"I've got it!"
It was nearly noon the next day when Xiao Jinyu drowsily awoke to the lingering ache in his joints. The sky outside remained overcast—no amount of medicine or medicated wine massage could alleviate the pain.
Yet the person beside him persisted, carefully kneading his swollen joints.
"Chu Chu..."
Chu Chu lifted her head and offered him a warm smile before bending down again to focus on massaging his badly swollen knees. "Wang Ye, you're awake?"
Xiao Jinyu lowered his lashes, frowning slightly as he gazed at his emaciated legs. "Chu Chu, leave them be..."
"Almost done." She continued massaging without looking up. "Grand Tutor Xue said you must close the case immediately. You'll be busy again, so this massage will help you sit up more comfortably later."
Xiao Jinyu paused. "Grand Tutor Xue visited?"
"He came last night. You were feverish and delirious, insisting on having children with him. You scared him off!"
A flush spread across Xiao Jinyu's cheeks. "Really..."
"Indeed! Grand Tutor Xue said you must conclude the case quickly, or there'll be trouble."
Xiao Jinyu's brow tightened. "What else did he say?"
Chu Chu poured more medicated wine into her palm, applying steady pressure to his pale ankles. "Nothing much... Oh!" She pursed her lips and looked up cautiously. "Grand Tutor Xue wanted to take those papers by your pillow. But you'd said before that no one should touch any papers near you—written or blank—without your permission. So I hid them under the pillow."
"Thank you..."
"Your elder brother returned this morning too. He brought everything you asked for—it's all on the table."
Xiao Jinyu turned to see the stack of case files piled high on the central table. "Good..."
After finishing the massage, Chu Chu meticulously helped him wash, change clothes, and settle into his wheelchair. She placed a soft cushion behind his back, arranged his writing tools neatly, and set a cup of warm water within reach before hurrying out to prepare his medicine and congee.
Watching her perform these tasks with seamless efficiency—leaving him no opportunity to assist—Xiao Jinyu's faint smile twisted wryly.
This wasn't what he'd intended when he married her...
But how long would he last now without her?
He had just opened the top case file, his bitter smile not yet faded, when three measured knocks sounded at the door.
Wu Jiang stood bowing at the threshold, his face ashen. "Wang Ye, Wang Xiaohua is dead."
Xiao Jinyu started. "Where?"
"In the next room... his own chamber."
"I'll go see..."
As his hands touched the wheelchair's wheels, Xiao Jinyu suddenly heard synchronized marching footsteps approaching his room. Before he could discern anything unusual, the footsteps halted abruptly, and a man entered.
Wu Jiang swiftly gripped his sword and turned, stiffening at the sight of the newcomer before dropping neatly to one knee. "Your humble general pays respects to Your Majesty!"
Xiao Jinyu's brow furrowed as he watched the ever-smiling emperor enter with a grim expression. He bowed his head in greeting. "Your Majesty."
"Wu Jiang... We wish to speak with Our seventh royal uncle."
"As you command."Wu Jiang rose and withdrew, closing the door behind him. Only then did the Emperor set down the food box he had been carrying onto the table, opening it to retrieve a thick stack of memorials. At a glance, Xiao Jin Yu estimated there were at least thirty, with a bloodstained white cloth placed on top.
The Emperor remained standing, frowning deeply as he stared intently at Xiao Jin Yu’s composed expression. He shook out the white cloth and declared, "Seventh Imperial Uncle, this is the first time since my ascension that someone has filed an imperial grievance against you—accusing you of privately establishing a tribunal, wrongly adjudicating a case, indulging your subordinates, and treating human life as worthless."
Only then did Xiao Jin Yu realize that the bloodstained cloth was a crudely written blood letter. The handwriting was childish, and the sentence structure simple and rough, as if written by a child who had just begun learning characters.
Recalling Jing Yi’s words from the previous night and the message Xue Rucheng had asked Chu Chu to relay, Xiao Jin Yu’s brow tightened slightly. "Is it Li Rusheng’s wife and child accusing me?"
"And his father!"
Xiao Jin Yu was slightly taken aback. "He left the Imperial Examination Hall?"
"You ask me, but who am I to ask?" The Emperor slammed the blood letter onto the table with a thud. "A seven-year-old child writes a blood letter, an eighty-year-old man rolls on a nail board, and a blind woman nearly cracks her skull knocking her head at the palace gates. Explain to me clearly what is going on!"
Xiao Jin Yu calmly looked at the stack of memorials. "I presume the various officials have already explained on my behalf... Your Majesty must have reached a decision."
Hearing the complete lack of emotion in Xiao Jin Yu’s voice, the Emperor was momentarily stunned. After a pause, he let out a long sigh, pulled out a stool from under the table, and sat down, waving a hand dismissively. "I’ve been harassed all morning by those old fools in court—my mind feels clogged with lard. Seventh Imperial Uncle, do not take offense..."
Xiao Jin Yu pushed the cup of warm water beside him toward the Emperor. "I’ve given all the tea leaves to Grand Tutor Xue. Your Majesty will have to make do."
The Emperor picked up the cup and took a gulp. "Seventh Imperial Uncle... this stack of memorials isn’t just about this matter. They’ve dug up a pile of old grievances as well."
Xiao Jin Yu’s smile turned faintly cold.
"There is one new issue, though..." The Emperor took another fierce gulp of plain water. "During the morning court today, the Minister of War openly accused you of repeatedly meeting privately with the Turkic Prince Ashina Suwu and allowing him to leave our camp without authorization."
Xiao Jin Yu nodded gently. "I have met with Ashina Suwu three times in total and allowed him to leave our camp twice... I reported this truthfully to Your Majesty on my way back to the capital."
A rare seriousness settled between the Emperor’s brows. "The problem is, you said that when you first released Ashina Suwu and Du Li from the camp, aside from the two guards transferred from the Imperial Guards, only Seventh Imperial Aunt was present in the tent... How did the Ministry of War come to know of this?"
Xiao Jin Yu was taken aback.
The Emperor’s voice lowered slightly. "Seventh Imperial Uncle, for both public and private reasons, I must ask you to endure some hardship for a while."
Xiao Jin Yu nodded slowly. "As it should be."
"I will have people arrange everything in the prison as comfortably as possible. Does Seventh Imperial Uncle have any requests?"
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