Yu Jingchen noticed Nan Zhiyun's emotions, but he couldn't understand her thoughts. In his view, rules were rules; without rules, there was no order. If things weren't dealt with once, there would definitely be a next time, since many people harbored侥幸心理 (a gambler's mentality).
"Would you like to come in first?" Yu Jingchen said to her.
Nan Zhiyun gave a slight curtsy and went inside. She knew she couldn't change the situation. She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that Yu Jingchen seemed very angry about this matter today.
Yu Jingchen was naturally angry. After all, this matter concerned Nan Zhiyun, and he couldn't let it go lightly. Only by intimidating those below and even those behind the scenes could they calm down. Otherwise, there would be even more trouble in the future.
He glanced coldly at the people below, and luckily, he immediately understood Yu Jingchen's meaning and asked, "Who suggested that we should cross that bridge first?"
"Your Majesty, spare us! It was this servant who suggested we go that way because it seemed much closer. This servant truly never expected such a thing to happen, Your Majesty," one of the eunuchs admitted readily.
"With so many of you, wasn't one of you able to stop them? Don't you know the road conditions up there? You've all been in the palace for so long, don't you know these basic common sense things? Even normally, no one would carry a palanquin up that bridge." Xinglai was speechless at these kinds of people.
The bridge was dangerous, with a pond below, so people generally wouldn't carry a sedan chair up there.
"Your Majesty, spare us!" The palace servants knelt on the ground.
"Nothing else to say?" Yu Jingchen looked at the person on the ground.
"Your Majesty, this servant truly had no idea such a thing would happen. This servant was merely being lazy and had no intention of harming Consort Shu. If Consort Shu were on the palanquin, this servant wouldn't have walked on it. Please, Your Majesty, spare my life!" The little eunuch kept kowtowing.
"Drag him down, strip him naked, and throw him into the pond. If he climbs out, keep throwing him in. If you can hold out until tomorrow morning, then you can save your life." Yu Jingchen's tone was slightly cold, and in such frigid weather, it was practically bone-chilling.
Hold on until tomorrow morning? It would be a miracle if he could last even an hour, okay? Yu Jingchen never intended to leave him a way out.
"Your Majesty, this servant will tell you everything..." The little eunuch was probably scared, so he was about to confess immediately. The person who came to pull him away looked at Yu Jingchen, but Yu Jingchen did not speak.
"It was Consort Yang! It was Consort Yang who instructed this servant! This servant was bewitched! But this servant only dared to carry her up because I knew Consort Shu was not here. If Consort Shu were here, this servant would not have dared to do this! Your Majesty, spare my life!"
"Unrepentant? Take him away!" Yu Jingchen had lost his patience. This time, no matter how much he begged for mercy, the guards wouldn't let him say another word.
Since there's no one else, what's the point of carrying an empty sedan chair up? Anyone who can say something like that probably isn't thinking straight. However… regardless of how flawed that statement is, Yu Jingchen will not keep Yang Baolin around any longer.
“Since he mentioned that Yang Baolin was the one who ordered it, then Yang Baolin should atone with his death. Let him be strangled.” Yu Jingchen’s voice was devoid of warmth.
“Yes…” Xinglai couldn’t understand why His Majesty would issue such an order, but he had no right to question it.
Then Yu Jingchen looked at the people on the ground, feeling annoyed.
“Give each of them twenty strokes of the cane and make them kneel for one night.” Yu Jingchen felt he had already shown mercy.
No one dared to plead for them. Just as the execution was about to begin, Yu Jingchen seemed to remember something and called out to them.
"Wait a minute," Yu Jingchen said, and Xing looked at Yu Jingchen.
“Tonight is New Year’s Eve, so there will be no bloodshed. Remember that. This punishment of kneeling for one night, and this caning, will be remembered. The next time, the punishment will be doubled,” Yu Jingchen said.
"Yes..." Xinglai was somewhat surprised. This was the first time this had happened. Even the people below hadn't expected to escape unscathed.
Yu Jingchen didn't say anything, he just went inside. Nan Zhiyun was inside the room the whole time. She had heard what Yu Jingchen said, but she didn't react much.
"Aren't you going to take a shower? You're tired today, you can rest early." Yu Jingchen lowered his voice, sounding like a completely different person from before.
"Today is Lunar New Year's Eve, and we have to stay up all night to welcome the new year," Nan Zhiyun said.
"Aren't you sleepy?" Yu Jingchen asked her.
"I don't want to sleep," Nan Zhiyun said.
“Okay, whatever you say. I’ll go change my clothes and then come out,” Yu Jingchen said to her.
Nan Zhiyun nodded, meaning she would stay tonight. Perhaps it was because Yu Jingchen always stayed at He'an Palace these days, so Nan Zhiyun had gradually gotten used to his presence.
She watched Yu Jingchen enter the inner room, then looked outside the door: "His Majesty only said to punish them by making them kneel for one night?" Nan Zhiyun asked Qianxia.
“That’s what His Majesty said,” Qianxia replied.
"Let them come in and kneel down," Nan Zhiyun said after thinking for a moment.
"Yes," Qianxia replied without hesitation.
When Yu Jingchen came out after changing his clothes, all the palace servants had already been ordered by Nan Zhiyun to kneel inside the room. Yu Jingchen looked at them, his expression unreadable.
“Your Majesty…” Nan Zhiyun felt uncertain when she saw Yu Jingchen’s gaze.
"Yun'er is really kind-hearted," Yu Jingchen said.
“They won’t be able to stand being outside all night,” Nan Zhiyun said timidly, her head lowered, her voice soft and lacking confidence.
"Fine, whatever you want today." Yu Jingchen didn't blame Nan Zhiyun, nor did he say he had offended her.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Nan Zhiyun said, somewhat surprised.
Yu Jingchen sighed and ruffled Nan Zhiyun's hair. Then he looked at the people on the ground: "Aren't you going to thank your master for his kindness?"
"Yes, Your Highness, this servant thanks you!" The palace servants were now more sincere. Yu Jingchen glanced at their knees, and Nan Zhiyun noticed his gaze and felt a little guilty. Seeing her like this, Yu Jingchen smiled slightly: "Yun'er certainly has a lot of mischievous ideas."
"Your Majesty, please forgive me," Nan Zhiyun said, knowing she was in the wrong.
"If they remember your kindness and consider your needs more in the future, then what you've done now won't have been in vain." Yu Jingchen pulled Nan Zhiyun into his arms.
"Did you drink the hangover soup I told you to drink? You smell like alcohol. It's New Year's Eve, so you can drink it if you want, but don't keep drinking like this in the future," Yu Jingchen said.
"Yes," Nan Zhiyun said obediently.
Yu Jingchen had barely finished speaking when the palace servants finished the hangover soup. However… besides these, there was also the medicine Nan Zhiyun usually took, which made Nan Zhiyun frown.
She looked at Yu Jingchen with a face full of resistance. Yu Jingchen gently pushed the medicine away: "It's a holiday today, so I won't drink it."
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