Chapter 161: Chapter 161: The Awkward and Speechless Imperial Censors, Between Father and Son

"It’s nothing more than a few pieces of clothing. To speak of it so gravely seems a bit of an overstatement, don’t you think?" After a long silence, the Emperor finally spoke, his tone as placid as water.

"Your Majesty!" the green-robed Imperial Censor exclaimed, his expression grave. "While it may be just a few articles of clothing, they will corrupt the morals of our Great Zhou! If this continues, I fear all the women of the Great Zhou will become shameless wretches! We will surely become a laughingstock to neighboring kingdoms!"

"Is it that you are impeaching the Baron of Pingyang because you couldn’t get your hands on any?" Emperor Jingtai asked unexpectedly.

As far as he knew, the racy lingerie from Qian’s Cloth Shop was now nearly impossible to acquire. Many who wanted to buy it simply couldn’t.

The ministers in the hall chuckled softly at his words.

The Emperor certainly had his moments of humor.

Many of them disliked Pei Shaoqing, but no one stepped forward to kick him while he was down. After all, as much as they disliked Pei Shaoqing, they loved the racy lingerie!

At least from their perspective, this was one of the few decent things Pei Shaoqing had ever done.

"I... I am a man of integrity!" the green-robed Imperial Censor stammered, his face instantly flushing red. "I would never stoop to covet such a depraved item! I beg Your Majesty to see clearly!"

"Your Majesty! Imperial Censor Wang speaks from the bottom of his heart, with only the public interest in mind. I, too, believe that as a Lord, the Baron of Pingyang’s conduct is improper." A man nearing his fifties stepped out from the ranks, his voice slow and deep.

He was the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Imperial Censorate.

An official of the principal Fourth Grade.

He was the green-robed Imperial Censor’s superior.

"Please, Your Majesty, punish the Baron of Pingyang severely to restore public decency."

As the Right Censor-in-Chief stepped forward, the other Imperial Censors from the Imperial Censorate all came out in unison to pressure the Emperor.

Upholding moral standards was their duty.

They had to impeach someone every now and then, lest the Emperor realize it made no difference whether they were there or not.

Emperor Jingtai understood this, but he thoroughly disliked this kind of collective pressure, which bordered on trying to force his hand.

He immediately said in a flat tone, "What you say has merit. In that case, We shall dispatch the Jing’an Guard to search your residences. If they fail to find a single piece of this racy lingerie, We will believe you act from public interest. Only then will we slowly discuss how to deal with the Baron of Pingyang."

It was understandable that a minor Seventh-Grade official like the one in the green robe couldn’t get his hands on the lingerie, but a Fourth-Grade official like the Right Censor-in-Chief most certainly could if he wished.

The color drained from the faces of several of the Imperial Censors.

"So?" A mocking glint appeared in Emperor Jingtai’s eyes. ’So much for the "faction of the pure." Just a bunch of hypocrites chasing fame.’

The assembled Imperial Censors all bowed their heads, silent.

The lower-ranking censors didn’t dare speak out of turn since their superiors remained silent. As for those higher-ranking censors... they were silent because they actually owned the racy lingerie!

’After all, impeaching Pei Shaoqing was just business. Enjoying the racy lingerie he popularized? That was personal. The two didn’t conflict.’

’Besides, the Jing’an Guard finding racy lingerie would be a minor embarrassment. But what if they found something else?’

"Hmph! Court dismissed!" Emperor Jingtai didn’t press the issue. He threw out the words, then simply rose and walked away.

"We respectfully see Your Majesty off," the ministers chorused.

With the Emperor gone, the other ministers all turned to look at the Imperial Censors, their eyes filled with ridicule.

"Imperial Censor Liu, as the saying goes, ’To forge iron, one must first be strong.’ What an utter embarrassment this has turned into."

"’Strong’? At Imperial Censor Liu’s age, the only reason he could get ’strong’ last night was probably thanks to that racy lingerie. And today, he pulls up his trousers and turns ruthless!"

"HAHAHA! Imperial Censor Liu, your Imperial Censorate’s reach is far too broad. You even want to manage what kind of undergarments women wear beneath their clothes! If you’re truly that idle, you might as well go squat outside Taihe Hall and count ants."

Was there anyone present who hadn’t been impeached by the Imperial Censorate at some point? The Censorate officials always wore the masks of moral paragons and virtuous gentlemen. Today was, at long last, a chance to give them a proper taste of their own medicine.

The Imperial Censors, deeply ashamed, covered their faces and fled.

"His Majesty is far too protective of Pei Shaoqing," Liao Wen remarked from behind Qin Yu, his tone tinged with envy. "He just openly threatened the Imperial Censors."

Qin Yu said calmly, "By now you should understand, shouldn’t you? Even if you had defeated Pei Shaoqing at the imperial banquet, you would never have received a reward like his."

Liao Wen’s expression shifted, but he said nothing.

He came from a common background, but back home, he had always been the model child everyone was compared to. He was clever and studious, so his family never let him do manual labor. Their life wasn’t wealthy, but he never knew true hardship.

Later, he sailed through the imperial examinations to become the Champion Scholar. In just three short years, he had risen to the position of a Sixth-Grade Chief in the Ministry of Revenue.

He believed he had achieved everything through his own hard work.

That was why he looked down on people like Pei Shaoqing. Or rather, he was jealous. These scions of powerful families could stand on equal footing with him so effortlessly, without enduring any of the hardships he had faced.

Thus, he loved the limelight. He loved putting these privileged youths in their place, making them unable to hold their heads high before him.

But on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, he was outdone by Pei Shaoqing. To make matters worse, Pei Shaoqing received a heavy reward from the Emperor for it, a fact that had been festering in his mind ever since.

"Liao Wen, ’the tree that towers above the forest will be destroyed by the wind.’ If not for me, you can’t imagine how many overt attacks and hidden barbs you would face. You need to rein it in. I can’t protect you forever," Qin Yu advised him with grave sincerity.

Liao Wen’s fists clenched under his robes at those words.

He had always believed that everything he had achieved was through his own hard work. But Qin Yu’s words implied that he was only where he was today because of his father-in-law’s patronage.

The words grated on Liao Wen’s ears.

He replied in a muffled voice, "Yes, Father-in-law."

.........

「Northern Border Longzhou, Marquis Wei Yuan’s Mansion.」

Pei Shiqing had received another letter from his daughter-in-law.

After reading it, he frowned and remained silent for a long time.

’Good news: his son had really turned over a new leaf.’

’Bad news: his son had disowned him.’

"Father, what did Yujin say in the letter?" Pei Shaotang was very curious, but he couldn’t just go up and snatch the letter.

Pei Shiqing had never kept secrets from his eldest son. He handed the letter over casually. "See for yourself."

"Insolent! How dare that bastard!" Pei Shaotang exploded in a rage after reading. He slammed the letter down on the table. "Father," he said hatefully, "I’ll ride to the Capital City right now and teach that unfilial whelp a lesson."

The letter had been written many days ago.

In the letter, Nalan Yujin explained that Pei Shiqing’s theory had been wrong—it was not all a scheme by Xie Qingwu. She also wrote of the resentment Pei Shaoqing and Xie Qingwu held for the Pei Family, and how Pei Shaoqing had gone to the Emperor to complain that Pei Shiqing treated him poorly.

"By the time you get back, he’ll likely be in Tongzhou already." Pei Shiqing shot Pei Shaotang a glance.

"Then I’ll go to Tongzhou!" Pei Shaotang declared.

He was truly furious this time.

His younger brother showed no appreciation for their father’s painstaking efforts and had even complained about his own father before His Majesty. It was a complete disgrace to the family!

"Go to Tongzhou, and see if he doesn’t dare to string you up and beat you. Believe it," Pei Shiqing said calmly. "He has a whole circle of people willing to work for him now."

"He wouldn’t dare!" Pei Shaotang roared.

"Look at what that rebellious son has done. Is there anything he *wouldn’t* dare?" Pei Shiqing rapped his fingers heavily on the letter, a cold, mirthless smile on his face.

Pei Shaotang’s anger deflated instantly. Pei Shaoqing’s actions in the Capital City were tantamount to openly severing their father-son relationship and breaking away from the Marquis Wei Yuan’s Mansion. Truly, there was nothing he wouldn’t dare to do.

He pressed his lips together, then suddenly looked up at Pei Shiqing. "Father, when you sent Second Brother to his post in Tongzhou... why didn’t you arrange for any expert bodyguards to escort him?"

He had assumed their father had arranged for experts to protect his younger brother in secret along the journey. But after reading his wife’s letter, he knew that wasn’t the case at all.

And that, he now realized, was a major reason... one of them, at least... for why his younger brother and Xie Qingwu resented the Pei Family so much.

For a moment, Pei Shaotang considered not asking.

But in the end, he couldn’t stop himself.

Pei Shiqing met his question with silence.

"Father... did you actually want him to die?" Pei Shaotang’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Pei Shiqing’s voice was grave. "’Even a vicious tiger won’t eat its own cubs,’ they say. But if he didn’t die, he would have sooner or later brought ruin upon the Marquis Wei Yuan’s Mansion. The best I could do was let him die far away from here."

He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.

"Father! Shaoqing is your own son!" Pei Shaotang roared, his eyes wide with fury and his voice trembling.

Pei Shiqing’s expression was a blank mask, his tone just as flat. "I know. If I didn’t, I would have strangled him long ago for the things he’s done. I couldn’t bring myself to kill him with my own hands. So I chose to let him fend for himself, to live or die by his own means.

He is my son, but so are you. Was I supposed to keep cleaning up his messes, time and time again, at your expense? At the expense of the lives and futures of the many brothers-in-arms who follow me?

As long as he’s alive, any trouble he causes is tied to me, and to all of you. I gave him too many chances over the years. He’s the one who didn’t cherish them. I had no other choice. I had to abandon him."

It was the support of thousands of soldiers that made him Marquis Weiyuan. He couldn’t just be responsible for his own good-for-nothing son; he had to be responsible to his followers as well.

The trouble Pei Shaoqing caused grew worse and worse.

Even Pei Shiqing, a man who had spent his life on the battlefield, had grown afraid.

So, he had to solve the problem at its source.

Pei Shaotang suddenly noticed the rims of his father’s eyes were red, and his own anger instantly cooled. ’If it was this painful for me just to hear that Father wanted him to die,’ he thought, ’how much pain must Father have been in when he made that decision?’

’What right did I have to criticize him?’

"Perhaps this is for the best." Pei Shiqing let out a breath. "If he has the ability to stand on his own, then let him. Even if he disowns me, it’s still a hundred times better than how things were before."

’If that rebellious son wants to disown me, then so be it.’

’As long as he stops causing me trouble.’

Pei Shaotang was speechless. After a long pause, he finally said, "A child’s life is a gift from their parents. Father, you may have been at fault, but for Shaoqing to disown you... that is unfilial. He is a treacherous beast!"

Such was the doctrine he had been raised with. So, as terrible as his father’s disregard for his brother’s life was, his brother’s current apostasy—disowning his own father—made him even more furious.

"Let us just pretend that rebellious son was never born." Pei Shiqing laughed heartily and clapped Pei Shaotang on the shoulder. "For me, Pei Shiqing, to have a worthy son like you is more than enough for one lifetime."

The main reason he could be so indifferent toward Pei Shaoqing was that he already had a son he was satisfied with in Pei Shaotang.

His reason for letting Pei Shaoqing fend for himself was also rooted in a fear that he would one day harm Pei Shaotang’s future.

......

The road was the same, yet the return journey always felt quicker. On the twenty-eighth day of the eighth month in the Jiuzhou Calendar, ten days after setting out, Pei Shaoqing was about to arrive at his faithful Tongzhou.

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