I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

As dusk settles, the city lights begin to twinkle.

The palace has been placed under martial law, and palace staff are strictly prohibited from moving around at will.

The only ones who could move around were Wang Long's men.

Originally, the security of the palace was jointly the responsibility of Zhou Biao and Sui Ge. After Qin Li personally led the expedition and took Zhou Biao away, the palace was handed over to Sui Ge. Now, Sui Ge is probably in prison, and his fate is unknown.

The night owl was leading a patrol of soldiers when he suddenly saw a young palace maid in the distance, hurrying about, seemingly without a clear purpose.

The night owl waved its hand forward, and two soldiers immediately rushed out from behind it, catching up with the young palace maid in a few steps and grabbing her.

Upon seeing a group of fully armed men, the young palace maid was terrified, her eyes brimming with tears.

Night Owl and the others, however, laughed heartily.

"Which palace?"

"The night owl asked."

During the day, the palace was under martial law, and people were not allowed to move around freely.

He wanted to see which palace this little maid belonged to, daring to knowingly commit such a transgression.

The young palace maid replied tearfully, "Reporting to the General, I am from Consort Xiao's palace."

Xiao Xue'er, the daughter of the prime minister?

After thinking for a moment, the night owl asked again, "Where are you rushing off to, and what are you going to do?"

The young palace maid pursed her lips, shook her head, and dared not answer.

"explain!"

The night owl let out a sharp cry.

The young palace maid trembled with fear and quickly said, "Reporting to the General, Her Highness the Imperial Concubine, she...she..."

In the end, the young palace maid found it difficult to speak.

"Will you tell me or not?"

The night owl was about to draw its sword.

The young palace maid, terrified, quickly exclaimed, "There's a man in Her Highness's palace!"

"Is there a man?"

The night owl frowned deeply.

In this vast palace, besides these men, where are there any other men? Aren't they all eunuchs?

Could it be that the people below, seeing Xiao Xue'er's beauty, are secretly planning to try their luck with the imperial concubine?

Thinking of this, Night Owl was furious. He had never even tasted the pleasures of a concubine, so how dare his men!

Enraged, Night Owl led his men to Xiao Xue'er's palace.

There were no soldiers guarding the palace gates; it was deserted.

Night Owl was extremely puzzled; he and Shadow Serpent were now in charge of the palace's security.

He clearly remembered that a squad of soldiers had been left here, so how come he hadn't seen a single person yet?

Could it be that those damned bastards really broke in and forcibly took Xiao Xue'er?

Without saying a word, Night Owl quickly led his men inside.

The soldiers were not seen in the sleeping quarters.

Only Xiao Xue'er was sitting by the bed, reading a book.

Seeing Night Owl and his men barge in so arrogantly, Xiao Xue'er couldn't help but scold him:

"General Ye, what are you doing? It's late, and I'm going to sleep. You've brought so many people in here. Aren't you afraid of the King of Liangzhou's wrath?"

The night owl waved its hand, dismissing the people behind it, and stayed behind alone.

Night Owl cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Xiao Xue'er and smiled:

"Your Highness, please don't be offended. This humble general was only concerned for Your Highness's safety."

"May I ask, Your Highness, have you seen those fools at the palace gate?"

"Who are those idiots?"

Xiao Xue'er asked the question knowing the answer already.

The night owl explained, "These are the very people I specially sent to protect Her Highness the Imperial Concubine; each one was carefully selected by me."

"Oh, you mean them?" Xiao Xue'er sighed.

"Does Your Highness know where they are?" Night Owl asked again.

"Of course, isn't it right here?"

After saying that, Xiao Xue'er casually lifted the hanging bed sheet.

Several soldiers, bound hand and foot, were revealed under the bed.

They were tied up like dumplings with ropes, and their mouths were stuffed with rags, so they couldn't even make a sound.

Seeing the people under the bed, Night Owl felt uneasy.

I just said that I carefully selected these few, but I didn't expect to be caught alive and stuffed under the bed.

Isn't this like slapping yourself in the face? It hurts so much.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Night Owl asked:

"What is Your Highness doing?"

Xiao Xue'er lowered the bed sheet again to cover them, then stood up and said coquettishly, "General Ye, how dare you ask me what I'm doing? I should be asking them what they're doing! I was taking a bath in my own palace just now, and those few of them had the audacity to peek over the wall."

"General Ye, do you think that by tying them up instead of killing them, I let them off too easily?"

Peeping at Xiao Xue'er taking a bath!

Upon hearing this, the night owl was furious and immediately roared outside:

"Guards, come in! Drag these idiots away and chop them up!"

At his command, several soldiers rushed into the hall.

They dragged the soldiers, who were bound hand and foot, out from under the bed.

Soon after, the sound of beheadings came from outside.

Night Owl nodded in satisfaction and bowed to Xiao Xue'er, saying:

"Your Highness, please forgive me, I have already dealt with them."

Xiao Xue'er didn't say anything, but walked over to Night Owl and looked him up and down.

The night owl bent over with its hands clasped, not raising its head, unaware of what Xiao Xue'er was up to, and remained motionless.

Xiao Xue'er walked straight past him, reached the door, closed it casually, and even locked the door.

Hearing the commotion, the Night Owl had no idea what Xiao Xue'er was up to, and remained motionless.

Suddenly, Night Owl felt a small, snow-white hand rest on its shoulder from behind—it was Xiao Xue'er's.

Immediately afterwards, a fragrant aroma wafted over and enveloped his entire face.

Immediately afterwards, a pink, fragrant belt was placed over his eyes from behind.

That's the belt on Xiao Xue'er's Noble Consort dress.

The night owl quickly lowered its head and said, "Your Highness, please have some self-respect!"

"Self-respect?"

Xiao Xue'er laughed, "What's the point of having self-respect? Anyway, your prince is quite capable, and His Majesty is not coming back. I am just a concubine in name only. I might as well find a way out for myself as soon as possible."

"I have high hopes for General Ye, and I hope he will cherish me."

With her eyes completely blindfolded, the final scene was Xiao Xue'er starting to take off her clothes.

Time ticked by, and the night owl's heart pounded so hard it felt like it was about to jump out of its chest.

This is the Imperial Concubine, the Emperor's woman; how could he not be tempted?

He had always dreamed of having such a woman, and to his surprise, it happened tonight, with the Imperial Concubine herself throwing herself into his arms.

Before the beauty could be in his arms, the door behind him was kicked open with a bang.

The night owl was startled and quickly reached out to pull down the belt covering its eyes.

It was Ying She who kicked down the door, followed by Empress Pei Qingluan and Wang Long.

The night owl immediately realized what had happened and quickly explained:

"Your Highness, please let me explain. Things aren't as they seem!"

After saying that, Night Owl glared fiercely at Xiao Xue'er inside the hall.

At this moment, Xiao Xue'er's clothes were half-exposed, making her look pitiful. Tears welled up in her eyes at any moment, and her hair was disheveled.

Anyone who sees this will say that Night Owl humiliated Xiao Xue'er.

After Shadow Serpent kicked the door open and rushed in, he saw everything inside the hall and couldn't help but point at Night Owl, saying with exasperation:

"Third brother, are you confused?!"

"How could you..."

Night Owl wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground. He had been framed by a woman, and now he couldn't explain himself no matter what.

Pei Qingluan said expressionlessly, "Your Highness, your subordinates attempted to rape the Imperial Concubine. Shouldn't they be executed?"

Upon hearing the word "execution," the Night Owl was startled.

He immediately knelt down with a thud and begged for mercy:

"Your Highness, spare me! Your Highness, spare me! It's not what you think; this vile woman framed me!"

Night Owl turned around and pointed at Xiao Xue'er, his mind already contemplating killing her.

Xiao Xue'er covered her face with her sleeve and sobbed, "Your Highness, please investigate! It was clearly your subordinate who coveted my beauty and attempted to rape me!"

"I am utterly powerless. If it weren't for the timely arrival of the Prince and the Empress, I might have... Waaah..."

"I beg Your Highness to do justice for me! I beg Your Majesty the Empress to do justice for me!"

Xiao Xue'er spoke so pitifully and vividly that anyone who didn't know the situation would really believe that the Night Owl intended to rape her.

Wang Long's face was grim. Before Night Owl could beg for mercy again, he said:

"Drag him away and give him thirty lashes."

The night owl breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, it wasn't beheading, just a beating.

Pei Qingluan frowned and said, "Intending to rape the Imperial Concubine, all you're doing is punishing him with a beating?"

She was not satisfied with the punishment.

Wang Long replied, "Her Majesty the Empress herself said that she only intended to commit adultery, but did not actually do so. Isn't the Imperial Concubine perfectly fine now?"

"How about this, Your Majesty the Empress and I will withdraw. After the Night Owl has truly raped the Imperial Concubine, I will then execute him. What do you think of this arrangement, Your Majesty?"

Upon hearing this, Pei Qingluan was furious.

She knew Wang Long was not someone to be trifled with, and swallowed her anger silently.

With a flick of her sleeve, Pei Qingluan said, "Then let's do as the prince says, give him thirty heavy lashes. Someone, go and keep an eye on him. Thirty lashes, not a single one less."

"Yes." One of the accompanying palace maids stepped forward to oversee the execution.

Wang Long had no objections and ordered his men to drag Night Owl away and beat him with a board.

Before long, the sound of the cane being struck could be heard.

Each blow was extremely heavy.

Wang Long knew that if he didn't hit her hard enough, Pei Qingluan wouldn't let it go.

The Night Owl was too careless and fell for the two women's trick.

While being punished with the cane, Wang Long couldn't help but say, "Her Majesty the Empress is truly cunning; I am ashamed of my own in comparison."

"What is Your Highness saying? I don't understand."

It's okay if you don't understand.

Wang Long added, "No rush, there's still a long road ahead. Your Majesty the Empress and the Imperial Concubine must take good care of yourselves. The villains may not have succeeded today, but things might change in the future."

This is a blatant threat.

After saying that, Wang Long sneered twice, then turned and left.

After Wang Long and his men left, only his own people remained in the hall.

Xiao Xue'er quickly dressed and tidied herself up before coming to Pei Qingluan's side and asking:

"What should we do next?"

Pei Qingluan's expression was solemn as she said, "Be careful, protect yourself, and don't hold His Majesty back."

The matter in Northern Mang is not over yet, and Qin Li doesn't know when he will be able to return.

They absolutely must not get into trouble in the capital, lest they distract Qin Li.

Not holding Qin Li back is the only thing they can do right now.

Such a deliberate act of framing Wang Long's men, as seen tonight, can only be used once.

This method will no longer work, and Wang Long's men will definitely be more careful in everything they do.

If they repeat their old tricks, they are very likely to be the ones who get hurt.

outside the temple.

Wang Long coldly watched as the Night Owl was severely beaten thirty times.

His back was ripped open, blood gushing out, and he needed two soldiers to support him to walk.

"Let's go back."

At a command, everyone left Xiao Xue'er's palace.

On the way back, the night owl said weakly:

"Please forgive me, Your Highness, I did not mean to."

Shadow Snake also spoke up for Night Owl, hoping that Wang Long wouldn't punish him.

As for their elder brother, Judge Wu, he was sent by Wang Long to do something more important and was not here.

Wang Long said expressionlessly, "This is the first and the last time. Don't let me down. If there's a next time, I won't need anyone else to ask for your execution; I'll be the first to kill you."

The night owl nodded in agreement.