Xiao Yanzi was speechless for a moment, and Ziwei, being eloquent and persuasive, would never tolerate Anke punishing Erkang for no reason.
"Miss, what mistake did Erkang make that you want him to kneel down?" Ziwei stepped forward with a smile. "Is there some misunderstanding? We're all on an inspection tour together, so any misunderstandings can be cleared up."
Unfortunately, An Ke was furious and wouldn't listen to anyone. Besides, what drove Fu Er Kang crazy must be related to Ziwei.
“I’ll make him kneel? Not only that, I’ll beat him.” An Ke said coldly. Without looking at the expressions of others, she slowly walked up to Fu Erkang and looked down at him. “Who do you think you are? Isn’t it just about what happened back then? You still want Qing’er to help you keep it a secret? Qing’er has long forgotten about that tacit understanding. In my opinion, it’s you who can’t let go, bringing it up again and again.”
Just as Fu Erkang was about to retort, An Ke, with her sharp eyes, slapped him across the face.
“You’d better keep your mouth shut until I finish speaking.” An Ke’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
Seeing his cousin's furious expression, Yongqi dared not make a move. The last time his cousin had laughed in such anger was when she was defending the Empress Dowager. He hadn't seen An'an like this in about five or six years.
Benjamin, being an outsider, naturally didn't dare to interrupt. He didn't know about the others, but if Anko wanted to hit you, she really would slap you.
Ziwei stood trembling beside her, feeling perhaps a little disoriented lately. She seemed to be struggling to understand the princess's words; what unspoken understanding did he and Qinggege have?
Ziwei stared at Fu Erkang in disbelief, her eyes reddening first, tears welling up. This cold, broken expression pained Fu Erkang deeply.
"Stop pretending. I knew exactly what you were thinking back then, and I know exactly what you're thinking now." An Ke glanced at Ziwei as she spoke. "Keep your little schemes to yourself."
"This is my last warning to you. You are a slave of the Qing Dynasty, while Qing'er is the high and mighty Princess Qing. She has me and the Empress Dowager behind her. It's not your place to insult her." An Ke didn't want to waste any more words with him. He was the kind of person who wouldn't listen to her anyway.
"I didn't, I didn't insult Qing'er. I just wanted to explain things to Qing'er," Fu Erkang said, kneeling.
"What misunderstanding? Don't think you're getting cocky just because the Empress Dowager praised you a few times. That's because your father is loyal to the Qing Dynasty and because of what happened when we watched the snow. Otherwise, do you think there aren't any outstanding people among the Eight Banners?" An Ke said angrily.
"Of course, if we're talking about arrogance, then no one can beat you." An Ke said with a cold sarcasm.
“Besides, Qing’er’s father is Prince Yu, who is loyal to the Qing Dynasty. Even if she gets married in the future, she will be married off with the most honorable status bestowed by her imperial uncle. Even if she marries a prince from the Aisin Gioro clan, it will be an equal match. Stop daydreaming.” An Ke said fiercely.
Everyone froze in shock. Ziwei was utterly incredulous. She had just been thinking of mediating the conflict between Anke and Erkang, but now it seemed she had been a complete joke. She hadn't expected the Empress Dowager to want Qing'er to marry Erkang. Unable to accept it, she turned and ran away.
Seeing this, Fu Erkang wanted to stand up and chase after Ziwei to explain to her. But as soon as he made a move, An Ke kicked him in the back of the knee, and he fell straight back to his knees.
"Did I, the princess, tell you to get up? What? Is this the rule of the Fu family? Or are you, Fu Erkang, trying to rebel? You can even ignore what I, the princess, say." An Ke gave the indignant Fu Erkang a cool look.
Under An Ke's gaze, Fu Erkang finally lowered his head and uttered a few words with difficulty: "Your subject dares not."
"It's good that you don't dare. It's a good thing that people have self-awareness. I believe that after this experience, you will have a better understanding of yourself." After An Ke finished speaking, she stopped looking at him.
"Former Imperial Guard Fu Erkang disrespected Princess Yong'an and insulted Princess Qing. Considering Lord Fu's dedication to the Qing Dynasty, he is hereby ordered to be given ten strokes of the cane and forced to kneel for an hour." An Ke looked at Fu Erkang and said, "Are you satisfied?"
Fu Erkang clenched his fists tightly, forced to bow his head before power. "Your subject Fu Erkang thanks Princess Yong'an for her great kindness."
An Ke summoned a bodyguard who was standing nearby. After watching Fu Erkang receive ten lashes, An Ke leisurely left, leaving the bodyguard to watch him kneel for a full hour.
I don't have time to watch him kneeling here; it's too much of an eyesore. I'd rather go to sleep than watch him.
Seeing this, Yongqi did not plead for her. After all, Qing'er belonged to the Aisin Gioro clan, and she would not tolerate outsiders insulting her. Moreover, if he pleaded for her now, wouldn't that be slapping his cousin in the face? Besides, he had brought this upon himself. Yongqi shook his head and walked straight to his room, no longer caring about what happened next.
Benjamin wanted to plead for her, but seeing the princess's retreating figure, he opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. He glanced at the stunned Xiao Yanzi and kindly pulled her aside, advising her that she shouldn't go against the princess at this time.
Little Swallow listened blankly, but it was unclear how much she absorbed; she seemed lost in thought.
After Fu Erkang had been kneeling for an hour, the guard quietly said, "The time has come, you can leave now." After saying that, he climbed onto the roof and disappeared into the darkness again.
Fu Erkang stiffly stood up. His legs were numb from kneeling for so long, and he almost stumbled and fell, but he quickly grabbed a tree trunk to steady himself.
He wanted to explain to Ziwei, but then he looked at the sky and realized it was too late to disturb her sleep. He decided to go tomorrow. Besides, he had just been punished and needed to go back to apply medicine. Otherwise, how would he ride a horse tomorrow?
Staggering, he leaned against a tree trunk, slowly making his way to his room. Along the way, many things crossed his mind. Could it be that Qing'er had cried to Princess Yong'an, and that's why she punished him? Or was she trying to force him, Fu Erkang, into submission? That was utterly ridiculous, because his heart now belonged to Ziwei, and there was no room for anyone else. Not even a concubine.
Anke: Bah! A toad trying to eat swan meat, what a beautiful dream.
After returning to her room, Ziwei hugged her blanket and cried bitterly. She wanted Erkang to explain to her, but he didn't explain for a long time. This made her even angrier, and tears streamed down her face.
Unexpectedly, a short while later, Little Swallow returned. Little Swallow brought him news that Erkang had been given ten lashes by the princess and made to kneel for an hour, and was still kneeling there.
Ziwei bit her lip with a pang of heartache. Just as she was about to stand up to check on Erkang, she remembered what the princess had just said about the Empress Dowager wanting to arrange a marriage between him and Qing'er, and reluctantly sat back down.
Sitting there, she felt like she could have a heart-to-heart talk with Little Swallow, but the carefree Little Swallow was already fast asleep, wrapped in her blanket. Only Ziwei remained, staring blankly, unsure who to confide in about her sorrows.
After staring blankly with wide eyes and shedding several more tears, Ziwei wiped them all away. Thinking that Erkang's punishment time was probably over, she decided to wait a little longer. But after waiting a while, Erkang still didn't come. Ziwei angrily lay down on the bed and soon fell asleep.
Anke slept soundly through the night without any dreams, and went to check on Qing'er's condition early in the morning.
When An Ke arrived at Qing'er's room, Qing'er had just woken up. Seeing that Qing'er was fully recovered and not upset by Fu Erkang's words, An Ke felt relieved. What did the rest have to do with her?
"Seeing you like this, I'm relieved." An Ke sat casually on Qing'er's bed, waiting for Qing'er to wash up.
"After listening to your analysis last night, I've come to terms with it. There's no need for me to belittle myself because of what he said. If that were the case, I'm sure Father and Mother would be heartbroken." As Qing'er spoke, her eyes reddened slightly.
An Ke knew immediately that things were going badly, as it reminded Qing'er of Prince Yu. "I avenged you! I gave him ten lashes and made him kneel for an hour," An Ke said. She wasn't saying this to let Qing'er know that she had avenged her, but simply to change the subject and get Qing'er away from Prince Yu.
As expected, Qing'er immediately turned and asked upon hearing this, "You had him punished yesterday?" An Ke nodded, and Qing'er was somewhat worried. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for An Ke to punish him without the master's orders, giving others grounds for gossip?
Although he also wanted to teach him a lesson, An'an was naturally more important than him, and An'an's reputation was much more important than his.
"Don't overthink it. This is just who I am. Everyone in the palace knows how arrogant and domineering Princess Yong'an is. So what if I hit her?" An Ke said nonchalantly. She naturally understood Qing'er's thoughts. But if she had to do it all over again, she would still do the same.
If she can't even protect Qing'er, then she might as well give up the title of princess.
How could Qing'er not appreciate An Ke's kindness? She gave An Ke a sweet smile and continued washing and dressing. If anything happened, she and An'an would share the burden. She would never let An'an bear such a reputation alone.
To their surprise, breakfast was unusually quiet, and even after they got into the carriage, there was no commotion. It was only when Fu Erkang was riding his horse that he let out a cry of pain, and when An Ke looked through the curtain, she almost couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Ertai glanced at his brother strangely as his brother cried out in pain, then looked at him again. Yongqi and Benjamin knew what had happened yesterday, but they didn't say anything, only giving him a sympathetic look.
Fu Lun cursed inwardly: "More trouble than he's worth. He was only asked to speak to Ziwei, not to go to Qing Gege. His presumptuous and nonsensical words deserved to be punished!"
In Fu Lun's opinion, Princess Yong'an's punishment was too lenient. She should have punished him severely to teach him a lesson he would never forget.
How could the master not know what happened last night? No matter how big or small the matter at the inn, nothing escapes his notice. It's just that Fu Erkang has been too arrogant lately; it would be good to let Anke teach him a lesson and vent his anger.
The master should just turn a blind eye and pretend he knows nothing. Last night, when the guards came to report, Fu Heng was also present, but he only smiled faintly and remained silent. In Fu Heng's view, if someone as magnanimous as Princess Yong'an could punish him so ruthlessly, then he must have done something wrong.
An investigation revealed that it was indeed because he had said those inexplicable things to Princess Qing that he had angered her.
When the master heard this, he also found it unbelievable. This Fu Erkang was far too audacious to dare to insult a princess of the Aisin Gioro family.
Even though Qing'er's father and mother are no longer alive, as long as Qing'er bears the surname Aisin Gioro, then he, the Empress Dowager, and An'an will be her greatest support in this life. His insulting words are tantamount to mocking him for having no one among the Eight Banners' descendants.
The master was quite angry last night and drank several pots of tea. He was relieved to hear of An'an's punishment of him. An'an was always reliable; punishing him wasn't the main concern, but rather preventing any loss of face for Fu Lun.
After all, he was a minister who followed them, so they couldn't afford to make him look too bad. This time, they were only letting him off lightly outside the palace. If he dared to act so recklessly inside the palace, then no one's face would matter.
Ziwei cried for half the night yesterday and had nightmares for the other half. She is still a little dazed. She almost fell when she got into the carriage, but the master didn't seem to see it and didn't even help her up.
Seeing Anke and Qing'er chatting and laughing across the way, Ziwei felt even more lonely. Xiao Yanzi had reverted to her usual boisterous self since yesterday, insisting on going horseback riding this morning, and the master didn't stop her; she just went anyway. Now, she didn't even have anyone to talk to.
Ziwei lifted the curtain to look at the scenery outside and happened to see Erkang riding a horse, baring his teeth. She felt a pang of sympathy, but then she thought of Qing'er and lowered the curtain again. Gritting her teeth, she resolved that this time she had to make Erkang explain himself properly.
Seeing that they were all silent, the master felt rather stifled. He could only try to make conversation with An'an. Fortunately, An'an wasn't upset about yesterday's events; in fact, she chatted happily with him, and even Qing'er was caught up in the conversation and chatted a few more times.
Ziwei looked extremely awkward on the side, and could only try to win the master's attention by constantly trying to please him, which made her seem less helpless.
An Ke scoffed lightly, saying nothing. Her reckless actions were only pushing her deeper into the abyss. Why bother stopping her? Good advice is useless against a fool. Surely Fu Erkang had told her more than once not to be so attentive to the master!
The royal family is most wary of bad rumors. Even if she is later identified as the royal uncle's biological daughter, she will not be treated lightly.
After all, the person who fawned over the Emperor during his travels was none other than his own daughter. If the Emperor's uncle found out the truth later, things would get even more interesting. The Empress Dowager was a man who valued his reputation above all else.
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