Liu Ruyan had been feeling rather pleased with herself. After all, things had gone even more smoothly than she had imagined; all three princesses had already taken the initiative to insist that their lovers remain in the capital.
However, faced with Li Feng’s sudden questioning, she felt a distinct shift in his gaze. Suddenly, a wave of guilty panic washed over her. She felt as though the Second Prince standing before her had become a stranger. His eyes were sharp, piercing, as if they were forcing her to confess to the fact that she had framed him—as if he already knew the secrets buried in her heart.
"Little brother, don't press Yan'er like that!" Li Xian stepped forward, playing the role of the caring elder brother to shield her. "She is your fiancée. It was already difficult enough for her to say what she did to the Empress just now. How could you have the heart to make her testify against you in public?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Third Princess Li Rongqiu chimed in with praise: "Look at that, it's dear brother Xian who knows how to cherish us women! If it weren't for you pestering Father to grant the marriage, I’d say dear brother Xian and Yan'er were a match made in heaven!"
The panic and guilt that had just gripped Liu Ruyan vanished instantly. Thinking of how Li Feng had "ruined" her life of happiness, a flicker of hatred crossed her eyes. If it weren't for this loser chasing her, and if it weren't for this loser begging the Emperor to grant the marriage, the man she would be marrying would surely be the brilliant and accomplished First Prince, Li Xian.
Liu Ruyan met Li Feng’s gaze, her eyes full of defiance. "That's right. I saw it with my own eyes—I saw you trample that Imperial Yellow!"
"Li Feng, are you still trying to spout the same old excuses?" Third Princess Li Rongqiu crossed her arms, having already decided on Li Feng's guilt. "You know full well you destroyed the Empress's Imperial Yellow. Why make such a scene? You really are a shameful disgrace!"
"Heh..."
Li Feng truly laughed then. He felt a sense of release. He realized he had been living like a clown, and he felt fortunate that the heavens had given him a chance to start over. It was one thing for his own kin to reject him—they were a pack of ingrates who, from beginning to end, only ever cared for Li Xian—but he had been a fool to pour his heart into a woman who had brought this upon herself.
The sole legal heir of a grand empire had been blind enough to fall for the daughter of a minor family. This woman had not only cuckolded him, but expected him to raise another man's child. It was the ultimate irony of a tragic life.
Li Feng’s heart had died completely. He decided that from this day forward, he would live only for himself. "Since you all already know, it is indeed true. I did it."
"See? I told you he would try to squirm—wait, what did you say?" Third Princess Li Rongqiu, who had been ready with an expression of "I knew it," looked stunned.
Ever since this younger brother had been brought back to Quwo City from his fief, the household had suffered from petty thefts and the like, and each time, he had used every means possible to lie his way out of it. She had expected this time to be no different—she had even harbored a faint feeling that Li Feng wasn't bold enough for this—but she never expected him to admit to it himself.
*Huh?*
Second Princess Li Rongxia and Fourth Princess Li Rongdong turned their heads in surprise to look at Li Feng. This was truly rare; usually, this loser would be on his knees begging for their trust.
"Li Feng, are you admitting to it?" Empress Ji secretly felt a surge of joy, though she calmly set down her teacup.
Li Feng met the surprised gazes of Li Xian and Liu Ruyan, a mocking smile on his lips. "Didn't your adopted son say it? He and Liu Ruyan were hiding in the back garden and happened to see your son trample the Imperial Yellow you love so much. Li Xian said that he saw me accidentally crush it with his own eyes!"
The eunuchs and palace maids in the room had been speculating whether the Second Prince was being wronged, but seeing Li Feng admit it himself, they knew there would be no escaping punishment this time.
"Regardless of whether you did it on purpose or by accident, I will make sure you change your rotten ways today!" Seeing that Li Feng wasn't making excuses, Empress Ji stepped forward and raised her rod.
When Li Feng saw that familiar rod, he realized that admitting his guilt did indeed earn him some small "mercy." In his previous life, he had been beaten half to death because he refused to admit the deed, so he obediently extended his left hand.
*Smack! Smack! Smack!*
Empress Ji’s pretty face twisted as she brought the rod down hard on Li Feng’s palm. Li Feng could feel the hatred his mother had harbored for him since childhood. He let the blows fall, enduring the pain in silence.
"Mother, hit him lighter, Feng-di looks like he's about to cry!" Li Xian, secretly delighted, stepped forward to fan the flames.
Seeing that Li Feng was far from crying and seemed completely unmoved by her rod, a nameless rage surged in Empress Ji, and she struck his palm with even greater force. The skin on a human palm is extremely fragile, filled with tiny blood vessels, and the strikes were excruciating—it would be easy to leave him a bloody mess.
*Bang!*
With one final, heavy blow, the rod snapped in two.
Empress Ji threw the broken piece of the rod down in anger. Still fuming, she pointed at Li Feng and commanded, "Kneel at the entrance of Fengxian Hall until dark! No food for you tonight!"
"Mother, an elder brother is like a father. I share the blame for this, so please, lighten the punishment for Feng-di!" Li Xian, seeing the broken rod, felt a twinge of regret and stepped forward to plead.
Empress Ji seemed unable to distinguish who was her true flesh and blood. Her eyes filled with doting affection. "You are just too kind. You plead for this animal every time. But this time, I must discipline him properly to break him of his bad habits!"
"That's right! He needs to be punished, then sent to Zhou Country as a hostage!" Third Princess Li Rongqiu, not forgetting her own agenda, immediately agreed.
"Mother, if you must deny my brother food tonight, then I wish to share the punishment with him!" Li Xian continued to play the saint.
"How can you go without food? You'll starve!" Empress Ji said, pained for her eldest son. She turned to Li Feng and said coldly, "Then let this little beast kneel until dark. Aren't you going to thank your royal brother?"
Li Xian glanced at Li Feng with a smirk; everything was going according to his plan. He certainly didn't truly want to reduce Li Feng's punishment. Firstly, he needed to maintain his image, and secondly, if Li Feng was to take his place as a hostage in Zhou Country, he couldn't be punished too severely. Now that Li Feng had confessed to destroying the Empress’s favorite peony, he just needed to strike while the iron was hot and use this charge to push Li Feng into taking his place as the hostage.
Li Feng looked at the bloody welts on his left hand and stood up. "Thanks? Of course, I should thank him. I should really thank him for being in the back garden with my fiancée, butt-naked and fooling around. Who knows? Perhaps he's already given me a 'cheap' son to raise!"
He had held it in for so long; finally, he could lash out at the person they cared about most!
*Ah?*
After the words left his lips, the entire hall fell deathly silent. They had thought the matter was over, but they never expected such an earth-shattering revelation. Although Li Feng had trampled the Empress’s Imperial Yellow, the witnesses to the event—Li Xian and Liu Ruyan—were far from clean. The two of them had been having an affair in the back garden.