Jiang Shiyue was panicked. The purpose of her coming here was to meet the young master of a noble family. If she was punished to kneel here, how could she have another chance to get in?

If someone were to see her, she would lose face.

She was still thinking about how to leave here when the first slap landed on his face.

"How dare you, you lowly slave? My father is the Minister of Works."

From childhood to adulthood, no one except his father has ever allowed him to suffer such injustice.

Baohuan had wanted to beat her for a long time, and she didn't care what her status was. No matter how high her status was, it could never be higher than the princess and the governor behind her.

The sounds of slapping and crying rang out in the pavilion. Rong Xi pretended not to see anything and waited for Baohuan to finish and leave.

Jiang Shiyue, who was beaten unconscious, suddenly saw a figure. She no longer cared about anything else and shouted in that direction.

"Lord Ke, Lord Ke, please save me."

Ke Yihan had just come out of the harem and had thought that she wouldn't run into anyone by walking on this usually deserted road, but she didn't expect to hear their conversation as soon as she arrived here.

But he didn't expect that the Ninth Princess was so arrogant and domineering, unable to distinguish right from wrong, and relying on her status to frame loyal officials and bully noble ladies.

These things originally had nothing to do with him, and he had no intention of caring about them. He just wanted to walk away, but he didn't expect that the young lady from the Jiang family saw him. Now, even if he wanted to pretend that he didn't see it, he couldn't do it, so he had to walk away.

Rong Xichao looked in the direction of Shiyue's gaze and saw a man walking towards them. His moon-white clothes were illuminated by the sunlight, making him look very dazzling.

There was a sharp yet gentle look in her eyes, and when she looked at Jiang Shiyue kneeling on the ground with her peach blossom eyes, it was as if this was her lover.

System [Rong Xi, this is the male protagonist of this world, Ke Yihan.]

After Rong Xi heard what the system said, he looked at this person more seriously. It turned out that this was the male protagonist of this world.

She looks pretty good.

Ke Yihan walked over and felt like she was being watched and scrutinized the entire time. He didn't need to look up, he knew who was looking at her with his peripheral vision.

Although he was unhappy in his heart, he still bowed to Rong Xi immediately.

"Meet the Ninth Princess."

Rong Xi just glanced at him indifferently. It was not his turn to be punished yet, but he came here to join in the fun.

"Well, get up."

Seeing people coming, Jiang Shiyue felt more confident. She pushed away Baohuan who was holding her down, knelt down and crawled to Ke Yihan's side, pulling his clothes and began to beg for mercy.

"Lord Ke, please save Chengyu. I really know I was wrong. I shouldn't have angered the princess. Please save me."

It was a complete sentence, but it didn't mention the mistakes and offenses she had committed.

The maidservant beside Jiang Shiyue also spoke tremblingly at this moment, "My Lord, please save my young lady. It's only the beginning of spring, and it's still cold everywhere. My young lady is not in good health. If she kneels here for a few more hours, I'm afraid she won't be able to bear it."

Jiang Shiyue also coughed a few times at the right time.

"Ahem, my Lord, please help me plead for the princess."

Rong Xi was about to speak when Baohuan stood up.

"It's easy to say that you will offend the young lady, but you are committing a grave sin by offending the princess and the queen."

Jiang Shiyue was also a fool. She didn't care about her current situation and refuted Baohuan's words.

"It was you who caused trouble in our Yunshangzhai and falsely accused my father of being demoted. I just want justice."

Rong Xi looked at Jiang Shiyue who was still kneeling on the ground pretending to be pitiful, then raised her eyes and looked at the male protagonist of this world who shook his head. She didn't want to watch these two people perform here, and now she just wanted to leave.

But as soon as he turned around, Ke Yihan called him from behind.

"Princess, today is a big day to entertain the envoys from the Kingdom of Qing. If someone saw you punishing a noble lady here, it would be disastrous. Why don't you let Miss Jiang get up first? You can discuss this matter later."

Rong Xi didn't want to bother with him at first, but from the tone of his voice, he seemed to be saying that he was bullying others by taking advantage of his power.

"Who the hell are you? How dare you ask me to do this? When will I listen to you when making decisions?"

Ke Yihan's face froze. For years, no one had dared to speak to him like this. Even His Majesty was polite to him. How dare she...

Besides, doesn’t the Ninth Princess like me? Even if she doesn’t give me this face, she won’t humiliate me in public.

But seeing that the disgust for him was beyond words on her face, he began to wonder if the Xiaoxi given by the palace was wrong. But how could that be possible? He had given so many benefits to those palace maids, they would not and dared not lie to him.

He didn't believe it and spoke again.

"Princess, His Majesty is hosting a banquet today. The Queen Mother, Empress Dowager, and the nobles of the capital will all be in attendance. If they see you punishing someone again, your reputation will surely be damaged. His Majesty is likely already in the antechamber by now, so we'd better hurry over there."

Women value their reputation the most, so he didn't think the Ninth Princess would be indifferent.

Rong Xi sneered. If she cared about her reputation, she would not have married a eunuch like Shen Ze'an at that time.

She turned to Jiang Shiyue, who was lying on the ground, and said, "Miss Jiang, you are truly blessed to have earned the favor of Lord Ke. He disregarded the distinction between men and women to intercede on your behalf, and disregarded the distinction between high and low to speak to a married woman like me. In that case, Miss Jiang, please stand up."

What she said made Ke Yi's face turn cold. What did it mean to plead for her regardless of gender? What did it mean to talk to her without regard for etiquette, integrity, and hierarchy?

He wanted to explain, but he hadn't thought of the words.

But Rong Xi didn't care and continued to output.

"With Lord Ke's support, even if the young lady has committed a serious crime of disrespect and offended this princess, it should be possible for her to brazenly claim the position of Empress. Since Lord Ke is backing her up, I can't say anything."

She waved to Baohuan and said, "Let's go. Don't disturb Miss Jiang and Lord Ke's good time."

Ke Yihan was frightened by what she just said. What did this mean? Did Jiang Shiyue really say this?

Jiang Shiyue, who was about to stand up, knelt down again after hearing this. When Ke Yihan looked over, her eyes were evasive. It seemed that what the Ninth Princess said was true.

How dare she say such outrageous words, wanting the position of Empress? If anyone heard it, it would be a capital crime.

But the Ninth Princess said at this moment that she was borrowing her power. If she really let this spread out, not only would he not be able to keep his current position as Marquis of Jing'an, even the heads of his superiors might be in danger.

I shouldn't have gotten involved in this mess just now.

"Princess Nine, wait a minute. I have no intention of helping or supporting her. I simply felt sorry for her, but I didn't expect her to be so rebellious before. I trusted the wrong person. I hope Princess Nine will forgive me."

"You pleaded for her without knowing the truth, and now you know the truth but you can't hide it. Ke Yihan, you really make me look at you with new eyes."

"Xi'er, I'm here to pick you up..."