I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 422 Punished
"Take some cushions to Sister Liuzheng first, so she doesn't hurt her knees from kneeling," Siyue said. "I'll go find Doctor Feng and ask him to mention this to His Highness Prince Rui when he's giving her her medicine. If His Highness Prince Rui is willing to plead for Sister Liuzheng, His Majesty should stop punishing her."

Chen Xing frowned: "Will His Highness Prince Rui agree?"

“He should agree,” Siyue said. “His Highness Prince Rui knows that it was Sister Liuzheng’s medicine that saved him and has been wanting to thank her in person. If he finds out that Sister Liuzheng has been punished by His Majesty, with His Highness Prince Rui’s kind nature, he will definitely not refuse to help.”

"Alright, let's split up."

"Ah."

*
Inside the tent, after feeding Prince Rui his medicine, Feng Jing casually brought up the matter of Chu Liuzheng being punished by the emperor to kneel.

Prince Rui leaned back on the soft pillows, frowning slightly. "Why did Your Majesty punish Miss Chu?"

"I don't know." Feng Jing shook his head, his eyebrows drooping as he sighed. "They've been kneeling for over an hour now, under the blazing sun. What if they get heatstroke?"

Upon hearing this, Prince Rui frowned even more deeply, and when Xiao Jingfan came to see him, he brought up the matter.

Xiao Jingfan's previously warm expression immediately darkened. "Who told you that?"

Prince Rui naturally couldn't implicate Feng Jinglai, so he glossed over the matter and spoke up for Chu Liuzheng: "Miss Chu saved my brother, and unless she has committed any serious crime, I beg Your Majesty to forgive her for my sake."

Xiao Jingfan gripped his folding fan tightly, a displeased smile curving his lips.

Even if Prince Rui didn't say who relayed the message to him, he could guess that it was either Feng Jing, Chen Xing, Si Yue, or Lü Fei.

One by one, they were all receiving his salary, yet they were all siding with that despicable woman!
Even Zhou Yuande was one of them.

He originally intended to wake him up, but when he went to check on him, he found that Chu Liuzheng had four soft cushions under his knees, practically sitting on them, browsing the system, eating melons, and enjoying the cool breeze. He was extremely comfortable and showed no signs of being punished.

He was holding his breath in his heart, so he immediately ordered two cushions to be removed and rushed over to see his younger brother.

I wanted to talk to my younger brother to vent my frustrations, but to my surprise, the first thing he did was plead for that woman!

His Majesty the Emperor is furious!

Although Prince Rui was unaware of the intricacies of the matter, seeing the emperor's sullen face, he could guess that Chu Liuzheng's mistake was probably quite serious.

He thought for a moment, then spoke gently, "Your Majesty, please don't be angry. If you are not satisfied with her service, why not transfer her to my side? I happen to be short of her—"

"No." Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Jingfan coldly refused, leaving behind the words "Take a good rest" before storming off.

Prince Rui, who rarely received a cold shoulder from his elder brother, blinked slowly, stared at the swaying curtain for a while, and a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.

On the other end, Chu Liuzheng was tired of eating melons, so he opened his mouth to yawn and closed the system to relax.

Taking advantage of Zhou Gonggong's inattention, she slightly moved her legs, which were so numb that she had no feeling in them. She immediately grimaced, feeling a terrible, sour sensation.

Sigh! It's good enough that I'm still alive.

【Chu Liuzheng, Chu Liuzheng, you've really grown up! You actually dared to curse and mock the tyrant right in front of him. It's not like you had no other options, so why couldn't you control your temper?】

Just thinking about the emperor's expression sent a chill down her spine, as if a knife were hanging over her neck.

But bowing my head is out of the question; even if the knife really comes down, I can't lower my head.

A person's bottom line is invaluable. If you retreat one day, you will retreat every day until you are unrecognizable. It would be better to die quickly.

She secretly rubbed her leg, cursing inwardly as she did so. "You bastard!"

[Inhuman!]

[You big jerk!]

May you go bald!

……

After grumbling for a while, Chu Liuzheng felt she could calm down again. She shifted her knees and knelt down properly again when Zhou Gonggong looked over.

[I wonder how long the tyrant will make me kneel. What if I kneel for a day and a night, three days and three nights? Will my knees even be able to take care of themselves? Will they become crippled? If they become crippled, will I be able to leave the palace?]

Xiao Jingfan, who had unknowingly walked nearby, heard this thought and was so angry that the veins on his forehead throbbed, and he gripped the folding fan in his hand so tightly that it creaked.

This woman would rather be disabled than stay in the palace!

Is the imperial palace really that terrifying?
Unaware that the emperor was nearby, Chu Liuzheng began counting the ants on the ground, his mind wandering to all sorts of random thoughts.

[Without the tyrant, that ferocious beast, pacing the capital, various factions are making quite a few moves. Do they really think the Embroidered Uniform Guard is a pushover? The tyrant will surely deal with them one by one according to the intelligence when he returns.]

[The situation is progressing quite smoothly on Lord Xie's side, but given the strength of the Dragon Shadow Guards, quite a few have still managed to escape. They've now reached Prince Cheng's fiefdom, awaiting Yin Lanci's next instructions.]

With such a large commotion at Thousand Feet Cliff, it's impossible to keep Yin Lanci's death a secret. The Dragon Shadow Guards and those remnants of the Yong Dynasty must have received the news. It's just a matter of whether the tyrant or the enemy moves faster.

[The situation with Prince Xiao is progressing smoothly. Prince Li is too cowardly; he's helpless against his brother, Prince Xiao, and has already agreed to accompany him to the capital to apologize. They'll set off after Consort Su gives birth. Judging by the dates, they should arrive in the capital around July or August.]

Speaking of which, the Empress should have given birth by then, right? I wonder if it will be a princess or a prince. If it's a prince, then he'll have both the eldest son and the legitimate son, making him a shoo-in for the crown prince. If it's a princess, the Empress Dowager will probably be worried again.

With the tyrant gone, the harem has become quite peaceful, with many people visiting each other's quarters. Consort Shu and Consort Chun often accompany the Empress Dowager to play cards, and they've practically become her regular card-playing partners.

[Her Highness the Princess knew that Grand Scholar Zhang was secretly plotting against her. Taking advantage of the tyrant's absence and Grand Scholar Zhang's lack of recourse, she deliberately sent people to cause him considerable trouble, even making him bedridden with anger. Tsk tsk, Grand Scholar Zhang deserved it!]

[Han the Great Deceiver consistently delivers, his performance oscillating between success and failure, always keeping viewers on the edge of their seats.]

[As for the real princess, wow, there's so much gossip there, it's overwhelming. Miss Zhu is thriving, attracting nearly 80% of the hatred points all by herself. Her tea-talking skills have improved dramatically; she's practically become a heartthrob.]

The real princess has also quietly amassed considerable power and is nearing the point of revealing her true identity as planned. I wonder how the princess, who's been scheming behind the scenes, intends to punish that scumbag. Hopefully, she'll give him a taste of his own medicine and make him suffer terribly.

[The Kingdom of Gaochang is having a tough time lately. Friction with the Tatars has escalated, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. It seems a major war is inevitable sooner or later.]

She mentally reviewed the gossip she had just heard and found that none of it would help her leave the palace, so she couldn't help but sigh softly.

A shadow suddenly fell in front of me.

Chu Liuzheng looked up and met Xiao Jingfan's deep eyes.

Chu Liuzheng: "..."

[He actually came to watch me get punished? Is the tyrant really that bored?]

(End of this chapter)