Chapter 53: The Crown Prince’s Crimes
Ultimately, the solution Chu Ziqian came up with was to adopt Chu Tianlin and take him under his wing for education.
Chu Weide was naturally reluctant about this, but Chu Ziqian silenced him with a single sentence: “My position as Crown Prince is already precarious. If the Fourth Prince becomes emperor in the future, do you think you’ll have a good life?”
“But…”
Chu Ziqian cut off whatever Chu Weide was about to say: “The Crown Prince’s residence isn’t far from yours. We can visit often in the future. It’s not like you’ll never see your precious son again. Once I ascend the throne and have other children, I’ll return him to you.”
“…Then everything will be as Eldest Royal Brother says.” Chu Weide had no choice but to agree reluctantly.
Chu Tianlin himself was unwilling, of course, but with both his father and his eldest royal uncle having spoken, he had no way to refuse.
So, Chu Tianlin had no choice but to reluctantly move into the Crown Prince’s residence.
The memory of Chu Ziqian punishing him severely with the family discipline rod was still vivid in his mind, so Chu Tianlin appeared somewhat terrified in front of Chu Ziqian.
“You don’t need to be so nervous,” Chu Ziqian said indifferently. “From now on, just listen to me and study hard. As long as you can meet my standards, I won’t make things difficult for you.”
Chu Tianlin’s heart pounded—who knew how terrifying his standards might be!
“Then,” Chu Tianlin asked timidly, “can I still go to Prince Rui’s residence every afternoon to learn martial arts?”
“That’s up to you, as long as it doesn’t interfere with your studies.” Chu Ziqian didn’t care much about this matter.
Chu Tianlin heaved a long sigh of relief. At least there was still a place where he could relax every day.
He understood now that Qi Xiaojun and Chu Lianmo’s attitude toward him wouldn’t be affected by the older generation. He could speak freely in front of them.
Later, when Qi Xiaojun and Chu Lianmo learned about the change in Chu Tianlin’s nominal father, they indeed didn’t pay much mind to it.
At that moment, neither of them expected that Chu Tianlin’s current identity would bring them a certain convenience.
A few days later, a major event occurred in the court—
The dam at Moshui Village collapsed, and floodwaters submerged the entire village.
The problem was that this dam had been built just last year with a huge sum of money. Logically, it shouldn’t have been destroyed so quickly.
The official responsible for building the dam was Zheng Demin, the Governor of River Works, who was a member of the Crown Prince’s faction.
This incident infuriated Emperor Chu Wen, who immediately ordered Zheng Demin to be removed from his post, imprisoned, and investigated.
Chu Lianmo volunteered to be responsible for interrogating Zheng Demin. Emperor Chu Wen agreed.
“Speak,” Chu Lianmo stared coldly at Zheng Demin, who was tied to the torture rack. “Of the silver allocated by the court, how much did you use on building the dam?”
“Of… of course I used it all…” Zheng Demin’s words were evasive.
“Not telling the truth, are you?” Chu Lianmo sneered. “You caused the deaths of so many innocent people in Moshui Village; your crime warrants the execution of your entire family! As far as this Prince knows, you have a beloved wife and two cherished concubines, and have fathered two sons and a daughter, is that correct?”
“Your Highness!” Zheng Demin’s expression instantly panicked. “This commoner’s family is innocent. If there is any blame, direct it at this commoner!”
Chu Lianmo sneered, “This Prince naturally knows your family is innocent, but I don’t know how my Royal Father will judge. Regardless of whether you plead guilty or not, you cannot escape the death penalty. But if you obediently confess the reasons clearly, this Prince can petition Royal Father to spare your family.”
“I’ll talk, I’ll say everything! Of the two hundred thousand taels of silver allocated by the court back then, I only spent fifty thousand taels to build the dam…”
“What?!” Chu Lianmo interrupted him furiously. “You embezzled a whole one hundred and fifty thousand taels yourself?”
“This commoner didn’t embezzle it myself!” Zheng Demin blurted out a sentence, but instantly changed his tune as if he had let something slip. “Your Highness, this commoner truly didn’t intend to harm so many people. This commoner truly didn’t know that by substituting some inferior materials, the dam would be washed away so quickly…”
“You didn’t know?” Chu Lianmo was even more annoyed upon hearing this. “Then how did you become the Governor of River Works!”
Zheng Demin fell silent.
But a thought suddenly flashed through Chu Lianmo’s mind—Zheng Demin’s position was recommended by Chu Weide. The whole affair likely had inescapable ties to both Chu Weide and Chu Ziqian!
Chu Weide was an idiot who wouldn’t dare make decisions on major matters lightly. The person who suggested Zheng Demin substitute inferior materials for dam construction was very likely Chu Ziqian. In fact, he might even be selling government positions.
However, no matter how Chu Lianmo pressed him afterwards, Zheng Demin insisted that the whole thing was his fault alone, daring not to implicate Chu Ziqian.
It made sense. He confessed his crimes to protect his family, but if he offended Chu Ziqian, given Chu Ziqian’s ruthlessness, he might retaliate against his family afterward.
After leaving the prison, Chu Lianmo returned to Prince Rui’s residence with a heavy heart.
In the past, Qi Xiaojun would always be the first to greet him at this time, but today he didn’t see Qi Xiaojun.
Asking Ah Wang, he learned that Qi Xiaojun had left immediately after hearing about the flood.
Another hour passed before Qi Xiaojun returned to the residence, looking exhausted.
“Ah Jun, where did you go?” This time it was Chu Lianmo who went to greet him.
“I took Ah Hua to visit the surviving flood victims,” Qi Xiaojun replied softly with lowered eyes. “It was too tragic, simply a living hell… I just wanted to do whatever little I could for them.”
“Ah Jun, thank you.”
Qi Xiaojun squeezed out a smile at Chu Lianmo. “Thank me for what?”
“Thank you for doing all this for the people of my Chu state,” Chu Lianmo said earnestly.
“Heh, I’m considered half a Chu person now. There’s nothing to thank.”
“Young Master,” Ah Wang walked over and said to Qi Xiaojun, “In the afternoon, His Highness Prince Lin came by…”
The “Prince Lin” he referred to was Chu Tianlin. Emperor Chu Wen had recently conferred the title of Prince on both him and Chu Yunxuan. “He came to find you to learn martial arts, Young Master. This servant told him you weren’t free today, and he left somewhat disappointed, saying he would come again tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow…” Qi Xiaojun gave a bitter smile. “There are still many things to deal with regarding the flood victims. I’m afraid I won’t be free for the next few days.”
Ah Wang said, “Then this servant will tell him tomorrow not to come for these few days.”
“Wait,” Chu Lianmo suddenly had an idea. “Ah Jun, why don’t you take that kid to see the flood victims tomorrow? Let him properly understand the good deeds done jointly by his biological father and his current father king. You can bring Jiang Yingnan along too.”
“…Alright,” Qi Xiaojun nodded.
So the next day, Qi Xiaojun waited specifically at the residence until the afternoon.
“Uncle Zhou, you’re here today!” Chu Tianlin was very happy to see him. “Now I can only relax here with you! You don’t know how high the requirements my current father king has for my studies. He said he wants me to make up for everything I missed over the years, and if I don’t meet the requirements, he’ll beat me… Boohoo, I’m exhausted. Now I don’t dare let my mind wander in class, and even after class, I can only continue reciting books! I haven’t gone out for a drink in days!”
Qi Xiaojun smiled. “It’s actually a good thing that His Highness the Crown Prince is strict with you. It helps you improve.”
“I don’t want to study from morning to night! Martial arts is more fun.”
“But Lin’er,” Qi Xiaojun’s expression became serious, “I’m afraid I can’t teach you martial arts these few days. I have to go visit the flood victims. Why don’t you come with me?”
“…Huh? Visit flood victims?”
Chu Tianlin’s first thought was that this didn’t sound fun at all and didn’t match his purpose of relaxing.
But on second thought, compared to going back to the Crown Prince’s residence to continue studying, he’d rather walk around outside.
“Alright then.”
Then Qi Xiaojun sent someone to call Jiang Yingnan over as well. “Ah Nan, do you want to go take a look together?”
“…It’s Prince Rui’s idea, isn’t it?” Jiang Yingnan was indeed intelligent and easily guessed Qi Xiaojun and Chu Lianmo’s intentions. “Let’s go then. Escaping isn’t a solution for some things. Sigh… I want to see to what extent he has sinned.”
“Who sinned?” Chu Tianlin interjected curiously.
“Nothing,” Jiang Yingnan shook his head with a bitter smile.
Qi Xiaojun sighed. “Lin’er, you’ll know after you see it. Let’s go.”
Subsequently, Qi Xiaojun took the two to the temporary settlement for flood victims on the outskirts of the capital.
A large tent was packed with people, most of them injured. Some were missing arms, some had head injuries, some had broken legs. Wails and cries were everywhere.
Ji Hua was busy moving among the victims, and Zuo Fei was helping him.
“Ah Jun, you’re here!” Ji Hua looked at Qi Xiaojun as if he were a savior. “Quick, go help over there.”
Saying this, he pointed to a middle-aged woman who was holding the body of a boy of a few years old, crying earth-shatteringly.
“What happened to that child?” Qi Xiaojun was stunned—Ji Hua was the doctor, why ask him for help?
“That child passed away a few hours ago despite treatment,” Ji Hua said with a heavy expression. “His mother has been holding his body and crying, refusing to let go no matter what.”
Qi Xiaojun understood then and hurried to the woman. “Auntie, the child is gone. It’s better to let him be buried in peace early.”
Saying this, he tried to take the boy’s body from the woman’s arms.
“No! No one can take him away from me!” The woman wailed, hugging the child’s body tightly.
Qi Xiaojun was shocked to find that a woman who should have been weak actually had immense strength at this moment, so much so that he, a martial artist, couldn’t snatch the child away.
Ji Hua walked over with a worried face. “She’s been crying for hours. I told her long ago that she’ll go blind if she keeps crying like this, but she won’t listen.”
The woman cried, “Let me go blind! Let me die! My husband is dead, my parents are dead, my parents-in-law are dead, even my child is dead. Why am I the only one alive! What meaning is there in my living!”
This scene caused a huge shock to Chu Tianlin standing aside.
He had lived a privileged and smooth life since childhood. The biggest setback he had encountered was being beaten by Chu Ziqian for teasing Tingqin. Where had he ever experienced such a human tragedy?!
He felt his legs go weak, almost unable to stand steady. Jiang Yingnan hurriedly supported him.
Qi Xiaojun, having experienced great storms, was relatively calm. His gaze swept around the victims and finally landed on a four or five-year-old boy who was also crying alone.
“Little brother,” Qi Xiaojun walked over and asked gently, “Where are your parents?”
The boy cried, “Mom and Dad fell asleep and won’t pay attention to me! They won’t wake up no matter how I shake them!”
Qi Xiaojun instantly understood what had happened.
He picked up the boy with pity and walked to the side of the woman just now. “Auntie, this child has lost his family, and our court doesn’t have enough hands. Can you help us take care of him?”
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