Chapter 65: Shen Tengfeng Gets Impeached Again
As the civil and military officials heard this, many showed disappointed expressions. They thought it would be some major issue, but it turned out to be another impeachment of this great wastrel.
Shen Tengfeng getting impeached had become almost a daily occurrence, and they had long lost their enthusiasm for it.
Shen Yianâs expression changed slightly, curious about what kind of mischief Shen Tengfeng had gotten into recently.
After listening to the censorâs impeachment, both Emperor Wu and Shen Yian frowned simultaneously.
The matter of impeachment was none other than Shen Tengfengâs work at the pawnshop.
As it happened, this censor had gone to the pawnshop intending to pawn some useless items, and Shen Tengfeng was coincidentally the one who greeted him.
Pawning items naturally results in a loss, and in the end, he lost nearly a third of the money before pawning them off. After returning home, the more the censor thought about it, the angrier he became. He immediately decided to impeach Shen Tengfeng at court the next day.
For a prince to become a shop clerk was simply disgraceful to the royal familyâs face.
Shen Yian was helpless.
You impeach Shen Tengfeng, I wonât say anything, but if youâre going after my pawnshop, then we need to have a good talk.
The censor went all out, not only impeaching Shen Tengfeng but also furiously berating Shen Yianâs pawnshop. He hoped Emperor Wu would thoroughly investigate and shut it down, arresting all related personnel.
âThis bastard.â
Emperor Wu was slightly angry.
âFather Emperor! Your son has something to say.â
Shen Yian stepped forward.
If he didnât speak up at this moment, his pawnshop might not survive.
âSpeak,â the Emperor said.
âYour son believes...â
The gist of it was: Shen Tengfeng already had a bad reputation, but now he had finally found a job. Although it was beneath his status, it showed he had a desire to improve himself and was no longer just idling about and causing trouble everywhere like before. This desire for self-improvement was rare and precious. Father Emperor shouldnât excessively criticize Shen Tengfeng, as too harsh a punishment might cause Shen Tengfeng to fall completely into degeneration.@@novelbin@@
Emperor Wu nodded slightly, seemingly accepting Shen Yianâs argument. He had already guessed that Shen Tengfengâs presence in the pawnshop must have something to do with Shen Yian.
The civil and military officials were very surprised. Someone defending Shen Tengfeng was unprecedented, and the one doing so was the King of Chu!
They recalled the scene of Shen Yian and Shen Jingyuâs cordial exchange earlier that morning.
Hiss!
They feared they must not have woken up properly today!
Seeing this, the censor didnât say anything further. It wasnât worth offending a prince over a wastrel.
In the end, the punishment for Shen Tengfeng was light, merely a fine of two monthsâ salary.
(Shen Tengfeng: Two monthsâ salary? Isnât this asking for my life?)
As for the pawnshop, Emperor Wu didnât even mention it. Who would want to upset their own source of income?
âCourt dismissed!â
Outside, the light rain had stopped, and with no other matters to discuss, the court session finally ended.
As time passed, the Duke of Stateâs mansion gradually became lively, with many officials and Ye Tianceâs old friends visiting with gifts.
Du Dunming had a significant psychological shadow regarding Ye Feng and refused to come no matter what. In the end, he was beaten and forcibly carried to the Duke of Stateâs mansion by Du Fang.
At the King of Chuâs mansion.
âYour Highness, the Fifth Prince requests an audience,â Mendu reported, running to the training ground.
After lunch, Shen Yian had concentrated on forming [Sword] in his room before coming to the training ground to practice swordsmanship.
âBring him to see me.â
Shen Yian waved his hand casually, and the steel sword in his hand flew back to the weapon rack.
âSixth Brother! Wuwuwu!â
You can hear the voice before you see the person, and you can hear Shen Tengfengâs crying from far away.
âSixth Brother, Father Emperor is too cruel! He deducted two whole months of my salary! Thatâs two whole months of salary!â
Shen Tengfeng hugged Shen Yian and wailed.
âFifth Brother, donât be sad. At least you kept your job at the pawnshop, right?â Shen Yian sighed lightly and comforted him.
âYes, yes, yes, Sixth Brother, Iâm so grateful to you! If it werenât for this job, I might have had to beg on the streets this month!â Talking about the pawnshop, Shen Tengfeng became even more excited, almost bursting into tears and snot.
In just these few days, he had taken in several pawned items and quickly sold them all, successfully earning over a hundred taels of silver as his share.
Experiencing the feeling of earning money honestly for the first time, Shen Tengfeng almost instantly fell in love with this feeling.
It was completely different from his previous experiences of scamming others for money, borrowing money, or gambling!
He felt that he had achieved self-transcendence!
He vowed to work even harder at the pawnshop, earn more money, accumulate more experience, and eventually, one day, have a pawnshop that belonged solely to him, Shen Tengfeng!
Seeing his employee with such high work enthusiasm, Shen Yian, as the boss, felt very gratified.
Fifth Brother, Sixth Brother believes in you!
Not long after Shen Tengfeng left, the steward of the Dukeâs mansion, Ah Fu, hurriedly came to the princeâs mansion to invite Shen Yian to a dinner party.
âA dinner party? I understand.â
âYour Highness, then this old servant will take his leave!â
Shen Yian came back to his senses and looked at Mendu: âHow are the gifts prepared?â
âIn response to Your Highness, everything has been prepared.â
âGood, ready the carriage!â
As evening approached, the guests at the Duke of Stateâs mansion had already dispersed.
When Shen Yian arrived, he was somewhat surprised. He thought there would be many people at tonightâs dinner, but there was only one additional person: Ye Feng.
Ye Tiance seemed to notice Shen Yianâs confusion and briefly explained. Today had been too chaotic with people coming and going. Invitations had already been sent out, and tomorrow there would be another banquet at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion to properly entertain guests from all directions.
Shen Yian sat between Ye Feng and Ye Tiance, his gaze sweeping over the dozen or so jars of wine on the ground. He immediately had a bad feeling.
Ye Liyan, please bless me.