Lei Wanxi told his mother to calm down, but Jinlong did not listen to him. She went to Nianzu. "Prince Nianzu, you are the most brainy among all then why did you allow a commoner to live in this Palace?" Nianzu was being questioned by Consort Jinlong.

Bingbing was brought to the Palace Ground by the two soldiers led by the Royal Inspector. Chuntao was horrified to see the sight of Bingbing. He was beaten brutally. She wanted to punish him, but not this way.

​​

The soldiers pushed Bingbing, who was now on his knees. His forehead was bleeding while his hands were hit brutally. His entire clothes were stained with blood. The sight was not pleasant at all.

Bingbing's parents were also brought there and were forced to get onto their knees. "Your majesty, please forgive my son. We know that he made a mistake, but please be generous," Bingbing's father pleaded.

"Your son did a heinous crime by raising a hand on the Sixth Prince," Han Wenji proclaimed. Lei Wanxi was now regretting letting himself be hit. He did not imagine that things would turn out this way.

"Your majesty, I did not know that he is the Prince. I was talking to my soon-to-be wife when the Sixth Prince intervened. His majesty is known for his justice. Justice should not be one-sided. Even the Fourth Prince is involved in this. My soon-to-be wife wanted to leave the Palace, but he was refusing her to leave. This angered me. I lost my conscience that I could not see that I was talking to the Sixth Prince," affirmed Bingbing.

Chuntao drew her brows together as the matter was getting complex.

"Why are you lying? Father, this did not happen. He was harassing Miss Chuntao. He is the one who cheated on Miss Chuntao behind her back with another woman," Lei Wanxi pronounced.

"Your majesty, I am not lying neither have I cheated on her. If his majesty does not believe me, then his majesty can ask the people who know about my relationship with Miss Chuntao, and also the people from the village. You can ask Chuntao if the Fourth Prince refused to let her go or not. And I was not harassing her, your majesty. I was taking her home when the Sixth Prince intervened. Why are the two Princes involving themselves in the matter between me and my soon-to-be wife? I lost my temper and ended up hitting the Prince," Bingbing explained to Han Wenji.

"Your majesty, even I have warned the Fourth Prince not to bring a commoner in the Palace. His Majesty has also heard from the Village Headman how the Fourth Prince helped this common village girl and punished Landlord Ma. Forgive me, Your Majesty, but for the past month, many rumors have been circulating in the Capital about Prince Nianzu and this village girl. Now, the Sixth Prince also involved himself with a village girl. The image of the Royal Family of Han is being tarnished because of all this," Weng Wei pronounced.

Sheng Li chuckled upon hearing the words of Weng Wei. Nianzu and Lei Wanxi glared at Weng Wei. By now, they had realized that the Empress had something to do with this.

"What are you trying to say, Empress Wei? Do you want me to take the words of the Village Headman seriously?" Han Wenji questioned Weng Wei and then looked at Bingbing, who had lowered his head.

"I am not interested in your personal matters, neither am I interested in knowing what others are saying. The reason you are summoned here is as you hit the Sixth Prince. If you think that this Emperor will believe the lies of a person who hit the Prince and was harassing a woman, then you are wrong," Han Wenji announced.

Looking at Chuntao, Han Wenji continued, "Prince Nianzu had taken my permission to keep this village girl as his assistant. No one can object to the decision of the Emperor. Losing control of your emotions is the fault of the accused. If there would be a commoner in place of the Sixth Prince then, I would have appreciated his effort for rescuing a woman, same as I am doing for the Sixth Prince."

Weng Wei narrowly gazed at Han Wenji who then announced his decision.

"You will be flogged a hundred times in the middle of the village and will work for free in the fields for a hundred days. For harassing the young woman, your right hand will be cut down," Han Wenji announced. Bingbing's parents started crying upon hearing the punishment. They all were taken away by the soldiers and Royal Inspector.

"Your majesty, thank you for punishing that person," Jinlong thanked Han Wenji and looked at Lei Wanxi. "Come with me," she said, holding Lei Wanxi's hand and taking him away.

"Your majesty, what about the rumors that have been spread about Prince Nianzu and this village girl? Is his majesty going to neglect them?" Weng Wei queried.

"Why is her majesty so interested in such rumors? It seems her majesty wants to punish the Fourth Brother for no reason." Sheng Li proclaimed.

Weng Wei lifted her brow. "Why would I think that way? I was only following the rules!" Weng Wei asserted.

"Mother, what rules are you talking about? We all know the nature of the Fourth Brother," Jian Guozhi sided with Prince Nianzu, which astonished not only Sheng Li but everyone in the Palace ground. The Emperor was astonished upon seeing how the First Prince came forward to defend his younger brother. This delighted him and a smile carved on his lips.

"Mother, did Wuqing Pao tell you all this? I will inquire with him regarding this tomorrow," asserted Jian Guozhi.

"Your majesty, we cannot trust the words of the people. I urge you to punish those who have spread such wrong rumors about the Fourth Prince and Miss Chuntao," Ying Lili pronounced. Sheng Li agreed with Ying Lili.

"Crown Prince, we can punish them after the marriage ceremonies. I also think that it was the negligence of the Royal Police officers that a woman was harassed openly and then the Prince was injured," Jian Guozhi suggested.

Han Wenji was overwhelmed to see this sight. Jian Guozhi was defending his brothers, standing with them! He gazed at the Crown Princess and smiled. Sheng Li was amused by the First Prince suggesting the most favorable ways.

Oppositely, Weng Wei was furious to see how her son, instead of taking her side, was going against her. She could not believe her eyes that Jian Guozhi could act this way. She clenched her fists as she saw her son favoring the two people whom she did not like a bit.

~~~~~

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