Caiyu was actually somewhat skilled, but the walls of the Prince Yan's Mansion were over ten feet high. Without lightness kung fu, it was really impossible to climb over them.
Song Yongzhen piled up many stones under the wall and then let her step on his shoulders. Only then did she barely reach the top of the wall.
With her small hands tightly clutching the blue tiles on the wall, Caiyu stepped on Song Yongzhen with one foot and inserted the tip of the other foot into the earthen groove dug in the wall for leverage. She urged:
"Stand on your tiptoes again. I'm almost there..."
The Song Yongzhen below said nothing and didn't move.
Caiyu was puzzled and urged again, "Lord Twelve, hurry up! I'm about to lose my grip."
The person below fell silent for another moment.
Suddenly, a cold voice sounded, with a hint of gritted teeth:
"If you can't hold on, then come down!"
It was Song Yinghuai's voice!
Caiyu was suddenly shocked. She turned her head and saw Song Yinghuai's furious face glaring coldly at her.
His eyes were menacing, and his clear voice was tinged with anger, like a fierce tiger about to roar.
Caiyu's legs went weak with fright. With a scream, she fell headfirst from Song Yongzhen's shoulders!
Song Yongzhen seemed to be stunned and didn't even reach out to grab her. He just watched helplessly as she fell to the ground.
Caiyu cried out, "My lord, save me!"
Song Yinghuai was full of anger, but when he saw the little girl falling, his heart still skipped a beat. Without thinking, he reached out and caught her.
Caiyu landed safely in Song Yinghuai's arms. She was like a child, with her legs hanging around his strong waist.
She kept her head down and didn't dare to make a sound.
Above her head, Song Yinghuai's cold voice rang out, "Get down."
Caiyu knew she had angered the big tiger again. She had promised to reflect at home but had tried to sneak out over the wall in the middle of the night. She didn't show any sincerity, so she didn't dare to be stubborn.
But she refused to get down. She just hooked her arms around Song Yinghuai's neck and lowered her head without saying a word.
Song Yinghuai felt his cheeks ache from clenching his teeth. He patted her buttocks and urged, "Get down!"
He was really furious.
Empress Ma had advised him to be gentle with the girl.
But who could take a look at this girl? Did she need to be coaxed?
Just by confining her for a few days, she had been so restless and had ignored his orders. Even the Ninth and Twelfth Princes had been incited by her to do something absurd.
If he coaxed her further, who in the entire Prince Yan's Mansion would listen to him?
Hearing that his anger hadn't subsided but was even rising, Caiyu quickly jumped out of his arms. She lowered her head and called out softly, "My lord."
Song Yinghuai snorted coldly, "All of you follow me!"
Then he turned around and walked away.
Caiyu and Song Yongzhen glanced at each other. They both saw the look of impending disaster in each other's eyes. They followed dejectedly behind.
Song Yinghuai led them straight to the Plum Blossom Hall, where he practiced kung fu.
Song Boming was also brought over by Han Fen. Along with them were Ji Ming, who was sweating profusely, and Ning Shi, who was on duty that night.
When everyone had arrived, Song Yinghuai gave them a cold look.
Ji Ming, who had been tricked by Caiyu again and failed to guard her, knelt down first with a thud, secretly cursing his bad luck.
"I'm guilty," Ji Ming pleaded guilty. "I don't know why Ning Shi and I fell asleep..."
Of course, they knew.
Presumably, they had been drugged by Caiyu and the Prince of Qi.
But Ji Ming didn't dare to say it.
Ning Shi and the others didn't dare to say it either. They just knelt on the ground with their heads down, waiting for punishment.
Caiyu quickly knelt down too. "My lord, it has nothing to do with Brother Ji and the others. It was I who drugged them and knocked them out..."
Song Yinghuai's eyebrows twitched. "Where did you get the sleeping pills?"
Caiyu said, "On the way from Yanjing to Shangjing, my lord gave me a lot of medicine. There are still some left, including two bottles of sleeping pills."
Song Yinghuai let out a sigh. He felt like he had shot himself in the foot. He said to Ji Ming:
"After you receive your punishment, go and check Caiyu's luggage again. Except for the dagger I gave her, confiscate all other weapons, drugs, and dangerous items."
"My lord!" Caiyu looked at him pitifully, not knowing how to plead with him to stop being angry.
Playing the pity card didn't work on him, and arguing with him made him avoid her.
But she was anxious!
Song Yongzhen had said that the emperor was angry today. Although he hadn't issued an order to punish Brother A Li, he had said that he would be locked up in the Ministry of Punishment.
She didn't know how long he would be locked up. Of course, she couldn't just sit still.
She had to find a way to visit him in prison and find out the specific situation.
But every time she came up with a brilliant plan to escape, she was unfortunately caught by him.
Caiyu was extremely helpless.
Song Yinghuai didn't look at her.
If he saw her pitiful look, he was afraid he would soften his heart.
Regarding the matter of giving silver before, since she was unaware and had accidentally bumped into Xiao Rencheng, he would overlook it for the time being.
But she always ignored his orders.
Today, he would let her see clearly how many people would be involved because of her willful actions!
"I've said that anyone who lets Caiyu out again will receive fifty lashes!"
Hearing this, Caiyu looked up in astonishment.
The man's eyebrows and eyes were as cold as a blade, completely different from his usual gentleness. He was just like the Song Yinghuai she had first met.
Ji Ming and the others responded and then set up the punishment tools in a corner of the Plum Blossom Hall. They asked some other guards to carry out the punishment.
For a moment, the dull sound of the wooden boards hitting the flesh echoed one after another.
At first, they could grit their teeth and hold back their cries. But as the beating went on, groans gradually came out.
Caiyu looked over at that corner. Beads of sweat as big as beans were densely covering the faces of Ji Ming and Ning Shi. They were dripping down their cheeks like rain onto the ground. Each of them had bitten their lips white.
Caiyu's heart clenched into a ball. Tears welled up in her eyes. She cried to Song Yinghuai:
"My lord! This matter was caused by me. If you want to beat someone, beat me! Why are you taking it out on innocent people?"
Song Yinghuai said coldly, "Innocent? They were ordered by me to guard you. If it weren't for your wanton behavior, why would they have to suffer like this? If they can't handle their master's affairs well, there is no such thing as innocence. Remember this today. If you don't consider the consequences of your actions in the future, others will be hurt because of you."
Song Yinghuai's words made Caiyu feel a variety of complex emotions all at once.
Sadness, helplessness, and grievance were all intertwined.
Didn't she know this truth?
Just because she had given the private seal to General Sheng Jiangli, did Song Yinghuai have to make a big deal out of it?
Putting people in prison and punishing the servants.
Song Yinghuai didn't care how ugly her face was. He looked at Song Yongzhen and Song Boming again. "You two..."
Song Yongzhen and Song Boming knelt down without any backbone.
"Fourth brother! I can't take a beating!" Song Yongzhen howled. "I'll lose my life if I receive those fifty lashes. You love your younger brother the most. You can't beat your brother because of a woman!"
Song Boming also howled. "Fourth brother! I know I climbed into your bed. I know you have a cleanliness fetish and you're not happy. I'll compensate you with ten new beds tomorrow, okay? I'll ask the servants in the mansion to come and clean your bedroom spotlessly. I guarantee there won't be a trace of my smell!"
Song Yinghuai said coldly, "One of you has no sense of boundaries and actually dared to climb into a girl's bed. The other is wanton and took a girl out secretly in the middle of the night... If this gets out, Caiyu's reputation will be ruined because of you. Don't you have any sense of propriety?"
Song Yongzhen and Song Boming nodded like chickens pecking rice. "Yes, we do! It's just that Miss Caiyu looked so pitiful. We couldn't bear it for a moment..."
Song Yinghuai let out a sigh and stood up. "You are both princes. There is no need for punishment. I see that your kung fu is quite good. One can hold one's breath and be as quiet as a chicken in the room, and the other can stand firmly in a horse stance under the wall. Get up. I'll test your kung fu."
Song Yongzhen and Song Boming were struck like lightning.
Test their kung fu?
This meant getting beaten, right?
It would be better to just be whipped!
Song Yongzhen and Song Boming howled and got up.
A moment later, cries of pain filled the Plum Blossom Hall.
Caiyu watched as the two princes were beaten black and blue by Song Yinghuai. Her heart ached terribly.
After holding back her temper for a long time, it finally flared up again. "My lord is just unhappy because I gave the private seal to General Sheng. He's just looking for excuses to take out his anger. If you want to punish someone, there's always a reason. My lord is deliberately nitpicking and punishing people. No matter how well they do, in my lord's eyes, it's all wrong!"