Font Size:
Madam Qin’s face turned deathly pale, and she nearly collapsed on the ground.
Qin Zhilan, who was in excruciating pain from the beating, obviously heard the news as well. She struggled even more violently: “Mm-mm! Mm-mm—”
Let me go! Let me go!
It couldn’t be true, it couldn’t be. The Regent couldn’t possibly lead people to search and seize the Imperial Uncle’s residence. On what grounds could he do such a thing?
Even if he was the Regent, without the Empress Dowager’s or the Emperor’s word, he had no right to search the Imperial Uncle’s residence on his own.
This was overstepping his authority and using public office for personal revenge!
Seeing her struggling pathetically, Princess Pingyao shook her head and clicked her tongue. She gestured for them to stop. “Since the Imperial Uncle’s residence is about to be searched, I will be merciful and spare Qin Zhilan.”
As soon as the words fell, the rattan whip stopped, but Qin Zhilan was still firmly pressed down on the spring bench, unable to break free. Her face was ashen, and sweat covered her head and face, making her look extremely disheveled.
Princess Pingyao temporarily ignored them and turned back to the bedside, watching the imperial physician apply a layer of ointment to Qin Yumo’s back and begin to massage it to promote blood circulation and reduce swelling.
Qin Yumo gritted his teeth, burying his face in the pillow, not wanting Princess Pingyao to see his grimacing in pain.
However, whether it hurt or not, it could be seen from the body’s reaction, and Princess Pingyao was not blind.
“Please bear with it, Your Highness.” The imperial physician, perhaps worried that Princess Pingyao might lose her temper, took the initiative to explain. “The massage requires a bit more force, or else it will be useless.”
Princess Pingyao said indifferently, “Can’t a grown man handle this bit of pain? Just massage him, no need for further explanation.”
The imperial physician breathed a sigh of relief at these words and continued the massage with peace of mind.
Qin Yumo didn’t speak throughout the process, focusing on enduring the pain without daring to make a sound, for fear that the princess would say he wasn’t a man.
After Qin Yumo’s injuries were treated, the imperial physician’s forehead also showed a hint of sweat. Princess Pingyao ordered someone to give him a reward, which the imperial physician tried to decline but couldn’t refuse. He had no choice but to accept it and then respectfully took his leave.
“Are all of you Qin family members adept at courting death?” Princess Pingyao walked over and sat down on a chair, lifting one leg onto the bed’s edge, exuding an air of superiority like a queen. “From the Empress Dowager to your father, and then to Qin Yanshu, not one of you is intelligent.”
Qin Yumo didn’t speak. Seeing Princess Pingyao’s leg placed in front of him, he silently straightened up and began to massage her calf.
Princess Pingyao looked at him with a strange expression. “What are you doing?”
Qin Yumo looked up at her. “Serving Your Highness.”
“You’re injured.”
“It’s no trouble.” Qin Yumo lowered his gaze. “My injuries are on my back, it doesn’t affect my hands.”
Princess Pingyao stared at him for a moment, then smiled. “Qin Yumo, even if the entire Qin family dies out, it won’t affect you. With me here, no one can touch you.”
Qin Yumo was puzzled. “I wasn’t worried about myself.”
“Then why are you being so attentive?”
Qin Yumo pressed his lips together. “Your Highness placed your leg here, so I thought…”
Princess Pingyao frowned. “No matter how heartless I may be, I wouldn’t torment an injured person. Just lie still and let the medicine work its way in. Don’t move around.”
With that, she rose and walked towards the door. “Rest at home for a couple of days. Once the Qin family’s affairs are settled, you can return to court.”
Qin Yumo watched her leave, silently withdrawing his gaze, wondering in his heart what kind of real man Princess Pingyao truly admired.
Someone like the Regent, who was both civil and martial, with immense power?
……
Ji Yucang discovered 160,000 taels of gold and over 1 million taels of silver at the Imperial Uncle’s residence, along with four letters plotting against the Regent. These involved two civil and military officials of third-rank or higher, three fourth-rank officials, three fifth-rank military officers, and their respective followers.
However, Ji Yucang did not charge him with the crime of plotting rebellion. Instead, he secured the letters and charged the Qin family on the spot with “corruption and injustice on a massive scale”, sending the entire Qin family to prison.
The Imperial Uncle angrily shouted, “What right does the Regent have to search the Imperial Uncle’s residence? You are nothing but a treacherous court official who controls the government. I demand to see the Empress Dowager! I demand to see the Emperor!”
Ji Yucang waved his hand coldly. “Take him away.”
The imperial guards, as numerous as a flock of crows, escorted everyone from the Qin residence, ignoring the Imperial Uncle’s roars and insults, taking them one by one to the imperial prison and carrying boxes of yet-to-be-counted gold, silver, jade, and paintings—all valuable items—into the palace.
Princess Pingyao stood watching from a distance for a long time, a mocking smile playing on her lips, before she mounted her horse.
“Take Madam Qin and her daughter to the prison and hand them over to the Regent.” She instructed, then rode straight to the palace.
Longevity Palace had been silent for a long time, even the festive seasons were cold and desolate, like a cold palace.
When Princess Pingyao arrived at Longevity Palace with her entourage, the Empress Dowager was drinking tea. After her confinement, the Empress Dowager’s treatment was obviously not as good as before, even the tea sent from the inner court was no longer this year’s new tea.
The palace gate opened, and Princess Pingyao stepped through as if taking a leisurely stroll, heading straight for the Empress Dowager’s bedchamber. “I’ve come to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager.”
The Empress Dowager was lazily leaning against the front of the couch. Seeing her sudden arrival, her eyelids twitched violently, and every nerve in her body tensed up. “What are you doing here?”
Princess Pingyao smiled slightly. “The Empress Dowager seems very tense. Did you have a premonition of something bad?”
The Empress Dowager’s pupils contracted, and she gritted her teeth. “Pingyao, what exactly do you want?”
“Didn’t I just say I came specifically to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager?” Princess Pingyao smiled nonchalantly and sat down beside the Empress Dowager. “How is Your Majesty’s health after these days of rest?”
The Empress Dowager held a tea cup in her hand, her eyes coldly fixed on her.
Princess Pingyao quietly observed her, noticing that the Empress Dowager had visibly aged a great deal during these days. The meticulous makeup she used to wear in public was gone, the pearls and phoenix hairpins were missing from her hair, and even the clothes she wore were no longer exquisite or luxurious.
The person sitting before her now was an ordinary old woman, differing from other old women only in the whiteness of her skin, she was just as aged.
“I used to think that one must deal with one’s enemies personally to feel satisfied, but today I suddenly realized that as long as the enemy ends up in a miserable state, it doesn’t matter whose hands they fall into, it’s incredibly exhilarating.” Princess Pingyao said with a smile, looking at the Empress Dowager. “When you killed my mother, did you feel like you were the winner?”
The Empress Dowager’s face changed bit by bit. “What are you talking about?”