NFBE Chapter 129: Caning 2
Chapter 129: Caning 2
Yang Nian'er was so scared that she bumped into the wall. When she came to her senses, she pushed Lu Mingqin away angrily, "You are sick. Why are you standing here scaring people?"
Lu Mingqin staggered to a stop, looked back at Lu Mingyang, and ran away crying.
"What's wrong with her?" Lu Mingyang asked curiously.
Yang Nian'er said, "She must have fallen for some young master, but he doesn't want to marry her."
"real or fake?"
"I saw she was very happy a few days ago. What else could it be besides that?" Yang Nian'er said with a smile, "Didn't your eldest sister say that sisters should help each other? Why don't you go and see her?"
Lu Mingyang shook his head in fear. "What if she asks me to act as a matchmaker for her? I don't have the ability to do that."
"That's right!" Yang Nian'er pulled her second sister into the house and sighed, "How could she not recognize her place? With her background, she's not even as good as me. Which noble family would marry her?"
"Not necessarily, she can be quite cute sometimes!"
Yang Nian'er sighed: "No matter how cute she is, can that man really go against his family for her?"
Lu Mingyang looked at his sister in surprise: "Yang Nian'er, you are so young, why do you talk like an old lady?"
"I am telling the truth!"
……
In Qinfang Pavilion, Lu Mingqin was lying on the bed, crying inconsolably, with torn letters on the floor.
Aunt Liu raised her eyebrows in anger, "She's not even willing to deliver a letter for you?"
Lu Mingqin sobbed, "Brother Yuanrui is getting married!"
"What?" Aunt Liu slammed the bed in anger. "I told you, we can't reach the status of Duke Song's family. I told you to choose someone lower, but you chose him."
"I won't!" Lu Mingqin sat up angrily and said stubbornly, "Except for Brother Yuanrui, no one is worthy of me doing that."
"But what should we do now?" Aunt Liu repeatedly reminded: "In another month, you will be pregnant."
Lu Mingqin's face turned pale, and she threw herself on the bed again and started crying.
The moon was high above the trees, outlining the helpless figure of the woman. At that moment, Lu Mingyang was sitting by the window, thinking of a way to plead guilty to His Majesty. Once the Ministry of Justice verified the evidence against his elder sister, His Majesty would definitely punish her.
"Nian'er, do you think His Majesty will use the Yingchuan incident to punish Your Highness?"
"Second sister, you've asked me this so many times." Yang Nian'er, who was almost asleep, was so sleepy that she saw stars and said unhappily, "Just punish him if you want. I didn't see you care about him that much before."
"Sleep, sleep!" Lu Mingyang lifted the quilt and lay down in it.
The sister beside her had already been sleepwalking, but she couldn't fall asleep. Her mind was full of that man's kiss, domineering, gentle, crazy, and awkward.
"Bah!" What's so good about that stinky man? He's kissed countless people with that mouth of his. What are you trying to be so nice about? Lu Mingyang took a deep breath, and an inexplicable bitterness welled up in his heart.
Oh, how nice it would be in that world. He could only marry me, and if he dared to do anything wrong outside, he could be handed over to the police for discipline.
What are you thinking about? If he can only marry one, he won’t marry you.
Lu Mingyang really felt like he was possessed by a demon. He covered himself with the quilt and forced himself to sleep.
The Ministry of Justice closed the case quickly. Both the confessions of the people in Xihe Village and the handkerchief left in Xihe Village were solid evidence.
In Hanyuan Hall, Lu Mingyang knelt in the center of the hall again. This time, Lu Mingyuan was with her.
"It's not that I haven't tried my best, but I truly cannot accept the charge of deceiving the emperor."
Facing the emperor's rebuke, Lu Mingyang argued fearfully. She hadn't considered the emperor's wrath when she had calculated all this, but now, feeling the emperor's wrath, she felt a chill in her spine.
After calming down, Lu Mingyang cried, "I didn't say anything that day. I investigated alone, and Your Majesty didn't ask me."
Many ministers did not know where the emperor's anger came from.
Thinking that it was His Majesty who proposed that the daughter of the Marquis of Chengyang inherit the title, the Minister of Personnel, out of an attitude of sharing His Majesty's worries, said: "The wife of the Marquis of Zhongxin has lost her husband. If she lives in her natal family, she can naturally inherit the title of Marquis of Chengyang."
"I know!"
The emperor grew angrier as he thought about it, but since he had been the one to bring this up, how could he contradict himself? He could only accept his bad luck. But if it weren't for the woman before him, he wouldn't have agreed to this plan.
The eldest daughter of Marquis Chengyang inherited the title of Marquis Chengyang, and the second daughter married Prince Ningyuan. From then on, Prince Ningyuan had the final say in everything in the Marquis Chengyang's Mansion.
The Minister of Personnel shuddered, looked at Lu Mingyuan and said, "Since Madam is to inherit the title of Marquis of Chengyang, then from now on she will only be the daughter of Marquis of Chengyang, not the wife of Marquis Zhongxin. Madam's son is the son of Marquis Zhongxin, so he is naturally not eligible to inherit."
Lu Mingyuan nodded: "I know."
The emperor was too lazy to bother with these details and glared at Lu Mingyang angrily: "You falsely claimed credit and deceived me. What is your crime?"
"Your Majesty, I am deeply terrified and beg for forgiveness." Lu Mingyang bowed and kowtowed. As long as the emperor didn't kill her, then he could vent his anger, so as to avoid future trouble.
The emperor said, "Considering that this is your first offense, I will give you a light punishment and a heavy warning: twenty strokes of the cane. Considering that you are a woman, and to protect your reputation, the imperial concubine will oversee the punishment, and the eunuchs will carry it out. You may go to the harem to receive your punishment."
"Your Majesty!" Although twenty strokes of the cane were not many, an experienced eunuch could certainly have beaten someone to death. Lu Mingyuan was unsure of His Majesty's intentions and said anxiously, "Although she was confused for a moment, she is my sister after all, and..."
"Since you have brought this matter to me, it is a matter of state, not a family affair." The emperor interrupted her coldly. At this moment, a guard came to report that Prince Ningyuan had returned to the capital.
"Xuan!"
The emperor glanced at Lu Mingyang. Lu Mingyang felt a little flustered and wanted to escape, but was stopped by His Majesty.
Chu Mingzheng entered the Hanyuan Hall, stood behind Lu Mingyang, and bowed deeply. "I, your son, have returned to the capital and come to report to the Emperor. Long live the Emperor."
"We'll talk about Yingchuan later." The emperor briefly explained Lu Mingyang's situation and said loudly, "Since she is your princess, you should accompany her to the harem to receive her punishment."
"Your Majesty!" Chu Mingzheng glanced at Lu Mingyang and kowtowed again. "This was a moment of confusion on my part. I instructed the princess to do this. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
"It's you?" The emperor narrowed his eyes.
"It's not Your Highness!" What's wrong with this guy? He knew the emperor was suspicious of him, but he still rushed into the trap. Lu Mingyang said anxiously, "I am worried that the brothers will not get along well in the future, so I took this bad idea. It has nothing to do with Your Highness."
"Lu Mingyang!" Chu Mingzheng shouted angrily, "You're covering this up so much because you want to use this to blackmail me in the future?"
Lu Mingyang was stunned by his words.
Chu Mingzheng pulled out a letter from his bosom and continued, "After the Xihe Village incident, the princess wrote to me to complain. I didn't think much of it and just casually suggested an idea. I didn't expect her to actually do it. My father sent someone to the Chengyang Marquis' Mansion, and they should be able to find my reply letter to her."