Her guards

Chapter 104 He Didn't Ask

"Scholar Ling, Scholar Ling."

The sounds of knocking and soft calls came from outside the window.

Ling Yu stared at the book, her gaze unwavering.

Today, the teacher took his students to Lingquan Temple. There weren't many students at the Chinese Academy.

The teachers and students at the Academy of Chinese Studies all knew that he was obsessed with reading and would not disturb him.

Even if there is a real emergency, they will use the main entrance and respectfully address Dr. Ling as Senior Brother Ling.

The simultaneous appearance of the back window, the scholar, and the female voice is truly bizarre.

But none of that matters compared to the chapters where we're at a crucial point.

"...The Empress has come to the Imperial Academy."

A woman's voice whispered from the back window.

Ling Yu finally spoke, and hummed in agreement: "I know."

Although he was obsessed with reading, whenever his teacher was away, he would report any news or events at the Chinese Academy to him.

He knew it when the Imperial Guards who were originally guarding outside the academy suddenly came in and surrounded the princess's companions.

The palace maids there also came in person to say that something had happened that involved the princess's privacy, and that the empress would come in person, asking the Imperial Academy not to interfere.

"...The Empress is going to torture the female students."

The woman continued.

Ling Yu turned the page and saw the next line of text as he expected. He nodded in satisfaction and said, "Those are not students, but the princess's companions. They have nothing to do with the Imperial Academy."

Although he was obsessed with reading, he was born into a family that owned mountains of gold and silver, so it was impossible for him to be completely oblivious to what was happening in the world. Moreover, he had traveled around with his teacher and lived through a chaotic era. The fact that the two of them survived made him extremely insightful about the ways of the world.

Even the Empress herself came, which shows how serious the matter was. How could he possibly abandon his peaceful studies to get involved?

The person at the back window seemed to be in a hurry, and with a thud, they squeezed in.

"Scholar, please do me a favor."

Ling Yu's gaze remained fixed on the lines of text, ignoring the person who entered the room. She shook her head and said, "Knowing the constant is enlightenment. Not knowing the constant leads to reckless actions and misfortune."

“Scholar, it is Ah Sheng who is being tortured.”

Ah Sheng? Ling Yu paused, then slowly turned her head to look at the woman who was walking out of the inner washroom.

The scholar finally glanced at her, and Peach Blossom quickly said, "Scholar Ling, do you remember me? I'm Ah Sheng's sister-in-law, from the butcher shop..."

Before she could finish speaking, the young scholar who had been sitting got up and strode out, his movements so fast that Peach Blossom couldn't even react.

She hadn't even explained how her cousin-in-law ended up here! Nor had she explained why the female student being tortured by the Empress had become Ah Sheng.
Peach Blossom gripped the knife hidden in her wrist. She hadn't even had a proper conversation yet; if she couldn't win an argument, she'd resort to violence.
Did this scholar Ling not hear what she said?

……

.......
"I will ask you again now."

The Empress's voice was deep and somber.

"If you don't tell the truth, I will resort to torture."

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" The palace maid cried and kowtowed, "I am telling the truth. It was Yang Luo who instructed me."

The Empress said calmly, "Strike."

At a command, two palace maids stepped forward and held the woman down, while two eunuchs struck her with their canes. The woman screamed in agony, and the blood that had been flowing from her mouth and nose gushed out again. Princess Wuyang, who was leaning against Consort Li's chest, felt the blood splatter on her face as well. She lost all her previous composure and was almost terrified.

That's horrible, she shouldn't be beaten like that.

Mother must protect her!
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid." Consort Li hugged her daughter tightly and murmured, "Just answer whatever Your Majesty asks, tell the truth."

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I say—" came the palace woman's screams and cries.

A palace maid raised her hand, and the eunuchs stopped holding their walking sticks.

"I actually knew," the palace maid said in a trembling voice, her face streaked with tears and blood. "I... I was also indignant that our princess was being bullied, and I wanted to vent my anger, so I agreed when Miss Yang Luo made the suggestion..."

“I don’t know—they didn’t tell me—” Princess Wuyang couldn’t help but shout again.

These are all her people. They plotted under the guise of venting their anger on her behalf. Doesn't that make her an accomplice? She's been wronged!
Consort Li quickly covered her mouth.

The Empress did not order the palace maids to beat her again, but simply said, "Don't worry, I'll ask you soon."

After saying that, his gaze fell on "Yang Luo" who was kneeling on the ground.

Yang Luo didn't look up from beginning to end; it's unclear whether he was too frightened to think straight.

"Attack," the Queen said.

Hit him? Yang Luo, who was standing at the door staring intently inside, turned pale. He hadn't even asked a question before being hit?

"Your Majesty—" Yang Luo, kneeling on the ground, was clearly surprised and raised her head. "I didn't—"

The Empress's gaze had already lowered, focusing only on the scattered gold embellishments on her sleeves.

"Let's just hit him first," she said, "to avoid wasting time arguing."

The palace women stepped forward and pressed the kneeling man down, while the eunuchs holding the canes stood on either side...

Although they had retreated to Merlin's side, the young ladies in the hall could still hear the sounds. At this moment, many of them closed their eyes and bit their lower lips to avoid screaming.

“If this fight continues,” Jiang Rui murmured, “even if she didn’t do it, she won’t be able to stay in the capital.”

The caning punishment in the palace, not to mention whether a young girl's delicate body could withstand it, being beaten in public would also cause her mental breakdown.

Although she had previously disliked the Yang family's young lady's behavior, Jiang Rui was now filled with sorrow. Was this young lady regretting coming to the capital? She had thought that by coming to the princess's side she could rise to a higher social status, but she hadn't realized that the imperial authority could be deadly. As this thought flashed through her mind, she suddenly saw "Willow Cicada" standing at the very front rushing into the hall—

Jiang Rui subconsciously reached out and grabbed "Willow Cicada".

“You’re insane,” she hissed.

After scolding him, I felt like I had gone crazy.

Why bother with Liu Chan's life or death? She's unkind to her and even has designs on Zhu Yunxiao...

Perhaps it was because of the praise she gave her father when they first met.

Jiang Rui gripped Liu Chan's wrist tightly.

Yang Luo was surprised that Jiang Rui would grab her, and turned around, but then tried to break free: "I can't just stand by and do nothing."

“What can you do?” Jiang Rui said in a low voice. “That’s the Empress’s order.”

She didn’t know what she could do. Yang Luo thought to herself, she just couldn’t watch Ah Sheng get beaten like this. At worst, she could rush in, make Ah Sheng take out the dragon-patterned jade pendant, and directly claim that she was the emperor’s daughter. She would just tear off the mask and not care about the outcome!

A loud bang was heard.

The sound of a wooden cane striking flesh could be heard.

They hit them!

Yang Luo pushed Jiang Rui away forcefully.

"stop!"

"Miss!"

"Mother concubine!"

A woman's scream came from inside.

Yang Luo and Jiang Rui were both stunned for a moment, then looked inside. Through the guards and palace women at the door, they could see the eunuchs' raised rods striking down, but the girl lying on the ground was not hit...

Consort Li threw herself onto her.

The eunuch's paddle struck Consort Li heavily.

Everyone in the school was startled.

Princess Wuyang was even more incredulous. She was terrified when her mother pushed her away and went to protect the tutor.

"Li Qing!" The Empress was also taken aback for a moment, then sneered, "Why are you in such a hurry? I've already said that I will use torture when I question you later."

"Your Majesty," Consort Li pleaded, clinging to the young girl, "It's all my fault for not teaching them properly. They're young and don't know any better. If Your Majesty wants to punish someone, punish me instead. I'm willing to pay for Princess Heicheng's life. Please don't hit her; she's still just a child—"

The Empress smiled and said, "I'll say it again: don't worry. Once it's found out that they were wrong, you, as their mother, won't be able to escape either."

She looked at Consort Li, enunciating each word clearly.

"...I'll make sure you get a good beating too."

After saying that, he shouted.

"Pull her away!"

More palace women stepped forward.

Consort Li struggled desperately, pleading, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please spare her! Hit me instead, I'll take the punishment in her place—"

But they couldn't withstand the sheer number of palace women and were quickly pulled apart.

The Empress lowered her eyes, still refusing to look at the girl on the ground: "Hit her."

The two eunuchs raised their wooden staffs again.

Yang Luo snapped out of her daze and tried to break free from Jiang Rui again—

"stop!"

A loud male voice rang out.

Yang Luo stopped again, covered her mouth with her hand, and looked back. She saw a young man walking briskly towards her.

He was dressed in a blue robe, without a cloak or boots, only wearing a pair of casual shoes, and strode along.

The other female companions also looked over, and whispers arose.

"It's Lingyu."

"Dr. Ling has arrived."

Behind Ling Yu were seven or eight instructors.

Hearing the shout to stop from outside, which was also a male voice, the two eunuchs inside hesitated for a moment. But the empress sat upright with her eyes downcast and did not say a word. The two eunuchs came to their senses and were about to continue hitting her.

Ling Yu strode into the room and shouted "Stop!" again. Seven or eight instructors following behind him rushed over and stopped the two eunuchs. Two strong instructors even took away the canes.

A commotion broke out in the hall.

The empress then raised her head, as if only then noticing the person who had entered.

She certainly knew Ling Yu.

“Dr. Ling,” she said in a deep voice, “entering without authorization is an overstepping of your bounds.”

Ling Yu didn't look at her, but at the girl who was being tortured on the ground.

The girl's hair came undone during the tug-of-war, and she was looking over at the same time, her eyes meeting. She slowly looked away and then slowly raised her arm to cover her face with her sleeve.

(End of this chapter)