Even the crown prince is getting a marriage of convenience? Why are you in such a hurry to stop bein

Jiang Heng shuddered, his face paled, and he could only grit his teeth and leave with De Shun.

He walked anxiously to the Imperial Study, and once inside, he knelt down and bowed deeply without daring to raise his head.

"Your subject is guilty, please punish me, Father."

"You know you're guilty? The impeachment papers you've been writing are piled up almost higher than a mountain."

Enraged, the emperor caused the memorials on his desk to fall with a crash, covering Jiang Heng completely.

He just hunched over and kept kowtowing.

"Your subject knows he is guilty and dares not ask for Father's forgiveness. But this matter happened because I was framed. I grew up with my fifth brother, how could I possibly... him? Let's put that aside for now. Just talk about homosexuality. If I really liked men, how could I have kept it a secret for so many years?"

"Father, you have always looked after us princes. Have you heard any rumors or gossip about us over the years?"

The emperor snorted coldly and said, "Of course I know you were framed and amused, but what angers me is that you, a prince, could be so unthinking and fall into someone else's trap so easily?"

"You are so easily manipulated. If I were to hand this empire to you one day, would you be able to hold onto it? I'm afraid that before my bones have even cooled down, you will have squandered the entire empire of Great Xia."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Heng was both surprised and delighted. Sure enough, he still held a special place in his father's heart.

He kowtowed repeatedly.

"Father, rest assured, I swear I will not rest until I avenge this. Next time... this will never happen again."

The emperor sneered, his eyes filled with mockery, clearly no longer trusting his son who had fallen into the same trap time and time again.

Jiang Heng banged on the door harder and made a loud promise, hoping to salvage the situation a little.

The emperor waved his hand wearily, too lazy to watch his tricks anymore.

"I don't care about your reputation now. How you clean it up is your own business. If you can't even do that, it just means you're a failure. I won't choose a failure as my prince."

Jiang Heng shuddered, lowered his head even further, and pressed it firmly against the stone bricks.

The emperor looked down at him coldly.

"You only have one thing to do now, and that is to keep the Shen family here?"

"Father, but I have no feelings for that Shen woman..."

"Absurd! The Shen family has been officials for generations, with a profound foundation and disciples and friends all over the world. Do you know how much trouble you could have saved if you had the help of Grand Tutor Shen? But all of this has been ruined by the shortsightedness of you and your son."

"Let's put that aside for now. Just talk about the Shen family's dowry. Do you know how much silver it is? The Shen family's ancestral home is one of the eight wealthiest families in the Great Xia Dynasty. The Shen family's dowry is probably no less than the tax revenue of a province."

Grand Tutor Shen prepared a generous dowry so that his daughter would gain the respect of Prince Kang. If Prince Kang were a little smarter, he wouldn't need to worry about a few thousand taels of silver.

The emperor couldn't bear to watch such a terrible game of chess.

Prince Kang was stunned. He was aware of these things before, but because Shen was not his preferred choice, he subconsciously ignored them. Now, hearing his father emphasize them, his head felt like it had been split open by an axe.

The emperor looked at him coldly, "You should think carefully about how to treat the Shen family."

"As for Shen's whereabouts, I have not yet made arrangements. This is your last chance."

……

Xiao Lie had thought that after such a commotion, the emperor would have no choice but to agree, but to his surprise, after summoning everyone from the Shen family and the Kang Prince's residence, not a single imperial edict was issued.

Sixteen scratched his head. "Master, didn't you say that this divorce was a done deal?"

"Logically, that should be the case. One is crying and pleading for forgiveness, while the other is threatening to hang himself. With things having developed to this point, shouldn't the imperial court demonstrate its benevolence by granting Shen a divorce and issuing an edict allowing him the freedom to choose his own marriage?"

However, the emperor repeatedly reprimanded and appeased him, but did not issue an edict, which could only mean that the emperor was not yet willing to agree.

"That damned emperor, even now, he still won't let go?"

Xiao Lie paced back and forth, feeling that things might not be as simple as he had imagined.

He beckoned to Sixteen and said, "Have someone keep a close eye on the Kang Prince's residence and see what they've been up to these past few days."

In the past few days, things have been peaceful at the Kang Prince's residence. The Kang Prince even had the leisure to accompany Shen Qinglan in copying scriptures and chanting Buddhist prayers to pay respects to his deceased mother. He appeared extremely respectful. At the same time, the Consort Xian also sent her personal maid to help handle this matter.

It was ostensibly to assist, but in reality, it was to monitor.

Shen Qinglan quietly had Yunxiu come out and explain the matter.

"Greetings, Your Highness. My mistress asked me to convey a message: Consort De has sent a palace maid here this time, probably for the dowry."

That aunt had been subtly trying to find out about the Shen family's dowry; if she hadn't lacked a suitable excuse, she probably would have already started counting it.

With her watching so closely, Shen Qinglan found it difficult to transport her dowry out. She had no choice but to send out the silver notes, jewelry, and other easily portable items first. As for the other large items, she could only postpone the ceremony until another day.

"As for His Majesty, he has remained ambiguous, only instructing Prince Kang to treat my young lady well and for the two of them to clear up any misunderstandings. In the past two days, Prince Kang has become much warmer towards my young lady, seemingly wanting to mend their relationship."

"If this continues, I'm afraid it will all come to nothing."

Xiao Lie narrowed his eyes. "Grand Tutor Shen poured his heart out in court, yet it had no effect?"

"It certainly had an effect. His Majesty first offered a few words of comfort, and soon after, Consort Xian personally summoned the Grand Tutor to the palace, removed her hairpins, and apologized to him. Since things had come to this, the Grand Tutor could not say anything more. If he continued, it would be seen as disrespecting the royal family."

For Consort Xian, removing her hairpin to plead guilty was already an extremely serious humiliation. This was also the Emperor's statement. If this still couldn't shut up the Shen family, then they would be asking for trouble.

Consort Xian's actions have undoubtedly put the Shen family in a difficult position.

"These past few days, both the Grand Tutor and Miss have been holding their breath in anger. But Miss understands that this matter has nothing to do with the Heir Apparent. The Heir Apparent has already done what he should do. His Majesty has been keeping a close eye on the Shen family and is determined to do so. Therefore, even if the Heir Apparent has the best ideas, it will be of no use."

"There is one more thing. Miss knows she may not be able to get away, but the Shen family's wealth cannot be swallowed up by the royal family like this. In the coming days, Miss will try every means to transport the dowry out. Right now, the Shen family is being watched by His Majesty, so the dowry cannot be transported back. As for how to properly arrange these things, I will leave it to the young master to worry about."

Seeing Yunxiu looking dejected, she curtsied and prepared to leave. Xiao Lie frowned and couldn't help but speak.

"Wait a moment, let me think of something. The emperor can't force this matter, there's always room for maneuver."

Yunxiu responded gratefully.