Prince Ashworth Causes Trouble The Emperor Gets Scolded
With Cassidy Sterling pushing all her buttons, the Empress Dowager was about to snap.
Finally, Nanny Cole couldn't take it anymore. Worried the Empress Dowager might disown Prince Ashworth right then and there, she rushed over to help her into a chair.
"Your Majesty, please, calm down! Just breathe."
Afraid Cassidy would stir up even more trouble, the nanny quickly changed the subject. "Your Majesty, look at the time. It's getting late, and we've been away from the palace for a while. Shouldn't we head back for dinner?"
The Empress Dowager leaned on her cane, gasping for air. The moment she caught a whiff of alcohol on her son, the anger she'd just managed to swallow came rushing right back up.
"Nanny, just look at this good-for-nothing!" she seethed. "He's getting more and more out of control. He's trying to give me a heart attack!"
Nanny Cole was at a loss. In the past, she could have made the excuse that the prince was still young and would grow out of it.
But she couldn't bring herself to lie through her teeth and praise him just to calm the old woman down, mostly because Prince Ashworth would actually believe it.
All she could do was gently rub the Empress Dowager's back, hoping to soothe her.
Cassidy knew when to quit while she was ahead, not wanting the old lady to actually get sick from the stress. She rushed over, putting on her most concerned face. "Grandmother, please don't be angry. My father might be a handful, but I'm a good granddaughter!"
She leaned in conspiratorially. "From now on, I'll make sure to keep your son in line. I won't let him go out drinking anymore. And if he doesn't listen, I'll personally give him a beating and see if he still dares to act like a bum."
The Empress Dowager, who had been on the verge of a heart attack over her son's behavior, completely forgot how wrong it was for a daughter to threaten her own father.
Hearing Cassidy's words, she just squeezed the girl's hand in relief.
"Good girl. That's exactly how that rascal should be disciplined. From now on, if your father misbehaves, you have my permission to beat him. I'll have your back."
Cassidy nodded obediently, cracking her knuckles with a wicked little grin.
Prince Ashworth was speechless.
*Wait, who's the parent here?*
"Mother, that rebellious daughter of mine, "
"Shut your mouth!" the Empress Dowager roared, pointing a trembling finger at him.
"You have the nerve to scold your daughter? Look at what she's done with this theater, she's made it a huge success! And what about you? You're a grown man! Have you ever done a single decent thing in your entire life?"
Cassidy bobbed her head enthusiastically. "Exactly, exactly!"
"I... I..." Prince Ashworth stuttered, trying to defend himself, but he came up completely empty.
He couldn't think of a single respectable accomplishment.
The only thing he could take credit for was marrying a princess and having a daughter.
But now, his wife had run off and his daughter was turning against him.
The thought made him deflate on the spot.
"Since you can't seem to find anything useful to do, Father, you can come with me to patrol the streets tomorrow," Cassidy said with a smirk.
"I'm the new Commander-in-Chief, personally appointed by my uncle, the Emperor. From now on, you have to listen to me not just at home, but at the Capital Inspection Bureau, too."
Prince Ashworth gritted his teeth, shooting Cassidy a look that should have set her on fire. If she wasn't his only child, one of them wouldn't be leaving this room alive.
"Mother," he said, changing tactics, "isn't it about time we arranged a marriage for this girl?"
Cassidy hadn't expected him to pull that move.
"Grandmother, I'm still young, there's no hurry," she said smoothly. "But on the other hand, my father is out all day. I'm worried he needs some company at the manor. Why don't you find a new wife for him? I'd love to have a kind and loving stepmother to spoil me a little."
The Empress Dowager's eyes lit up. "Cassidy has a point. Your wife has been gone for so long; you need to move on. I'll pick out a proper, well-bred wife for you who knows how to run a household. That will make things easier for Cassidy, too."
Prince Ashworth couldn't believe his attempt to marry off his daughter had just blown up in his face.
"I don't want another wife," he declared. "If you insist on forcing one on me, Mother, then tomorrow I'll go to St. Jude's Abbey and become a monk. I'll spend the rest of my days with nothing but stone saints and oil lamps for company."
The Empress Dowager gripped her cane, furious. That scoundrel. Every time she brought up marriage, he threatened to become a monk.
"I'm too tired to deal with you," she said, her voice dripping with disdain. "Do whatever you want. I'll just pretend I never had a son. Nanny, we're going back to the palace."
The Empress Dowager and Nanny Cole left through a side door of the theater, returning to the palace in disguise.
The first thing she did when she got back was march straight to the Imperial Study to give the Emperor a piece of her mind.
She blamed him for not managing his younger brother properly, which was causing her, in her old age, nothing but stress.
The Emperor, who had been buried in state affairs all day, hadn't even had a chance to rest before getting an earful out of nowhere.
*What did I do to deserve this?* he thought, exasperated. He'd never once complained to his mother about the troublesome brother she'd given him, and now *she* had the nerve to blame *him*?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He snatched a scroll from his desk and slammed it down with a crack.
"Steward Payne!"
"I am here, Your Majesty!" Payne bowed quickly.
"Issue a decree. That good-for-nothing Prince Ashworth will immediately take over the Stonehaven Estate treason case. He starts tomorrow."
Payne was taken aback. "Your Majesty, this case..."
But the Emperor wasn't just acting out of anger; he had his reasons.
The court officials were all pressuring him to condemn the Stonehaven family, to make the treason charges stick and eliminate any chance of the verdict being overturned.
He refused. He was the Emperor, and he wouldn't be bullied by a bunch of bureaucrats.
Feeling defiant, he decided to sic Prince Ashworth on them.
With everything at a standstill, he figured he'd let those two troublemakers from Ashworth Manor shake things up and distract the court. It would buy the Onyx Guard more time to find out what really happened.
"Tell those two rascals from Ashworth Manor they have one month," the Emperor ordered.
"They will question witnesses, verify the evidence, and clear up all the loose ends. I don't really care if they solve it, but they'd better cause a big enough stir for me. If they dare to slack off, I'll throw both of them in the dungeons to keep the Marquis of Stonehaven company."
Understanding perfectly, Steward Payne took the case file, turned, and hurried out of the study.
Meanwhile, at Ashworth Manor, Cassidy was in the middle of dinner when three words flashed across the System's glowing screen in her mind: *Marquis of Stonehaven*.
The interface practically vibrated with excitement. 'Host, the reward for this task is forty-five days of lifespan!'
Cassidy mentally rolled her eyes. *The bigger the reward, the bigger the headache. If even the Emperor can't solve it, what makes you think we can?*
'But... but Host, if we finish this task, I'll get enough points to upgrade,' the System pleaded, its tone turning pathetic.
Cassidy drummed her fingers on the table. *How about this? Tomorrow, I'll get Father to push the Emperor to investigate the Stonehaven case. Once the court officials have done all the heavy lifting, we can swoop in. That should still count as completing the task, right?*
The System did a virtual happy dance. 'Host, you're a genius! That way, we don't have to do the hard work, but we still get the reward and your lifespan! Perfect!'
Prince Ashworth watched his daughter, who had been eating normally just a moment ago, suddenly break into a mischievous grin. A familiar dread settled in his stomach.
She was definitely up to something.
Cassidy looked up at him, her eyes gleaming. "Father, how would you like a monthly allowance?"
"What... what are you planning?" Prince Ashworth stammered, his fork frozen halfway to his mouth.
"Help me with one thing," Cassidy promised, "and I'll start giving you a generous allowance tomorrow."