Chapter 31 You're dreaming, Xiao Shenjing
Yunxi had heard that the palace had strict rules, but she never imagined it would be to this extent.
It's a place that practically eats people alive.
No, no, this is a place that doesn't treat people like human beings at all.
How could she possibly tolerate this?
We can't really do as this old woman says and ring the bell.
A strong woman can bend and stretch.
Yunxi lowered her posture, curtsied to Aunt Jiang beside her, and said, "Aunt, I am new here and do not know any better. Please give me another chance. I will definitely not make the same mistake again in the future."
Aunt Jiang glanced almost imperceptibly at the gate not far away.
Not hearing a reply, Yunxi was about to look up to see what was going on when she heard Granny Zhou speak again, "Everything is being done according to palace rules. Someone, drag her to the Palace Administration Office."
As soon as he finished speaking, four eunuchs stepped out from behind him and reached out to grab Yunxi.
Yunxi sighed.
While waving her hand at Granny Zhou, she backed away, saying, "Can't you speak properly? Don't resort to violence, okay?"
"You audacious wretch, do you really think the rules of the palace are just for show?" Granny Zhou glared at the eunuchs and ordered, "Quickly seize her and send her to the torture chamber."
The four eunuchs, with fierce expressions, immediately pounced on Yunxi.
They were not skilled in martial arts and were no match for Yunxi, so she easily dodged them.
These people are completely unreasonable.
Yunxi decided to make a quick getaway and find a place to hide first.
She had only taken a couple of steps when her arm was grabbed tightly by a hand.
She could only turn around and swung her hand back, but her opponent easily dodged it.
He's actually a trained fighter too.
Yunxi was taken aback for a moment. Taking advantage of the force of the palace maid's pull, she stepped on the stone pillar next to her and did a beautiful backflip, striking the other party's chest with a palm.
"Rebellion! Rebellion!" Granny Zhou was shocked to find that Yunxi knew martial arts. After the initial shock, she suddenly shouted, "Guards! Guards! Seize the assassin!"
Not far away, the Imperial Guards on duty immediately rushed over.
The sound of approaching footsteps and the clatter of armor shattered the deathly silence of the palace.
Yunxi didn't want to make a scene, so she pushed away the palace maids who were clinging to her and tried to run away, only to find that the Imperial Guards were rushing towards her from both the front and the back, blocking her way.
Having no other choice, she jumped into the courtyard and rushed toward the covered walkway opposite.
She wore a simple gauze palace dress, her figure as swift as a shooting star, as agile as a fish.
Just as she darted across the veranda, she was unlucky enough to bump into a patrol of armored guards.
Yunxi could only snatch the opponent's spear, deftly twirl it, and charge towards the nearest Imperial Guard.
As Granny Zhou shouted "Catch the assassin!", Yunxi knew that more imperial guards would arrive.
Therefore, she didn't want to linger in the fight and only wanted to get through this ordeal first.
As a result, the well-trained Imperial Guards gave her no chance. She was forced to retreat step by step, and when she passed through the archway, she didn't have time to look closely before the spear pierced her face.
Her eyelids twitched heavily as she barely dodged more than ten moves before kicking the nearest Imperial Guard.
She used internal force in that kick.
The imperial guard was kicked straight in.
Although Cen Yuwei and Xiao Shenjing have not yet married, they have already been holding the power of the Empress's Chambers on her behalf.
So when Xiao Shenjing handed Yunxi over to Aunt Jiang, Aunt Jiang immediately ordered someone to report this to Cen Yuwei.
With so many things happening in the palace recently, Cen Yuwei couldn't wait to return to Yunxi.
Upon hearing this, they naturally rushed over immediately.
The eunuchs carrying the sedan chair, who had just turned the corner of the corridor, were surprised to see someone fly towards them.
"Ahhh!" There was no time to react before it hit me.
As the sedan bearers stumbled and fell to the ground, the sedan chair also swayed and fell.
"Ah!" The sedan chair bounced back the moment it hit the ground, and Cen Yuwei's head hit the ceiling lamp hard.
The glass lampshade shattered instantly overhead.
The palace maids who were attending the emperor were terrified and turned pale.
"Princess, Princess!" Aunt Xueyu exclaimed in shock, her voice trembling.
The men in the midst of the fight finally noticed the commotion. Upon seeing that it was Princess Yong'an's sedan chair, the Imperial Guards' expressions changed drastically.
Yunxi also realized that she seemed to have caused a great disaster.
Barely dodging several attacks, he gritted his teeth and tried to jump onto the rooftop to escape, stepping on the tip of his spear, when he heard the sound of a hidden weapon whistling through the air behind him.
"Miss Yunxi, please wait."
Before Dao Yi finished speaking, the attack had already arrived.
At this moment, Aunt Xueyu cried out in alarm, "Princess, Princess, you are bleeding!"
At this moment, Aunt Jiang and her group also arrived, and their expressions changed upon hearing this.
Everyone in the palace knows that Cen Yuwei is the future mother of the nation.
"Quickly summon the imperial physician, hurry!" Aunt Jiang immediately ordered.
Aunt Xueyu looked on in fear, her teeth clenched as she watched the group of people still fighting. "Commander Dao, why aren't you arresting this thief right now?"
The knife made my head spin.
“Miss Yunxi, you’ll hurt yourself if you keep doing this.”
Yunxi's ability to fight the Imperial Guards to a standstill does not mean he has the strength to fight the Grand Commander.
Glancing at the layers of imperial guards surrounding her, she knew she couldn't escape.
She simply threw away the spear in her hand and surrendered.
Not far away, chaos erupted because of Cen Yuwei's injury.
Yunxi's hands were tied behind her back by the Imperial Guards, forcing her to kneel on one knee.
The wound, which has not yet fully healed, is still throbbing with pain.
Yunxi pursed her lips to suppress the pain and turned her head to stare at the grass outside the railing.
In a crack in the rock, there grew a small grass, its stem slender and frail, as if a gust of wind could break it, yet it bloomed with several small purple flowers.
Vibrant and stubborn.
Cen Yuwei's face wasn't injured, only her scalp was bruised, but that was enough to enrage Aunt Xueyu.
The emperor and empress's wedding was just around the corner, and now this bloody disaster has occurred. If the court officials find out, they will surely submit several more memorials against them.
Especially the Ministry of Rites—Consort Xue would definitely not let this opportunity slip by.
This Yunxi is truly a scourge that cannot be kept alive.
"You sinful slave, you hurt the princess, you deserve to die ten thousand times over." Aunt Xueyu became angrier the more she thought about it, and walked directly in front of Yunxi, raising her hand to slap her face.
"How dare you!" Yunxi was pinned down and couldn't dodge, but she still glared angrily at the palace maid who dared to make a move.
The knife was enormous.
If that slap had actually landed on Yunxi's face, who knows what kind of revenge she would have harbored, and it would have caused chaos throughout the entire palace.
"Aunt Xueyu, why don't we wait until His Majesty arrives before taking any action?" He had no choice but to reach out and stop her.
The maintenance of Dao Yi is undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire.
Aunt Xueyu realized more and more that Yunxi could not be kept.
"Commander Dao also saw it. This lowly servant dared to injure the princess. Why not drag her away and beat her to death?"
To be beaten to death?
He doesn't have the guts.
Dao shook his head and insisted, "We await His Majesty's decision."
Aunt Xueyu questioned with an unyielding expression, "She, a lowly maid, injured her master. The facts are clear. Does Commander Dao intend to seek justice for this lowly maid who plotted against the princess?"
Dao Yi still shook his head.
Aunt Xueyu was unwilling to give up, so she drew the long sword of the imperial guard beside her and was about to stab Yunxi.
"Stop!" Xiao Shenjing saw this scene as he turned the corner and immediately called out to stop it.
With a 'clang,' before the words were even finished, the longsword was knocked to the ground by the knife.
"Greetings, Your Majesty." No matter how unwilling Aunt Xueyu was, she could only grit her teeth, turn around and bow.
In an instant, a large number of palace maids, eunuchs, and imperial guards knelt down.
Xiao Shenjing glanced at Yun Xi, who was being pressed to the ground.
Yunxi didn't look at him, but instead turned her head to stare at the purple flower in the crevice of the stone.
This palace was a place she utterly loathed.
"Brother Yin'an," Cen Yuwei called out weakly, pressing her handkerchief to her head.
Xiao Shenjing withdrew his gaze, his brows furrowed, and strode up to Cen Yuwei, asking with concern, "Yuwei, how do you feel?"
"I'm fine," she shook her head, but then collapsed weakly to one side.
"Yuwei." Xiao Shenjing quickly caught her.
Cen Yuwei leaned weakly in Xiao Shenjing's arms, glancing unintentionally in the direction of Yun Xi.
But she didn't even glance in their direction.
"Your Majesty, please see the truth!" Aunt Xueyu said, clutching Cen Yuwei's blood-stained handkerchief. "This lowly servant dared to fight with the Imperial Guards in the palace and even injured the Princess. I beg Your Majesty to uphold justice for the Princess."
Xiao Shenjing glanced at the bloodstains still remaining at Cen Yuwei's temple.
His gaze slowly fell on the top of Yunxi's head.
With a pair of phoenix eyes that were icy cold, he demanded, "Who will explain this to me?"
Aunt Jiang immediately bowed and stood up. When she mentioned that Yunxi should be punished for carrying the bell, Xiao Shenjing glanced at Yunxi.
After she finished explaining the whole story, the imperial physician arrived with his medicine chest.
Xiao Shenjing put one arm around Cen Yuwei and helped her sit down on a stone bench not far away. After the imperial physician checked and found no serious problems, he slowly walked towards Yunxi.
"Brother Yin'an," Cen Yuwei pursed her lips and gently tugged at Xiao Shenjing's sleeve.
Xiao Shenjing patted her hand reassuringly, "Don't worry, I will naturally uphold justice for you."
They were deeply in love and cared for each other.
Not far away, Yunxi, who was forced to kneel, tugged at her torn sleeve. Her hands were trembling uncontrollably from the pain, but she tried her best to cover the gunshot wound on her arm, afraid that it would be seen and make people feel sorry for her.
However, the blood had already soaked through his sleeves, and the deep, bone-revealing wounds could not be hidden by tattered clothes.
“Brother Yin’an, why don’t we just let it go?” Cen Yuwei pleaded. “Back then at Snake Mountain, I couldn’t save Miss Yunxi, and I’ve felt guilty ever since. It’s already a great blessing that she’s alive and well now.”
It's better not to bring up the past, because once it does, all the old and new grievances come together.
In just half an hour, the palace has been thrown into such turmoil.
Xiao Shenjing, his sharp brow bone pressed down, walked up to Yun Xi.
"What do you have to say about what Aunt Jiang said?"
Aunt Jiang naturally dared not deceive the emperor, and everything she said was true and without any falsehood.
"Your Majesty, this servant did not," Yunxi replied respectfully, without even looking up, just like any other palace maid who had committed a crime.
I knew she was just pretending to comply, but behind my back she was doing all sorts of outrageous things.
No matter how much you praise her, she's still a disobedient stray dog.
It is annoying and makes people angry.
"Choose between carrying a bell or carrying a head."
Yunxi remained silent.
“Then I will choose for you.” Xiao Shenjing squatted down and suddenly grabbed Yunxi’s chin, forcing her to raise her head. “I want to hear the bell ringing throughout the palace, so that everyone can hear the sound of the bell you are ringing.”
Upon hearing such humiliating words, Yunxi immediately tore off her mask.
She stared at Xiao Shenjing, then suddenly stretched her neck and leaned close to him.
The sudden closeness startled Xiao Shenjing for a moment.
But her utterly disgusted gaze was like a sharp needle piercing him awake.
"You want me to live a cowardly and lowly life? You're dreaming, Xiao Shenjing." Yunxi stared at him and chuckled. "Either you kill me, or it's never going to happen."
Otherwise, one day she will return everything to him.
Yun Xi glanced at Xiao Shenjing lightly, then smiled and retreated.
Xiao Shenjing suddenly remembered that she had looked at him with the same expression back in Snake Mountain.
Her almond-shaped eyes curved slightly, showing neither tears nor fear.
She told him, "I am not the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Jiangyuan's family. The real legitimate daughter has already been found."
It's truly an unrepentant thing.
"Who in the world doesn't know that my will is irreversible! Yet you are so foolish and self-righteous." The veins on the back of Xiao Shenjing's hand bulged, and he suddenly grabbed Yunxi's throat. "Since you are so stubborn, then I will cut you down little by little, grind you into needles and pulverize you into powder. I want you to be like that Yangzhou slender horse, even crying at the right time to ask me for a reward."
Shake her face away.
Xiao Shenjing stood up and looked down at Yun Xi.
Its thick, half-closed eyelashes swallowed the sunlight, making it look like a heartless sculpture sitting in a temple.
"The palace maid Yunxi is notoriously unruly and has repeatedly violated palace rules. Now, she has gone even further, injuring the Empress. She has overstepped her bounds, claiming to defy imperial authority; she has disobeyed imperial orders, fled, and clashed with the imperial guards; causing damage to the Empress's health and shaking the foundations of the nation."
He stared at Yunxi at his feet like a dead object, saying, "From this day forward, she shall be demoted to a lowly status and enslaved for eternity."
Slaves and lowly people are treated like livestock.
Slaves were considered "property" and could be bought, sold, given away, or mortgaged.
A master who kills a slave is only fined, while a slave who injures his master is sentenced to death.
Even if they married, they needed the master's permission, and the children born would be slaves for generations.
They were forbidden from marrying commoners and were only allowed to perform menial labor.
Being classified as a lowly status means utterly trampling a person into the mud.
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