"Think carefully about what you have done to offend the Imperial Concubine." Yan Shangshi glanced at Shi Manqing coldly and winked at her.
The two eunuchs who held Shi Manqing in control were quick to stuff a large piece of sackcloth into her mouth, blocking it tightly. She only had time to utter the word "thank you" before she lost the rest of the word. She could only stare at Xie Wangzhi who was a few steps away.
"Being chosen to make snacks is a recognition of your skills, but in the palace, rules are the most important thing. If you work honestly, you will be rewarded. But if you try to climb up the ladder and take shortcuts, you will end up in trouble." Yan Shangshi closed his eyes, "Okay, let's all go back. Think about this carefully."
The group of young palace maids were originally dragged out suddenly, and they watched Shi Manqing being dragged out. They were frightened twice. Some of the timid ones couldn't even say the words of greeting and leaving properly. They were trembling when they stood up, and they even tripped when leaving the courtyard, and had to be supported by their companions before they could go out.
The young palace maid left first, followed by several chefs and stewards. Except for the two eunuchs who were escorting Shi Manqing and waiting for the Imperial Chef Yan to speak, the courtyard was empty, with only Xie Wangzhi left.
Yan Shangshi was quite tolerant of Xie Wangzhi and asked her, "Is there anything else?"
"She seemed to have called me just now." Xie Wangzhi answered honestly, "I think she has something to say to me."
Shi Manqing struggled immediately, but couldn't get over the two eunuchs' strength, so she was forced to kneel on the ground, her skirt in a mess. She stared at Xie Wangzhi with her eyes wide open, and if it weren't for the linen cloth stuffed in her mouth, she would have swallowed Xie Wangzhi in one gulp.
It seemed that she had something to say. Yan Shangshi nodded: "Let her speak."
The two eunuchs took the gag cloth, but Shi Manqing did not speak to Xie Wangzhi. She was not stupid and knew that this time it was dangerous, so she simply turned to Yan Shangshi and tried to drag Xie Wangzhi into the water: "I am innocent! That idea was not my own, it was her! It was Xie Wangzhi! She said it all... I was also bewitched for a while, and listened to her words, which violated the taboo of the imperial concubine. I am really innocent..."
Before Xie Wangzhi could react, Yan Shangshi's scrutinizing eyes fell on her face: "Is what she said true?"
"I want to talk to her." Xie Wangzhi was silent for a moment.
"Go ahead."
"Thank you, chef." Xie Wangzhi lowered his head and looked at Shi Manqing on the ground, his tone calm, "I only told you that you might be able to make flower-filled glutinous rice cakes. It wasn't you who originally thought of using crabapple sauce to make it. You lied to us and said that there was no crabapple sauce, but you made crabapple flower-filled glutinous rice cakes privately. This is your fault."
"Your dessert has been chosen. I know Haitang violated Concubine Xiao's taboo, and I reminded you, but you think I am jealous of you and insist on doing this. This is also your fault." Xie Wangzhi continued, "You have fallen to this point because of you. You can hate me as much as you want, but don't think of dragging me down. The mistake I made was to seek advantage, not to violate the taboo intentionally."
She retracted her gaze, glanced at the chef, and lowered her head again, "I'm done. Please punish me, Chef Yan."
Shi Manqing panicked and wanted to explain again, but Yan Shangshi didn't wait for her to speak. He raised his hand to signal, and the two eunuchs immediately stuffed the sackcloth back, picked up Shi Manqing, and dragged her out. Shi Manqing was not even fifteen years old, so she had no strength. She struggled a few times, but couldn't move. She didn't even have the strength to whimper, and was dragged out like this, with the sound of her embroidered shoes dragging on the stone slabs.
Hua made so many stews. Since Concubine Xiao entered the palace, the Shangshi Bureau had never made anything with crabapples, so of course they didn't know her taboo. Yan Shangshi originally wanted to ask Xie Wangzhi where he knew it, but then he thought of her background and thought it was because of her family. He coughed and said, "Wangzhi, you are a smart child, but you have to be upright and can't always think about your family helping you."
"I understand." Xie Wangzhi didn't know what Yan Shangshi was thinking, he just thought she was worried about the Xie family in Chang'an. "I was also wrong this time, just punish me according to the rules, I have no complaints."
"You kid..." Yan Shangshi didn't know how to evaluate Xie Wangzhi. He thought of asking about his preferences, and then turned around and asked for punishment so honestly. She sighed, "I know your aunt, so I am also your elder. There is no one around, so just remember it yourself."
After a moment of silence, Xie Wangzhi suddenly said: "… That's not the case."
Yan Shangshi was stunned: "What do you want to say?"
"People cannot choose their own birth. I am proud of being from the Xie family of Chang'an, because there are many outstanding ancestors, which is why they have survived several dynasties and established their own family in Chang'an after the decline. Although I am incompetent, I also understand that I cannot take advantage of the glory of my ancestors and cannot be proud of it." Xie Wangzhi raised his head and looked at Yan Shangshi seriously, "I was indeed wrong this time. Going outside to inquire about Concubine Xiao's preferences is exactly what Shangshi said about scheming. I am willing to be punished."
Yan Shangshi stared at her for a while, then sighed and said, "Go find Zhang Dianshan to accept your punishment."
**
Zhang Dianshen was a serious and stern person by nature. No matter what Xie Wangzhi's background was, he would punish her seriously. He beat her with a bamboo whip, five times on each hand. Xie Wangzhi's hands turned red immediately. When she returned to the house, her palms were red and swollen, and it hurt when she rubbed them against her sleeves. Lou Hanyue was so scared that she quickly took out the ointment to apply on her.
At first, when Shi Manqing didn't come back, Lou Hanyue guessed that she was going to be unlucky. She was quite happy, but when she waited until the evening and still didn't see her come back, Lou Hanyue became a little anxious. Although she hated it, after all, they had lived in the same room for several years, and now she was gone alive, she was not so cruel: "Wangzhi, you were punished by being slapped on the palm, what punishment did Manqing give you? Why haven't you come back yet?"
Xie Wangzhi probably guessed that Shi Manqing would not come back, but he couldn't say it directly, so he walked out while mumbling: "I guess it was a beating... I don't know either."
"Oh..." Lou Hanyue felt pain in her buttocks when she thought of being spanked. Seeing Xie Wangzhi leaving, she became anxious again, "Hey, it's already this late, what are you doing outside?"
"I'll just go for a walk. It won't be far. Don't worry."
Xie Wangzhi locked the door behind her to prevent Lou Hanyue from chasing her out. The restaurant was so small that she didn't dare go outside. In fact, she didn't know where to go. She walked aimlessly along the wall, found a secluded corner, and slowly squatted down.
It was chilly at night. After squatting for a while, he felt cold and his legs were numb. Just as Xie Wangzhi was about to wake up, a figure stopped in front of him, bent over and came closer to reveal a beautiful face.
She has a cold and beautiful appearance, and her eyes are light amber, making her look like a cat in the night.
Xie Wang was startled and sat down on the ground. Her calf was bumped and she hissed in pain. Changsheng held her sleeves and pulled her up, with a hint of laughter in his voice: "Am I so scary?"
“… You’re still laughing at me.” Xie Wangzhi felt a little aggrieved and frowned. When he withdrew his hand, his palm accidentally rubbed against his sleeve, causing a sharp pain, and he gasped again.
This reaction was not right, Changsheng asked: "What's wrong?"
"I did something wrong and was punished." Xie Wangzhi did not try to hide the truth and said honestly, "Zhang Dianshan slapped my palm. I've already applied medicine, but it still hurts a little."
There was indeed a faint smell of grass and trees after the rain. Changsheng nodded: "I think you are quite honest. What did you do wrong?"
Xie Wangzhi glanced at him, opened his mouth to speak, swallowed his words back, and shook his head hesitantly: "It's a small matter."
"You don't look like this is a small matter." Changsheng was not very curious, but he didn't want her to hold it in. "It's hard to say, or you can't say it?"
“… It’s hard to say.”
"Then think about how to say it so that it will be easier." Changsheng smiled, "I said before that I don't know anyone, I will forget it after hearing it, and I won't tell your secret to anyone."
Xie Wangzhi raised his eyes and happened to see Changsheng's smiling face.
The boy stood in front of her, tilting his head slightly to look at her, the girl reflected in his amber eyes, he was smiling, but his eyebrows were cold, like the mountains after a heavy snowfall. But he didn't feel cold, the warm yellow light hit his long black hair, the light spots dripped along the braids in front of his shoulders, and formed a halo on his clothes.
The stuffiness in his chest seemed to have found an outlet. Xie Wangzhi sniffed and slowly began to talk about Shi Manqing. Changsheng kept smiling until he heard Xie Wangzhi say, "… Someone in the same room asked me why she hadn't come back yet. I couldn't answer and was upset, so I ran outside."
"Don't wait, she won't come back." Changsheng had no mercy, "If she's lucky, she'll probably be beaten half to death and taken home by her family... Well, I remember you said her father is the chief secretary, maybe she can survive; if she's unlucky, she'll be beaten to death."
He had thought so before, but he said it so loudly that Xie Wangzhi couldn't stand it. He frowned, licked his lips, and couldn't say anything.
"Do you feel sorry for her?" Changsheng tried to guess Xie Wangzhi's expression.
"... No. She did something bad, she deserves it." Xie Wangzhi swallowed and suddenly felt powerless, "I just... I just suddenly felt that the Daming Palace seemed to eat people."
She was not so innocent and kind that she would not pity Shi Manqing, but she also vaguely knew that the Begonia Flower Ci was actually selected by Zhang Dianshen. If the entire Shangshi Bureau had not been so eager to pass the blame, Shi Manqing might not have fallen to this point.
Xie Wangzhi leaned against the wall and squatted down again.
Outside the wall, palace lanterns were hung, illuminating the long palace path and casting shadows on the red wall. The Daming Palace was built later, and countless craftsmen were summoned to build it. It was built beautifully and on a high ground. Standing on the palace wall, you can overlook the entire Chang'an City.
But this place will eat you, skin and bones included, inch by inch, leaving not even a hair behind.
Xie Wangzhi buried his face in his arms, and suddenly heard a sigh beside him, followed by Changsheng's voice: "Come, look up."
She raised her hand blankly and saw Changsheng reaching out to her with a tiny dot of light floating in his palm.
The light spots were a faint silver color, flickering in his hands. It happened that the night wind blew through Changsheng's hands, blowing the light in his palms into a ribbon, flowing away, like a sudden glimpse of the Milky Way in midsummer, filled with stars.