Nan Xun did not keep her in suspense. “His Majesty heard about what happened with the Yu Family and was furious. However, the imperial edict granting the rewards had just been issued, so he could hardly change his mind overnight. He had no choice but to reprimand them first.”
“How could the Young General possibly swallow his anger? Even things are only like this because he saw that you were awake and took your dignity into consideration!”
“But don’t worry. It’s not a serious problem. Her Majesty the Empress pleaded for him as well. At most, His Majesty will give the Young General a few dozen strokes. It’ll be nothing—just a little sprinkle of water. The Young General can take it. He’ll only have to lie in bed for a month or two at most.”
Sanqi: “…”
These were truly words that could come from a personal guard.
No wonder they were so close.
Who could have imagined that the Young General Yan, who was as aloof as cold jade and never drew close to anyone, was actually as fervent as a raging fire?
And that every one of the personal guards at his side was so lively?
Sanqi smiled faintly. Although the chill within her had yet to fade, at this moment, she sincerely felt—
“How wonderful.”
To have gained a new life… it truly was wonderful.
…
Sanqi was doing very well.
The people of the Yu Family, however, were doing terribly.
After fifty strokes, Yu Jing was as limp as a dead dog. But he had angered His Majesty—who would dare treat him?
None of the physicians in the capital dared visit the residence. They could only urgently seek out a barefoot doctor.
Liu Shi looked at Yu Jing’s bloodied buttocks, weeping until she fainted, waking only to continue crying, then fainting again.
Yu Minwu was not faring any better. He had been forced to kneel in public, lost a tooth, and even broken the bridge of his nose.
Yu Tang had also cried herself into a tearful wreck.
“Eldest 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 have? He had no official honors yet and was still studying at the Imperial Academy. When he thought about the future, his vision went black. In the space of half a day, he seemed to have aged ten years.
“Third Younger Sister is too cruel. How could she be so vicious?” Yu Tang sobbed. “How have we ever wronged her? How could she harm us like this?”
“She’s a freak and a rotten seed,” Yu Minwu joined in, cursing her. “We should never have brought her back from that Huangquan Village in the first place. She grew up alongside a bunch of lowly country bumpkins. Her roots were rotten through and through!”
At this, Yu Minwen’s eyes shifted. He suddenly looked at Yu Tang. “Fourth Younger Sister, what did Third Younger Sister mean by what she said to you at the end? Did you lie?”
Yu Tang’s eyes flickered, and she immediately began to cry even louder. “Eldest Brother, are you suspicious of me?”
“That’s right! Eldest Brother, you don’t actually believe that wretched girl’s nonsense, do you? She’s always been a lunatic, and not a single word that comes out of her mouth is true. How can you suspect Fourth Younger Sister because of her?”
“I think she’s still hung up on her betrothal to the Boyuan Marquis’s Residence. Heir Chu and Fourth Younger Sister grew up together. Does she really think she has the right to compete?”
Yu Minwen already had a splitting headache, and seeing this, he had no desire to argue with them.
Now that Father had fallen, as the eldest son, he had to take charge, support the household, and get the family through this crisis.
As for Third Younger Sister…
Forget it. Without her family’s protection, once she had suffered enough out there, she would realize that a young girl could not survive alone.
So what if she had been made a Commandery Princess? She had dared sever ties with the family in public. With such defiance and lack of filial piety, how could the court officials simply let it go?
Her glory as a Commandery Princess would last only a day. Misery awaited her afterward.
But why had Yan Du gotten involved with her?
Yu Minwu snorted. He could not stand hearing that name now, and said bitterly, “Who knows what kind of madness seized him? Relying on the fact that he’s the Empress’s nephew and enjoys His Majesty’s trust, he looks down on everyone.”
“He’s nothing but an ingrate. Back then, when he was wounded and unconscious on his way back to the capital, it was Fourth Younger Sister who had someone send him back.”
“Have you ever seen him show any gratitude over the years? He’s only occasionally sent over a few gifts!”
Hearing this, Yu Tang broke into a cold sweat. She lowered her head and did not dare make a sound, terrified that someone might see her expression.
Sanqi’s final mocking words echoed in her mind:
—One lie takes ten million more to cover up.
—Yu Tang, without me, what will you use to cover them up in the future?
She had lied. She had even lied to more than just the Boyuan Marquis’s Residence.
But Yu Tang had never thought of it as lying. At least, before today, she had never been conscious of it.
Now, however, her hands and feet were ice-cold.
All the achievements she had deliberately ignored, forgotten, and naturally taken from Sanqi over the years had become ants, swarming densely through her heart and gnawing at it.
Black energy like a swamp surged upward, slipping into her seven orifices.
In the distant Protector of the Nation’s Duke’s Residence—
After bathing and changing clothes, Sanqi pinched a mass of black energy that had surged up from beneath her feet. It wrapped around her like tentacles, fawning over her.
Sanqi lightly tapped one of the black tendrils. The black energy transformed into countless fine needles.
Sanqi smiled. “Then let’s start with you.”
“Yu Tang.”
“Liars have to swallow a thousand needles, you know.”
…
It was already dark when Yan Du returned from the palace.
His personal guards carried him down from the carriage. Nan Xun hurried over, but the moment he saw the bloodstained trousers of his Young General, he hissed.
“How many strokes did they give him?”
“Fifty,” one of the guards said quietly. “His Majesty relented at the tenth stroke, but the Young General refused to yield. He stubbornly insisted on asking for more rewards for the Commandery Princess, which angered His Majesty again, so he ordered them to finish.”
Nan Xun sucked in a sharp breath. The guard continued to mutter, “The military merit from the Young General’s great victory this time is gone, too. He’s been fined a year’s salary and ordered to patrol the capital’s outskirts with the Metropolitan Commandery Camp for three months.”
Nan Xun let out an exclamation, then sighed. “Fortunately, our general is rich. Losing a year’s salary won’t starve him.”
Yan Du kept his eyes closed, his long lashes casting shadows across his cold-jade features. “Has the Commandery Princess retired?”
“Not yet. The Commandery Princess has been waiting for the Young General to return.”
“Why didn’t you say so sooner?”
Yan Du immediately sprang to his feet, snatched a guard’s cloak, and tied it around himself. Before the guards could stop him, he strode into the residence as though nothing were wrong, baring their teeth in pain as they watched him.
Hiss. His buttocks must have been beaten to a pulp, right? And the Young General could still stride like that? This was truly impressive. That deserved praise—absolutely had to be praised!
“Young General.”
Sanqi stood like a ghost behind the spirit screen. No one knew when she had arrived.
Yan Du had just passed by her side when he reacted swiftly, turning around in one smooth motion. He tugged the cloak forward, covering the bloodstains around his lower garments.
Nan Xun caught up and jumped in fright. “Commandery Princess, when did you come over? Weren’t you in the courtyard just now?”
A faint flicker passed through Yan Du’s eyes. He naturally seized control of the conversation. “It’s already late. Why has the Commandery Princess not retired?”
Sanqi looked at the way he was trying to conceal himself. Instead of answering, she asked, “His Majesty punished you?”
“No.” Yan Du denied it without hesitation. After a pause, he softened his tone. “Everything is fine. His Majesty even had your rewards delivered here.”
After saying this, he met Sanqi’s clear black-and-white eyes…