Reborn Daughter: The Young Lady Wants to Make a Trouble

Wen Jinkai had no intention of meeting the emperor and the empress, but he was ambushed by a group of eunuchs in an empty corridor and dragged into the audience. He did not realize that he had entered this area again, the same space where Li Xueyue got lost last time.

Standing in front of the golden staircase leading to the emperor and empress, Wen Jinkai looked bewildered. He had been here for less than a minute and was already tired of their presence. He almost rolled his eyes when he heard the coquettish and excited whispers of the princesses sitting next to Emperor Fadong and Empress Huiyun.

Finally, Fadongdi spoke. "Jinkai, what are you doing in the corridor?"

"I'm on my way to visit the Second Prince."

"But his residence is opposite to where you broke in." Fa Dongdi rebuked with a look of disapproval on his face. "Are you reminiscing again?"

The fourth prince Wang Longhe's ears perked up, with great interest. Invasion? There is another place that the omnipotent Wen Jinkai is not allowed to enter? Well, this is the first time.

Wen Jinkai's face turned cold, and his fierce eyes pierced a hole in the emperor's head. This nosy old man talked too much. "What does it matter if I am?"

Queen Huiyun sighed. "Jin Kai, you can't go there again! I've already told you."

Wang Longhe's eyes widened, and he stood up suddenly in an instant, and the chair fell heavily to the ground. He put two and two together. He poked Wen Jinkai with a trembling finger and roared: "You sneaked into Li Minghua's old residence?! Are you crazy?"

Gu Feiying sighed softly. She was first shocked by her son's reckless and rude behavior, but she was even more shocked by the mention of a taboo name. She glanced in the direction of the emperor in horror and swallowed deeply, fearing that her son would anger him.

Veins bulged on the emperor's flushed forehead and his face was gloomy and angry.

In the blink of an eye, the whole room was filled with loud slaps. Wang Longhe was knocked to the ground, covering his face with disbelief and horror. Whispers could be heard from every corner of the room.

As soon as the emperor raised his hand, the men in black surrounded the prince and screamed in fear. "Guards! Throw this scum into the cold palace!"

In an instant, Gu Feiying jumped up from the chair and knelt beside her son. "Your Majesty, please, he is wrong! He is just a child, still young and ignorant!" She used her body to protect her son and shouted loudly, her voice full of fear and despair.

She turned to her son, grasped his shoulders, and tried to force him into a deep bow. "Come on, son. Come on, apologize to your father, you rascal!"

Wang Longhe froze in place, refusing to give in to his mother's desperate pleas. His cheek stung, but the pain went beyond that, piercing deep into his heart like a thorn piercing his chest.

This was the second time he had been slapped in the face by his father. The first time was when Wang Longhe sinfully confessed his love for a woman who could never be his, but persuaded his friends to give her up.

"No." Wang Longhe shook his head.

The audience room was shrouded in deathly silence, and the emperor opened his mouth wide. The thick atmosphere of tension in the room made the onlookers hold their breath, waiting for the next verdict.

Fadongdi clenched his hands into fists. His angry eyes trembled like his fists. He tried to suppress his anger, but he couldn't. Just the mention of her name was enough to make him lose his patience. He couldn't bring himself to hear the name of the only niece he cared about. She was the one he was supposed to protect, but he destroyed her.

"what did you just say?"

"I won't apologize. Enough!" Wang Longhe roared.

"Stop!" Gu Feiying wailed, turning to his son to give him some sense. "That's not what you meant. Tell your father that you didn't mean that!"

She could see that all the favor the emperor had for her was beginning to disappear without a trace. Fearing the loss of it, she desperately forced her son to kneel, but he refused her.

Wang Longhe shook off his mother's grasp. "I'm tired of everyone being so careful about this, as if it didn't happen! She was important to me, too, father, and her disappearance was important to me too! I loved her more than--"

"If you finish saying this, I will kill you in front of your mother!" Wen Jinkai roared, his voice echoing from the walls.

Wang Longhe turned his head sharply towards Wen Jinkai. "You have no right to be angry about what I said! Especially since you failed to protect her, you bastard—"

Wen Jinkai drew his sword instantly and rushed to the golden stairs. "If you weren't in love with your cousin like a madman, Li Minghua wouldn't need my protection!" he roared.

"Crazy?! I wanted to help her. You rarely paid attention to her after becoming the Queen—"

"Enough!" Emperor Fadong roared, and the thunderous sound shook the pillars in the hall. He had reached his limit for the day.

"Guards, drag Commander Wen Jinkai and the Fourth Prince to the cold palace. They will be locked up there for at least a week under my jurisdiction."

The Emperor turned to his shadow guards, who were trained by Wen Jinkai himself.

The shadow guards moved forward to capture the fourth prince, but no one dared to approach the commander.

The emperor frowned, feeling even more depressed. "What are you waiting for? There is another one—"

"These are my dogs," Wen Jinkai blurted out. "Do you think they will bite their owners?"

Fa Dongdi shouted. "What did you just say?!" He didn't think his dog would bite the hand that fed him in front of so many people.

Queen Huiyun couldn't believe that things had developed to this point. When did all this start? She clenched her sharpened nails tightly on her palms, digging deep into the flesh. That damn Li Minghua. After disappearing, she still made trouble in the court! She was even more despicable when she was not there than when she was there!

The Queen knew she should have solved Li Minghua once and for all in the palace, instead of letting the girl escape to Hechen! Her thoughts circled back to the day she left the palace only to drag Li Minghua into the depths of hell. It was an opportunistic day, and the Duke and Duchess did not return home to protect their daughter because they were too busy heading to the capital to seek answers.

Queen Huiyun gritted her teeth and continued to clench her fingers in her palms until blood flowed from her hands.

"I trained them to be the guards they are today," Wen Jinkai said. "Do you really think they will stop being loyal to me?"

The Emperor's eyes narrowed. "I suppose you would say the same." He waved his hand, and this time, a different group of guards rushed into the room, dressed in a markedly different manner from the Shadow Guards. "Your father sent these men to me. You have greatly disappointed me today, my child."

Wen Jinkai sheathed his sword. "Then I must let you know that I don't care about your feelings at all. You have no right to drag me into the cold palace. Your orders are based on emotion."

Queen Huiyun decided enough was enough. "Jinkai, go to your room. Now."

Emperor Fadong's eyes suddenly fell on the queen. "What does this mean-"

"Do you want to have two sons in one day? Isn't one enough?" She maintained an understanding and patient tone. "Boys will be boys. When they're scared, they can't think straight."

Scared?

Wen Jinkai and Wang Longhe couldn't help but roll their eyes. It was as if they would be afraid of a weak man who couldn't even defend himself.

"If I freed one and punished the other, it would be favoritism," the emperor thundered. "They have no respect for their emperor. There are consequences for offending the king."

He turned to the guards brought by Wen Jinkai's father, Wen Xuangong. "What are you waiting for? Capture them!"

"Your Majesty, there is no need to do this," said Queen Huiyun. "They are only expressing their opinions to their father. They are your sons first, and your subjects second!"

Fadongdi began to waver at her logic. "They need to be punished--"

"Yes, but that's not it, Your Majesty. They have made a fool of themselves today." Queen Huiyun almost blurted out, "For a damned loser," but she held it back. It would only make things worse.

There was a long pause. Everyone watched as the emperor's anger slowly turned into dissatisfaction. The queen was right. There was no need for such a long punishment, as it would ruin their reputation.

"Very well," the Emperor concluded. "But get them out of my sight now!"

Wang Longhe didn't need to be told a second time. He stood up and helped his mother to her feet. He shook the dust off his clothes and left through the side entrance.

Wen Jinkai did not leave. He remained standing, staring at the emperor. "It's not my fault that you didn't leave her," he said. Before anyone could react, he rushed down the steps and out the front door.