The Sickly Emperor Is Only Immune to Me

Chapter 104: Chapter 104 Deceiving the Monarch

Sang Kun displayed great confidence.

Yet, for some reason, Sang Yan felt he was utterly unreliable.

“Do your best, that’s all you can do.”

She didn’t have high demands for Sang Kun, only wished he wouldn’t stir up trouble.

But what she feared came to pass.

It took Sang Kun two days and he still couldn’t find the Blood Rain Algae, but he had caused the people great distress and exhausted resources to produce vast expanses of fake Blood Rain Algae.

He was even caught by Mr. Meng Zhiang, the Minister of Ministry of Industry.

It was incredibly foolish.

“He actually used red dye to create Blood Rain Algae? What was he thinking? Even red fruits would have done the job!”

Sang Yan was dumbfounded by Sang Kun’s absurd antics.

“Father is doing this for your sake. He feared the blood rain incident would affect your marriage, hence he took such desperate measures.”

Sang Ruoshui personally left the Imperial Palace and arrived at Long Chan Temple to argue and plead on behalf of their father.

Sang Yan listened with irritation, “Do you realize? This is emotional blackmail. I don’t need him to do anything at all. Can’t he just sit tight and not cause trouble?”

By now, she was certain that Sang Kun might have a brain, but he was brash and unafraid, not worried about facing blame from the Emperor.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have done such a foolish thing.

“How can you speak of Father like that?”

Sang Ruoshui spoke with dissatisfaction, “Father didn’t want this. It’s the fault of those at the Ministry of Industry. That Minister of the Ministry of Industry has no sense at all. You are about to become Empress, and he dares to impeach our father? This cannot be easily overlooked, remember to tell the Emperor, let him pay for this…”

“Enough. Not reflecting on oneself yet still managing to blame others.”

Sang Yan genuinely marveled at the logic of this father and daughter.

She didn’t indulge them and said sternly, “I won’t plead for leniency in this matter. On the contrary, I will ask the Emperor to increase the punishment. Sang Ruoshui, remember, I am not your support and will not repeatedly clean up after you.”

Sang Ruoshui was taken aback, paused for a moment before saying, “Sang Yan! Are you out of your mind? That’s our father! In order to find the Blood Rain Algae and quell the unfavorable rumors about your destiny, he traveled with injuries, searching for two full days. Even if he achieved nothing, he still put in hard work.”

“Is this how you delude yourselves?”

Sang Yan gave a mocking smile, “Sorry, my heart remains unmoved.”

She did not want to say more and had her servants ask her to leave.

Sang Ruoshui was unwilling to go, shouting angrily, “Sang Yan, ‘Filial piety is of utmost importance amongst all virtues.’ Haven’t you become Empress yet and you’re already disowning your family?”

Sang Yan was also furious, “Correct, I am disowning you. If you continue being foolish like this, I will have the Emperor assign him to a sinecure or let him enjoy an early retirement.”

Sang Ruoshui was speechless.

She was “persuaded” down the mountain by the Hidden Guards.

“I am Princess Consort Sang! How dare you!”

At first, she was unwilling to leave the mountain and was even carried for a while by a guard.

It was utterly humiliating.

She had lost all her dignity.

“Heartless ingrate!”

“Sang Yan, you are a disloyal daughter!”

She complained incessantly.

Even once settled in the carriage, she continued complaining, “A person so unrighteous and unfilial surely deserves divine punishment.”

Xiangxiu couldn’t take it anymore and advised in a low voice, “Lady, walls have ears, and what’s more, those Hidden Guards are highly skilled and have good hearing. If this gets to the Emperor’s ears—”

“So what? Did I say anything wrong? She’s an ingrate! She only thinks about herself! Doesn’t consider the Sang Family at all! Selfish to the core! Hypocritical to the extreme!”

“Actually, even if Lord Sang doesn’t plead for leniency, I believe the Emperor won’t blame Mr. Sang.”

Xiangxiu felt that compared to the locust disaster in Wuzhou, the incident with the fake Blood Rain Algae was trivial and the Emperor has always favored Sang Yan. Even if it’s for her sake, he wouldn’t say anything. Sang Ruoshui coming here was completely unnecessary.

“What do you think? Who do you think you are?”

Sang Ruoshui, already in a fury, found even the sight of Xiangxiu displeasing and spoke harshly.

Having been scolded, Xiangxiu shut her mouth and said no more.

At the same time,

Sang Yan wrote a letter and had a Hidden Guard deliver it to the Imperial Palace.

Imperial Study

The Ministers were all kneeling on the ground.

The atmosphere was extremely tense.

They had just been impeaching Sang Kun.

Faced with the impeachment, Sang Kun was not very scared; instead, he felt they had malicious intentions, closely watching for his slip-ups, and then attempting to pull down Sang Yan.

“Emperor, it was my blindness that led me astray, and it has nothing to do with my poor daughter,” he exclaimed.

“She was obeying the late Empress Dowager’s orders, devoutly praying at Long Chan Temple. After praying for forty-nine days, she will surely be protected by the gods. Any talk of a bad fate is utter nonsense.”

He wiped away non-existent tears, showing the appearance of a loving father.

After listening, He Ying’s heart softened slightly, thinking: If it weren’t for these Ministers inciting the public, claiming that the blood rain was a divine warning, and linking it to Sang Yan’s fate, saying it was ominous and inauspicious, how would Sang Kun have committed such a foolish act?

To love his daughter so deeply was his only fault.

The Hanlin Academy Scholar Jiang Chongyu noticed that Sang Kun was using his daughter to plead for mercy, and that the Emperor seemed slightly moved, he hurriedly said, “Mr. Sang is digressing. The matter at hand is your fabrication of Blood Rain Algae. You have destroyed dozens of acres of river farmland. You must provide an explanation. Moreover, this is a crime of deceiving the Emperor.”

Encouraged by his lead, another Minister immediately said:

“Mr. Jiang is right. Each matter should be addressed separately. Your current fabrication of Blood Rain Algae is a grave offense of deceiving the Emperor.”

“Yes, previously in the matter of the locust disaster in Wuzhou, you deceived and disrespected the Emperor, and now you’ve offended again, blatantly disregarding the law and ignoring Imperial Power.”

“Emperor, before the Sang Family’s daughter has even entered the harem, Mr. Sang has shown such disrespect to you. If he is not punished severely, how can he command respect?”

…

They were dissatisfied with Sang Kun and equally so with the Sang Family’s daughter.

The Sang Family’s daughter, with her ambitions of becoming the Empress and her exclusive favoritism in the harem, needed to be suppressed early on, or their own daughters would never have a chance to shine.

Especially since the Emperor favored the Sang Family, it was very easy to create another “Pei Family,” prompting a sense of crisis among them, compelling them to be on guard.

Upon hearing the Ministers stretch the accusation to “crime of deceiving the Emperor,” Sang Kun really panicked: “Emperor, please see clearly, I would never dare be disrespectful to you! I really was only trying to quickly quell the rumors. I am utterly loyal to Da He, as heaven and earth can witness!”

By the end of his plea, real tears had fallen.

He was truly frightened.

Seeing his pitiful state, He Ying thought of Sang Yan—if she knew her father was driven to tears by the Ministers, she would surely feel heartbroken too, wouldn’t she?

Affected by his affection for Sang Yan, he almost said: Although there was deceit, the intention was understandable. To talk of a crime of deceiving the Emperor is perhaps too harsh.

“Emperor, a message from a Hidden Guard,” interjected Pei Muyang as he suddenly pushed the door open and presented the letter.

He Ying, knowing it was a letter from Sang Yan, immediately took it, opened it, and after a quick read, his expression changed—she actually requested that he handle the matter strictly.

But how could he deal with it strictly without considering her face?

This time, Sang Kun had indeed done something foolish!

Yet, it was not beyond redemption!

He clenched his fists, pondered for a good while, and finally gave his order: “Sang Kun has neglected his duty; let him be caned fifty times as an example to others!”

Sang Kun: “…”

Caned fifty times!

With his old arms and legs, would he even survive the punishment?

He wanted to beg for mercy.

But he knew this was the lightest punishment he might receive.

“Thank y-, thank you, Emperor, for sparing my life.”

His face turned pale, and cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

A eunuch approached, holding a thick board that weighed about fifty pounds.

Seeing it, Sang Kun trembled in fear: Heavens, his life was over.