Chapter 283 How should I punish you?

Just as he was lost in thought, Xiao Jue's voice suddenly rang in his ears. Eunuch Feng quickly came back to his senses and saw him drop the memorial in his hand, stand up and walk out with big strides.

Eunuch Feng: “…”

What?

Do you have to go pick it up in person again?

Your Majesty, could you please pay a little attention to your image?

Miss Chen has already entered the palace, so just bring her here. How could she get lost?

How could a king of a country always condescend to personally pick up a woman? If this were to get out, how would it affect the emperor's dignity?

"Yes, Your Majesty..."

Although he disagreed in his heart, he didn't dare say it out loud. Eunuch Feng shook his head, responded quickly, bent down and followed.

As soon as I walked out of the temple, I saw a group of people walking slowly towards me on the clean and flat bluestone ground.

The young eunuch led the way in front, followed by Shen Qingyi, and then came the Iron Eagle Guards headed by Situ Yin.

Xiao Jue stopped and stood on the steps, looking at them from afar. To be precise, he was only looking at her.

His eyes were focused and scorching, as if they were real, and it would be hard for Shen Qingyi not to notice them.

She paused and subconsciously turned her head to look, and saw a tall, straight and majestic figure on the bluestone steps.

In the backlight, she couldn't see his expression clearly, and could only see the noble, mysterious, gorgeous and domineering dragon pattern on the black dragon robe. Shen Qingyi's heart skipped a beat and her hair couldn't help but become messy.

“Miss Shen?”

Seeing her suddenly stop, Situ Yin frowned and walked forward, reminding her in a low voice. Shen Qingyi quickly came to her senses and apologized hurriedly.

"I'm sorry, I was distracted. Let's go quickly and don't keep the emperor waiting."

"Yeah, okay."

Hearing this, Situ Yin's frown relaxed and he nodded in response.

The group quickened their pace and saluted Xiao Jue together.

After the ceremony, Xiao Jue walked down the stairs, and in front of everyone, he naturally took Shen Qingyi's hand and turned to walk towards the stairs.

Boom!!!

Something seemed to explode in Shen Qingyi's mind, turning her brain into a mess and making her feel dizzy. After she came to her senses, her face turned red instantly and she shook off his hand in panic.

However, people who practice martial arts are very good at using strength skillfully. Although he did not hold on hard, it seemed as if he was stuck to her hand and could not get rid of it at all.

She was about to continue shaking her hands when a man's deep voice suddenly rang in her ears.

"You missed your appointment yesterday and are late today. Shen Qingyi, tell me, how should I punish you? Hmm?"

Shen Qingyi: "..."

As if she was under a spell, she suddenly stopped and turned to look at him.

He looked straight ahead without looking sideways. His profile was extremely well-shaped, as if it had been carefully carved. Apart from his extreme handsomeness, there was no trace of emotion on his face.

The door of the imperial study was closed, and all outsiders were completely isolated.

Shen Qingyi came back to her senses and explained eagerly.

"Your Majesty, calm down. There is something I must clarify. I was indeed at fault for missing the appointment yesterday, but being late today was an accident and not my intention..."

"After receiving the emperor's letter, I immediately set out for the palace. Unexpectedly, I was stopped by the Prince of Jin on the way, which delayed me a little. Therefore, Your Majesty cannot blame me for being late."

It’s not that Shen Qingyi sincerely wants to report Xiao Yelin’s misdeeds.

Rather, the Iron Eagle Guards are the emperor's men. Although they did not come out to rescue her early in today's incident, they appeared when Xiao Yelin tried to forcibly send her back to the Shen family. The timing was definitely very clever.

From this, it can be seen that they have really been following her secretly for a long time as Xiao Yelin said. So, no matter whether Xiao Yelin intercepted her halfway or got into the carriage to pester her, he could not hide it from the emperor.

Instead of keeping silent and arousing suspicion, it is better to speak out actively. Maybe it can help her avoid some blame.

"Yeah?"

He lowered his eyes and looked at her, and laughed meaningfully. Shen Qingyi didn't know what he meant, and was too lazy to think about it, so she just nodded in response.

"Yes, if the emperor doesn't believe it, he can summon Commander Situ to question him."

His eyes moved, and he reached out to touch her face, his rough thumb sliding gently across her delicate skin.

"Why did the King of Jin stop you?"

Shen Qingyi was about to answer every question, but suddenly she thought of something. She raised her neck and smiled softly as she looked into his ink-black eyes.

"There is something I don't understand, and I want to ask the Emperor."

Haha, instead of answering his question, she came to ask him questions. In the whole world, only she dared to do this. However, he agreed.

Xiao Jue raised his eyebrows and said, "Well, go ahead."

"Did the Emperor send someone to follow this minister in secret?"

There was no mention of the Iron Eagle Guard or Situ Yin because once a clear name was given, the target would be narrowed down to this range.

The forces available to the emperor are definitely not limited to the Iron Eagle Guard.

“That’s right!”

He admitted it without hesitation, with no intention of covering it up, but soon continued to speak out to justify his actions.

"But I don't want to monitor you. It's because you had an accident on your last trip and were injured and unconscious. Do you remember this? I also went to the Shen family to see you, but due to the strict rules between men and women, I didn't see you."

"I was very scared when I heard you were injured. For the first time, I clearly realized that the security in the capital is far from good. The defenses around you are too weak, and it is easy for someone to take advantage of the loopholes. That's why I sent people to protect you."

As expected, Shen Qingyi felt unhappy. It wasn't because of the things he did secretly, but...

"If they were there to protect me and were following me, why didn't they show up when Prince Jin entered my carriage?"

She was so angry that she even forgot to use the word "minister" and just used "me".

Shen Qingyi felt very unhappy when she thought of how trembling and frightened she was when Xiao Yelin threatened her.

Looking at her angry look, Xiao Jue felt very amused and couldn't help but pinch her cheek gently.

"Since the engagement was broken off, you and Prince Jin haven't met alone. Prince Jin must be very upset about the inexplicable and unilateral breakup of the engagement, and he wants to seek clarification from you."

"The engagement is already done. I think it would be best if you explained it to him clearly, so that he doesn't dwell on it and make wild guesses, which could eventually lead to resentment..."

It was with this idea in mind that Xiao Jue had told Situ Yin long ago that if Xiao Yelin went to see Shen Qingyi for the first time after the cancellation of the engagement, he should not stop him.

Unless Xiao Yelin wants to harm Shen Qingyi.

Even the secret decree was prepared by him earlier. As long as Xiao Yelin did not do anything too outrageous, the secret decree would not be needed.

But unfortunately, he went out of line!

Thinking of this, a hint of coldness flashed across Xiao Jue's eyes.

Situ Yin had already sent someone to pass on the news that Shen Qingyi was stopped by Xiao Yelin today, so he already knew the whole story.