“System, what are you talking about?”
“Who are you calling useless? Huh? Who are you scolding?”
“Who do you think you’re looking down on?”
Ding!
Because the host has shown disrespect to the system, the system must prove its worth.
Unlocking the Tenfold Return feature.
The host is given one Rejuvenation Pill, triggering the Tenfold Return feature. Rejuvenation Pills x10.
??????
Hmm?
Oh, wow!
An unexpected bonus?
I didn’t expect this system to have such a fragile ego!
“Are there only a few?”
“What a pity!”
Ying Zheng felt a wave of disappointment, but then a thought crossed his mind.
“Did he give you the recipe?”
Ying Qingye shook his head.
“Pity!”
“Guards, drag him out and give him thirty strikes with the rod!”
Ying Qingye was dumbfounded.
What on earth?
Beating someone over a mere disagreement?
“Wait, Father, why are you hitting me again?”
“You still have the nerve to ask?”
“I am asking you, did you sneak off to the Drunken Moon Pavilion again?”
Ying Zheng tucked the pills away and glared at Ying Qingye.
“Drag him out!”
“Hold on!”
“Let’s see who dares to move!”
Seeing the guards step forward, Ying Qingye quickly shouted. It hadn’t been long since his last beating, and now another one? Who could possibly endure this?
Empress Shui Yunji hurriedly stepped forward to block the guards.
“You brat, are you trying to start a rebellion?”
Ying Zheng furrowed his brows. No one had ever dared to defy him like this before.
“Father, can’t you come up with something new?”
“All you ever think about is spanking! What is this?”
“Do you seriously enjoy hitting people’s bottoms that much?”
Ying Qingye sighed in utter helplessness.
“What? Are you trying to tell me how to do my job?”
“Fine! Don’t say I never gave you a chance. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t punish you.”
A chance?
Great!
As long as there’s a chance!
“Father, your son only went to the Drunken Moon Pavilion on official business.”
“Oh? What kind of official business?”
Ying Zheng looked at him with amusement. With how lazy his son usually was, what could possibly count as official business?
“Father, ever since Lord Meng Yi captured those suspects at the Drunken Moon Pavilion, I figured that place must be one of their hideouts.”
“So, I wanted to go investigate and hopefully smoke them all out.”
“Therefore, my trip to the Drunken Moon Pavilion was entirely to eliminate hidden dangers for Great Qin and ease your burdens, Father!”
“Oh~ Is that so?”
Ying Zheng drew out the syllable. Then, in a split second, his expression changed entirely!
“Do you take me for a fool, or are those people fools?”
“After everything that happened last time, do you really think they would still show up there?”
“If they were truly that foolish, would they be this difficult to deal with?”
Ying Zheng snapped irritably.
“Drag him away and beat him!”
“Wait!”
“Do you have anything else to say?”
Ying Zheng looked at Ying Qingye with a calm gaze.
“Father, what if I hand over all my Rejuvenation Pills to you? Would that exempt me from punishment?”
“Hmm? Oh~”
“Very well.”
Ying Zheng nodded.
Upon receiving approval, Ying Qingye quickly produced eight Rejuvenation Pills and handed them over.
Ding!
Triggered the Tenfold Return feature.
Rejuvenation Pills x80.
Looking at the pills in his hand, Ying Zheng immediately wanted to test their effectiveness.
He turned to look at Meng Yi, who instantly caught his meaning.
Drawing his sword, Meng Yi walked over to one of the guards and sliced a neat cut across the guard’s palm.
The guard was told to take the Rejuvenation Pill immediately, and the wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Everyone present gasped in astonishment. It truly was a miraculous medicine!
It really could heal wounds instantly!
Ying Zheng was utterly captivated by it, unable to put it down.
At the same time, Ying Qingye looked on in shock. What amazed him wasn’t the medicinal effect, but the fact that they were performing a live human experiment!
Using an actual person!
It was undeniably a bit harsh, though undeniably the most straightforward and brutal method!
“Qingye, does this medicine have such miraculous effects on other illnesses as well?”
“Ah…?”
“Oh, yes it does!”
Ying Qingye snapped back to reality and nodded hurriedly.
Hearing this, Ying Zheng immediately popped one of the pills into his mouth.
Instantly, he felt his whole body lighten up considerably, surging with far more vitality than before.
He looked significantly younger, and all the residual toxins left in his body from the pills Xu Fu had previously given him were completely cleared away.
“Father, how do you feel?”
“Haha…”
“I feel like I have an endless supply of strength.”
Ying Zheng stood up and stretched his limbs, feeling as though his body had returned to his youthful days.
“This medicine of yours is exceptional!”
“Hehe… Father, then can we call off the flogging?”
Ying Qingye asked tentatively with a grin.
High on his renewed vigor, Ying Zheng agreed without the slightest hesitation.
“The flogging can be cancelled, but from now on, you are forbidden from going to the Drunken Moon Pavilion ever again.”
“From now on, you will stay home and properly study and practice your calligraphy. Just what kind of poetry have you been writing lately?”
Fearing that Ying Qingye might stir up some other trouble, Ying Zheng added sternly.
“Stay home and study?”
“Why would I read that stuff?”
“I’m not going to be the emperor!”
“What did you say?”
Ying Zheng’s expression dropped instantly.
How could a member of the royal family lack a proper education?
“I said, if you make me hole up at home reading and writing all day, you might as well just kill me!”
“Insolent brat, say that again!”
Ying Zheng was utterly incensed. Has this little rascal finally grown wings and rebelled?
“Say it again, and what of it?”
“Wanting to lock me up in the manor to study? Not a chance!”
Standing nearby, Meng Yi stared at Ying Qingye in absolute bewilderment.
Has the Fifth Young Master lost his mind?
How dare he speak to Ying Zheng like that?
Talking back to the Son of Heaven was a capital offense!
Since when had he ever been this bold?
“You brat, do you know what crime it is to defy me?”
“I know!”
“It’s just death, isn’t it!”
“What’s the big deal?”
“Are men of Great Qin ever afraid of death?”
Ying Qingye puffed out his chest, looking so righteous that anyone unaware would think Ying Zheng was some local crime lord.
“You brat, I never realized you had such backbone.”
“Of course! Look whose son I am!”
Ying Qingye lifted his chin proudly.
That remark completely threw Ying Zheng off balance. When on earth did this kid get so good at flattering?
“You brat, defying me is punishable by execution by law. Are you truly not afraid to die?”
“If I were afraid, I wouldn’t be a prince of Great Qin!”
“Good!”
“Splendid! You truly are my son!”
“I’d like to see for myself whether you really aren’t afraid of death!”
With that, he waved his hand, and several guards stepped toward Ying Qingye.
Empress Shui Yunji moved with a ghost-like flash, placing herself directly in front of Ying Qingye with a speed that left everyone gaping.
Seeing this, Meng Yi tensed up and watched her warily.
Ying Zheng noticed her as well, his brows furrowing deeply.
His imperial edicts seemed to hold no weight over her whatsoever!
“Qingye, is this your backing?”
Ying Zheng looked at the Empress and asked calmly.
“Step back.”
Ying Qingye gave a casual, effortless command.
The Empress respectfully retreated to the side. However, her gaze remained locked onto Ying Zheng; the moment he gave an order to kill Ying Qingye, she would capture him without hesitation and have the Nine Heavens Holy Maidens whisk Ying Qingye away.
“Come on, then!”
Ying Qingye spread his arms wide and said calmly.
Though he looked completely serene on the surface, deep down, he actually felt a strange sense of liberation.