Chapter 18: Consort Qi listened to the laughter outside.

Chapter 18: Consort Qi listened to the laughter outside.

She pretended to make a move to hit Bei Jing.

This time, she was directly seized and pinned to the ground by the nearby nursemaid.

"Ha ha ha, laugh until you die! So arrogant! Why aren't you being arrogant now?"

The little baby giggled, but Lei Nian'er felt that it seemed... like a small person gloating?

No, no, how could she think such things about the little princess? The little princess was cursing for her sake.

"Rogue servants! What are you doing? Let me go! When my Father comes, he will have all of you beheaded!"

But the palace was not her home. No matter how much she shouted, the nursemaids dared not release the one who had attempted to harm the little princess.

Lei Naner's loud shouting reached the Imperial Study. Before anyone could report, the emperor and General Lei arrived.

"Daddy, Daddy! You're finally here! Someone is bullying your baby!"

Bei Jing pointed at Lei Naner, who was pinned to the ground, and accused in baby talk to the emperor.

The emperor walked over and picked up Bei Jing from Lei Nian'er's lap.

"Tell me, what happened?"

The nursemaid reported, "Your Majesty, this young lady came in and tried to harm the princess. Lei Young Miss stopped her, but then she went mad and tried to hit the princess. I had no choice but to subdue her."

"You're lying! Wretched servant, how dare you speak falsely! It was this little brat who cursed me first!"

"Miscreant! Will you shut your mouth!" General Lei's roar temporarily silenced Lei Naner.

"Do you not find yourself absurd? The princess is only a month old and can't even speak, how could she curse you?"

But Lei Naner, fearless of heaven and earth, became even more defiant when scolded. She started to throw a tantrum.

"I don't care, I don't care, it's not my fault! Father, you actually shouted at me, I won't talk to you anymore!"

Seeing her adoptive father's frown deepen, almost as if it could crush a fly, Bei Jing found it truly hilarious.

"Ha ha ha, no one has ever thrown a tantrum in front of the emperor before, ha ha ha, let my Father see the harshness of society."

The baby's clear and soft laughter carried an unhidden mockery.

Emperor: ... Laugh on, who can outlaugh you!

General Lei knelt down before the emperor with a thud, kowtowing to beg for forgiveness.

His forehead hit the ground with a loud thud, quickly turning blue.

"It is all due to my poor guidance that she has lost decorum before Your Majesty. If a child is not taught, it is the father's fault. Please punish me, Your Majesty. I beg you to consider my daughter's youth and allow me to take her back for personal discipline."

Lei Naner, who had ignored threats and curses, suddenly fell silent. She lay on the ground, staring blankly at General Lei.

She had heard that the emperor was the most powerful person in the world, but Lei Naner didn't feel that way.

To her, the most powerful person was her Father. Could the emperor be more powerful than her Father?

Her Father was a great general, a hero.

People were afraid of him, but she wasn't.

So when she entered the palace, Lei Naner didn't think the emperor was anything special.

But now, her always tall and mighty father was kneeling and kowtowing to someone else.

Lei Naner lay there dumbfounded, no one knew what she was thinking.

The emperor rubbed his temples, "Then twenty strokes of the cane, to set an example."

General Lei thanked him, "Your subject, thanks to Your Majesty's great grace."

Bei Jing was stunned, "Ah? Ah ah ah? Wasn't it her daughter who did something foolish? Why beat her father? Isn't the punishment a bit severe?"

But no one paid any attention to her.

Hearing the little princess's thoughts, General Lei felt a warmth in his heart but raised no objections, instead requesting, "I would like my second daughter to witness the punishment."

"Granted."

The sound of the cane hitting flesh echoed, and Lei Naner's eyes glazed over, as if she had lost her soul.

Bei Jing, a baby in her cradle, bored, opened the system interface again.

She found another person:

Lei Nian'er

Identity: Eldest daughter of the Great General of the Imperial Guards of Dynasty Yue

Age: 5 years

Goodwill: 43

So the main character is already five years old!

She was so thin and small, it was hard to tell.

The original work didn't mention much about the main character's background before the family's destruction, only stating that she turned dark because of it. Bei Jing naturally assumed it was for avenging her parents.

From today's events, it seems General Lei hasn't been very kind to her.

Just look at how Lei Naner treats her.

Children can read the minds of adults very well; if their parents cared about their older sister, younger siblings would only respect and fear her.

Why did the heroine turn dark?

This time, for the full moon banquet, General Lei walked here but was carried back.

Lei Naner has been in a daze from just now until they got home. Leining originally wanted to discipline his daughter, but seeing her silent all the way, he knew she had finally been frightened.

The old father lying on the stretcher sighed, "Do you know what you did wrong?"

Lei Naner came to her senses and nodded gently.

It was rare to see her so obedient, and General Lei's heart softened. He changed his tone and earnestly taught her:

"The Emperor is the Son of Heaven, supreme and invincible. His daughter is a princess, a ruler. We are subjects, and when the ruler commands death, the subject must die. Your behavior today could have justified your execution."

Lei Naner is still young, but she also knows that death is a terrifying thing, and she shuddered in fear.

Seeing this, General Lei said no more, "Go to your mother and think about what you did wrong."

This was the first time Lei Naner looked at Father eye-to-eye. Normally, the tall Father, even when squatting, was still taller than her.

But now, lying on the stretcher, he didn't look imposing at all.

She returned to the main courtyard deep in thought, and Lady Lei saw her and quickly pulled her aside.

"What happened? You don't seem to have any energy."

"Father said I lost my composure before the Emperor, and then he was beaten by the Emperor. Mother, what does 'losing composure before the Emperor' mean?"

After asking this question, Lei Naner saw her always confident mother's expression turn particularly fearful.

Mother examined her up and down anxiously, "What about you? Were you hit?"

For the first time, Lei Naner's little mind grasped the concept of imperial power.

It was something that could make her otherwise all-powerful parents tremble with fear, something terrifying, yet... something to be desired.

After Lei Naner left, Lei Nian'er stepped forward to inquire, "Father, are you okay? Does it hurt?"

One leaky cotton-padded jacket had gone, but another warm one remained.

General Lei felt comforted, laughed heartily, and waved at his daughter, "Father is fine, don't worry."

Lei Nian'er wasn't really worried; her affection for him had long been exhausted by his repeated favoritism.

But Concubine had instructed her to show more concern for her father.

Being filial would make her feel better.

At that time, Concubine held her and cried, "My Nian'er is so young, it's all because Concubine is useless, making you learn to vie for favor at such a young age."

Seeing Father lying on the stretcher, Lei Nian'er felt a bit schadenfreude, and it took her a while to suppress the corners of her mouth after recalling all the sad things that had happened in her five years of life.

After sending off his eldest daughter, the previously weak-lying General Lei sprang up from the stretcher.

The eunuchs who carried out punishments in the palace were trained to apply force according to their master's instructions.

Though it looked like the same amount of force, they could either beat someone to death with three strikes or leave them unharmed after a hundred strokes.

He looked as if his skin was torn open, but it was just a superficial injury that would heal with some ointment in two days.

It must have been the Emperor's intention, just to put on a show for others and his bold and daring little daughter.

Leining understood the Emperor's intent and pretended to be weak all the way.

General Lei's family was sent back, but Bei Jing's full moon banquet was not affected in the slightest.

Liangyi Hall remained lively, and even the palace maids, who were usually not allowed to dress up, could wear unconventional jewelry today and receive red envelopes as rewards.

The entire palace was filled with joy.

Even the eunuchs and maids in the Cold Palace received silver as a reward.

The deposed Consort Ying Qi, listening to the laughter outside, struggled to open her eyes and step out of her room.