Xue Yunyi instinctively sat up straight. “Is he injured?”
“No, he’s not injured anywhere,” Liu Yin said softly. “Just… some marks on his face.”
Xue Yunyi suppressed a deep breath and commanded, “Bring him here.”
Liu Yin nervously murmured her assent and retreated with her head bowed. Xue Yunyi hadn’t specified who she wanted, so Liu Yin took it upon herself to escort both Wu Hanyu and Wu Lang into the bedchamber.
As Wu Hanyu crossed the threshold, he was still rubbing his aching right wrist. In his earlier fit of anger, he had used too much force, leaving the bones in his wrist throbbing.
From afar, he spotted Xue Yunyi seated in her wheelchair, her index finger tapping rhythmically on the round table—not too fast, not too slow—as if she had been waiting for him for quite some time. Wu Hanyu halted in his tracks, suddenly snapping back to his senses.
What on earth had he just done?
Sure, disciplining his lowly-born younger brother was only natural, but this was the Eldest Princess’s palace, not the Wu Mansion where he could do as he pleased.
These past few days, Wu Hanyu hadn’t slept a wink. Azure Cypress Palace had returned his gifts unopened, and the servants handling the matter had been icy in their demeanor. No matter how much he probed, he couldn’t get any straight answers, only a vague sense that the Eldest Princess was displeased with his offerings. Anxious and baffled by where he had gone wrong, he had prepared an even more lavish gift and come today to apologize in person. But fate had other plans: he had stumbled upon a shocking secret.
The man those young eunuchs mentioned—the one kept by the Eldest Princess in her palace—was none other than his brother, Wu Lang.
Wu Hanyu stared at the familiar face in the side room. After a moment of stunned silence, all that remained was seething rage.
No wonder the Second Princess had grown so cold toward the Wu family lately. He had no idea when Wu Lang, that baseborn whelp, had been cast out of Ninghua Palace or how he had wormed his way into the Eldest Princess’s favor.
While he had been running himself ragged over the matter of the marquisate, Wu Lang had been living a life of leisure here in Azure Cypress Palace, utterly forgetting the Wu family—and his own brother!
Wu Hanyu’s fists clenched, his chest heaving with fury. Seizing the moment when Liu Yin stepped away and seeing no one else in the room, he bounded up the stone steps in two strides and unleashed a torrent of abuse on Wu Lang.
Wu Lang sat huddled on the bed with his knees drawn up, startled by the sudden intruder.
The room’s door stood wide open. Liu Yin had said his complexion was poor and that he needed more sun, so every day at noon, she would open the doors to let the warm sunlight stream in.
Wu Lang figured he should improve his looks so the Eldest Princess might glance his way more often. So he obediently sat on the bed, basking in the beam of gentle warmth, lost in a daze. That is, until Wu Hanyu’s figure blocked the light, casting a dense shadow over him. Terrified, Wu Lang shrank back, lifting his head to meet his brother’s furious glare.
“Useless trash!” Wu Hanyu gritted out, hurling one vicious insult after another. “…Can’t even win the Second Princess’s favor? Fine, but now that you’ve latched onto the Eldest Princess, why haven’t you whispered a few good words about your brother in her ear? Why haven’t you gotten that decree naming me heir yet?”
The Eldest Princess might not enjoy as much of His Majesty’s favor as the Second Princess, but her temperament was gentle and accommodating—surely easier to approach. If she mentioned it to His Majesty, at least it would remind him of the matter, far better than Wu Hanyu fretting endlessly back at the mansion.
Wu Lang pressed his lips together, saying nothing. Not until Wu Hanyu dragged his late mother into his filthy tirade.
“Coming out of your mother’s belly, and you couldn’t even pick up her talent for warming beds? What a worthless piece of garbage…”
Wu Lang’s head snapped up. He fixed Wu Hanyu with a stare like a serpent coiled in the depths of a cold pool, its icy gaze tightening around his throat.
Wu Hanyu faltered, then barked a laugh of incredulity. His brother had grown bold indeed, daring to glare at him with such defiance. Without hesitation, he raised his hand and delivered several sharp slaps to Wu Lang’s face, hoping to knock some sense into him and remind him of his place.
After days of careful nurturing, the swelling on the youth’s face had finally subsided somewhat, only for fresh red handprints to bloom across it now. Xue Yunyi watched, her brows furrowing slightly.
Wu Lang knelt before her, head bowed, quiet and cautious.
She let out a sigh and shifted her gaze away, settling it instead on Wu Hanyu standing nearby.
Wu Hanyu hurriedly cupped his hands in salute. “This commoner greets the Eldest Princess. I apologize for my rudeness in barging in today.”
Glancing at Wu Lang beside him, he chose his words carefully and forced a smile. “Might I ask when Wu Lang came to Your Highness’s palace? Has he been serving you to your satisfaction?”
“Wu Lang is This Palace’s man now. What gives you the right to strike people in This Palace’s residence?” Xue Yunyi leaned back in her wheelchair, regarding him steadily.
Wu Hanyu choked, cold sweat beading at his temples. He cleared his throat before continuing. “Your Highness may not know this, but Wu Lang has been willful and disobedient since childhood. If he’d behaved himself, the Second Princess wouldn’t have thrown him out of Ninghua Palace, would she? It’s his good fortune to have caught Your Highness’s eye. I only disciplined him a little because I feared he’d offend you again. But the wretched thing dared to talk back to me, so in a moment of anger, I gave him a couple of slaps.”
His constant “wretched thing” grated on Xue Yunyi’s nerves. She turned icy. With a soft scoff, she said, “What are you to discipline This Palace’s people? You’re nothing but the son of the Marquis of Pingkang—no title, no office, just a idle layabout. You don’t even bother with the proper obeisance before This Palace. Do you truly think This Palace’s Azure Cypress Palace is your family’s backyard?”
Wu Hanyu’s heart lurched in terror. His knees buckled, and he dropped to the floor. Before he could stammer a defense, Xue Yunyi turned to the servant beside her. “Who was on gate duty today?”
Mo Ying replied promptly, “Zhao Ying and Wang Wu.”
“And last time,” Xue Yunyi tallied the days, “on the tenth—who let him into Azure Cypress Palace?”
Mo Ying thought quickly. “Replying to Your Highness, for the past half-month, Zhao Ying and Wang Wu were on duty at the palace gates before noon. They switched shifts afterward.”
“For letting such a rude lout in without This Palace’s permission, their incompetence warrants thirty strokes of the bastinado each. Replace them with two reliable guards.” Xue Yunyi’s tone remained even.
Ever since Empress Jiang’s death, she had been listless, too indifferent to bother with palace minutiae. She hadn’t realized her servants had grown so lax.
Wu Hanyu panicked. He wasn’t close with Azure Cypress Palace’s guards. Last time, he’d seen Zhao Ying and Wang Wu leaning against the wall, yawning. He chatted them up, mentioned he was the son of the Marquis of Pingkang come to pay respects to the Eldest Princess, and slipped them some silver. They had let him in with half-hearted reluctance. On his way out, he’d thanked them profusely again, and Wang Wu had chuckled that the Eldest Princess, hobbled by her leg injury, paid little mind to such things anyway.
Wu Hanyu never imagined the usually mild-mannered Eldest Princess would fly into such a rage today. Trembling, he debated whether to plead for the two men.
“Barging into This Palace’s chambers and freely abusing the people at This Palace’s side—Wu Hanyu, how many lives do you have to throw away?”
The Eldest Princess’s gaze was calm, her expression betraying no emotion, as if they were merely chatting idly. Yet Wu Hanyu broke out in a cold sweat. Forgetting all about Zhao Ying and Wang Wu, he scrambled to explain. “This commoner was so eager to make amends that I forgot my manners. Your Highness didn’t like the previous gifts, so this commoner prepared some others especially…”
Xue Yunyi ignored him, turning directly to Wu Lang. “How many slaps did he give you just now?”
Caught off guard by the question, Wu Lang’s dark lashes fluttered in panic. “Replying to Your Highness, maybe six… this servant can’t quite remember.”
He only recalled Wu Hanyu yanking his hair in fury, the world spinning before his eyes, followed by the familiar burning swell on his face.
Head still lowered, Wu Lang’s hands clenched nervously in his sleeves. It was the first time he’d seen the Eldest Princess like this—the first time he’d heard her speak so coldly and sternly.
Wu Lang felt afraid.
After all, this mess was his fault. If he hadn’t stirred up trouble, the Eldest Princess wouldn’t have gotten so upset.
Maybe he shouldn’t have defied Wu Hanyu. Over more than a decade, he’d heard such vile words countless times and learned long ago to endure them in silence.
Lost in self-reproach, he was startled when the Eldest Princess said coldly to Wu Hanyu, “Twelve slaps. Do it yourself, then apologize to Wu Lang.”
Wu Lang froze, lifting his eyes in disbelief, shock filling his gaze.
Wu Hanyu was equally stunned. Was she joking? Apologize to this lowly scum? He tugged at his lips in an ugly smile. “Your Highness, this commoner is his elder brother. As the saying goes, ‘elder brother is like a father.’ Back home, it was always this commoner who took pains to discipline him. I only hit him a couple times today—why make such a fuss?”
At the thought of Wu Hanyu’s “loving discipline,” Wu Lang’s pupils contracted, and he ducked his head again.
“Old Master Wu is still hale and hearty. When would it ever be your turn to discipline?” Xue Yunyi’s lips curved faintly. “You’re both sons of the Wu family. Where does this notion of highborn and lowborn come from? You struck This Palace’s man, so you must be punished. Young Master Wu, are you waiting for This Palace to do it herself?”
She made as if to sit up straighter. Wu Hanyu flinched back in alarm, only to hear her say coolly, “Filth like you, without manners or upbringing—This Palace would dirty her own hands slapping you.”
With that, she raised her voice. “Mo Ying, since Young Master Wu refuses to exert himself, I’ll have to trouble you instead. Remember, it only counts if there’s a clear sound and a mark is left.”
“Yes.”
Mo Ying stepped up to Wu Hanyu. She considerately rolled up her sleeves and slipped off the silver bracelet from her wrist. Then, with polite curtsy to him, she swung her arm with all her might, slapping him across the face.
Wu Hanyu hadn’t expected this slender little palace maid to possess such formidable strength. A single slap left him dizzy and seeing stars. He couldn’t help wailing in agony as he begged for mercy. “This commoner knows his error! This commoner will apologize to Wu Lang right now. Please, Your Highness, show mercy…”
The slaps rang out crisply, each one echoing through the air.
Wu Lang knew that sound all too well, so he didn’t find the scene cruel. Instead, he furtively lifted his eyes toward the Eldest Princess. She sat there serenely, her expression calm as she sipped her tea.
Was the Eldest Princess… venting her anger on his behalf?
The sensation was strangely wondrous. It set Wu Lang’s heart racing for no discernible reason.
For the first time in his life, he watched his brother—the one who had always delighted in beating and tormenting him—cut a pathetic figure. Face flushed beet red, the man crawled over on his knees amid choked sobs. “I’m sorry. Brother shouldn’t have hit you. Brother will never do it again. Please forgive Brother, won’t you?”
Wu Lang pressed his lips together, refusing to meet Wu HanYu’s gaze. Xue Yunyi calmly set down her teacup and instructed Mo Ying. “Take him away and give him thirty strokes of the bastinado, just like Zhao Ying and Wang Wu. He’s never to set foot in Azure Cypress Palace again.”
Two guards promptly entered the hall and hauled the terrified Wu Hanyu away.
Xue Yunyi glanced at the palace maids attending them in the hall. “All of you, withdraw. Be more diligent in your duties from now on. This Palace will not forgive any negligence lightly.”
The palace maids bowed their heads in trepidation and murmured their assent before filing out of the hall with deep curtsies.
Silence once again blanketed the hall.
Only the boy’s cautious breaths remained.
The chill in Xue Yunyi’s eyes eased a touch. She paused for a moment, then spoke in a gentle tone. “Lift your face. Come closer.”
Wu Lang’s body went rigid. In his mind, he knew it: Wu Hanyu had been punished, so now it was his turn. It was all his fault for not staying quietly in place, for troubling the Eldest Princess. He deserved severe punishment.
He shuffled forward on his knees and obediently tilted his face upward, offering his still-burning cheek within easy reach of Xue Yunyi’s hand.
Up close, he caught the faint herbal fragrance clinging to the hem of her skirt.
He suddenly recalled the Eldest Princess’s words to Wu Hanyu moments before.
She had said that striking him would dirty her hands.
Yet she was willing to punish him with her own hand.
At that realization, a hidden spark of delight bloomed in Wu Lang’s heart.
His face could be touched by those warm hands of the Eldest Princess—soft ones, scented with flowers. Even a slap would be a privilege granted solely to him.
Wu Lang couldn’t resist lifting his face a fraction higher.
But the expected slap never came. Instead, Xue Yunyi’s warm palm settled gently on his reddened cheek, rubbing it tenderly. A soft sigh, barely audible, brushed his ear.
“It’s somewhat swollen. You’ll need to apply some medicine.”
Xue Yunyi drew back her hand and pointed to the wooden cabinet beside the bed. “There’s ointment for the swelling in the second drawer. Go fetch it.”