Chapter 96: Vindication

Li Jing was still deeply agitated. He leapt up, brandishing a fire poker as he asked, "You've been there? How did it go? Did Father agree to show leniency?"

His face had gone unwashed for three days, darkened with soot, leaving only two large, anxious eyes visible in the grime.

Li Ce smiled faintly, his eyes gentle, and replied in a calm voice, "Rest assured. The case has been clarified—the Duke of Anguo's household is innocent. But you—don't be foolish enough to barge into court for my sake. Had Mother not intervened this time, it wouldn't have ended with three days of confinement and brewing medicine."

Such reckless behavior, at best, was impulsive and unwise. At worst, it could easily be interpreted as factionalism and favoritism. And what did the Emperor abhor most? The manipulation of public sentiment and partisan divisions.

Li Jing wiped his face with a sleeve, curling his lips in disdain. "I didn't do it for you! I did it for Ye—"

The she-devil of the Ye family? He couldn't wish more misfortune upon Ye Jiao. Li Jing paused, then said, "Ye Rou! I just thought she was pretty, and I couldn't bear to see her family fall into ruin and be enslaved. But I've figured it out these past few days—should trouble truly arise, I'd be powerless to help and end up stuck here brewing medicine."

Fuming, he hurled the fire poker against the medicine vat.

Li Ce no longer argued. No matter what his fifth brother said today, he simply listened.

"What's in the pot?" he asked.

The stove was tall, and the vat half a man's height, making it even more difficult to peer into. Li Ce stepped onto a stool and looked inside. The walls of the vat were thickly coated in layers of medicinal residue—it was clear Li Jing had boiled the decoction down to the last drop. Only a damp pile of dregs remained at the bottom.

A clerk from the Imperial Medical Bureau pushed the door open, ladled the remaining medicine into a bowl, and quietly departed.

Since no edict had been read publicly, Li Jing had no idea the bowl was meant for him. He glanced at it, rubbing his chilled ear, and muttered with irritation, "Huanglian, gardenia, mutong—all cold herbs."

Cold, but meant to quell internal fire—evidence of the Empress's painstaking care.

"Perfect," Li Ce said with a smile, lifting the bowl. "Since returning from Ganzhou, I've been plagued by worry. The inner heat has left me dizzy and faint. You've saved me a trip to the apothecary."

"Really?" Li Jing's face lit up as he clapped his hands. "Then my work wasn't in vain. Drink it all—don't let those stinking physicians get their hands on it!"

Li Ce raised the bowl to his lips. The decoction was indeed bitter, but with a lingering sweetness.

After sending Liu Yan off, Ye Changgen finally returned home. The guards and servants of the Duke of Anguo's household had long been waiting on the street. They lit a brazier for him to step over, set off firecrackers to banish ill luck, and then knelt, facing the distant Daming Palace, kowtowing in reverence.

They gave thanks to the wise and just Emperor for clearing the family's name.

The grandeur of the ceremony drew cheers from onlookers, many of whom soon followed suit and knelt in solemn gratitude.

Ye Changgen crossed the threshold of his home, first bathing and changing before making his way to the front hall to greet his mother.

Madam Ye sat with her two daughters. At his entrance, there was no trace of joy or relief on her face—only a cold voice: "Kneel."

With a practiced motion, Ye Changgen dropped to his knees. "Mother," he said remorsefully, "your son acknowledges his mistake."

Madam Ye's gaze was frosty, her almond-shaped eyes fixed on him. She shook her head. "You don't even understand what you did wrong."

"I do," Ye Changgen said solemnly. "I was careless and fell into a villain's trap. I thought the political world in the capital couldn't possibly be more treacherous than the battlefield."

"That wasn't your fault," Madam Ye said. "You erred in being too naive. At twenty-three, already in court, and yet still lacking caution. Was it truly necessary for you to deliver the Ministry of War's confidential documents alone? Even if you couldn't refuse, you could have brought someone with you. That alone might have prevented all that followed."

Back then, he had been eager to finish the errand and head to a gathering—he hadn't thought that far ahead.

"Yes," he said, hanging his head. "I was wrong. From now on, I will speak and act with care and foresight. I will never again be the burden of this family."

"We're not afraid of your burden," Madam Ye's voice suddenly cracked. "You are the child I carried for ten months. Your sisters—your blood kin. I never expected glory or gain from my own children. I only hoped that even if you achieve nothing in this life, you'll at least live safely. If not for Jiaojiao exhausting herself day and night, who knows how today would've ended?"

"My thanks to my sister," Ye Changgen said earnestly.

"It's enough," Ye Jiao said, linking arms with their mother in gentle persuasion. "Brother has learned his lesson. And honestly, this time, it was clearly a targeted setup. No matter how careful we were, mistakes were bound to happen. But Elder Sister's bookkeeping was flawless. They checked everything—only found Father's dealings, nothing else."

Had there been a single error in the accounts, they might have been accused of tax evasion.

Ye Jiao praised Ye Rou, who lowered her head in shy gratitude. "It's because Mother taught me well."

Madam Ye gave Ye Changgen another cold snort, then said angrily, "Get up. Ye Rou made a full table of dishes for you. If you don't eat now, they'll go cold."

Ye Changgen eagerly moved to the table, then got up again to ladle soup for his mother and sisters, smiling sheepishly.

Madam Ye picked up her chopsticks, paused, then let out a deep sigh. "Who would've thought your father…"

The sentence trailed off, thick with complicated emotions.

Was she supposed to resent Ye Xi for being absent for over a decade, only sending men to collect silver each year? And yet, it was those very actions that protected the Duke of Anguo's household through this crisis.

"Father was being charitable," Ye Rou said softly. "Giving alms to the people."

They had heard the full court proceedings from Ye Jiao and understood where the money had gone. Still, how could a father disregard his wife and children for over ten years, yet be so devoted to the suffering masses? Was he truly a man of unwavering moral resolve?

Madam Ye pondered but couldn't swallow the bitterness. She slammed her chopsticks down and snapped, "No more silver for him! So what if it's charity? Can't we donate ourselves? From now on, we'll draw the same amount each year, and I'll be the one to give it away. Let him stop pretending to be a great philanthropist! He won't be a saint alone—if someone's to be the good person, we'll take turns!"

Only then did she start eating. Her children quickly offered her food and pastries—none dared contradict her.

After all, if the money must be donated, it made no difference who did it. Better to curry favor with the mother who ran the household than a father who hadn't been seen in years.

"Mother, try this one," Ye Jiao offered.

"No, try this—it's a new recipe," Ye Rou chimed in.

"After dinner, I'll give you a shoulder massage," Ye Jiao said with a smile.

"I'll rub your legs," Ye Rou added cheerfully.

"Can't you save something for me?" Ye Changgen asked in mock desperation.

"Oh, you?" Ye Jiao shot him a glare. "You can clean the latrine."

Ye Changgen lowered his head in defeat. "Fine!" he shouted. "That's my job now!"

Laughter echoed through the hall. After weathering the storm, peace finally returned to the Duke of Anguo's household.

In a warm pavilion behind the front hall, Lin Jing was still recovering. His body was wrapped tightly in layers of bandages, leaving only his head exposed—he looked like a rice dumpling.

"Uncle Feng," he asked, "when will I be well again? I want to get up and help out. If nothing else, I can clean their latrine."

"Just stay put," Feng Jie replied, chuckling over his meal. "Healing properly is doing a good deed. Don't end up like me—crippled, spending a lifetime wishing I could do more for them…"