The family rules were very strict. After forty lashes, Zhao Nanyu's back was soaked in blood. He had great endurance and did not cry out because of the pain from beginning to end, but the muffled groaning was even more torturous.
Almost all the younger generations of the Zhao family had arrived. Except for Zhao Wenyan who was still studying in the academy, the other brothers of similar age stood aside and watched silently. No one dared to plead for Zhao Nanyu. Not even Zhao Chao. He knew that his grandfather would not listen to any persuasion and that etiquette and law were above all else. Since his second brother had contradicted his grandmother, a beating was not a severe punishment.
Zhao Bo stood on the sidelines and watched the show. It was strange to say, although his second brother was not likable and his grandmother looked down on him, he had only been punished a few times since he was a child. It's not easy to see his second brother embarrassed once.
Originally, Zhao Bo was watching with great interest, afraid that he would miss any details. Unfortunately, he did not see any expression of satisfaction on Zhao Nanyu's face. Gradually, he felt that it was boring.
Tsk, what a waste of time.
Zhao Bo thought, if he had known that his second brother was so boring when being punished, he would not have come to watch. It would be better to find any excuse to kill time than to stand there in a daze now.
After the whipping, Zhao Nanyu endured the severe pain in his back. His knees ached after kneeling for so long. He slowly straightened up, his face pale.
After beating him like this, Mr. Zhao finally softened his heart and waved his hand, "Help the Third Young Master go back."
Zhao Nanyu's face was pale, and his voice was indifferent, "No need, grandson can go back by himself."
Old Master Zhao knew that he had a stubborn character, and was sometimes so stubborn that he didn't seem like a member of the Zhao family. Since he said so, the old man didn't bother to make himself look bad, so he kept a sullen face and said nothing more.
Song Luan had been waiting outside. When she saw Zhao Nanyu, she immediately ran to him and looked at the blood on his body. She wanted to touch him but didn't dare to, for fear of hurting him. Her eyes were red and she was scared to death. "It hurts a lot, right? I... I..."
She said incoherently: "I...I'll help you, and I'll help you apply medicine when we get back." After a long silence, Song Luan said guiltily: "I won't implicate you in the future."
At worst, I can just go to see the old lady less often in the future, turn a deaf ear to her words, and stop arguing with her.
Song Luan felt very guilty. Zhao Nanyu was injured so badly because he took the punishment for her. His face was pale and bloodless, as if he would fall down at any time.
Zhao Nanyu put his hand on her shoulder, leaned most of his body against her, and smiled at her to prevent her from worrying more. "I don't blame you, don't think too much."
The more he said this, the worse Song Luan felt. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and carefully helped him walk.
The servants of Huaishuiju had prepared hot water early. Song Luan was not shy this time. With a sore throat, she took the initiative to say, "Take off your clothes. I will help you clean the blood and then apply medicine."
Zhao Nanyu lowered his eyes, hummed, and raised the corners of his lips slightly, "Okay."
The man had a thin figure with smooth lines. His originally flawless white jade back was now covered with many whip marks. Fortunately, none of these marks were too deep.
Song Luan carefully wiped the blood off his body with a wet cloth, and asked as she wiped: "Does it hurt? If it hurts, you must tell me."
Zhao Nanyu closed his eyes, but could still smell the scent of crabapple flowers on her body. He smiled softly, "It doesn't hurt me."
Despite this, Song Luan still didn't dare to use too much force. After finally wiping his back dry, he found some hemostatic and scar-removing powder from the cabinet and sprinkled it on his wound little by little.
Song Luan heard him hiss, and quickly stopped, swallowed, and moved more carefully, "Just bear with it, it will be fine soon."
"Okay, thank you for your hard work."
After applying the powder, Song Luan breathed a sigh of relief, and pressed her thin fingers on his shoulder, "Don't move around when you sleep tonight, otherwise the wound will definitely hurt."
Zhao Nanyu casually put on a coat and said "OK" obediently.
In fact, Zhao Nanyu didn't feel that much pain. Seeing that Song Luan was so worried about him, he deliberately acted as if he was in great pain. As soon as the two of them walked out of the inner room, the maid Jin came with a message saying that someone came to visit.
Zhao Chao came uninvited and sat down to drink tea. There was a medicine bottle in the middle of the table, which he had brought. Zhao Chao wore a blue straight-fitting dress, which was neat and natural. There was a fake smile on his fair face, which faded after he saw Song Luan. He stood up and explained slowly, "I'm here to deliver medicine to my second brother."
Although Zhao Chao looked kind, Song Luan just couldn't like him from the bottom of her heart. Her intuition told her that this brother was a deep-minded, hypocritical and scheming person.
Clearing her throat, she replied, "You are very thoughtful, but I have already delivered medicine for your second brother."
Under the moonlight, Song Luan's beautiful face looked even whiter, and the bright light sprinkled on her shoulders, making her look peaceful and beautiful.
Zhao Chao looked at her twice more with disdain in his heart. In the past, he had ignored the beauty of his second sister-in-law, letting her be as rotten as wood on the inside, but this appearance was indeed captivating.
Zhao Nanyu silently pulled Song Luan behind him and touched her head. "Go into the house first, I'll talk to him."
Song Luan turned around and left without saying a word, as if there was a ferocious beast chasing her. She hated Zhao Chao anyway, so it would be better if they didn't have to meet or talk.
"Grandfather showed some mercy today. Brother, you won't be in so much pain, right?"
Zhao Nanyu took the medicine bottle from Zhao Chao's hand, put it down casually, and said casually, "Well, the injury is indeed not serious."
But he was pretending so well that Song Luan was almost in tears before he even said anything.
"Second brother, are you really in love with second sister-in-law?" Zhao Chao remembered that this was not the first time he asked this question, and Zhao Nanyu did not answer the previous time.
After a long time, Zhao Chao said "hmm" softly. If you don't listen carefully, the small sound can easily be ignored.
The smile on Zhao Chao's lips gradually froze, "Second brother, what do you like about her?"
In Zhao Chao's eyes, Song Luan is worthless, good for nothing, without morals, talent or shame.
Zhao Nanyu's eyes turned cold and his voice was low, "When is it your turn to take care of my affairs?"
Hearing the deep tone, Zhao Chao knew that his second brother was angry. He knew the situation and stopped talking, not trying to get to the bottom of the matter.
In fact, he came here tonight with something more important to say.
"Second brother, the emperor has woken up."
Zhao Nanyu raised the corners of his lips, "No, the emperor has never been unconscious."
The cunning emperor is testing everyone under the throne, including his wife, son, and ministers. In the face of great temptation, only those who can keep their composure can survive.
These days, the Queen has been very active, even taking the risk of secretly recalling her older father and brother back to the capital for a last-ditch effort.
The Queen took advantage of this opportunity to kill many of the Sixth Prince's cronies, but they still chose to remain inactive.
"Not unconscious?"
"Yeah." Zhao Nanyu looked at the sky outside the window, calm as water, "We don't have to do anything."
"Such a good opportunity..."
As long as we are ruthless enough, we can eradicate the Queen's lineage completely this time.
Zhao Nanyu replied: "No need."
Zhao Chao always believed what his second brother said, so he nodded without asking any more questions. "Since my second brother has made arrangements, I will go back first."
"Yeah." After a long pause, Zhao Nanyu called him back. After thinking for a while, he said, "Don't show up in front of her anymore in the future."
Zhao Chao knew who the "she" his second brother was referring to was.
"Got it, second brother."
When leaving, Zhao Chao suddenly began to sympathize with the beautiful woman in the room who had noticed nothing, his nominal second sister-in-law. Stupid and vicious, maybe she doesn't know what kind of life she will live in the future
After a few years, Zhao Chao also knew that Song Luan was a person who didn't like being controlled, but his second brother was a man who liked to control everything in his hands.
The two are in conflict and cannot coexist.
But Song Luan was too weak and was no match for his second brother.
Song Luan was eavesdropping through the crack of the door and was caught by Zhao Nanyu. The moment the door was pushed open, she almost fell to the ground to death. Fortunately, he supported her waist in time.
Zhao Nanyu looked at her with a smile, "Look what I caught? Whose rabbit was caught?"
Song Luan's face flushed, "Did you know from the beginning that I was eavesdropping?" Without waiting for his answer, she continued, "Okay, I admit that I eavesdropped on purpose, but I did it because I thought he was going to say something bad about me."
Zhao Nanyu rubbed her face, "Okay, I know you hate him, I won't let him appear in front of you in the future."
Song Luan was startled, "I'm not that stingy."
Zhao Chao is his younger brother. How could a family just disappear from the relationship?
Zhao Nanyu didn't explain. As long as he wanted, there were naturally hundreds of ways to do it. Of course, he couldn't say these words in front of Song Luan. It wouldn't be good to let her know too much.
Zhao Nanyu had an injury on his back, so he could only sleep on his side. Song Luan was also forced to lie on his side in his arms. In the middle of the night, Song Luan was still awake. She thought Zhao Nanyu had fallen asleep, so she boldly poked his face and said, "I heard it. You admit that you like me."
Song Luan curved her eyes and suddenly smiled happily, "Yes, I'm so nice, no one would dislike me."
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