The punishment of the female imperial court

Chapter 261 Silencing
Memories came flooding back - his pale lips, the bloody arrow wound, and his fading breathing.

Yu Qiansi jumped up from the green gauze tent, cold sweat soaking through her three layers of inner clothes. Yu Qiansi lifted the brocade quilt, and the coldness ran up from the green bricks to her toes. Her body, which had not touched water or rice for many days, shook, like a kite with a broken string falling on the cold bricks.

"Sister Jade!"

The door opened softly, and a girl in a yellow skirt stepped on the light and shadow in the room. When she saw the face of the person, Yu Qiansi couldn't tell the difference between dream and reality.

When Yu An Ning helped her up, the gold bracelet on her wrist felt painful.

The girl was followed by an official in a scarlet robe. He entered the room but stopped behind a screen, calling out "Master Yu" anxiously.

It is Shang Fu.

"Why is the princess here? Where is this?" She grabbed Yu An Ning's sleeve, her knuckles turning white, "Where is Bo Yi?"

Suddenly, a breeze blew outside the window, causing the medicine bowl on the desk to sway slightly, reflecting her pale face.

The barrage of questions left Yu An Ning speechless for a moment.

The medicine bowl trembled slightly on the table, reflecting the scarlet in her eyes. Yu An Ning lowered her eyes and avoided her gaze: "Sister, rest and recover. You have arrived in the suburbs of Beijing now. I heard about what happened on the way and came to see you. Your injuries are really too serious, you should have a good rest."

Yu Qiansi didn't hear the answer he wanted, and still held her sleeve tightly, the Shu embroidery lotus pattern wrinkled into a tangled mess between his fingers.

But Yu An Ning turned his head away and said nothing.

Logically, she wanted Bo Yi to be safe more than anyone else. But if she told Yu Qiansi about Bo Yi's situation at this time, the final result might be that both of them would suffer.

Shang Fu was standing outside the screen. When he saw the sudden silence from inside, he was so anxious that he jumped up and down: "Oh, it's already so late. I said that if I can save as many people as possible, I will save them!"

Yu An Ning, who was always gentle, got angry for a rare moment and shouted at Shang Fu, "Shut up!"

Yu Qiansi naturally understood Shang Fu's implication: "What's going on?"

Shang Fu said, "Brother Boyi woke up a few days earlier than you, and reluctantly took the responsibility of Su Niang's death in front of the emperor. His merits and demerits offset each other, and he was punished by the emperor and sentenced to escort those members of the Lan family back to the capital. However, his injuries were not properly treated, and he slept in the open every day. I don't know how he is now."

Yu Qiansi heard this and looked at the vague figure of Shang Fu behind the screen: "Those Lan family members? How many are there?"

Lan Shu must have been captured alive. With so many people in the Lan family, it was normal to capture some of them alive. She was just afraid that there were still some people from the Lan family who were with Lan Zhi that night alive.

Shang Fu didn't know what Yu Qiansi was thinking, so he continued, "That's right. Those members of the Lan family looked like they were seriously ill. They were pale, weak and had to walk back to the capital wearing shackles. But the saint decided to publicly interrogate them after returning to the capital and not let them die on the way. I don't know if those people can make it to the capital."

Yu Qiansi didn't think twice, she just tied up her hair, grabbed the red robe on the screen, put it on, and rushed out.

This seemed to be a villa. Yu Qiansi could not tell the direction and just rushed out. As soon as he reached the second gate, he saw Wang Song walking over with someone supporting him. Yao Xiang beside him was also leading a horse and carrying a bag.

Yu Qiansi saw him and said, "Young Master, are you okay?" In their quick meeting that night, Wang Song looked a little thinner, and his wrist bones seemed to pierce through his pale skin.

Wang Song's eyes were as warm as always: "I'm glad you're okay. I know that if you wake up, you will go looking for someone. You can take this horse. Leaving the imperial carriage and heading south, they should be half a day's walk away from us. Bring more medicine, for you and for him." Yu Qiansi had mixed feelings in her heart. She stretched out her hand to hold the horse, but felt that by doing so, she was really putting the Duke of Qi's Mansion in a dilemma.

"Young Master, I'm sorry. If His Majesty blames me, I will take full responsibility."

Wang Song lowered his head and smiled sadly, but still comforted her: "Don't worry. Now that something went wrong in the Duke of Qi's Mansion, it might be a good thing for our Majesty."

Yu Qiansi knew that he was trying to comfort her. At this moment, saying too much would only make her seem hypocritical. She hesitated for a moment, but still took the reins and said, "Thank you, young master."

The horse's hooves crushed the dead branches, and she galloped against the dusk. The wound on her shoulder blossomed with red plum blossoms, but it was not as painful as the anxiety in her heart. How painful it must be for that person to escort hundreds of prisoners in the cold autumn with his unhealed wounds?
As the setting sun turned blood red, the winding prisoner team appeared in the sky. Among the gray-clothed men in heavy shackles, a face made her pupils shrink suddenly - it was clearly the gray-clothed man who was stabbed to death by Lanzhi that night!
The sword light was like a crescent moon, and the blood mist blossomed into a red lotus on the black iron shackle. The traitor's throat gurgled, and the last thing reflected in his cloudy pupils was Yu Qiansi's eyebrows, which were colder than the sword.

"Think twice, sir!" When the guards saw that it was Yu Qiansi, they held their spears in front of them and tried to stop her, but they saw that she turned the sword and pointed it directly at Lan Shu.

Lan Shu's eyes were red with anger, and the look he gave Yu Qiansi was like poison. However, he gritted his teeth and didn't say anything about Su Niang.

Yu Qiansi hesitated for a moment, but still stabbed towards Lan Shu with the tip of the sword.

"Aru." The sound of horse hooves split the air, and Bo Yi rode over. The bandage on his shoulder was oozing blood, and his black clothes were stained with dust like black plum blossoms falling in the snow.

He staggered half a step when he dismounted from his horse, his eyes were full of burning sparks, but he only had eyes for her: "Are you awake? Why are you here? Are you feeling better?"

Yu Qiansi then stopped. She was filled with anxiety just now, but now that he was in front of her, she pursed her lips tightly, stubbornly refusing to look over.

Bo Yi naturally knew what she was thinking. She must be blaming him for not saying anything and taking all the blame on himself. He felt guilty and his voice naturally softened.

But before he could open his mouth, a group of people came after him.

The leader was Deming.

"Lord Yu, what's wrong with you?" Seeing Yu Qiansi disregarding the imperial order and killing the people of the Lan family, De Ming was shocked.

Yu Qiansi sheathed his sword and sneered, "Stop talking nonsense and announce the decree."

After saying this, he knelt down and waited for the order.

Now it was De Ming's turn to be at a loss. He had to dismount, clear his throat, and read out the emperor's will.

"By the grace of Heaven and the Mandate of Heaven, I hereby decree: The Chief Justice of the Ministry of Justice, Yu Qiansi, has made meritorious contributions in protecting the Emperor, which greatly comforts me. However, he has disregarded the teachings of the Holy Spirit and has been arrogant and self-centered. I am mindful of his past merits, so I will use his merits to offset his crimes. I hereby deprive him of his palace copper token, fine him half his salary, and ask him to return to the capital and reflect on his mistakes for three months. I hope you will reflect on yourself and thank Heaven for His grace. I decree this."

Yu Qiansi was not surprised at all. She took the order, took off the copper talisman and handed it over with both hands. "Yu Qiansi broke into the prison camp to seek revenge. It has nothing to do with the Imperial Guards. I hope you can see clearly and don't blame others."

De Ming stepped forward and respectfully took the copper talisman. He helped Yu Qiansi up, and said with a rather mature voice, "Your Excellency is too kind. The others are just servants who rebelled against the emperor. They are not serious. But Lan Shu is the main offender. Your Majesty still has some use for him. I hope Your Majesty will show mercy."

Yu Qiansi smiled brightly, and with De Ming's strength, she stood up, grabbed De Ming's wrist with her backhand, and said earnestly: "Eunuch, the imperial mausoleum was rescued this time thanks to Bo Yi's protection. He is seriously injured now, why don't you let me escort the prisoner in his place."