Chapter 492 The Princess Takes the Lead

"What?! Kneeling for so long?"

Du Juan found it hard to believe; even when the Prince of Ning punished his servants, they wouldn't make them kneel for an entire day!

She couldn't help but complain under her breath, "Is this any way to live? The Emperor is too cruel! Kneeling for so long, won't my legs be ruined?"

"Besides, wasn't it the young lady who pushed the person into the water? Wasn't it the prince who ruined the person's reputation? The grievances should be attributed to the perpetrators, and the debts should be settled with the perpetrators. Why do you also want to make them kneel? Is the emperor so unreasonable that he punishes everyone indiscriminately?"

Granny Chai's expression changed, and she immediately scolded her, "What nonsense are you spouting! Be careful what you say!"

Du Juan lowered her head, not daring to utter a single word of complaint.

Shen Wantang unconsciously recalled the image of Gu Qianhan after he was punished by kneeling last time. She remembered that he seemed to have been kneeling for a whole day and night.

I really don't know how he could put up with it.

Perhaps, he had already conceived the idea of ​​rebellion at that time!

The next day.

Early in the morning, Shen Wantang had just woken up when she heard a commotion outside.

"Dujuan, what's going on outside? Who's making that noise?"

"Princess Consort, the Prince and the Eldest Miss had a fight. Qin Xin has already gone to see what happened. Once she returns, we'll know why they were arguing."

Shen Wantang shook her head: "What else could it be? It's naturally because of Liu Nanshi. The two of them are blaming each other again!"

About half an hour later, Qin Xin returned: "Princess Consort, the eldest young lady has been driven away by the Prince! He also ordered her not to come back, saying that the Ning Prince's Mansion does not welcome her!"

"I asked you to deliver a message to Lin Rouxin last night, did you deliver it?"

"It's already been delivered!"

"That's fine then. We'll just wait for the young lady to come back. You go out and keep watch. Once she returns, go and tell the young master."

Qin Xin had no idea what she was up to, but she obediently did as she was told: "Yes, this servant will remember!"

Sure enough, before noon, Xiao Qingxi ran back crying.

In the afternoon, she and Xiao Qingyuan got into another argument, which escalated to the point where they physically fought.

Xiao Qingyuan used to always give in to her, but this time he didn't. If he didn't give in, Xiao Qingxi would be even less likely to.

After watching the commotion, Qin Xin returned still shaken: "The young master really went all out this time! He beat the young lady until her nose was bleeding and he still wouldn't stop! The young lady was even more ruthless; she bit off a chunk of flesh from the young master's arm! If the princess hadn't separated them, someone might have died today!"

Shen Wantang felt it wasn't enough; she needed to add fuel to the fire. She asked Qin Xin, "Did the Princess say anything?"

"The princess scolded the prince for being crazy, saying that he would beat his own sister to death for a woman, and forced him to apologize to the eldest daughter. But the prince wouldn't listen and even scolded the princess, saying that if she hadn't refused to let him marry Miss Liu, Miss Liu wouldn't have died."

Qin Xin was still shaken: "The young master is now cursing anyone he can get his hands on. He's gone mad. It's terrifying! Princess Consort, why don't we close the courtyard gate and not let the young master in? Otherwise, I'm afraid he'll come and go berserk on you."

"No need to shut it off, just let him come."

Shen Wantang didn't care about Xiao Qingyuan's madness. She instructed Qin Xin, "Go and keep an eye on the Crown Prince's movements. If anything seems unusual, remember to tell me."

"yes!"

For two days in a row, Xiao Qingyuan showed no abnormalities. Except for crying at night while holding the clothes Liu Nanshi had given him, he seemed perfectly normal during the day, just like before.

It wasn't until the third day, the day of Liu Nanshi's funeral, that Qin Xin rushed back and said, "Princess Consort, the Princess Consort has used family discipline and punished the Prince with a cane. She's still beating him now, and he refuses to beg for mercy even in the face of death!"

Shen Wantang was somewhat surprised: "Why?"

"Because the young master insisted on carrying Miss Liu's memorial tablet and escorting her to her funeral!"

"What?!"

"The young master also wants to bury Miss Liu in the Xiao family's royal tomb, saying that after he dies, the two of them will be buried together!"

Shen Wantang suddenly stood up: "Let's go see the Princess!"

When she arrived at Shaoguang Courtyard, Xiao Qingyuan was still being beaten.

He was dressed in mourning clothes, with a white cloth tied around his head; anyone who didn't know better would think someone had died in the Prince of Ning's mansion.

His face was pale, but there was no blood on his clothes, which meant that Princess Ning had told her to hold back and not beat him too badly.

Seeing that her mother-in-law's face was even paler than Xiao Qingyuan's, Shen Wantang knew that she was heartbroken, but she stubbornly refused to ask anyone to stop.

"Stop hitting!"

Shen Wantang spoke those three words for her mother-in-law, and stepped forward to stop the guards: "Are you trying to beat the young master to death? All of you, step back!"

Which of the guards didn't know that Princess Ning doted on the young prince like the apple of her eye? Naturally, no one actually beat him to death; it was all just for show.

Upon seeing the Crown Princess step in to stop them, they immediately ceased their actions and withdrew.

Princess Ning visibly breathed a sigh of relief, and her complexion improved.

Shen Wantang looked at Princess Ning and said, "Mother, why are you doing this? It hurts your heart to punish your son. If the prince is in pain, you will feel it ten times more. If the prince makes a mistake, you can talk to him nicely. How can you use family law? How can the prince's body withstand such severe punishment!"

Princess Ning suddenly stood up: "That scoundrel wanted to carry Liu Nanshi's memorial tablet, but I forbade it, and now he wants to become a monk! Tell me, is this a memorial tablet that can be carried so casually? He may not mind the bad luck, but I do!"

Xiao Qingyuan endured the pain and got up from the ground. His handsome face was full of grief and infatuation: "How could Mother be so unreasonable? I just wanted to see Nan Shi off on her final journey. I couldn't marry her when she was alive, and now that she's gone, I should at least do what a husband should do for her!"

Princess Ning's voice trembled with anger: "Carrying the memorial tablet is a son's job! Only when your father and I are dead can you carry the memorial tablet! You go and carry the memorial tablet for Liu Nanshi, what about your father and me?!"

"I don't care who should be carrying the memorial tablet, I'm going to carry it for Nan Shi! She doesn't have any children, if I don't carry it for her, who will?"

"She was not married, so the funeral arrangements should be kept simple, with a simple burial procession. There is no need to carry a memorial tablet!"

"No! As long as I'm here, I can't let Nan Shi suffer such injustice! I not only want to hold a memorial tablet for Nan Shi, but I also want Nan Shi to be buried with me!"

Princess Ning was just feeling sorry for him after he was beaten, but now she felt that she shouldn't have told the guards to hold back and should have just beaten him to death!

She took several deep breaths to calm herself down, and angrily retorted, "I think you've lost your mind! Liu Nanshi is neither your wife nor your concubine, so why should she be buried with you?! Besides, even if you wanted to be buried with her, the Liu family would never agree!"

"Then I'll steal Nan Shi's coffin, take it back to the palace, and put it in my courtyard! I'll sleep next to her coffin from now on, and stay with her like this forever!"