The martial arts training ground of Qixia Temple is usually where the martial monks practice martial arts.
Sheng Jiangli strode to the weapon rack, picked up a soft whip and threw it to Han Fen who had caught up. Then he turned around and walked to the middle courtyard.
He quickly took off his clothes, revealing his well - defined and muscular upper body. He urged Han Fen,
"Hurry up and whip me. Otherwise, when those two ancestors catch up, you won't be able to account to the prince."
Hearing this, Han Fen remembered the last time when Caiyu threw herself on the little maid and he almost broke Caiyu's lower back with his staff. He gasped in horror and nodded repeatedly. "Turn around!"
Without Han Fen's reminder, Sheng Jiangli had already turned around and stood in front of him.
Han Fen shook his hand and whipped Sheng Jiangli with a thunderous sound.
"Whoosh - Smack!"
A long red mark quickly appeared on the man's honey - colored back. Then the skin broke open and blood slowly oozed out from the wound.
Sheng Jiangli tightened his lips. His fingertips twitched uncontrollably, but he remained silent.
Although this soft whip was not made of any special material, the martial monks were very strong, so the whip was thick.
An ordinary whip would only cause swelling, but this whip directly broke the skin.
It looked extremely painful.
Han Fen turned his head and saw the vague figures running towards them in the night. His scalp went numb. He said,
"Bear with it. Those two ancestors are coming."
After saying that, without waiting for Sheng Jiangli's response, the whip in his hand danced wildly in the air like a black snake coming out of its hole.
The whooshing and smacking sounds of the whip cutting through the air rang out quickly.
The whip fell with the wind. Red marks covered his back and were immediately covered by new and terrifying red marks.
Sheng Jiangli clenched his fists. The arms hanging on both sides trembled slightly, but he still remained silent.
Suddenly, he noticed a sound different from the whip behind him. Finally, he couldn't help but curse.
Without even looking back, he instinctively stretched out his arm and pulled the person into his arms.
"Smack!"
The last whip still landed on his back.
"Ten whips are done!" Han Fen said, looking at the man's back with a sigh of relief.
At this moment, he really admired Sheng Jiangli.
This whip was obviously very powerful. There were men who could endure ten whips, but few could remain silent like Sheng Jiangli.
Apart from the prince, he had only seen this man in front of him who could do it.
Sheng Jiangli took a deep breath, swallowed the pain that threatened to make him groan, and gently pushed the girl in his arms away. "Are you crazy?"
Qingqing in front of him was already in floods of tears, sobbing uncontrollably. "Yes! I'm crazy!"
"If loving you is a disease, then I'm terminally ill!"
"Will you cure me?"
How could he be so stupid to take the punishment for her!
No, how could he be so good to her.
Qingqing's mind was in a whirl. She didn't know what she was thinking.
Anyway, she only knew that if before her liking for Sheng Jiangli was just about bickering and not giving in, at this moment, her love for Sheng Jiangli was beyond doubt.
Sheng Jiangli felt the severe pain on his back coming in waves. The invisible wounds on his back felt as if they were being doused with chili water, burning with pain. The pain made his nerves buzz.
He tightened his face, put his clothes back on, and sneered. "I'm in so much pain right now. I need to be treated more. Who has the time to cure you?"
"Brother Sheng, I was wrong." Qingqing opened her eyes. Tears rolled down her cheeks one by one like a string of beads. "I won't act impulsively anymore. I won't hurt others casually..."
She stepped closer to Sheng Jiangli and cried, "Does it hurt? Let me take a look at your back!"
Sheng Jiangli took a few steps back, keeping a distance from her. Seeing the little girl's remorseful look as if she was about to cry herself to death, he finally softened his tone and said,
"It's good that you've learned your lesson. Why are you crying? It's just a few whips. I've suffered more serious injuries. This little wound will heal in a few days."
Qingqing saw that although his attitude had softened, he still kept a distance from her. It was as if the man who had held her just now had disappeared in an instant.
The empty feeling in her heart became stronger.
Sheng Jiangli turned his face and saw Caiyu, who had just caught up, standing not far away. His headache got worse.
His beloved girl's eyes were now red - rimmed. Looking at the man in front of her, tears kept rolling down her cheeks and lightly splashing on her shoes.
"Go back... Go back... I'll apply medicine for you..." Caiyu said in a trembling voice. The corner of her eye glanced at Song Yinghuai standing on the other side, and a flash of resentment passed through.
Why?
This time she hadn't caused any trouble.
She had gone up the mountain to offer strategies to solve the plague and the water source problem.
He had asked her to serve Lü Baiwei. Although she was reluctant, she had done as he asked.
But why was it still others who were implicated?
Why did he only punish Qingqing but not Aunt Mei when Qingqing stood up for her?
Why did it end up with Brother A Li taking the punishment?
Just thinking about Brother A Li's already scarred body made her tremble all over.
What on earth should she do to stop implicating others?
The man who met Caiyu's cold gaze felt a sudden twinge in his heart and felt extremely uncomfortable.
Song Yinghuai only realized later that his decision might push Caiyu even further away.
The man's thin lips moved twice, and he said, "I..."
For the first time, he had an urge to regret.
Should he just tell Caiyu now that Qingqing was a spy!
Tell her that Qingqing not only quarreled and fought with Aunt Mei and fell into the water, but also tried to kill someone deliberately.
Tell her that the viciousness of that girl Qingqing was beyond her imagination...
Otherwise, could the misunderstanding between them be resolved?
But Caiyu's heart was already cold. She didn't even look at Song Yinghuai. She just turned her face coldly and left a cold sentence in the air. "Your Highness, you should be satisfied now."
"Yuer!" Song Yinghuai watched Caiyu walk past him. She walked over to support Sheng Jiangli and left without looking back.
His dark eyes were quickly filled with a hazy mist. He could hardly see the people in front of him clearly.
The man's fingertips trembled slightly. His gaze fell on the long whip on the ground.
At this moment, he felt his heart trembling with pain. Even a thin layer of sweat broke out on the tip of his nose. He could only watch helplessly as Caiyu supported someone and left without looking back.
He didn't even have the courage to get angry and stop them.
"Fourth brother." Xu Buyue watched the three of them leave unsteadily. Finally, she couldn't help but speak. "Why on earth did you punish Qingqing like this? You're not the kind of person who can't tell right from wrong and is partial."
She believed that Song Yinghuai must have other reasons for handling this matter like this.
The cool night wind blew on the man's face.
He slowly loosened his clenched fist. His voice was low and broken. "Aunt Mei has lived in the south of the Yangtze River since she was a child. Caiyu doesn't know that Aunt Mei is an excellent swimmer."
Xu Buyue was stunned for a moment. Then she realized what he meant. A chilling feeling crept over her heart.
A person with excellent swimming skills almost drowned in a small river!
It could only mean that Qingqing had the intention to kill underwater. She was going to kill someone deliberately.
Although Aunt Mei was annoying and liked to flatter the powerful and bully the weak, in the end, she hadn't done anything seriously immoral.
At most, she was just extremely loyal to Lü Baiwei and liked to bully the weak because she had no filter in her words.
But Qingqing wanted to take Aunt Mei's life because of this...
Song Yinghuai only punished her with ten whips. It was already a very light punishment.
At the same time, Xu Buyue was also horrified by the viciousness of that girl Qingqing.
Even Second Brother had misjudged. He had cooperated with such a ruthless girl.
Fortunately, she hadn't offended that girl. Otherwise...
Xu Buyue suddenly felt that her makeup didn't look good anymore.
She'd better... pursue Fourth Brother in her own way!
Xu Buyue was stunned for a long time. Then she figured something out. "Qingqing is Caiyu's only friend in the capital. Fourth brother, you didn't want to tell the truth in front of Caiyu. You'd rather be the bad guy. Is it because you don't want Caiyu to be sad about this?"
Song Yinghuai remained silent.
Xu Buyue felt a little bitter and a little envious in her heart. "But Fourth brother, you've become the bad guy. Caiyu didn't lose Qingqing, but she's very sad about your actions!"