Exhausted from the journey, on the first night after arriving at his residence, the emperor summoned several key ministers to handle urgent matters in order to maintain the smooth operation of government affairs.
The rest of you are to make your own arrangements; a banquet will be held in the garden tomorrow.
Officials of high rank could bring their families to live in a private courtyard, while those of the third rank and below could live in a large courtyard with two or three families sharing a room. Those of even lower rank would live in a row of small houses.
The Marquis of Zhongyong's residence was Tingsongju, a detached house with its own courtyard, while the Li family lived in the Lantai Courtyard next door.
Ye Zhen slept soundly in the carriage during the day, and after dinner, he took two maids to stroll around the garden to familiarize himself with the terrain.
Not long after they left, they encountered the King of Liang, who was drinking alone with a wine jug.
"Does the young mistress wish to stroll through the garden?"
The Prince of Liang took the initiative to strike up a conversation, saying, "I am very familiar with this imperial estate. If the young mistress does not mind, I can keep her company."
Ye Zhen curtsied and said, "This humble woman is just taking a casual stroll. Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness."
The King of Liang seemed not to understand her refusal, and took a sip of wine. "Young Madam, there's no need to be so polite. The night is long, and I'm just idling around anyway."
He blocked Ye Zhen's retreat and gestured for him to leave.
Ye Zhen remained unmoved. "I hope Your Highness will exercise self-respect."
Thinking that this was the masked man who had cut off his hands and feet in his previous life, Ye Zhen was already finding it difficult to refrain from killing him, so how could he possibly go on a night out with him?
Moreover, this person had an affair with Ye Wantang, which disgusted Ye Zhen.
"It's just a stroll in the garden. You have two maids with you behind you. What's there to hide?"
"I love beauty; beautiful scenery and fine wine are all things I cherish."
He moved closer to Ye Zhen and whispered, "A beauty like the young mistress, whose beauty would make even flowers blush with shame, is someone I cherish even more..."
"Smack!"
Ye Zhen's slap interrupted Liang Wang's words.
After hitting him, she didn't even bother to look at him and walked away.
King Liang was surprised that Ye Zhen dared to hit him. He puffed out his cheeks and reached out to grab Ye Zhen, "Why is the young mistress so angry..."
"Smack!"
Another slap.
Ye Zhen used considerable force, and Liang Wang's delicate skin immediately became red and swollen.
Since he was practically begging to be beaten, Ye Zhen decided not to hold back.
Several more punches followed.
King Liang had not expected Ye Zhen to be so fierce. He deliberately spoke frivolously in order to get himself into trouble and be locked up in a room by the emperor to reflect on his mistakes, so that he could get away from everyone's attention and plan his next move.
He wasn't going to let Ye Zhen hit him. He grabbed Ye Zhen's wrist and said, "That's enough. Although I may think highly of you, I won't let you take advantage of me."
He's a prince, who would dare hit him like that?
Ye Zhen dares!
She vaguely guessed the purpose of the King of Liang's flirting with her, and thought, "Why not take advantage of him?"
Ye Zhen grabbed his wrist with his other hand and with a forceful pull, the Prince of Liang screamed in agony as Ye Zhen snapped his hand.
A murderous glint flashed in the eyes of the King of Liang.
He originally thought Ye Zhen was handsome and a widow, making her easy to tease, but who would have thought she was so shameless? Well then, he wouldn't hold back.
However, the skills he has displayed over the years are no match for Ye Zhen.
Ye Zhen did not hold back his skills and used punches and kicks.
Before long, King Liang was no longer human, and she kicked him into the lotus pond.
King Liang's ribs were broken by the kick, and he couldn't climb out of the water for a long time.
The imperial estate wasn't very large, and the commotion quickly attracted the attention of others, even alarming the emperor and empress.
Ye Zhengqing, as the newly appointed Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, was in charge of the food supply and sacrificial affairs.
But he wanted to make a good impression, so he kept wandering around, afraid of making a mistake somewhere.
Therefore, he was the first to arrive.
Seeing Ye Zhen kick the man into the pool, he was so shocked that his back went cold. "Ye Zhen, how dare you! How could you assault a prince?"
At the same time, I was also lucky that it had nothing to do with Ye Zhen anymore. That audacious fool was a prince!
Ye Zhengqing was terrified and quickly led his men to pull Liang Wang out of the water.
“Your Majesty, the Prince of Liang spoke frivolously and attempted to use his status to force me to accompany him on a sightseeing tour. I was merely acting in self-defense to protect my woman’s chastity.”
Ye Zhen said to the emperor who had just arrived, "If the woman who was stopped by the Prince of Liang today was a weak woman who had no power to even kill a chicken, how would that woman survive in the world in the future?"
King Liang clutched his ribs, truly enraged. He laughed, "I know the young mistress is lonely in her secluded chambers, but she cannot treat me so harshly just because I don't fancy her."
This woman is so vicious; she'll ruin her reputation.
Ye Zhen protested, "Your Majesty, I am innocent. To prove my innocence, I am willing to return to the Marquis's mansion immediately and live as a widow in the inner quarters for the rest of my life, never to leave again."
However, the Prince of Liang is dissolute and disregards the chastity of women. To prevent him from harming other innocent women, I humbly request Your Majesty to send him back to the capital and confine him to the Prince of Liang's residence.
Marquis Zhongyong echoed, "Your Majesty, I know the Princess's character best; she is certainly not as the Prince of Liang described."
On the contrary, the Prince of Liang has a notorious reputation for dissolute behavior, which disgraces the royal family. Your Majesty, I request that you send him back to the capital to reflect on his actions.
How could the Prince of Liang, who was plotting something big, be sent back to the capital?
He chuckled and said, "How boring. I was just bored at night and was playing a joke on you, but you've taken it so seriously."
"Alright, I was drunk and exchanged a few words with the young mistress, losing my composure."
He said to the emperor, “Your Majesty, I have already been beaten, so let’s just let this matter go.”
"My brother is fine under house arrest; he can still eat, drink, and have fun without any problem. But he's needlessly burdening the young mistress for life. Don't you think so?"
The emperor looked at the Prince of Liang with a deep gaze and scolded, "Nonsense."
Then he asked Ye Zhen for his opinion.
Ye Zhen decided to stop while he was ahead, but indicated that there should be some punishment.
The emperor then said, "Then punish him by confining him to his room until we return to the capital."
King Liang, having achieved his wish, clutched his abdomen and prepared to see a doctor.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
