Fifty Slaps

Xiao Qianyì stumbled, sensing a danger unlike any he had ever faced.

As the Imperial Guards rushed toward him, a vicious glint flashed in his eyes. His gaze darted about as he desperately searched for a way out.

Empress Dowager gave him that chance.

"Stop!" Empress Dowager slammed the teacup beside her onto the ground. The fine porcelain, adorned with carved golden flowers, shattered into pieces.

"Emperor, you already made one mistake by failing to judge people well. You should know the importance of caution and prudence. The truth is still unclear, yet you would take someone's life based on a few words. I ask you: if you are wrong, can you bear the charge of being muddleheaded, incompetent, and capricious?"

Xiao Qianyu narrowed his eyes, smiling faintly. "What do you mean by that, Imperial Grandmother? Are you doubting me?"

Even though he had made it all up, that didn't stop him from speaking with righteous indignation.

He had thought the Empress might step forward to stop him, but he hadn't expected Empress Dowager.

Empress Dowager met Xiao Qianyu's cold, distant gaze, and a pang of pain rose in her heart. She pressed her lips together and said, "Heaven has a virtue of cherishing life. I simply don't wish to commit needless slaughter or kill an innocent person."

An innocent person?

The royal family's greatest taboo was talk of an "Evil Spirit." Not only did Empress Dowager not despise him, she even considered him innocent and wanted to spare Xiao Qianyì's life. Was the protagonist's charm really that powerful?

"What makes him innocent? I fail to see it. Was it not he who framed me, leaving me on the brink of death? Was it not he who impersonated the Royal Bloodline and plotted to seize the Position of Crown Prince?" Xiao Qianyu sneered. "This is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations. If he is innocent, then all those Traitorous Officials and Rebels plotting to usurp the throne needn't worry about having their families wiped out. They can rebel to their hearts' content."

Although Xiao Qianyì was the real prince, from Xiao Qianyu's point of view, he was a traitor who deserved to be cut into a thousand pieces. There was nothing wrong with saying so.

Empress Dowager's expression darkened. "The law should make room for human compassion. He was adopted by that couple, and knew nothing at all about that case from beginning to end. He should be given a chance to live. In my view, he should simply be stripped of his title, made a Commoner, and driven from the palace."

Xiao Qianyì could no longer keep his position as Prince Qi. For now, it was enough to spare his life.

That was the downside of having no memories from the original body. Xiao Qianyu knew nothing about the True and False Crown Prince Case, and couldn't even begin to argue back.

He cursed the system all over again.

Back in the main world, 007 was taking part in a protest march with the other systems against the grueling life of supporting-character systems. Its data shivered.

So Xiao Qianyu simply set that aside and turned to ask Emperor Yongchang, "Father Emperor, will you spare this 'Evil Spirit's' life?"

Emperor Yongchang's face was icy. There was no way he would spare an Evil Spirit; nothing mattered more than his own safety.

His lips moved, and he was about to speak.

Xiao Qianyì panicked and dropped to his knees with a thud. "Father Emperor, hear me out. Whether I'm an Evil Spirit rests entirely on the word of the False Crown Prince's family. How do we know he hasn't fabricated this lie to get rid of the true Royal Bloodline? I beg you to judge clearly and not let his schemes succeed, so our loved ones suffer while our enemies rejoice."

"Ha." Xiao Qianyu let out a cold laugh. "Father Emperor has already issued an edict proving my innocence and restoring my Position of Crown Prince, yet this Evil Spirit keeps calling me the False Crown Prince. He has no regard for Father Emperor's edict at all. Such flagrant disrespect! Guards, seize him and slap him for me!"

If he couldn't kill him, he could at least beat him a few times to vent his anger.

Emperor Yongchang's expression also turned displeased. He felt that Xiao Qianyì hadn't taken him seriously at all.

Seeing that the emperor showed no sign of objecting, Zhao Jun hurried to atone for his earlier failure and stepped forward to do it himself.

Humiliation flashed through Xiao Qianyì's eyes, and he was about to fight back.

"How dare you! Are you going to attack in His Majesty's presence?" Zhao Jun barked.

Xiao Qianyì hesitated for a moment. In that brief pause, Zhao Jun and his men had already twisted his arms behind his back and forced him to his knees.

Xiao Qianyu's lips curled. "Fifty slaps."

A strange glint flashed in Zhao Jun's eyes. Xiao Qianyu had been sent to the Execution Grounds, yet had managed to turn the tables and return to the palace. He even carried the blessing of the gods. It seemed clear that fortune favored him, and that he had a good chance of coming out on top.

If so, it was only sensible to win the favor of the next emperor and build a good relationship with him now.

Without hesitation, Zhao Jun raised his hand and personally began slapping him.

The slaps cracked one after another, mercilessly striking Xiao Qianyì's face. Blood immediately flowed from his mouth and nose, and his cheeks swelled like purple eggplants.

Boundless humiliation engulfed Xiao Qianyì, filling him with such hatred he could have spat blood.

It shouldn't have been like this. His life should have gone smoothly, with one triumph after another and a future blossoming like flowers—not with people holding him down and beating him like a dog.

Empress Dowager's face turned ashen, the veins at her temples bulging. Then, as if unable to bear watching, she closed her eyes and murmured, "Amitabha."

Xiao Qianyu's gaze passed over the emperor and empress. He was surprised that the most exalted couple in the realm looked so calm, showing no reaction at all to Xiao Qianyì being beaten.

It seemed that even if Xiao Qianyì really was their child, he still held little place in their hearts.

The Second Prince, however, wore a look of satisfaction.

"...Forty-nine, fifty." After counting out the slaps, Zhao Jun immediately knelt to report. "Your Majesty, Crown Prince, this subordinate has finished."

Xiao Qianyì's face was swollen like a pig's head, his eyes reduced to slits. He lay prostrate on the ground, too weak to move.