On the other side, Zhang Wanyin finally stopped trying to dissuade her and stood silently to the side.
Zhang Wanrou looked at her in disbelief: "Elder Sister, you, how could you abandon your younger sister? Have you forgotten what Father said?"
"Father said that Elder Sister would protect Younger Sister and help Younger Sister!"
Zhang Wanyin did not speak, a chill spreading through her heart.
What she wanted was a chess piece that posed no threat! But once this chess piece became a threat to her, she would rather destroy it!
All Father wanted was a child with the bloodline of the Zhang Family. If Zhang Wanrou was gone, she could simply select someone else from another branch of the Zhang Family to enter the palace!
Seeing that no one was stopping them anymore, Nanny Chu shouted again: "Strike!"
The eunuchs took their positions again, swinging the canes toward Zhang Wanrou's body.
Zhang Wanrou was not surprised by this outcome, and she had never expected Zhang Wanyin to save her! What she wanted was exactly this attitude of Zhang Wanyin standing by and watching!
"Thwack! Thwack!"
"Ah—"
Zhang Wanrou’s heart-wrenching scream was not feigned in the slightest.
However, if she wanted to establish a foothold in the harem in the future, she had to endure this beating!
And she had to hold on!
It was just that she seemed to have overestimated the conscience of Xiao Wenyi!
Qing Ning was beaten until she could not move not far away, and could only lie on the ground, looking at her with despair and worry.
"Young Miss..."
The sound of the canes striking flesh gradually became thick and wet. Looking again, her buttocks and lower back had already been stained red with blood!
Most of the imperial concubines watching from the side had their expressions shift from gloating to becoming increasingly grave. Almost every woman below the rank of Jieyu felt a sense of sorrow, as if they were witnessing the lips being lost and the teeth feeling the cold.
A dignified Jieyu! And a Jieyu who was in the Emperor's great favor! In the eyes of those in power, her life was as light as a feather! It could be taken away so casually!
If she was like this, then what about them? Was their life even less worth mentioning?
"The Emperor has arrived!!"
Suddenly, a sharp voice cut through the air, coming from afar!
At this moment, Zhang Wanrou had almost lost consciousness, but that voice pulled her awareness back a little.
This play had finally reached her turn!
Everyone present knelt down to welcome him, because everyone saw the icy coldness on Xiao Wenyi's face.
"Your subject greets Your Majesty!"
"This servant greets Your Majesty!"
Xiao Wenyi had heard Zhang Wanrou's screams from afar. That sound was miserable and desperate, a world of difference from the voice she used when calling him during their intimate moments!
His heart sank inexplicably.
And now, seeing her covered in blood, his pupils felt as if they were being pricked by needles.
"What are you doing?!"
His voice was cold, hiding a surging rage.
The Empress Jiang Yunfu was the first to stand up and explain: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager heard that Consort Zhang was bewitching the monarch during the day and was greatly enraged. Therefore, she sent Nanny Chu to administer a small punishment to Consort Zhang."
"A small punishment?" Xiao Wenyi stared at her coldly. "A small punishment is meant to take someone's life?!"
Nanny Chu also stood up, preparing to speak, when Zhang Wanrou, lying on the punishment bench, murmured something.
Xiao Wenyi's expression shifted. Without even glancing at Nanny Chu, he knelt down to visit Zhang Wanrou.
"Yatou, what did you say?"
Her face was full of pain, sweat dampening her hair and dripping onto the punishment bench, soaking a large area of it!
Her face was almost white to the point of transparency, with only faint veins visible beneath her fair-skinned complexion.
She kept her eyes tightly shut, her mouth moving unconsciously: "Elder Sister, save me... Elder Sister, please save Rou'er..."
Xiao Wenyi's heart skipped a beat. At a time like this, was the only person she could beg for help that elder sister who did not care about her? Why didn't she beg him to save her?
Thinking of this, he felt an indescribable bitterness and discomfort in his heart, along with a touch of guilt.
"Call the Imperial Physician!"
He shouted, then carefully picked up Zhang Wanrou and left the place immediately.
Everyone stood there stunned, some envious, some unwilling, and some resentful.
Seeing this, Zhang Wanyin immediately followed, her face changing into a worried expression as she cried out: "Your Majesty, please save my younger sister!"
Nanny Chu's gaze shifted slightly, and she quickly returned to Cining Palace.
Nanny Rong watched the backs of the people leaving and quietly stepped forward to whisper in the Empress's ear: "Empress, the direction the Emperor went seems to be the Qianqing Palace."
Jiang Yunfu saw it, but she did not speak.
"Empress, the Noble Consort has also gone. If you do not go, what if she pushes all the blame onto you in front of the Emperor..."
Jiang Yunfu sneered, "So what? Can the Emperor blame this palace over a mere Jieyu?"
"But Empress, the relationship between you and the Emperor is already not close enough. If you let the Noble Consort sow discord, won't the Emperor have even more prejudice against you?"
"Besides, that Zhang Wanyin is most skilled at sowing discord and adding fuel to the fire; one must be on guard!"
After hearing this, Jiang Yunfu's expression turned cold, and she stepped forward to follow.
Zhang Wanrou lay in Xiao Wenyi's arms, his blurred, cold, and stern face before her eyes.
Her gaze shifted to the group of women behind Xiao Wenyi, and finally, she saw Qing Ning lying on the ground.
She closed her eyes, clutched his dragon robe, and murmured in pain: "Qing Ning, Qing Ning, run, don't worry about me, they will beat you to death... Qing Ning..."
Hearing this, Xiao Wenyi paused in his steps. He looked back and met the gaze of the luxuriously dressed Zhang Wanyin.
Her makeup was exquisite, and seeing him look over, her expression instantly shifted from cold to worried and aggrieved: "Your Majesty..."
Xiao Wenyi suppressed the emotions in his heart and turned his gaze toward Qing Ning, who was lying on the ground in the distance, covered in wounds.
His gaze softened slightly, and he called out for Cheng Fang.
Cheng Fang understood immediately and had Sanxi carry Qing Ning to see the Imperial Physician.
Seeing Xiao Wenyi turn and leave without giving her even half a glance, Zhang Wanyin's heart skipped a beat. A feeling of unease wrapped around her heart, layer by layer.
East Warm Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace.
Zhang Wanrou lay on the dragon bed, her back a mass of mangled flesh.
The Imperial Physician Hua Ning took Zhang Wanrou's pulse, treated her wounds, and prescribed a medicinal formula for recovery before coming out to report.
In the outer chamber, the Emperor Xiao Wenyi sat on the imperial chair, his face dark and gloomy.
Seeing the Imperial Physician come out, he asked coldly: "How is Consort Zhang?"
Hua Ning replied: "Reporting to Your Majesty, Lady Jieyu is no longer in danger of losing her life. However, the Lady was already frail, and now that she has suffered such severe injuries, her vitality is greatly damaged, and she has temporarily fallen into a comatose state."
"But Your Majesty may rest assured, I have already prescribed the medicine. After she drinks two doses, the Lady will be able to wake up. As long as she recuperates and recovers properly later, she will be able to recover slowly."
Xiao Wenyi's expression softened slightly, and he said: "Use the best medicine, and ensure she recovers as quickly as possible!"
"Your humble servant obeys the decree!"
After Hua Ning left, Zhang Wanyin knelt at Xiao Wenyi's feet and cried: "Your Majesty, you must seek justice for my younger sister!"
"Rou'er just entered the palace and has always been cautious, rarely making mistakes! Your subject does not understand what kind of mistake could warrant such punishment from the Empress?"
"The Empress forced her to kneel, and she actually knelt for two full hours! She fainted right outside the Kunning Palace!"
"But even then, the Empress not only refused to find an Imperial Physician to treat her, but even allowed the Empress Dowager to cane Rou'er... Isn't this clearly aiming for Rou'er's life?"
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