38: In the end, love is all about conscience.

No matter how much he complained internally, Mo Yingqi still followed and got into the carriage.

Steward Zheng seemed to notice his preoccupations and softly consoled him, saying: "Imperial Son-in-Law, please do not overthink. You must have noticed how much The Two Highnesses care about you. Actually, if this old servant may say something presumptuous, whatever you can provide, The Two Highnesses already possess, and whatever you cannot provide... I fear The Two Highnesses have that as well."

"I know, it is just that doing nothing makes it feel a bit awkward..." Mo Yingqi rubbed his nose in embarrassment. "Right, how about this, Steward Zheng? Please take me back home first; I need to retrieve some things."

Steward Zheng was unsure what he intended to do, but he nodded in agreement and instructed the carriage to turn around and head to the small courtyard where Mo Yingqi resided.

Before long, Mo Yingqi walked out carrying a wooden chest, and Steward Zheng quickly ordered the coachman to help secure the chest to the back of the carriage.

"Imperial Son-in-Law, what is this?" Steward Zheng looked at the chest with some curiosity. "Why did you make a special trip back to retrieve it?"

"Oh, nothing much. One must do something, after all."

Mo Yingqi looked at the wooden chest, his heart filled with mixed emotions, yet he did not know why he was still willing to trust the two sisters.

"Let's go, Steward Zheng. Once we arrive at the Princesss Residence, you will understand." Mo Yingqi said with a smile. "Come to think of it, it has been quite a few years. I always thought you would still be following their grandmother."

"After The Two Highnesses left the Northern Border, they returned to the former residence. This old servant was also assigned by the Old Madam to come over and continue taking care of the daily life of The Two Highnesses." Steward Zheng explained to Mo Yingqi while boarding the carriage. "All these years, this old servant has followed The Two Highnesses, and in truth, they have never forgotten you..."

The words that were originally on his lips were held back in the end. Steward Zheng really wanted to tell Mo Yingqi how much the two of them had sacrificed and how much suffering they had endured to be with him.

However, he was getting on in years, and The Two Highnesses trusted and respected him. It was not worth it for this matter... although it would not cost him his life, after all, he had been with the master's family for so many years, right?

But he would certainly suffer, so it was better to let it go. Imperial Son-in-Law, you had better not be ungrateful. Besides, no matter how crazy those two are, they certainly would not harm you in the slightest. As for others... that is hard to say.

"Come to think of it, Imperial Son-in-Law, since you are in the Pacification Bureau, you should be careful." Steward Zheng pondered for a moment, lowering his voice as he spoke to him. "The capital is not as peaceful as it appears on the surface. The Emperor has only been on the throne for a year. Setting aside Grand Chancellor Zhou, there are some among the Imperial Relatives who are not very settled. Now that you have married The Two Highnesses, so many eyes are watching you, and you still run to the Pacification Bureau; it is truly quite dangerous..."

How could Mo Yingqi not know this? After the late Emperor passed away and the Struggle for succession among the seven sons occurred, The Emperor used iron-fisted methods to suppress them after ascending the throne, but some Imperial Relatives were still unconvinced by The Emperor.

In their view, The Emperor was neither the legitimate heir nor the eldest son, so why was the throne finally passed to him? They completely ignored that although the late Emperor was the legitimate eldest son, was he not still plotted against by his own brothers, living every day as if walking on thin ice?

To put it plainly, it was not about whether The Emperor deserved the throne or not; if someone else were replaced, they would still feel it was undeserved. As long as they were not the ones sitting on this dragon throne, regardless of whether they were close or distant relatives, anyone surnamed Luo felt they had the qualifications, or that only they were worthy of inheriting the throne.

"In fact, letting you take a leave of absence is partly to prepare for the wedding, and partly to protect you." Steward Zheng said with earnest advice. "Even today, this old servant feels you have not fully accepted the fact that you are an Imperial Son-in-Law. Actually, I can understand; it is human nature! Even if it is a wonderful thing, when it suddenly drops on your head, one will be dazed."

"That is indeed true. To be honest, sometimes I still feel like I am dreaming." Mo Yingqi did not deny it, but instead smiled helplessly. "Moreover, with my mother's affair as a precedent, the ones I am marrying now are far more noble in status compared to my father in the past."

His grandfather had been intent on finding a reliable protector for his mother, but what was the result? Although Luo Yongan and Luo Yongning cared so much for him now, Mo Yingqi still... felt apprehensive in his heart.

Human hearts are the most uncontrollable and ever-changing things. After entering the Pacification Bureau, Mo Yingqi not only came into contact with the darkness of officialdom, but also saw too many unknown ugly secrets of Imperial Relatives and official families.

The late Emperor's youngest sister had once been desperate to die for a poor Imperial Examination Candidate, insisting on marrying no one else. The candidate worried that they were not a good match, and furthermore, the late Emperor had informed him that if he agreed, he would not oppose it, but unlike other Imperial Son-in-Laws, he would be unable to enter officialdom again.

But in the end, the candidate was moved by the Princess's genuine feelings. Even though he was scolded by his Esteemed Teacher and mocked by his peers for clinging to the powerful, he eventually entered the Princesss Residence.

Yet only a few years later, the Princess grew tired of her so-called true love. She kept a Male Consort in the residence, indulged that Male Consort in insulting the Imperial Son-in-Law, and even detained him, forbidding him from leaving the residence, while deceiving those above and below.

It was not until The Emperor ascended the throne that this matter was known. His Majesty was furious and dispatched the Pacification Bureau to storm the Princesss Residence directly. Why did Mo Yingqi know? Because this was the first mission he executed after becoming a member of the Flying Fish Guard.

The Emperor ordered his men to publicly castrate the Male Consort, break his limbs, cut out his tongue, and throw him out of the capital. He even issued an imperial decree personally—not for a separation, but in the name of The Emperor, directly ordering the Imperial Son-in-Law to divorce the Princess.

In the entire Daxing Dynasty, this was likely the first time such a thing had happened since the dawn of time.

He always remembered the eunuch who went to the Princesss Residence with them to deliver the message, personally conveying The Emperor's words to that Princess in public: "No matter how noble your birth, no matter how high your status, in the end, love relies entirely on conscience. Even if you do not love him anymore, you should not trample and demean him like this!"

"It was you who begged for this marriage in the beginning, and it was you who would rather defy the late Emperor to marry him. Now, you are the one who has grown tired of him, and you are the one who kept him under house arrest in the residence, forbidding anyone from letting the news leak out. Our dynasty has ancestral regulations regarding Princesses keeping Male Consorts; you deceived those above and below, and you mistreated the Imperial Son-in-Law. Has your conscience been eaten by dogs?"

"Do not think that I am humiliating you; all this humiliation and grievance is your own doing, which you brought upon yourself!"

He always remembered that day, when that Princess, who had once been doted on by the late Emperor and was by blood The Emperor's aunt, knelt on the ground and wept loudly. Mo Yingqi was unsure if she was crying because she had been so humiliated by The Emperor, or if she felt sad because that Male Consort had been severely punished by The Emperor and then thrown out of the capital?

Mo Yingqi would never know these things. However, after that incident, the Princesss Residence was sealed by The Emperor, and she was driven to a remote courtyard for house arrest. Her supplies were provided as usual, but she was not allowed to go out again. If there was a true emergency, she had to enter the palace to seek permission from Empress Shen.

"Imperial Son-in-Law, did you recall something?" Steward Zheng looked at the deep-in-thought Mo Yingqi, with a hint of inquiry in his eyes. "Imperial Son-in-Law, you need not worry. This old servant dares not say much else, but this old servant can guarantee that The Two Highnesses are definitely not the type of heartless people."

"On the contrary, Imperial Son-in-Law, you must absolutely... do not let down The Two Highnesses."

Otherwise, I fear this capital will be plunged into a bloodbath...