An Honghan withdrew his fingers and instead hugged it.

"You know it hurts, yet you still run around like that. Don't you want this leg anymore?" An Honghan said weakly, being very careful not to touch the leg it had injured.

Seeing that An Honghan had stopped his attack, Xi Xizhi finally felt relieved. However, the throbbing pain in her forelimbs made her feel cold all over, and she broke out in a cold sweat.

The guards responsible for administering the caning had stopped. In truth, they were also reluctant to do it. They all worked in the Panlong Hall, seeing each other all the time, and there was some affection between them. Their consciences wouldn't allow them to beat them to death.

All the palace maids and eunuchs knelt down, crying and pleading, "Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Majesty."

Everyone looked at the little sable with gratitude. In this critical moment, even a sable showed more humanity than His Majesty. If it weren't for the little sable pleading for them, their lives would have been in grave danger. But the trouble was, in fact, caused by this little sable.

Should they thank it or hate it?

"The death penalty may be waived, but punishment is inevitable. Gouge out the eyes of these palace maids and eunuchs and banish them from the palace." His voice was icy cold, devoid of warmth. An Honghan stroked the fur of the little sable without glancing at the kneeling eunuchs and palace maids.

The palace maids and eunuchs felt a deep sense of despair. From the moment they entered the Panlong Palace to serve, they knew they would not return alive.

Now that they have been spared their lives, they should be content and kneel down to thank the emperor for his grace.

"Chirp chirp..." Xi Xizhi was shocked. Without their eyes, how could they take care of themselves? Living would only be suffering.

If we're talking about cause and effect, even the slightest injury to them should be blamed entirely on Xi Xizhi. Isn't An Honghan's actions essentially forcing her down the path of becoming a sinner?

Firmly disagreeing, Xi Xizhi raised her other hand and slapped An Honghan's palm.

"I have already spared their lives, what more do you want me to do? If I don't teach them a lesson, where is my authority? My tolerance has its limits." Feeling that the little sable was going too far, An Honghan narrowed his eyes coldly, not intending to back down any further.

Xi Xizhi is also a stubborn person. If An Honghan wants to punish them, he might as well punish it as well, so that she won't feel guilty and live in self-blame all day long.

"Chirp chirp..." Xi Xizhi turned over and looked at him with piercing eyes.

An Honghan looked at Xiao Diao with a headache, "Don't think I won't punish you. You've caused so much trouble, you'll be punished too."

Xiao Diao nodded solemnly; this was the result she wanted. If she couldn't change her predetermined fate, Xi Xizhi could only try to find peace of mind in her own way.

If one commits too many sins, the power of the heavenly tribulation will increase several times over, and the punishment at that time will be more than a hundred times more severe than it is now.

An Honghan was furious, wishing he could strangle the little ferret. Anyone else would cower and beg for mercy upon hearing punishment. But this little ferret, upon hearing this, remained completely unperturbed, as if it had been relieved.

An Honghan couldn't bear to punish him too severely. But if he punished him too leniently, he was afraid the little guy wouldn't learn his lesson.

Since becoming embroiled in the power struggles of the imperial court, An Honghan had long since abandoned his soft heart. Yet now, he's actually worried about Xiao Diao? When did this lost emotion return to him?

"Take the little sable to the confinement room and lock it up for two or three days." An Honghan had no choice but to do this. He thought the little sable would be afraid of being punished and beg him for mercy, but it just nodded like that, not even knowing how to back down.

The thought of not seeing Xiaobaituan for two or three days made An Honghan feel depressed.

An Honghan handed the little sable to the eunuch and asked him to take it to the confinement room.

Seeing it lying in someone else's arms made me feel even more down.

Xi Xizhi muttered under her breath, seemingly dissatisfied with An Honghan's lenient punishment, and lay in the eunuch's arms, grumbling to herself.

The confinement room, as the name suggests, is a place for reflection and self-examination. That's why Xi Xizhi felt this punishment was too lenient, not comparable to the pain of having one's eyes gouged out suffered by eunuchs and palace maids. Her master used to catch her slacking off and lock her up every few days, so Xi Xizhi was already used to confinement.

There were no windows, the room was pitch black and eerily quiet. It was like a solitary world, eerily silent. Anyone else in such an environment would have been terrified by the silence, their imaginations running wild. But for someone as simple-minded as Xi Xizhi, this environment posed no fear whatsoever.

Xi Xizhi lay prone in the darkness, the fiery down on her forehead like a lamp, gleaming with a faint red light.

Xi Xizhi's forelimbs were in excruciating pain, so she stuck out her tongue and, like the animals, licked her wounds.

Of all the eunuchs and palace maids, only Lynn was allowed to remain in the palace. Having been flogged eighteen times, Lynn was in so much pain that she couldn't get out of bed and needed assistance to walk.

In the afternoon, An Honghan went to the Imperial Study. A stack of memorials lay on the desk, but his gaze was fixed on the window, lost in thought.

Wu Jianfeng was one of An Honghan's personal bodyguards. Although he was not implicated in this incident, he was still shaken by it.

"Have those palace maids and eunuchs been subjected to torture yet?" An Honghan suddenly asked.

Wu Jianfeng straightened his back in fright, "Your Majesty, not yet."

An Honghan gave a faint "hmm" and then said, "Take him into custody for now. Summon two imperial physicians to the confinement room to examine Feng Yunshao's forelimbs."

Wu Jianfeng thought he had misheard. His Majesty had just punished Xiao Diao in the morning, and now he couldn't help but send someone to visit him in the afternoon? What kind of punishment was this?

"Yes, Your Majesty, this servant obeys." Wu Jianfeng received the order and was about to turn and leave when he remembered something and stood in front of An Honghan again. "Your Majesty, the little sable is an animal. I'm afraid the imperial physician can't cure it. Shouldn't we find a veterinarian?"

Distracted for half a day, An Honghan even forgot the most basic things. Or rather, from beginning to end, he had always treated it as a human being.

"Issue an imperial edict." Since we're going to raise mink, we definitely need to find a highly skilled veterinarian to care for us.

There will be many situations where you'll need a veterinarian if your ferret gets injured or feels unwell in the future. So finding one now will definitely come in handy later.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wu Jianfeng then withdrew.

As soon as the imperial edict was posted, many people applied. However, many were just pretending, hoping to enter the palace and obtain an official position. Those who could truly be called veterinarians were few and far between.

It wasn't until sunset that Wu Jianfeng finally found an elderly man who could barely be called a veterinarian.

The old man was probably in his sixties, with a long, white goatee and kind-looking features.

Leading the old man to the confinement room, Wu Jianfeng was about to enter when he was suddenly stopped by the guards.

"Guard Wu, you've come at the right time! The Phoenix Cloud Sable refuses to eat. What should we do?" The guard seemed very anxious. Ever since the Phoenix Cloud Sable was brought in, they hadn't dared to mistreat it. They brought it food at noon, but the little sable didn't even glance at it, instead lying on the ground sleeping. They brought it again in the afternoon, and although the little sable slightly opened its eyes, it still didn't eat.