Chapter 40 Thunder and Rain, All are the Emperor's Grace

Jiang Yu's family in her previous life was very ordinary. Her mother was a middle school teacher in a rural area, and her father worked as a grassroots public servant in the town government after retiring from the army. Through hard work, she was admitted to a top university, and after graduating with a master's degree, she took the civil service exam and entered the provincial procuratorate.

Despite having no family connections, she rose to the position of section chief in less than three years. This was partly due to her outstanding professional skills, her ability to endure hardship and her dedication to learning, and partly because she was very good at reading people.

This seems to be an innate ability; from a young age, she could sense the emotions and personalities of her parents and relatives from their facial expressions, body language, and even the tone of their voices. Later, she studied psychology on her own, which further enhanced her mastery of this skill.

This skill not only proved invaluable when interrogating suspects, but also in her professional life. She could accurately grasp her superiors' emotions, personalities, and even needs, and then "cater to their preferences."

So her job in her previous life went very smoothly, but she never expected that she would be betrayed by the family member of a prisoner she had sent to prison at such a young age.

All I can say is that she was too careless at the time.

Back to the present, Princess Wenxin did not hide her emotions, and Jiang Yu could naturally sense it. She had come today to watch the show and could feel Princess Wenxin's interest in her. She could even sense a hint of Princess Wenxin's pleasure.

Where does this exhilaration come from?

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Yu felt that Princess Wenxin might be at odds with the Qingshan Marquis's Mansion, or Consort Su, or Su Yuezhen.

If that's the case, then the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Jiang Yu felt that building a good relationship with Princess Wenxin might be useful in the future.

She didn't see this behavior as flattery or pandering. Humans are social animals, and in complex interpersonal environments, knowing how to assess situations and cleverly leverage resources is a form of survival wisdom.

She didn't know what her future held, but getting involved with Princess Wenxin was definitely the right thing to do.

Since it was only a caning and not beheading, there was no need to do it at noon. Just as the sun was rising, Su Yuezhen was escorted to the platform by several imperial guards.

She was dressed in red, which should have made her as vibrant as fire, but now it looked particularly tattered because it was wrinkled and crumpled. She kept her head down, as if she didn't want anyone to see her face.

Jiang Yu recalled the arrogance and haughtiness of the woman who had tilted her chin up and told him she didn't want a divorce and would give him a letter of divorce.

"hehe..."

Jiang Yu smiled. She was never a particularly noble person; she held grudges, very much so. Although her relationship with Qi Yuanhong wasn't very important to her, she would naturally resent those who had hurt her.

Now that she sees her enemy get his comeuppance, she is very happy, genuinely happy.

"Hehehe..."

Princess Wenxin laughed as well. Jiang Yu turned to look at her, their eyes met, and they smiled at each other.

"Su Yuezhen of the Marquis of Qingshan..."

The eunuch began reading Su Yuezhen's crimes. Jiang Yu felt that the Duke of Chu's statement that the current emperor did not have much talent, but had one great advantage, namely that he could listen to advice, was not entirely correct.

As a ruler, a sovereign, being able to listen to the opinions of his ministers is a talent in itself. Now, by having Su Yuezhen beaten in public, he was likely both suppressing the Qingshan Marquis's mansion and Consort Su, and also serving as a form of intimidation.

Thunder and rain, all are the emperor's grace.

The current emperor is also a ruthless person!

There are many ways to use this incident to suppress the Qingshan Marquis's Mansion and Consort Su, but he chose the method that would make the Qingshan Marquis's Mansion and Consort Su lose face the most.

This is a case of "if we don't move, we don't move; but if we do, we go all out!"

After the eunuch finished reading Su Yuezhen's crimes, the execution began. Su Yuezhen was pressed to the ground, and two imperial guards raised large batons high. With a bang, the batons fell, followed by Su Yuezhen's sharp scream of pain.

Bang bang bang.....

With each blow, Su Yuezhen's face turned deathly pale, and cold sweat dripped down her face. She lay prone on the execution platform, able to see the crowd watching the execution below.

She didn't know why her vision and mind were so clear at this moment. She clearly saw the third young lady of the Zhang family and the fifth young lady of the Gu family, both pointing at her and whispering and laughing. There was also the eldest young lady of the Dong family, and the sixth young lady of the Wu family...

Those she had once suppressed were now laughing at her. She also saw her eldest sister, Su Yuerong. Their eyes met, and the smugness and sarcasm in Su Yuerong's eyes made her want to kill.

Bang bang bang....

The pain in her back came in waves, and she didn't know how things had gotten to this point.

Qi Yuanhong was merely a poor, uneducated scholar who had achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations. For him, the daughter of the Earl of Qingshan and the niece of the Imperial Concubine, to marry him was already an extreme insult. His ex-wife, a commoner from the marketplace, further provoked her, reopening her most hidden wounds and humiliating her.

She was so humiliated, shouldn't she kill that bitch Jiang Yu?

It's a shame that Jiang Yu is actually the lost eldest daughter of the Duke of Chu's mansion; otherwise, how could a commoner like her cause such a stir?

"Aaaaaah..."

The paddle on her back struck again and again, and Su Yuezhen's cries of pain grew fainter and fainter until they finally stopped. A guard stepped forward, checked her breathing, and then told the eunuch that she was still breathing.

The eunuch pondered for a moment, then said, "Continue the attack."

However, he gestured to the two imperial guards carrying out the execution, signaling them to soften their blows. The Qingshan Marquis's mansion and Consort Su hadn't fallen yet; Su Yuezhen couldn't be beaten to death like this.

The two executioners, having received his orders, quickened their pace and reduced the force of their blows.

In the teahouse, Princess Wenxin looked at Su Yuezhen, who was almost on her deathbed, and said, "The people of the Qingshan Marquis's Mansion all say that she was born with auspicious omens, but I'm afraid her auspicious omens are for someone else!"

After she finished speaking, she laughed again. Jiang Yu also smiled. Now she wanted to know what grudge this Princess Wenxin had against the Qingshan Marquis's family.

The thirty battles were over quickly, and Su Yuezhen's bright red clothes were almost completely black. Servants from the Qingshan Marquis's mansion ran up, carried her away, put her in a carriage, and drove off quickly.

"I suppose the Qingshan Marquis's residence will be quiet for a while." Princess Wenxin stood up and said to Jiang Yu, "Come visit my residence when you have time."

Jiang Yu smiled and said, "I will."

Princess Wenxin liked her directness very much, and said to Lu Yifang, "Your daughter is very good."

Lu Yifang smiled modestly and said, "She's just a child, but she's quite clever."

Princess Wenxin smiled but said nothing more, and walked out. Lu Yifang and Jiang Yu followed behind her downstairs.