Chapter 9
The second prince explained before going to war, whether it was military affairs or the food in the wangfu, all at the seventh princess’s discretion.
The Chief Historian waited for Li Yaoying to give her instructions.
Xu Biao strained his neck and snorted lightly a few times, his face full of mockery.
In the stifling silence, a buzzing chatter came from all around, and the circle of onlookers grew as more and more people gathered around.
Li Yaoying did not issue an order to clear the scene, and the guards did not drive away the people.
The Chief Hisotrian’s face was grave.
Yaoying glanced at him lightly: “Since the evidence was conclusive and Xu Biao has admitted his guilt, then deal with him according to military law.”
The Chief Historian’s heart was shocked.
Really according to military law? The Seventh Princess was easygoing, tolerant and generous, and had never scolded her maids and palace staff….
Yaoying’s brows were lightly knitted.
The Chief Historian hid his surprise and did not hesitate any longer, “Execution!”
Two guards answered and took two steps forward, pressing Xu Biao to make him kneel down.
Xie Qing walked up to Xu Biao, unsheathing a long sword.
Xu Biao’s face turned white, completely sober.
The wangfu’s subordinates didn’t expect Li Yaoying to actually carry out the execution. They turned pale with fright, and tremblingly spoke: “Princess, spare Xu Biao this time, he is reckless in nature….”
Yaoying raised her hand.
Xie Qing’s action of drawing the sword immediately stopped.
The subordinates of the wangfu breathed a sigh of relief.
Yaoying looked at Xu Biao: “Are you used to using your left hand or your right hand?”
Xu Biao lost all his courage and froze for a moment, saying, “Right hand.”
Yaoying nodded and said to Xie Qing, “Cut off his left hand.”
Xie Qing responded, slashing down with the long sword.
There was a flash of cold light.
The long sword cut off two fingers of the left hand and blood gushed out.
Xu Biao screamed out in misery.
A few of the wangfu’s subordinates shivered in fear and subconsciously clenched both their hands.
The crowd of onlookers was quiet for a moment, and then erupted in loud discussion.
”The princess has dealt with that evil thief according to military law!”
”The Wei army is strict in its governance, and the second prince is a noble prince, how could he forcibly rob innocent people? It’s all because of these villains making mischief!”
”The Seventh Princess was clear in her rewards and punishments!”
Outside the wine shop, there was nonstop applause and praise.
Xu Biao was taken away to have his wounds bandaged.
Yaoying’s scalp tingled and her body trembled slightly.
Xie Qing glanced quickly at her, raised a foot to step over, blocking the puddle of blood on the ground.
Unable to see the dripping wet blood, Yaoying felt a bit better and breathed a sigh of relief.
The Chief Historian had seen Li Yaoying grow up. Seeing that her expression did not look right, he knew that she was remembering the old days when she was five years old. He felt pity and sorrow in his heart and sighed: “Let this old slave do this dirty work… Princess is fragile, should not be exposed to this bloody scene.”
Yaoying shook her head: “Don’t put off things until tomorrow that could be done today. If we did not punish Xu Biao today, second brother’s reputation would really be tarnished.”
Li De did not allow Li Zhongqian to threaten Li Xuanzhen’s position, suppressing him many times.
Li Zhongqian then gave up and stopped caring, not particularly restricting towards his subordinates.
His subordinates often used his name to break the law and commit crimes, and his reputation was getting worse by the day.
Li De disliked him for his debauchery, the noble families felt that he was frivolous and callous, and the people cursed him for his brutality and viciousness.
When he was trapped under siege, no one came to his aid.
When he was young, he followed Li De to frontlines of the battlefield and fought for his country for many years.
At a young age, his bones were buried under the yellow sand.
After his death, there was not even a monument.
Why did Li Xuanzhen hate them so much?
Yaoying’s mind had drifted for a while then instructed, “Send someone to keep an eye on the movement of the street stalls. Don’t allow anyone to use this as a reason to smear my second brother.”
”In the future, if anyone under second brother’s command breaks the military rules again, punish them as usual and do not let them off lightly.”
”Remember to send someone to Shengping Square to find those innocent girls detained by Xu Biao and return them to their families.”
”Old slave understands.” The chief historian nodded and paused, “Princess, from His Highness’s point of view, his reputation is not as important as yours. You must take care of your health; next time you come across this kind of thing, let this old slave handle it.”
The second prince had instructed him insistently before leaving, every sentence telling him to properly look after the seventh princess. Not a word was mentioned about other matters.
Yaoying smiled: “I know.”
She looked calm and relaxed just now, not even blinking once. In fact, she was a little afraid at heart.
The crowd of spectators gradually dispersed.
The original officials rushed over to report that the women had been sent home and properly settled.
Yaoying gave a sound of acknowledgement.
Turning around to mount the horse, from not far came a drumming sound.
The group of young sons who had followed her for quite a while were riding their steeds, gathering before the front courtyard.
”Princess was wise!”
”Princess was mighty!”
”Princess, from now on, let me, Lu Hengsheng, handle this for you! Don’t dirty your eyes!”
The corners of Yaoying’s mouth twitched gently.
Thought they had been scared away long ago.
She looked at the blocked and impenetrable front door, saying, “Let’s go through the side door.”
Xie Qing answered yes and followed her out the side door.
The guard at the front suddenly yanked the reins to stop his horse, drew his sword and pointed upwards, and shouted angrily, “Who is it?
Yaoying looked in the direction the tip of the sword was pointing.
The side door was facing a high wall, a window on that wall. A thin figure was on the second floor window, holding himself up against the railing with both hands, over half of his body hanging outside in a mess. His brocade robe was fluttering in the wind, making a rustling noise.
The people of the wine shop ran over in a panic: “He’s not an assassin….”
”Right, he isn’t an assassin.”
The guard looked at the youth hanging on the railing, put away his long sword, mischievously answering in a low whisper, “He’s a brothel patron.”
Just as the words left his mouth, the youth could not support himself. He lost the strength in his hands and fell down.
The dust flew.
Xie Qing shielded Yaoying to fall back.
Yaoying stroked the Wusun horse, carelessly sweeping a glance at the youth who fell in front of the horse’s hooves.
The youth was embarrassed, struggling to get up. His eyes met hers, and his face suddenly turned red in a split second, too ashamed to lift his head.
Yaoying could almost feel the burning heat on his face.
Her heart stirred.
Could it be that they knew each other?
Just as she was about to take a closer look, the booming rumble of drums pounding came from south to north, and a rider crossed the long street, heading straight for the imperial city.
”The emperor was triumphant! The emperor was triumphant!”
Yaoying raised her head in surprise.
It was the sound of the drums that she had been expecting for a long time, the army returning in victory, the return of her second brother!
She gently clenched the belly of her horse, turned the horse’s head and galloped in the direction of the southern part of the city.
Xie Qing and the guards also followed and turned around.
The sound of horses’ hooves came, filling the sky with fine dirt.
The youth laid on the ground, covered in dirt, choking and coughing.
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