Chapter 59: Fu Xi Suffers Flogging

  Chu Lianyu spoke softly, but Qing Sang still heard it.

  "Do you know the imperial son-in-law?" Qing Sang asked.

  Chu Lianyu was startled and her face turned pale. She stammered: "I have seen him a few times in the Qing Wang's mansion, but I didn't get a clear look."

  Qing Sang said faintly, "He is indeed Fu Xi. You haven't heard in the palace that the young master of the Fu manor is actually the long-lost son of King Rong, who was unintentionally adopted by General Fu Yuyun."

  Chu Lianyu said without thinking, "Is that really Fu Xi Gongzi?" After finishing speaking, he suddenly realized that he had asked a taboo question and quickly lowered his head, saying, "Your servant has asked too much."

  Qing Sang didn't say anything else.

  Chu Lianyu sent Qing Sang out of the 'door', wiped the fine sweat on his forehead, and began to prepare medicine for Qing Sang. However, the medicinal materials he brought with him were almost gone, and the cart of medicine from Xuan Chao had been confiscated by King Rong and made public. After thinking about it, he decided to go find La Zhen. Before leaving, he didn't forget to tell Cao Xiang that Qing Sang would let her return to his side tomorrow to serve him, and told her about Qing Sang's current condition.

  Cao Xiang heard the words and didn't wait until the second day. As soon as Chu Lianyu left, she went to the Qing Sang room.

  "You can rest for another day, don't be in such a hurry." Qing Sang said comfortingly as he looked at Cao Xiang who was getting anxious and flustered.

  Caixiang's eyes welled up with tears as she said, "Luckily, I was taken care of by the princess. If it weren't for my own incompetence, the empress dowager wouldn't have had a chance to arrange for these people to be by the princess's side. The princess is now in need of attendants, and Caixiang's injuries are no longer severe. She doesn't dare to be lazy, so please let her return to serve the princess."

  "That day, if I hadn't insisted on going to the creek, you wouldn't have suffered all this and almost lost your life."

  "Your Highness mustn't say that," Cao Xiang hastily said. "That day, I was powerless to protect Your Highness, it's already a shame."

  Qing Sang smiled and said: "Then let's just drop it. You can come back to serve me, I'm at ease now. However, if your body can't take it, you must say so."

  Cao Xiang nodded and said: "I thank the princess for her concern. I will take good care of the princess, to preserve the only bloodline of the crown prince."

  Qing Sang was taken aback and repeated: "Your Highness, the Crown Prince?"

  The grass fragrance in her heart was filled with fear, knowing she had misspoken. In a panic, she lifted her skirt and knelt down, saying: "This slave deserves to die."

  Qingsang ordered her to get up and said: "From now on, this matter must not be mentioned again. All the 'medicines' will be handled by you personally."

  The grass fragrance nodded vigorously.

  Qing Sang stood up and said: "I feel tired, I want to take a short rest. If the son-in-law comes back, please come and report."

  The grass fragrance led him to retreat.

  Qing Sang lay on the 'bed', looking at the beams on the ceiling. This northern yurt didn't even have a bed curtain, everything was cold and icy.

  The only bloodline of the Crown Prince! The words "Cao Xiang" made Qing Sang realize that both Chu Lianyu and Cao Xiang thought this child was the prince. Calculating the time, it's indeed possible, plus the medical skills in ancient times can't compare to modern B-ultrasound accuracy, so a few days' error is also normal. Since they all think so, Qing Sang just let them misunderstand naturally. This way, Tong'er's reputation can also be preserved.

  Thinking of Tang, Qing Sang felt a pang in her heart. She didn't know how he was doing now, or if he could withstand the Sixth Prince. Thinking of her father, mother, and family, Qing Sang's heart ached even more. Her mother probably had no idea that she had disguised herself as the princess and married into the Northern Rong, so she must have thought she was dead. Thinking about the pain her "death" might have brought to the Wang family, two lines of clear tears slid down from Qing Sang's eyes, falling onto her pillow.

  Dazed and confused, Qing Sang seemed to have returned to the 'flower' garden of Pu Fu, holding hands with Qing Yu and chatting...

  A sudden knock at the door rang out.

  Qingsang woke up with a start and found that he had just had a dream.

  Opening the door of the house, I saw Mahi and Kusaka standing outside the door.

  The grass fragrance is not as good as the green mulberry asking, and the first to speak said: "Princess, something has happened to the prince consort."

  Qing Sang was just startled awake, still a bit dazed, when he suddenly heard Cao Xiang say this and immediately became alert, asking: "What's going on?"

  Cao Xiang glanced at Ma Xi.

  Qingsang asked: "Maxi, quickly say, what happened to the son-in-law?"

  Ma Xi said: "Just now, Wang Mu came to pass on a message, saying that the prince took advantage of his drunkenness yesterday and bullied King's concubine 'Shi'. The king is furious and wants to flog the prince."

  Qing Sang could hardly believe his ears and asked in a low voice: "Which concubine of King Rong?"

  "This Wangmu didn't have time to say, only said it was from the Queen of Jialuo's palace." Mahi replied.

  "Hurry and take me to see." Qing Sang said urgently.

  Ma Xi and Cao Xiang supported Qing Sang as they left the 'door', since Qing Sang couldn't ride a horse, Guan Zhou went to find a carriage, and the four of them hurriedly rushed to the Kuai Luo Mansion.

  The gatekeeper of the Luofu government wanted to go and report, but Qing Sang couldn't wait any longer and rushed in directly. The slaves didn't dare to use force to stop him, they could only follow and run in.

  "Halt!" As soon as Qing Sang entered the courtyard, he saw Xiang Xi kneeling in the center of the yard with his head down and his upper body pressed down by two sturdy slaves. Zhuan Lu was whipping his back with a lash. Seeing Qing Sang arrive, Xiang Xi's eyes flashed with anxiety, and he raised his head wanting to say something, but was pressed down hard by the two slaves.

  "You useless things, can't even stop one person." Jiāo Lù saw Qing Sang rush in and suddenly felt a little panicked, so he scolded the slaves from the mansion who were closely following behind.

  "You don't have to scold them. I'll go in, they won't dare stop me." Qing Sang said coldly to Jia Luo. Ma Xi said that something had happened at Jia Luo's mansion, and Qing Sang knew it was definitely Jia Luo's doing.

  Xiao Luo raised his hand and pointed at Qing Sang, scolding: "You dare to be so presumptuous even in the mansion."

  Qingsang ignored her, glanced at Rong Wang sitting at the door, saw that he didn't say a word about his own actions, just looked at himself indifferently, and couldn't help but add a bit of courage.

  He walked forward, squatted down, picked up Xuzhou's face, and took out a handkerchief to wipe away the sweat beads on his face.

  "You go." Fu Xi said in a low voice.

  "No, I won't leave." Qing Sang said calmly with a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth.

  Fu Xi's eyes were filled with pain, and he said in a low voice: "Leave! Don't get involved in this muddy water."

  Qing Sang still smiled and said gently: "You and I are husband and wife, we should share the joys and sorrows together."

  He finished speaking, stood up, walked in front of King Rong and knelt down, asking: "I dare to ask your majesty why you want to punish Dage?"

  Huor stared at Qing Sang, and after a while, he said: "Dagger below the upper, actually bullied Ben Wang's concubine 'attendant'. Such an ugly thing, how can it be tolerated."

  Qing Sang coldly smiled and said: "I dare ask, where is Father's concubine 'Shi'? I want to confront her in person."

  Huorong coldly said: "Quzhēn could no longer bear the humiliation and has taken her own life with a knife."

  Qing Sangyang smiled slightly and said: "That's just a dead end!"

  Huorong opened his eyes and stared coldly at Qing Sang's slightly pale face.

  Qing Sang had just slept for a while and came over without re-combing her hair, which was somewhat disheveled, but it only made her frail beauty more apparent.

  Jialuo saw Qing Sang being so rude, but King Rong didn't scold her, and she couldn't help feeling a bit flustered. She still remembered the incident at Nianweitai that night. The young girl in front of her, who seemed to be only 16 or 17 years old, was not someone she could underestimate. She had to take the initiative first.

  "Bao Ling, you're too presumptuous! What more evidence do we need for such a thing? Catching the adulterer in the act is the best evidence!" Jia Luo said loudly.

  Karlo's sudden collapse made Qing Sang feel that there was something wrong with her. Qing Sang asked: "I wonder how it was discovered?"

  "It was discovered by the female slave in Qu Zhen's room. Early that morning, she saw Qu Zhen dead inside the room, with Dage sleeping on her bed." said Jiao Luo.

  "Does this mean Daguerre bullied Qu Zhen? This is too rash!" Qing Sang questioned.

  "How can I explain it?" asked Kalo.

  Qing Sang glared at 'Lips' with a cold smile: "Please ask His Majesty to grant permission for Bao Ling to question the first discovered 'female' slave."

  Kao Lo hastily spoke, not waiting for Huo Rou to finish speaking: "You are becoming more and more unscrupulous. Such a shameful thing happened in my mansion, Qu Zhen has also taken her own life... I and she were like sisters, wu wu wu..." Kao Lo pretended to wipe away tears.

  "All right, Bao Ling. Dage has committed a grave mistake, but I will only sentence him to flogging as punishment, considering he has been wandering outside for many years and has no one to rely on. You don't need to say more." Huo Ran said slowly.

  "I don't believe Daguo would do such a heinous thing! Bao Ling implores the king to thoroughly investigate, not only to clear Daguo's name but also to avenge Quzheng." Qing Sang said with righteous indignation.

  Huorong's face turned red with anger, and he shouted loudly: "What if I don't?" Jialuo saw that Qingsang had finally provoked Huorong, and a cold smile spread across the corner of his mouth.

  Qing Sang walked fearlessly to Xiu Xi's side, stood behind him and directly knelt down, saying: "If that's the case, then please punish us together, Your Majesty."

  "You think I don't dare!" Huo Ran was thoroughly enraged, standing up from his chair, striding to Qing Sang's front, snatching the whip from Zha Lu's hand, and with a swift motion, a bloody mark immediately appeared on Qing Sang's shoulder.

  "No, don't move her." Although Xú Xī had his back to Qīng Sāng, that one crack of the whip was like a blow to his heart, painful enough to leave him gasping for breath.

  Qing Sang let out a miserable cry, the pain almost causing him to faint. Having lived for several decades, he had never known that being whipped could be so painful. Qing Sang clutched at his shoulder, gritting his teeth as he said, "Bao Ling is not convinced!"

  "You..." Huo Ran was furious and swung his whip again.

  "Princess!" Cao Xiang flew over quickly. Accompanied by Fu Xi's another angry roar, this whip landed on Cao Xiang's body. The two slaves beside him almost lost control of Fu Xi, and several nearby people rushed to help hold him down.

  "Grass fragrance!" Qing Sang saw that Grass Fragrance's slightly rosy face suddenly turned white. Grass Fragrance had just recovered from a serious injury, how could she withstand this?

  "Princess... I'm fine!" Cao Xiang forced a smile, trying to hide the pain, but the beads of sweat on her forehead betrayed her.

  Qing Sang choked back tears and clung to Cao Xiang, covering herself with her body. She turned her head and shouted at Huo Ran with all her might: "Today, even if Father Emperor beats us to death here, Bao Ling will not submit. I wonder if the eyewitness is dead without evidence or has already become mute, so that they can't be seen?" Qing Sang's words made Jiao Luo glare at her venomously. She had long heard that Qing Sang was treating Shui Li's illness, and this sentence clearly implied that she was mocking her for poisoning Shui Li mute. However, she was not afraid - after all, she was just a slave, so what if she were beaten to death?

  "Don't hit me, don't touch her! Don't touch her!" Xú Húi shouted hoarsely as he was pinned to the ground, but he was powerless to do anything, and the feeling of defeat made him feel desperate.

  Huor stared at Qing Sang with wide eyes, and the two of them locked gazes for a long time. Finally, Huor threw the whip to Zha Lu and turned around to walk towards his seat, shouting as he walked: "Since the princess won't give up, bring that person up here! I want to see how she plans to interrogate!"

  Qingsang only felt the wound hurt like a knife cut, his whole body was soft and weak, and his eyes began to flash golden stars. Qingsang shook his head, trying to make himself sober. At this time, he must not faint. Qingsang told himself in his heart again and again.

  A disheveled 'female' slave was dragged out by two people. Seeing this person's appearance, Qing Sang feared that this person had already been molested by Jiao Luo, and at that time, Fu Xi would be speechless.

  The woman slave was thrown onto the ground.

  Qingsang gently opened the grass fragrance, covering her shoulder, enduring the pain and stumbling to the front of the 'female' slave, supporting her shoulder, and said with unparalleled gentleness: "You don't have to be afraid, just tell everyone what you've seen."

  As soon as the words fell, this 'female' slave suddenly raised her head, and her eyes, which were covered by her hair, stared at Qing Sang with all her might.

  Qing Sang was shocked, quickly brushing away the scattered hair of the "female" slave, her hands trembling uncontrollably. If it weren't for the current dire situation, Qing Sang really wanted to hold her and cry a good cry.