Chapter 171: No Matter Who Comes, The Whipping Must Be Finished
Mr. Li felt his heart tremble. He averted his gaze and announced in a loud voice, "An oral edict from the Emperor! Ye Qianning and Prime Minister Gao are to proceed to the palace at once."
Old Master Gu’s expression grew grim. ’It’s the middle of the night. Why would the Emperor summon them to the palace?’
Zhan Yi lowered his gaze. ’This child caused such a scene at the Prime Minister’s estate. She must have alarmed the Emperor long ago, but why is he only sending for them now?’
"I... I must go to the palace... I must report her, and report Xiang Minghou..." Prime Minister Gao crawled toward Mr. Li.
The sight of his mangled flesh made even Mr. Li wince in pain.
"Someone, help the Prime Minister up," Mr. Li ordered.
A young eunuch from behind him hurried forward.
"Stop," Ye Qianning said.
Mr. Li looked over at her. "Miss Xiang, the Emperor has summoned you to the palace for an immediate audience. There can be no delays. Please, come with this servant."
"I will leave once my business here is concluded. I must trouble you to wait," Ye Qianning said, showing no intention of stopping.
"I... I must go to the palace for an audience with the Emperor!" Prime Minister Gao shrieked.
"Miss Xiang, if we are late and the Emperor assigns blame, this servant cannot bear the consequences," Mr. Li said.
Ye Qianning shot him a cold glare. "If you can’t bear the consequences, I can. I told you to wait, so you will wait!"
Mr. Li was stunned. ’Truly,’ he thought, ’a newborn calf fears no tiger.’
"How many lashes did you give Fourth Granny?" Ye Qianning asked the guards coldly.
"For... forty-one," a guard answered.
Forty-one lashes?
Everyone present was stunned. They had assumed it was a simple beating, not forty-one lashes with a whip. How could anyone survive that?
No wonder the little girl was so enraged.
"And how many has Prime Minister Gao received so far?" she asked again.
"Six."
"Thirty-five more to go. Continue. Don’t miss a single lash."
The guard pursed his lips, and the whip fell upon Prime Minister Gao again, each lash biting deep enough to hit bone.
"AHHH... Mr. Li..."
"My husband... Mr. Li... We must see the Emperor... Mr. Li, this child is defying an imperial edict..." Prime Minister Gao’s wife wailed, nearly sobbing herself breathless.
"Help me... AHHH..."
The screams echoed in everyone’s ears.
Mr. Li never imagined such a young child would dare to defy the Emperor’s oral edict. "Miss Xiang, if this continues, you will kill him!"
"So the Prime Minister’s life is precious, but my Fourth Granny’s isn’t?"
"But..."
"No buts," Ye Qianning cut him off coldly. "All forty-one lashes will be delivered, no matter who shows up. Whether he lives or dies is up to his own fortune."
"But... Miss Xiang, he is the Prime Minister. Only the Emperor can decide if he lives or dies." Mr. Li was taken aback by how obstinate the girl was.
"Even the Emperor must adhere to reason. Prime Minister Gao sent assassins after me, and I could let that slide. But he harmed the person dearest to me, and that is something I can never forgive. Even if it costs me my life, I will get justice for Fourth Granny." Ye Qianning’s young face was icy as she added in a strained voice, "Everyone has a line that can’t be crossed. My family is mine."
As she spoke, everyone fell silent, leaving only the sound of the whip and the agonizing screams.
’My family is my line?’
Things that Old Master Gu hadn’t understood before suddenly clicked into place. ’The little girl was ambushed on Lou Mountain. She must have known then that it was the Prime Minister’s men. The reason she didn’t retaliate was that she simply didn’t care about it.’
’It must have been when she returned to the General’s estate on her day off and saw that old woman covered in wounds that her anger was finally stoked. Forty-one lashes... these old bones of mine probably couldn’t even withstand twenty.’
In a way, he was a bit envious.
’If he were the one beaten so brutally, no one from the Gu family would have the courage to storm the Prime Minister’s estate for him.’
Zhan Yi finally understood completely. ’It wasn’t that the little girl was cruel; it was that the Prime Minister’s actions had pushed her beyond what she could tolerate.’