Chapter 300: If You Haven’t Suffered Their Hardships, Don’t Preach Kindness

Chapter 300: Chapter 300: If You Haven’t Suffered Their Hardships, Don’t Preach Kindness

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Everyone looked outside the hall, to see Princess Zilian slowly walking in.

"Greetings, Your Royal Highness." Everyone quickly bowed.

Zhenren Changfeng asked, "May I ask why Your Royal Highness has graced us with your presence?"

Zilian surveyed the hall, finally looking at Zhu Haojie, and said coldly, "This princess has been standing outside the hall for a while now, and I’ve heard most of what happened. I never imagined that the Royal Family would spend such vast sums of silver each year to nurture such sanctimonious scum!"

Zhu Baiqi quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Royal Highness, please appease your anger. This matter is my son’s fault. Once Miss Wen is married into our family, my son will certainly compensate her well."

Wensi immediately stepped forward, crying out, "Your Royal Highness, please save this humble maiden! This maiden would rather die than marry him!"

Zilian looked at Wensi and said, "Stand up. Don’t worry, if you don’t wish to marry him, no one can force you."

"He committed a wrong, and naturally, he must bear the consequences! Zhenren Changfeng, what do you intend to do with this matter?"

The Princess’s meaning was clear: Wensi should not be forced, and Zhu Haojie should be punished.

Zhu Haojie looked at Zhu Baiqi in a panic, crying out, "Father! Uncle-Master!"

Zhenren Changfeng cupped his hands and said, "Your Royal Highness is correct. Those who commit wrongdoings should receive their due punishment."

Then Zhenren Changfeng looked at Zhu Haojie and said, "Rebellious disciple, kneel!"

Zhu Haojie knelt to the ground with a ’thud,’ his eyes filled with terror.

"Rebellious disciple Zhu Haojie, you first deceived an innocent commoner, then hid a woman in the Taoist temple, and fearing exposure, even tried to silence her by murder. This Taoist priest punishes you with two hundred strokes of the disciplinary whip, demotion to an outer disciple, and you are forbidden from entering the front courtyard without cause!"

"Uncle-Master! Please have mercy, Uncle-Master! Father, Father, please save me!"

Zhu Baiqi cupped his hands, about to plead, when Zilian snorted coldly.

"For such a grave crime, isn’t that too lenient? Forming factions within the temple, bullying the weak, using his father’s authority to arbitrarily bring people into the Taoist temple who gave him such audacity?!

The Taoist temple is a sacred place; everyone knows what he was doing hiding a woman here. If he isn’t severely punished, others will follow suit. Taoist Priest Changfeng, I fear this Taoist temple will be ruined!"

Zhenren Changfeng wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "The Princess is absolutely right. Drag him away, give him three hundred strokes of the disciplinary whip, expel him from the Taoist temple, and from now on, this person will have no connection whatsoever with our temple!"

"Uncle-Master!"

"Senior Brother!"

The voices of the Zhu father and son echoed through the great hall.

Zhenren Changfeng waved his hand and said, "Enough talk! Execute the punishment immediately!"

Zilian said, "Beat him right here, and let all the disciples come to witness the punishment!"

Disciples stepped forward to restrain Zhu Haojie, and an elder personally brought forth the divine whip.

Zhu Baiqi was about to take the whip when Zilian stopped him, saying, "To avoid favoritism, let someone else do the beating."

Then she looked at one person and said, "You go."

The person she pointed to was Zhenren Ren Rong, who was at odds with Zhu Baiqi.

Ren Rong smiled, took the divine whip, and slowly walked towards Zhu Haojie.

Zhu Haojie was so terrified he could only call out for his father, but Zhu Baiqi was powerless.

"Begin."

At Zilian’s command, Ren Rong swung the long whip.

"Crack!"

One lash tore skin and flesh, and Zhu Haojie’s pig-like screams pierced everyone’s eardrums.

"So grating, gag him!" Zilian dug at her ears in disgust.

Ren Rong had truly used all his strength. By the time three hundred lashes were delivered, Zhu Haojie had not a single patch of good skin left on his body; his bones were almost certainly broken, and his breath was faint.

Zhu Baiqi stepped forward, covering him with his own clothes, silently removed the cloth from his mouth, and fed him a life-sustaining pill.

Zilian clapped her hands and said, "That’s better. All right, there’s nothing more here. Song An, I have something to discuss with you."

With that, she left the mess behind, pulling Song An and walking out.

They didn’t see the look of deep hatred in Zhu Baiqi’s eyes behind them.

...

Hearing this, Dai Wuya slammed the table fiercely.

"That’s satisfying! Master, Princess Zilian is my master’s wife, isn’t she?"

Zhenren Mingyang nodded and said, "Yes, she is your master’s wife."

"In the following days, Lian’er often came out of the palace to the Taoist temple, sometimes for official business, sometimes sneaking out, and occasionally Ziying would follow."

Su Li asked in surprise, "Father Su, I remember the Moon Empress’s given name was Zilian. Could our master’s wife be..."

Mingyang nodded again, "It’s her."

"Then Ziying..."

"She is the current Empress of Xichen, Empress Zi."

Dai Wuya wondered, "Eh? If Master’s wife became the Empress, wouldn’t it be impossible for her and Master?"

Mingyang took a sip of wine, looking out the window, his voice a little distant.

"Half a year passed like this. This half-year was the happiest time of my life. Lian’er and I grew closer and closer, and eventually, the Empress found out."

"The Empress tried every means to separate us, but in the end, with our persistence, she relented. As long as Lian’er became the Empress, I could be with her.

Lian’er had her responsibilities and couldn’t bear to leave me, so she had no choice but to agree.

My master calculated that Lian’er was a destined tribulation in my life, and at first, he also objected, but eventually, he could only sigh.

I followed Master back to Tianqi, preparing to inform my parents of everything, then return to Xichen to be with Lian’er.

Who knew my parents at home would not agree, threatening to die. For various reasons, I was delayed in Tianqi for several more months.

These months felt like years to me, and Xichen also underwent earth-shattering changes.

Until one day, I received a cry for help from Lian’er.

Only then did I learn that the Xichen Emperor had suddenly passed away, and she had already ascended the throne as Empress.

However, many in the court were unsubmissive, and worst of all, a severe plague of Gu poison suddenly spread throughout Xichen.

Even the Imperial Palace was not spared, and several princesses of the Imperial Family were afflicted. Lian’er herself also contracted the Gu poison.

In her letter, she said that Taoist sorcery was also mixed in with this Gu poison, and she suspected it was caused by someone within the Xichen Imperial Family colluding with outsiders."

Jun Mo analyzed, "Was it Zhu Baiqi?"

"Yes, I fled my home overnight and rushed back to Xichen. Lian’er and I secretly investigated and discovered it was Xichen’s Fifth Princess colluding with Zhu Baiqi, their goal naturally being the throne.

Lian’er ordered the execution of the Fifth Princess and forced Zhu Baiqi to cure the Gu poison of the afflicted princesses.

Finally, Zhu Baiqi mysteriously died in prison, and we realized that the matter wasn’t so simple.

The imperial princesses died one after another, until only Lian’er, Ziying, Lanjun, and Shaowen remained.

Lian’er’s Gu poison attacks became more frequent, and finally, the person behind it couldn’t sit still any longer.

Ziying gradually reclaimed power in the court, which also drew the attention of the other few.

Ziying became maniacal, controlling more than half of the court officials with Gu poison. Lian’er, already suffering from the Gu poison, was also not as ruthless as Ziying.

Lian’er’s Gu poison attacks became more frequent, so I decided to take Lian’er back to Tianqi to see if Master could cure her Gu poison.

But the day before we were to depart, Ziying led an army to force her abdication. With the help of Princesses Lanjun and Shaowen, we barely managed to escape Xichen."

He still remembered Ziying, that madwoman, laughing as she looked at Lian’er and him, and the words she said.

She said, "Elder Sister, I told you long ago, you can only have one: the throne or Song An! Greed, however, is to be punished!"

It was then he realized that this seemingly innocent woman had always harbored an unusual affection for him.

Su Li sighed, "Then Master, when you returned to Tianqi, did Grandmaster not cure Master’s wife’s Gu poison?"

Mingyang gritted his teeth, his eyes bursting with intense hatred.

"No, it was cured! Master cured Lian’er’s Gu poison, and we lived a few years of peaceful life.

I thought we could continue to be this happy, but I never expected that madwoman wouldn’t let us go."

"She had been secretly developing all sorts of poisons. Xichen gradually shifted from medicine to poison as its mainstream.

Lian’er also fell victim to her new poison. This time, Master couldn’t save Lian’er either.

After Lian’er passed away, I diligently practiced medicine and poison. Finally, more than ten years ago, I returned to Xichen once more."

Dai Wuya said, "Did Master go to avenge Master’s wife?"

"Yes, killing her would have been too easy! I administered a poison I developed myself. Every fifteenth day at midnight, her martial arts would vanish, and she would suffer the pain of being bitten by hundreds of insects. She had just given birth to a daughter then, and I wanted her to taste the pain of losing a loved one too."

Su Li’s eyes widened, "Master killed Empress Zi’s daughter."

"That’s right! I killed her daughter! I wanted that venomous woman to taste the flavor of despair!" ℯℯ𝑙.

Su Li’s hand trembled. She couldn’t judge whether her master’s actions were right or wrong.

If you haven’t suffered their hardships, don’t preach kindness.

Jun Mo said, "Then Empress Zi sent Gu poison to County Princess Yuzhu to force Master to show himself?"

"I suspect so too. She knew Shaowen had helped me, and that I could cure Yuzhu’s Gu poison, so I would definitely appear. But she didn’t expect me to not show up, and for Li’er to appear instead."

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