Pin Shanhe

Jun Jingyan was puzzled, but he still knelt down.

"Your Majesty, I do not know what mistake I have made. Please enlighten me!"

"As the person in charge of the Qingyan Tea Party, why didn't you report such a serious matter to me?"

Jun Jingyan looked at Jun Qiyuan, who was also kneeling on the ground, and his father's furious face, and immediately understood.

"Fourth brother, didn't you say you would personally inform Father of this matter? What is your intention now?"

The incident caused a huge uproar that day, and he originally intended to go to the palace immediately to inform his father, the emperor.

But Jun Qiyuan pleaded with him, asking for some time to think about how to handle the situation, saying that if he went directly to his father, he would be severely punished!

Out of consideration for their brotherhood, Jun Jingyan did not make things difficult for him and agreed to give him two days.

But then, someone stabbed him in the back?

Jun Qiyuan not only did not feel guilty, but was also self-righteous.

"I'd like to ask you, Second Prince, what is your intention? You hosted the Qingyan Tea Party, and someone sabotaged it without your knowledge, leaving Miss Jiang and me to be harmed. Don't you deserve an explanation?"

Jun Jingyan, a man of such high moral character, was at a loss for how to react when he encountered such an unreasonable person for the first time.

Emperor Yong surprisingly agreed with him, coldly saying, "I and Grand Tutor Ning entrusted the tea party to you, thinking you were a steady person. I never expected you to be so negligent, causing such a huge mess. Now, Prime Minister Jiang has submitted several memorials asking me to uphold justice. What do you suggest we do?"

Jun Jingyan said solemnly, "Since the Fourth Prince has ruined Miss Jiang's reputation, he should naturally take responsibility for it and ask Father to grant us a marriage and choose an auspicious day for a proper wedding."

He genuinely considered the matter and came up with the most appropriate solution.

This would both preserve Jiang Ruoyao's reputation and minimize the damage caused by this incident.

Jun Qiyuan let out a cold laugh: "So this was your original purpose? You pushed a woman you didn't want onto me, knowing full well that I already had someone else in my heart, yet you still resorted to any means to achieve your goal. And I've always treated you as a respected elder brother, how utterly despicable!"

"You mean, I'm the one who caused you and Miss Jiang to do that?"

"Otherwise what? Jiang Ruoyao lost her virginity, so aren't you the biggest beneficiary? You can get rid of a burden and also get me punished by the Emperor, killing two birds with one stone."

It's simply unacceptable that Jun Jingyan has been subjected to such baseless rumors.

"Fourth Prince, you must provide evidence before you speak, otherwise it's slander!"

"Whether it's slander or not, Father Emperor will decide!"

Jun Qiyuan was very confident about this.

He had just told the truth to his father, demonstrating sufficient "sincerity".

After embellishing the story further, they successfully shifted the blame.

Father Emperor must now be convinced that the Second Prince was responsible for this!

Regardless of whether it was true or not, he was determined to pin the blame on the other party and would stick to his guns until he finally admitted it!

Jun Jingyan didn't want to argue with him, so he immediately looked at Emperor Yong and said, "Father, I swear on my life that I have never done anything wrong, or I will be punished by Heaven!"

Jun Qiyuan scoffed from the side, "Heh... if oaths were effective, would we need torture to extract confessions?"

Moreover, for someone like him who makes vows so easily, it's as simple as eating and drinking, so he wouldn't take it seriously at all.

Jun Jingyan, however, was extremely stubborn, and said sternly, "Your subject is willing to accept any punishment, but will never allow anyone to slander me."

Emperor Yong felt his head throb even more when he saw them each sticking to their own version of events and refusing to yield.

He preferred Jun Jingyan to admit it directly, just like how Jun Qiyuan had made many mistakes, but he was able to let him off the hook or give him a minor punishment. The reason was that his "frankness" made people feel that the other party had no ulterior motives, making it easier to relax and let go of any grudges.

Now that the facts are laid bare, their refusal to admit it only fueled his anger.

"I'm giving you one last chance. If you still refuse to confess, go and receive fifty strokes of the cane!"

Jun Jingyan stood ramrod straight, his voice resounding: "I will never admit to anything I didn't do. Even if Father were to beat me to death today, I would still say the same thing!"

"Guards! Take the Second Prince out and give him a severe beating!"

Jun Qiyuan looked gloating.

She had been unlucky so many times, and each time the Second Prince made fun of her.

Now the tables have turned, and it's time for him to taste this bitterness!

"etc……"

Jun Jingyan spoke up to stop him.

Just when Emperor Yong thought he was about to beg for mercy and admit his mistake.

"Your Majesty, I humbly request that after I have been punished, you grant me permission to go to the Northwest to search for the whereabouts of the Xuan King."

Jun Qiyuan almost burst out laughing on the spot.

Fifty strokes of the cane would render someone unable to walk, let alone travel at top speed to the Northwest, a thousand miles away.

He can't even take care of himself, yet he's still thinking about others?

Xuanwang was already seriously injured before falling off the cliff, and he would surely be smashed to pieces if he fell.

There are still many man-eating wild beasts down the mountain; there probably won't even be any bones left, and there won't even be a place to collect the corpses.

Heaven is indeed fair; the Xuan King stole his woman, so he should pay the price!

Emperor Yong never expected that his bones could be so hard.

Even at a time like this, you're still worried about the safety of the Xuan King?

Is it really possible for such a person to commit such a despicable act of framing others?

But a ruler's word is law; once an order is given, how can it be easily revoked?

"We'll talk about it after you've served your sentence!"

Jun Jingyan was not taken away; he walked out on his own.

Soon, the sounds of executions could be heard outside.

No matter how much he was hit, he gritted his teeth and remained silent.

After fifty strikes, one after another, a guard came in to report.

"Your Majesty, the execution is over."

Jun Jingyan was brought in, his back covered in blood, his clothes stained red and stuck to his flesh.

His face was pale, his forehead was covered in sweat, and his eyes were bloodshot, clearly due to the pain he was enduring.

When they came in, they couldn't even walk steadily and needed to be helped.

Seeing him like this, Emperor Yong couldn't help but sigh.

These fifty strokes of the cane were not actually done out of spite.

As the person in charge of the tea party, he certainly bears responsibility for oversight and cannot shirk his duty; he should indeed be dealt with.

"Do you have anything else to say?"

"Your subject is innocent. I beg Your Majesty's permission to go to the Northwest... to rescue Prince Xuan!"

"you……"

Emperor Yong slammed his hand on the table in anger, took a deep breath, and finally spoke: "I agree!"

As Jun Jingyan endured the intense pain throughout his body and prepared to get up and leave, an urgent report came from the front lines—

After the soldiers searched tirelessly throughout the night, they finally found a disfigured male corpse at the foot of the cliff.

The mask he left behind, and the clothes he was wearing, confirmed that he was indeed the Xuan King!

This news came as a thunderbolt.

Is Xuan Wang really dead?