Adult Tang Dynasty: I, the Scoundrel, Fully Support the Empress - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Was Su Yang the Empress’s Kept Man?

At the morning court session, inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the tension in the air was thick.

“Your Majesty, I urge you to strip Su Yang of his position!” Minister Wei Zheng spoke firmly, his voice ringing through the hall. “And I also implore the Empress to uphold morality. Some lines should never be crossed.”

The entire court fell silent. Officials exchanged uneasy glances, their expressions filled with shock. Wei Zheng was never one to shy away from the truth, no matter how dangerous it was to speak.

Everyone in court knew what he was referring to.

Rumors had been spreading like wildfire throughout Chang’an. People whispered that Su Yang was not actually the Empress’s sworn brother. Instead, they claimed she had been keeping him as her consort in secret.

And honestly, the theory wasn’t far-fetched.

Su Yang was strikingly handsome—more beautiful than most men. If he weren’t, how else could anyone explain why the Empress favored him so much? He wasn’t a scholar. He had no literary talent. If anything, he was arrogant and reckless to an extreme.

Still, no matter how many people suspected the truth, no one had dared to say it out loud. Let alone accuse the Empress in front of the Emperor himself. That was asking to get executed!

And sure enough, the moment the words left Wei Zheng’s mouth, the Emperor’s face darkened. His piercing gaze burned with barely contained fury.

His first instinct was to order the guards to drag Wei Zheng out and behead him immediately.

But he held back.

The Emperor knew his reputation had already suffered after the Xuanwu Gate Incident. The last thing he needed was to prove his critics right by shedding more blood in court. If he executed Wei Zheng now, no one would ever dare to speak honestly in court again.

Taking a deep breath, he forced his rage down and spoke in a low, dangerous voice.

“Do you have proof?”

Wei Zheng stood his ground. “Not at this moment, Your Majesty. But there’s no smoke without fire. For the sake of the royal family’s dignity, it would be best to remove Su Yang before things escalate.”

He was fearless. He believed he was doing the right thing. If the Emperor wanted to execute him for speaking the truth, then so be it. A ruler who couldn’t handle honest criticism didn’t deserve to be called a wise king.

Li Er’s eyes flashed with fury. He slammed his hand against the table. “Then bring me proof first! If you dare spread baseless rumors again, I won’t let this slide!”

With that, he stood abruptly and stormed out of court, his fury barely contained.

On the way to the imperial study, Li Er could no longer hold it in. He cursed under his breath, swearing he’d flay that stubborn fool alive. The eunuchs trailing behind him trembled, afraid to even breathe too loudly.

Meanwhile, in the Eastern District of Chang’an, inside Su Yang’s residence, a different kind of trouble was brewing.

Su Yang sat with a troubled expression. Ever since he had beaten Zhangsun Chong to a pulp, every rich kid in town had been avoiding him like the plague. No one wanted to be anywhere near him, which meant he had no one to bully for points.

Just then, a carriage rolled up outside his residence. A maid stepped out and walked straight in without hesitation. She was none other than Qing Yi, the Empress’s personal attendant.

She wasted no time delivering her message. “The Empress has summoned you to the palace.”

Su Yang’s expression turned grim.

His sworn sister wanted to see him?

He had a feeling he knew why.

Word must have reached her about his latest antics—especially the part where he beat the living daylights out of Zhangsun Chong.

So she was going to scold him, huh?

Well, that was fair. No matter how much she spoiled him, there had to be limits.

And because even his “brother-in-law,” the Emperor himself, had gone out of his way to check in on him…

Yeah.

Su Yang was definitely in trouble.