tall in court, denouncing traitors with unshakable resolve, their backs straight as ancient pines.

"I would never do such a thing," Prince Chen whispered into Jiuzhu's ear. "If I ever betray you, you have my permission to kick me too."

Liu Zhongbao glanced at the battered Fourth Prince and silently turned away. That was one ruthless vow.

"Jiuzhu," Emperor Longfeng called, worried that if his daughter-in-law kept kicking, she might end up accused of killing a prince. "Come, sit and have some tea."

"Thank you, Father Emperor, but I'm not tired." Jiuzhu smiled sweetly at him. "If you still wish to discipline your child, I’d be happy to assist."

"Your filial devotion moves me," the emperor replied with a strained chuckle. "But your fourth brother is thick-skinned. I wouldn’t want you to hurt your foot."

"Thank you for your concern, Father Emperor. Now that you mention it, my foot does ache." Jiuzhu nodded. "In my eagerness to share your burdens, I hadn’t noticed."

"Come, sit. Let me massage it for you." Prince Chen quickly guided her to a chair, murmuring, "Don’t rush. Let’s see what Father decides first."

Jiuzhu took a sip of tea and huffed. "If I don’t beat him, I won’t feel avenged."

To plot against his own brother—what a monster!

"Yun Yanze," Emperor Longfeng intoned, staring at his disheveled, bloodied son with an unreadable gaze. "Do you admit your wrongdoing?"

"As a prince, is it wrong to vie for the throne?" Yun Yanze staggered to his feet, his lips flecked with blood, his hair wild like a vengeful spirit. "Didn’t you, Father, also climb over the corpses of your uncles to claim the throne?"

The emperor’s expression hardened into icy detachment. He said nothing, allowing his son to continue.

"I am older than Yun Duqing, yet you secretly arranged for him to marry the Sun Family’s daughter. Did you ever consider me?" Yun Yanze sneered. "If you wouldn’t give it to me, I would take it myself. My only mistake was not anticipating that Yun Duqing would gain an unexpected ally. If not for Ming Jiuzhu disrupting all my plans, he would have died long ago in the royal hunting grounds."

Crack. Jiuzhu set her teacup down—so forcefully it shattered.

She rolled up her sleeves and stood, her face devoid of emotion.

"Little Pig—"

"Don’t try to stop me." Jiuzhu strode forward, leaped, and drove her fist into Yun Yanze’s face. He crumpled instantly.

She seized his collar and rained blows upon him, her fists striking with brutal precision. The towering Yun Yanze might as well have been a helpless chick in her grip.

"Little Pig, Ming Little Pig!" Prince Chen rushed over, prying her fingers from Yun Yanze’s collar and pulling her into his arms. He stroked her back soothingly. "I’m fine. Don’t be angry. Don’t be afraid. It’s alright."

Gradually, her rigid posture softened. Jiuzhu wrapped her arms around his waist, her voice trembling. "Your Highness..."

"What are you gaping at?" Emperor Longfeng barked at Liu Zhongbao. "Fetch water for the princess to wash her hands!"

"Y-Yes!" Liu Zhongbao scurried out. The night air cleared his dazed mind.

Just what had Princess Chen learned during her years away from the palace? She was nothing like the delicate Ming Family.

Then again, Ming Jinghai, the eldest Ming son, was known to wield a sword against bandits.

And hadn’t the Ming ancestors once produced a general? People dismissed it as family legend—but perhaps it was true.

The ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‍emperor sighed, glancing between his convulsing fourth son and his fifth son embracing his wife. "When you were born, my heart held equal love for all of you."

Yun Yanze forced his eyes open, his cracked lips curling into a grotesque smile as he watched Yun Duqing and Ming Jiuzhu.

Equal love? What a joke.

Prince Chen pressed Jiuzhu’s face into his chest, shielding her from Yun Yanze’s twisted expression.

"Fifth Brother, you’ve won," Yun Yanze rasped. "But it wasn’t you who defeated me. It was your mother’s imperial favor and your wife’s interference."

"Are you jealous?" Prince Chen smirked, knowing exactly which expression would infuriate his brothers most. "But no matter how much you hate or envy me, you’ll never have what I do. Does that sting?"

Yun Yanze spat another mouthful of blood, his glare venomous.

"Fourth Prince Yun Yanze," Emperor Longfeng declared, his voice heavy, "for conspiring to murder kin and betraying filial duty, you are hereby stripped of your royal status, reduced to a commoner, and imprisoned in the ancestral dungeon for life."

"Father Emperor," Jiuzhu interjected, remembering Sun Caiyao in Bright Moon Palace. She knelt at the center of the hall. "Princess Consort Sun knew nothing of Fourth Brother’s schemes. For the sake of the Sun Family’s generations of loyalty and their service to the people, I beg you to spare her."

"I have failed as a father in guiding my son and brought shame to the Sun Family. Today, I grant Sun Caiyao a divorce from Yun Yanze, bestow upon her the title of Country Lady, a hundred taels of gold, and henceforth, her marriage choices shall be her own." Emperor Longfeng was indeed a benevolent ruler. Upon hearing Jiuzhu's words, he issued his second decree without hesitation.

"Thank you, Father Emperor. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years." Jiuzhu pressed her hands to her forehead and kowtowed deeply to Emperor Longfeng.

"Father Emperor, why not simply kill me? Why feign mercy by sparing my life?!" Yun Yanze knew of the imperial prison under the Imperial Clan Court, where only royals who had committed grave crimes were held.

A life sentence there was no different from death.

"Though you are unfilial, I cannot be unkind." Emperor Longfeng descended the steps, walking slowly toward Yun Yanze. "Fourth Son, do you remember what I taught you when you were eight?"

Eight years old?

Yun Yanze's memories of that age were filled with the mockery of the guards stationed at their manor and the wild, overgrown weeds in the courtyard.

"Choose what is good and follow it; correct what is not." Emperor Longfeng sighed. "But you don’t even know where you went wrong. How can you correct it?"

"In Father Emperor’s eyes, I am wrong in every step, flawed in every way." Yun Yanze burst into laughter, tears streaming down his face. "If I’m to be sent to the Imperial Clan Court’s prison, why waste more words?"

Emperor Longfeng closed his eyes. "Guards, escort the Fourth Prince to the imperial prison."

The Imperial Clan Court oversaw royal affairs with prestige and authority, yet its prison was a place of endless darkness and solitude.

Those imprisoned here were neither tortured nor deliberately starved.

But no one spoke to them. No one visited.

They were forgotten members of the royal family, left to relive their past glories day after day until death claimed them.

"Your Highness, the Fourth Prince." Liu Zhongbao bowed respectfully through the prison bars. "This is the last time this old servant will address you as such."

Seeing Yun Yanze lying motionless on the bed—whether unconscious or ignoring him—Liu Zhongbao smiled. "His Majesty had plans for your marriage. Knowing you were sensitive and prone to suspicion since childhood, he intended to choose a lively young woman as your princess consort. Had the Sun Family’s daughter been betrothed to Prince Chen, you might have been matched with the Ming Family’s young lady instead."

Yun Yanze’s eyes snapped open.

"But your mother, Consort Zheng, and her family sent assassins to kill that very girl. Had she learned the truth, even an engagement would have ended in tragedy." Liu Zhongbao seemed to relish twisting the knife further. "Perhaps this was fate’s design."

That murdered girl was Ming Jiuzhu?

No wonder the Ming Family had relentlessly pressured the Zheng Family, showing no mercy even during the New Year’s banquet.

Him and Ming Jiuzhu?

Yun Yanze felt as though he had heard countless absurdities today. Struggling upright, he rasped, "You’re lying."

"Your Highness, every word is true." Liu Zhongbao chuckled. "You’ve already fallen this far—why would this servant deceive you?"

"Impossible… impossible…" Yun Yanze muttered.

Had Ming Jiuzhu been betrothed to him, she would never have gone to the royal hunting grounds with Yun Duqing. None of what followed would have happened.

Yun Duqing would have died there.

Liu Zhongbao bowed deeply. "The Imperial Astronomical Bureau has declared the fifteenth day from now auspicious for the crown prince’s investiture. The realm will celebrate, and the prison will prepare a special meal in your honor. This servant takes his leave. May Your Highness… no, may you reflect deeply and take care of your health."

With a flick of his horsetail whisk, he turned and walked away.

Behind him, Yun Yanze’s furious roars echoed through the prison. Liu Zhongbao smirked.

Long ago, he still remembered how Consort Zheng had kicked him, sneering down at him as a "worthless eunuch slave."

A lowly slave like him knew exactly what words would haunt fallen masters with regret, tormenting them until their dying breath.

"Eunuch Liu, does His Majesty have any further instructions?" An officer from the Imperial Clan Court sidled up with an ingratiating smile, probing whether the Fourth Prince might ever be restored to favor.

"His Majesty decrees: Yun Yanze is stripped of royal status, removed from the imperial lineage, and shall never leave this prison."

"Understood. Thank you for the clarification."

In that case, no special treatment was necessary.