Another slap landed on her right cheek, and the burning sensation immediately became symmetrical.

Wei Shuyao looked up at Yun An with a blank expression, her tears feeling like salt being rubbed into a wound.

Yun An looked calm and composed, his smile blending into the golden autumn sun: "It's the left side, not the right."

Seeing Wei Shuyao's chin twitching in grievance, Granny Juan folded her hands in front of her and said in a muffled voice, "The princess is hitting you to teach you manners. Your Wei family already has a blind person, how can you be so blind? Do you even know the origin of the brocade shoes that you dirtied on the princess's feet?"

Wei Shuyao lowered her head to look, and then shook her head tremblingly.

Granny Juan continued, "As the saying goes, 'An inch of brocade is worth an inch of gold.' This colorful brocade is exquisitely crafted and of unparalleled quality; it is a top-grade tribute from Sichuan. Such a pair of brocade shoes must also have symmetrical patterns and matching designs; once made, it would be worth a hundred gold pieces!"

Hearing this, Wei Shuyao gradually breathed a sigh of relief. It was only a hundred taels of gold; the Wei family could afford to pay it back.

But the main event that Granny Juan wanted to tell was yet to come: "This piece of colorful brocade was bestowed upon the Empress by the current Emperor, and then passed through the Empress's hands to Princess Yun'an. So it can be considered an imperial gift."

"Can the Wei family bear the charge of blaspheming this sacred object?"

These words terrified Wei Shuyao. She had only just arrived in the capital with her grandmother and parents; how could she have become a criminal? She quickly straightened her knees, crying and pleading:

"Please forgive me, Your Highness, I will wipe it clean for you right away..." As she spoke, Wei Shuyao was about to wipe it with her sleeve.

Yun An kicked her hand away, laughing unrestrainedly:

"If you really want to atone for your sins, then lick them clean for this princess."