The Unworthy in Their Position

The Grand Princess's thousand-tael noble body flew out like a withered leaf, tumbling several times across the ground before coming to a stop.

The people around them were already panicking. No one had expected the two masters above them to come to blows over a disagreement.

Meixiang rushed over to help the Grand Princess up. "Princess, Princess, are you all right?"

The ornaments on Xiao Yuan's head had tilted to one side, and her right cheek had quickly swollen, looking frighteningly disfigured.

Blood trickled from beneath her delicate nose. Meixiang was so terrified that her wits nearly fled, and she hurriedly wiped it away with trembling hands.

"Princess, say something! Don't scare this servant!" Meixiang feared the Grand Princess might be seriously hurt, and feared even more that Consort Guo would blame her for failing to protect her. She was utterly terrified.

Xiao Yuan's head spun for a while before she finally came to her senses. Then came rage and humiliation.

Xiao Qianyu had actually hit her again, destroying her dignity once more!

She shoved Meixiang aside and glared fiercely at Xiao Qianyu. "Why weren't you beheaded? Why wasn't you the False Crown Prince? Someone like you, who beats your own kin, is fit to be Crown Prince? Could it be that Heaven is blind?"

She hated Xiao Qianyu. She hated him to death.

She was a noble princess. So what if she beat a few lowly servants to death?

They were born to serve her, ants beneath her feet. She could let them live if she wished, or kill them if she wished. What was the big deal?

But Xiao Qianyu just had to oppose her.

Xiao Qianyu's lips curled slightly. He spoke softly. "That's right. Heaven is blind. It discovered that a scourge like you was still in this world, throwing your weight around and harming the innocent, so it couldn't bear to watch any longer. It sent down thunder to clear my name and restore me to the Crown Prince's position..." The words that came from his mouth were colder than frost and snow, freezing the blood in their veins. "That way, I can carry out Heaven's will, rid the palace of scum, restore peace to the inner palace, and let the wronged souls rest."

BOOM! Like a muffled thunderclap, the sound exploded in Xiao Yuan's mind, leaving her dizzy and cold all over. Her vision went black in an instant.

Her lips trembled as she stared at Xiao Qianyu in horror. H-he was trying to drive her to her death.

"Crown Prince!" Consort Guo had hurried over upon hearing of the commotion at the palace gates and had arrived just in time to hear those words. She cried out in a panic. "Crown Prince, please choose your words carefully. Even if Yuan'er is at fault, His Majesty will discipline her. Whatever the case, she cannot be accused of angering Heaven and bringing down heavenly punishment. The thunder from Heaven is a blessing from our ancestors. They could not bear to see you wronged and harmed, so they moved Heaven to show mercy and warn His Majesty. Isn't that right?"

Cold sweat soaked the back of Consort Guo's robe. If those words spread, Xiao Yuan would be branded as loathed by the Heavenly Dao and guilty before Heaven. It was uncertain whether she could keep her princess title and continue enjoying wealth and glory. Worse, the emperor might despise her, confine her, and strip her of her title—or even expel her from the imperial clan. And if matters became serious, the emperor might have her executed to keep the imperial family's name spotless.

"Crown Prince, you didn't mean what you said just now, did you? You were only speaking in anger, right?" Consort Guo's eyes were pleading, and even her voice was cautious.

Xiao Qianyu looked at her quietly. What a clever woman.

It was a pity she had a foolish daughter.

The Grand Princess swayed as she stood up and faced Xiao Qianyu. "You have no humanity. You're not the Crown Prince at all. The Crown Prince would never be so cruel as to want me dead."

Just now, she had glanced at Xiao Qianyu. His deep eyes had been frozen over, devoid of any trace of humanity. He had looked at her as if she were already dead. It was nothing like before: back then, though his eyes brimmed with anger and disgust, they held even more disappointment and hatred born of wanting her to do better, along with the fierce feelings he had for her as his half-sister.

Now, there was nothing in them.

He truly no longer considered her his sister.

Xiao Qianyu's thin lips curved coolly. "You're right. The old Crown Prince, benevolent but incompetent, is dead. The Crown Prince who lives now acts only in accordance with the Heavenly Dao and his conscience. Where is the chief eunuch of the Punishment Department?"

Eunuch Hai had been hiding to one side, watching. His heart was in turmoil. He had never expected the Crown Prince and the Grand Princess to come to this.

At the Crown Prince's call, he bent his back even lower and stepped forward with small strides. "This servant, Hai Zheng of the Punishment Department, pays his respects to His Highness the Crown Prince."

Xiao Qianyu asked calmly, "The Grand Princess has harmed palace attendants and slaughtered the innocent. According to the Palace Rules, what punishment does she deserve?"

Eunuch Hai shot a quick glance at Consort Guo, then lowered his head and answered solemnly. "If the evidence is conclusive, the Palace Rules prescribe a light punishment of docking her stipend and confining her to the palace, or stripping her of her title and demoting her to a Commoner. For serious offenses, she is to be executed." His voice grew quieter with every word, and cold sweat already covered his forehead.

Consort Guo was on the verge of collapse.

The Grand Princess, however, shouted with crazed, bloodshot eyes, "What? You want to execute me? Keep dreaming! With Father Emperor here, you don't get to decide whether I live or die."

Xiao Qianyu gazed at her coldly. "Is that so? Are you sure?"

As soon as the words fell, a muffled rumble sounded in the sky, yet it struck the heart of everyone present like a heavy drumbeat.

Those who were timid had already dropped to their knees, pressing themselves to the ground as they begged Heaven not to unleash its wrath and strike them by mistake.

Consort Guo's once-radiant face had drained of color, and darkness clouded her vision.

The Grand Princess clamped her hands over her ears and kept looking up at the sky. She shrank backward, crying, "Mother Consort, Mother Consort, save me!"

Xiao Qianyu spoke coldly. "Guards! The Grand Princess has trampled the Palace Rules, treated human life like grass, and taken pleasure in torturing and killing palace attendants. Her nature is cruel and vicious, and she has lost all virtue, defying Heaven's harmony and provoking Heaven's wrath and the people's resentment. In accordance with our ancestors' laws and the iron rules of the palace, have her beaten with eighty strokes, strip her of her title, demote her to a Commoner, and expel her from the imperial clan. All wicked servants implicated in this case are to be severely punished as well, to cleanse the inner palace."