Chapter 79: Chapter 79 Apology

Inside the bamboo house.

Bursting with fits of wanton laughter.

In the bath barrel, Xie Jingchen stared at the sky.

A handsome face resembling a celestial being was filled with helplessness.

Knowing that Su Jin had whipped Princess Shouning once, he knew the enmity between Princess Shouning and Su Jin would not end.

When she came today, he was worried things might not end well.

Princess Shouning called Princess Nanzhang “Aunt,” making her a frequent guest at the Duke Mansion.

No one in the Duke Mansion sided with Su Jin.

Against her, Su Jin couldn’t gain any advantage whatsoever.

After Su Jin left.

Xie Jingchen felt uneasy and sent the Hidden Guard to check several times.

The first time—

The Hidden Guard told him that Princess Shouning provoked her, but the Eldest Young Madam didn’t take the bait.

The second time—

The Hidden Guard told him that Princess Shouning whipped the Eldest Young Madam once, and the whip was almost snatched away by the Eldest Young Madam.

The third time—

The Hidden Guard told him that Princess Shouning was chasing the Eldest Young Madam, but she definitely wouldn’t catch up.

The fourth time—

The Hidden Guard told him he could now start worrying about Princess Shouning, as she was being stung by wasps.

While the person he worried about all day was hiding in a completely safe place, laughing uncontrollably.

Xie Jingchen, “….”

What else could he say?

His worries were unnecessary.

Xie Jingchen thought of Marquis Dongxiang’s careful and prudent actions, the pearls he gifted, and what Su Jin said before she left.

“Don’t worry, I know my limits,” she said.

“I might not be able to provoke her, but I can definitely avoid her,” she stated.

Her knowing her limits and inability to provoke was ending up with Princess Shouning being carried out of the Duke Zhen Country Mansion.

Xie Jingchen massaged his forehead.

There really was nothing he could do with her.

The Hidden Guard added more charcoal and looked up from below, noticing that his face didn’t look very good, worriedly asked, “Eldest Young Master, can you still hold on?”

Soaking for so long, the Eldest Young Master’s skin was already wrinkled.

In his opinion, the Eldest Young Master should be most worried about himself, not even knowing when the Eldest Young Madam would stop laughing and think of him.

Inside the bamboo house, Su Jin was rubbing her cheeks, which ached from laughing so much.

Xingxing said, “After running around all day, I’m starving. Miss, do you want some red bean cake?”

“I’ll try a piece.”

Xingxing opened the red bean cake delivered from the main kitchen, and the mistress and maid chatted and laughed.

The Hidden Guard couldn’t hold back and walked over to say, “Eldest Young Madam, when will you help the Eldest Young Master remove the silver needles?”

Su Jin suddenly remembered Xie Jingchen, stood up, and said, “Removing the silver needles is such a trivial matter. If I’m not around, couldn’t you just do it instead?”

The Hidden Guard, “….”

The method the Eldest Young Madam used to administer the needles was different from ordinary doctors.

The silver needles she inserted into the Eldest Young Master’s body.

How could he dare to remove them recklessly?

If anything happened, he wouldn’t be able to bear the responsibility.

Su Jin removed the silver needles and praised, “I didn’t expect you to soak for so long. Let’s continue tomorrow.”

The Hidden Guard, “….”

Xie Jingchen, “….”

Xie Jingchen came out of the bath barrel.

A little maid ran over but didn’t dare to approach, staying far away, she said, “Eldest Young Madam, Princess Nanzhang asks you to come to Qihao Hall.”

Su Jin was descending the stairs and replied, “Tell Princess Nanzhang that I’m too tired to move now. If the young ladies want to apologize to me, it’ll have to wait a couple of days. I’m not in a rush.”

The maid, “….!!!”

Eldest Young Madam, you must be joking, right?

The young ladies were all stung by wasps and are currently seeing the Imperial Physician, yet you want them to come apologize to you?

Do you want them to be stung to death, or are you trying to infuriate them to death?

“What are you still doing here? Hurry up and go,” Xingxing urged.

The maid quickly turned and ran away.

Unable to relay the Eldest Young Madam’s provocative words tactfully, she conveyed every single word to the message maid without alteration.

The little maid stood there dumbfounded for a while.

When these words were delivered verbatim to Princess Nanzhang, Princess Nanzhang’s face turned purple with anger.

Stirred up a hornet’s nest, stung her daughter this way, and still wants her daughter to apologize?!

Is this to infuriate her to death on top of everything?!

Xie Jinyu trembled with fury.

When she moved, the injuries on her face and the back of her hand from the wasp stings hurt, causing her to cry out.

The Imperial Physician’s hand trembled slightly as he retrieved medicine from his box.

What sort of ferocious Eldest Young Madam did the Duke Zhen Mansion marry?

To sting Princess Shouning and her daughter like this right under Princess Nanzhang’s nose—

Has the Duke Zhen Country Mansion changed entirely?

Inside the Imperial Study.

The Emperor was reviewing memorials.

A little eunuch hurried in and said, “Your Majesty, something terrible has happened. Princess Shouning has been stung by a hornet.”

The Emperor furrowed his brows.

“When did the Imperial Garden have hornets? If they were to sting the Emperor, it would be a disaster,” said Eunuch Fu, standing by the Emperor’s side.

“Alright, getting stung by a hornet is not a big deal, just summon the Imperial Physician. I will go see her later,” the Emperor said, his mind still on the memorials.

“It’s not just one sting,” the little eunuch quickly added.

“Two stings?” the Emperor looked up and said.

“….”

“At least twenty or so stings,” the little eunuch said with a trembling voice.

“….”

“How could it be so severe?” Eunuch Fu was surprised.

“….”

“Did they provoke a whole hornet’s nest?” the Emperor asked worriedly.

Putting down the memorial, the Emperor stood up and walked outside.

At Princess Shouning’s bedroom, the Imperial Physician was applying medicine to her.

The Emperor looked at the palace maids and eunuchs, each with swollen faces, and his brows knitted into a crumpled knot.

As for his beloved daughter, the Emperor looked several times—

Did not recognize her.

“Is this really Shouning?” the Emperor asked.

“….”

Princess Shouning could no longer hold back her tears.

She cried loudly.

Tears ran across her wounds, stinging with pain.

The Emperor, “….”

This crying—

Was indeed his daughter’s.

That question earlier, he probably shouldn’t have asked, it hurt his daughter’s feelings.

“Alright, alright, don’t cry, the medicine will take effect soon,” the Emperor comforted.

The Empress, with a rigid face, dabbed at her eyes and said, “Your Majesty, you must stand up for Shouning.”

“What exactly happened?” the Emperor asked.

“Shouning wanted to visit the Duke Zhen’s Mansion, and I let her go. She then encountered the Eldest Young Madam there, and she ended up like this,” the Empress said, trying to downplay the issue.

“….”

“Was the Eldest Young Madam of Duke Zhen’s Mansion also stung?” the Emperor asked.

“….”

The Empress’ heart was blocked.

Shouning had been stung so badly?!

Yet the Emperor was still concerned about that female bandit!

“No, she wasn’t stung. It was her maid who provoked the hornet’s nest that led to the princess being stung so badly,” a palace maid complained.

“….”

“So many of you went along, yet you let the princess be stung like this?” the Emperor’s gaze was unfriendly.

If they had been a bit more loyal, this wouldn’t have happened.

The palace maids and eunuchs felt bitter in their hearts.

When the hornets attacked, they hardly had the strength to run themselves, let alone protect the princess.

If they could have escaped, they wouldn’t be in such a miserable state.

The Emperor turned around, sat down, and slapped the table, saying, “What’s the whole story here, explain it to me in detail. Dare to leave out a single word, and I won’t let this go lightly!”

The palace maid was so frightened she knelt on the ground.

She recounted the events tremblingly to the Emperor.

The palace maids and eunuchs feared the Emperor, but they also feared the Empress.

They recounted the story as tactfully as possible.

Most of the blame was pushed onto Su Jin.

But the Emperor was no fool, he glanced at the Empress and with thunderous anger said, “My daughter went with an entourage to provoke at the Duke Zhen’s Mansion and was carried back to the palace. You still ask me to stand up for her. Where are you asking me to put my face?!”

The Empress also knew the matter was humiliating, but thinking about how the Emperor was also bullied by Marquis Dongxiang, she felt somewhat appeased.

Even he, the father, couldn’t hold his own against her father.

His daughter couldn’t win against their daughter—

Very, normal!

The Empress consoled herself, but without success, her anger was still large, she gritted her teeth and said, “Your Majesty, Marquis Dongxiang and his daughter despise the Royal Family’s dignity, they must be severely punished!”

“Even if they are to be severely punished, not this time. I cannot afford this disgrace!” the Emperor suddenly stood up.

“Do not provoke the hornet’s nest of any size in Marquis Dongxiang’s Mansion without reason.”

“….”

“Without my permission, Shouning is not allowed to take a step out of the bedroom!”

“….”

The Empress’ face was trembling with anger.

What made her even angrier came next.

“Send a bottle of ointment to the Eldest Young Madam of Duke Zhen’s Mansion,” the Emperor ordered.

“….”

“And convey my decree: the Duke Zhen’s Mansion did not adequately protect, letting the hornet’s nest fall and injure the princess. The entire household is fined three months’ salary.”

“….”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep