Chapter 21
“Ow—!”
Yang Hao was knocked to the ground. Clutching his forehead, he felt dizzy and aching from the blow of the laundry club, and tears nearly sprang to his eyes.
He was a prince born of the empress. When he was young, aside from the punishments handed down by his imperial father, everyone else had treated him like something precious, protecting and indulging him.
Now that he was emperor, no one dared strike him at all—unless they no longer wanted their head.
Yet someone had actually dared hit him!
Before Yang Hao could begin cursing, Mu Xu raised the laundry club and struck him again and again.
Mu Xu had never hit anyone before. The moment she heard Yang Hao’s miserable cry, she was terrified.
But she could not stop.
Who knew whether this intruder might suddenly get up? If that happened, she would be in serious trouble.
“Ow—!”
Yang Hao had always lived in luxury and comfort. He had barely even fallen over a few times in his life, much less endured such a vicious beating.
Mu Xu’s blows were both fierce and heavy.
He repeatedly begged for mercy.
“Stop… Stop… Don’t hit me… Stop hitting me…”
“Stop… Don’t… Don’t hit me… Ow… It hurts…”
Because Yang Hao had covered his head, Mu Xu could not see his face clearly.
Besides, she had already summoned all the courage she possessed to strike the intruder. If she stopped now, she feared she would never find the nerve to attack again.
Xiao Lezi was stunned with terror.
It was over.
It was all over.
The Prince Consort had actually dared beat His Majesty!
Mu Xu turned her gaze toward Xiao Lezi.
That was right.
She had nearly forgotten there was another one!
The candlelight did not illuminate Xiao Lezi’s face clearly, so Mu Xu could only make out the figure of a thin and frail man.
Since he had appeared with the other intruder, how could he possibly be a good person?
Two lecherous thieves had even come together.
How utterly shameless!
Before Xiao Lezi could rescue the emperor, Mu Xu swung the laundry club and knocked him to the ground as well.
“Ow—!”
How could the Prince Consort fail to recognize anyone once she went mad?
They had met on the day he proclaimed the imperial decree!
“Stop… Stop hitting me… Prince Con—ow!”
“Help… Help!”
Xiao Lezi and Yang Hao screamed from the pain.
The two huddled together, each pushing the other forward, both hoping to make his companion take a few blows in his place.
Unfortunately, that only made them even easier for Mu Xu to beat.
Just as Mu Xu prepared to strike again, a dark figure flashed past.
The laundry club in her hands instantly fell to the ground and broke into two pieces.
Mu Xu was shocked.
She stood frozen in place, unable to understand what had happened.
Before she could react, the dark figure raised a sword and thrust it toward her.
When the tip was only an inch from Mu Xu’s forehead, another blade intercepted it.
The second sword flashed, and the first dark figure was hurled backward.
The attacker recognized the person before him.
Although they had come from the same place and undergone the same training, they served different masters.
That alone meant the day would inevitably come when they crossed blades.
The second dark figure stood protectively before Mu Xu, gripping the sword in hand as killing intent gathered in their eyes.
Hidden guards had no friends.
They possessed only their master and their master’s enemies.
A master’s orders could not be disobeyed.
Anyone who tried to harm the person their master had ordered them to protect had to die!
While the two hidden guards fought, Xiao Lezi helped Yang Hao to his feet.
Yang Hao clutched his forehead and pointed furiously at Mu Xu.
“You! You actually dared hit Us!”
Mu Xu returned to her senses.
Us?
She looked at the man supporting the “thief” and found him extremely familiar.
After thinking carefully, she realized—
Was that not Eunuch Le, who had proclaimed the imperial decree that day?
Mu Xu then looked at the “thief” again.
His face bore at least a sixty-percent resemblance to Qie Ge!
She was finished!
Xiao Lezi was furious as well.
“Prince Consort, how dare you lay hands upon His Majesty!”
Mu Xu immediately dropped to her knees.
She knew she was doomed.
But how could she possibly have known that the person she had beaten was the reigning emperor?
Who would climb over the wall of a young woman’s home in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?
If he was not a thief, then what was he?
“This common woman did not know His Majesty had arrived and mistakenly struck you. This common woman deserves ten thousand deaths. I beg His Majesty to punish me!”
Yang Hao could not swallow his anger.
“You were quite courageous just now. You struck Us so viciously. What is wrong? Now you know fear?”
Mu Xu lowered her head and remained silent.
There was no need to imagine what would happen to someone who struck the emperor.
She closed her eyes in resignation, hoping only that her actions tonight would not implicate anyone else.
Seeing Mu Xu accept her fate without defending herself or begging for mercy, Yang Hao found nowhere to vent his anger.
“Go on, then! Hit Us again!”
“Your Majesty!”
Xiao Lezi suddenly screamed, his voice both shrill and loud.
Yang Hao covered his ears, which throbbed from the noise.
“What are you shouting for? We are not dead yet!”
Xiao Lezi’s finger trembled as he pointed at one of the dark figures.
“He… He actually fired a signal flare!”
Every hidden guard possessed a special means of sending messages to their master.
A signal flare was one such method.
Yang Hao was horrified.
“You bastard! How dare you send a signal to Imperial Sister!”
The dark figure ignored Yang Hao completely and focused solely on fighting the opponent before him.
A hidden guard did not hold the emperor in their heart.
There was only their master!
If Imperial Sister came here, would that not be disastrous?
Why would Yang Hao remain and wait to be caught?
He turned and fled outside, no longer caring about punishing Mu Xu.
At the Eldest Princess’s residence, Qie Ge was preparing to retire when a hidden guard reported that a signal had been received.
She changed clothes and immediately hurried toward Mu Xu’s residence.
Yang Hao and Xiao Lezi ran as though fleeing for their lives.
They were astonishingly fast.
The moment they reached the gate, Yang Hao ran left, and Xiao Lezi followed left as well.
Because they were already close together, their steps became tangled.
Xiao Lezi failed to stop in time.
With a loud thud, he tripped Yang Hao and sent him crashing to the ground.
“Ow—!”
Cold sweat poured from Xiao Lezi’s body.
It was over.
It was over!
He covered his eyes, not daring to look at Yang Hao sprawled upon the ground.
Yang Hao clenched both fists and slowly raised his head.
His face turned bright red with fury.
Through gritted teeth, he growled, “Xiao Lezi, you—!”
“Ten thousand volumes!”
Xiao Lezi wanted to die.
Wonderful.
His careful plan had been completely overturned.
Not only had he failed to have his punishment fully pardoned, but another nine thousand nine hundred volumes had been added!
Still, who had made him trip His Majesty?
“Yes… Yes, Your Majesty…”
Yang Hao extended a hand, signaling for Xiao Lezi to pull him up.
Just as Xiao Lezi reached for it, he saw Qie Ge approaching with Jingshu.
He was about to bow when Qie Ge gave him a meaningful look, clearly ordering him to remain silent.
When Yang Hao did not feel Xiao Lezi pulling him up, he became irritated.
“You servant! Can you not see? Pull Us up!”
Xiao Lezi looked at Yang Hao’s hand suspended in the air, then looked at Qie Ge.
Pulling him up seemed wrong.
Not pulling him up also seemed wrong.
Wearing a smile, Qie Ge walked toward Yang Hao.
Her slender fingers slid into his palm.
With a single pull, she helped him to his feet.
Yang Hao sensed something strange.
Why was Xiao Lezi’s hand so slender and smooth?
He lowered his head and brushed the dirt from his clothes.
“Xiao Lezi, have you secretly been applying something to your hands recently? They feel just like a young woman’s.”
Standing behind Yang Hao, Xiao Lezi wiped away cold sweat.
That had not been his hand at all.
It had clearly been Her Highness Qie Ge’s!
When Xiao Lezi did not answer, Yang Hao began, “Hey, you little bas—”
The moment he turned around, he saw Qie Ge smiling at him.
Yang Hao’s entire body stiffened.
“Imperial… Imperial Sister… Why are you here?”
Why was she here?
She wished to ask why Yang Hao was here!
Qie Ge brushed the dust from Yang Hao’s clothes without answering his question.
“You are already a grown man, yet you still fall while walking.”
To an outsider, she appeared exceptionally gentle and considerate.
Yang Hao did not see it that way.
He merely felt himself drawing one step closer to being reprimanded.
His heart filled with panic.
“Imperial Sister…”
Qie Ge raised her eyes and gave him a smile that was not quite a smile.
“It is already so late. Why is Your Majesty not resting in the palace? Why have you come to the Prince Consort’s residence?”
It was over.
Imperial Sister truly was angry!
“Well… Ahem… We merely came to see the Prince Consort. We had no other intentions. Imperial Sister, do not misunderstand.”
Qie Ge nodded as though she genuinely believed him.
“In that case, I also happen to have something to discuss with the Prince Consort. Why does Your Majesty not come inside with me?”
“No, no. We are occupied with affairs of state and still have important matters to handle. We will not accompany Imperial Sister.”
“Oh? What happened to Your Majesty’s face? Were you beaten?”
Yang Hao hurriedly raised a hand to cover his face.
“Imperial Sister need not worry. It is nothing serious.”
Qie Ge pressed her lips together.
“Could the Prince Consort have beaten you?”
“No, no! Imperial Sister has misunderstood!”
If he admitted it, Imperial Sister would certainly realize that he had brought Xiao Lezi over the wall into the Prince Consort’s home and had therefore been beaten.
At this point, he could only swallow this grievance in silence.
He would settle the score with Mu Xu another day!
“Since the Prince Consort struck Your Majesty, then you should accompany me inside all the more.”
On the way here, the hidden guard had already reported every detail of the incident to her without omitting a single word.
The supreme ruler of the realm had climbed over the wall of a young woman’s home in the middle of the night and then received a beating.
Even if Mu Xu were not the Prince Consort, how disgraceful would it be if this matter spread?
Yang Hao refused to give up.
“Imperial Sister, this…”
Qie Ge ordered, “Xiao Lezi, why are you not helping your master inside?”
Xiao Lezi desperately wanted to collapse and pretend to be dead.
Why was he always the one forced to step forward first?
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Xiao Lezi supported Yang Hao by the arm.
“Your Majesty, please.”
Yang Hao knew he could not refuse Qie Ge, so he directed his anger toward Xiao Lezi instead.
Through clenched teeth, he whispered, “You bastard. Who exactly is your master?!”
“Oh, Your Majesty, this servant’s master is naturally Your Majesty!”
“Then why are you so obedient to Imperial Sister?”
Was Yang Hao himself not equally obedient to Her Highness Qie Ge?
How could he have the nerve to ask Xiao Lezi that?
Xiao Lezi whispered, “Your Majesty, a wise man does not fight when the odds are against him. Think of Miss An.”
When Yang Hao heard this, he realized Xiao Lezi was right.
He straightened his back.
He could not be cowardly!
Even if he had climbed the wall, Mu Xu still had no right to beat him!
Xiao Lezi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, there was still Miss An.
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