Upon hearing this, Gu Yanrou trembled slightly with fear. She had never been beaten since she was a child and was extremely afraid of pain. She couldn't even imagine being beaten with twenty boards.

She trembled and said, "Empress, I...I know I was wrong."

Gu Yanyue looked at her coldly without saying a word.

Seeing that she didn't speak, Gu Yanrou stamped her feet anxiously, "I really know I was wrong. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I shouldn't have listened to the servants' slander and framed you for nothing."

"I was really wrong. I will never contradict you again. Please forgive me this time."

Gu Yanyue looked at Gu Yanrou, who was desperately begging for mercy, and said coldly, "If it was really me who was found, then I would be the one on the ground now. You never show mercy to me."

Gu Yanyue pulled Emperor Yuwen Ran's sleeve, turned around and came to his seat, and waved his hand: "Come here, drag him away and give him twenty lashes."

Then he jokingly said, "Call a few palace maids to drag the man away, so that the guards won't be rough and rude and injure our Imperial Concubine Rou's delicate arm again."

Seeing that her daughter was really going to be dragged away for twenty lashes, Madam Qin hurried to Yuwen Ran and said in panic, "Your Majesty! You can't touch my Rou'er!"

When Yuwen Ran heard what Madam Qin said, he immediately frowned and said in a deep voice, "Oh? I don't know who I can't touch."

He lifted up his black robe embroidered with golden dragons and stood up, looking down at Madam Qin. "I had no idea the upbringing of the Prime Minister's wife was so appalling."

Madam Qin raised her head and looked at the young emperor in front of her. Although he was clearly a puppet emperor controlled by others, she inexplicably felt a sense of pressure from him.

She clenched her hands, bravely met Yuwen Ran's gaze and said, "Your Majesty, don't forget who led the troops to support you, so that you can sit on the throne today!"

Yu Wenran's face immediately darkened when he heard this, and his beautiful eyes, which should have been bright and sunny, now seemed to be covered with dark clouds.

Seeing that the palace maids were still dragging her precious daughter out, and that Yuwen Ran and Gu Yanyue didn't seem to be stopping, Madam Qin couldn't hold back any longer. "Your Majesty, we in the Prime Minister's Mansion command 30,000 troops. Are you really not going to stop?!"

"presumptuous!"

A delicate cry interrupted Mrs. Qin and also interrupted Yu Wenran's thoughts, who didn't know what he was thinking.

Gu Yanyue stood up and walked to Madam Qin, frowning her beautiful eyebrows. Her pretty eyes were full of frost, her cherry lips opened and closed, and the words she spoke were cold and heartless, as if she was the god in charge of all living beings sentencing a sinner to death.

"The Prime Minister's wife is disrespectful and treacherous. She spoke rudely in front of the Emperor. Throw her out of the palace!"

Then he looked at Gu Yanrou and said, "Noble Concubine Rou will be executed immediately."

At a command, a group of guards came up and took Madam Qin away.

The palace maids moved a long wooden bench to the entrance of the hall, and Gu Yanrou was pressed roughly on it. Her slender wrists were tied tightly with thick hemp ropes. She was tied to the bench and could not move.

Her face, as smooth and white as a shelled egg, was forced to lie on the blood-stained stool that had a strong smell of blood and rot.

The smell made Gu Yanrou feel nauseous.

Gu Yanyue pulled Yuwen Ran to sit down again, and leisurely asked the palace maid to bring desserts and tea, ready to watch the show.

Yu Wenran looked at Gu Yanyue in a daze. She had just stood up to speak for him and punished Madam Qin. All these actions were unexpected to him.

Gu Yanyue saw that Gu Yanrou was ready, so she smiled and waved her hand, "Let's get started. Don't pity her just because she is a delicate flower."

Gu Yanrou was so ashamed that she was about to yell when she felt a sharp pain in her body that interrupted her thoughts.

"ah!"

With just one blow, she felt as if her bones were about to break.

The second board was placed immediately afterwards, and it landed in the same position as the first board.

Gu Yanrou felt as if she was about to bleed.

She cried and yelled, "I was wrong, I was wrong, I was wrong."

"I really don't dare anymore, ah! I really can't do it anymore, ah!"

After ten strokes, she almost cried and screamed to death.

Yu Wenran on the stage looked on expressionlessly. He felt so bored. This woman's screaming was so noisy and annoying.

He turned around and looked at Gu Yanyue beside him. Gu Yanyue seemed to be quite excited. Her pretty eyebrows were all tinged with smiles, and her eyes were full of teasing. She was watching with great interest, as if she was watching a wonderful show.

Yuwen Ran turned back silently.

After twenty strokes of the cane, the blood on Gu Yanrou's body had soaked through her outer shirt and was exposed.

When she was trembling and trying to get up, she looked up and saw a black robe with dark golden dragon patterns.

She was stunned for a moment before she realized that it was Yuwen Ran who had come to her. She grabbed his clothes with trembling arms and cried, "Your Majesty..."

Yuwen Ran held onto the clean part of her sleeve and pulled her up. Gu Yanrou fell into Yuwen Ran's arms. Yuwen Ran was stunned for a moment, lowered his eyes to hide his slight disgust, and said to Gu Yanrou in his arms in a gentle voice: "What's wrong? Is it hurting anywhere?"

Gu Yanrou raised her tear-red eyes and said coquettishly with a flattered look on her face, "I feel excruciating pain all over my body, but now that I'm in your majesty's arms, I can't feel it at all."

Yuwen Ran pulled Gu Yanrou up from his arms, looked into her eyes tenderly and said, "You made such a bet with the Queen. As the Son of Heaven, my word is final. I must be fair. I am sorry for wronging you."

Yuwen Ran stretched out his bony hand and tucked Gu Yanrou's fallen hair behind her ear. He said gently, "I have no other choice. If I stop the Queen, I won't be able to stop the people from complaining."

Gu Yanyue almost laughed out loud. Isn’t this acting too fake?

However, Gu Yanrou was really intoxicated by it, and her eyes, which had just dried up from crying, were so moved that they seemed to be able to shed tears for Yu Wenran again.

I didn't expect that His Majesty the Emperor would think so much about her.

Gu Yanrou choked up and said, "Your Majesty..."

"It's getting late. Concubine Rou should go back to the palace and rest for a few days."

Yu Wenran stood up and went back to the palace without waiting for her to finish.

Gu Yanrou didn't react. She thought Yuwen Ran would stay in her bedroom at least tonight.

Gu Yanrou shouted anxiously, "Your Majesty!"

Yuwen Ran kept walking forward without even looking back.

"My embrace is not a miracle cure. Concubine Rou, please return to the palace and seek treatment from the imperial physician."

Gu Yanyue looked at Yuwen Ran with amusement. After teasing Gu Yanrou, he came back in a cool manner, leaving Gu Yanrou alone, covered in blood, standing there in a daze.

Yuwen Ran pretended to be calm and called out, "Empress."

Gu Yanyue raised her eyebrows in amusement and replied, "Hmm?"

"I want to eat the dish you made for me a few days ago."

"Huh? What dish?"

"It's called... grilled cold noodles?"

Gu Yanyue burst out laughing, then coughed and said seriously: "Okay, Your Majesty, let's go back to the palace now."