Forcing me to become a concubine? Remarrying the Ninth Prince, she'll be pregnant all over the

Cold water splashed on my face, soaking me to the bone.

Lin Wantang was stunned and didn't move for a moment. After a while, she slowly turned her head, looked at Haitang who had thrown away the wooden basin and walked closer, and asked in a cold voice, "What is the meaning of this?"

"The princess said to let Miss Lin come out and cool off, so naturally I'm helping Miss Lin to cool off."

The crabapple tree was arrogant and smug.

Chunhen was furious: "Haitang! You are also a servant who serves the master. This is too much! Don't you think about the future?"

Haitang and Chunhen had some past acquaintance, both being government slaves in the Imperial Household Department. Seeing Chunhen's furious expression, she smiled and said, "What do you mean by 'in the future'? In the future, my princess will still be at the height of her power!"

"Don't forget that fortunes change!"

Chunhen really wanted to slap her a few times, but she couldn't cause any more trouble for her young mistress. So she pushed Haitang away with all her might: "You bastard! Even if my young mistress is wrong, it's none of your business to mess with her. Who do you think you are? Just wait! This isn't over!"

Haitang stumbled after being pushed by her, and was about to turn hostile again when she saw Qiuying rubbing her hands together, ready to fight her too.

"Insolence!" Haitang took two steps back, signaling to the eunuchs and maids with her eyes, then pointed at Chunhen and Qiuying: "How dare you be so insolent! I'll see who gets what!"

Seeing Haitang enter the palace to complain, and the remaining palace maids and eunuchs eyeing her menacingly, Lin Wantang reached out and pulled Chunhen and Qiuying aside, fearing they might be implicated later, and said, "Go wait for me outside the palace, go!"

"Miss……"

Chunhen had barely opened her mouth when she was startled by Lin Wantang's darkening expression.

Lin Wantang was about to urge the two to leave quickly when Haitang, carrying Yong'an's imperial edict, strode out arrogantly, "By order of the Princess, Miss Lin is incompetent in disciplining her servants; you may escort these two lowly maids to the Censorate!"

"Miss, don't be anxious." After Haitang finished announcing this, she looked at Lin Wantang, who had a worried and indignant expression, and said with a wicked smile, "The princess means well. Once those two lowly maids are disciplined, they'll serve you more comfortably, won't they?"

Lin Wantang clenched her fingers in anger, but it was too late to say anything. The eunuch had already obeyed the order to capture Chunhen and Qiuying and drag them out of the palace.

Inside the hall, amidst a lively chatter, Lin Qinglian watched a smug performance, having effortlessly given Lin Wantang a hard time. She beamed with delight.

Yong'an also felt refreshed. While chatting with the princesses and noble ladies, he thought about what other way he could tease and play with Lin Wantang later.

It would be best to take this opportunity to ruin her face, and see what she can use to seduce Wei Wujiu after her appearance is ruined!

While everyone else was laughing and chatting, only Wan Yi, sitting in the corner, was shocked by Yong An's willful outburst and felt sorry for Lin Wantang being humiliated for no reason.

After hesitating for a long time, Wanyi ignored the Princess Yu's instructions and took out an embroidered pouch full of gold melon seeds and stuffed it into the maid's hand.

"Quickly find Eunuch Jiang Fulu and tell him what happened here. Let him think of a way to rescue them. Go now!"

The maidservant glanced timidly at Princess Yu out of the corner of her eye, and was about to offer some advice when Wan Yi pushed her forward again, urging, "You won't listen to me? You're my person, and you'll be part of my dowry when I get married. Why are you paying attention to my sister-in-law!"

Upon hearing this, the maidservant could no longer hesitate, hurriedly clutching her embroidered pouch and bowing as she withdrew.

At midday, the sun was at its zenith, but before long, dark clouds gathered, and a light drizzle began to fall.

Lin Wantang's already wet dress was soaked by the rain. Her body, which had just recovered, was already sore and numb from kneeling for so long. The rain made her feel dizzy.

It's okay, hang in there.

At worst, once the banquet is over, the princess can't just leave her hanging like this any longer; she can just wait a few more hours...

Lin Wantang repeatedly encouraged herself, enduring and forcing herself not to collapse. She had already been laughed at by Lin Qinglian, and she absolutely could not make any more mistakes and be ridiculed by others.

Outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Jiang Fulu had just finished his lunch. He strolled over to instruct the guards on duty and chatted with a few palace eunuchs. He then beckoned to Ye Ying, "Has your lunch been served, sir?"

Night Hawk nodded: "I just ate some, but only a few bites. The corruption case in Luzhou is very extensive, and the governor may not be able to return to his residence today."

Jiang Fulu grunted in response, and as he was about to speak again, he saw a maid stumbling and talking to a eunuch in the distance.

"Where did this lowly maid come from? Doesn't she know any manners?"

Jiang Fulu rebuked him, but his eyes flickered slightly. He was worried that there was something going on, so he took the opportunity when no one else was looking and walked over.

Upon hearing what the maid said, Jiang Fulu was greatly shocked. He sent the maid away, hesitated for a moment, and then went to whisper to Ye Ying.

In the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Wei Wujiu argued for a long time with several senior officials who favored the prefect of Luzhou. Feeling frustrated, he had little appetite for lunch. As he flipped through the urgent memorials sent from Luzhou, he was about to continue arguing with the senior officials when he caught sight of Ye Ying bowing and stepping forward.

Night Hawk waited for an opportune moment before quietly recounting what had happened in the Brocade Palace.

After listening, Wei Wujiu's indifferent face remained calm, and his voice was low: "She brought this on herself, so let her suffer it."

Night Hawk paused, thinking to himself that this matter had nothing to do with Miss Lin; it was clearly Princess Yong'an who was deliberately targeting her.

"Get down," Wei Wujiu coldly gestured.

Night Hawk, unable to say anything more, nodded and bowed as he withdrew, but he was puzzled and suspicious. Did the Governor really not care about Miss Lin at all?

Even if they don't like or love her, the marriage is already set in stone, so they can't just let Miss Lin be punished and humiliated.

But Wei Wujiu's thoughts have always been difficult to fathom, and even Night Hawk couldn't fathom them.

Wei Wujiu straightened his court robes, stood up and bowed. He first briefly recounted the corruption in Luzhou. He believed that the case presented by the prefect was a miscarriage of justice and that the emperor should thoroughly investigate the prefect of Luzhou. He stressed that corrupt officials should not be allowed to cause harm to the country and its people.

The old emperor was exhausted after a day and a night of this commotion. Even after taking several elixirs presented by the Taoist priest, he still felt extremely weak.

"Enough! You've been arguing for so long, how long are you going to stop?"

The emperor had no interest in state affairs, but he understood that the corruption was not unfounded and that letting it go would only lead to a major mistake. So he said, "Just as Minister Wei said, we should thoroughly investigate the corruption case in Luzhou and hand it over to the Eastern Depot for handling."

"At most half a month, fifteen days later, I want to see a breakthrough in this case. No matter who is involved, Governor Wei, you have the imperial sword bestowed upon you by me. I grant you the authority to execute first and report later, without any leniency!"

Wei Wujiu bowed and accepted the imperial decree.

Several old ministers, who were wholeheartedly defending the prefect of Luzhou, were all furious and tried to persuade him to remonstrate to the death. One of them even wanted to kill himself by crashing into the palace, just to convince the emperor that the prefect of Luzhou was innocent and had not committed any corruption.

The matter continued until the emperor became angry, at which point the old ministers finally stopped and were dispersed.

The emperor, coughing in annoyance, noticed Wei Wujiu remaining and asked, "Why haven't you left yet? Is there something else?"