Chapter 1961

What was a bone-piercing nail board? It was a specially made torture board with fine iron nails embedded in the front; one strike, and the iron nails would pierce directly through skin and flesh, drawing blood with every nail, the pain reaching the very marrow!

Twenty strokes were enough to send them on a trip to the gates of hell, and they wouldn't be able to touch a bed for half a month!

"Your subjects... kowtow and thank Your Majesty for your great grace!"

Soon.

The two were dragged out of the Imperial Study like dead dogs.

Outside the palace gate, the cold wind was biting. Zhang Shou was pressed tightly onto the torture bench, and looking at the nail board glinting with a ghostly cold light, he couldn't help but squeeze out a plea that was uglier than crying to the Imperial Guard performing the punishment: "Bro... brother, I, Zhang Shou, am a relative of Her Majesty's family, please go easy..."

There was also a great deal of technique to this board-beating.

Some beatings looked heavy, but in reality, they only caused skin and flesh wounds on the buttocks, but some beatings could kill a person!

"Don't worry, Thousand-Household Lord, my hands... have always had a sense of proportion! It won't hurt!" The Imperial Guard was expressionless, but began to secretly gather his strength.

"That... that's good."

Hearing this, Zhang Shou let out a huge sigh of relief.

Before the words had even faded, the nail board fell with a whistling sound, smashing down fiercely!

"Slap!"

"Awoooo—!!!"

Instantly, a shrill, distorted wail echoed through the imperial palace.

Zhang Shou's face was twisted.

Damn you!

You call this not hurting?

"Big brother, I feel like my buttocks have split open; you are the older brother, you take a few more hits for me."

Zhang Shou wailed.

Zhang Ping gritted his teeth, his fists clenched tightly, cold sweat seeping from his forehead, clearly also enduring extreme pain.

"You idiot, shut up! If it weren't for you... ah ah ah!!!"

As the next board fell, the muffled groans in Zhang Ping's mouth also turned into irrepressible wails of pain.

Outside the palace gate, the heavy, muffled sounds of boards hitting flesh, one after another, and the sound of iron nails tearing through skin and flesh, mixed with Zhang Shou's inhuman, shrill wails, echoed over the Da Qian imperial palace, extremely chilling!

"..."

The Shangguan residence, the atmosphere was as heavy as iron.

Shangguan Wan'er was in plain clothes, without any makeup; when she finished hearing the edict relayed by her personal maid, her face was without joy or sorrow, as calm as a deep pool of water.

The next second.

She stepped out of the residence.

"Wan'er, stop!"

Behind her, an urgent voice rang out.

Shangguan Wan'er turned back calmly, seeing Shangguan Xuan and Shangguan Ting walking toward her quickly.

Shangguan Xuan's expression sank, and he said, "Wan'er, where are you going?"

"Enter the palace, see the Emperor."

Shangguan Wan'er's expression was extremely calm, as if stating something insignificant.

Once these words were spoken.

Shangguan Xuan's heart shook violently; this was what he feared most!

He knew Shangguan Wan'er's temperament well; she had been stubborn since she was a child, and once she decided on something, ten cows couldn't pull her back.

Therefore, after Her Majesty's edict came out, he had rushed over immediately.

Shangguan Xuan pleaded earnestly, "Wan'er, the edict has been issued, the boat is already in the water! Gao Yang is now a commoner, and the Duke of Dingguo is old and frail; Father is not stopping you, but Her Majesty is currently in a rage; if you enter the palace now, not only will it not help, but it will be like adding fuel to the fire, and it will implicate the entire Shangguan family!"

"Listen to your father, forget him, stay in the residence, you still have a great future, a great career; in the future, you might reach the position of a high official, becoming the first female Chancellor in the history of our Da Qian, which is not impossible!"

Shangguan Ting also added from the side, "Gao Yang has done us a great favor, but Father is right! Now that both sides have broken off, and the edict has been issued, if you go to provoke the Emperor's wrath now, aren't you seeking your own death? Could it be that you want to sacrifice your future, your life, and the entire Shangguan family for the sake of a commoner who has been abandoned by Her Majesty?"

Shangguan Wan'er raised her eyes, looking at Shangguan Xuan and Shangguan Ting, who were trying to dissuade her.

How could she not know these principles of weighing pros and cons? But right and wrong in this world have never been about pros and cons, but about one's original heart.

At the very least, in her heart!

"Father, brother, the grace of raising me and the feeling of your teachings, Wan'er will never forget, and I will naturally not let the Shangguan family take risks."

Shangguan Xuan and Shangguan Ting let out a sigh of relief in unison, saying extremely gratified: "Wan'er, it's good that you can understand..."

But at this time.

Shangguan Wan'er suddenly spoke, interrupting them.

"Father, brother, you misunderstood."

Both of their hearts sank, and a sense of ominousness surged in their hearts.

Shangguan Wan'er said word for word, "How can the path of loyalty and righteousness be avoided because of fortune or misfortune? How can the focus of one's feelings be shifted because of life or death?"

"If I don't go today, when I dream in the middle of the night in the future, I, Shangguan Wan'er—what face will I have to stand between heaven and earth?"

Before the words had even faded, Shangguan Wan'er suddenly raised her arms, grabbed her wide, plain-colored sleeves with both hands, her eyes resolute as iron, and suddenly exerted force.

Rip!

The harsh sound of cloth tearing instantly echoed through the courtyard, shocking the two!

"Wan'er! You!"

Shangguan Xuan's pupils shrank, his face full of heartache.

Shangguan Ting's face also turned deathly pale, unable to believe it!

"Daughter is unfilial!"

"From this moment on, I, Shangguan Wan'er, break all ties with the Shangguan clan—in life, I will not enter the Shangguan gate! In death, I will not be buried in the Shangguan grave; this body and this heart, life and death, glory and disgrace, all have—nothing more to do with the Shangguan family!"

"Her Majesty is a wise monarch; considering past favors, the Shangguan family will not be affected."

Rumble!

Shangguan Xuan was struck by a heavy blow, his body swaying, staggering back a step.

He wanted to speak to dissuade her, but he knew Shangguan Wan'er's character well.

Once she had made up her mind, no one could stop her.

Shangguan Ting stared fixedly at Shangguan Wan'er, full of heartache and incomprehension, saying, "Wan'er, is this worth it?"

Shangguan Wan'er took one last look at the residence that had raised her, a trace of imperceptible sorrow flashing in the depths of her eyes, but it was immediately replaced by a deeper firmness.

"There is nothing worth it or not; it is just following one's heart!"

After speaking.

Shangguan Wan'er had no more attachment and strode out of the residence.

Bang!

Shangguan Xuan slammed his fist fiercely against the cold pillar, tears streaming down his old face, his voice hoarse like a trapped beast: "If he fails my daughter, I... I will castrate him!"

Shangguan Ting's eyes were also blood-red, and he said viciously, "I will blow up his eggs and bring them to Father to drink with his wine!"

"..."