The Empire of Chu.
The Imperial Palace, the Bureau of Punishments.
“I wasn’t peeking at my Imperial Uncle while he was bathing…… Ow!!”
A fair-skinned, delicate-looking youth with red lips and pearly teeth was pinned down over a long punishment bench. As a paddle came crashing down, a miserable scream escaped him, his voice trembling all the way to his throat.
Chu Li—the Ninth Prince of Great Chu—was the youngest son of the Emperor of Chu, and had been particularly favored by his imperial father and consort mother since childhood.
But she was actually a girl.
As for why she had been raised disguised as a boy, that was entirely the fault of her proud and competitive mother, Consort Wen.
Fifteen years ago:
Noble Lady Wen and her archrival, Noble Lady Xin, became pregnant at the same time.
Noble Lady Xin gave birth to the Eighth Prince and was promptly promoted to the rank of Consort, enjoying glory and favor for a time.
Half a month later, Noble Lady Wen went into labor. Because she had been poisoned during her pregnancy, the little princess was born stillborn.
To preserve her imperial favor, Noble Lady Wen used every bit of influence and every means at her disposal, ordering someone to bring an infant from outside the palace and pass it off as her own.
“You useless fool who doesn’t know how to adapt! How did you manage to bring back a baby girl?!”
“Where’s my baby’s little sparrow?”
Where was it?
Unwilling to give up, they even pulled apart the baby’s buttocks and carefully searched between her cheeks.
Sigh!
Talk about a wasted effort.
Such a perfect opportunity to pull off the ultimate baby swap had actually been ruined by these few idiots, these useless pigs!
“Noble Lady Xin has an imperial son. How could I possibly let her step on my head and rank above me? Hmph! An imperial son? Who says I can’t give birth to one?”
And so, the baby girl became the Ninth Prince.
Noble Lady Wen was credited with giving birth to a prince, was promoted in rank, and became Consort Wen.
Fifteen years passed in the blink of an eye.
Chu Li had been lively and energetic since childhood. She could eat and sleep exceptionally well, and what she looked forward to most each month was receiving her allowance.
Every day, all she wanted was to admire flowers, drink tea, chat and gossip with the palace maids and eunuchs, and live as a happy little parasite who did nothing but eat and wait to die.
An hour ago, the eunuchs had been whispering among themselves:
“The Prince Regent has returned to the palace victorious……”
“The Prince Regent has won another battle!”
“I heard he brought back an exceptionally beautiful woman this time. Apparently, he captured her on the battlefield……”
When Chu Li heard this, she was utterly astonished.
This Prince Regent, who was notoriously cold-spoken, stern, and arrogant, was the youngest brother of the current emperor. His temperament was fierce and unruly, his methods swift and ruthless. He had repeatedly refused marriage arrangements bestowed by the emperor, and he didn’t even have a single maidservant to warm his bed.
Yet he had actually brought a woman back to the palace?
What kind of peerless beauty could possibly make him fall for her?
Driven by curiosity, Chu Li never expected that the moment she entered the Prince Regent’s Linhua Palace, she would be sent flying with a single slap.
The Prince Regent had actually been bathing!
A long towel was tied around his waist, covering his lower abdomen. The man’s ink-black hair was like silk, and there was not a trace of warmth in his eyes.
Immediately afterward, she was hauled off to the Bureau of Punishments to receive 20 strokes for the crime of “peeping,” an act deemed deeply disgraceful to the imperial family.
“I’ve been wronged!”
Chu Li hugged the bench tightly, her face flushed red from the pain.
“I wasn’t peeking at my imperial uncle…… Ah!”
Smack!
The eunuch wielding the paddle struck once and counted once.
Smack!
“Ah!!”
Smack!
“Ah!!!”
It sounded like someone was slaughtering a pig!
The screams reverberated like thunder.
The eunuch opened his mouth, finally unable to hold back his words.
“Ninth Prince, you’ve got such a thick piece of padding stuffed under your clothes. If you scream your voice hoarse, His Majesty and Consort Wen will be heartbroken.”
“……”
Thank goodness her Imperial Father doted on her and had given her a little special treatment.
Wasn’t she supposed to scream a little louder so it would sound convincing?
If those 20 strokes actually landed on her buttocks, her backside would surely be beaten bloody.
Damn that Prince Regent!
They were both men (in her disguise, at least). Why would she have any reason to peek at him bathing?
If he wanted to make trouble for her, he should just say so!
How many times had she suffered hidden losses at his hands since childhood?
Everyone in the Empire of Chu knew that the Emperor of Chu favored his youngest son.
He must want to seize the throne and kill her!
“Chu Dichi, you’d better not fall into my hands!”
The eunuch finally couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Oh, Ninth Prince! You really ought not provoke the Prince Regent…… The Prince Regent could compose poetry at the age of 3, learned martial arts at 5, and went onto the battlefield at 12. He has accumulated countless military achievements over the past 10 years. There’s no way the Prince Regent could ever fall into your hands.”
“Little Stool, you look down on me?”
Chu Li clenched her fist, furious.
“Even if I’m no match for him, he’s seven years older than me. He’ll definitely die before I do! Just you wait. When that happens, I’ll even dig up his grave! I’ll also……”
“The Prince Regent has arrived—”
Everyone instantly fell silent.
The eunuchs immediately dropped to their knees in terror.
“Greetings, Your Highness the Prince Regent!”
Everyone bent themselves low. All that could be heard was the steady sound of footsteps approaching.
A tall and dignified man emerged against the light.
His luxurious black robe was embroidered with subtle golden patterns, and an overwhelming presence seemed to emanate from his very bones, making it difficult for anyone to even raise their eyes.
His sharply defined face looked as though it had been carved by a blade. His sword-like brows swept toward his temples, while his dark eyes were as cold as ice.
The bloodthirsty aura forged through years of warfare on the battlefield was as sharp as a sword brushing against one’s face.
He was the current emperor’s younger brother, the seventh son of the former emperor—Chu Dichi.
Chu Li lay listlessly over the punishment bench, looking at him with teary eyes.
“Im…… Imperial Uncle…… I’m sorry. I truly didn’t mean to do it. The 20 strokes are almost finished. Please calm down……”
The way she panted in pain made it look as though she had genuinely suffered severe punishment.
The eunuch stared in astonishment.
Ninth Prince, what happened to your grand ambitions and earth-shaking declarations from just now?
Chu Dichi walked up the steps and looked down at her from above.
“You know your mistake?”
His deep, cold voice was like winter ice, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Chu Li grabbed the corner of his robe and quietly admitted her fault.
“Mhm, mhm. Imperial Uncle, I know I was wrong.”
“If you have already confessed, why are you not continuing the punishment?”
Chu Li’s eyes widened. She immediately changed her words.
“No, I’m not wrong! At the time, I wanted to go to Linhua Palace to visit you. I never expected you to be bathing. I really didn’t mean to peek!”
Chu Dichi frowned, his gaze turning colder.
“You still dare to argue? Beat him until he admits his mistake!”
Chu Li: “?”
If he wants to kill her, he should just say so.
She practically ground her back teeth to dust.
“Imperial Uncle, are you deliberately messing with me?”
“I came here personally to supervise the punishment.”
The moment he finished speaking, her buttocks suddenly felt cold.
Chu Dichi had already pulled away the soft padding hidden beneath Chu Li.
“……”
The eunuchs were terrified.
For the sake of staying alive, how could they possibly dare to hold back now?
The broad, thick paddle came crashing down onto Chu Li’s buttocks.
“Aaah!!”
This time, it was a genuine pig-slaughtering scream.
She writhed violently from the pain as four eunuchs hurriedly held her down, just like restraining a pig during the New Year festivities.
Smack!
“Ah!”
“Ahhh!!”
It hurt so badly she could have died!
“Imperial Uncle, I was wrong! I shouldn’t have entered Linhua Palace. I’ll never dare do it again! Please spare me!”
This was going to be the death of her.
She was going to be beaten to death.
“Imperial Uncle, I was wrong!”
From now on, she would never go poking her nose into the Prince Regent’s affairs again.
“Imperial Uncle!”
She cried out desperately, hoping to awaken that tiny scrap of uncle-and-nephew affection hidden somewhere in his heart.
Chu Li felt as though every stroke was tearing her buttocks apart, the pain spreading through all four limbs. Her entire lower body was almost numb.
Her face flushed crimson, sweat pouring from her body. She begged for mercy until her voice was nearly hoarse, yet none of it earned her the slightest bit of leniency.
“Imperial Uncle, I was wrong! Spare me! I really know my mistake…… Ah! Imperial Uncle! Ahhh! Chu Dichi, to hell with you!”
At last, she became furious.
The veins on her neck were practically throbbing.
Since begging for mercy was useless, she transformed her pain into furious curses.
“You’re deliberately bullying me! I’m going to tell Imperial Father! I’m going to steal your wife! I’m going to dig up your ancestral grave…… Ah!”
“Ah! It hurts so much!”
“Ah!”
“Chu Dichi, I’ll never let you off!!”