C102: Punishment of Flogging
Inside the Palace Xuanshi, Emperor Yuan Hui was seated on a gold dragon throne, quietly observing the handsome young man kneeling below.
He was the assistant director of Military Department. He had a promising future and his own unique views. There was bound to be a lot of room for growth in his career in the future. If he were to marry the most favored Princess He Yi, it would be equivalent to giving himself a better trump card. So why did he refuse it?
Xie Rong knelt for less than an hour, and Emperor Yuan Hui didn’t say a single word the entire time.
It had been so long that even Eunuch Gao, who was standing at the side, felt uneasy.
Xie Rong’s back was ramrod straight, and his eyes quietly stared at the flight of steps below the Dragon Throne, not moving an inch. He had already made up his mind, with no signs of wavering on his face. The blazing sun was projected behind his tall and straight figure, making him look like a tall and lanky figure in the hall, stopping right under the Dragon Throne.
The Emperor Yuan Hui finally spoke out: “You are a precious princess, how could you not be worthy of a Minister for Foreign Affairs?”
Xie Rong said sincerely: “It is this subject who is unworthy of the princess.”
“Since I’ve decreed that you should be bestowed a marriage, it means that I’ve taken a fancy to you. It is because I think you’re worthy!” Emperor Yuan Hui was truly angered. He threw the imperial report onto the table and glared at him.
During this period of time, the Emperor Yuan Hui’s health was not good, it was probably related to the deposed Ping Wang. After lying in bed for a period of time, he had finally recovered.
He gave a start, but continued to insist, “This subject has taken on His Majesty’s kindness. Please forgive this subject for not agreeing to this marriage.”
Emperor Yuan Hui frowned, “Are you sure you want to reject the marriage?”
He placed his hands on the ground and bowed deeply. “I am serious.”
“Good, very good!” Emperor Yuan Hui glared at him fiercely and ordered the guards outside to take him down. “Xie Rong, you disobeyed the sacred will. Aren’t you afraid that we will take your life?”
Xie Rong was quiet for a moment, then stood up straight. His lonely figure actually carried a bit of determination as he said, “If Your Majesty can take back the marriage edict, then this subject will be willing to accept the punishment.” He paused before continuing, “I only hope that Your Majesty doesn’t anger this subject’s family. This subject will decide on his own, it has nothing to do with them.”
Emperor Yuan Hui laughed coldly, there was no point in speaking any further. “Take him away and beat him up into a pulp for us!”
Initially, disobeying the Sacred Will was a huge crime that he had to face, let alone refusing the emperor granting the marriage. If it wasn’t for the fact that the Emperor Yuan Hui had some feelings for him, and was worried about killing him, how could it simply be beating him to death? His chest heaved with anger and he could not calm down for a long time.
A few days ago, He Yi ran to the imperial study in tears, begging him to give her and Xie Rong a marriage. However, in order to force him to agree, the Princess He Yi actually thought of using hunger strike to threaten him. In these three days, she weakly fainted in the palace. Although he wasn’t satisfied, he could only agree. After all, although Xie Rong’s official rank was low, he still had a bright future. With his literary skills, he would definitely be able to accomplish a lot in the future. But who would have thought that after the imperial edict went down, he would actually be unable to differentiate good from bad and come to Palace Xuanshi to refuse the marriage the same day?
The more Emperor Yuan Hui thought about it, the more furious he became. That was why he didn’t let the guards be courteous and actually beat the crap out of him.
Even the strong and strong people with martial arts wouldn’t be able to stand it, let alone a refined person like Xie Rong.
But against Emperor Yuan Hui’s expectations, even after fifty slates, he was still able to hold on and stand in front of him, kowtowing as he kowtowed. “Please retract your orders, Your Majesty.”
Emperor Yuan Hui was furious, “Fight another thirty times!”
The guard accepted the order and brought him back down.
The clothes on his back were soaked with blood, but he tightly clenched his teeth and did not utter a sound of begging for mercy. Only until blood seeped out from the corner of his lips. His Adam’s apple moved, and he forcefully swallowed a mouthful of blood.
The plank fell on his back one by one, and even the eunuch outside could not bear to look.
“Pa ~ ~”
“Pa ~ ~”
Suddenly, a figure rushed out from the back of the hall, angrily shouting, “Stop, all of you stop!”
The guard didn’t dare stop without His Majesty’s order. She rushed forward and personally blocked the guard’s wooden board. “You’re not allowed to hit me anymore. I said you’re not allowed to hit me! Did you hear me?”
The guard took two steps back and knelt down in salute, “We pay our respects to the princess …”
She stood in front of Xie Rong, and looking at his injured back, she hesitated and hesitated, not knowing whether she should go forward or not. Tears welled in her eyes as she bit her lip and asked, “You don’t want to marry me that much?”
Would he rather be beaten to such a state, willing to risk his life just to refuse the marriage? Why didn’t he marry her? Why couldn’t he just look at her one more time?
Xie Rong closed his eyes, his handsome face paled, and his voice became hoarse: “I don’t care about the princess, if you marry me, you will only feel wronged …”
This was the first time he had clearly stated his position, but on such an occasion … Yan Yao’an felt bitterness in her heart. She squatted in front of him and tried to use her bare hands to caress his face. As if he had sensed something, he tilted his head away, causing her to stand up in embarrassment, “Then who are you interested in? “ruyi?”
This question had been in her mind for a long time. She could not eat or sleep, and her mind was filled with scenes of him and Ru Yi sitting under a tree and playing a zither. She admitted that she was jealous. Why did he treat her so badly, yet show such a gentle expression to Ru Yi?
Xie Rong’s body sank, and he fell down from the bench. He laid on the ground, pressed onto the wound on his back and frowned deeply, “It has nothing to do with her.”
He stopped talking.
Yan Yao’an called out to him twice, but he didn’t agree. She thought he was dead, so she called for the imperial physician in a hurry, “Quickly, look at what happened to him!”
The imperial physician reached out to check his breath, then pinched his pulse, telling Yan Yao’an, “Princess, don’t worry. He’s only unconscious.”
Only then did she heave a sigh of relief.
She hated him, hated him, but she didn’t want him to die.
Yan Yao’an looked up. Emperor Yuan Hui was standing on top of His Highness Pill Emperor. Someone, wake him up and finish the thirty boards! ”
Yan Yao’an kneeled down, and shook his head anxiously, “father, stop hitting him, I beg you, stop hitting him!”
The Emperor Yuan Hui said softly, “If we don’t teach her a lesson if she doesn’t agree to our marriage, how can we face the Imperial Family?”
She shook her head while crying, “If he doesn’t agree, how can the father beat him to death?” He wiped his tears as he spoke, seeming to have made a huge decision. “If you don’t agree, then so be it. It’s not like he’s the only young genius in capital …”
Emperor Yuan Hui didn’t say anything for a long time. His gaze fell on her body and he meaningfully sighed before returning to the hall with turn around his body.
“Servants, send Minister Xie back home!”
When Xie Rong was sent home, he was covered in blood, which scared Madam Leng so much that his face turned white, and he almost fainted.
She hurried him back to the house. “Go get a doctor, get a doctor!”
If she knew that he entered the palace with such an outcome, she would have stopped him no matter what! Why did he only have half a life left when he entered the palace safely? His clothes and flesh were stuck together, and when he was taking off his clothes, Madam Leng’s hands were trembling. Looking at the streaks of blood on his back, Madam Leng’s teary eyes personally wrung the towel to wipe the wounds on his back. What’s wrong with marrying a princess? Why do you have to refuse it! ”
As he said this, he cried, “Look at the place on your back! Ronger, have you considered how your father and I would feel? ”
Xie Rong opened his eyes, held onto Madam Leng’s other hand, and said with difficulty, word by word: “It’s my unfilial act …”
Madam Leng doted on him and told him not to talk for now.
Xie Xun and Xie Liqing stood at the side. Xie Xun had never seen her brother being so weak before, so in her memory, her brother was strong and reliable enough to hold up a whole sky with one hand. She looked at Xie Rong without blinking, her lips moving, but she did not know how to open her mouth.
Soon, the doctor came and checked his wounds. He wrote a prescription for healing the wounds, and even left a bottle of ointment for external use. One day, three days, he also warned, “Do not go overboard for the next half month, do not stimulate food with spices. Eat lightly.”
Madam Leng immediately wrote it down, told Yu Qing to pay the doctor’s fee and sent him away.
“After the doctor left, she carefully applied the medicine on Xie Rong, causing servant maids to bring the decocted soup up. He half sat on the bed and drank a few mouthfuls. Mother, please go back. I’m fine now. ”
Madam Leng had always wanted to ask, “What did His Majesty say?”
His restrain eyesign: “Then let’s forget about this marriage.”
“I’ve met Princess He Yi a few times. Other than her somewhat arrogant and despotic personality, she’s a pretty good lady. Why did you reject the marriage?”
He said nothing.
Madam Leng asked again, “You are almost twenty-two now. Your Abba and I have never forced you to respect your opinion. I just don’t know what kind of girl you like. ”
He couldn’t answer it himself, but he felt that it shouldn’t be like the Princess He Yi. If he were to become Prince Consort, there would definitely be many restrictions on his path. When he rejected the marriage, he did not think too much about it, firstly, because of him, and secondly, because he did not want to waste Yan Yao’an’s life.
He thought for a moment before replying, “Mother, please give me some more time.”
The Madam Leng was helpless as he could not bear to disturb his rest. He had no choice but to swallow his words, “Then we will go out first, lie down and rest for a while.”
Saying that, she followed Xie Liqing and Xie Xun out of the house, and before she left, she looked back with worry.
An Wang’s Mansion.
When Xie Zhen heard the news that Xie Rong had rejected the marriage and that he had been beaten up by the Emperor Yuan Hui, he immediately sat up on the Arhat Bed. Why would brother do such an impulsive thing? ”
Yan Yu had just returned from the palace and sat opposite of her, “He refused to marry Yaoyan. father was furious, he ordered people to beat him eighty times.”
His tone was calm, and there wasn’t the slightest trace of sympathy in it.
It was said that Yan Yao’an cried for a long time on that day, and his eyes were still swollen.
Xie Zhen anxiously walked out, “I want to go back and take a look.”
Yan Yu pulled his hand, thought for a while and said: “I’ll accompany you.”
The two of them returned to the Duke Dingguo’s Mansion together. Xie Rong’s injuries after two days were no longer as serious as they were at the start, but he still sat on the bed and could not get off the bed. Xie Zhen brought many precious supplements, and cooked all of them for Xie Rong to eat. He laughed involuntarily, “Do you think I have an incurable disease?”
Xie Zhen stood by the bedside, “I think brother is quite sick.”
These words had two meanings, secretly mocking him for refusing such a good marriage.
Xie Rong understood, but did not explain anything.
The majority of the people thought the same as Xie Zhen and Madam Leng, they thought that he shouldn’t, but only he knew what he wanted. So he smiled and pretended that he didn’t understand and let the misunderstanding continue.
Xie Zhen had seen Xie Rong before, so he talked with his parents in the hall for a while before returning to An Wang’s Mansion with Yan Yu.
On the way back, Xie Zhen asked: “Is Yao An alright?”
Yan Yu nodded, “After crying, I will see.”
Xie Zhen heaved a sigh of relief, “That’s good.” She was really worried that Yan Yao’an would be injured from this, and would not be able to recover from his injuries even after a short period of time.
Not long after the disagreement over the marriage ended, the people of capital did not even have the time to discuss about it, when they were attracted by another piece of shocking news.
The First Prince, Yan Yun, had rebelled at Gao Yang, killed most of the officials in the city, and breached two of the surrounding cities. Now, he was planning to attack Lin Yi and Kai Yang.
