Inside the palace, a tall, slender figure traversed the palace paths in the darkness, making his way to the most magnificent and imposing palace.
The chief eunuch Liu Yi flicked his whisk and said in a high-pitched voice, "Lord Qin has arrived! His Majesty is waiting for you."
The person who arrived was Qin Zhuo. He didn't stop walking. After giving a slight nod, he strode in and knelt on one knee in the middle: "Greetings, Your Majesty."
A thin, middle-aged man sat on the high seat. He wore a dragon robe and exuded an imposing aura. His gloomy and narrow gaze fell upon him as he asked, "Did you get the goods?"
Qin Zhuo lowered his head: "I had it, but something unexpected happened."
The corner of his drooping arm still showed traces of bandages, the white bandages soaked with blood.
"waste......"
With the emperor's roar, a teacup was smashed hard against Qin Zhuo.
"You can't even handle this little thing, what use are you?"
Qin Zhuo lowered his head, not daring to argue: "This subordinate knows his crime."
The emperor's face was cold and stern: "If you know your crime, go and accept your punishment. I can give you another chance, but if you make another mistake, I will not let you off lightly."
"yes."
Qin Zhuo stepped out, and Liu Yi said insincerely, "Lord Qin, are you in trouble? If you need my help, please don't hesitate to ask."
Qin Zhuo didn't even glance at him: "Thank you for your kindness, Eunuch Liu."
After saying that, he left, his back view cold and indifferent.
Liu Yi snorted coldly, secretly resentful: Just wait and see how long you two siblings can be so smug.
Back then, Liu Yi took a fancy to the empress's personal maid and wanted to become her lover. He even begged the emperor to agree, but the empress refused to budge and hastily married the girl off to a place far away, making it impossible for him to find her.
He was the chief steward by His Majesty's side, and they looked down on him so much; he would make them pay the price sooner or later.
Qin Zhuo went to the punishment room to receive his punishment, receiving thirty lashes. After the lashes, blood dripped down, soaking his black undergarment.
"Lord Qin..." The imperial guards beside him tried to help him up, but he refused. He sat up on his own and struggled to put on his outer robe.
As you walk out, each step leaves a bloody footprint.
The executioner gripped the whip tightly, filled with lingering fear.
He gave him thirty lashes without holding back. He knew best how hard he had beaten him. No one had ever been able to get up and walk away after being whipped thirty times.
"master!"
Qin Zhuo's trusted confidants, Zhao Cheng and Qian Lu, greeted him at the door, but no matter how excited they were, they dared not help him up, for fear of touching his wound. They could only watch as Qin Zhuo struggled to get into the palanquin, lowered the curtain, and hurriedly carried him away.
The group hurriedly left, and the palace, lit up in the darkness behind them, looked like a monstrous beast ready to devour them.
It never attacks first; it just waits there for the greedy person to come in, and then swallows them whole.
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Shen Ning slept until dawn, glancing at the place where the token was hidden, but pretending not to see it.
She got up and chatted with Liuying and the others for a few minutes before heading to her study to handle her own affairs. The autumn harvest was about to begin, and she had a lot to do.
Shen Ning was just feeling a little unwell and came home early last night, but for the second branch of the family, the storm that began last night will eventually engulf them.
Shen Ming and Du Rufeng were arrested, but not because they plotted against Shen Ning. Instead, their cronies reported them, especially Shen Ming, who was accused of forcing women into prostitution, robbery, adultery, and extortion. His crimes were heinous and outrageous.
Two of the three henchmen who were arrested and sent to the yamen were Shen Ming's personal servants, and the other was a street thug whom Shen Ming had met. The three of them knew all too well what Shen Ming had done, and they talked about it in front of the prefect as if it were a treasure trove. Although there was no evidence for many of the things, there were witnesses.
More and more people were implicated, and in the end, in order to absolve themselves of their guilt, this group unanimously pointed the finger at Shen Ming as the culprit.
The two men from the second branch of the family rushed to the yamen upon hearing the news, but Shen Ming had been tortured and beaten to the point of near death, unable to utter a single word.
The two were heartbroken. Even if their son was a good-for-nothing, he was still their son, and they couldn't just let him die.
When the two wanted to rescue the person, Shen Ning was the first person they thought of.
They clearly always wanted to seize power and looked down on Shen Ning because she was a daughter, but in their hearts they had to admit that Shen Ning was the most capable person in the Shen family.
Just as they were about to go back to find Shen Ning, they overheard someone casually talking.
"This person is absolutely despicable, a beast in human form, a monster."
"Ha, he's a beast, but he's lucky. His cousin married into the family of a third-rank censor. A censor's words can reach the emperor directly. If he were to step in to bail him out, this case would probably just fizzle out in the end."
The second couple suddenly realized, "That's right, no matter how capable Shen Ning is, she only knows how to do business. The Wei family, on the other hand, are high-ranking officials of the third rank, on par with the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture."
The two immediately changed their destination and headed straight for the Wei family.
Meanwhile, the Wei family... was having a lively time.
Wei Congwen took the maid Yu'er, and the Wei couple were quite happy. They had long disapproved of how Shen Shu had bewitched their son, and now that someone could get in, it was an unexpected joy, something they couldn't have asked for.
The two decided to elevate Yu'er to a concubine. Yu'er was obedient and well-behaved, never arguing or fighting. Compared to Shen Shu, she was much less troublesome.
However, how could Shen Shu possibly agree? She was determined to marry her ideal husband, and she was even willing to turn against her own sister to marry him. How could she allow him to take a concubine, especially a servant who had grown up with her?
This is an insult, this is betrayal!
Shen Shu caused a huge scene at home. At first, she cried, but when crying didn't work, she smashed things and then hit people.
Yu'er was almost beaten to death by her. When Wei Congwen came to save her, she simply beat Wei Congwen as well, which ultimately enraged Wei Congwen so much that he was confined to his quarters.
After being confined to his home, he calmed down and realized that making a scene was useless, so he started crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide again, turning the entire Wei family into a complete mess.
Just then, the Shen couple came to their door, hoping they would save the person out of consideration for their kinship.
Relatives? Even with such a high dowry, the Wei couple now wanted to send Shen Shu back to the Shen family.
You're really unlucky to run into someone like that, a troublemaker.
Then, the second wife and her husband not only failed to get help from Wei Changgeng, but were also taken to Wei's house to seek justice. It is said that when they came out, they could not even stand up, and it is unknown what kind of torture they suffered.
When Yu Zhu told Shen Ning about it, he was overjoyed and wished he could set off firecrackers to celebrate.
Serves you right!
Evil will be punished.
Liu Ying said worriedly, "Miss, what if the Second Master and the others can't come up with a solution? They might make things difficult for you. We can't get involved in this now."
Shen Ning didn't take it seriously: "Don't overestimate me. This is something I can't control. Besides, when the day comes, I can't just do this for nothing; I'll have to pay a price..."
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