Chapter 212

Thirty strokes of the cane

Leaving these words behind, Chen Yan'er pulled up her cloak to cover her face and turned to leave. After exiting the Celestial Prison, it was midnight, and Chen Yan'er quietly boarded a carriage hidden in the shadows and returned to the Prince Yun's mansion without anyone knowing.

However, after Chen Yan'er entered the mansion and returned to her room, she lit the candle, and a voice suddenly came from over:

"Where did you go?"

The voice was filled with questioning and anger. Then, without waiting for Chen Yan'er to speak, the candle in the room was lit, and she saw Prince Yun, Yin Fengjin, sitting in his seat, turning his eyes to look at her with a somewhat gloomy expression!

Meeting Yin Fengjin's eyes, Chen Yan'er did not show the slightest fear; she pressed her lips together slightly, took off her cloak and put it aside, and then walked over:

"I went to the Celestial Prison."

"What did you do in the Celestial Prison?"

"I went to see Nie Jinxuan!"

"You..."

Clearly, Yin Fengjin knew about Chen Yan'er's whereabouts. But precisely because he knew, upon hearing that she went to see Nie Jinxuan, Yin Fengjin was so angry that he trembled all over, staring at Chen Yan'er, but he didn't know what to say.

After a long while, Yin Fengjin caught his breath, pulled Chen Yan'er to his side, and asked:

"Yan'er, are you crazy? You went to see that woman at this time?! Do you not want to live anymore?"

"What? Are you afraid the Emperor will find out?"

"Hey! With that brain of yours, why would I be afraid of the Emperor finding out? I'm afraid Empress Duan and the others will find out!"

As he spoke, Yin Fengjin glared at Chen Yan'er helplessly, then let go and exhaled:

"Nie Jinxuan and Yin Fengzhan are now in the Celestial Prison, and Empress Duan and the others are almost happy to death. Besides, you know a little bit about this matter; it was someone pulling strings behind the scenes, but you went to the Celestial Prison at this time... Then you tell me, once Empress Duan and the others find out, what will they think of you? Why don't you use your brain?"

Yin Fengjin was earnest and angry, but he couldn't yell at Chen Yan'er. Seeing him like this, Chen Yan'er just blinked, but then she smiled coldly:

"Fengjin, I know what you mean. But I have my own thoughts, so you don't need to worry about this!"

"Don't need to worry about it... Hey, Yan'er! What do you mean by that? Are you hiding something from me?"

"Don't ask about that! In any case, help me hide what happened today; I will definitely tell you the reason later!"

After saying this, Chen Yan'er looked at Yin Fengjin quietly, but then her gaze shifted, and a touch of indescribable gloom appeared in her eyes. Seeing this, Yin Fengjin, who had originally wanted to say something, could not help but frown and remain silent.

……

Chen Yan'er and Yin Fengjin were deeply in love after all. Hearing Chen Yan'er say this, Yin Fengjin naturally wouldn't say anything more. He immediately had someone arrange it privately to keep the night's events quiet and not let anyone mention it.

On the other hand, after Chen Yan'er left the Celestial Prison, Nie Jinxuan fell into deep thought again. A moment later, she suddenly shouted loudly:

"Someone! I want to see the Emperor! Otherwise, I will make all the secrets public!"

Royal secrets have always been the greatest taboo. To maintain the dignity of the royal family, monarchs of all dynasties would not easily let go of those who knew their secrets. Therefore, Nie Jinxuan's behavior was tantamount to threatening Emperor Shuncheng!

But Nie Jinxuan knew clearly that in the current situation, if she didn't take drastic measures, Emperor Shuncheng would never see her. Although Chen Yan'er hadn't explained the reason just now, since she could so confidently say that Prince Chen would lose his head in three days, she must have heard some news!

It didn't matter if she, Nie Jinxuan, died, but she absolutely could not let Yin Fengzhan die! So, she had to take a gamble and see what fate had in store! In the end, Nie Jinxuan won. Not long after, a burst of noisy footsteps came from outside, and someone came to say that Emperor Shuncheng wanted to see her!

Nie Jinxuan felt a surge of joy and quickly followed the person to the Imperial Study.

However, what Nie Jinxuan did not expect again was that just as she walked into the courtyard of the Imperial Study, Gao Caiyong stood at the door and shouted:

"The Commandery Princess of Anguo is arrogant and defies the Emperor; give her thirty strokes of the cane!"

Gao Caiyong shouted, and as he finished, he lowered his eyes to look at Nie Jinxuan, who had walked into the courtyard. Upon hearing this, Nie Jinxuan was stunned for a moment, but then she understood everything.

Nie Jinxuan did not know Emperor Shuncheng's intentions. And she did not know if she would survive these thirty strokes, but this was her only chance to turn the tables, and Nie Jinxuan would not miss it!

Thinking of this, Nie Jinxuan laughed and deliberately said loudly:

"Thank you, Emperor; Anguo accepts the decree!"

The rebellion in Nie Jinxuan's bones made her unwilling to show weakness. Hearing this, even Gao Caiyong was stunned, but then he looked at Nie Jinxuan with pity and heartache, before turning to give a look to the palace servants beside him. The servants stepped forward and pressed Nie Jinxuan onto the empty ground that had already been prepared!

……

One stroke

Another stroke

The sound of the cane punishment rang out in the large courtyard of the Imperial Study. Those dull thuds would make even an ordinary man cry for his parents, let alone a woman, but Nie Jinxuan did not make a sound!

It wasn't that it didn't hurt, but Nie Jinxuan gritted her teeth and didn't let out a single groan. Seeing this, not to mention the eunuchs carrying out the punishment, even the guards guarding the courtyard could not help but look at Nie Jinxuan with new eyes!

Gradually, the surroundings fell silent, and everyone watched the woman lying in the courtyard receiving the punishment... Her face was deathly pale, and sweat dripped from her face, finally falling to the ground...

Just like that, stroke after stroke, and after an unknown amount of time—so long that Nie Jinxuan had forgotten how many strokes were left and was about to faint—the punishment finally stopped. Until this moment, Nie Jinxuan felt not pain, but a sense of relief—relief that she was still alive!

So even though her body hurt so much that she felt dizzy and bone-chillingly painful, Nie Jinxuan still curled her lips and smiled! Seeing her like this, Gao Caiyong, who had been standing at the door of the Imperial Study, also pressed his lips together in heartache and stepped forward to Nie Jinxuan's side:

"Commandery Princess, are you alright?"

Gao Caiyong whispered in a deliberately lowered voice. Hearing this, Nie Jinxuan exhaled a few times and nodded slowly. Seeing this, Gao Caiyong finally breathed a sigh of relief, and a look of gratification appeared on his face:

"That's good!"

Gao Caiyong spoke in a low voice again, but it seemed to carry a deep meaning. As he finished, Gao Caiyong ordered the little palace maid beside him:

"Help the Commandery Princess up. Be careful!"

"Yes!"

Several little palace maids responded respectfully. They stepped forward to carefully help Nie Jinxuan up and supported her as she walked into the Imperial Study. Once inside, Nie Jinxuan pushed away the hands of the two little palace maids, stepped forward tremblingly on her own, and knelt on the ground:

"Anguo pays respects to the Emperor; long live, long live, long live!"

Nie Jinxuan tried to make her voice as clear and powerful as possible. With her head lowered, she appeared extremely respectful. But at this moment, she heard Emperor Shuncheng say in a low voice:

"What do you want to say?"

Emperor Shuncheng's voice was extremely gloomy, as if it were an echo from the depths of the Avici Hell. Upon hearing this, Nie Jinxuan, with her head lowered, could not help but curl her lips:

"Anguo doesn't want to say anything, just that the Emperor is a fool!"

Nie Jinxuan said word by word, and as soon as these words fell, the palace servants gasped. Even Gao Caiyong's eyes widened, and Emperor Shuncheng grabbed the teacup on the dragon desk and threw it at Nie Jinxuan, stood up with a "thud," rushed to Nie Jinxuan, and reached out to pull her up from the ground where she was kneeling:

"Nie Jinxuan, you are courting death! You dare to call me a fool? I will tear you into ten thousand pieces!"

Emperor Shuncheng in his rage made people feel terrified from the heart. At this moment, he was strangling Nie Jinxuan's neck, wanting to strangle her to death right in front of his eyes!

Strangled by Emperor Shuncheng, Nie Jinxuan, who was already in great pain, found it even harder to bear. But just then, Nie Jinxuan struggled with all her might, raised her head, and met Emperor Shuncheng's gaze:

"Heh... hehe... as expected, father... and son... even when angry... the reaction when angry is the same..."

Her painful face was mixed with a smile. Hearing this, Emperor Shuncheng's eyes widened. Seeing that the situation was bad, Gao Caiyong, who was on the side, was also anxious and wanted to step forward to persuade him, but seeing Nie Jinxuan, Gao Caiyong gritted his teeth and dismissed all the palace servants in the Imperial Study.

Having spent a lifetime in the palace, Gao Caiyong was indeed shrewd. Nie Jinxuan could no longer care about anything else; she just struggled and insisted on looking at Emperor Shuncheng, whose expression was becoming increasingly insane, and continued tremblingly:

"W... what? Is Anguo wrong? E... Emperor... you would rather believe the... the nonsense of a Taoist priest and want to behead... your own flesh and blood... your own flesh and blood... is this... is this not foolish... what is it if not foolish..."

"Shut up! You shut up!"

"No... I... I will say it... he... he is the Emperor... your own flesh and..."

"No! He is not my son! He is not my son!"

Since that day, Emperor Shuncheng had fallen into madness. He saw no one, believed no one, and was completely immersed in the infinite pain of Noble Consort Ning's betrayal. In just three days, Emperor Shuncheng had become hollow-eyed, his face gray, and his whole person had completely changed!

At this moment, Nie Jinxuan's words were like a sharp knife, stabbing into Emperor Shuncheng's already unbearable and fragile heart, making him completely insane!

The pressure on her neck tightened suddenly, and Nie Jinxuan even felt the approach of death! But thinking of Yin Fengzhan in the Celestial Prison, in an instant, Nie Jinxuan did not know where the strength came from; she raised her hand to grab Emperor Shuncheng's hand that was strangling her neck and scratched it hard!

Nie Jinxuan's move was sudden, sharp, and fierce; her sharp nails instantly scratched the back of Emperor Shuncheng's hand. Emperor Shuncheng reflexively pulled his hand back in pain, and just then, Nie Jinxuan reached out and pushed Emperor Shuncheng to the ground!

Emperor Shuncheng had probably never been treated like this in his life. For a moment, he was a bit bewildered! Gao Caiyong, standing on the side, was already so frightened by everything before him that his eyes widened, and he even forgot to step forward to help Emperor Shuncheng up. Nie Jinxuan, because of the excessive force just now, collapsed to the ground.

But although her body had collapsed, Nie Jinxuan's spirit was exceptionally excited. Without giving Emperor Shuncheng any chance to speak, she said directly:

"Emperor, I know you are bitter and in pain, but have you thought carefully? Huo Lian is just a Taoist priest, and the theory of heavenly destiny is indeed mysterious; even he himself said he only understood the surface, so how could you believe his words completely?! Besides, you might as well think back to previous events. Noble Consort Zhang was framed before, and at that time, the other party used Noble Consort Ning to make you lose your reason. And now that matter has not been fully investigated, Huo Lian popped up and even said things about Prince Chen. But who is Prince Chen? He is Noble Consort Ning's son, Noble Consort Ning's only son. Mentioning him naturally makes you think of Noble Consort Ning... So, Emperor, wake up and think carefully. Can't you feel the strangeness in these one after another events?"

After saying this in one breath, Nie Jinxuan could not help but start coughing. Hearing this, Emperor Shuncheng suddenly came to his senses, but he covered his ears with one hand and pointed at Nie Jinxuan with the other, roaring:

"Someone, drag her out and behead her! Behead her! I want to tear her into ten thousand pieces!"

Emperor Shuncheng was driven mad. He instinctively did not want to hear another word from Nie Jinxuan. But upon hearing this, Nie Jinxuan, who had just caught her breath, gathered her strength and shouted with the same roar:

"Kill me?! Come on, my life is cheap anyway, kill me if you want! But if you have the ability, kill Yin Fengzhan too! And let the whole world see what a great Emperor Dongling has, who even wants to kill his own flesh and blood, and the son of the woman he loved most in his life, his only son. And when you reach the end of your life and go to the Avici Hell, when you see Noble Consort Ning, you can happily tell her: 'Look, I killed our son, our only son, are you happy? Are you happy?' Emperor, do you think Noble Consort Ning will be happy then? Will she be happy?"

Her chest heaved violently, as if she had exhausted all her strength. But at this moment, Nie Jinxuan only wanted to provoke Emperor Shuncheng, completely forgetting the pain in her body. Hearing those heart-piercing words, Emperor Shuncheng, who was already insane, finally collapsed completely!

"No! You shut up! You shut up! Don't say any more! Don't say any more!"

Twenty years of gloom, twenty years of painful hesitation and doubt, overturned in an instant, replaced by the most unbearable heart-piercing pain! At this moment, Emperor Shuncheng could finally no longer bear it; he covered his head with both hands and finally burst into tears!

In the blink of an eye, the Dongling monarch who once ruled the world and had such terrifying momentum was gone! All that remained was this ordinary man sitting on the ground, covering his head with both hands, crying uncontrollably, and roaring!

Sorrow, crying, madness, collapse... everything appeared on his face, reflected by the tears, as if he were an innocent child, so helpless, so fragile!

Nie Jinxuan finally stopped speaking. Looking at Emperor Shuncheng quietly, she suddenly felt that Emperor Shuncheng and Yin Fengzhan were so much alike!

They were equally stubborn, equally suspicious, equally fond of using madness and anger to cover up their fragility, and even had the same childishness in their bones!

If such two people were not father and son, Nie Jinxuan would really find it baffling! Thinking of this, Nie Jinxuan's expression softened:

"Emperor, Jinxuan knows you are in pain, but some things are useless if you keep questioning and thinking about them in your heart. It would be better to investigate clearly; it would be much easier! Besides, although Jinxuan has never met Noble Consort Ning, Jinxuan believes that a woman who could make you miss her for a lifetime could not be so despicable in character. And if Noble Consort Ning were truly such a fickle woman, then she would not be worthy of your love, let alone worthy of you missing her for so many years, even after she died, keeping her in your heart..."

After the shouting, Nie Jinxuan's voice was exceptionally gentle and soft, but it carried an indescribable comfort. Hearing this, Emperor Shuncheng, who was still secretly crying in pain, paused and fell silent.

Seeing this, a flash of light appeared in Nie Jinxuan's eyes, and she continued:

"So, Emperor, you can choose not to believe me, not to believe Prince Chen, and not to believe anyone in this world. But you should believe Noble Consort Ning. She is the woman you loved most and the woman you couldn't forget for a lifetime. You should believe her. If you don't even believe her, then, Emperor, who else in this world can you believe?"

"Furthermore, Jinxuan can tell you one thing directly: that Huo Lian from before was a fake! Someone deliberately sent him to your side to find an opportunity to sow discord between you and Prince Chen. If Jinxuan is not mistaken, the person behind the scenes is the same person who framed Noble Consort Zhang before. Because whether it was framing Noble Consort Zhang before or sowing discord with Prince Chen now, the other party aimed at one thing: they knew where your fatal weakness was! And Noble Consort Ning is the only fatal weakness of you, the invincible Emperor! As long as this point is touched, they will be invincible!"

Nie Jinxuan's words were gentle but firm. Hearing her words, Emperor Shuncheng remained silent for a long while. Seeing this, Gao Caiyong's eyes flickered, and he turned to look at Nie Jinxuan:

"How does the Commandery Princess know that Taoist priest Huo Lian was a fake?"

Third chapter uploaded, see you tomorrow!