The benevolence on the emperor's face cracked inch by inch, replaced by overwhelming rage.

"You insolent wretch! You took it upon yourself to replace the eldest daughter of the Marquis's household with your beloved second daughter, and now you still think you've done nothing wrong? How could you face the Marquis of Zhongyong?"

Prince Ding's heart trembled, and his already prostrate body almost touched the floor: "Father, I have failed the Marquis of Zhongyong's family. I know I was wrong! This matter has nothing to do with the Second Miss. It was all because I was deeply in love with her that I committed such a grave mistake. Please punish me, Father!"

The emperor turned his back, his voice icy: "You are ungrateful and worse than a beast! You have truly disappointed me! Guards, drag Prince Ding away, give him fifty strokes of the cane, and deduct half a year's salary. Without my decree, he is not to enter the palace!"

Prince Ding was taken aback and looked up at the emperor, only to see the emperor's cold back.

Fifty strokes of the cane...

For soldiers, fifty strokes of the cane might not mean much, after all, he had been on the battlefield.

But fifty strokes of the cane, for a prince, were not only physical harm, but also a trampling of his dignity.

Prince Ding always believed that even if he broke off the engagement, he was not wrong. After all, it was Ye Qingxue and Pan Heng who spread rumors and caused him to misunderstand first. Otherwise, he would not have taken the initiative to break off the engagement and ask Ye Yabing for a different marriage.

Moreover, he voluntarily confessed his guilt and accepted punishment, thinking that his father would punish him leniently, since he was not only a prince, but his mother was also the current empress.

Now, his father actually wants to punish him with fifty strokes of the cane! How will he ever face anyone again? Everyone will laugh at him and ridicule him!

At this moment, he completely forgot that even if Ye Qingxue had not been involved in any rumors with men at the beginning, he had never really thought about marrying Ye Qingxue. Instead, he instigated and indulged Madam Min and Ye Yabing to use the deadly poison of the Broken Moon Orchid on Ye Qingxue, forcing her to bear the infamy of breaking off the engagement.

Now, however, he's the one bearing all the blame.

He thought that since his evil scheme had failed, he could erase his initial malice and that he was the victim, so he felt extremely wronged and angry.

"What, you're not convinced?" The emperor suddenly turned his head and looked at him with a cold gaze.

Prince Ding snapped back to his senses, quickly lowered his eyes, and said respectfully and patiently, "Your subject obeys the decree and thanks Your Majesty!"

On a spring night, after receiving fifty strokes of the cane, Prince Ding felt a bone-chilling cold. His lower body was a bloody mess, burning with pain. He was carried away from the palace and returned to his residence.

The imperial physicians treated his wounds and applied the best wound medicine. Prince Ding lay on the bed, his face covered in sweat from the pain, but he still gritted his teeth and remained silent.

His eyes were frighteningly bright, and upon closer inspection, they were filled with intense hatred.

As a prince, he was born into nobility. Although he was the second prince, his birth mother, Consort Shen, was made empress a few years after his birth. He was made Prince Ding at a young age because of his mother's status.

This year, he joined forces with his mother to depose Yun Zhuo, the eldest son born to the late Empress. As the current eldest son of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Yun Chi has a bright and promising future.

However, he ended up being defeated by Ye Qingxue. This was the first time he had ever stumbled, and it was at the hands of a woman. How could he accept this? How could he not hate her!

Prince Ding gritted his teeth, enduring the pain without uttering a sound. He was filled with hatred for Ye Qingxue, a hatred he would avenge sooner or later.

Let Ye Qingxue know that rejecting him today, kicking him into the water, causing him to be flogged fifty times by her father and having his salary reduced for half a year, is the most regrettable thing she has ever done in her life!

Then, he thought of Ye Cunjin!

What exactly did Ye Cunjin and his father, the Emperor, discuss?

What did they talk about?

Why was Ye Cunjin so happy when he left the Imperial Study, but when he entered it, he was met with such an outcome?

Did Ye Cunjin take absolutely no responsibility whatsoever onto the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion? Not even a little bit?

The person he was talking about had already ridden a tall horse, accompanied by his servant, back to the gate of the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence.

Throughout the journey, Ye Cunjin was in a very relaxed mood. The matter that had been worrying him all day had been perfectly resolved in his eyes, and the Marquis of Zhongyong no longer needed to worry about being punished by the Emperor.

The marriage arrangement with Prince Ding was perfectly transferred from Ye Qingxue to Ye Yabing. He had a better relationship with Ye Yabing, and of course, he hoped that Ye Yabing could become Prince Ding's consort.

He dismounted and strode across the threshold of the Marquis's residence, where he found his family waiting for him.

He strode up to Madam Min and said, "Second Aunt, things went very smoothly. I have severed all ties between the Marquis's Mansion and Ye Qingxue. Anything Ye Qingxue has done has nothing to do with the Marquis's Mansion."

Madam Min was not happy; instead, she was worried: "Do you know that the Wei family's property has been confiscated? Wei Jingtong embezzled 50 million taels of silver alone!"

What? Ye Cunjin was startled!

At that moment, the sound of orderly footsteps and rolling wheels came from outside the door. After the gatekeeper went out to investigate, he quickly returned to report.

"It was still Eunuch Huaifu from the palace who came, followed by several carriages, including the eldest daughter's carriage."

The people in the Marquis's mansion looked at each other, and perhaps because of the cold wind in the middle of the night, they all shivered when the wind blew.

As a favorite of the emperor, Huaifu made two trips to the Marquis's residence in one night, and the Wei family was suddenly raided. They couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines.

"Nothing should happen!" Ye Cunjin comforted himself. He had already distanced himself from Ye Qingxue in front of the emperor, so even if the emperor wanted to punish Ye Qingxue, the Marquis's family would not suffer!

It's unclear whether the person Eunuch Huaifu brought back was Ye Qingxue, who had been severely punished and was seriously injured, or Ye Qingxue who had already died.

Hopefully it's the latter!

He remembered that when he entered the imperial study to meet the emperor, the emperor was furious, but he did not see Ye Qingxue at that time, so he assumed that Ye Qingxue had already been taken away.

Ye Qingxue probably won't be sent back unharmed. If she's already been beaten half to death, they can find a way to kill her and then tell the outside world that she died from her injuries. No one can blame the Marquis's mansion.

The problem is that Ye Qingxue is too disobedient and difficult to control.

Keeping her alive will only create more trouble and constantly threaten the safety of the Marquis's mansion.

Having figured it out, Ye Cunjin felt at ease and led his family to greet them at the gate. Just then, Eunuch Huaifu arrived at the entrance of the Marquis's residence with his entourage.

Ye Cunjin and Madam Min exchanged a glance, and suddenly felt a strong urge to see Ye Qingxue's bloodied, pitiful, and miserable appearance.

"Congratulations, Minister Ye! Congratulations, Minister Ye!" Eunuch Huaifu's face was full of smiles: "Your eldest daughter, Ye, is a woman who is just as capable as any man. Last night, she killed three bandit leaders, rescued Princess Rongqing, and even led the eldest son of the Pan family to find Wei Jingtong's stolen goods. She has accomplished three great feats in one night."

"His Majesty bestowed upon Miss Ye 50,000 taels of silver, two sets of gold headdresses, two sets of jadeite headdresses, one hundred bolts of Shu brocade, and one hundred bolts of other silks and satins. He also specially ordered my servant to personally escort Miss Ye back to her residence."