bayedsolid Chapter 257 The First Prince and the Second Prince!
Chapter 257 The First Prince and the Second Prince!
Chapter 257 The First Prince and the Second Prince!
Huo Shan, however, seemed immune to Zhou Wei's insults, replying calmly.
"Your Highness, I am acting on the orders of King Ling to welcome the Crown Princess into the palace. All the necessary ceremonial arrangements have been prepared."
"As for why Your Highness sent someone as lowly as me, that is beyond my ability to concern myself with."
His words were so tactful that no one could find fault with them.
Huo Shan's face even carried a faint arrogance, which was not the demeanor one would expect from a low-ranking official!
Zhou Wei was confused and could only turn to look at the Princess.
The eldest princess has always been exceptionally gifted in court intrigues, possessing a keen insight that most people lack.
Everyone lowered their eyes and waited, wanting to see how Jiang Yueli would respond.
The eldest princess glanced at Huo Shan indifferently, and said lightly, "Guards, the official in charge of the Ling Prince's residence has disrespected the Crown Prince. He shall be given thirty strokes of the cane."
Huo Shan's arrogant expression froze on his face as he looked at the princess in shock.
It seemed that no one expected Jiang Yueli to be so ruthless!
However, the eldest princess did not bring any attendants on this trip, and the orders she gave were to be carried out by the people Huo Shan brought.
But the people from the Lingwang Mansion stood there, heads bowed, not daring to move.
The eldest princess was not annoyed by this, and gently pointed at Huo Shan.
"Huo Diancheng, you've done a good job of disciplining the people in the Prince's mansion."
Huo Shan, however, remained defiant, head held high, clearly certain that no one would dare to lay a hand on him.
Just as Huo Shan was about to open his mouth to defend himself, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his calf. Before he could react, he fell to his knees with a thud!
The familiar voice sent a shiver down Shen Shuqing's spine as she watched the commotion from the sidelines.
When she saw Zhou Wei standing behind Huo Shan, she immediately cast a sympathetic glance at Huo Shan.
Shen Shuqing was all too familiar with this scene!
Even now, thinking about it makes my knees and face ache terribly.
Huo Shan turned around angrily, only to see Zhou Wei staring at him with a smile on her face, holding a thick, long stick in her hand.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to have been stolen from the honor guard!
"Zhou Dianjun, what are you doing?"
"What are you doing? Are you deaf? Didn't you hear Her Highness say thirty strokes of the cane?"
As Zhou Wei spoke, she struck Huo Shan on the back with a stick.
ah---
Huo Shan screamed in agony as the immense force of the stick sent him sprawling to the ground.
Seeing Huo Shan struggling to get up, Zhou Wei stepped on his leg.
He said in a chilling tone, "Huo Diancheng, you better not move rashly, otherwise if I hit you where I shouldn't, your happiness for the rest of your life will be gone, don't you think?"
Zhou Wei's words filled Huo Shan with fear, and he immediately dared not move.
He simply raised his head and begged the princess for mercy repeatedly.
"Your Highness, spare me! Your Highness, spare me! I know I was wrong, please forgive me!"
The eldest princess looked at him and asked with great interest, "Is that so? Then tell me, Huo Diancheng, where did you go wrong?"
Huo Shan hesitated for a long time, unable to speak, and the princess's face grew increasingly grim.
"Since you don't even know where you went wrong, then you should take this beating."
After saying that, he ignored Huo Shan and got into the carriage with Jiang Zao's help.
Zhou Wei did her job dutifully. After striking the stick thirty times, she returned it to the members of the honor guard.
At the same time, he ordered, "The Crown Princess, depart!"
After the thirty lashes were used as a warning to others, no one dared to disobey the princess's orders anymore, and the ceremonial guard quickly cleared the way for her.
Huo Shan remained lying on the spot, ignored by everyone. It wasn't until the group had gone far away that the old man from the post station appeared and helped Huo Shan up.
The old man said in a low voice, "This Crown Princess seems to be extraordinary. You all must be careful."
Huo Shan was soaked in sweat and his pants were stained with blood. He was trembling with rage.
He glared in the direction the group had disappeared and shouted sternly, "No matter who she is, once she enters Ningzhou Prefecture, she'll have to behave herself!"
Inside the carriage, Shen Shuqing was incredibly excited, her mind replaying the scene of the Eldest Princess dealing with Huo Shan.
Jiang Yueli was once just a princess, yet she was incredibly arrogant.
Now that she has become the Crown Princess, her status is even higher than before, and she acts even more recklessly.
This made Shen Shuqing extremely envious!
Zhou Wei glanced at Shen Shuqing sideways and said sarcastically, "Miss Shen, what are you thinking about with those darting eyes? Are you planning to cause trouble again?"
Shen Shuqing's expression froze, her tone filled with anger: "Zhou Dianjun, don't slander me. I just think that Huo Shan disrespected Her Highness the Crown Princess and should be punished."
Zhou Wei chuckled: "That's true, people who are too arrogant need to be taught a lesson! But Huo Shan is much stronger than you, he withstood thirty lashes and didn't even pass out."
Seeing that Zhou Wei was poking at her sore spot again, Shen Shuqing snorted coldly and shut her mouth.
The eldest princess kept her eyes closed, contemplating the situation at the Prince Ling's residence.
She was certain that Huo Shan's humiliation of her was not the work of the First Prince Jiang Yuechen!
But if even a lowly ninth-rank official from the Prince's mansion dared to be so disrespectful to the Crown Prince, it shows just how difficult the Crown Prince's situation must be.
As the convoy entered Ningzhou Prefecture, Zhou Wei deliberately lifted the carriage curtain to observe.
It was discovered that the people in the city where the prefecture was located did not seem to be very wealthy.
In the vast city, the streets were deserted, with few vendors setting up stalls.
The people walking on the street also had worried expressions on their faces.
This is truly bizarre about Ningzhou Prefecture!
As the procession approached the Lingwang Mansion, Zhou Wei saw two people dressed in princely attire standing at the gate, gazing into the distance.
However, Zhou Wei couldn't connect these two people with the eldest and second princes that the princess had mentioned.
The eldest princess once said that her elder brother was very tall, skilled in both literature and martial arts, and a talented general.
The second brother, on the other hand, was gentle and refined, with fair skin, and was a handsome young nobleman.
But the two people in front of us have nothing to do with the princess's description at all!
The eldest princess was helped down from the carriage by Jiang Zao. When she saw the eldest prince and the second prince, she showed a shocked expression.
Clearly, he never expected that the two brothers he had imagined would turn out like this!
"Big brother?"
The eldest princess tentatively called out to the taller of the two.
Unexpectedly, the shorter one smiled at her and said, "Yue Li, I'm your older brother."
The eldest princess turned her head and looked at the eldest prince, Jiang Yuechen.
Jiang Yuechen's hair was excessively black, his back was not straight, and his skin was somewhat rough.
When speaking, he unconsciously shrugged his shoulders and lowered his voice to a very low level.
They are no longer the spirited and energetic people they once were!
The eldest prince felt a little uncomfortable with Jiang Yueli staring at him, so he chuckled and said, "Yueli, you must be tired from your journey. Why don't you go to the palace and rest first?"
The Second Prince, Jiang Yuejie, chimed in, "Yes, yes, Yue Li, let's go inside and rest!"
The eldest princess turned to look at her second brother, unable to reconcile the handsome young nobleman of yesteryear with the person before her.
Jiang Yuejie's skin was no longer fair, and his clear eyes had become somewhat cloudy.
The man who could rival Xie Yuan in literary talent back then now looks somewhat dull!
Seeing her two elder brothers in such a state before her caused the princess a pang of heartache.
I wonder what these two have gone through during their years of being sent to their fiefdoms.