Xiao Huaishi, whose originally enraged expression suddenly showed a hint of hesitation, glanced at his extremely disappointing son kneeling on the ground. His face, which had been full of anger, later turned into one of disgust. He simply waved his hand and said, "Forget it! I'll give Rong'er face!"
Then, he said to Xiao Hanzhi, who was kneeling on the ground, "Your mother pleaded for you. I allow you to go and see your mother. Then go and receive your punishment from General Yu later."
"Yes! Thank you, Father." Xiao Hanzhi knelt on the ground to thank the emperor. Just as he was about to stand up, his legs involuntarily trembled. Because the emperor wanted to teach Xiao Hanzhi a lesson, he had been made to kneel in the imperial study until the emperor finished reviewing the memorials.
It was because he had been kneeling for a long time that this happened.
"Father, your son takes his leave!"
"Get out of here quickly!" The emperor picked up another memorial and threw it in Xiao Hanzhi's direction. Xiao Hanzhi didn't dodge and was hit by the emperor again. He originally wanted to cry out in pain but endured it.
On the way to Chengqian Palace, there was actually a new little maid accompanying him. It seemed that what Xiao Hanzhi had done this time had really enraged the emperor.
Inside Chengqian Palace, Concubine Chen dismissed everyone.
"Hanzhi, did your father make things difficult for you?" Concubine Chen quickly came to Xiao Hanzhi's side and carefully examined every exposed part of his body.
Thankfully, there were no injuries on his body. Concubine Chen finally let out a sigh of relief. But then she saw the small bump on his forehead and couldn't help but reach out and touch it.
Xiao Hanzhi cried out in pain, "Ouch... It hurts."
Concubine Chen immediately showed a pained expression, "You've suffered. It's my fault that I've caused you this. I shouldn't have let you marry Shen Miao back then. I didn't expect that she would turn out to be such a troublemaker today."
"Mother, I'm fine. I've just suffered a minor injury. Don't worry about me, Mother. I'm only worried about how to explain things to Helian Shu."
Concubine Chen looked puzzled, "Why do you say so?"
So Xiao Hanzhi told her in detail, "Mother, to be honest, Princess Shu and I have cooperated. She promised that Xiyue Kingdom would be my backing in case of emergencies. Mother, you understand."
On this point, Concubine Chen and Xiao Hanzhi had long had a plan, so Concubine Chen nodded thoughtfully and didn't show any surprised expression.
So Concubine Chen was first overjoyed, but then seemed a bit hesitant. Since the princess came here not for the purpose of a political marriage, Concubine Chen was worried that her son would be deceived.
She simply continued to ask, "But what did you exchange?"
When it came to this, Xiao Hanzhi hesitated and didn't want to speak. It seemed that this point had touched a sore spot in his heart. But facing his mother, Xiao Hanzhi didn't choose to hide it.
"Your son... Your son promised that if he ascended the throne, he would give Xiyue Kingdom 20% of the salt production..."
After saying that, Xiao Hanzhi immediately lowered his head, just like a child waiting to be punished.
Concubine Chen was first angry and wanted to slap her son with her hand, "How could you agree to such a thing so casually?" Although it was an angry tone, her voice was always soft.
Xiao Hanzhi lowered his head and said nothing. When he wanted to explain, he was speechless.
Seeing that the matter was a foregone conclusion, Concubine Chen could only helplessly shake her head, "Forget it... This matter can be put aside for later. It's just a woman. It will be easy to control her in the future. So what if we cut off the salt supply one day!"
Xiao Hanzhi nodded in agreement with his mother's words.
Seeing that after he had told his mother all his things and his mother didn't scold him, he continued to ask in a low voice, "Then Mother... The princess must already know about today's matter. How should I explain it then? She once told your son that she didn't allow your son to have feelings for other girls, and your son casually agreed."
Concubine Chen reached out and pressed her temples. She thought this matter was a bit troublesome. Looking at her son's innocent appearance, she couldn't help but sigh. After all, Xiao Hanzhi didn't understand the affairs of the women in the harem.
But Concubine Chen had been struggling in this palace for nearly 20 years and had used countless little tricks. So she casually gave Xiao Hanzhi a couple of tips.
Soon, the time to meet his mother was up. Eunuch Li sent someone to urge him. He couldn't disobey the emperor's order.
Then Xiao Hanzhi reluctantly said goodbye to Concubine Chen. Accompanied by the people around him, he went to see General Yu. Without saying a word, he directly received 40 military rods.
After these 40 military rods, he was half dead if not dead. But Xiao Hanzhi didn't make a sound, which not only made General Yu look at him with new eyes.
Finally, Xiao Hanzhi was helped back to his own palace by his servants. When the steward saw the prince in this state, he was immediately panicked and ordered the servants to call the doctor in the mansion.
Xiao Hanzhi frowned and lay on his bed. Looking at the bed curtain, it seemed a bit old. It should be replaced with a new one.
"Miao'er, she..." Xiao Hanzhi opened his mouth to ask about Shen Miao's whereabouts, but because he was seriously injured, he couldn't finish this sentence at once.
But the steward already understood what Xiao Hanzhi wanted to say. So he knelt beside the bed, very close to Xiao Hanzhi, and whispered, "The emperor sent someone to take Miss Shen Er away. Your servant doesn't know what's going on. But the two secret guards beside the prince have been..."
The steward didn't continue, because Xiao Hanzhi already understood the fate of those two people.
Xiao Hanzhi didn't even have time to feel sad that Shen Miao had been locked in the dungeon of Tiance Mansion.
After the doctor had just examined Xiao Hanzhi's body, he found that there was nothing serious. It was just a flesh wound. But the flesh was connected to the bones. Some bones were broken, but the bones were not seriously injured.
It seemed that those people didn't use all their strength. They were still a bit merciful to Xiao Hanzhi. After all, he was a noble prince, so the guards didn't dare to use too much force.
But just when things were going from bad to worse, a young servant at the door rushed in to report.
"Prince, Princess Seven of Xiyue Kingdom is asking to see you at the door."
Originally, Xiao Hanzhi wanted to just send the princess away. But then he thought of what his mother had said to him before leaving. Helplessly, he had to let the princess in.
But in his current state, he couldn't receive the princess in the main hall.
So he asked the young servant to go and explain the situation to the princess. If the princess didn't mind, she could come to the inner room. Then Xiao Hanzhi was still willing to meet her.
Although the customs of Xiyue Kingdom were open, it hadn't reached the point where women could casually enter a man's room.