Adhere to the gentleman's principles

The two arrived at the inn where Xiao Zhengshu was staying. The guards stopped them when they saw that it was Li Ziyan and Zhao Junning. The people around them gathered around them again when they learned that Li Ziyan came to apologize. Xiao Zhengshu learned that Li Ziyan came to apologize, "Li Ziyan, you come to apologize to me? Okay, show your attitude."

Li Ziyan bowed and saluted: "Your Highness, the King of Yue, I, Li Ziyan, shouldn't have broken your wrist and injured you. I came here today to apologize to Your Highness." Xiao Zhengshu said: "Okay, come in and apologize." Li Ziyan walked into the courtyard. Zhao Junning was stopped by the guards. Li Ziyan bowed and saluted: "It's my fault that Your Highness, the King of Yue hit you."

When Xiao Zhengshu was feeling proud, Li Ziyan said, "But you teased my wife and bullied my wife, so I hit you in defense. If you can't swallow this, then hit me back. But since you accepted my apology, you should also apologize to my wife." Xiao Zhengshu was angered by Li Ziyan's words, and said angrily, "Okay, Li Ziyan, you have the ability." Then he said, "Someone come and beat him." A guard was hitting Li Ziyan from behind with a long whip. Zhao Junning saw this and wanted to rush to the other courtyard. After hitting him about ten times, Xiao Zhengshu said, "Stop." He looked at Li Ziyan and said, "Are you convinced?" Li Ziyan didn't say anything, so Xiao Zhengshu said, "Keep hitting him."

Zhao Junning tried her best to break into the courtyard and stood behind Li Ziyan to block a whip for him. This heavy whip would hurt a girl badly. Li Ziyan felt someone protecting him from behind and turned to see that it was Zhao Junning. At this time, the stick hit Zhao Junning and she fell on Li Ziyan. Another whip came down and Li Ziyan grabbed the whip and shook it off. He then held Zhao Junning in front of him and said, "Who asked you to block it? Can you bear that whip?" Zhao Junning said, "I told you not to let others hit you. It's just one whip."

Xiao Zhengshu became even angrier and snatched the stick with his right hand and said, "Get out of the way, you useless guy. Give me the whip." Li Ziyan grabbed Zhao Junning's hands and put them in his arms to prevent his silly girl from blocking him with her hands again. He knelt straighter, protecting the girl in front of him tightly, and covered Zhao Junning's eyes with his hands.

Zhao Junning became even more anxious and shouted at Xiao Zhengshu, "That's enough. I've already whipped you twenty times. Do you want more? You are a prince who bullies the common people and flirts with women. My husband is willing to accept the punishment and has also received these twenty whips."

Xiao Zhengshu ignored him and was about to continue beating him when an arrow shot at him and knocked his stick to the ground. Xiao Zhengshu turned around and said, "Xiao Xuanhe? Are you going to stop me?" Xiao Xuanhe stepped forward and said, "Brother, that's enough. You've already hit him twenty times. Do you really want to be an enemy of Marquis Guangping?"

Xiao Zhengshu raised his left hand and said, "An enemy? Look, take a good look at my hand. It was broken by Li Ziyan. If the doctor hadn't set the bone in time, your brother would be disabled. Why don't you help me now? Why are you helping the son of a minister?"

Li Ziyan released his hands that were holding Zhao Junning's wrists, looked at Zhao Junning and said, "It's okay, it doesn't hurt, I have thick skin." As he said that, he was too weak and fainted on Zhao Junning's shoulder.

Xiao Xuanhe said calmly: "Brother, I came here with the order of the emperor. You followed me secretly. If I tell the emperor, how about you being locked up in the palace like Xiaojiu?"

Xiao Zhengshu scolded Xiao Xuanhe: "Xiao Xuanhe, how dare you threaten me with my father?" Xiao Xuanhe said: "I have dared since I was a child. It doesn't matter if my brother has suffered this kind of hardship once and again."

Xiao Xuanhe glanced at Zhao Junning and Li Ziyan again and said, "Oh, the young marquis asked you to apologize to the young marquis' wife. The emperor has already beaten you, so it's okay to apologize, right?"

Xiao Zhengshu held his breath and looked at Zhao Junning: "Zhao Junning, I shouldn't bully you." Then Xiao Xuanhe helped Li Ziyan up and went to the carriage. Xiao Zhengshu was alone, jumping up and down in anger, cursing: "Why is the son of a concubine so arrogant? I am so angry."

Arriving at the Marquis' Mansion, Xiao Xuanhe carried Li Ziyan back to the house and laid him on the bed. The doctor also came. Xu Zhiwan and Li Yin came, and Li Yin saluted and said, "Your Highness, Prince Qi, what happened to my son?"

Xiao Xuanhe said, "He fainted after being whipped twenty times. My Lord, you are my brother. Please forgive me for being reckless and overbearing."

Li Yin said: "It's okay, it's okay. I thought the kid came back after admitting his mistake, but I didn't expect he was injured."

Xiao Zhengshu said, "The young marquis loves his wife, so he apologized, but he asked my brother to apologize to the young marquis's wife. My brother was arrogant and would not let go easily when he got the chance, so he beat the young marquis to vent his anger. The young marquis's wife was also hit." Li Yin became angry after hearing this: "I know."

"The young marquis has been applied with medicine." The doctor walked to the front room carrying the medicine box and said. Zhao Junning said, "Thank you, doctor. Let me give you Fuling." Xu Zhiwan looked at Zhao Junning: "Junning, are you okay after being whipped? Come and sit down and apply some medicine." Zhao Junning and Xu Zhiwan went to the back room. After Xu Zhiwan applied the medicine on Zhao Junning, she walked out of the back room.

Li Yin and Xu Zhiwan said, "Let's go back first and let the child have a good sleep." After Li Yin and Xu Zhiwan walked out of the door and walked back to the long corridor, Li Yin said, "This King of Yue is too much. He whipped my son twenty times and I couldn't bear to whip him so much." Xu Zhiwan said, "Forget it, don't be angry. Fortunately, the King of Qi rescued Zi Yan."

Inside the house, Xiao Xuanhe said to Zhao Junning, "Madam, I apologize to you again on behalf of my brother." Zhao Junning said, "No need, Zi Yan injured the King of Yue, and the King of Yue has returned. Thank you, His Royal Highness the King of Qi, for saving my husband today." Xiao Xuanhe said, "You're welcome, the young marquis and I are old acquaintances, so I should save him."

After looking at Li Ziyan on the bed, he said to Zhao Junning, "Then you take care of me and go back first. I will come to visit him again after he recovers in a few days." Zhao Junning smiled and nodded. After Xiao Xuanhe left, Zhao Junning walked to the bed and looked at Li Ziyan who was sleeping on his stomach. "He is so stubborn. He didn't say a word even after being whipped twenty times." As he said that, he squatted beside the bed very close to Li Ziyan and looked at him silently.

Li Ziyan said, "Hiss, it hurts." Zhao Junning woke up and helped Li Ziyan up. Zhao Junning lowered her head and said nothing. Li Ziyan knew that Zhao Junning was worried about him and must have cried. Li Ziyan said to Zhao Junning, "Does your back still hurt?" Zhao Junning shook her head and asked, "Does your back still hurt?" Li Ziyan said, "It doesn't hurt. I have thick skin, so twenty lashes are nothing."

Zhao Junning burst into tears as soon as these words came out, crying, "How can it not hurt? My clothes are soaked with blood." Li Ziyan saw Zhao Junning crying and hurriedly comforted her, "Oh, don't cry, it really doesn't hurt. I leaned on your shoulder and fainted when I heard the King of Qi apologize to you.

I'm so happy that he apologized to you. Who knows how angry he is now! I tell you, what he hates most is apologizing to people of lower status than himself. He apologized to you and apologized to a girl. He must be angry for half a month. Just think about it and I'm happy. It doesn't hurt at all."

Then he said with some heartache: "It's mainly because you, a silly girl, blocked a whip for me. Those few hits didn't hurt me."

Zhao Junning cried and said, "Then he couldn't hit you. He hit you twenty times. I couldn't bear to hit you at home. Why did he hit you?" She cried even harder.

Li Ziyan quickly pretended to be in pain: "Oh, it hurts so much. My wife is crying here. It hurts so much for me to be left alone." Zhao Junning heard Li Ziyan's cry in pain and wiped away her tears and looked at Li Ziyan with watery eyes: "Does it hurt a lot? Apply some more medicine." Seeing that Zhao Junning stopped crying, Li Ziyan said: "It doesn't hurt. I was lying. But you can't cry anymore." Zhao Junning cried even harder when she found out that Li Ziyan had lied to her.

Li Ziyan held Zhao Junning's face and said, "My dear wife, please don't cry. It really doesn't hurt me. But if you cry again, it will really hurt me."

Zhao Junning sucked back her tears and asked in a soft voice, "Really?" Then she added, "Then I won't cry anymore."

Li Ziyan wiped the tears from Zhao Junning's face and said in a teasing tone, "That's right. My wife, you are already fifteen, why are you still crying?"

Zhao Junning said, "I'm only fifteen, I'm still a child. And you got beaten and I couldn't beat them, so they cried anxiously, and I felt even more distressed when you fainted." Li Ziyan was amused by Zhao Junning and said in a clear voice, "Silly girl, I really have to be more careful in the future and not always make my girl cry."