Chapter 785: The Jinluan Palace Becomes the Hotspot for Gossip

"Prince Yu has entered the palace to lodge a complaint, unsure of the emperor’s attitude. Anyway, this time, Prince Yu and the Su Family have thoroughly become enemies."

Liu Yueer grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from the plate and started cracking them as she spoke.

"Forget about the Commandery Princess, even the concubine daughters of noble families wouldn’t want to marry an old man whose sons are so grown. The Su Family really knows how to make a fuss, Su Shihang already abandoned his original wife once for his career, and now to climb up to the Royal Family, he demotes his original wife to a concubine again. If I were the original wife, I’d just chop Su Shihang to death," Liu Yueer mocked, "He’s at least a second-rank official in the court, how can he be so stupid? I think the court is also a mess; I could do it too."

"Alright, it’s one thing to talk about the Su Family, but why drag the court into it? That’s not something us common folks should be discussing," Tong Huaqiong interrupted Liu Yueer’s criticism of the court.

Although Liu Yueer’s complaints weren’t entirely unjustified, Tong Huaqiong still thought Su Shihang wasn’t foolish enough to marry Princess Ming Yue.

He could practically be Princess Ming Yue’s father.

Ever since the Crown Prince returned, the emperor’s attitude toward Prince Yu had been lukewarm. Even if Su Shihang wanted to marry Princess Ming Yue, he couldn’t propose at this stage.

Wouldn’t that provoke the emperor’s suspicion?

This betrothal was orchestrated by Old Mrs. Su.

Old Mrs. Su, a mother like Grandma Yaozu that Tong Huaqiong had seen in modern times, thought her son was the best, deserving of any girl in the world, even a fairy would be beneath her son.

Old Mrs. Su truly believed that despite her son reaching the age of becoming a father-in-law, among the old uncles he was still the epitome of grace, more than enough to pair with a Yellow Flower Princess.

An older husband with a younger wife is normal, so why not for her son?

Old Mrs. Su went to the Prince Yu Mansion to propose on behalf of her aging son to Princess Ming Yue, and the news spread instantly across Shengjing.

Except for the person involved, Su Shihang, who was unaware.

The aftermath was that when Su Shihang attended court, he ran into Prince Yu at the palace gates. Prince Yu spat thick phlegm onto his face, and he still didn’t know what had happened.

No colleagues passing by spoke up for him, and they looked at him as if he were an idiot.

"You old fool, don’t you have a mirror or even some urine to look at yourself? You think you’re worthy? An old cucumber painted green, those wrinkles on your face could kill mosquitoes, yet you dare fancy yourself with a young maiden?"

"Don’t think the emperor’s trust means you can float above us, trying to scheme to marry my daughter. Think you can become my son-in-law? Have you even considered if I’d agree?"

"Having tasted the sweetness of marriage twice, now you dream of a third. I think you’re living in a fantasy."

Su Shihang was left utterly confused by Prince Yu’s scolding.

During court, the Imperial Censor and officials aligned with Prince Yu began to impeach Su Shihang.

Even Prince Yu’s adversaries seized the opportunity, using this incident to accuse Su Shihang of attempting to form factions through marriage.

After being scolded spiritedly by the Imperial Censor, Su Shihang learned that his mother had caused trouble.

Suddenly, Su Shihang didn’t know if his mother thought he had lived too long or truly considered his future.

Su Shihang, almost breathless, nearly died before the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I am beyond explanation."

No matter how Su Shihang insisted he was unaware, neither Prince Yu nor the other officials believed him, not even the emperor.

After all, Su Shihang bore the blemish of deceiving his first marriage for career gains. Now with the main wife dead and the original sent back to her hometown, Su Shihang was once again restless in matters of marriage.

The reason he wanted to marry Princess Ming Yue was quite understandable.

Princess Ming Yue had a poor reputation, and Shengjing’s brilliant young talents wished to flee at her sight, thinking Prince Yu might agree to this marriage after all.

Of course, Su Shihang’s allies raised objections. Since Su Shihang wished to ally with Prince Yu Mansion, there was no need for him to marry Princess Ming Yue himself; he could easily propose her hand for his younger son, Su Chengji.

A marriage between two young people would be much more comprehensible.

Such a conspicuous flaw pointed clearly to another’s scheme.

The Imperial Censor retorted, "Stop it, do you think he doesn’t want to propose on behalf of his younger son? Unfortunately, his younger son has been incapacitated. Otherwise, do you think he’d willingly strain his aging body to propose for the Princess?"

There wasn’t any gossip in Man Shengjing unknown to the Imperial Censor.

He even knew of Su Chengji’s impotency, a highly secret matter.

The crowd let out a unified murmur of tsking regrets.

The Jinluan Palace instantly turned into a spectacle for gossips.

Even the emperor was engrossed in the gossip about Su Chengji’s impotency, asking, "Was Mr. Su’s second son attacked by a criminal or did he offend someone?"

The Imperial Censor replied, "Your Majesty, that wastrel is guilty of every vice, notorious for bullying the weak. A cornered rabbit bites back. Who knows if he angered a rabbit or a tiger."

"Do not drag my son into this, slander, pure slander," Su Shihang’s chest heaved with emotion.

The respectability of the Su Mansion had been overturned since Old Mrs. Su’s birthday feast.

And now a new scandal arose.

Su Chengji’s impotency was a well-kept secret within the Su Mansion; those servant boys who attended him were either beaten to death or their tongues cut, sent away to the country estates.

Yet this was all exposed by the Imperial Censor in court.

Su Shihang was so incensed, he wanted to lash out at the Imperial Censor.

The Imperial Censor wouldn’t let up on Su Shihang, criticizing his household management for his son’s impotency, his tolerance for his son accosting decent women in the streets; and further on to his sinister motives for proposing to Princess Ming Yue, suspecting factional alignment.

Su Shihang was criticized to the point his breathing almost ceased.

Although Prince Yu Mansion had been in a prime position, even they were lumped in with Su Shihang’s faction by the Imperial Censor’s indiscriminate criticism, leaving them hopping mad.

"Who knows if the two of you aren’t putting on a show?" The Imperial Censor sneered, seizing the chance to harshly reproach Prince Yu once more.

The act of Princess Ming Yue riding recklessly, injuring and killing civilians, was brought out again for public airing.

"Your Majesty, Prince Yu Mansion would never form an alliance with Lord Su, nor would Xiyue ever marry into the Su Family. Xiyue already favors someone."

Unable to match the Imperial Censor’s eloquence, Prince Yu, gritting his teeth, reluctantly revealed Zhao Xiyue’s scandal of fancying the already married young man, Gu Jingzhe, in court.

The incident was truly embarrassing; a Commandery Princess having her eyes set on a married man was shameful enough.

Moreover, the chosen target was an unsung village-bred scholar with no official title.

The emperor, after feasting on the Su Family’s scandal, found himself confronted with Zhao Xiyue’s affair, asking, "Which family’s son does Xiyue fancy? Tell me, and if I find him suitable, I’ll grant the marriage."

The emperor, too, found Zhao Xiyue to be a headache.

After all, her escapades frequently tarnished the Royal Family’s reputation.

In the spring, when the newly defeated Mo Bei king came to Shengjing to make a submission and request a princess, the emperor intended to title Zhao Xiyue as a Princess and send her in marriage.

Prince Yu and Princess Consort Yu begged in tears, and ultimately the emperor married off the haughty Princess Jingan to the Mo Bei king instead.

Zhao Xiyue was truly of marriageable age.

As long as the man she admired didn’t come from noble stock or hold military power, he would decree the marriage.

Prince Yu hesitated to disclose the name.

"Your Majesty, Princess Ming Yue favors a scholar from the Imperial College named Gu Jingzhe," the Imperial Censor replied with a meaningful smile, for there was no gossip in Man Shengjing he wasn’t privy to.

Skilled in gossip, he could unravel threads from it to inspire impeachments of court officials.

Prince Yu’s vision darkened; curse you and your loose tongue.