The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

How could Deng Jihui not know how much water there is in his title of "son of Buddha"?

On this path, he had never thought about truly practicing, but just wanted to have a nice-sounding name that was different from the secular world, so that others would willingly worship him, not only allowing him to take whatever he wanted, but also continuing to sing praises of his name as a Buddhist after being asked for.

All he had to do was wear specially tailor-made clothes, twist expensive Buddhist beads, put on an unfathomable smile, and occasionally say a few seemingly sensible empty words. As for the rest - he was a Duke of England, rich and powerful, so naturally there were many people willing to run around and build momentum for him, and to produce such a "son of Buddha" who had an empty mind and was even full of poison.

As for the Buddhist scriptures, Buddhist principles and the compassion of Buddhists?

He never needed to, and even disdained to put it into practice. He only needed to teach the little princess in his eyes subtly how tempting this kind of man was, this kind of man who was noble and aboveboard but would lose control for her, and be pulled off the altar by her, a rich and beautiful woman in the world.

Even if there are many calculations involved, as long as love is born, even if the grown-up Princess Yuyi sees through his tricks in the future, at that time, it will only become a pleasure between two lovers.

However, Deng Jihui never imagined that Lu Weiyuan would watch him perform silently for more than ten years. She had seen through his hypocrisy from the very beginning but never exposed it. And when he showed a little aggressiveness, she would tear off his false mask in front of a group of powerful children without any mercy, using only an ignorant little monk and a few ordinary civilians.

"I don't know which Buddha the Duke of England is worshipping. I really want to know what kind of filth is hidden beneath His golden body to make a cheap person like you a Buddhist disciple." Lu Weiyuan's voice was as sweet as before, and his tone was still brisk, but the words he spoke were extremely harsh. "And I made you all agree with me like a fool. How despicable a demon must you be to tear apart the bones and blood of others to feed yourself?"

At this moment, no one dared to immerse themselves in the princess's slightly childish and sweet voice. They had to listen carefully to every word she uttered, and at the same time try their best to resist the shame brought about by her ruthless humiliation.

"Oh, I shouldn't have said such foul language." Lu Weiyuan smiled, "Duke Ying, I'm so sorry, are you willing to forgive me for my momentary impoliteness?"

"Your Highness has a keen eye. I have acted inappropriately and I deserve Your Highness's reprimand. How could I..."

"That's too fake." Lu Weiyuan snapped the fan shut. "I want to hear the truth."

Deng Jihui's forehead was covered with sweat. He finally realized that the "Princess Yuyi" he saw was not who he thought she was at all. The naive little girl hidden under the noble appearance of a royal family was not the one he thought she was. The reason why he had such an illusion was just... just because this princess had never paid much attention to him.

Whether it was the powerful Duke Yingguo in Beijing or Deng Jihui, her classmate in the Imperial Study, they were all just insignificant existences like dust to her.

Deng Jihui, realizing this, felt a mixture of shock and fear in his heart. He bit his tongue hard and pinched his palms to keep a clear mind amidst the overwhelming shame and regret: "I, your humble servant... speak from the bottom of my heart. I do... know I am wrong..."

"You never change your bad habits." Lu Weiyuan smiled obediently and tilted his head slightly, "Follow my heart, two whips."

Before everyone could react to what she meant, Hu Ziyi had already taken a big step forward, pulled out the horsewhip, and swung it hard at Deng Jihui.

Even when it came to palace maids who made mistakes, Lu Weiyuan had never used such a direct method to punish them. In everyone's impression of her, although this little princess was a little naughty at times, she had a very good temper.

The whip sounds crisp.

After the two whippings, both Deng Jihui, who was beaten, and the children of powerful and wealthy who were standing nearby, cowering like quails and not daring to breathe, were all stunned.

The place where he was whipped felt a burning pain, and tears suddenly welled up in Deng Jihui's eyes. He looked up at Lu Weiyuan in disbelief.

The latter opened his folding fan again and waved it leisurely: "Duke Ying, are you willing to forgive my momentary impoliteness and the offense of these two whips?"

"Speak up, Lord England. The chance to prove that your Buddha is not a false Buddha or an evil demon, and that you are not a fake Buddhist, is right here, right before your eyes, right at the tip of your tongue."

"Your humble servant... Your humble servant is willing... to forgive... Your Highness..." Deng Jihui's whole body began to tremble uncontrollably. It was not known whether it was because of the pain from the two whippings, the shame of being humiliated, or some other emotion. He almost squeezed out these words from between his teeth. His face had turned completely pale, and large beads of sweat rolled down his face, mixing with his tears. He looked extremely embarrassed.

"Not sincere." Lu Weiyuan shook his head and said, "Duke Yingguo, how can a Buddhist be so insincere? I know you must be angry because you were offended. Since you are a Buddhist, how can you hide your anger inside instead of facing it calmly? I am not satisfied with your answer."

"Your Majesty..." Deng Jihui only felt the taste of rust in his mouth, and his heart ached. If possible, he wanted to just walk away, or rush forward and fight with that hateful woman... but he couldn't.

The princess is the monarch and he is the minister, and what happened today was that he made a mistake due to negligence, which was caught and exposed by Lu Weiyuan. The people present who witnessed the despicable nature under this skin, even if their family titles may not be as high as theirs, the power contained in them means that they don't have to be too shy about the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion behind them, and they can openly spread Princess Yuyi's evaluation of themselves today.

At that time, the reputation of a Buddhist that he had worked so hard to build would collapse in an instant. Of course, the more crucial thing was that if he chose to turn around and leave, he would probably offend Princess Yuyi to death. The Duke of Yingzhou's Mansion, which had finally managed to slowly escape from the shadow of Concubine Deng's death, would surely fall into an even more miserable situation.

He should not have treated Princess Yuyi carelessly from the beginning, treating her as an inexperienced little girl, and making assumptions about her. Unfortunately, it was too late to say anything now.

The ignorant villain who only had a piece of branch in his hand had already awakened the evil beast with sharp claws and fangs.