Chapter 61 Chapter 61 Whipping (Plot Transition Chapter)...

Hearing those two words, the coldness in the official's eyes suddenly dissipated. After a long silence, he waved his hand casually, "Get up."

Xie Yunzhou still didn't dare to let go completely. He just replied "yes" in a low voice and slowly stood up.

"come over."

Seeing that his expression was still tense, the official softened his tone, raised his chin slightly, and pointed to a silk-covered book on the desk. "Take a look at this."

Xie Yunzhou had a vague feeling that something was wrong. He walked over hesitantly, picked up the booklet, and opened it to see that the inside pages were full of portraits of various women, with their appearance and character recorded in detail in court-style small regular script on the side.

Sure enough, nothing good happened.

The more he looked, the tighter his brow furrowed. His long fingers unconsciously tightened, pinching the edge of the page to create a fine crease. "What is this?"

"Why ask when you already know the answer?" the official snorted, casually picking up the white porcelain teacup and taking a slow sip. "If there's someone you like, wait until after the Lantern Festival and the government seals are opened. I'll send the Minister of Imperial Clan Affairs to ask for the bride price. Then, during the Spring Festival offering ceremony at the Imperial Ancestral Temple in February, you can join me in recognizing our ancestors. We can then welcome you in person by April at the latest."

Xie Yunzhou's jaw tensed for a moment, and after a long pause, he blurted out, "I won't marry you."

The emperor couldn't help but frown. "I was the one who indulged you earlier, but now that you're of such status, how can you do without the support of your wife's family? No matter how kind Duke Xu is to you, he's still a soldier, and that's still a level lower than you can get in the court. The families listed in this list are all well-established, well-regarded among the civil officials. If you insist on not choosing, then I'll make the selection for you."

Xie Yunzhou's Adam's apple rolled violently, and he squeezed out a few words from between his teeth: "I don't want to marry."

The official paused after hearing this, narrowed his eyes and looked him up and down for a moment, then suddenly said "Oh" as if he understood, "Are you still thinking about that second wife?"

Xie Yunzhou lowered his head, his facial features tense, and he gritted his teeth without saying a word.

She was unwilling to refute it against her will, but she also didn't dare to admit it frankly, for fear that the unpredictable power of God would bring disaster upon her.

"That's fine. Once you've married your first wife, if she hasn't reconciled with your cousin, it wouldn't be a bad idea to give her to you as a concubine."

As if a blunt knife had stabbed him in the lungs, Xie Yunzhou suddenly raised his head, suppressing the anger that was already burning in his heart, and insisted: "I won't marry..."

"Who do you want to marry then?"

Xie Yunzhou paused for a moment and did not respond immediately.

The teacup banged heavily on the table with a clang, and the official suddenly shouted, "Speak!"

Her mind uncontrollably recalled that night when she buried her head in his chest, her breath warm and soft, and she whispered "Okay".

Xie Yunzhou felt his heart simmer with heat, his hot blood rushing to his head. He clenched and unclenched his fists at his sides, and finally shouted angrily, "I will not marry anyone but her, and I will never allow her to be my concubine. In heaven and on earth, in this life, I only want her, and I don't want anyone else!"

"Oh, you've made it, you've really made it!" The official gnashed his teeth in anger and sneered, "If that's the case, I've already told you that if you insist on being so willful and foolish for a woman, I will definitely not allow this source of trouble to stay."

Xie Yunzhou had expected this. He straightened his back, gritted his teeth, and spoke each word coldly and firmly, "If anything goes wrong with her, I will never live alone."

After the words fell, the official almost suspected that there was something wrong with his ears. He looked over in disbelief, "...What did you say? Say it again!"

Xie Yunzhou raised his eyes calmly, met his gaze directly, and spoke each word with great emphasis, "I say, if anything happens to her, I will never live alone."

The emperor flew into a rage, slamming the table and standing up: "Rebellious son! Are you threatening me?"

"I dare not."

The official was extremely angry, his chest heaving violently. He quickly glanced around the hall, and suddenly, with trembling hands, he grabbed the white porcelain teacup beside him and smashed it hard at him.

Xie Yunzhou didn't dodge at all, and the teacup hit his forehead and shattered with a "pop".

The porcelain shards scratched his skin, and the blood from the end of his eyebrow flowed down his cheek, but his eyelashes never trembled.

The official looked at him and felt more and more distressed.

He already had few children, not to mention that a son's status depends on his mother's. He had always placed high hopes on this son, but he never expected that he would be seduced by women and say such ridiculous words!

The official leaned on the table and gasped, his words almost incoherent. "Have you lost your mind?! You actually did it for a woman... for a woman... No woman can compare to this world! Do you know?!"

After a long silence, Xie Yunzhou suddenly raised his head and smiled sarcastically, "So, is this how Dad abandoned my mother back then?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall fell into deathly silence. The air seemed to freeze into ice, and it was so suffocating that it was almost hard to breathe.

The official suddenly shouted, "How dare you!"

Xie Yunzhou raised his head and looked straight into the angry gaze without giving in.

The official was so angry that he was shaking all over. Suddenly, a sharp pain came from his heart. He barely raised his hand to cover his heart and shouted in a trembling voice: "Someone come, someone come!"

The imperial dragon guards on duty outside the palace came in.

"Drag this evil creature out of here for me," the official said, his fingers trembling as he reached over, his voice trembling and changing tone. "Give him fifty lashes! Let him wake up!"

Never thought that the emperor would be so angry. Huaizhong, who was not far away, was frightened and knelt forward hurriedly: "Your Majesty, please calm down, Your Majesty, please calm down! It's a rare day for the young prince to come back and reunite with you. This is a good day, but please don't..."

However, he had barely finished his persuasion when Xie Yunzhou stood up on his own, stopped the imperial guards who were about to escort him, and sneered, "No need, I can walk on my own."

After saying this, he turned around neatly, his back straightened even more, and walked out of the Funing Palace without looking back. He strode to the Danchi steps outside the palace and knelt down straight.

Chen Sui, the palace commander, was an old acquaintance of his. He stepped forward and saluted with his arms crossed, a hint of hesitation in his eyes. "Young Prince, I'm sorry."

Xie Yunzhou twitched his lips and smiled nonchalantly, "Why are you being so polite to me? If you really feel bad, I have something to trouble you with."

Chen Sui was startled for a moment, then nodded, "Little Prince, please give your orders."

Xie Yunzhou said, "Go to the Infantry Division Office and ask Zhou Xiao to come see me."

It didn't sound like a big deal, so Chen Sui agreed after a moment's hesitation. He turned around, called a personal guard, and told him to pass on the message.

Seeing that man turned away, Xie Yunzhou felt relieved a little, untied his robe, and waited for the execution with peace of mind.

Although the wind was freezing cold, my heart warmed up when I thought about how she once said "I like him".

Although he was very self-aware, since she said it, there must be some truth to it.

Two points is also fine.

Just thinking about this, joy can't stop overflowing from the bottom of my heart.

Of course he had to marry her.

It's just a few lashes, what's the big deal?

Which of these guards didn't know that the young prince had always been the emperor's favorite? Even if he ordered torture today in a rage, it would be with whips, not canes, just to make him feel pain, to make him suffer a little, but without damaging his body.

Therefore, everyone was quite restrained when they attacked, but the whip had been blown by the north wind for too long, and the cowhide had become brittle, stiff, and hard as a blunt knife. After just a few lashes, blood appeared and kept flowing down his spine.

Xie Yunzhou knelt on the ground, the whip scratching his flesh. He felt waves of heart-wrenching burning pain exploding from his back and instantly spreading to his limbs. The cold wind wrapped in snow particles hit the wound, making the pain even worse.

He didn't know how long he had been holding on, but the blood in his throat was boiling, and he gradually couldn't hold on any longer. His vision went darker and darker, and cold sweat mixed with blood dripped down his jaw, spreading a shocking red on the snow.

As soon as the fifty lashes arrived, Chen Sui immediately ordered the soldiers to stop and hurried into the hall to report.

Seeing him come in, the official's voice unconsciously tightened slightly, and he asked in a cold voice: "Well, does that evil creature know his mistake? Tell him to get out and see me."

Chen Sui lowered his head and stared at the toe of his boots. A thin layer of sweat broke out on his forehead, and his throat rolled. "The young prince...he..."

This reaction is naturally self-explanatory.

After being stunned for a moment, the official laughed in anger, walked back and forth a few times, and finally turned around abruptly. With a flick of his sleeve, he swept all the paper, ink, brush and inkstone on the table, and they fell to the ground with a crackling sound.

"Okay, what a tough guy!"

He took a few deep breaths and shouted at Chen Sui, "Keep beating him! Beat him hard! I won't stop until this evil creature admits his fault!"

Soon, the noise started outside the palace again. Huaizhong trembled all over when he heard it. He fell to his knees with a plop and said bitterly, "Your Majesty... look at the weather outside, it's windy and snowy. The young prince is being stripped naked to be punished. Even if he can withstand the whipping, he can't withstand the cold. If he catches a cold, I'm afraid he will develop a chronic illness..."

The official's furious figure froze for a moment, and he glanced at him coldly.

Huaizhong immediately fell silent, lowered his head to the ground, looked at his nose and his heart, and dared not make another breath.

The hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

After an unknown amount of time, the official slowly sat back in the armchair, his fingertips slightly raised.

Huaizhong immediately felt as if he had been pardoned. He quickly left the hall, ran to the stairs, and shouted urgently: "Stop! Stop now!"

The guard who was carrying out the execution stopped immediately upon hearing the sound, put away the whip and stepped aside, but the tip of the whip was still dripping with blood, and in a blink of an eye, it soaked the fallen snow red.

Huaizhong was horrified. He quickly walked to Xie Yunzhou, squatted down, looked up at his face, and lowered his voice to persuade him: "Young Prince, don't you know how much the emperor loves you? Just nod your head, give in, and agree to the emperor's words, okay?"

The veins on his forehead throbbed, and Xie Yunzhou secretly clenched his fists. He slowly exhaled a breath of blood and said through gritted teeth, "No, I won't."

"Oh, my ancestor!" Huaizhong was so anxious that he was spinning around, rubbing his hands, his voice trembling. "Why are you competing with the emperor? Blood is thicker than water, and broken bones are connected by tendons. If you just bow your head and agree to this marriage, the emperor will love you so much!"

The cold wind wrapped in broken snow whistled past, and Xie Yunzhou felt that the blood in his body was draining away bit by bit. The scene in front of his eyes flickered, and his reaction became slow. The sound in his ears seemed to be covered by a layer of cover, buzzing and inaudible.

After a long while, he tilted his head slightly, pressed the tip of his tongue against his cheek, and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. A sarcastic smile appeared at the corner of his lips: "Even if you kill me... I won't do it."

Unexpectedly, he could be so rebellious as to not even care about his life. Huaizhong was helpless and could only return to the palace to report. However, when he turned back, he almost bumped into the official who had hurriedly arrived. He was so frightened that he knelt down and apologized.

The official didn't even look at him, his eyes fixed on his son. He took a few steps closer and saw the bloody whip marks on his back. The knuckles in his jade-colored sleeves turned white in an instant.

The wind and snow whimpered as they rolled through the corridor, and the surroundings fell into a moment of silence.

"look up!"

Snowflakes fell on his eyelashes. Xie Yunzhou squinted his eyes with difficulty, and looked at the pair of dragon-patterned silk boots with a somewhat distracted vision.

"I'll ask you one last time—"

"To marry or not to marry?"

Xie Yunzhou took a breath and was about to speak when a fishy-sweet taste suddenly surged in his throat. The cold wind wrapped in blood foam rushed into his throat, and his internal organs ached as he gasped for breath.

His throat rolled with difficulty, and he swallowed the blood back. He smiled and said each word with great determination: "No...marry!"

"Treason!"

The emperor's forehead was bulging with rage. Seeing the snow beneath him stained red with blood and his lips purple from the cold, he felt a surge of rage and pain in his heart. He could no longer suppress his anger and shouted, "Rebellious son! Get up!"

After a moment of silence, Xie Yunzhou's arms trembled as he barely supported himself on the cold snow, trying to gain leverage to get up.

But it was freezing cold at the time, and he had been kneeling in the snow for too long, so his legs had already lost feeling. He barely raised half of his body and fell forward.

Huaizhong was shocked when he saw this and hurried forward to help, but he heard the official shout: "Don't help!"

Huaizhong suddenly froze in place, unable to move forward or backward. He was so anxious that he didn't know what to do.

Xie Yunzhou gritted his teeth and tried to get up again, but after holding on for a while, he couldn't hold on any longer and fell heavily to the snow, completely exhausted and fainted.

The official's body shook violently, and he suddenly raised his voice and shouted angrily: "Hurry up and call the imperial physician!"

The place was suddenly in chaos, and the guards were busy carrying the people to the side hall and set them down.

Upon hearing the news, several imperial physicians on duty rushed over and treated the wounds while ordering people to boil medicine. The pungent aroma of the medicine mixed with the smell of blood gradually spread in the hall.

Xie Yunzhou was floating in severe pain all over his body, his consciousness was scattered and gathered several times. He remembered something in a trance, his heart suddenly tightened, and he struggled to wake up from the chaos.

Seeing a eunuch coming to serve medicine, he took a deep breath and grabbed the sleeve of the man.

The eunuch immediately stopped, leaned forward slightly, and asked respectfully, "May I ask what the young prince wants?"

Xie Yunzhou took two deep breaths and said in a hoarse voice, "Go ask where Zhou Xiao is...Tell him to come see me..."

The eunuch hurriedly responded and left.

However, he didn't expect that as soon as he walked out of the side hall, another eunuch in casual clothes followed closely behind him, quietly slipped out of the Gongchen Gate, bypassed the Jinshui River, and headed straight for the Third Prince's Mansion in the southeast corner.

In the mansion, Li Zhen was about to walk into the inner room when he saw Xu crying silently by the window again.

He lazily leaned on the couch beside him and glanced sideways, "What's the matter? Are you still worried about your father-in-law?"

Hearing this, Xu turned away, tucked her tears into her handkerchief, and whispered, "After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the government will open its seals. I'm afraid my father will..."

Li Zhen snorted, reached out and hugged the person in his arms, "Don't cry."

Xu frowned and struggled, but he pinched her waist and pressed her legs.

"What are you afraid of?" Li Zhen tilted his head, sniffing the soft fragrance of her neck with his nose, and smiled softly, "Don't worry, our dynasty doesn't kill scholars and officials. Even if the emperor issues an order, your father-in-law will at most be demoted and dismissed from his position. His life will be safe. When the time comes, I will spend more money and have people carefully arrange things. He will definitely not suffer any hardship."

After a pause, he smiled meaningfully. "Besides, as long as there's green mountains, there's no fear of running out of firewood. Who knows if today's prisoners...will become guests of honor tomorrow?"

Xu was skeptical and frowned, saying, "But the emperor is treating the young master..."

Li Zhen smiled and played with her belt nonchalantly. "Next month, another delegation from the Western Qiang will arrive in the capital. I heard they intend to marry a woman this time. Even if the emperor despises me, he will definitely ask me to go out and assist in such a situation."

Before Xu could say anything else, a steward suddenly came to report from outside.

"Master, there is news from the Forbidden City."

Li Zhen paused, frowning, and letting go of Xu. He stood up and walked out the door. He immediately saw the eunuch standing at the bottom of the stairs, bowing. He looked rather uneasy. "Didn't I tell you to be honest and not attract attention for no reason?"

The eunuch wiped the sweat from his forehead and said hurriedly, "Your Highness, there is indeed an important matter!"

Li Zhen raised his chin slightly, motioning him to come over and speak.

The eunuch hurried forward and whispered a few words in his ear.

Li Zhen smiled at first, but his expression suddenly changed after hearing what he heard.

——Nizi.

The government denounced him as a "rebellious son".

What is a rebellious son?!

Li Zhen's eyes instantly turned sinister. He raised his hand to call the steward over and said coldly, "Go, get someone to investigate! Find out for me what's going on!"