Cough cough cough…
The emperor waved his pen and issued an imperial edict. At the end, he even coughed up blood. The ministers were so frightened that they kowtowed in panic.
"Your Majesty, please pay attention to the dragon's body!"
"I know my own body well. I am not dead yet! At least, for a short period of time, I will live well! You don't need to keep nagging me!"
"Confer Shen Xining the title of Princess Yujing of Kyoto, grant her 100 acres of fertile land and a princess's mansion!"
After saying this, the emperor walked away and returned to his bedroom. This banquet had to end like this.
The queen glared at Shen Xining. Shen Xining looked at her neither servilely nor arrogantly, smiling slightly, which made the latter frown slightly and turn away.
Not far away, Xie Zhaoan was lying on a tree with his body tilted. After watching this good show, he smiled with curved lips, and even his eyebrows and eyes were full of smiles. Under the tree stood the guards who were sweating with anxiety.
"Fourth Prince, Mr. Xie, please come down quickly... It's too dangerous in the tree..."
"The Fourth Prince..."
Xie Zhaoan used his Qinggong skills to climb down from the tree, threw the blanket covering his body to the guard, rubbed his forehead, and looked a little impatient.
"No need to keep shouting, I'm not deaf, I can hear you, I'm fine."
The guard guessed as he looked so happy.
"Did Miss Shen say anything to make you feel comfortable?"
"She is an interesting person. Now it seems that she is much more interesting than I thought."
Originally, he only thought that Shen Xining was a young lady from an aristocratic family who was extremely courageous and had some martial arts skills, but that was all she was, a greenhouse flower. Now it seems that she is not what he thought, but a person with strategy and national justice, and may be different from those princes and nobles...
Shen Xining kept dozing with his eyes closed on the way back home, and the maid beside him was very happy.
"I really made the right choice this time. The young lady is indeed very talented and beautiful. It's just a banquet, but she has become a princess. When we return home, the master will definitely praise the young lady."
Yeah
Shen Xining didn't think he would be praised when he returned home.
Sure enough, as soon as she entered the mansion, the servant beside Shen's father came to call her to go to the main house. As soon as Shen Xining entered, a wooden stick hit her ankle. Beads of sweat appeared on Shen Xining's forehead, and she gritted her teeth and said nothing.
Father Shen sneered.
"You're not kneeling yet?"
"My daughter didn't know what she had done wrong, and she didn't know why she was kneeling."
Father Shen said sternly.
"Today, you talked nonsense in the palace just to show off. Such gossip spread all over the capital within half an hour. Even so, you still don't know your mistake?"
Shen Xining's back was stiff, and her teeth were chattering because of the pain, but she was neither humble nor arrogant, and said word by word: "The Shen family rules are for those who are disloyal, unfilial, unkind, and unrighteous. What Xining said today came from the heart, and every word was insightful. If father uses family rules for this matter, Xining doesn't understand. Is it because Xining's views are too naive, or for other reasons? Please explain it clearly."
Xijiang is coming with such force, simply because they see that the emperor is in decline and the court is unstable, so they are willing to take advantage of the situation. However, the gap in strength is too great, so there is no need to be afraid of them.
Everyone in the court was afraid, simply because this was a turbulent time. The Crown Prince and the Queen did not want to get involved in border affairs and were wholeheartedly focusing on winning over important officials in the court in order to consolidate their regime after they ascended the throne.
Father Shen clenched the stick in his hand and hit him again without hesitation. Shen Xining's legs lost balance and he knelt on the ground instantly.
"Since you are the daughter of the Shen family, you represent the Shen family's reputation when you go out. Do you know that just these few words you said today, if you are not careful, will kill the Shen family!?"
Beads of sweat slid down Shen Xining's cheeks, and his father's voice exploded in his ears again.
"Our dynasty has repeatedly stipulated that women are not allowed to participate in politics, but you are just like your mother. Do you think that the emperor is praising you? In fact, there are countless mouths and eyes behind you, laughing at you! Since everyone is not abnormal about this matter, it means that this matter is risky. The wise should go with the flow and not go against the flow. But you are capable!?"
Oh.
Shen Xining wanted to laugh in his heart, and in the end he actually laughed out loud.
The Imperial Tutor had such thoughts. He did not say a word to defend the matter, but instead angrily criticized the officialdom. His mother was such a free and easy woman, and she devoted herself to the family, but in the end, she only received such an evaluation.
It’s not worth it. It’s really not worth it.
"Shen Xining. Today, I will punish you with 20 strokes of the stick and make you kneel here. When you understand, you are allowed to stand up."
The execution place was set up in the yard. Shen Xining lay on a stool, hearing the sound of the sticks hitting her flesh, but she didn't make a sound. In the end, her buttocks were covered in blood. She vomited a ball of blood and almost fainted. Chun Xing stood beside her, crying with tears in her eyes, struggling desperately against the restraints of the servant next to her.
"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it, miss! Miss!"
"Stop it, this is a lady, are you crazy?!"
Shen Xining pinched her fingers. She wanted to tell Chunxing to stop crying. She wanted to touch Chunxing's face and tell her that she was fine. However, she had no strength in her body. She didn't even know when the stick would stop.
There are only confused thoughts in my mind. How can I break the impasse now
Really marry? After that, she would be a member of the imperial palace. As long as she supported the prince, at least the position of queen would be inevitable. However, Shen Xining always felt that something was wrong. Was it because the queen's cruelty made her feel uneasy, or was it because she always felt that the prince was hypocritical and insidious, so she didn't want to marry
Shen Xining couldn't understand, and always felt that the road ahead was bleak. Or perhaps, she already had an idea in her heart, but she just didn't want to think it over.
The stick stopped, and Chun Xing stumbled over, her palms covered with mud and her little face full of tear marks. She grabbed Shen Xining's hands, but it was like holding a loach, she couldn't hold anything, her whole body was falling apart.
"Miss, I'll help you go back and rest."
Shen Xining pursed her lips and spoke with trembling lips.
"Don't cry, I'm fine."
The servant over there stopped the two of them.
"Miss, please don't embarrass us. The master said that he will let you go back to rest only after hearing that you admit your punishment."
"Are you crazy? The young lady has been beaten like this, and you won't let her go back to rest. Do you want to kill someone in this aristocratic family? If something happens to the young lady, can you bear the responsibility? "
The servant did not move at all.
“We also follow the rules.”
Rules, rules, where do these rules come from!
Chun Xing was so angry that his face turned red, but he still wanted to continue arguing. In the entire Shen family, ever since Shen Xining lost her mother at the age of 7 and her stepmother came into the family, although on the surface Shen Xining was still the eldest daughter of the Shen family, in fact, in the entire mansion, who really took Shen Xining seriously!