The Duke of Ning grew even more furious, saying, "You are simply a menace." As he spoke, the whip in his hand struck out again.
Xue Xingyue raised her head and asked coldly, "Duke of Ning, I am not a member of the Duke of Ning's manor. On what grounds do you presume to punish me?"
The Duke of Ning sneered at her words, "Are you saying that I, the dignified Duke of Ning, cannot punish you?"
"Yes," Xue Xingyue replied.
The Duke of Ning said indignantly, "Nonsense, how could I not be able to punish you?"
"I am under General Xie. Are you sure you want to punish me?" Xue Xingyue looked up at the Duke of Ning.
On her delicate and pretty face, her eyes were as cold as frost. For some inexplicable reason, the Duke of Ning felt a powerful pressure bearing down on him, making it seem as if he could not meet her gaze.
Despite being a lowly person, she possessed such an aura. The Duke of Ning felt that this young servant was no simple individual.
However, the Duke of Ning did not want to admit that he was being subdued by a mere servant; how embarrassing would that be if word got out?
The Duke of Ning raised his whip and said coldly, "Even if you are Xie Yunliu's subordinate, so what? Once you enter the Duke of Ning's manor, you are a slave of the Duke of Ning's manor."
"Father, that's enough," Meng Jiangming pushed himself up, stood, and spoke to the Duke of Ning, word by word.
The Duke of Ning frowned, looking at Meng Jiangming before him, and said coldly, "Jiangming, step aside."
Meng Jiangming did not move aside, "Father, do you truly intend to punish him?"
The Duke of Ning said coldly, "Do I need your consent to punish someone?"
Meng Jiangming's hand, hidden within his sleeve, clenched tightly. After a long pause, he looked up at the Duke of Ning and said, "Duke of Ning, you seem to have forgotten that I am the驸马 (Fùmǎ - Emperor's son-in-law) now. I doubt you can lay a hand on my people."
"You..." The Duke of Ning pointed at Meng Jiangming, his face ashen. "Good, good, you are truly my good son, to use your status as the 驸马 to pressure me. Meng Jiangming, you have truly chilled my heart."
"Father, please release my person," Meng Jiangming said, word by word.
The Duke of Ning laughed in anger, "Fine, Meng Jiangming, you have some ability. Watch closely then. If you cannot watch him properly, I will still punish him."
With that, the Duke of Ning threw the whip to the ground and left in a huff.
Xue Xingyue breathed a slight sigh of relief. If the Duke of Ning had refused to let her go, she would have been helpless, likely having to endure the whip. After all, she was no longer Princess Xingyue; she was likely not even considered a common person now.
"Alright, it's nothing to worry about. You stay in your room for the next few days and don't come out. I'll have someone bring you meals," Meng Jiangming said.
"Thank you, Fuma," Xue Xingyue said, bowing.
Suddenly, an aura approached her. She instinctively tried to dodge, but remembering she was in the Duke of Ning's manor, she looked up to see Meng Jiangming falling towards her.
She was startled and quickly moved to support Meng Jiangming, "Fuma, what's wrong?"
Seeing Meng Jiangming's tightly shut eyes, she noticed his face was ashen and devoid of color. She instinctively felt for his pulse; his breath was weak.
She quickly said, "Someone, fetch a doctor!"
Meng Lie hurried in from outside, asking, "What happened to the Fuma?"
"The Fuma has fainted," Xue Xingyue replied.
Meng Lie took Meng Jiangming, saying, "Leave the Fuma to me."
Xue Xingyue nodded. Meng Lie was already carrying Meng Jiangming away. She saw several deep claw marks on Meng Jiangming's back and frowned slightly.
Meng Jiangming, who had taken a whip without much notice, fell unconscious in the middle of the night, even alarming the imperial physicians.
Xue Xingyue remained in her room. This was a critical time, and she did not want to be caught by the Duke of Ning again, so she did not leave her room. News of Meng Jiangming's unconscious state was conveyed to her by Ying'er, the maid who brought her meals.
"You don't know how close the Fuma came to death. Thankfully, the imperial physicians were present; otherwise, the Fuma might not have woken up," Ying'er said.
In fact, even now, she still found it hard to believe why Meng Jiangming had taken the whip for her.
This was something she couldn't fathom.
Ying'er did not bring dinner as scheduled. Xue Xingyue looked at her empty teacup and, picking up the teapot, walked out of the room.
She deliberately took a more secluded path. The kitchen was very close to where she had previously resided in the Duke of Ning's manor. As she passed by, she inadvertently noticed candlelight within.
Who was inside?
That was the place where Princess Xingyue had lived. Who would be there?
Thinking this, she leaped into the courtyard and approached the room with the candlelight.
Just as she was about to get closer, voices from within reached her, "Fuma, do you hate me?"
Xue Xingyue froze, her hands clenched tightly within her sleeves. In an instant, tears streamed down her face.
She turned and left the place, fearing that she would be unable to resist charging in and killing him.
However, she knew she had to calm herself. She couldn't act like that, as it would only cost her her life.
She had not yet avenged her imperial brother, so she absolutely could not let anything happen to her.
Xue Tianyue, one day I will stand before you and make you repent for what you have done, but it is not now.
After a long while, another voice from within emerged, "Do you regret it?"
"I do not regret it."
"If that is the case, Your Majesty should not be asking me."
"However, these past few days, I have been dreaming of my imperial aunt. She is questioning me, asking why I did this?"
"Imperial Aunt must hate me, but if I had the chance again, I would still do the same."
"Since Your Majesty has made your decision, do not dwell on the past."
Xue Tianyue, hearing this, looked up at Meng Jiangming, who was kneeling before him, and asked, "Did your trip to Zhen Wuguan yield any results?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, I found nothing," Meng Jiangming replied.
"What about Xie Yunliu? He was once a capable assistant to my imperial aunt. My imperial aunt will surely seek him out."
"Your Majesty, everything is normal in Zhen Wuguan. General Xie shows no signs of abnormality."
"Meng Jiangming."
Meng Jiangming was slightly taken aback, "This subordinate is here."
"I heard that you brought back a young man from Zhen Wuguan. Because of this young man, you even argued with the Duke of Ning, even taking a whip strike on his behalf."
Meng Jiangming was startled and lowered his head, saying, "This young man is named Xiaoyue. He is General Xie's cousin. We owe him a debt of gratitude for his help after escaping the marsh. Since I owe him, I naturally could not let my father beat him, so I took the whip to repay that kindness."