Chapter 18: Who Hit You?

At the mention of that incident, Ning Zhaorou felt her whole body heat up with embarrassment.

Fortunately, Yin Mingyu didn’t press the matter further and instead shifted the conversation toward something more serious:
“Do you know who’s targeting you?”

Ning Zhaorou froze slightly, hesitant to answer.

If she were being honest, she had some guesses. That resting tent had clearly just been set up. If not for the sudden storm, it wouldn’t have collapsed so easily. That meant whoever did it probably just wanted to mess with her—not take her life.

She had only ever offended Consort Liang and the Second Princess. If Consort Liang had made a move, it wouldn’t have been something so petty. Which left only the Second Princess.

Just so happened… the Second Princess hadn’t had a chance to vent her anger yet.

Ning Zhaorou looked up and forced a faint smile toward Yin Mingyu.
“This humble daughter does not know.”

Even if she did, she had to say she didn’t.

The Second Princess was still a royal daughter. Ning Zhaorou had no title, no standing. At best, she could only hope His Majesty would favor her a little. But no matter how much favor she received, it could never outweigh that of a princess—and she was well aware of that.

If His Majesty was willing to acknowledge the injustice she suffered and promote her within the inner palace, that would be ideal. But it wasn’t something she dared hope for outright.

Yin Mingyu’s long, slender fingers traced down from the corner of her forehead to the tip of her chin, and he nodded.
“Then I’ll pretend you really don’t know.”

Ning Zhaorou nearly lost control of her expression. After he said this, he released her and called out to someone outside.

Zhou Lu entered and immediately saw a girl sitting in the emperor’s lap. He dropped his head at once and didn’t dare lift it again.

“Have you found the person?” Yin Mingyu asked.

“Yes, Your Majesty. She’s being held outside.” Zhou Lu answered, shocked. In all his years in the palace, he had never seen any woman sit on His Majesty like this. Clearly, this Miss Ning was someone special.

“Bring her in.” Yin Mingyu said.

Just then, he noticed Ning Zhaorou squirming in his lap. He held back his reaction until Zhou Lu left, and when she still didn’t settle down, he gave her a light pat on the rear.

“Stop moving. Look down.”

Ning Zhaorou immediately froze and stayed still.

She had only been shifting because someone else was in the room, and it felt improper. But clearly, Yin Mingyu didn’t see it that way.

Two palace maids escorted in a panicked young maidservant and forced her to kneel in greeting.

Ning Zhaorou looked down and recognized her—the palace maid who had led her to the small tent and then quietly disappeared.

They’d found her so quickly.

The maid had clearly never expected this to escalate all the way to the emperor. Flustered and terrified, she confessed everything, even the exact amount of silver given to her by the Second Princess’s people.

Yin Mingyu said coldly,
“You heard that, didn’t you? That daughter of mine is both stupid and malicious. Not content with bullying you, she wanted revenge.”

Then he lifted Ning Zhaorou’s chin, making her meet his eyes.
“So—how do you want me to deal with this?”

The maid on the ground stiffened when she heard this. Trembling, she started to lift her head—only to catch sight of the girl sitting calmly in the emperor’s lap. Wasn’t that… the very same Miss Ning the Second Princess had told her to mess with!?

So Miss Ning was actually… was actually His Majesty’s—

Before she could finish the thought, her head was shoved forcefully back down, slamming hard onto the floor with a loud thud.

Ning Zhaorou tried to peek down again, but Yin Mingyu stopped her.

“I’ll leave everything to Your Majesty,” she quickly said.

If His Majesty didn’t intend to punish the Second Princess, she had no right to say anything—what right did she have, anyway?
But if he did intend to punish her, then she hoped the Second Princess would receive a thorough lesson.

Yin Mingyu watched her tense expression and her eagerness to show her stance. One arm propped casually against the chair’s armrest, he looked at her with a hint of amusement in his eyes. After a long moment, he finally looked away and gave a light order:
“Replace all the attendants around the Second Princess. Assign her a governess—someone strict—and make sure she teaches her some proper conduct. Tell the governess not to be concerned about the princess’s status. Just say it’s by my command.”

The message was clear: he wanted someone who would be severe. In the palace, governesses were all skilled and sharp, but they usually held back because of royal rank. With the emperor’s explicit permission, that wouldn’t be an issue anymore.

A maid responded with a quiet “Yes,” and left the tent.

Ning Zhaorou didn’t dare show too much surprise or satisfaction, but her subtle expressions didn’t escape Yin Mingyu’s gaze.

He watched her silently for a while, and just when she was about to squirm from the pressure, he gently placed a hand on the back of her neck and pulled her closer, letting her rest her head against his shoulder. Tilting his head, he covered her exposed ear and casually gave another order:

“Drag her out and beat her to death with sticks.”

A pause, then he added,
“Cut out her tongue first.”

As he spoke, he felt her soft body tremble slightly under his hand.

The palace maid kneeling on the floor hadn’t even had time to beg for mercy before her mouth was gagged. All that came out were muffled, panicked whimpers.

The sounds grew fainter as the maid was taken away. The tent gradually fell quiet.

Yin Mingyu still had his hand over Ning Zhaorou’s ear. Feeling her continuous shivering, he finally let go—but instead of withdrawing completely, his fingers toyed with her earlobe.

“What is it? You heard that?” he asked gently.

Ning Zhaorou covered part of her face and avoided looking at him—his hand might have covered her ear, but she wasn’t deaf. They were so close—how could she not hear?

What was she thinking about him now?

Yin Mingyu noticed she didn’t respond right away and was about to speak again when he heard her quietly say,
“Your Majesty, this humble daughter… was born a little hard of hearing in that ear.”

His fingers paused in their motion.

Then came a laugh—unrestrained and unabashed.

Ning Zhaorou guessed that Yin Mingyu had covered her ear so she wouldn’t hear. So if he didn’t want her to hear, she’d just say she didn’t hear anything. But now that he was laughing again, she froze for a second and decided to play it safe—pretending she hadn’t even caught that laugh either, staying perfectly silent.

“You’d better hope I don’t find out your hearing magically recovers someday,” he said teasingly.
“Otherwise, I’ll charge you with deceiving the emperor.”

She had no choice but to murmur,
“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Yin Mingyu asked,
“Then what did I just say?”

Ning Zhaorou swallowed and straightened up a bit.
“Your Majesty said… this humble daughter’s hearing mustn’t suddenly recover, or else she’ll be punished.”

She was good at choosing safe answers.

Yin Mingyu nodded lightly.
“So you can hear now?”

“No—it’s that Your Majesty’s warning startled this humble daughter. That’s why I could hear it,” Ning Zhaorou replied, face still stiff with tension.

Yin Mingyu raised a hand, but before he even touched her, she flinched and closed her eyes tight.

His gaze darkened slightly. He tapped her gently on the forehead.
“Open your eyes.”

Ning Zhaorou blinked in confusion and looked at him.

“Who’s hit you before?” he asked.

From that reflexive flinch, it clearly wasn’t the first time.

Ning Zhaorou forced a stiff smile and explained,
“When I was younger, I was disobedient. My father and… Madam Wu disciplined me. It was only right.”