CH 21

Qi Changyi’s scalp was torn badly. He was in so much pain that a thin layer of water vapor misted his eyes.

He tried to break away from Qi Yirou’s grip, but his body was still weak, and he couldn’t muster any strength. He could only cry out in pain, as he tried to explain, “Third sister, I really haven’t seen Yingying, I fell into the Lotus Pond and caught a cold, so I was sleeping all day. Ah…”

Qi Yirou, when she heard this, grew even angrier.

“What do you mean by this? Are you saying that I’m1 the one who caused you to catch a cold, so this is all my fault?! Also, don’t you dare call me your sister! I’m not your sister! Your mother was a traitorous foreigner who colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, how can you ever compare to me?”

The fourth and ninth prince’s mother consort, Noble Consort Ning, was a bewitchingly beautiful foreign woman. However, it was known throughout the entire palace that after the rebellion of the foreign clans, Noble Consort Ning was accused of treason, and was executed by ling chi2. Her death was extremely tragic.

It is said that the matter of Noble Consort Ning colluding with the enemy was reported to the Emperor by the fourth prince himself. Before her death, Noble Consort Ning only begged for the Emperor to treat her lonely and stupid second son well, and the Emperor agreed.

But the fourth prince who valued justice over family ties3 had since then only climbed higher, earning the Emperor’s trust and smoothly ascending to the Imperial Court.

Later, the Emperor issued a secret decree that forbade anyone from mentioning anything pertaining to Noble Consort Ning. Anyone who dared to gossip about the matter would have their tongue cut out before being executed.

Now that the third princess, who was used to being daring, actually had the gall to mention the ninth prince’s mother twice, the palace maids and guards who knew the story didn’t even dare to breathe.

Qi Changyi’s personality was usually soft and gentle, and his voice matched his temperament. He knew that he couldn’t mention his mother in the palace, but he didn’t know the reason behind it. He could only look back upon the memories of his mother in his heart.

However, when he heard his most beloved mother consort being slandered so wantonly, his eyes reddened with rage, and he shoved Qi Yirou away with all his strength.

“Nonsense! My mother, she didn’t!”

Qi Changyi’s hair was messy and torn, and it fluttered in the wind against the dark night. He was still wearing his white underclothes, and the sides of his eyes were splitting4; he no longer had any resemblance to a docile and cute white rabbit. Instead, he was like a little beast who had lost all rationality.

Qi Yirou was unprepared and was pushed back again and again. The maids behind her rushed over to help, but she still fell heavily to the ground.

Between her fingers were several torn strands of ink-black hair, and Qi Yirou was stunned on the spot.

This fool! How dare he push her?! She would definitely punish him, punish him heavily for all his crimes!

The second princess Qi Bingzhi, who had been standing silently behind the crowd, eventually came out to help the third princess, who was still sitting on the ground, furious.

“Third sister, hurry and get up. The ground is cold.” Her voice was warm and gentle, and it had a sort of comforting power.

Qi Yirou finally stood up. The elaborately woven skirt she was wearing was stained.

“Qi Changyi, you dare to push me, and turn me against you5! If you don’t hand over Yingying today, then I’ll be buried with you!”

Qi Yirou’s eyes were wide with anger. She flicked her hand, and the guards behind her immediately spread out to search the rooms of Qi Changyi’s palace. No matter what she found, she smashed it and threw it away.

In what world were these guards merely ‘searching’? They were clearly acting like robbers who had gone down the mountain to loot!

Qi Changyi clasped his small hands together and stood there, anxiously biting his lower lip without saying a word. Those lips that were originally bloodless and pale had turned red after being bitten.

The third princess ordered a nearby eunuch to kneel on all fours, before perching herself comfortably upon his back, while two palace maids fed her grapes.

On the other hand, the second princess was looking at Qi Changyi was a rare hint of worry in her eyes.

After an unknown amount of time, the guards were finally done searching. They walked up to the third princess and whispered a few words, and the third princess’s face immediately turned ugly.

“Useless trash, all of you! Why did Royal Father even let you all live, this place is only this big, but you can’t even find a dog?!”

She kicked the leader of the guards aside, pointing at Qi Changyi. “Bring him to me, I’m going to talk to Royal Father.”

A group of people came out of the ninth prince’s palace in a grand procession, weaving through the tall palace walls in the darkness, making their way towards the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Qi Changyi walked at the back of the group. The two guards behind him were constantly pushing him forward to make sure he kept pace with the third princess’s sedan chair.

There was a dark figure standing on the rubble, watching the scene from afar. After the group stopped in front of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, they lightly leaped onto the palace wall and left.

Before entering, Qi Yirou pinched her inner thigh hard, and tears flowed instantly. “Royal Father, you have to defend your daughter, I’m being bullied…”

The Emperor heard the distressed cries of his most beloved daughter, and his heart was about to break. He hurried out to receive her, holding her rain-soaked pear blossom face in his hands. “What’s the matter, who dares to bully my good daughter, huh? You really don’t want to live, don’t you?!”

At this time Qi Changyi, who had been following behind, entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation. The Emperor’s eyebrows knitted when he saw the white underclothes Qi Changyi was wearing.

Qi Yirou cried aggrievedly, adding oil to the fire of accusation, describing Qi Changyi’s evil deeds, making sure to emphasize every detail about how he had pushed her.

The Emperor’s eyes grew angrier as he listened, and he glared fiercely at Qi Changyi.

“I had thought that though you were lacking in intelligence, your heart was pure and good. Now you not only torture your elder sister’s beloved dog to death, but also dare to argue with her. You are so ignorant and wanton at such a young age, I should discipline you well!”

The Emperor flicked his sleeves angrily, and Qi Changyi hurriedly knelt to the floor and prostrated himself, his voice choked with sobs.

“Royal Father, I really didn’t. I won’t admit to things that I haven’t done.”

The Emperor’s voice was stern. “You still don’t admit it. Do you still want Rou-er to keep accusing you?”

Qi Yirou pouted, and her tears began to fall again, which made the Emperor’s heart ache.

“Drag the prince to the Ministry of Internal Affairs6. Today, I will punish him for the crime of deceiving the Emperor!”

When Qi Changyi heard the words ‘Ministry of Internal Affairs’, he began to tremble with fear. However, his mother had taught him never to lie, so he would not confess to this crime.

The guards surrounded Qi Changyi, picking him up and forcefully dragging him out as if he were a filthy rag.

If one took a closer look at the spot Qi Changyi had just been kneeling in, one could see tearstains left on the floor, mixed with a touch of scarlet.

The sharp-eyed eunuch rushed forward to clean up the mess.

The Emperor comforted his little daughter for a while before he was interrupted by the eunuch who had hurried to the door.

“Reporting to the Emperor, Minister Pei requests an audience.”

Notes

1: Qi Yirou refers to herself as ‘本公主’. Though she and Changyi are siblings, she is using this to assert her superiority.

2: 凌迟: death by dismemberment/to kill a thousand times. This was a punishment where people died after having bits of their flesh lopped off with a blade.

3: 大义灭亲: to sacrifice one’s own relatives in the name of justice.

4: 目眦欲裂: I didn’t really know how to translate it haha, basically his eyes are so wide the side of them look like they could tear.

5: 反了你了: This is a curse word, I’m not really sure how to explain it, usually used by parents to scold their kids after they’ve been disobedient.

6: 内务府: It has many divisions that work to manage the palace’s internal affairs. I think Changyi is being turned over to 慎刑司, which (I think) is in charge of punishments.