Chapter 634: You sure know how to play!

"Lord... this..."

The two executioners really didn't know what to do, so they could only turn their heads toward Wushe.

There was no way; they hadn't really intended to strike, but they couldn't tolerate Chen Yan's excessive behavior.

Would just putting a patch behind the butt work?

Wushe scowled, waved his hand, "Strike, strike, finish quickly; I still have to go back to report."

Hearing that, Chen Yan laughed heartily: "Hahaha, I told you all long ago, I, Chen Yan, stand tall all my life—aren't I just the Twenty Great Boards?"

"If only I frown even a little..."

Bang—

Ah!!!

Before Chen Yan could finish speaking, a heavy thud suddenly echoed, and he immediately felt a sharp pain in his butt.

"What? Sun Thief, you hit me with full force?"

"Lord Bo, we apologize; the two of us are just following orders, please do not blame us!"

One executioner set his face in a hard expression and, using all his strength, swung the staff down hard.

As for why he dared to do that, it was obviously because Wushe had said the word "strike" twice in a row.

If you ask why Wushe dared to do it—

—the answer is that he understood Li Shimin's meaning: Chen Yan must be given a taste of hardship.

Even if you pad a patch on the butt, what difference does it make?

A full-force strike won't cause injury, but the pain will definitely be painful!

Damn!

"Wushe!"

Chen Yan couldn't hold back, yet he still dared not move recklessly.

If he moved and the staff landed elsewhere, he would have nowhere to cry.

"You dare plot against me!"

Wushe whispered, "Lord Bo, please endure; we are also following orders. After you endure these Twenty Great Boards, you can go home."

"I'm going back... ah!!!"

Inside Dali Temple Prison, wails of agony rang continuously.

That day, Li Lizhi received a dispatch from Dali Temple Prison ordering someone to bring Chen Yan back.

Li Lizhi thought her husband was fine and cheerfully arrived with a carriage.

But what she didn't expect was that Chen Yan walked with a limp, his face as black as ink.

"Husband... what is this..."

"Stop talking, go home."

Chen Yan gritted his teeth and forced out a sentence, already eager to go home to verify his suspicion.

"Oh... oh oh oh." Li Lizhi was stunned for a moment, not daring to delay, and hurriedly helped Chan er lift Chen Yan into the carriage.

Chen Yan didn't even dare to sit, maintaining a strange posture, half‑crouching inside the carriage.

At this point, Li Lizhi almost figured out what was happening, stifling a laugh: "Husband... you were beaten?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

"... How about you lie on my lap for a while; we'll be home soon," Li Lizhi couldn't help laughing, also feeling a bit sympathetic.

Hearing that, Chen Yan's expression brightened a bit; he found a comfortable pose and lay sideways on Li Lizhi's leg.

"Sizi... no, is that damned girl at home?"

Li Lizhi looked at her once‑vibrant husband, now curled up in the carriage, looking as odd as could be, and dared not speak.

Because she feared that speaking would make her burst into laughter, she quickly nodded.

Chen Yan clenched his fists and said angrily, "Just be at home, just be at home... I almost miss my dear sister to death."

"Li Lizhi, you don't know, while I'm in Dali Temple Prison, the one I miss most is this little fellow."

"They say the elder brother is like a father, the elder sister-in-law like a mother; this little fellow really is filial to death for me...!"

Li Lizhi hesitated a moment; she actually wanted to explain a few things to Sizi.

After all... Sizi is also a victim in this matter.

But after thinking, she still didn't intend to speak up.

Let them sort out their own affairs, lest the fire later burns them.

Soon, Chen Yan returned home.

He immediately had the delighted Qing'er quickly call Sizi over.

At first, Sizi learned Chen Yan had returned and, upon his immediate seeking, rushed over angrily.

"You still remember to look for me?"

"Do you know I've been deceived to death by you?"

"You said you'd die, that later the Fourth Imperial Brother would carry me to marriage, and you even said you left me an estate in Weinan County."

"You big liar, big trickster, I was so heartbroken that I went to the emperor-grandfather to plead for you."

"In the end you just deceived me, trying to make me move out so the emperor-grandfather wouldn't have a good time, you big scumbag!"

"Didn't you always say you shouldn't betray someone's feelings? You even betrayed a child's feelings like mine."

"Is this how you set an example?"

"Apologize, apologize to me!"

Chen Yan:???

Facing the self‑righteous little guy, Chen Yan's brain stalled for a moment; he blinked, looked at the upright, chest‑puffed Sizi, and suddenly laughed.

"Alright, alright, it's big brother's fault. Let big brother apologize to you, okay?"

"You even cheated me out of my feelings!" Sizi got even more worked up.

"I'm wrong, I'm wrong," Chen Yan said gently. "Big brother shouldn't have said that; I made you worry."

Sizi snorted lightly at the words: "You also made big sister Li Zhi and big sister Gao Yang worry, even told them not to stay in Chang'an; we all thought you were going to die."

Chen Yan's smile widened, and he cooed softly: "Right, right, it's big brother's fault, big brother's words were a problem; big brother promises not to do this again, okay?"

"Then you go play with Xiao Qingyue and the others first; big brother will have Aunt Zhang make you more tasty food later, and tomorrow he'll take you out to have fun, how about that?"

"That's what you said!" The little guy, no matter how clever, is still a kid; hearing that tomorrow Chen Yan will personally take her out to play and that there will be tasty food at night, his big eyes instantly lit up.

"Hmm, I said it, I promised it—when have I ever not kept my word? Right? You go have fun first; I have something to say to you and big sister Gao Yang."

At that moment, Gao Yang, who had heard the news, just walked in.

The moment she arrived and heard that sentence, an ominous feeling instantly rose in her heart.

But she didn't leave.

"Alright, alright."

Sizi was easy to coax, and since Chen Yan seemed fine, he happily went out to find his little companions to play with.

When she left, Chen Yan's smile slowly faded as he stared at Gao Yang, who was walking over: "At first, I really couldn't figure out who would try to trap me and His Majesty."

"Cheng Yaojin? Yuchi Gong? They don't have that capability."

"The ones who have that ability, and can keep Sizi fooled, are only Li Zhi and you."

"Based on what I know of Li Zhi, she couldn't do such a thing; she wouldn't think of a double‑cross, trapping His Majesty, the Empress, and me all at once, so the only answer left is you… my beloved wife!"

Gao Yang raised her eyebrows slightly; Chen Yan's smile reappeared, but his tone was inexplicable.

"Alright, Li Zhaotang!"

"A thing that should be cut a thousand times."

"You sure know how to have fun!"