Yinzhen naturally saw Yin Qingyi's little actions and knew what she was doing. He could tell from the sound that this little money-grubber was counting money again.
"Stop hiding, we've seen everything." Yinzhen found it somewhat amusing; could he possibly try to take it from her?
"Is that so? I was just counting them, and I'll put them away now." Yin Qingyi turned around quickly and swept the table full of silver into her small box. The jingling sound was particularly pleasant to Yin Qingyi's ears.
"Have you had dinner?" Yinzhen asked casually as he watched Yin Qingyi stand up after tidying up.
"Um, has Your Highness eaten?" Yin Qingyi hadn't realized it until Yin Zhen asked. She was so happy that she forgot about eating. It wouldn't be appropriate for her to eat if Yin Zhen had already eaten. If he hadn't eaten, then she could eat with him.
"Your Highness just got back and hasn't eaten yet." Yinzhen could roughly guess what was going on from Yin Qingyi's expression, but he wasn't entirely sure.
"Then this concubine will eat a little with you, Your Highness." Yin Qingyi was embarrassed to say that she hadn't eaten, but she was overjoyed. It was so good that Your Highness hadn't eaten. If he had, wouldn't she have to go hungry all night? Cough, that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that she might be forced to do physical labor.
"You haven't eaten, have you? This is ridiculous! Is this how you take care of your master? The master is ignorant, don't you servants know how to admonish him? What use are you? You might as well go back to the Imperial Household Department and relearn the rules!" Yinzhen's face darkened instantly. He couldn't bear to lash out at this woman, because then the surrounding servants would suffer.
"Master, spare us!" Xiao Jinzi, Chunlan, and Qiuju immediately knelt on the ground, their faces pale. No one knew better than them what awaited them if they were sent back to the Imperial Household Department, so they kowtowed desperately. In no time, their foreheads were bruised and purple, but they dared not stop.
"My lord, please forgive them! It was my fault. I was just too happy and forgot to eat. They reminded me, but I didn't want to eat at the time. Please forgive them." Yin Qingyi was initially taken aback by Yinzhen's sudden anger. By the time she recovered, Qiuju and the other two had already kowtowed until their foreheads were bruised. Yin Qingyi quickly knelt down to beg for forgiveness, realizing for the first time that in this era of absolute power, the man before her could decide the life and death of anyone.
"Since your princess has pleaded for you, then each of you shall receive ten strokes of the cane." Yinzhen looked at Yin Qingyi, who was kneeling on the ground with a pale face, and knew that this little woman was frightened. He could only punish her leniently. Originally, he only intended to help this little woman establish her authority, but he did not expect to frighten her. He didn't know whether he was frightened by what he should have been frightened or not, but he did frighten her by what he shouldn't have been frightened.
"Thank you, Master, thank you, Princess." The three breathed a sigh of relief, immediately kowtowed to Yinzhen and Consort Yin, and then went out to receive their punishment. Ten strokes of the cane were considered a very light punishment.
"Get up. How long are you going to kneel like this?" Yinzhen was displeased to see that the man was still kneeling on the ground even after everyone else had left. Did he think that the punishment was too severe?
"Um, I knelt down too hard just now, and I feel like I can't get up." Yin Qingyi was a little embarrassed, but she felt more like crying. It hurt so much. She felt like her knees were cracked. It was already amazing that she could hold back her tears.
"Ah, stop, stop, it hurts!" Yin Qingyi didn't expect that Yinzhen would lift her up directly. Her knees, which were already a little numb, suddenly hurt so much that she gasped for breath. Her face turned even paler than before, and she was sweating from the pain.
"Su Peisheng, go and fetch the imperial physician." Yinzhen's face was grim, whether from anger or something else, he picked up Yin Qingyi and carried her to the soft couch beside him, gently setting her down. Then he lifted Yin Qingyi's foot to check how badly it was injured.
"Why are you kneeling, you servant, as the master said?" Yinzhen's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot as he looked at his knees, which had swollen up in no time.
"I was just scared, Your Highness. How could I dare stand here when you're angry?" Yin Qingyi said, feeling wronged. How could she know if Yinzhen was scolding a servant or her? And even if she did know, she couldn't just stand by and watch Qiuju and the others be sent back to the Imperial Household Department. Although she didn't know the specific consequences of sending them back, she had a general understanding that the place was very unfriendly, even cruel, to the palace maids and eunuchs who were sent back. So, in her panic, she knelt down without thinking.
Qiu Ju and the other two, who were being punished outside, naturally heard Yin Qingyi's shouts. They all assumed that the princess was being punished by her master again for their sake. Although the sound of the punishment made them think all sorts of things, the three of them were deeply moved and secretly vowed never to betray the princess. Unbeknownst to them, Yin Qingyi had completely won over the hearts of the three of them.
By the time Su Peisheng arrived with the royal physician, the three men had already finished their beatings and were limping back to their room to express their gratitude. However, when they saw Su Peisheng hurriedly leading the physician inside, they were startled. Could something have happened to the princess? Ignoring the pain in their buttocks, the three men quickly went inside.
"Princess, you've injured your bones and muscles. It's best for you to stay in bed and avoid moving around for the next few days. I'll prescribe some topical medicine for you to apply three times a day. You should recover in about half a month." When Su Peisheng rushed over, the physician thought it was something serious and was very worried. But it turned out to be just an injury, and his anxiety immediately subsided.
"Go ahead and drive." Yinzhen was relieved. He was worried that Yin Shi's leg injury was serious because she had been screaming so loudly. He was afraid that she would never be able to walk again. He liked Yin Shi to be lively and energetic.
"You three take good care of your princess these next few days. If this happens again, it won't just be ten lashes!" Yinzhen looked at the three returning, his face cold and his tone unfriendly. If it weren't for these three, how could Madam Yin have injured her knee!
"This servant will certainly take good care of the princess!" the three of them quickly knelt down and replied.
"My lord, they are still injured. Please get them up quickly, otherwise they will be unable to take care of me if their injuries worsen." Seeing that Yinzhen was looking at the three of them but wouldn't tell them to get up, Yin Qingyi had no choice but to speak up.
"Get up," Yinzhen finally said mercifully.
"Gurgle~" An untimely sound rang out, and Yinzhen looked at Yin Qingyi.
"..." Yin Qingyi was so embarrassed that she wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground.
"Let's order a meal," Yinzhen said helplessly.
When the meal was brought back and set out, Yin Qingyi was a little confused. How was she supposed to get there to eat? Before she could think of a solution, Yin Qingyi was suddenly picked up and carried to the table.
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