C619

"If one person didn't pay more than ten plates, who else in the palace would follow the rules?" The empress lowered her gaze and smoothed the wrinkles on her sleeves. The maidservant by her side had already understood what she meant, and walked up. "Men, take these servants down and beat them to forty."

"Please spare my life!" The eunuchs cried out one after another.

All forty of them had been struck down by two finger-thick wooden sticks. By then, even their breath would be gone.

On the bed, Qing Qing moved her body slightly as if she was half-supporting herself as she wanted to sit up, but Duan Chengxuan lightly pressed one hand on his shoulder and the other hand was a large hand on his still burning forehead. Her big round eyes were somewhat similar to Gu Mingyan's, always carrying a bit of worry.

"No." Duan Chengxuan's voice was clear as he opened the curtains of the bed and his cold gaze descended upon the servant girl. "Since these servants are Qing Ze's servants, then they are members of our King's Manor. I'm afraid that the Empress isn't the one to punish them."

The servants immediately quivered and the empress clenched her fingers tightly around the handkerchief. They gnashed their teeth even more as she spoke, "When did the servants of the imperial palace become members of Prince Jing's mansion? Could it be that Duke Jing has some sort of wild ambition, to actually say such outrageous words. "

"Qing, on the other hand, regards these servants as friends and they are guests of our Prince Jing Palace. What's wrong with that?"

Duan Chengxuan slightly raised an eyebrow and ignored the empress's pale face. He turned his head to the side and asked Qing Ze, "What do you take them as?"

"It's a friend." As for Qing Qing, she rubbed Duan Chengxuan's side with a smile, then abruptly coughed a few times and said in a slightly muffled voice, "Mom said that people who eat five grains and miscellaneous food are always going to get sick."

Duan Chengxuan's expression was much softer, the hair under his hand was sticky with sweat. "Last night, you didn't listen to any of your friends' advice, so a moment of pleasure caused you to get sick. What did mother say?"

"When you're cured, learn your lesson. You'll have to copy some books and keep them to yourself." At this point, Qing Qing curled her lips and stretched out her arms to hug Duan Chengxuan. "I won't be interested in playing around in the future. Father, don't blame them. Mother even said that venting her anger is a foolish act and cannot be done."

The child's words made the empress dowager and Senior Servant Gui smile in relief, while the empress's face turned even paler.

Did this brat mean that she had done something stupid?

"The young prince is still young, so he doesn't know the rules of this palace. Even the Jing King doesn't know?" With a sudden change in tone, she slammed the table and stood up, "Could it be that Prince Jing is interfering because he doesn't think much of my Phoenix Seal?"

Qing then frowned and was about to bow in Duan Chengxuan's embrace.

Duan Chengxuan could only wrap him tightly in his embrace as he hugged the child's thick bedding. He gently supported the back of the child's head with one hand, but his face was cold. "This king is used to being domineering in this life. My beloved woman is also arrogant and domineering, but I still don't know what's stronger than the Tiger Tally in this king's hands."

If these words were spoken, it would likely be another war of words between the previous dynasty.

But Duan Chengxuan was once unafraid of this, and now that he knew of the empress and Ninth Prince's wolfish ambitions, he was even less afraid.

He stood up straight, standing tall and straight, holding the child in his arms yet maintaining a steady pace.

The Empress took a step back. The person before her was not cold at all, and her face was soft to a child. A chill crept up her spine, making it hard to breathe like a giant snake wrapped around her body.

Prince Jing's words are too much, and there will be no impunity. After a few days, This Dowager will go to White Horse Temple to enjoy some incense, and you will bring Qing Zi back to the manor to stay for a few days. Seeing that Jiang Yan's slaves have been pardoned, these servants will be punished for not being able to watch over them properly. At this point, the empress dowager opened her mouth. Although the punishment was neither light nor heavy, when she stood up, she gave the empress a cold glare and waved her hands.

Empress Xu could only leave with a bow, feeling indignant.

All of the servants remembered this scene in their hearts.

However, because of the young noble's cold, the Jing King dared to speak such outrageous words. In the future, if Qing Zi were to enter the palace again, who would dare to offend him?

After the empress left, the empress dowager cleared her throat. "This Dowager is too old to care about the empress dowager's affairs. In the future, you should bring Qingze along to see more."

"Imperial Mother, if you are going to the White Horse Temple for incense, you should go for a few months." Duan Cheng Xuan nodded her head seriously and held Qing Ze in her arms. She exchanged a glance with the empress dowager and then led Qing Yi out.

There were many rules in the palace, so it was not suitable for Qing Yi to stay there.

What was laughable was that Duan Chengxuan was in complete agreement with Gu Danyan's teachings to Qingze. Even if Qingfeng didn't want to follow them at times and preferred to play, he still had a few months' worth of memory.

However, the words that the empress had said just now had completely frightened Qing Ze. The little fellow laid limply in Duan Chengxuan's embrace, causing his inexplicably angry mood to ease up a lot. As he walked within the Imperial Palace, he even gently asked, "Scared?"

"I'm scared." Qing Qing held onto Duan Chengxuan's collar with one hand, and when she saw him take an umbrella from a eunuch, she asked, "Last time, that aunt also said that only eunuchs and palace maids could hold an umbrella in this courtyard, so why can father do the same?"

Frowning, Duan Chengxuan hugged him with one arm. "Because even though daddy is still a human, aunt doesn't treat us as human beings."

As these words were spoken, the string of eunuchs and palace maids behind him were slightly stunned, carefully sizing up Duan Chengxuan's back.

This decisive killer, King Jing, seemed to be somewhat different.

Qing Ze's mind was in chaos, but he couldn't figure out why. He only grinned: "Will I have a little sister next year?"

"Why did you come here?" Duan Cheng Xuan's heart skipped a beat for no reason.

He still remembered that Gu Danyan would add some hidden medicine into his soup every day, but Gu Danyan did not drink it again for the next few days. Now, he did not know …

"I dreamed it last night. It was a little brother. He's no good." Qing Yi coughed a few times.

Duan Cheng Xuan didn't allow him to continue and instead held him even tighter. She placed the cloak on his head and stuffed the little fellow into her embrace before instructing the people behind him, "Send someone to the border pass and ask her if she's feeling any discomfort in the recent days."

"She is …" However, the people around them did not know.

"This is for the fourth prince." Duan Chengxuan said in a low voice, "If you keep writing, I'll get sick and miss my mother so much."

"Yes, your subordinate will write it right away."

That person disappeared, while Qing Qing stuck her head out again in a daze. "Daddy is lying. You were obviously the one thinking."

"Mother is much better to you. I can only call her back in your name." Duan Chengxuan rubbed his forehead, but it wasn't scalding hot, so he only lightly weighed him in his hand. "Do you want to rest in the prince's mansion, or do you want to look for Mo Yan?"

"I want to go to my uncle's house." The youth then withdrew back into the blanket, only revealing a pair of large eyes.

Duan Chengxuan carried him as he stepped on the snow and left the Imperial Palace. He looked at the sky filled with flying snow and thought, "By the time this greeting letter is delivered, it should have already snowed at the border."