Seeing Xiao Ruyu's dejected look, Eleven felt a little nervous.

"What happened?"

"Why didn't the little princess take Eleven with her when she left the palace?"

Looking at his anxious face, Xiao Ruyu didn't know where to put her hands, and her eyes were dim.

For fear that Eleven would worry, Xiao Ruyu did not plan to tell him about this and just made up an excuse.

[I...was a little craving for the cakes outside the palace, so I sneaked out to buy some. ]

[It’s getting late, Eleven should go to bed early. ]

After saying that, she pushed Eleven out of the hall and closed the door.

Eleven looked at the closed door with half belief and half doubt, vaguely feeling that the matter was not that simple, but seeing that Xiao Ruyu was not in high spirits, he swallowed his words back in the end.

"Have a good rest, little princess."

He muttered something to the inside of the door, then turned and left.

Listening to Eleven's footsteps gradually fading away, Xiao Ruyu slid down from the door and sat on the ground, with a lot of thoughts in his mind.

What exactly is the purpose of that genius Gusu master...

Xiao Ruyu slept very uneasily that night, as she always felt someone calling her name in her ear.

"Little princess, little princess."

No! Someone was calling her!

Xiao Ruyu opened her eyes dazedly and saw the palace maid in the hall calling her hurriedly and whispering, her forehead covered with sweat from rushing there.

"It's early in the morning, and this is really a fire in the ass."

She turned over in dissatisfaction, muttering, "What happened?"

Seeing that she was unhappy, the maid quickly knelt on the ground, her voice trembling.

"Someone from the Marquis' Mansion sent a letter early this morning saying that the two young masters were punished by... military law for moving the military tokens!"

What? Something happened to Duan Yiheng and Duan Yiling?

Xiao Ruyu jumped up from the bed, his sleepy head instantly clear.

"What did you say? Military law?"

The maid explained hesitantly, she was so scared that she was about to cry.

"That is... each person was punished with a hundred strokes of the cane. According to the servants in the mansion, they are now... unable to hold on..."

One hundred lashes?

Not to mention teenagers, even adults can’t bear it. If they don’t die, they will be half-crippled!

Xiao Ruyu immediately realized the seriousness of the matter, put on his clothes and went to find Eleven.

As soon as she went out, she ran into Eleven who came to look for her.

[Eleven, something bad has happened, follow me out of the palace and go to the Military Affairs Office! ]

She walked forward and held Eleven's hand, her little face full of anxiety and her palms slightly sweaty.

"What's going on?"

Although Eleven didn't know what exactly happened, he still guessed something when the Military Affairs Department was mentioned.

"Could it be that... the matter of the military token has been exposed?"

Xiao Ruyu nodded heavily, pulled his hand and walked out, but the half of the back of her hand exposed outside the sleeve attracted Eleven's attention.

The wound was nearly two inches long and hard to ignore.

Noticing that Eleven was not moving, she turned her head anxiously. Just as she was about to ask him why he was not moving, she noticed that his eyes fell on the back of his hand.

Xiao Ruyu felt a chill in her heart and subconsciously wanted to pull her hand back, but was grabbed by Eleven.

He caressed the wound tenderly, his eyes full of disbelief, "Was this scratched by Ergou?"

Thinking back to Xiao Ruyu's unnatural behavior that day, everything seemed to have a traceable cause.

Xiao Ruyu looked at Eleven's eyes which gradually became colder. She retracted her hand and grasped his hand with an earnest look.

[Eleven, don't blame Ergou, this is not his fault.]

【It is because...】

Seeing that she couldn't hide the matter any longer, she had no choice but to tell Eleven everything and told him about her dream the day before.

When Eleven heard that she was going to the appointment alone, there was obviously a bit more panic in his eyes.

He nervously pinched Xiao Ruyu's shoulders, "The little princess actually went out alone to take risks. If something happens, what will Eleven do?!"

Xiao Ruyu knew that he was worried about her, so she pressed his hand down and pursed her lips.

[Don't worry, I know my limits. Look, I'm back in good health.]

She didn't bother to explain too much to Eleven. All she could think about was saving her two cousins. She took his hand and led him out.

[The most important thing right now is to save my two cousins. After all, they were punished because of me.]

After half an incense stick.

Xiao Ruyu and Shiyi rushed to the military affairs office in a hurry. Before they even stepped out of the yard, they heard Duan Yiling's screams from afar.

Her heart ached and she immediately stepped into the yard.

There were quite a few people in the yard. Duan Houfu stood nearby with an extremely ugly look on his face, his hands clenched in his sleeves with a little force.

The guard who received the military token yesterday was punished to kneel aside with his head lowered.

Duan Yiheng and Duan Yiling were each lying on a wooden bench, and the heavy board hit them again and again.

Duan Yiling's screams reached his ears, he shouted out every time, his face flushed red, and he tried to struggle with his hands and feet but they were tied firmly to the wooden bench.

Duan Yiheng forced himself to hold back from crying out, his face slightly pale, his hands tightly gripping the edge of the wooden bench, but he groaned in pain.

"Stop hitting me, stop hitting me!"

Xiao Ruyu rushed forward and tried to stop the falling board, but was stopped and not allowed to get close. She listened to the board hitting her two cousins ​​heavily, her nose felt sore and tears fell.

When she saw others trying to stop her, she fell to her knees in front of Lord Duan, tears streaming down her face.

"Uncle, this was all my idea. If you want to punish someone, punish me instead of my two brothers."

Lord Duan's face turned livid, and he seemed not to care about the pain of Duan Yiheng and the other man, but in fact, his white fingertips clutching his sleeves betrayed him.

"The little princess is worth a lot of money. How can this marquis punish her?"

"Besides, the country has its own rules, and the army has its own laws!"

He turned his head away, unable to bear to see the miserable scene any longer. "Stealing the military token is a serious crime. If we don't punish them today, and someone else does the same in the future, then everything will be in chaos!"

Xiao Ruyu felt increasingly exhausted by the screams behind her. She turned around and saw Duan Yiling almost fainting. She climbed forward and grabbed Lord Duan's trouser legs, tears streaming down her face.

"But... you can't hit me with a hundred sticks. Something bad will happen."

"Brother Yiling can't hold on any longer!"

Lord Duan turned his face away, unable to bear to watch any longer, and carried Xiao Ruyu aside.

He looked forbearing and felt very embarrassed. As the cries became quieter and quieter, he finally couldn't help but ask.

“How many large boards are left?”

The executioner stopped and answered honestly.

"Your Excellency, we are still fifty short."

Only fifty hits?

Xiao Ruyu's legs went weak. If the fight continued, something would definitely happen to her two cousins.

She suppressed her heartache and was thinking of a solution when there was a sudden commotion at the door.

The officers and soldiers who were searching came back in a hurry to report the situation.

"Your Excellency, the person who ordered us to search yesterday has been found!"

"This person is in a yard on the outskirts of the city!"

What? Lv Zongyuan found it?!

Xiao Ruyu stood up, took the opportunity to grab Lord Duan's hand, and spoke anxiously.

"Quick, go catch Lu Zongyuan!"