"In my opinion, you spend all day chasing after a guard, running around aimlessly. You've probably lost your mind, otherwise how could you do such an absurd thing! How could the Palace Master of the Shang Palace have fallen so low as to do such a thing!"
Gong Zishang's face instantly turned deathly pale, as if all the blood had been drained from her body. She had fought tooth and nail for the position of Palace Master of Shang Palace, and she knew her father had never truly respected her; this position was merely reserved for her younger brother.
"Zishang knows she was wrong, please punish her, Elder!" she said in a trembling voice, her heart filled with fear and unease.
"Shangjiao, now that you've become the young master, this matter is in your hands. We old folks are tired too, we'll go and rest first." Elder Yue said this. Although he was gentle, he was also sensible, except when it came to Gong Ziyu.
With the three elders gone, only the two brothers, Gong Er and Gong San, and Gong Ruanruan remained in the main hall. Also present were Gong Zishang kneeling on the ground, a guard beside him, and Jin Fu standing nearby.
"Jin Fan, as Gong Ziyu's bodyguard, dared to openly disregard palace rules and disregard the safety of the palace gates! You shall be given thirty strokes of the cane and sent back to the guard camp to relearn the rules. As for Gong Ziyu, I will personally select a suitable person to replace you." Gong Shangjiao glanced coldly at Jin Fan kneeling on the ground and issued the punishment order without any mercy.
Jin Fan knelt on both knees, head bowed, and replied in a slightly hoarse voice, "Yes, sir."
"Gong Zishang, as the head of the Shang Palace, you have failed to set a good example, which is truly unacceptable! You are hereby punished to copy the palace rules one hundred times and be confined to the Shang Palace for half a month. During this time, I will arrange for someone to watch over you."
The main reason for arranging this was to prevent Gong Zishang from being bullied. After all, she was better than Shang Gong, who was so young and disrespectful to his teachers, and Gong Ziyu, who was also ignorant and incompetent. Gong Shangjiao looked at his younger brother beside him and felt even more gratified. It was better to have a younger brother like Yuanzheng. At such a young age, he could support the entire Zheng Palace. Shang Gong could never compare to him.
In truth, Gong Shangjiao still harbored resentment. After all, she was a servant who had climbed into someone else's bedchamber. Even if she had given birth to a son, she was still not respectable and could only act arrogantly within the Shang Palace. Gong Zishang, on the other hand, was the son of the principal wife.
He knows quite a lot. If the previous Palace Master of the Shang Palace weren't still alive, he would have been able to manage the entire Shang Palace just like his brother Yuanzheng, and there wouldn't be this situation of him chasing after a guard all day long.
The elders also felt that it was fine to like a guard, but it was unacceptable for you to shamelessly follow him around like that. The key issue was that he didn't even like you. Wasn't this like putting your face under his feet and letting him trample on it?
Besides, there are plenty of good-looking and sensible people in their palace. They've all thought it through. Gong Zishang isn't young anymore, and it's not a good idea for him to continue like this all the time. They might as well hold a marriage recruitment event after things have calmed down in the palace.
Gong Zishang was taken back, and Jin Fan also returned to the guard camp on his own. The matter was considered closed. When Gong Hongyu learned of the incident the next day, he breathed a sigh of relief at the failure and agreed with Gong Shangjiao's final decision.
However, he still felt a little regretful. Jin Fan was a red jade guard that he had specially selected for Zi Yu in the back mountain, and now he was being sent back to the guard camp.
Gong Ziyu, who was sleeping soundly in the back mountain, was completely unaware of the good deeds that Jin Fan and Gong Zishang had done.
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