Chapter Seventy-Six: Punishment

“You blind fool, couldn’t you help block the way?” The servant cursed, then hurried over to assist his master.

Hearing the servant’s insult, Jiang Yuyan revealed a pure smile in the darkness.

She did not continue towards the palace, but instead turned back, approaching the drunken noble who had already been helped up by his attendants. She asked the servants beside him, “Is your master so precious?”

“Of course! Our master is the emperor’s own brother, the heir to Prince Duan. You—” Before the servant could finish, Jiang Yuyan reached out, grabbed the prince’s heir by the head, twisted sharply.

A sickening crack echoed, and their young master would rise no more.

Though she did not let the servant finish his sentence, Jiang Yuyan had heard enough of the first part. “The heir to Prince Duan? Isn’t Prince Duan the emperor’s brother? How did his son grow so big?”

At that moment, the servants of Prince Duan’s household were petrified with fear. One of them stammered, “Prince... Prince Duan had his heir when he was thirteen.”

It was hardly a handful of words, yet the servant took ages to utter them.

But with the answer, Jiang Yuyan understood the cause. Still, her mind drifted to another matter: if the emperor’s brother’s son was already grown, perhaps it was time to urge the emperor to lift that last protective measure. The realm of Jing should soon have its own imperial offspring.

Seeing the killer of the heir stunned, the remaining servants exchanged glances, then hurriedly hoisted the body and fled.

Only when they had run far off did Jiang Yuyan snap back to herself. The murderous urge subsided, and she realized she had just slain Prince Duan’s son—she had caused a catastrophe.

She pondered for a moment but came to terms with it. All day they had debated how to infiltrate Prince Duan’s mansion, but achieved nothing. Now that his son was dead, the prince himself was just another step.

Her resolve set, Jiang Yuyan followed the path those servants had taken, swiftly outpacing them in a few breaths.

As she passed them, she dispatched each one with effortless grace.

Before long, the three grand characters signifying Prince Duan’s residence loomed ahead.

However, Jiang Yuyan did not enter through the main gate. Her familiarity with the place allowed her to scale the wall with ease. Within the mansion, it took her nearly a quarter hour to locate Prince Duan.

When they met, he was engrossed in the company of his concubine, both engaged in their intimate pursuits. Their first encounter was nothing short of awkward.

To avoid such embarrassment, Jiang Yuyan acted swiftly, sending both of them together to the blissful realms before they could cry out.

The deed went unexpectedly smoothly; everyone who had seen Jiang Yuyan was now dead. She abandoned her initial plan to make a grand display, slipping away quietly.

On her way back, she saw the bodies of Prince Duan’s heir and his servants, still being pointed at by onlookers—though no one seemed to have reported to the authorities yet.

Witnessing this, Jiang Yuyan summoned her inner strength, darting into the crowd. She seized several by their collars, and with another surge of energy, vanished from sight within a few breaths.

With several corpses in tow, Jiang Yuyan altered her route, arriving at the banks of the city’s solitary river.

She removed the long robes from Prince Duan’s heir, bound the bodies together, then added several hefty stones. With a powerful push, she submerged the corpses beneath the river’s surface.

When her task was complete, Jiang Yuyan lingered by the riverbank for a while, watching for any bodies to resurface. Only when none appeared did she depart, reassured.

Having caused such a calamity, Jiang Yuyan no longer cared for the city’s night scenery. Her only thought was to return to the palace as soon as possible and report to the emperor.

When a martial master sets herself to a task, speed needs no explanation.

A quarter hour later, in the emperor’s palace, within Zhu Yu’s private chambers.

“What? Say that again, I didn’t catch it. I sent you to gather evidence of Prince Duan’s treason, and now you’re telling me you killed both him and his son?”

Whether from shock or anger, Zhu Yu abandoned the royal ‘We’ for the plain ‘I.’

Jiang Yuyan knew she had gone too far. Yet seeing the emperor in such a state, her heart felt aggrieved.

Her shifting expressions did not escape Zhu Yu’s notice. He snapped, “Why are you pouting and lowering your head? Look up! Have I wronged you?”

“No... No, Your Majesty.”

“Good, as long as you know. Now, give me a reason not to punish you.” This time, Zhu Yu was truly exasperated. Last time, with Consort Li, he had overlooked Jiang Yuyan’s actions out of loyalty and her recent promotion to master rank.

But if he let her off again now, Zhu Yu sensed that next time the disaster would be catastrophic.

Jiang Yuyan racked her brain but could not find a reasonable excuse, so she bowed her head in silence.

This time, Zhu Yu was determined to punish Jiang Yuyan properly. Yet when it came to disciplining women in the harem, his real-life experience was lacking; all he knew came from dramas stored in his memory.

The first punishment that came to mind was a cup of poison, but that was clearly unsuitable.

He next recalled the common practice of flogging with a board—this was feasible, but making such a spectacle lacked justification.

Still pondering, Zhu Yu’s gaze fell upon the sword hanging on the wall as a decoration.

He rose, took only the scabbard down, and, after testing its weight and swinging it, found it quite satisfactory.

He decided: Jiang Yuyan would be flogged, but to avoid attention, he would carry out the punishment himself. Immediately, he ordered Jiang Yuyan to lie across a bench.

From the moment Zhu Yu began swinging the scabbard, Jiang Yuyan guessed her fate. Though she loathed the prospect, she obeyed without hesitation when Zhu Yu spoke, positioning herself on the bench with utmost compliance.

Seeing her ready, Zhu Yu did not hesitate either. He raised the scabbard and brought it down fiercely.

Of course, he did not use his full strength—only half. But Zhu Yu was now a martial master of the highest grade; even half his strength far surpassed that of ordinary folk.

A sharp crack resounded throughout the imperial study.

Just as Zhu Yu prepared for a second blow, he saw tears streaming uncontrollably down Jiang Yuyan’s face.

Though she faced away from him, so he could not see her expression, the two streams of tears falling from her eyes were clearly visible as they hit the floor.

If one were to say Jiang Yuyan was feigning for sympathy, Zhu Yu would not believe it, for throughout, she had not uttered a single cry.