Chapter 4: Punished

"By the providence of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims that General Shengxia, for his meritorious service in recovering lost territory and defending the country, is granted special permission to enter the court as an official. He is granted an imperial sword, a red-lettered iron certificate, a general's mansion, a thousand acres of fertile land, a thousand taels of gold, and a hundred bolts of silk, and is given command of the entire army. This is my decree."

"Your humble servant thanks the Lord for his grace." Shengxia accepted the order neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"My dear Minister Sheng, you must have been tired from the long journey. The palace will hold a welcoming banquet in three days to reward the three armies. You can go back to the general's residence to rest now." The emperor was very understanding in front of the soldiers.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Shengxia clasped her hands together and then watched the emperor leave.

After the emperor left, all the ministers gathered around to congratulate Shengxia, but it was unclear how much of their congratulations were sincere and how much was false.

"Hmph, what's so great about a great general defending the country? He still has to get married in the end. Even if he's given to me, I won't even look down on him." The third prince, who was standing outside the ministers, said angrily.

The third prince's voice was neither loud nor soft, but for Shengxia, who practiced martial arts, he could hear it clearly.

"I dare not marry the Third Prince, and please do not worry about my marriage."

"You, huh, I want to see what kind of man our General Shengda will marry in the end, and whether there is any good man willing to marry a brother like you."

The third prince was a little angry when he heard this. He took two quick steps forward, then stopped calmly, took out a fan and fanned himself while talking.

The third prince has mediocre talent. Now that he sees a brother who is better than him, he feels very dissatisfied. Since he is not as good as Shengxia in other aspects, he can only satirize Shengxia in this regard.

It was because the Third Prince thought of Sheng Xia's current situation. Not only did she exude a murderous aura, but her appearance and body were also damaged. He didn't believe that anyone would dare to marry her. Even if someone did, they would definitely be a greedy villain.

Shengxia clenched his fists, wanting to punch the Third Prince. However, in front of everyone, Shengxia knew that he couldn't.

"Third brother, be careful with your words. How can you joke with the great general like this? Although General Sheng is a brother, he is also a meritorious official of our Wei Dynasty." The prince stopped the third prince with a smile, and there was no blame for the third prince in his words.

"Your Highness, everything I said is true. We are not allowed to speak the truth." The third prince naturally understood that the prince was on his side, and said with a smile.

"If your two highnesses have nothing else to say, I will take my leave first." Shengxia no longer wanted to flatter them at this time and just wanted to leave and go back to rest.

After Shengxia finished speaking, she left without waiting for the two men's response. After Shengxia left, the army behind her also followed in an orderly manner.

The Crown Prince and the Third Prince felt very unhappy when they saw Shengxia's arrogant attitude. In their opinion, Shengxia was just a boy, an ugly and plain boy at that, who dared to be rude to them. However, looking at the army behind Shengxia, they could only swallow their dissatisfaction.

"Your Highness, Shengxia is too arrogant. She doesn't take you seriously at all." The third prince said to the crown prince as he watched Shengxia leave.

"Hmph, he's just a boy. I have plenty of ways to make him unable to stay. I will make him suffer at the palace banquet in three days."

The prince snorted coldly. He was the future emperor. Shengxia was just a servant of their Wei family. How dare he be so arrogant? He would definitely teach him a lesson.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, please let me know if you need anything from me." The third prince said attentively.

"It's useless." The prince said and left without looking back.

"Hmph, why are you so arrogant? If you didn't have a father who is the Queen, you wouldn't have taken this position." The third prince secretly chuckled in his heart.

After Shengxia left, he asked his deputy general to settle the soldiers, and then rode his horse towards home. He had not seen his elder brother for four years and wondered how he was doing.

On the other side, Xia Yanjing was kneeling pitifully in the hall of Yongning Marquis Mansion. Xia Zhiyong picked up the teacup beside him and threw it at Xia Yanjing.

"Evil son, look at what you have done." Xia Zhiyong shouted angrily.

Xia Yanjing didn't dare to hide, for he was afraid that if he did, there would be more severe punishment. Xia Yanjing didn't regret it at all. Even if he was given another chance to choose, he would stand up without hesitation.

"Master, it's all my fault for not disciplining you properly. Don't get yourself sick from anger." Fang Yu persuaded him hypocritically. In fact, he wished that Xia Zhiyong would beat Xia Yanjing to a pulp. If he wasn't afraid that others would notice something, he would not have kept this little beast.

"You're still speaking for him. He did something stupid on the street today, and I lost everything. Don't you know how everyone around me laughs at me?"

Before this, Xia Zhiyong had already reserved a seat with his colleagues and brought his family to watch the show. Because Xia Yanjing's action of standing out was seen by his colleagues and ridiculed, he was furious.

"Yan Jing, why don't you bow your head and admit your mistake to the master? You are too impulsive today. If you make the master angry and hurt him, it will be your unfilial behavior."

Fang Yu accused Xia Yanjing of being unfilial in just a few words. Xia Yanjing was at the age to get married. If his reputation of being unfilial spread, no boy from a good family would be willing to marry him in the future.

Xia Yanjing naturally knew that a good man would not suffer a loss in front of him, so he kowtowed and said honestly, "Father, I'm sorry, I was too impulsive. I won't dare to do it again in the future."

"Master, don't be angry. The child is still young. Since Yan Jing has admitted his mistake, let it go." Fang Yu said in a gentle voice.

"He's old enough to get married, but he's still young. You've spoiled him too much. You must punish him this time and teach him a lesson."

After saying this, Xia Zhiyong turned around and left without even looking at Xia Yanjing.

"Yan Jing, the master has spoken, and I can't go against his will. So I will punish you by making you kneel in the ancestral hall for three days and copy ten Buddhist scriptures."

After Xia Zhiyong left, Fang Yu didn't want to pretend to be magnanimous anymore and said in a serious tone.

"An Momo, you should personally send someone to watch over it. Not a single day should be lost."

After Fang Yu finished speaking, he left with a group of servants. After all, a little bastard was not worth wasting his time.

Xia Yanjing groaned in his heart. He had no strength to resist now. He might as well do as he was told. It seemed that he still had to make money in the future, otherwise he would not have the strength to escape from this predicament.

As soon as Xia Yanjing knelt down, An Momo came over with a little servant holding a pen, ink, paper and inkstone. Xia Yanjing had no choice but to copy the Buddhist scriptures honestly.

Seeing that Xia Yanjing did as he was told, An Momo didn't want to waste time with Xia Yanjing in the ancestral hall, so she gave him some instructions and left.

Xia Yanjing knelt for half an hour and could not bear it any longer, so he looked at the servant standing behind him, thinking whether he could bribe him. He didn't know if one or two taels of silver, his entire fortune, would be enough to bribe him.