Thanks
Zhao Fanghua admired their expressions for a while, then said slowly, "Alright, let the punishment begin."
She was about to leave, but her attention was attracted by the hairpin that fell to the ground when Ruan Jiaojiao struggled. The imperial edict said that all the property belonged to the eldest princess.
"Wait a minute." Zhao Fanghua looked at the three people who were in a mess but had expensive clothes and jewelry. "Take off their clothes and hairpins, and don't damage the things in my Princess's Mansion."
Shen Xiujin stared at Zhao Fanghua with red eyes, "Your Highness, must you go to this extent? Must you humiliate me and my mother like this?"
Zhao Fanghua chuckled, "When you and your mother humiliated me time and time again, did you ever imagine this day would come?"
"If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place."
Zhao Fanghua watched coldly as the maids dragged Ruan and Ruan Jiaojiao into the inner hall. When they were brought out, they were only wearing white middle garments, and all their jewelry had been taken off.
On the other side, Shen Xiujin was not so lucky. He was stripped of his brocade robe in public by the guards.
Zhao Fanghua glanced at Shuyu inadvertently and saw her staring at Ruan.
Zhao Fanghua looked at her and suddenly remembered that Ruan had wanted to slap her in the face before, but fortunately it was Shuyu who blocked it for her.
Zhao Fanghua said, "A country woman like Ruan who speaks so rudely deserves a slap in the face to teach her a lesson."
When Shuyu heard this, her eyes immediately lit up. She walked up to Ruan and started punching her left and right. With two "pops", Ruan's face soon swelled up like a pig's head.
Zhao Fanghua looked at Shuyu's hand with some heartache. It is said that the action of force is mutual, so Shuyu's hand must be in so much pain.
Shuyu shook her head, her face full of joy: "Your Highness, it doesn't hurt at all!"
"Then let's get started."
For a moment, shouts, curses, wails, and the sounds of flesh being beaten with a stick were heard one after another. This time, the guards showed no mercy to anyone and put in their utmost effort.
However, to Zhao Fanghua's surprise, she felt happy the moment the order was issued, but her heart was pounding when the board was actually hit.
Zhao Fanghua couldn't bear it any longer, and said, "Throw these people out after beating them, so as not to dirty the floor of the Princess's Mansion." Then she hurried into the palace with the ring.
And Shuyu has to stay to deal with Ruan's mess.
Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Zhao Qinglan was practicing calligraphy. His slender fingers had distinct joints, and his pen-holding posture was steady and powerful. Sunlight filtered through the window lattice, hitting his profile, gilding it with a light golden hue.
"Have you dealt with Xiao Quanzi's affairs?"
Li Xi replied respectfully, "It has been taken care of." After a pause, he added, "It's just that Xiao Quanzi is close to the Queen Mother, so the Queen Mother..."
Zhao Qinglan stopped writing and looked up at Li Xi.
Li Xi quickly lowered his head and said flatteringly, "Everyone knows that the Empress Dowager and the Emperor are deeply affectionate mother and son. They will definitely not harbor feelings for each other because of a servant."
"Deep love between mother and son..." Zhao Qinglan lowered his head and chuckled, and couldn't help but think of eight years ago when he just ascended the throne. A minister reported to the emperor that the empress dowager's family had occupied thousands of acres of fertile land, oppressed the people, and took human lives.
At that time, the empress dowager, who had played the role of mother and son to him for ten years, tore off her disguise in front of him for the first time.
"What? Now that you're on the throne, you really think you're the true Son of Heaven? You're just a bastard born from an affair between a palace maid and a guard. You should have been thrown out and beaten to death the moment you were born. And you're still trying to confuse the royal bloodline? Not only did I save you and give you the supreme and noble status, I also made you the emperor. Don't be ungrateful."
Zhao Qinglan's face darkened, and the knuckles of his fingers holding the brush turned white.
The Queen Mother's words had been like a curse that had entangled him for eight years, and it was time to untie it all.
"How's things going at the Princess's Mansion?" Zhao Qinglan seemed to change the subject casually.
Li Xi replied: "The imperial edict has been delivered. The princess should be on her way to the palace to express her gratitude."
Zhao Qinglan chuckled, "Does she even think of going to the palace to express her gratitude in that state?"
It was clearly a mocking remark, but to Li Xi it sounded inexplicably like a hint of pampering.
At this moment, a eunuch announced: "Your Majesty, the Princess Royal requests an audience."
Li Xi lowered his head and smiled as he left the Yangxin Palace with the eunuch who delivered the message, not forgetting to close the door before leaving.
Zhao Qinglan looked at Zhao Fanghua. Her face no longer had the ecstasy after the broken engagement, and even her usual liveliness was gone. She looked like an eggplant hit by frost, a little wilted.
Zhao Qinglan narrowed her eyes. Was she regretting the decision to cancel the engagement? She felt a little unhappy. Even if she regretted it, it was too late.
Zhao Fanghua was stunned for a moment before he knelt down stiffly to express his gratitude.
Seeing Zhao Fanghua's reluctant expression of gratitude, Zhao Qinglan felt even more unhappy. However, he pretended to be amiable, a hint of a smile on his face as he asked, "Does my sister regret this?"
"Hmm..." Zhao Fanghua did indeed feel some regret. All along the way, she'd been reflecting on whether her punishment of Shen Xiujin and Ruan Shi was too harsh. Yes, they had done many things to her, but she hadn't suffered any substantial harm. It was just a verbal attack, a source of frustration for her. Yet, she had indeed made them pay a heavy price. Ruan Shi was elderly, and twenty solid strokes of the cane would have been enough to confine her to bed for two or three months. As for Shen Xiujin, with the scorching weather, if she didn't receive proper treatment, she might suffer from a lifelong illness.
She wasn't like this before.
She used to be someone who would turn her head away and not look at the needle stick when going to the hospital for blood draw, and someone who would scream and go to the school doctor when she fell and got a scrape.
But now she has become someone who doesn't even blink when giving orders or reprimanding others.
Is it because her status after traveling through time is too high, but she was assimilated in just one month?
Zhao Qinglan still had a smile on her face, but the words she spoke directly hit the other person in the heart: "Unfortunately, the imperial decree has been issued. Even if the emperor regrets it, he cannot continue his relationship with Shen Xiujin."
"Hmm...ah?" Zhao Fanghua finally understood that Zhao Qinglan was asking her whether she regretted breaking off the engagement with Shen Xiujin. Of course she didn't regret it!
"No, no!" Zhao Fanghua waved her hands repeatedly, "I don't regret breaking off the engagement with that scumbag Shen Xiujin! I'm so happy I can't even express it in words."
"Oh?" Zhao Qinglan was skeptical. "But you don't look happy at all."
Zhao Fanghua touched his nose and chuckled, "I'm just trying to imitate others in not showing my emotions. I'm really happy, really happy."
Zhao Qinglan stared at Zhao Fanghua for a long moment, then said in a gentle tone, "It seems like the Imperial Sister came empty-handed today."
Zhao Fanghua stretched out his hands and looked at it as if waking from a dream, and slapped his forehead regretfully: "Oh, I was too happy to divorce Shen Xiujin today, I forgot. Next time, next time I will bring you the mung bean shaved ice that I made myself!"
After saying this, he gave Zhao Qinglan a flattering smile.
Zhao Qinglan snorted, tacitly approving Zhao Fanghua's attempt to get away with it. Just when Zhao Fanghua wanted to say something else.
A eunuch outside the door announced, "Your Majesty, Lord Li requests an audience."
Zhao Fanghua scratched his head and said, "Then the emperor will be busy first. I will go back first."
Zhao Fanghua walked out of the gate of the Yangxin Palace. She looked left and right but didn't see Xiao Quanzi. She pulled a eunuch over and asked, "Is Xiao Quanzi not here today? I forgot to give him a reward when he escorted me out of the palace last time. Why didn't I see him this time?"
The eunuch caught by Zhao Fanghua mumbled, "Xiao Quanzi made a mistake and was sent away to be punished."
Zhao Fanghua continued to ask: "Punished? What punishment? Why punished?"
The eunuch obviously didn't want to say more, and only said vaguely: "Eunuch Li has something else to tell you, so I will take my leave first."
Zhao Fanghua was left confused. Why was it so mysterious?
Although she had doubts, Zhao Fanghua did not take them to heart. She took the ring and went towards the palace gate. On the way out of the palace, she happened to meet two guards pulling a cart passing by.
There seemed to be something loaded on the cart, covered with a tattered straw mat, and emitting a strong smell of blood. Zhao Fanghua covered her mouth and nose and stepped aside. The moment the cart passed by her, one of her hands fell out, and there was a round birthmark on the wrist.
Zhao Fanghua took two steps back. It was this hand that held the umbrella and escorted her out of the palace yesterday.
Is this... Xiao Quanzi?
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