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Yun Chu quietly watched Li Yunli’s side profile…
“Steward Wang! Please have mercy! I beg you!!”
Dong Sheng knelt beside him, repeatedly kowtowing to Wang Quan.
A light whip did not injure the bones and tendons, but it hurt terribly.
It was specifically used to punish disobedient servants in the manor.
Yun Chu knelt upright, his lips pale, not even furrowing his brows.
Beside him, Dong Sheng, who was pleading, had already bruised his forehead from kowtowing.
“Steward! Please have mercy! I beg you…”
“Get lost! Filthy thing!”
Wang Quan turned and kicked Dong Sheng far away!
Yun Chu’s eyes flickered, and he suddenly raised his head.
Dong Sheng had fallen heavily, clutching his shoulder and gasping in pain.
Wang Quan turned his head and happened to meet Yun Chu’s icy gaze. His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately roared:
“What are you looking at? You wretched thing! Do you want a beating?!”
As he spoke, he lifted his whip to strike again. However, just as he swung his arm halfway, he suddenly lost his balance. His fat body staggered, his foot slipped, and with a loud thud, he fell flat on his face!
Everyone present widened their eyes.
The scene was so ridiculous that for a moment, no one dared to speak.
“Ow! Ow—!!” Wang Quan crawled up from the ground, groaning in pain and dusting himself off.
The lackeys around him immediately rushed forward, hurriedly asking if he was injured.
“Who tripped me?! Who?!!”
Wang Quan scanned his surroundings with a loud voice, his gaze lingering suspiciously on Yun Chu. Seeing that he had not moved from his kneeling position, Wang Quan withdrew his gaze angrily.
The surroundings were noisy. Yun Chu clenched a small stone in his palm and locked his eyes onto the man standing furthest away.
That lackey was making an unbearable racket, but before Yun Chu could take action, someone else beat him to it.
Even Wang Quan himself didn’t know who had tripped him just now, but Yun Chu, due to his kneeling position and low vantage point, saw it clearly.
The man in coarse clothing standing at the farthest spot had flicked a pebble with his fingers, hitting Wang Quan’s knee precisely when Wang Quan was about to lash out.
This man had profound inner martial arts—he was definitely not an ordinary servant!
Yun Chu slightly turned his body, but unfortunately, his view was blocked by someone’s umbrella, preventing him from seeing the man’s face.
“Steward, no, no one did it,” a lackey hesitantly said. “Maybe you just lost your balance?”
Wang Quan, holding onto a lackey’s arm, groaned twice in pain and snapped angrily, “Nonsense! Someone must have done it! Just wait until I find out who it was!”
The lackey quickly nodded. “Yes, yes, Steward, you still have to go see the new horse trainer today. You can’t afford to hurt your leg and get delayed.”
This seemed to remind Wang Quan. He suddenly realized the time, slapped his thigh, and instantly forgot about his fall.
“Hurry, hurry, hurry!” He urged the others, completely tossing Yun Chu aside. “His Highness’s matters are of the utmost importance! Let’s go, let’s go!”
With that, he shoved people aside and rushed off.
Yun Chu, who was still being “punished,” was left behind just like that.
Dong Sheng waited until everyone was far away before crawling on all fours to Yun Chu, wanting to lift his clothes to check for injuries.
“It’s fine,” Yun Chu pressed his hand down. “Dong Sheng, is the manor recruiting new servants today?”
The men following Wang Quan earlier were not wearing the standard uniforms of the Grand Princess’s manor.
Dong Sheng nodded tearfully. “Recently, the Grand Princess brought back a treasured horse from the Western Regions. It’s wild and untrained, so they posted a notice at the gate to hire skilled horse trainers.”
“A horse trainer?”
Yun Chu instantly realized who had just helped him!
In his previous life, when he was trapped in the Grand Princess’s manor like a prison, he eventually managed to turn his fate around—all because he had a great ally by his side.
That person was a young general of Wei State. He had infiltrated the Grand Princess’s manor under the alias “A Si” and connected with Yun Chu, bringing valuable intelligence and hidden support.
In his previous life, A Si had only revealed his identity several years later. Yun Chu never expected that he had already arrived at the manor at this point!
A Si was his sharpest blade, and in this life, he had appeared so early!
Yun Chu immediately lifted his robe and stood up.
Dong Sheng was utterly shocked.
Their Young Master was rigid and stubborn, always upholding his so-called gentlemanly conduct. No matter how harshly the Grand Princess punished him, he never dodged or resisted.
Why was he suddenly trying to escape punishment today?!
Not that Dong Sheng thought escaping punishment was a bad idea—the Grand Princess never verified whether punishments were properly carried out. It all depended on Yun Chu’s own honesty, and Dong Sheng had advised him to slack off before, though Yun Chu had never agreed.
But today, he had changed his mind!
Dong Sheng scrambled up to follow Yun Chu.
Unfortunately, luck was not on their side.
Just as they turned to leave, they ran straight into Li Yunli, who was stepping into the courtyard with her umbrella.
The Grand Princess herself had arrived.
Caught red-handed.
Yun Chu immediately knelt down.
Dong Sheng’s legs nearly gave out from fear.
The very first time he tried to escape punishment, and he got caught by the Grand Princess—who could he even complain to?!
If the Grand Princess thought Yun Chu was accustomed to escaping punishment, wouldn’t his future be even more miserable?
Dong Sheng was shaking like a leaf, his heart nearly jumping out of his throat.
He peeked at Yun Chu, who remained silent with his head lowered.
Then he heard the Grand Princess chuckle:
“What’s wrong? Did you do something shameful? Why are you trembling like this?”
Dong Sheng could no longer utter a word.
Yun Chu hesitated for a moment before bowing his head and softly saying, “I know my mistake. I accept my punishment. Your Highness may deal with me as you see fit.”
Li Yunli raised an eyebrow.
When she arrived, she had only seen Wang Quan and his group storming away. Seeing Yun Chu kneeling with his back to her, she could guess he had been punished.
She had been considering whether to step in and help him out, but then he had stood up himself.
If he had truly intended to escape punishment, that would be one thing. But the moment he saw her, he immediately knelt down and asked for punishment instead.
That was not the reaction of someone caught in wrongdoing.
Clearly, his request for punishment was just a cover-up—he must have been hiding something even bigger!
Li Yunli became intrigued.
She moved her umbrella forward, shielding Yun Chu from the fine drizzle. The wide sleeves of her robe carried a faint fragrance as she gathered him under the canopy.
“Stand up.”
Though she looked down at him, her voice was gentle.
Yet there was something ambiguous in her tone. Yun Chu flinched slightly but did not move.
“I never said I was going to punish you. Stand up.”
At this, Yun Chu finally moved. However, before rising, he first kneeled back a half step, retreating from under her umbrella before standing slowly—displaying utmost humility and respect.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Li Yunli sighed inwardly.
She had just time-traveled into this story, and already, she had to fix a massive mess.