Chapter 90 Punishment! (Second Update)

  Qingteng replied with a "yes", took a few steps forward, opened the small tin box in his hand and placed it in front of Yuèyù. The contents inside the small tin box were obviously burnt incense ashes.

  Just one glance and Moyu's dignified face turned pale.

  "Grandpa..."

  Zhao Zun's gaze swept across her face, and he slightly furrowed his brow. He didn't show much emotional change, but the careless tone of his voice seemed to carry a heavier chill. "Yu'e, is this the one you swapped out from the incense burner?" As he spoke, his finger pointed at the exquisite blue crane incense burner on the black lacquered incense stand.

  "Slave, slave..."

  Yuè Yù's fingers clenched tightly, her well-groomed long fingernails digging into her flesh. Her beautiful face looked deathly pale. Biting her lower lip, she gazed at Zhao Zun with a pitiful expression, as if wanting to say something, but when her eyes met Qingteng's furious gaze, she weakly lowered her head and smiled wistfully.

  "Yes, this fragrance... is what the slave girl changed into..."

  Admit it?

  Her slightly abnormal reaction made Xia Chuyi's eyes deepen a bit. Zhao Zun's cold and stern face still maintained his usual high-cold and clear demeanor, without giving her any extra emotions.

  "The princess has encountered an incident, you haven't considered how to control the rumors and stop the situation from escalating, instead you're hastily replacing the remaining incense in the censer. If you didn't have a guilty conscience, why would you do this?"

  The lower lip was bitten out with deep teeth marks, and the pale face looked even more unsightly than before. This person usually gave people a introverted and gentle impression, but at this moment, she was probably too panicked, so that the expression on her face clearly showed "guilty conscience", which made people feel uncomfortable.

  Summer begins on the seventh day of the seventh month.

  Ke Yue bowed his head deeply, as if he had already been convicted of a crime.

  "I have nothing to say, but I'll rely on your lordship's judgment."

  Did she just plead guilty like that?

  As the saying goes, "where it itches, there are lice; where you fear, there are ghosts." She hastily admitted that, apart from psychological factors, it's really hard to understand with normal thinking. Looking at this Moon Yu, Xia Chuyi wasn't surprised, but rather felt a strong sense of eeriness.

  This is so unlike her.

  "It's really you who harmed the princess——" Qingteng, who was originally kneeling on the ground, became angry and couldn't help but point at Yuexi and scold her loudly, grinding her teeth, "I saw you sneaking out with something that day, I thought it was suspicious, so I secretly followed you. You buried whatever it was under the Osmanthus tree, making it impossible for anyone to suspect anything. But even so, I never thought it would be you who did it...... Yuexi, how could you be so heartless and harm our princess? The princess has no grudge against you, she's only 14 years old, how could you bear to do such a thing?"

  Drop by drop, all that Qingteng says are tears.

  If you ask who has spent the most time with the princess, it would be her.

  Almost every day, she would correct the princess's wrong idioms and phrases. Although the princess had a bad temper, her heart was actually not that bad. Occasionally, she would also tease her, but it was all harmless, at most just drawing flowers on her face or thick eyebrows when she fell asleep, making people laugh... But compared to now, where she lay half-dead, Qingteng hoped she could wake up and continue teasing her, continue saying those mismatched idioms.

  "Your Highness, you must make decisions for the princess..."

  Qīngténg was chattering away, but Yuèyù just buried her head, biting her lower lip tightly, looking like she'd rather die than speak up.

  At the beginning of summer, she glanced at her with a shallow glance, and then supported her chin, looking sideways at Zhao Zun, who was still motionless. Only to see his deep and quiet eyes, still cold and calm, no one knew what he was thinking about. It seemed that he had considered it for a moment before hearing him ask in a cold voice.

  "Who told you?"

  The head hung down slightly lifted, eyes red but not crying.

  "As for what Master said, no one instructed me. I don't know anything except for changing the incense."

  Zhao Zun let out a cold snort, and his eyes grew even chillier.

  "Why do you want to change perfume?"

  "Slave... slave..." Yuè Yù bit her lower lip, gazing deeply at Zhao Zun, with waves and ripples seemingly churning in the depths of her eyes. Yet, the voice that emerged was exceptionally calm: "This slave doesn't know; this slave will accept Master's punishment, only begging Master... not to ask this slave again."

  This rhythm is...

  For whom is she covering up?

  Isn't it too obvious?

  On the seventh day of summer, she lazily hooked up the corner of her mouth and looked at the woman kneeling on the ground with a pale face, a haggard figure, and a choked tone, but actually not losing her composure at all. Suddenly, she felt that today's matter was absolutely not so simple.

  Just as she was hesitating, she heard Zhao Zhu's voice faintly in her ear.

  "A Qi, go take a look at that incense."

  She was named by him and she who had been watching the play was slightly startled.

  "Oh, okay."

  She nodded and slowly walked over.

  Can't help but say, being naturally sensitive to medicine and identifying flavors is her innate talent. Zhao Zun asked her to take a look also because he knew this beforehand. Moqi winked at him and Xia Chuqi squatted down to pick up the small tin box on the ground, pinched some residual fragrance powder with her fingers, brought it to her nose, and sniffed it.

  What's wrong? Her face suddenly changed color.

  Her bright eyes deepened a bit, as if she didn't quite dare to believe it, and she took out another pinch of powder from the tin box, carefully identifying it again.

  This time, she was certain, but shocked beyond words.

  "What's wrong?" Zhao Zun asked her, his eyes scanning over.

  I don't know how to calm down at this moment, Xia Qi turned back, staring blankly at him, her lips moved several times, but she didn't know what to say.

  "Speak plainly!" Zhao Zun cleared his throat.

  Xia thought for a moment, then walked up to him with the tin box, looked into his eyes, hesitated, and finally told him in a very small voice, clearly.

  "The aphrodisiac in Xiang's was made by me. The time we captured Dongfang Qingxuan in Qinggang County, I used it."

  Zhao's eyebrows jumped slightly, and her eyes were as deep as an ancient well, "Are you sure?"

  "Yes, I'm quite sure—" Xia Chun Qi reluctantly placed the tin box on the kang table in front of him, raised an eyebrow and smiled self-deprecatingly, "This thing has a very strong medicinal property, not only will you be unable to bear it if you eat it, but even the smell that wafts out from it will also make people fall under its spell. But, sir, do you believe me? I've always kept this thing in the ear house of Chengde Temple, and after returning to the capital, I haven't touched it again."

  Zhao Zun slightly narrowed his eyes, staring at her eyes, and spoke in a calm tone.

  "Of course I believe you."

  These days, in order to develop penicillin for the treatment of Prince Zhao's syphilis, Xia Chuyi has been staying at Liangyi every night. During the day, she and Li Mo basically go to the East Palace, so those two rooms in Chengdeyuan are always empty. However, because there are guards at Chengdeyuan, they never lock up. But if someone really enters and takes her things, it's easy to investigate.

  In other words, if there were no strangers, then she would be the most suspicious person.

  About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Xia Qiuzi hurriedly returned to Qingtangyuan from Chengdeyuan, panting.

  She held an empty small porcelain bottle in her hand.

  She dropped it in front of Zhao Zhuo, she helplessly spread out her hands, and slightly curved the corner of her lips with a hint of a smile.

  "The bottle is still there, but the medicine powder inside is gone."

  Zhao Zun's eyes sank, looking at her preparing to answer, but unexpectedly, the green vine-like hair on the side suddenly let out a "yah" sound, startling her so much that she covered her mouth and fell to the ground, muttering to herself.

  "How could it be? How could it be it?"

  Zhao Zun's eyes became even colder, and with a "whoosh" sound, he slapped Qingteng's face.

  "What's going on?"

  Looking at her in a fluster, Qingteng's shoulders trembled slightly, somewhat embarrassed. But under Zhao Zhen's icy gaze, he had no choice but to confess everything clearly.

  "As for Your Highness, I recognize this medicine bottle. The thing inside was brought back by me and the princess from Chende Institute... It's that same medicine that the princess put in your soup last time... The princess didn't let me say it, and I didn't think it would be... it would be this..."

  Qingteng's words were like a thunderclap in Xia Chuyi's ears, and she was truly frightened.

  Zhao Zhu was poisoned last time and came to Liangyi's place to cure her. Is she taking her own medicine?

  But the question is, how would Zhao Ziyue, an ignorant and untalented little princess, know that this porcelain bottle contains aphrodisiacs? Even if there are words on it, the phrase "Xiao Yao San" looks so elegant and refined, how could she possibly associate it with aphrodisiacs, and even dare to give it to her beloved nineteenth brother?

  Who exactly... incited her?

  For a moment, her heart was turbulent.

  Ke Zhao's face remained calm and tranquil like a peaceful lake surface.

  "What about the rest of the medicine?"

  "Medicine, where's the medicine..." Qingteng was completely flustered, her small face even paler than Yuemei's. She scratched her hair, as if she had thought of something, and quickly got up, walked to the incense table, and opened a small drawer at the bottom. However, inside, except for Zhao Ziyue's usual incense, the small porcelain bottle that held the medicine powder was empty.

  "No, how is that possible?"

  Qingteng muttered to herself, then turned around with a terrified face. "Today the princess had an argument with the prince in the doctor's room and came back very angry. She smashed things and told us all to get out. I was the last one to leave. The princess said she wanted to sleep with incense, so I thought I'd help her. But the princess wouldn't let me, she wanted to do it herself. Could it be... could it be that the princess... she made a mistake?"

  Heaven!

  Xia Chuyi looked at Zhao Zun's suddenly dark face and was speechless.

  Is such a ridiculous thing really possible in this world?

  Did you drug yourself and then get taken advantage of?

  She thought, even if Zhao Ziyue was stupid, it's impossible for her to not be able to tell the difference between an aphrodisiac and incense.

  She looked at Qingteng's trembling lips, then at Zhao Zun's cold and expressionless face. Her slow gaze finally fell on Yuemou, who was still kneeling on the ground, and her confusion and puzzlement returned once again.

  "Eldest sister, even if these medicines were mine, and the incense was Princess herself being a bit foolish. Then, can you tell me, why did you take the initiative to replace those incenses? If you weren't guilty, how could you have acted ahead of time?"

  Yuè yù mò le jǐ cì chún, kàn zhe tā què yù yán yòu zhǐ.

  Translation: Yuè pressed her lips together a few times, looking at her but hesitating to speak.

  "Your Majesty... I am, I am for..."

  "Speak!"

  Zhao Zhu suddenly slammed his hand on the table, letting out a low growl, which frightened her so much that her body trembled violently, biting her already purple lower lip, and slowly bowed her head.

  "As for what Master said, originally I had already thought it through and even if I were to be beaten to death today, I wouldn't have spoken out. But now that you know about this medicine, it was indeed the Princess herself who brought it back, having nothing to do with the Prince Consort... then I also can no longer hide it..."

  Zhao's lips curled up with a hint of coldness.

  "Go on!"

  "When I, a slave, rushed over, the princess and the second ghost were already like that. However, I noticed that their faces looked very unusual... Then, I opened the incense burner and found that the burnt powder was different from the usual incense, so I became suspicious... Before this, everyone knew about the prince's refusal to marry, and the prince had also quarreled with the princess before leaving for the East Palace... So, I thought to myself, thinking that this matter was done by the prince, fearing that things would get out of hand, intentionally wanting to cover it up for her, so I secretly took the incense to bury it. I never expected to be discovered by Qingteng... It's also because I buried the incense and had doubts, my mind has been preoccupied, so I didn't consider other things, which led to the princess's matter being spread out, I am guilty..."

  She finished her words in a low and muffled tone, leaving Xia Chuyi stunned once again.

  It turned out that everything Yue did was all for Chu Qi.

  What's going on here? A police officer is investigating a case, arresting the offender. But after going back and forth, it turns out that when the truth is finally revealed, it was actually the police who were maintaining a high profile of crime all along?

  Now she has no choice but to "rely" on him!

  Yue Dajie is indeed great, compared to her selfless and dedicated image, Chu Qi obviously becomes a narrow-minded and ungrateful person who wants to harm others.

  Hehe in her heart.

  She only wanted to say that either Moyu was the Virgin Mary, full of compassion that could illuminate the world, or she was too high-end, and every step she took had already been calculated several steps ahead, with several results predicted - First, if no one discovered it, this matter would naturally be attributed to Xia Chuyi's head by the old emperor or Zhao Zhu. Second, even if someone detected it, she could still retreat wholeheartedly and gain a good reputation for being magnanimous. Third, even if Zhao Zhu believed Xia Chuyi, because the medicine was from her hand, it would not dispel the old emperor's suspicion of her.

  Tsk tsk tsk!

  Is it the former or the latter?

  Is she really kind-hearted or just pretending to be benevolent?

  She quietly looked at her, Xia Qi's smile grew bigger and bigger. But she didn't say anything else. At this point, as the biggest suspect, although she had been cleared of suspicion, she still felt that she didn't have the right to speak. After all, whether it was Zhao Zun being drugged last time or Zhao Ziyue being drugged this time, it seemed like she herself was the culprit.

  "Master, no matter what, I am at fault, please punish me."

  Yuè Yù lowered her voice and apologized again.

  It was early summer, and the seventh day of the month seemed to smile but not quite smile. Zhao Zun's face, however, remained cold and stern, seemingly cooler than before by a few degrees.

  "Since you think your crime is unforgivable, go and receive ten lashes, then go to the woodshed to reflect on your mistakes."

  Hit the wall and reflect on your mistakes! Ten slaps?

  On the seventh day of summer, my mind is a bit messy, I don't know if this counts as punishment.

  But looking at the suddenly pale face of Yuè, it seemed that she had not expected Zhao to take advantage of the situation and punish her either. She was stunned for a moment before nodding her head, saying emotionally: "I have been following you for over ten years, managing the backyard with caution and care, as if walking on thin ice, without making any mistakes. This time, it is indeed my negligence that has caused this mistake, and no matter how you punish me, I deserve it. However, what kind of person I am, you should be the clearest in your heart, absolutely not having such a vicious heart to harm Princess Zhīyuè, I hope you will understand."

  Having said that, she bowed deeply and then left.

  Xia Zhiqiu smiled.

  Doesn't it seem like she's still been wronged somehow?

  Or does she think that Zhao Zhuang has punished her now and suspects her?

  She puckered her mouth and didn't say a word until Zhao Zhu's voice sounded from beside her ear.

  "A Qi, what do you think?"

  Hehe, Xia Qi's self-deprecating smile, "It seems like everyone is quite innocent. How I see it, does it make sense? If I were an onlooker, I would think the person most suspicious is myself."

  Zhao Zun furrowed his brow and pulled her hand over.

  "Let Akatsuki wake up."

  Xia Chuqi was taken aback for a moment, as if lost in thought!

  It's just that once Zhao Ziyue wakes up, everything will be clear. Whether it was she herself who mistakenly took the wrong medicine while burning incense, or whether it was she who stole her "Xiao Yao San" from the ear chamber last time, and even if it was Xie Shi who instructed her to do so, all of this will become crystal clear.

  To be honest, in an era where science is not developed, it's really hard to get to the bottom of things sometimes.

  But if Zhao Zun really suspected Yuè Yù, why would he let her off so easily? Is it that he really trusts her as a person, just like Yuè Yù said, or does Yuè Yù have some kind of "status" that makes it inconvenient for him to take action without evidence? After all, in this imperial city, various relationships are intertwined, and she still hasn't fully figured them out.

  After some thought, she looked at the bed not far away, and the poor little girl behind the bed curtain, her mouth twitched slightly, and asked another question.

  "Grandfather, is this matter going to be left like this?"

  "It won't happen naturally."

  He spoke in a faint voice, but his words were chilling to the bone.

  "Those who harm Ziyue will inevitably pay the price."

  At the beginning of summer, Xia furrowed her brow and looked at his icy expression, trying to find some truth in it. But no matter how she looked, she couldn't see anything. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly smiled again, "You really didn't suspect that it was actually me who did it?"

  Zhao Zhu tightened her grip on her hand, "Don't be silly."

  Just as she was moved to tears, he disdainfully scratched her nose again.

  "With your brain, you can't turn such a big corner."

  “……”

  Is this praising her or mocking her?

  Xia sat beside him with a puffed up face, almost spitting out the words from between his teeth, "Ba...".

  "Speak!"

  She hesitated for a moment, then looked up at him and said, "I'll say something that might not be pleasant to hear. You can take it in stride and weigh your feelings about it. If you think it's off the mark, just consider me as farting."

  Zhao Mou furrowed his brow and glanced over, "Is there such a fragrant fart?"

  "Go, go, go! No one says you're joking!" Xia Chuqi lowered her eyelids and said in a low voice, "Eldest Sister Yue is a very good person, whether it's speaking or doing things, there's not even half a mistake. This is indeed true. Just now she seemed to be protecting me too, which is also true. But I'm telling you the truth, I may be born a petty person, I really don't believe that there are such selfless people in this world. As they say, 'things will inevitably reverse when taken to an extreme', I think she's not as simple and pure as she seems, do you believe me?"

  Raising an eyebrow slightly, Zhao Zun looked at her and said lightly, "I believe you."

  "So why are you still......?"

  At the beginning of summer, on the seventh day, some people couldn't understand, but Zhao Zhuo pulled her hand and stood up.

  "Ah Qi, you're too tired today, go rest in the outer room for a while."

  "I..." Xia Qi's head raised, wanting to argue, but in that instant, she saw a flash of coolness and clear understanding in his eyes. She paused for a moment, then smiled softly and slowly leaned in closer to him.

  "Alright. Since you trust me, I'll trust you too."

  Zhao Zhu lowered his head and gazed at her, casually pinching her face again, "When I wasn't around, what did you eat? How come you've lost even more weight?"

  Xia Zhong Qi rolled her eyes and glared at him with disdain.

  "But in just one and a half days, where can you lose weight? I think it's because your eyes are dim!"

  "How childish!"

  "Alright, alright, I'm childish——” Xia Chuqi sighed, “You have something to do, go take care of it, don't worry about me……I also can't go out for a rest, I have to stay here and guard Zhiyue. Tonight is the critical period, I dare not take a single step."

  Zhao Zhu was silent, just looking at her.

  He didn't take action until Xia Zhong Qi's heart was filled with doubts, then he reached out and pulled her into his arms.

  "Ah Qi, thank you."

  "Hmm..." Knowing he was referring to Zhao Ziyue's matter, Xia Chuyi mumbled under his breath, his voice becoming even more indistinct, "That thing, wasn't I doing it for you? So, Master, why don't we just forget about the money I owe you? Your sister's life is worth far more than 500 taels of gold. Let's just call it quits, shall we?"

  "Slippery head."

  Zhao Zun tightened her waist and buried her face in his arms.

  "Muttering, he said in a low voice 'good'."

  ……

  ……

  The three-layered inner and outer guards in the Qingting Courtyard surrounded the entire courtyard, making it impossible for water to leak out.

  Left Xia Qiuzi to take care of Zhao Ziyue, Zhao Zun came out of the inner room, but did not leave Qingtangyuan. Instead, he summoned in the side hall, for only a short period of time, the two ghosts who had already become "neither human nor ghost".

  "Your Excellency, I am willing to die to atone for my crime."

  Two ghosts knelt on the ground, their voices hoarse and unbearable.

  "Die?" Zhao Zun looked at him faintly, "Dying is the simplest way out, and it's also a coward's escape. Zhiyue can do it, but you can't. She's a woman, but you're a man."

  "Deserves death, really deserves death!"

  "You should be dead!" Zhao Yun's face was cold as he strode over, a ruthless kick sending him into uncontrollable coughing before saying, "Is it the carefree dispersal? Dongfang Qingxuan can endure, I can also endure, why can't you?"

  Two ghosts hung their heads down, coughed a few times, and didn't want to justify their own behavior anymore. They also didn't want to shift all the blame to that "carefree scatterbrain". With a choked voice and red eyes, they replied.

  "It is beneath him to be so base and shameless, it is beneath him to have a wicked heart upon seeing the princess's beauty."

  He let out a cold hum from his nose and gave him a chilly glance.

  "You're quite honest. Now, I'll ask you, what are your plans for the future?"

  What's the plan? What can be planned from now on?

  The two ghosts smiled wryly, lifted their heads and said, "Sir, I have committed an unforgivable sin, so I should die. Whatever you plan to do with me, I will not say another word."

  "You're dead, and Tsuki wakes up, what then?"

  His sudden voice scared Er Gouyi, his red and swollen face twitched slightly, he didn't quite understand what this man meant.

  "You're saying... You mean to say...?"

  "The king said nothing."

  Zhao Zun hummed coldly and sat back in the intricately carved large chair, his gaze even more piercing than before.

  "You have committed a grave mistake, and I'm afraid you cannot be spared. However, the Northern Di has repeatedly invaded our borders, and the Emperor has ordered Tao Jingwu to lead 100,000 troops to depart for Ji Zhou tomorrow. You will go to the vanguard camp of the Northern Expedition, and become a soldier of the Northern Expedition Vanguard."

  Vanguard camp, as the name suggests, is a vanguard force that fights at the forefront of every battlefield, with an extremely high mortality rate and a low survival rate.

  In fact, Zhao Kuo's twelve personal bodyguards were not ordinary people. Not only was the captain of the guard, Chen Jing, a martial arts champion, but the others had also followed him through thick and thin, through battlefields, blood baptisms, and emerged as gold from the waves.

  These two ghosts were also born into a military household, and from a young age they were brave and clever, skilled in riding and shooting. Before following Zhao Yun, they were already famous scouts in the Imperial Army, with the highest position being Deputy Thousand Households of the fifth rank. A talent like him could have become a great general leading troops with time, but now Zhao Yun only lets him serve as an ordinary vanguard soldier, which is actually a disguised punishment.

  Of course, for Er Gui, no matter what punishment, it is all forgiven.

  He heavily knocked his head on the ground and made a long bow.

  "Thank you for your kindness, I will definitely live up to expectations."

  Zhao Zun rubbed his forehead with a slightly narrowed gaze.

  "It's up to your fate whether you return in triumph to marry the princess or die on the battlefield of Mobei."

  His nose suddenly turned sour, and Er Gui stood up with his hands clasped together, "After I leave, Your Highness should take good care of yourself."

  "Go." Zhao Zun waved his hand impatiently.

  The two ghosts moved their lips, looked in the direction of the inner room, as if they wanted to say something else, but had nothing to say, and could only look at Zhao Zun, looking at this master who had followed him for more than two years, silently turned around.

  "Yes! I bid you farewell."

  Just then, a loud shout suddenly came from outside.

  "The Emperor has arrived"

  The two ghosts were startled in their hearts and turned back to look at Zhao Zhuo, but saw that his face was as calm as water.

  "Take the back door."

  "Yes, I am grateful for your great kindness, Master Xie!"

  He bowed his head again, the two ghosts took three steps back and turned around, finally turning around at the door and walking away with big strides. When Qingtangyuan was out of sight, he wiped his face and erased the tear in the corner of his eye.

  Digression

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