Chapter 24: The Rebellious Son

Junior Preceptor Xiao felt a sense of alarm. He hurriedly stepped out of the ranks and replied, "This minister is here."

After a long pause, the voice of Emperor Jinghe finally echoed through the hall.

"You are all pillars of the court. While ability is one thing, you must also maintain harmony among your colleagues."

"Since you grow oleander in your estate, you must be the most knowledgeable about how to counteract its toxicity. You shall assist Minister Zhao in finding an antidote."

Emperor Jinghe’s words left Junior Preceptor Xiao red-faced. His grip on his ceremonial tablet was so tight that his fingertips turned white, as if he were trying to crush the wood to pieces. Although the Emperor did not explicitly punish him, anyone with eyes could see that this rebuke served to validate the claims of that foolish Marquis!

It was lamentable. Only recently, he had exhausted much effort to procure rare curiosities for the Emperor’s consorts, yet today, the Emperor stood with the very fool he usually despised most.

Ten years—it had been over a decade. Did the Emperor still harbor suspicions against him?

In contrast to Junior Preceptor Xiao’s embarrassment, Marquis Chengwu felt a joy he had not experienced in a long time. He could not help but mock the Junior Preceptor inwardly: *Ah, relying on women never leads to lasting success.*

Even as they walked out of the palace after the court session, Marquis Chengwu felt as if he were walking on air, only to find Junior Preceptor Xiao approaching him with a forced smile.

As they walked side by side, Junior Preceptor Xiao gritted his teeth and said in a veiled tone:

"I hear that your daughter is already sixteen—the perfect age for marriage. You must not be so preoccupied with your son that you forget your daughter’s match."

The two had discussed this in private: they intended to propose marriage after the military examinations, having the legitimate daughter of the Zhao family marry his own good-for-nothing son. Once wed, they would use various methods to force her maternal grandfather to surrender the other half of the Zhao family army, then split the credit for reclaiming it between themselves.

Thinking of this, Junior Preceptor Xiao felt a surge of irritation. If only that disappointing son of his were more obedient, he would never have had to resort to such a "beauty trap"!

Marquis Chengwu smirked, thinking the Junior Preceptor had forgotten his own situation.

"Naturally, I have not forgotten," he replied, also gritting his teeth. "Junior Preceptor must keep a close watch on his eldest son, lest he ruin our plans."

Junior Preceptor Xiao’s footsteps faltered, and his expression shifted instantly. "I have matters to attend to and will not accompany you further. Please, Marquis, take your time!"

Junior Preceptor Xiao despised the Marquis’s bluntness, and he certainly did not care for such petty fame. However, this was a matter of utmost importance for the House of Marquis Chengwu.

*When that fool finally realizes what is happening, I wonder if he will regret his reckless accusations!*

With that, he strode away.

Marquis Chengwu, lagging a few steps behind, showed no signs of anxiety. He merely watched the Junior Preceptor leave with a cold scoff.

*Whether you get what you want depends entirely on the self-restraint of your playboy son!*

By nearly noon, Junior Preceptor Xiao returned to his estate. Upon entering, he immediately asked for his eldest son's whereabouts. Hearing from a servant that he was with Concubine Guo in the back courtyard, his expression darkened, and he hurried toward the rear of the estate.

***

At that moment, the eldest young master, Xiao Jide, was in the small garden behind the house.

Bored, he flicked at the surrounding flowers and leaves, shouting impatiently at Concubine Guo, who was busy crushing flower petals at a stone table:

"Concubine, you are being far too slow!"

"Take this seriously!" Concubine Guo chided, continuing her work with effort, and instructed with patience:

"You cannot bring a servant into the examination grounds. You must observe exactly what dosage I use and what the effects will be. You must not make a mistake."

She was at her wit's end. Though she believed her son was perfect in every way, the Master was pressuring him relentlessly, demanding that he place in the top three. Every time she saw her son drenched in sweat from his training, her heart felt as though it were being fried in oil. She felt she had to do something to help him.

Xiao Jide did not appreciate her efforts. He kicked over a cage containing several tabby cats and said carelessly:

"Why go through all this trouble? Just poison them and be done with it. If something happens, don't we still have Father and that 'legitimate mother' to clean up the mess?"

As he spoke, he grabbed a cat with his large hand and forced the flower extract down its throat.

This was the scene Junior Preceptor Xiao witnessed, and these were the words he heard.

"You unfilial wretch!"

Junior Preceptor Xiao roared with every ounce of his strength, causing the birds in the trees to take flight in unison.

Xiao Jide jumped in fright, loosening his grip, and the freed cat bit him in retaliation. Concubine Guo, startled, accidentally crushed the petals onto her own hand.

Concubine Guo recovered quickly, however. Ignoring her pain, she stood before her son to shield him and forced a smile. "M-Master, I was just crushing petals to dye my nails. You have retur—"

Junior Preceptor Xiao slapped her aside. "Do you take me for dead? Do you think I need a woman from the back courtyard to advise my son?!"

He then kicked out at Xiao Jide, who had turned pale.

"I will beat you to death! My reputation, my lifelong honor—it is all being destroyed by you!"

"In all my years, I have never dared to openly poison the son of a Marquis! Do you expect your father to sacrifice his life to cover your tracks?!"

The more Junior Preceptor Xiao spoke, the harder he kicked.

"Father, spare me! I—I didn't..." Xiao Jide dodged in panic, begging for mercy.

However, when he heard the mention of poisoning a Marquis’s son, he paused for a moment, and because of that distraction, he took a heavy kick. Feeling the pain in his hands and body, a surge of defiance emboldened him to grab his father’s leg.

He retorted without hesitation:

"Poisoning?"

"Does Father think it is so hot today that you must hallucinate snow? Or is there a Marquis’s son who is nothing but an animal? Is it that Xiao Jichen who framed me?!"

Junior Preceptor Xiao balanced on one leg for a long moment before regaining his footing.

As the head of the Xiao family and a Junior Preceptor of the court, he had never suffered such humiliation! Never had he lost face like this before his servants!

He trembled with rage, his eyes reddening. He was about to order a severe beating for this lawless, unfilial son when the memory of the boy's words flashed through his mind, stalling his burning fury.

Concubine Guo, having just been helped up from the ground, realized that the Master seemed to have misunderstood something. She set aside her own grievances and stepped forward, weeping, "Master..."

Before she could finish, she was met with a roar.

"Silence!"

Junior Preceptor Xiao had no desire to deal with his former favorite concubine. Was he incapable of thought? Did he need a woman to speak for him?

He harshly sentenced Concubine Guo to six months of confinement and docked her three months' allowance, then ordered a thrashing for Xiao Jide. However, deep down, he believed his son’s words.

His eldest son might be lawless, but he would never dare to defy him. Furthermore, given the hot-headed nature of that fool of a Marquis, if there had been any evidence, it would have been produced in court today.

Therefore, it must have been that the fool had discovered some clue, or his shrewd son had orchestrated this, just in case. The goal was likely to tighten the security and investigations for the military exams, so that if anything went wrong, the Preceptor’s estate would be the first to be blamed!

Very well!

He had been outmaneuvered by that fool!

*We shall see whose strategy runs deeper!*

After the thrashing, Xiao Jide was carried into the study. Seeing his son’s weakened state, Junior Preceptor Xiao’s anger subsided slightly, and he couldn't help but say:

"Do you really need to rely on those back-courtyard tricks? I have already paved the way for you!"

Jide must place in the top three.

Then he would show those who mocked him for gaining influence only through marrying a woman from Emperor Jinghe’s maternal clan that he, Junior Preceptor Xiao, was a man of true substance!