Chapter 12 Slapping Twenty
Chu Yunjin remained silent.
Yan Jinyue's face was colder than snow in the twelfth lunar month.
She sat quietly in the chair, listening to Pei Yi'an's words: "Xuan'er saved my life on the battlefield. She is all alone and helpless. I cannot abandon her. I hope Your Highness and Your Highness will understand my helplessness."
As he spoke, he looked up at Yan Jinyue: "Sixth Princess, Xuan'er's appearance will not affect our engagement, nor will it affect our relationship—"
"Tang Beixuan." Before he could finish speaking, Chu Yunjin looked at the frail-looking woman beside him, "You know medicine?"
Tang Beixuan was slender and wore a light blue dress. Her small face looked pitiful, and her skin was fair. She was kneeling weakly on the ground, which made her look truly pitiful.
Upon hearing Chu Yunjin's question, she seemed terrified, instinctively shrinking back: "This...this servant wouldn't..."
Chu Yunjin asked again, "Do you know martial arts?"
"No...it won't..."
"That's strange." Chu Yunjin raised an eyebrow. "If you don't know medicine or martial arts, how did you manage to save General Pei Yi'an amidst the chaos and thousands of troops on the border?"
Tang Beixuan's face turned deathly pale, her eyes filled with tears, as if she had been wronged: "Your Highness, spare me! I didn't mean to steal the General, I just... I just couldn't help falling in love with him. Please, Your Highness, have mercy and let me stay. I'm willing to serve you as a servant and take good care of the General and the Sixth Princess—"
Pei Yi'an was heartbroken.
He pursed his lips and held her hand tightly, as if to comfort her.
Chu Yunjin watched coldly as he treated this weak and helpless little slave girl like a precious treasure, and smiled coldly: "The general certainly knows how to cherish a beautiful woman."
Pei Yi'an, feeling confident because of his recent merit, looked at Chu Yunjin and said, "The Sixth Princess and I are engaged, not enemies. The child in Bei Xuan's belly is innocent. I think the Sixth Princess wouldn't hold a grudge against a child."
"The child appeared out of thin air?" Chu Yunjin raised an eyebrow. "If you weren't in heat, how could she get pregnant?"
Pei Yi'an's face flushed red: "Your Highness!"
How could a woman be so vulgar?
No wonder there are so many rumors in the capital, saying that she has disgraced the family and made the Prince of Yan's mansion lose all face.
It was common for men to have multiple wives and concubines.
What's wrong with him taking a concubine? Is it worth them coming all this way to confront him?
"Jin'er." Yan Cang finally turned to look at Chu Yunjin, "Girls should speak more politely."
Chu Yunjin said "Oh": "So General Pei took some time out of his busy schedule fighting on the border to have a romantic encounter with Miss Tang... Hmm, maybe it was their wedding night. Anyway, the child didn't just appear out of thin air."
Pei Yi'an's face turned pale and then flushed, and he wished he could dig a hole and crawl into it.
That's so vulgar! She's really so vulgar!
No wonder the King of Yan wanted a divorce.
If such a woman were in the Pei family, he would have divorced her long ago.
"Tang Beixuan disrespected the Princess, twenty slaps to the face." Yan Cang finally turned his gaze to Tang Beixuan's face as if to show his mercy, and then looked at Pei Yi'an, "You disrespected the Princess and failed to teach your concubine well, causing her to not understand respect and hierarchy, and you even openly insulted the Princess, fifteen strokes of the cane."
Pei Yi'an's expression changed, and he clenched his fists.
The words of pleading rose to his throat, but he swallowed them back down.
As a general, he naturally knew the unquestionable rule in the army. The Prince of Yan was his superior, and since he had ordered punishment today, he would not allow anyone to plead for him.
Zhou Mama, who was standing next to Chu Yunjin, stepped forward and slapped Tang Beixuan across the face.
Clap clap clap clap!
Snap snap snap snap snap snap!
The slaps were crisp and rhythmic, making everyone present turn pale.
Madam Pei looked frightened and uneasy, constantly glancing at the Sixth Princess, hoping she would plead for her. But Yan Jinyue just sat there silently, her face as cold as ice.
After twenty slaps, Tang Beixuan's once beautiful face was swollen and red, her lips were cracked and blood was seeping out.
After Zhou Mama finished hitting him, she retreated behind Chu Yunjin. Tang Beixuan trembled in pain, tears welling up in her eyes.
Pei Yi'an held his hands at his sides, his nails almost digging into his palms, barely managing to suppress his inner dissatisfaction.
He looked up at Yan Jinyue: "Sixth Princess, we can talk alone."
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Yan Jinyue said coldly. “I will ask my father to cancel the engagement, and from now on, we will be separate individuals.”
Pei Yi'an's expression changed: "How can a marriage bestowed by the Emperor be canceled so easily?"
Madam Pei looked flustered: "Sixth Princess, please reconsider. A marriage contract is not a child's play, and besides, it's common for men to have multiple wives and concubines—"
Yan Cang's expression was cold: "It is not illegal for a man to take a concubine, and I do not want to know whether she really saved your life at the border. However, there is no such thing as a 'secondary wife' in Yong Dynasty, and there is no precedent for a concubine to become pregnant before the principal wife is married."
Pei Yi'an was dissatisfied, but dared not argue.
"As for the marriage between Jin Yue and you, I will ask my father to issue an edict to cancel it."
Pei Yi'an felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty disagrees."
"You have no choice but to agree to this." Yan Cang's voice was cold and stern. "Guards, drag Pei Yi'an out and give him fifteen strokes of the cane."
Pei Yi'an knelt down: "Your subject is willing to accept punishment, only begging Your Highness to reconsider the marriage between me and the Sixth Princess. I have never intended to betray her. My heart is devoted to the Sixth Princess and has never wavered. The Bei Xuan incident was truly just an accident—"
"Drag him out."
Two guards came in and dragged Pei Yi'an out.
Madam Pei knelt down anxiously: "Your Highness, Your Highness, Sixth Princess, Yi'an has done something wrong, but he has just returned from the border and the truth is still unclear. I beg Your Highness and the Sixth Princess to give him a chance to explain. Please do not cancel the engagement!"
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