Yinzhen ultimately gave Bayan fifty strokes of the cane, beating him until he was covered in blood and could barely breathe. He started to delirious with fever.
The pretext for the beating was that he had corrupted the eldest prince. As a servant, he did not serve the eldest prince diligently, but instead had a low character, which affected the eldest prince's studies. This was a small punishment to serve as a warning.
When Bayan was carried back to the mansion, the Ulanara family was in an uproar.
His mother loved her child the most. When she saw that Bayan had been beaten to the point of barely clinging to life and was about to die, she held her son and cried bitterly. Her heart-wrenching cries made everyone feel terrible.
"What exactly is going on?"
Fu Chang was also heartbroken. Bayan was his eldest son and had always followed the eldest prince. He had a promising future, but now this was like ruining his life!
Fu Chang was both heartbroken and furious. He grabbed the half-dead Bayan and questioned him, "You wretched creature! What have you done? Did you take the eldest prince to a brothel? You're so young and you're already learning bad habits. There are so many maids in the backyard, aren't they enough for you to play with? You even corrupted the eldest prince! See how the Emperor will forgive you!"
This commotion caused quite a stir in the Ulanara household.
The clan chief of the Ulanara clan was a cunning man. He spent a lot of money to bribe officials, hoping to get information from the palace about what trouble the child had caused so that they could apologize to the emperor.
They did want to ask Bayan, but he was in critical condition and it was uncertain whether he would survive. It wasn't that Ulanara was reluctant to part with such a child; after all, they had other male members in their family, and they were afraid of angering the Emperor and implicating the entire clan.
Bayan's mother felt sorry for her son and saw that no one in the clan cared about the child and was only afraid of a terrible disaster. There was also a lot of mockery among the sisters-in-law. She was so angry that she stood in the ancestral hall with her hands on her hips and started cursing loudly.
“They used to call me ‘nephew’ all the time, but now that something’s happened, they only care about themselves. Poor Bayan, he risked his life to bring glory to the entire Ulanara clan! Now look what’s happened, the tree has fallen and the monkeys have scattered. He’s not even dead yet, but everyone’s already wailing about his death!”
If it weren't for our Bayan fighting bravely ahead, you would have fallen long ago! Did you really think you could have any connection with the Emperor based on your former wife's relationship?! A toad trying to eat swan meat, wishful thinking!!!
Now look what's happened! Bayan is dying, and the First Prince only has those three immature brats left! I'd like to see what kind of show of power you can still put on!
This woman was quite shrewish; her outburst of cursing at the entrance of the ancestral hall attracted everyone in the entire mansion.
Fu Chang quickly pulled her away: "What are you doing here? Go back and take care of your son."
She pounded on Fuchang like a madwoman: "What do you mean I'm taking care of him? I'm almost forty years old and I only had this son. I spoil him rotten. Is this how you treat my son?! Send him to the palace and let him fend for himself! What, you want to bring glory to your Ulanara clan, but when something happens, you want to abandon us, mother and son?"
I'm telling you, no way!
Seeing the couple arguing and causing a stir, and hearing her extremely offensive language, the clan chief stepped in to stop them: "Enough! How dare you run wild in the ancestral hall?"
Fuchang's elder brother, Fuchan, stepped forward and sneered, "Sister-in-law, your tantrums won't help. Bayan is already useless; our family needs to quickly choose a capable boy and send him in."
Upon hearing this, the woman became even more indignant. She sneered, "Do you really think the Ulanara clan is part of the imperial family? We finally produced a consort of Prince Yong, but she was unlucky enough to lose her life for treason and didn't even have the fortune to enter the Great Qing Gate! You've watched the Fucha clan rise to power, but you're powerless to do anything about it. Sending a hundred more boys in won't help!"
"Slap!" The clan leader was furious and swung his arm to slap her. "The clan's prosperity and decline are intertwined. What good does cursing do you?"
Aren't you trying to seek justice for Bayan?
Alright, let me tell you, Bayan failed to seduce the eldest princess, which is why the emperor took his anger out on him!
He was so audacious that he dared to plant spies around the eldest prince and princess, and secretly exchange gifts with them!
"Tell me! With this crime, can the family abandon him?!"
The entire mansion was deathly silent.
Fu Chan and his sisters-in-law, who had been watching the spectacle with amusement, all changed their expressions.
Has Bayan gone mad?
They were initially quite confident, because besides the late Princess Consort, they had another inseparable relationship with the Emperor: the marriage of the eldest princess and Xingde. This was enough to prove that the Emperor had not abandoned the Ulanara clan.
But what has Bayan done now?
He has effectively blocked the entire family's escape route!
Immediately, their family incurred the wrath of the public, and the household was thrown into chaos.
Meanwhile, in Nan San Suo Li...
Honghui listened to his trusted eunuch's reply and felt a chill run down his spine.
He couldn't find out exactly what happened, but he heard that Consort Mao had punished a group of people at her elder sister's place that morning, and then Bayan was beaten and his fate was unknown; he was sent back to the mansion.
Bayan was his "haha bead," and the reason he was beaten was that he had led him astray—a charge that is worth pondering.
Honghui suddenly felt a sense of panic.
What does Father Emperor mean by this? Is he already dissatisfied with me?
He really couldn't understand what the relationship was between his older sister and Bayan.
Why did Consort Mao punish the people around her elder sister, especially on her birthday?
Bayan has always been loyal to me and has never done anything out of line. What has he done to corrupt me?
Honghui grew increasingly alarmed. Could this be an excuse his father was making up to weaken his power?
He broke out in a cold sweat as soon as the idea popped into his head.
Ever since his father ascended the throne, he knew his position was extremely awkward.
Originally, his mother should have been the Empress, and he himself was the eldest son.
However, Chun'e Niang is now the Emperor's principal wife. She entered through the Great Qing Gate and became the "Empress Dowager" as the Emperor himself said.
Then what about one's own mother?
Wasn't his mother his first wife?
However, after the Emperor ascended the throne, he did not posthumously confer the title of Empress upon his mother. He only promoted some members of the Ulanara clan, but compared with the glory of the Fuca clan, where all four members of the family held high positions, it seemed insignificant.
He himself went from being the eldest son of the legitimate wife to an awkward eldest son.
Hongyan, however, was a legitimate legitimate son.
He suddenly realized that this was just like the case of the Prince Zhi and the deposed crown prince during the reign of the late emperor.
It's just that I seem to be the more pitiful one.
Did the Emperor really not consider his own situation?
Or is it that in his heart and eyes, there are only the children born to Chun'e's mother?
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