Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace: Fawning

After leaving the Yikun Palace, Li Yu went to the Ministry of Punishment. He directly pulled out the nanny he had given money to and slapped her twice. Nanny Jingqi was beaten so hard that she saw stars and fell to the ground crying out for justice. Seeing that Li Yu was a favorite of the emperor, she did not dare to fight back. Li Yu grabbed the nanny's hair and looked at her fiercely, "Tell me, why did you treat惢心 like this? Didn't you promise me that you would take good care of惢心 and never let her get hurt?"

The nanny was trembling with fear and begged for mercy, "Eunuch, please spare my life, this servant... this servant dared not. It was Aunt Zhenshu, who was beside Concubine Jia, who gave us some silver and said that the emperor had imposed a severe punishment and that we must force Miss惢心 to tell the truth. That's why..."

"What did you do to惢心? Say--" Li Yu increased the strength in his hands, causing the nanny's eyes to turn red with pain.

The nanny didn't dare to hide anything and had to tell the truth: "Miss Suo Xin was stubborn, so they whipped her and beat her with sticks. She fainted from the pain several times. They then poured salt water and chili water on her, but she was stubborn and didn't say a word. Finally, they had no choice but to put her in the clamps and broke her hands and feet with them."

The more the nanny spoke, the more guilty she felt. Li Yu loosened his grip, and the nanny immediately crawled back a few steps and escaped from his clutches.

He seemed to have lost all his strength and sat limply on the ground, sweat pouring down his forehead, as if he had experienced all the punishments that the nanny had just described.

He hit his head and burst into tears.惢心 was such a good girl, why did God torture her like this? He wanted her to be happy, but惢心 had only received suffering.

He hated himself for not being able to save the one he loved.

But even so, Li Yu also wanted to avenge惢心, Concubine Jia. He would definitely make her pay the price. Although he couldn't touch her now, Zhenshu was Concubine Jia's confidant, so he would start with her.

Li Yu wiped away his tears, took a horsewhip from the torture instruments and walked in front of Zhenshu.

Zhenshu rolled her eyes at him, turned her face away, and said stubbornly, "What are you doing here?"

Li Yu touched the whip and said coldly: "I will repay you double for what you did to惢心."

As he spoke, Li Yu began to whip her fiercely. Zhenshu endured it, holding her lips tightly and crying out in injustice: "It's unfair. Your Majesty, please believe Concubine Jia. She really knows nothing."

Li Yu didn't leave until he was tired.

In Qixiang Palace, Yuyan was restless.

Li Xin brought over a cup of soothing tea and advised, "My lady, even if you don't care about yourself, you should take care of the prince in your belly. Don't worry, Sister Zhenshu will be fine."

Yuyan absentmindedly reached out to take the tea, but accidentally knocked over the cup. The scalding water splashed on her fingertips, but she didn't feel any pain. Li Xin, on the other hand, was extremely nervous. She quickly pulled out her handkerchief and said hurriedly, "This servant deserves death. My lady, are you okay?"

Yuyan came back to her senses and asked worriedly, "Do you think Zhenshu will come back safely?"

Li Xin nodded, "Don't worry, my lady. Sister Zhenshu is so loyal to you that she will definitely not betray you, and she will be released soon."

Yuyan seemed unconvinced. Others might not understand the emperor. She had been with Hongli for more than ten years. Although she had never been truly in love with him, she still knew him well as he had been his bedmate for more than ten years. Hongli was a very suspicious person. He was wary and on guard against the Empress Dowager, the Imperial Noble Consort, Empress Xiaoxian and Consort Chun. Zhenshu was very important to her, but to Hongli she was just a maid and a servant. Her execution was no big deal. But to Yuyan, her significance was indeed extraordinary. Zhenshu was her dowry and her remembrance of Yushi. If Zhenshu was gone, her life in the palace would be like walking on thin ice and it would be difficult for her to hold on.

Yuyan burst into tears. "When Empress Xiaoxian was alive, I humbled myself and acted like a slave, just to have someone to rely on in the harem. That's why when I was in the palace, I took medicine to avoid being favored until the legitimate wife got pregnant. I never thought that now that I'm a noble concubine, I still have to live this kind of life that depends on others' opinions."

Li Xin felt a little distressed and called softly, "Young Master?"

Yuyan mourned for a moment, raised her hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and smiled, "What are you afraid of? The prince still needs me. I will never lose. Zhenshu, I will definitely find a way to rescue her."

Yes, her beloved prince has inherited the throne, but his foundation is not stable yet, and he still needs her. At this critical moment, she must be stronger. Only in this way can she gain more benefits for the Yu family and the prince.

The next day, Yuyan took Lixin to the Yangxin Palace to find Hongli.

Hongli naturally knew the purpose of Yuyan's visit and did not want to see her, so he asked Jinzhong to find a random reason to send Yuyan back to Qixiang Palace.

Although Yuyan was anxious, she could not force her way in due to the majesty of heaven. She had to turn around and head to the Ministry of Punishment, but unexpectedly she met Li Yu there.

Li Yu stepped forward and saluted Yu Yan as if nothing had happened. "Your servant greets Her Majesty Jia. Why would Her Majesty condescend to be here today?"

Yuyan was angry and said in a bad tone, "Get out of here! How dare you stop me?"

Li Yu was not annoyed at all. He still stood in front of Yu Yan with a smile, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I am here at the Ministry of Punishment under the orders of the Emperor. It's not that I won't let you in, but you are pregnant. If anything happens to your child, how will you explain it to the Emperor? Besides, Zhenshu is a serious criminal now. If you go in and discuss a confession with her, wouldn't it be in vain that Suo Xin will be hurt. So please be considerate of me."

Yuyan's face turned pale and blue, and she roared, "You little slave, how dare you use the emperor to pressure me?"

"Oh, Madam, please calm down. I dare not do that. If Madam insists on thinking this way, then I can't do anything about it."

"You...you..." Yuyan was so angry that she couldn't speak.

As long as Li Yu is around, Yuyan can't see Zhenshu.

She had no choice but to go back to Qixiang Palace and find another solution.

After a few days, Zhenshu was tortured beyond recognition. She couldn't understand why, despite all the abuses, Ruoxin could still endure and grit her teeth to not betray the Imperial Concubine. Of course, Zhenshu would not betray her master, but she could not bear it any longer and could only call Jingqi Ma Ma to confess everything. She took all the blame on herself and cleared Yuyan of all charges.

She said that she wanted to frame the Imperial Noble Concubine because she couldn't stand her. Because Concubine Jia was good friends with Empress Xiaoxian in the past, and Empress Xiaoxian was kind to them, a pair of master and servant from a foreign land, Zhenshu felt that Empress Xiaoxian's death was related to the Imperial Noble Concubine. That day, she happened to see Master Anji shaking the Imperial Noble Concubine's hand, and heard Master Anji tell Ruyi that she could use the seven-treasure bracelet to pray, so she came up with this idea.

Zhenshu also wanted to blame Ruyi for Langya's death. What a vicious plot.

After getting the confession, Hongli was extremely angry, but considering that Zhenshu was Yuyan's dowry and Yuyan was pregnant, he did not take her life. Instead, he asked Jinzhong to find someone to send her back to the Yu family and let the Yu family punish her.

When Yuyan heard that Zhenshu was going to be sent back to the Yu family, she was extremely anxious and waited early in the morning on the road that Zhenshu must take.

After not seeing each other for many days, Yuyan looked much more haggard and Zhenshu was covered in wounds. The master and servant looked at each other in silence.

After a while, Yuyan pounced on him.

The chains on Zhenshu's hands and feet jingled, and her body was covered with wounds.

Yuyan held Zhenshu's hand with tears in her eyes and said, "Zhenshu, I'm sorry."

Zhenshu comforted her, "My lady, don't cry. Although I can no longer serve you, my heart will always be with you."

Yuyan was not afraid of getting dirty, she hugged Zhenshu tightly and refused to let go, "Zhenshu, I will go and ask the emperor, he will definitely keep you for my sake."

Zhenshu shook her head. "It's useless." She looked up at Lixin and said, "Lixin, the young lady has always been very kind to you. When I'm gone, you have to serve the young lady well for me, okay?"

Li Xin wiped her tears and nodded, "Don't worry, Sister Zhenshu, I will serve you well."

Before she could finish her words, the guard rudely pushed Zhenshu away.

Yuyan was reluctant to leave and wanted to catch up, but she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. She squatted on the ground, holding her stomach in pain. Seeing this, Lixin hurried to help Yuyan.

Yuyan said bitterly, "These bastards simply don't take me seriously."

When she stood up again, Yan Wan approached from a distance.

Finally stopped in front of Yuyan.

Yuyan suppressed her sadness, and when she looked at Yanwan, she became disdainful, "My dear lady, why is it you?"

Yan Wan covered her face with her handkerchief and laughed. She was naturally beautiful, as beautiful as ink painted on snow, and this smile was like a spring breeze caressing winter snow. Yu Yan was already angry, and seeing Yan Wan's face that was three-quarters similar to Ru Yi made her even angrier. She snorted coldly, "What are you laughing at?"