But looking at His Majesty's gloomy eyes, Lu Yan swallowed his words of defense. Embezzlement of military funds and dismissal from office were light punishments. Now it was just a matter of giving more. So be it.
The people who carried out the caning were none other than Ren Liu and Zhao Qi. They were resentful of the division of ranks at yesterday's banquet, so the caning fell and they were directly killed.
The skin is torn in one stroke and the flesh is exposed in two strokes.
With such force, if they wanted to kill him, that would be fine, but now His Majesty wanted to spare his life, so the two men reduced their force after the first two blows, but they were still angry and still attacked ruthlessly.
After twenty hits, Lu Yan's skin was torn and flesh was exposed. He was sweating all over and his lower body seemed to be soaked in blood.
Two eunuchs helped Lu Yan put on his clothes. He was thinking about how to leave the palace and go home when he saw the female official beside the Queen coming over.
The female official first bowed to the emperor, then said, "Your Majesty said that there were a few pieces of cloth missing from the things she brought back yesterday. Your Majesty would like to know where these pieces of cloth are. If it is convenient, I will accompany Marquis Lu to the Marquis of Pingyang's mansion to get them."
Lu Yan broke out in a cold sweat from the pain and was unable to react for a moment. After a moment of silence, he remembered that the Queen and His Majesty had bestowed a lot of items upon him.
In addition to the phoenix crown and jade ruyi, there were also twenty pieces of cloth, including several pieces of each of the precious fabrics such as Shu brocade, Yun brocade, and kesi.
But he exchanged all these for silver, so where was the remaining money at home?
Lu Yan said bitterly, "My house is in a mess right now. Please, Queen, be patient and give me some time. I will send it to you as soon as I have sorted it out."
The female official stared at him for a moment before saying, "Then I will reply to the Empress, but I hope Marquis Lu will return the Empress's reward in full as soon as possible. It would be bad if we wait for the Empress to send someone to collect it."
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