Wang Yue was weeping uncontrollably. Wang Wan immediately berated him, "Wang Yue! You dog-like servant! How dare you resort to private torture within the palace! Quickly confess to His Majesty, what exactly is going on!"
Wang Yue cried, "Your Majesty, this servant was momentarily confused. This servant saw You Rong only a few days after he began serving in the Qianqing Palace, yet he received so much favor from Your Majesty, constant rewards, and was even promoted to a eunuch of the sixth rank attending the Emperor directly. This servant remembered that I toiled for many years to reach my current position, and felt unwilling. I lied to my godfather, claiming he was ill, and actually took people to detain You Rong privately. Using the excuse that he had broken the Emperor's precious vase in the sleeping quarters, I punished him..."
Wang Yue extricated Wang Wan completely from the affair. He kept kowtowing and admitting his mistakes, "Your Majesty, this servant was truly confused for a moment. This servant knows he was wrong... I beg Your Majesty to spare this servant's life..."
Wang Wan's face was filled with anger and disbelief, "Wang Yue! You... you dare do such a thing behind His Majesty's back! You are truly... deserving of death!"
Wang Wan then knelt down with a thud, his expression sorrowful. "Your Majesty, it is this servant's failure to discipline him that has led Wang Yue to commit such a grave error. However, he is, after all, this servant's nominal godson. This servant and he have been like father and son for many years. May this servant implore Your Majesty to spare Wang Yue's life?"
Watching Wang Wan and Wang Yue perform their act, Lin Qinghe inwardly sneered.
Wang Wan was indeed an old fox, extremely cunning, and managed to clear himself of the charge of private torture with ease!
Before the Emperor could speak, Lin Qinghe scoffed, "Eunuch Wang, Wang Yue is your godson. Who in the entire palace doesn't know that he listens to you the most? If you had not given the signal, how would he dare resort to private torture against You Rong!"
Wang Wan's face changed drastically, and he trembled, "Your Highness the Princess, this servant is wronged. This servant absolutely did not instruct Wang Yue to resort to private torture against You Rong. Moreover, it is not true that Wang Yue listens to this servant the most. This servant and Wang Yue are both servants of His Majesty, and we naturally listen to His Majesty in daily matters..."
"You..." Lin Qinghe's face turned dark with anger at Wang Wan's sophistry. "Do you dare guarantee that you truly knew nothing about Wang Yue resorting to private torture against You Rong?!"
Wang Wan cried with a runny nose and tears streaming down his face, "Your Highness the Princess, this servant truly did not know. Not in the slightest. Otherwise, how could this servant have let Wang Yue commit such a mistake..."
Wang Yue also cried and explained, "Your Highness the Princess, the matter of resorting to private torture against You Rong was truly done by this servant alone. This servant was momentarily confused, and it has absolutely no connection with my godfather!"
"Stop talking nonsense, this Princess knows the two of you well enough..."
Before Lin Qinghe could finish speaking, the Emperor, who had been listening to the back and forth, finally grasped the gist of the situation. He interrupted her, "Enough, Qinghe. I know what happened. Wang Yue is at fault, but you cannot wrongly accuse Wang Wan because of this."
"Father! Wang Yue and Wang Wan clearly are..."
Seeing Lin Qinghe about to argue, You Rong looked up at her eyes and gently shook his head, signaling her not to continue.
Lin Qinghe understood that Wang Wan had thoroughly cleared himself, and she was powerless against him. She could only snort and change her words, "Then the matter of Wang Yue resorting to private torture cannot be let go so easily. If he is not severely punished, the palace servants will not learn their lesson in the future, and wouldn't that cause chaos!"
Wang Wan cried pitifully, "Your Majesty, this servant knows Wang Yue deserves death. This servant also has no face to beg for his life, but... for so many years, this servant and he have depended on each other in the palace and cared for each other. I cannot bear to see him lose his life. I only beg Your Majesty to spare his life, and this servant is willing to bear half of the punishment for him..." Sudan Novel Network
The Emperor pondered for a moment, looked at You Rong, then at Wang Wan and Wang Yue kneeling on the ground, crying buckets, and said sternly, "Wang Yue resorted to private torture within the palace. Given that You Rong was not seriously injured, his death sentence can be commuted, but he cannot escape punishment. His position is stripped, and he is sent to the Xinzhuku, never to leave the Xinzhuku again!"
Upon hearing that his life had been spared, Wang Yue secretly breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly kowtowed to the Emperor, "This servant thanks Your Majesty for your benevolence. This servant thanks Your Majesty..."
"As for Wang Wan..." the Emperor's gaze fell on Wang Wan.
Wang Wan quickly raised his arm to wipe away his tears and knelt two steps forward. "This servant is here! No matter how Your Majesty punishes, this servant will have no complaints!"
The Emperor said, "Wang Wan failed in his discipline, so he is fined half a year's salary."
Wang Wan kowtowed and thanked him, "Yes, this servant thanks Your Majesty for your benevolence!"
After handing down the punishment, the Emperor waved his hand and said, "Alright, you may all withdraw. You Rong, recuperate well these past few days and do not need to attend to duties in front of the palace. Qinghe, you should also calm your temper and return to Yao Hua Palace. I still need to go to the Imperial Study to discuss matters with the ministers."
Although Lin Qinghe was dissatisfied with the outcome, she was helpless. She curtsied and said, "Yes, Father. Your daughter obeys."
The Emperor left. Wang Wan bowed to Lin Qinghe and also took his leave.
Lin Qinghe returned to You Rong's residence with him. You Yue, her eyes red, looked at You Rong, "Brother... does your injury still hurt badly? Are there any other places injured?"
You Rong smiled slightly, ruffled You Yue's hair, and comforted her, "Yue'er, there's no need to worry. Brother is fine. Didn't the Princess already have an imperial physician examine me? The physician said it's just superficial wounds, nothing serious."
After finally pacifying You Yue, You Rong saw Lin Qinghe standing by the side, deep in thought. His eyes flickered, and he said in a low voice, "Yue'er, you go out first. I have something to say to the Princess."
Hearing this, Lin Qinghe snapped out of her thoughts, slightly surprised. "You... have something to say to this Princess?"
You Rong patted You Yue's shoulder, pushed her out, and then nodded slightly at Lin Qinghe. "This servant wishes to ask, why does Your Highness the Princess know where this servant is?"
Lin Qinghe said, "This Princess asked the personal maid of the late Imperial Consort. She said that His Majesty greatly favored the medicinal cuisine made by Mother Consort, so I inquired about the method for making the medicinal cuisine and wrote it down. I intended to give it to you secretly when I came to pay my respects to Father. Little did I know, I didn't see you and asked one more question. Wang Wan said you were ill and not attending to His Majesty. This Princess felt something was amiss, so I pressed a young eunuch and found out you were taken away by Wang Yue."
Speaking of this, a look of anger appeared on Lin Qinghe's exquisite little face. "Father believed Wang Yue's nonsense. If Wang Yue dared to resort to private torture against you, it must have been Wang Wan who instructed him! And Wang Wan was only fined half a year's salary for it. This Princess is furious!"
Lin Qinghe looked up and met You Rong's deep, dark eyes, saying earnestly, "Rest assured, this Princess said that sooner or later, I will remove Wang Wan for you and let you take the position of Chief Eunuch!"
You Rong's heart was struck by something, sweet like a pastry.
He gazed deeply at Lin Qinghe and after a long pause, he asked, "Your Highness the Princess, why are you so good to this servant?"
Lin Qinghe answered without hesitation, "For no other reason, but because this Princess likes you!"