Why My Domineering Prince Regretted Filing for Divorce?

"Lou Yingxiong, do you acknowledge your crimes?"

Yu Wenquan suddenly shouted angrily, like a tiger’s roar that shook the entire Xuanzheng Hall, causing Lou Yingxiong to collapse to the ground, hurriedly kneeling and kowtowing: "Emperor, I, I—"

Yu Wenquan finally let go of the anger in his heart and said coldly, "What else do you have to say?"

"..."

"Privately raising Death Guards to assassinate a traitor of the court, and then killing to silence witnesses!"

"..."

"Is this how you serve the court, how you serve me as your Emperor?!"

"..."

"If this time, Lv Qianfeng hadn’t discovered these people, next time, who were you planning for them to kill? A high minister of the court? Or me?!"

If it were usual times, Lou Yingxiong might have argued a few points, but upon seeing Lv Qianfeng walk in just now, he vaguely guessed that matters had been exposed, and in Lv Qianfeng’s words, he heard the degree of exposure—his people hidden at the estate had not only been captured, but evidence had also been found; coupled with Lv Qianfeng’s earlier words, he saw Yu Wenquan looking at a document on the imperial desk, which might be the testimonies signed by those individuals.

This time, he had no way to argue.

However, the murderous intent in the last words still shattered his spirit. Lou Yingxiong repeatedly knocked his head on the cold, hard floor, quickly breaking the skin and bleeding, staining most of his face red, but he continued to kowtow forcefully, saying repeatedly, "I deserve death, but Emperor judge wisely, I would never dare to harbor a treasonous heart!"

Yu Wenqian, standing by, looked shocked and disbelieving, even pained.

He said, "General Ningyuan, was it really you?"

"..."

"Why would you do this? Pei Xingyuan conspired with the rebels of Wanggang Village and plotted against the Emperor at the Hot Spring Palace, a crime worthy of death, so why take such an extra mile?"

"...!"

Hearing these words, Lou Yingxiong seemed to sense something amidst his panic, looking up to meet Yu Wenqian’s flickering gaze and immediately said, "Crown Prince, I didn’t tell you about these matters because—I feared that the Emperor’s benevolence and the Crown Prince’s concern for brotherly ties. Even though Pei Xingyuan conspired, he wasn’t immediately punished, nor were his family members punished. I feared this matter would go unresolved."

"And what of it?"

"Treason is a crime that cannot be pardoned. Sparing one is a small matter, but if this precedent is set, allowing others with ulterior motives to think matters can be minimized, could the Emperor’s safety be assured in the future?!"

Yu Wenqian said solemnly, "Even considering the Emperor’s safety, is this something a minister should do?"

Lou Yingxiong gave him a deep look, then turned once more to look at Yu Wenquan, high above with a cold, penetrating gaze, and slammed his head heavily on the ground. Fresh blood splattered on the already stained floor, and he said in a low voice, "I deserve a thousand deaths!"

"..."

Yu Wenquan looked at him silently, the anger in his eyes not dissipated.

Indeed, Lou Yingxiong killed Pei Xingyuan, possibly out of concern that I would easily pardon this criminal, but regardless, it is my decision as Emperor. How can I tolerate a minister’s private judgment and execution?

Moreover, his action against Pei Xingyuan, whether for my safety, his own, or some other interest, is uncertain.

And at this thought, Yu Wenquan looked towards the pained Crown Prince.

Simultaneously, Yu Wenqian knelt down abruptly: "Father Emperor, please punish your son!"

Yu Wenquan squinted slightly: "Oh? What crime have you committed?"

Yu Wenqian, with his head lowered, spoke in pain: "General Ningyuan is my father-in-law, and I should have overseen him, but I not only failed to discover his actions, I also recommended him to lead troops to the Eastern Capital without regard for the court’s safety. I have failed in oversight. Please, Father Emperor, punish your son!"

"..."

Yu Wenquan’s furrowed brow tensed again.

He was indeed angry, burning with rage, but the greatest fury had already flared in his heart at the first sight of the testimonies presented by Lv Qianfeng, though the subsequent restraint did not let the fury fade, it eventually diminished with the passage of time and the spoken words of others.

In its place came moments of clarity.

Indeed, Lou Yingxiong’s actions were wrong, but he is, after all, the Crown Prince’s father-in-law.

Moreover, Yu Wenquan vaguely sensed that, previously, what Duke Wushan did was to clear his own failure to supervise while trapping General Ningyuan, so Lou Yingxiong’s actions this time let Duke Wushan be suspected. Ultimately, it was internal strife within the Crown Prince’s household, as the Crown Princess Consort and Crown Prince Consort’s families vied for credit, creating this scandal.

Thinking this through, Yu Wenquan said quietly, "You indeed have a failing of oversight. I—"

His voice became lower, a bit hoarse and stuck, as if unsure what to say next.

For a moment, everyone in the hall held their breath.

Just then, Eunuch Yu approached the door, speaking softly: "Emperor, King Qin seeks audience outside."

Hearing this, Yu Wenqian’s eyes sharpened at once, but he said nothing, only bowed his head. The words that had been stuck in Yu Wenquan’s throat also ended there. He let out a heavy breath and said, "Let him in."

Eunuch Yu immediately turned to leave, and shortly after, they saw Yu Wenye’s tall figure walk in from outside.

He knelt to pay respects: "Your son pays respects to Father Emperor."

Yu Wenquan took another deep breath and said, "You came."

Yu Wenye said, "Father Emperor commanded, your son dared not delay. But," at this, he glanced at General Ningyuan, whose forehead was bleeding profusely, staining most of his face red, and then at the Crown Prince kneeling beside him, then continued, "I didn’t know you were admonishing the Imperial Brother and General Lou, perhaps I should withdraw—"

"No need,"

Yu Wenquan said gravely, "There are some things I also wish to show you."

With that, he handed the confession in front of him to Eunuch Yu, who brought it to Yu Wenye. He rose and quickly browsed through it, his brows deeply furrowed.

Then he looked at Lou Yingxiong: "General Ningyuan, did you indeed send people to intercept Vice Minister Pei?"

Upon hearing these words, Yu Wenqian’s gaze deepened further.

From the start, they all referred to him as Pei Xingyuan, but Yu Wenye still addressed Pei Xingyuan as "Vice Minister," emphasizing his status as a court official. It was known that murdering a prisoner was one crime, but conspiring against a court official was another.