Chapter Forty: Grandfather Emperor, Save Me!

Meanwhile, Lin Shou was carried back to the Lin residence, covered in blood. The twenty or thirty men who had accompanied him returned just as battered and bruised. Lin Wannian, the head of the Lin family, was instantly enraged. After a brief inquiry, he took his son and headed straight for the Yingtian County Magistrate’s office.

"Ouch... oh, the pain..." Lin Shou groaned in agony inside the carriage the entire way. Once he was carried into the back courtyard of the magistrate’s office, his wailing grew even louder.

Magistrate Han Fei frowned at the sight of him drenched in blood, yet he remained silent. It was Lin Wannian who began to clamor loudly, "He is your son-in-law, for heaven's sake! How could he be beaten to such a state on the streets of Yingtian Prefecture? And not just that—the bailiffs saw it happen and didn't even arrest the perpetrators!"

Lin Shou also shrieked at the top of his lungs, "Ouch! Father-in-law, the physician has already checked me. He said my life is saved, but my manhood is gone! I’ll never be able to touch a woman again for the rest of my life! Qian'er will be forced to live like a widow!" Because his face was swollen, his words came out slurred, with air whistling through his missing teeth. "Father-in-law! You must seek justice for me, arrest those who beat me, and have them sentenced to execution after the autumn!"

"Hmph..." Magistrate Han Fei stood with his hands behind his back, brow furrowed as he took a deep breath.

"In-law! As the old saying goes, a son-in-law is like a son! Shou'er is your son-in-law, after all! He’s been beaten like this, you can’t just stand by!" Seeing the magistrate’s hesitation, Lin Wannian grew even more displeased. His family held a position of prestige in Yingtian, and if word got out that his son had been severely beaten without consequence, they would be the laughingstock of the city.

"Stand by? How can I handle this...?" Han Fei could no longer contain himself. He pointed at the howling Lin Shou on the ground and snapped, "He went out to harass an innocent woman and even beat her grandfather. How am I supposed to handle that?"

"But..."

"But what? He does no honest work and only thinks about finding women. He already has over a dozen concubines! What difference is there between Qian'er being with him and living as a widow?" Han Fei finally dropped all pretenses.

"In-law, you can't say it like that! Which wealthy family doesn't take a few concubines? Would you have him stick to only one woman?" Lin Wannian argued, stiffening his neck to defend his son.

"Taking women isn't the problem, but at least do it properly! What did he do? He took a gang of thugs to a restaurant to seize someone by force. How am I supposed to protect him in this?" Mentioning these things made Han Fei’s face flush with anger. He had married his daughter into the Lin family because he valued their wealth, but he had never expected Lin Shou to be so utterly disgraceful.

"Even if Shou'er was in the wrong, that doesn't mean the people who beat him should just get away with it! Is my son’s injury just going to be ignored?"

"What else can we do? Send the boy to the Imperial Grandson and let him vent more of his rage?"

"What Imperial Grandson? What does this have to do with the Imperial Grandson? I’m talking about the kid who did the beating today..." Lin Wannian did not understand at first, but catching the look of exasperation in Magistrate Han’s eyes, the realization finally hit him. "You... do you mean... the one who beat Shou'er today was the Imperial Grandson?"

"What else could it be?" When Han Fei had received the report from his bailiffs, he had broken out in a cold sweat. It was fortunate that it was the Lin family member who got hurt; if it had been the Imperial Grandson himself, not only would Han Fei lose his official position, but his entire family might have been wiped out. It was a mercy that the Imperial Grandson hadn't come to settle accounts with the Lin family, yet they had the audacity to come to him?

"Impossible, isn't it? Why would the Imperial Grandson be in Yingtian Prefecture instead of staying in the Eastern Palace?" Lin Wannian asked, unable to believe it.

"You ask me, but who am I to ask...?" Han Fei slammed the table in frustration. "Think about it—if they were ordinary people, who could possibly defeat the thugs your family keeps?"

"Sss... that’s true!" Lin Wannian finally realized. The men they kept were experts, yet when he asked them, they claimed they didn't even know how their weapons had been disarmed.

"Hmph! You should be burning incense in gratitude that the Imperial Grandson isn't pursuing the matter further! You want me to make arrests? Where am I supposed to arrest them? In the Imperial Palace...?" Han Fei barked. "Even if you took this to the Palace, do you think kidnapping a commoner is a righteous cause? You might end up in jail yourselves!"

"Father-in-law! So... I just... took a beating for nothing?" Lin Shou’s face was covered in injuries, and every movement pulled at his wounds, making it difficult to speak.

"What else do you want?" Han Fei flicked his sleeves and stormed out.

Lin Wannian pondered for a moment and realized he had no choice but to accept the loss. He took his wailing son and returned home.

...

"Help! Help me..."

"Grandfather Emperor, save me...!"

As night fell, lanterns throughout the Imperial Palace were lit. Zhu Xiongying ran barefoot all the way from the Eastern Palace to the Imperial Study, shouting as he went.

"You little brat, get back here!" Behind him, Zhu Biao scanned the area while chasing him, brandishing a single boot. He had only intended to take off his shoe to scare the boy into being more careful and avoiding exposing his identity in the future, but the moment he raised it, the boy had bolted toward the Imperial Study. He had no choice but to chase him, but the faster he ran, the faster the boy’s short legs moved. By now, the entire palace likely knew he was chasing his son with a shoe.

"Grandfather Emperor, save me..." The doors of the Imperial Study were open. Zhu Xiongying dove inside and hid behind the Emperor, who was busy reviewing memorials. Before the old Emperor could react, a breathless Zhu Biao followed him in. Seeing his father, he quickly hid the shoe behind his back.

It was futile; the Emperor wasn't blind. He asked with a cold face, "Biao, what is the meaning of this?"

Zhu Biao sighed helplessly, "Father, it is not as it seems! The Embroidered Uniform Guard reported that the moment he went out, this boy exposed his identity! I reprimanded him, but he just stood his ground and argued back! I had no choice but to..." Realizing his father had already seen the truth, he stopped hiding the shoe and simply put it back on his foot.

"I already know about today's events! My grandson did nothing wrong!" The Emperor set down his brush, scooped the little boy into his arms, and praised him without hesitation. "Someone actually dared to seize a commoner by force? If I had been there, I would have beaten him to death!"

"Grandfather Emperor, death might not be the most miserable outcome...!" The little boy in his arms said, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Since he likes women so much, we should make sure he can never touch a woman again! That is the best way to punish him!"

"Exactly! Did you hear that? My grandson is right...!" The Emperor gave a thumbs-up. "The bailiffs came to make arrests; if he hadn't exposed his identity, would you have really let those people drag my grandson away?"

"Father! I didn't say Xiongying was wrong! I meant that he should not expose his identity in the future!"

The Emperor agreed on that point. "Grandson! It’s best if you go out less often. Even if you do go out, try not to reveal who you are. There are just too many bad people out there!"

"Alright! Then I guess I won't open that distillery for now! Whatever about sterilization or whatever, we can talk about that later...!" Having said that, the little boy jumped out of the Emperor's arms.