"Your Majesty, this old servant will never dare to do it again!" Steward Zhou kowtowed repeatedly, leaving streaks of blood on his forehead.
[Initially, it was an order from above, saying to beat her as hard as possible, even to the point of death. Hui'er usually didn't listen to him, so he wanted to teach her a lesson for mistreating her.]
Yun Beiye pursed his lips and remained silent, glancing at Zhao Zhongquan.
As if sensing death, Steward Zhou cried out at the top of his lungs, "Your Majesty, please spare this old servant! This old servant will never dare to do it again!"
"Empress, Zhao Zhongquan, go and investigate. If any of the managers of the Imperial Laundry are found to have engaged in misconduct, exile them all to the northern frontier!"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Empress Zhaoyuan nodded slightly.
"Zhao Zhongquan, find a few qualified people to manage the Xin Zhe Ku!" Yun Beiye glanced at Zhou Youchun kneeling on the ground with disgust.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Zhao Zhongquan waved his hand, and several eunuchs immediately bowed their heads and walked to the center of the main hall. They dragged Zhou Youchun out by pulling his arms and legs. The palace maids and eunuchs in Anqing Hall carried the body out and cleaned up the scene.
Yun Beiye rubbed his temples. "What a mess this Mid-Autumn Festival banquet has turned into."
He looked at Tan Biao with some helplessness, "Minister Tan, it's all a misunderstanding."
"These are just rumors circulating in the streets. The Ninth Princess is learning medicine from Prince Ning, so she must be very cautious when treating patients and prescribing medicine."
Tan Biao's expression changed upon hearing Yun Beiye's words. He was no longer as aggressive as he had been at the beginning, and his domineering aura dissipated.
Damn it, we couldn't even drag that brat down with us today!
Given the current situation, we have no choice but to give up.
Tan Biao gritted his teeth and immediately put on a stern face. "It turns out it was all a misunderstanding, Your Majesty. I will definitely investigate in the streets to find out who is spreading rumors and slandering the little princess!"
"They must be severely punished!"
[Hmph, I had no idea that today's whole thing was fabricated by you!]
Looking at Tan Biao's sincere expression, Yun Duoduo felt a wave of nausea wash over her.
How can there be such disgusting people in the world?
How can you bully a child like this? Doesn't your conscience bother you?
Yun Beiye's attitude today was very different from usual. If it were any other time, he would either kill or replace this minister. But today, he simply said "misunderstanding" in a nonchalant way.
Even the usually strong-willed Empress Dowager didn't say anything today, although her face was very unpleasant.
A pang of disappointment shot through Yun Duoduo's heart. [Is she really about to fall out of favor?]
Have I gotten myself into too much trouble?
Ever since her birth, at every birthday banquet, New Year's Eve banquet, and Mid-Autumn Festival banquet she attended, it seemed that ministers would come to criticize her, making the entire banquet chaotic and unpleasant.
Yun Duoduo glanced at Yun Beiye and heard his sigh in his heart. [Duoduo, this time Father Emperor couldn't severely punish Tan Biao for you. The Tan family has deep roots, and considering their complex and intertwined family interests, it's not advisable to touch him for the time being.]
But, Duoduo, your father will definitely avenge you in the future!
Yun Duoduo felt a burning pain in her heart. [It seems I was overthinking things; Father still loves me.]
However, Tan Biao is no ordinary minister; he has powerful backing and military authority, so he may not be so easy to deal with.
Ah Xiang had returned to Yun Duoduo's side, and Xiao Ying was standing behind her.
"Xiaoying, is it him?" Yun Duoduo asked softly.
Xiaoying was a palace maid in Linhua Palace. She was raped by Tan Biao. That day, she went to see Yun Duoduo to check if she was pregnant.
Xiaoying's eyes burned with rage, and she nodded heavily.
Okay, Xiaoying has confirmed it too. This Tan Biao is the bastard who raped her.
Since Father has no grounds to punish this slanderous liar, this cruel man who harmed a young girl, then let me, Yun Duoduo, lend Father a hand!
Yun Duoduo tapped her fingers rhythmically on the table as she mentally plotted how to punish this bully.
...
Winter arrived quietly, and as usual, Yun Duoduo, Sun Huohuo, and Jin Zhuangzhuang went to school every day.
As time goes by, Yun Duoduo not only has to study traditional Chinese culture, but also improve her skills in playing the zither and painting.
Playing the piano, playing chess, and painting all require a lot of concentration, which has been tough on the impatient and hot-tempered Yun Duoduo and the ever-restless Sun Huohuo. Yun Duoduo has truly experienced what it means to be on pins and needles these days.
However, this kind of class where you sit comfortably on a stool is perfect for Jin Zhuangzhuang; as soon as class starts, it's time for her to meet the Duke of Zhou (a figure in Chinese mythology associated with sleep).
On this day, the weather after the snow was very clear, the sky was crystal clear and cloudless.
As usual, Sun Huohuo got up early, packed her books and drawing tube, and stood at the door waiting for her two little sisters to go to class together.
Yun Duoduo was truly surprised that Sun Huohuo didn't complain at all while walking to school on such a cold day.
Looking at Sun Huohuo's back, she saw that he was carrying three book boxes on his back and three long painting tubes slung over his right shoulder. Yun Duoduo felt that the little brother next to her seemed to have grown quite a bit taller.
She also vaguely felt that Sun Huohuo seemed more mature than before.
They soon arrived at the school, where some older brothers and sisters were talking about something in the courtyard.
Seeing them chatting so enthusiastically, Sun Huohuo eagerly joined in.
"It's Guan Guan's birthday, have you prepared a gift?" a teenager asked.
"Of course, I've been prepared for this for a long time. My mother said that if I can win Guan Guan's favor, Guan Ge Lao might remember me, and I'll be able to rise to prominence in the future!" said another young man, who was quite handsome.
"Keep dreaming. Grand Secretary Guan only selects people with astonishing talent and genius. Do you even qualify?"
"Don't look down on me. I may not be good at it now, but who knows, I might improve in the future!"
"Putting everything else aside, even if we can't become officials, if Grand Secretary Guan assigns us one or two bookstores to manage, we'll be making a fortune every day!"
"Look at your pathetic self! You could open your own bookstore, why do you need someone else's?" the boy scoffed.
Hearing the crowd's discussion, Sun Huohuo frowned. [So they were talking about Guan Guan.]
Listening to the group of Guan family members surrounding the city and praising a little girl, Sun Huohuo felt somewhat displeased with these people.
So he simply stopped listening and sat on the stool, looking around.
"Erhuo, who are you looking for?" Yun Duoduo followed his gaze and looked around, but didn't find anything suspicious or interesting.
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