Chapter 33: A True Talent

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Elsewhere, within the imperial palace of Great Yong.

Eunuch Jinbao and the Ninth Prince had only just arrived at the palace when they saw the Third Prince, Prince Chen, Jun Wuhen, finishing his report on the earthquake at Sui Mountain.

Eunuch Jinbao hurriedly bowed. “Your Majesty, Your Highness Prince Chen!”

“Imperial Father, Third Brother.” Jun Wuchen nodded toward Jun Wuhen.

The young man standing beneath the Dragon Throne wore a black long robe. His brows and eyes were fierce, yet his tall, slender figure stood straight as pine and bamboo. His gloomy bearing and sharp brows gave him the appearance of a drawn sword.

When Jun Wuchen greeted him, he did not even raise his head.

Jun Wuchen, however, was long accustomed to it.

Only after Jun Wuhen had finished speaking did Eunuch Jinbao hurry forward and present the prescription for treating snake venom.

Emperor Hui gave it a cursory glance. The handwriting was so atrocious that it nearly stabbed his eyes blind.

Fortunately, he knew nothing about medicine. The one who truly had to suffer the headache was someone else. He immediately summoned Imperial Physician Li from the Imperial Medical Academy, tossed him the prescription, and said, “Take a look. Does this prescription truly possess such miraculous effects against snake venom?”

Imperial Physician Li hurriedly reached out to take it. The moment he lowered his head to read it, he felt—

His eyes hurt!

What kind of genius could write such wild, incomprehensible cursive?

After drawing a deep breath, Imperial Physician Li steeled himself once more and began deciphering it word by word.

The farther he read, the more excited he became.

“So snakes are divided into so many different varieties, and the dosage must vary greatly according to the species! Marvelous! Truly marvelous!”

As he spoke, he turned toward Emperor Hui and knelt. “Your Majesty, I see no major issues with this prescription from Fourth Miss Lin. Many of the medicines it contains are ones I have previously prescribed to patients. However, her ingenuity in combining them is beyond me. I am deeply ashamed of my inferiority.”

“Excellent! Excellent!”

For Imperial Physician Li to have risen to become Chief Imperial Physician, he naturally knew medicines as well as he knew his own fingers.

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Since even he declared that there was no problem, Emperor Hui was naturally overjoyed.

Ever since he had ascended the throne, Jiangnan had suffered floods, and then an earthquake had struck. Among the common people, many even claimed that he had murdered his father and brother and was unworthy of the imperial throne, which was why Heaven had sent down these punishments.

Now that the Fourth Miss of the Lin household had found a prescription for treating snake venom, the countless people who died or were left paralyzed each year after being bitten by snakes could perhaps be saved. As long as he made the prescription public, it would certainly count as a political achievement.

At that time, how could the common people fail to call him a wise emperor who truly accomplished things for them?

History might leave no place for women, but this would become one of his brightest accomplishments.

The mere thought of it filled Emperor Hui with delight. He quickly said, “The prescription presented by the Fourth Miss of the Lin household is excellent. Jinbao, go to My imperial study and bring her the painting of Splendid Mountains and Rivers by Master Yun. Also send her a pair of jadeite bracelets and tell her they are a reward from Me!”

“Your Majesty is truly wise! However—”

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Jinbao hurriedly knelt. “However, this servant went to the Qingyuan Marquis’s residence today… and certain matters occurred there. I learned that the person who saved the Northern Rong man was not the Fourth Miss of the Qingyuan Marquis’s residence, but the Fifth Miss!”

“What happened?” Emperor Hui asked, frowning.

Eunuch Jinbao recounted everything that had occurred at the Qingyuan Marquis’s residence. Since the Ninth Prince had accompanied him there that day, he glanced back at him as well, fearing that His Highness might have something to add.

Sure enough, before Emperor Hui could fly into a rage and severely punish Lin Wanyue, Jun Wuchen stepped forward and said, “Imperial Father, I believe that although Fourth Miss was in the wrong, it was not intentional. After all, she truly did save a man from Northern Rong. The Qingyuan Marquis’s household is known for its loyalty and integrity; surely they would not hand over some ungracious junior. I hope Imperial Father will take the Fifth Miss’s contribution into consideration and spare Fourth Miss her punishment. Let their merits and faults offset one another.”

As for how they were supposed to offset one another…

Eunuch Jinbao lowered his head and pondered. Did the Ninth Prince not mean that His Majesty should strip the Fifth Miss of the title of County Lady he had intended to bestow upon her, using it to offset the crime committed by the Fourth Miss?

Still, the Ninth Prince was a potential future heir to the throne. He naturally had to flatter him a little. Eunuch Jinbao hurriedly added, “His Highness the Ninth Prince is quite right. If the Fifth Miss learns that her merit can offset her elder sister’s crime, she will surely be overjoyed.”

“Though the death penalty may be avoided, punishment is still unavoidable!” Emperor Hui stroked his jade thumb ring, his dignity imposing even without anger. “Greedy for credit, reckless in her haste, and utterly unaware of propriety—she has disgraced the Lin household before foreign lands. This Fourth Miss Lin is truly audacious! Send someone to make her copy the Admonitions for Women one hundred times, so that she may properly learn what it means to be virtuous and chaste. If she dares repeat this…”

He did not finish the sentence, but everyone present understood perfectly what he meant.

“As for the Fifth Miss, move the rewards previously prepared for her into her courtyard!”

As for granting her the title of County Lady, she could forget about that. The fact that he had not punished the entire Lin household for deceiving the emperor was already due to the consideration he showed for the Fifth Miss’s prescription for treating snake venom.

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“His Majesty is benevolent! His Majesty is wise!”

Eunuch Xu cried out, “This servant will go to the Lin residence at once to deliver the decree.”

At that moment, Jun Wuhen, who had remained silent all this while, spoke.

“Imperial Father, I believe this matter has been handled improperly.”

Emperor Hui narrowed his eyes, somewhat surprised.

His third son was famously brutal. He was taciturn by nature, and even if others spoke ten sentences to him, they might not receive a single pleasant reply.

Yet Jun Wuhen now spoke in a low, husky voice. “The Fourth Miss of the Lin household is at fault. Tracing the matter back to its source, however, it is because those above her failed to set a proper example, causing those below to go astray. If blame must be assigned, the responsibility should be traced to her grandparents. The Fifth Miss saved someone through her own ability, only to have her credit stolen. She suffered an entirely undeserved misfortune. The decision to grant her the title of County Lady was originally made entirely by Imperial Father.”

“As the saying goes, rewards must match merit, and punishments must match crimes. If everything is reduced to a balancing of merits and faults, then will the pampered sons of noble families in the former court also be able to make false accusations, treat human lives as grass, and seize others’ accomplishments? When everything descends into chaos, who will deal with it?”

As expected, the moment Jun Wuhen finished speaking, Emperor Hui’s expression visibly changed.

At first, Emperor Hui had thought that the Qingyuan Marquis was a meritorious subject, and that punishing Lin Wanyue without considering the family’s contributions might chill the hearts of his old ministers. Yet if rewards and punishments were clearly distinguished, Lin Yuanzhi would likely be even more grateful to him.

Emperor Hui lowered his eyes in thought.

The atmosphere inside the hall grew oppressive.

Thinking of Lin Wanyue crying so bitterly, Jun Wuchen felt an instinctive pang of sympathy. He said, “Imperial Father, I believe Third Brother’s words are inappropriate. He—”

“How are they inappropriate?” Jun Wuhen cut in. “Does Ninth Brother think the Fifth Miss should surrender her own accomplishments and play the living Buddha so that everyone can live happily ever after? I never realized that Ninth Brother was so kindhearted. As it happens, our Eighth Imperial Uncle, who is confined in the Imperial Clan Court, has no heir. Why not let Ninth Brother be adopted into his household? That would also save everyone the trouble of watching you compete for the throne in the future, and allow your younger brothers to rejoice together!”

Jun Wuhen spoke each word distinctly.

“You—” Jun Wuchen was nearly furious to death.

Yet there were things that the Third Prince could say which a man of Jun Wuchen’s polished and noble reputation could not.

After all, everyone in the capital knew that Jun Wuhen was a madman who could kill without blinking.

He opposed Heaven, Earth, and even empty air—and he dared to oppose Emperor Hui himself.

Jun Wuchen could only fling back his sleeve and say, “Third Brother, Imperial Father is still in the prime of life, yet you speak such treasonous words here. Truly, you make one’s blood run cold!”