Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The Ye Family returned the betrothal gifts.

Ye Weilan was also impeached by a Censor.

I looked at the memorial, thinking about how to punish him.

Galloping through the capital can be a major or minor offense.

At its most severe, it is a capital crime; at its least, it warrants fifty strokes of the cane.

Naturally, I couldn’t have Ye Weilan executed, so fifty strokes it was.

On the day of the punishment, my Imperial Younger Brother and I sat on a high platform sipping tea.

Ye Weilan kept his back ramrod straight, looking every bit the man of unyielding character.

He didn’t utter a single word of plea, nor did he even glance at me.

Only when the first strike landed did his brow finally furrow, and his gaze began to search for my direction.

He likely realized then that this punishment was no mere joke.

After ten strokes, he would likely be bedridden for half a month. After fifty, he would be crippled if he survived, and dead if he didn’t.

I poured a cup of wine onto the ground.

Spilling wine on the earth is a gesture of respect for the dead.

His expression finally changed; he probably truly believed now that I wanted him dead.

After ten strokes, the Ye Family moved.

“This official is willing to pay a ransom to offset the remaining strokes. I beg Your Majesty’s grace.”

My Imperial Younger Brother looked at me. I stared at the head of the Ye Family with a cold, indifferent expression, remaining silent.

I waited until the fifteenth stroke fell before saying leisurely, “One thousand gold pieces per stroke. Are you willing to part with that?”

The Ye Family had vast holdings, but thirty-five thousand gold pieces was no small sum. Would they really be willing to throw that much money away for Ye Weilan?

The head of the Ye Family was stunned. His eyes burned with fury, but he barely managed to restrain himself.

I raised my hand, and the caning resumed.

The crisp sound of the strikes was music to my ears!

The head of the Ye Family finally broke.

“I am willing!”

I let out a soft hiss of surprise. I never expected Ye Weilan to be so important to the Ye Family.

I looked at Ye Weilan. He had collapsed onto the ground, yet he was still struggling to crawl back up.

What was it that I loved about him back then?

It was likely that stubborn streak of his, as if only the sky falling down could ever crush him.

Back then, I thought that whoever was protected under his wings must be very happy.

What a pity. I had exhausted my strength to help him, save him, and please him, yet I never managed to stand beneath those wings.

I waved my hand, ending the punishment.

The head of the Ye Family promised to deliver the ransom within three days and hurriedly led his people away.

My Imperial Younger Brother burst into laughter, thoroughly amused.

“Elder Sister, look at the state of the Ye Family. It’s truly hilarious. But why spare Ye Weilan? Since the Ye Family values him so much, why don’t we just-”

He smiled thinly, the ruthlessness at the corners of his mouth nearly overflowing.

Just then, a maid dropped a candle stand with a loud “thud.”

My Imperial Younger Brother flew into a rage, immediately hurling a teacup at her and shouting a harsh rebuke.

His voice grew louder and louder, as if he were about to lose his mind.

My heart skipped a beat.

My Younger Brother was becoming bloodthirsty.

He had a demon in his heart, and so did I.

Neither he nor I had been raised well.

The eunuchs and maids in the palace didn’t dare offend us, nor did they dare tell us right from wrong.

The powerful noble clans wanted nothing more than for us to become useless. The Great Scholars they sent to the palace were mere old pedants who only made us memorize text after text. If we failed, they would hit our palms and complain to our Imperial Father.

Unfortunately, Imperial Father didn’t have much learning himself; he was even more annoyed by those old pedants than we were.

Meanwhile, my mother was busy with palace infighting, struggling just to keep us safe.

Even so, my Younger Brother was nearly killed.

A eunuch had stuffed him into a large vat and weighed the lid down with a stone slab; he nearly suffocated to death.

Before that eunuch died, he accused my Younger Brother of tormenting and abusing him, claiming that was why he treated his master so.

At the time, my Younger Brother was only nine years old.

He was furious when he heard it.

He said the eunuch was talking nonsense-he didn’t even know the man’s name.

But the adults were busy. No one listened to what he had to say; they simply tacitly accepted that he was a violent person.

Slowly, he truly became as violent as the rumors suggested. Beating and scolding maids and eunuchs became a common occurrence.

These maids and eunuchs hated us.

In my previous life, the reason Ye Weilan was able to lead men silently into the Forbidden Palace was that these very maids and eunuchs led the way.

In this life, it cannot happen again.

My Younger Brother is only fifteen. There is still a chance for him to change.