Nan Xun didn’t keep her in suspense. “His Majesty heard about the Yu Family’s affairs and was also furious. However, since the edict of rewards had just been issued, he couldn’t easily reverse it. He could only reprimand them a few times.”
“How could the Young General possibly let this go? Even now, he’s only holding back because you’ve woken up and he’s considering your dignity!”
“But don’t worry, it’s not a big problem. Her Majesty the Empress also pleaded for leniency. At most, His Majesty will give the Young General a few dozen strokes—just a slap on the wrist. The Young General can handle it; he’ll only need to lie in bed for a month or so at most.”
San Qi: “…”
These were truly words only a trusted guard could say.
Indeed, they were close.
Who would have thought that the Young General Yan, as cold and aloof as jade, was actually as passionate as blazing fire?
And the guards by his side were each and every one of them lively?
San Qi smiled faintly. Even though the chill in her body had yet to dissipate, at this moment, she sincerely felt:
“This is wonderful.”
Gaining a new life—it truly was wonderful.
…
San Qi was doing well.
But the Yu Family was not doing well at all.
After fifty strokes, Yu Jing was left like a dead dog. But since he had angered His Majesty, who dared to treat him?
No physician in the capital dared to visit their home. They could only urgently seek out a barefoot doctor.
Liu Shi looked at Yu Jing’s battered buttocks, crying until she fainted, waking up only to cry again and faint once more.
Yu Minwu wasn’t faring well either. He had knelt in public, lost a tooth, and broken his nose.
Yu Tang also cried until she was drenched in tears.
“Elder Brother, what are we going to do from now on?”
Everyone looked to Yu Minwen, expecting him to come up with a solution.
What solution could Yu Minwen possibly have? He had no official rank yet and was still studying at the Guozijian. Thinking about the future, he felt his vision darken. In just half a day, he seemed to have aged ten years.
“Third Sister is too cruel! How could she be so vicious?!” Yu Tang sobbed. “Where did we ever wrong her that she would harm us like this?”
“She’s just a freak and a rotten seed,” Yu Minwu chimed in, cursing. “We shouldn’t have brought her back from that Huangquan Cun in the first place. Growing up with a bunch of lowly villagers, her roots were already rotten through!”
Hearing this, Yu Minwen’s gaze shifted, and he suddenly looked at Yu Tang. “Fourth Sister, what did Third Sister mean by those last words she said to you? Did you lie?”
Yu Tang’s eyes flickered, and she immediately cried even louder. “Elder Brother, do you doubt me?”
“Exactly! Elder Brother, you can’t possibly believe that dead girl’s nonsense, can you? She’s always been strange and never spoke a word of truth. How could you suspect Fourth Sister because of her?”
“I think she’s still clinging to the marriage arrangement with the Boyuan Houfu. How could she possibly compete with Fourth Sister, who grew up with Young Master Chu?”
Yu Minwen’s head was already spinning. Seeing this, he didn’t want to argue with them.
Now that their father had fallen, as the eldest son, he had to step up and support the family through this difficult time.
As for Third Sister…
Forget it. Without the protection of her family, once she’s suffered enough outside, she’ll realize that a young woman alone cannot survive.
Even if she’s been granted the title of Commandery Princess, so what? She dared to publicly sever ties with her family—such defiance and unfilial behavior—how could the court officials stand by and do nothing?
One day as a Commandery Princess, one day of glory. There will be misery for her in the future.
As for Yan Du, why would he get involved with her?
“Why would Yan Du help San Qi?”
Yu Minwu snorted coldly. He couldn’t stand hearing that name now and said bitterly, “Who knows what madness has taken him? Relying on being the Empress’s nephew and His Majesty’s trust, who does he even look up to?”
“Just an ungrateful wretch. Back when he was injured and unconscious on his way back to the capital, it was Fourth Sister who had him sent back.”
“Look at him all these years—has he ever shown any gratitude? At most, he occasionally sent some gifts!”
Upon hearing these words, Yu Tang broke into a cold sweat. She lowered her head, not daring to speak, afraid her expression might betray her.
Echoing in her mind was San Qi’s final taunt:
—One lie requires a thousand more to cover it.
—Yu Tang, without me, how will you cover them in the future?
She had lied, and not just to Boyuan Houfu.
But Yu Tang had never felt she was lying before—at least not until today.
Now, her hands and feet turned icy cold.
All the credit she had deliberately ignored, forgotten, and naturally taken from San Qi in the past now turned into ants, gnawing away at her heart in tiny, relentless bites.
Mud-like Black Qi surged upward, seeping into her seven orifices.
In the distant general’s residence.
San Qi had finished bathing and changed her clothes. She grasped a mass of Black Qi that had surged from beneath her feet. The Black Qi coiled around her like tentacles, fawning over her.
San Qi lightly tapped the tentacles of the Black Qi, and it transformed into countless fine, dense needles. She smiled, “Then let’s start with you.”
“Yu Tang.”
“Liars must swallow a thousand needles.”
…
Yan Du returned from the palace after nightfall.
His guards lifted him from the carriage, and Nan Xun hurried forward, gasping at the sight of his young general’s bloodstained trousers.
“How many lashes did he receive?”
“Fifty,” whispered a guard beside him. “His Majesty softened after the tenth lash, but the young general refused to yield. He stubbornly insisted on demanding rewards for the Commandery Princess, which angered His Majesty again, so he ordered the full punishment.”
Nan Xun drew a sharp breath. The guard added quietly, “The young general also lost all credit for this great victory, was fined a year’s salary, and ordered to patrol the city with Jingjiying for three months.”
Nan Xun gasped and sighed, “Well, at least our general is wealthy. Losing a year’s salary won’t starve us.”
Yan Du closed his eyes, his long lashes casting shadows on his jade-like face. “Has the Commandery Princess retired for the night?”
Nan Xun replied, “Not yet. She’s been waiting for your return, young general.”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Yan Du immediately sprang up, snatched a guard’s cloak, and wrapped it around himself. The guards were too slow to stop him, watching in disbelief as he strode into the residence as if nothing were wrong.
Ouch, his buttocks must be torn to shreds, yet the young general could still walk so briskly. Truly remarkable—this deserves praise, must be praised!
“Young General.” San Qi stood like a ghost behind the screen wall, no one knowing when she had arrived.
Yan Du had just passed her when he reacted swiftly, turning sharply and pulling the cloak forward to conceal the bloodstains on his lower garments.
Nan Xun caught up, startled at the sight. “Commandery Princess, when did you arrive? Weren’t you just in the courtyard earlier?”
Yan Du’s eyes flickered as he naturally steered the conversation away. “The night is deep. Why hasn’t the Commandery Princess retired yet?”
San Qi observed his evasive movements and countered with a question instead of answering. “Did His Majesty punish you?”
“No,” Yan Du denied outright. He paused, softening his tone. “Everything is fine. His Majesty even sent your rewards over.”
As he finished speaking, he met San Qi’s clear, penetrating gaze…