Chapter 83

Seeing Qin Liuye scolding the child, Guo Shi hurriedly hugged the sleeping Zhu Geer tightly, protecting him in her arms!

Even Lin Jiaojiao and Qingdai went over to protect the child, blocking Qin Liuye's vicious gaze.

Guo Shi didn't care what kind of "Master" he was; she snapped back, "You incompetent thief! Sneaking in here in the middle of the night, not only scaring the child, but now turning around to scold an innocent infant—you truly are a villain who accuses his victims first!"

Qin Liuye was about to start a war of words and use his status to suppress them, but Imperial Concubine Ning pressed her hand down, silencing the verbal dispute.

Although Imperial Concubine Ning had not been named Empress, she was, after all, the Crown Prince's biological mother; out of respect for the Buddha, one must respect the monk, so Qin Liuye still gave her some face.

Lin Jiaojiao was not stupid; even if she couldn't guess the identity of this greasy man, she could still guess the clues from how he was addressed.

If she provoked him head-on, there would be no good fruit to eat!

But since they had already given him a sound beating, she had to think of a way to get out of it!

She put on a terrified and shocked expression: "Niangniang, I do not know who this thief is, nor do I know why he would sneak into Qingju Pavilion in the middle of the night with people!"

"Everything that Qingdai, Guo Shi, and I did was purely for self-defense, Niangniang!"

She pinched the inside of her thigh until the pain brought tears to her eyes, then looked up again, gazing at Imperial Concubine Ning and Imperial Yu Fei with teary apricot eyes, "I beg the two Niangniangs to make the decision for me!"

Guo Shi knelt down with the child and cried out, "I beg the two Niangniangs to uphold justice! And protect the child's safety!"

Imperial Concubine Ning moved her lips, not yet having decided how to respond.

This Qin Liuye was a member of the royal clan; how could it be so easy to uphold justice against him?

At the same time, Imperial Concubine Ning felt a trace of pity and sympathy for Lin Jiaojiao: who didn't know that Qin Liuye was a notorious flower-picking thief!

This Qin Liuye would occasionally sneak into the palace to "walk his bird" or "tease his cat"; he didn't dare touch the Emperor's concubines, but any palace maid with a bit of beauty, once targeted by him, could not escape being teased!

Some palace maids had even been unable to bear the humiliation and committed suicide by jumping into wells!

Seeing Imperial Concubine Ning silent, Imperial Yu Fei glared at the disheveled Qin Liuye, suppressed the anger in her heart, and asked Lin Jiaojiao, "Ignorant commoner! Do you know who he is?!"

"I do not know the thief's identity—" Lin Jiaojiao shook her head innocently, "I beg the Niangniang to enlighten me~"

A trace of triumph appeared in Imperial Yu Fei's eyes: "He is the current Emperor's cousin, Prince Jin, Qin Liuye!"

"Prince Jin, Qin Liuye?" Lin Jiaojiao widened her apricot eyes, reacted quickly, and then feigned an apology to Qin Liuye, "I have eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai! I actually mistook the current Prince Jin for a thief! I hope you will forgive me!"

Seeing Lin Jiaojiao so humble, Imperial Yu Fei felt infinite satisfaction in her heart, "You provoked Prince Jin; you deserve to be punished!"

But clearly, it was Qingju Pavilion that had suffered; why should they be punished after suffering?

Qin Liuye showed a triumphant expression, "You provoked me, Qin Liuye, and hurt me like this—see if I don't kill you all!"

Lin Jiaojiao hurriedly knelt toward Imperial Concubine Ning: "Niangniang, I am wronged! I did not know this thief was the current Prince Jin!"

"Besides, shouldn't Prince Jin be at the Prince Jin Mansion? Why would he suddenly enter the palace tonight and come to Qingju Pavilion where I live?!"

Guo Shi knelt and cowered, because the fists Qin Liuye had received and the ropes he was tied with were all her doing!

It's over, it's over! Having provoked a powerful official, she was likely going to lose her life!

Qingdai hurriedly knelt to help exonerate them, "Two Niangniangs, Lin Guniang and this wet nurse truly did not know the intruder was Qin Liuye. Moreover, he brought people in under the cover of darkness; no matter who it was, they would be extremely alert!"

"And as soon as he entered the room, he tried to grope his way to the bed. Lin Guniang and the wet nurse fighting back was purely for self-defense!"

"I beg the Niangniang and Prince Jin to show mercy; this servant is willing to be punished in their stead!"

Hearing this, Lin Jiaojiao was deeply moved!

Qingdai was just a lowly palace maid, yet she was willing to be punished for her sake!

But this was clearly not her fault, nor was it her own fault!

Imperial Yu Fei gave a cold laugh, "Punished? Can the life of a lowly palace maid like you compensate for the injury and grievance suffered by Qin Liuye?"

"I'm afraid even if you paid with the lives of your entire family, it wouldn't extinguish the anger in Qin Liuye's heart, would it?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Jiaojiao was instantly filled with rage and stood directly in front of Qingdai, "This Qin Liuye suffered injuries—isn't it because he snuck into our Qingju Pavilion in the middle of the night and brought this upon himself?!"

"We have done nothing wrong; why should we be punished!"

Having said this, Lin Jiaojiao tried her best to suppress the anger in her heart, turning to pit Imperial Yu Fei against Qin Liuye, "Imperial Yu Fei came here, surely to uphold justice, right?"

"Since it is to uphold justice, then right and wrong are clear. Shouldn't we distinguish them before making a decision?"

"You...!" Imperial Yu Fei was so angry she pointed at Lin Jiaojiao's nose, eventually laughing in anger, "I never knew Lin Guniang had such an ability to turn black into white—what a sharp tongue!"

"It may not be Lin Guniang turning black into white," at this moment, Imperial Concubine Ning spoke up, "This is Qingju Pavilion; who resides here is decided by the Emperor."

"But Qin Liuye, in the middle of the night, not staying at his own Prince Jin Mansion, but entering the palace and coming to this Qingju Pavilion—I wonder what his intention is?"

In fact, both Imperial Concubine Ning and Imperial Yu Fei knew Qin Liuye's intentions perfectly well!

But Imperial Concubine Ning could not say in front of Qin Liuye that he, Prince Jin, was a lecherous scoundrel.

Moreover, in her own palace, there had already been palace maids who had fallen victim to Prince Jin's "poisonous hands"; most had grievances they couldn't speak of, and she had seen it all and knew it in her heart.

She always avoided this lazy, gluttonous Qin Liuye who only cared about beauty.

Seeing his miserable state tonight, she even felt a bit like laughing: he deserved it!

Imperial Concubine Ning thought to herself: why not take advantage of Lin Jiaojiao's hand tonight to report Qin Liuye's affairs to the Emperor, so that this lecherous thief can never step foot in the imperial palace again!

Qin Liuye couldn't care about the pain of his injuries anymore. His eyeballs rolled around, thinking of all kinds of excuses and pretexts to answer Imperial Concubine Ning's question.

"I was just, just... I ate too much for dinner, so I came in to digest, digest."

Seeing that everyone didn't believe him, he changed his tune, "I just drank some wine, and in the dark, I walked to the wrong place."

But Lin Jiaojiao sniffed him and immediately exposed the lie, "You haven't been drinking!"

Before Qin Liuye could argue, Lin Jiaojiao placed her hand on his wrist, taking his pulse with speed, ruthlessness, and accuracy. Before he could pull his greasy arm back, she said quickly, "Your heartbeat is irregular; you must be lying!"

"And your pulse is floating and weak; you have long-term gluttony, your heart is under great pressure, your spleen and stomach are deficient in Qi, the food is not being digested, your stool is sticky, and your urination is obstructed!"

"You are also physically weak and prone to sweating; after walking thirty or fifty steps, you will definitely sweat!"

"Yes, yes, yes, how did you know—" Everything she said was spot on! Qin Liuye was stunned!

He nodded repeatedly to show his affirmation, almost forgetting his current predicament!

"Tsk tsk tsk, besides the 'three highs' problem," Lin Jiaojiao said, shaking her head, "your sexual performance is poor, your kidney yang has been deficient for a long time; even in the bridal chamber, you would finish in less than half a stick of incense..."

After saying this, she withdrew the hand she had used to take his pulse and wiped it repeatedly on Qin Liuye's wet clothes in disgust, only then feeling slightly relieved.

Among the palace maids and eunuchs, some let out a mocking chuckle. Imperial Concubine Ning and Imperial Yu Fei covered their lips with handkerchiefs, and even Guo Shi and Qingdai looked at him with disdain.

"You—!" Qin Liuye had his shortcomings exposed in public; his face turned the color of a pig's liver. He was just about to curse in anger when Lin Jiaojiao cut him off with one sentence, "If you don't get treated, you won't live for three more years!"

"Ah?!" Hearing that he only had three years left to live, Qin Liuye was instantly deflated, not even having the heart to curse back.

At this very moment, he only wanted to treat his body, and he begged Lin Jiaojiao humbly, "Good girl, be kind, tell Master how to treat my body. Once I am better, I will surely reward you with ten thousand taels of gold!"