Chapter 373 - 373: Punished to Kneel
Chapter 373 - 373: Punished to Kneel
‘It seems like Grandfather really doesn’t want me to remember the past… What does he mean by this?’
Perhaps Yu Yunxi was silent for too long, Chu Ruishi looked at her with a probing and piercing gaze and asked, “Did you investigate your past?”
Chu Ruishi’s gaze was so terrifying that Yu Yunxi broke out in cold sweat.
However, when she looked up again, she feigned calmness and replied, “No. Since Grandfather said that my past is simple, there’s nothing else to investigate.”
Chu Ruishi continued to ask sharply, “Your Sixth and Seventh Imperial Cousins were injured in the forest during the autumn hunt. Was that your doing?”
Yu Yunxi did not expect Chu Ruishi to mention this matter. However, she was not surprised that he knew about this. After all, not many matters could escape his eyes. For this reason, she replied frankly, “Yes.”
Chu Ruishi smashed a teacup on the ground with a loud bang.
“How dare you!” Chu Ruishi bellowed.
The palace servants in the hall fell to their knees in unison, trembling in fear and trepidation.
“Emperor Emeritus, please calm down! Please calm down!”
Yu Yunxi frowned slightly. However, she refused to back down and admit that she was wrong. She said, ‘Grandfather, if you want to punish me, I’ll accept the punishment. However, I don’t think I’m wrong. If they didn’t attack me, I wouldn’t have retaliated.”
Chu Ruishi sneered. “You’re so young, but your methods are so ruthless.” “Grandfather, you’re overpraising me,” Yu Yunxi said with a straight face.
“You…”
Chu Ruishi’s anger, which he had suppressed with great difficulty, rose again.
Li Xu and the others felt like they were going to die.
‘Eldest Princess, can’t you see how angry the Emperor Emeritus is? Why can’t you give in?’
Chu Ruishi glared at Yu Yunxi and said reproachfully, “Kneel down. You can get up when you admit you’re wrong.”
“Emperor Emeritus…” Li Xu called out nervously.
Chu Ruishi glared at Li Xu and said threateningly, “If you dare to plead for mercy for her, then you can kneel along with her.” Li Xu quickly lowered his head.
Yu Yunxi did not say a word and kneeled on the ground.
Meng Xia and Qian Qing also did not say anything and followed suit.
“Hmph, I want to see how long your backbone will remain straight,” Chu Ruishi said angrily as he looked at Yu Yunxi’s stubborn expression.
When Chu Ruishi was about to leave and walked past Yu Yunxi, he heard Yu Yunxi say indifferently, “Grandfather, although the tea that’s presented as a tribute is delicious, it’s best not to drink too much of it…
Chu Ruishi stopped in his tracks. He narrowed his eyes as he looked back. He saw the shattered porcelain teacup, tea, and tea leaves on the ground. He was silent for a long time before he finally said with a scoff, “Reflect on yourself.” After that, Chu Ruishi flicked his sleeve and left.
Subsequently, Li Xu got up and said anxiously, “Eldest Princess, you should’ve given in to the Emperor Emeritus. There’s no need to make things so awkward.”
“Thank you for your kind intentions, Eunuch Li, but I don’t think I’m in the wrong,” Yu Yunxi said firmly.
Li Xu felt very helpless.
‘The Eldest Princess is even more stubborn than Princess Changning back then!’
Li Xu let out a long sigh before he finally chased after Chu Ruishi.
Meng Xia felt distressed on behalf of Yu Yunxi so she said, “Eldest Princess, why don’t I go and plead for leniency with the Emperor Emeritus?”
“No need. If Grandfather wants to punish me, he can do so,” Yu Yunxi said. Then, in a voice that Meng Xia could barely hear, she continued to say, “It’s just as well… since this is what some people want to see.”
At the same time, a sneaky figure ran out of the Universal Sacred Palace.
In less than the time it took for an incense stick to burn, almost everyone in the imperial palace knew that Yu Yunxi had been punished to kneel by the Emperor Emeritus.
Unsurprisingly, many people gloated when they heard the news.
‘Yu Yunxi is really stupid. She only has the Emperor Emeritus as her support now, but she actually dared to disobey the Emperor Emeritus. She really doesn’t know what’s good for her at all!’
In the Empress’ Fengyi Palace.
Empress Qin when she heard the palace maid’s report.
At the same time, the old nannies next to her spoke up one after another.
“Empress, the Eldest Princess is really foolish. Does she really think of herself as the Eldest Princess? She’s nothing without the Emperor Emeritus.”
“That’s right. Empress, I don’t think we should pull her to our side. Otherwise, she might implicate the Crown Prince in the future.”
Empress Qin massaged her head, looking frustrated. She had been in the imperial family for so many years, but she still could not understand the Emperor Emeritus’ thoughts.
‘Does he care about Yu Yunxi or not? Did he only give her the identity of a princess because of his promise back then?’
After a moment, Empress Qin said, “Forget it. Continue to keep an eye on the Universal Sacred Palace. We can’t give up on Yu Yunxi yet. Even if she doesn’t have the support of the Emperor Emeritus, she’s still the only daughter of the King of Zhenbei. The King of Zhenbei has a huge troop under his command, and he’d be an excellent helper.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Back to the Universal Sacred Palace.
Yu Yunxi’s knees were numb, but her back was still straight.
When Li Xu and the others returned, they saw Yu Yunxi in such a posture.
“The Eldest Princess is even more prideful than Princess Changning back then.
I really don’t know if this is a good or bad thing…’
Li Xu quickly walked over and asked tentatively, “Eldest Princess, why don’t you give in to the Emperor Emeritus?”
Yu Yunxi remained silent.
‘She’s really stubborn..
Li Xu finally let out a long sigh and said in a low voice, “Eldest Princess, get up. The Emperor Emeritus has summoned you.”
Upon hearing this, Yu Yunxi slowly rose to her feet. Although her knees hurt, she did not show it when she stood up. She said lightly, “Let’s go then.” Unbeknownst to Yu Yunxi, Feng Yili and the little bun were standing on a roof nearby.
“Father, Mother kneeled for such a long time. Her knees must be in pain,” the little bun said with tears in her eyes.
Feng Yili clenched his hands tightly as he tried to suppress his anger. Earlier, if it was not for his last shred of rationality restraining him, he would have leveled the Universal Sacred Palace.
The little bun continued to ask worriedly, “Father, will the Emperor Emeritus make things difficult for Mother again?”
“Don’t worry. He won’t,” Feng Yili replied after he took a deep breath.
“How do you know for sure?” the little bun asked, puzzled. In his opinion, as long his mother refused to give in, the Emperor Emeritus would continue to make things difficult for her.
Feng Yili said softly, “There may be more than meets the eye regarding the matter of the Emperor Emeritus punishing your mother to kneel…”
Feng Yili believed that Yu Yunxi had also thought of this, and it was also why she kneeled without saying a word. Otherwise, based on her personality, she would rather be imprisoned than kneel down.
“Huh?”
The little bun was even more confused. Although he was smart, this matter was too complicated for him to understand..