Chapter 43: The Forty Great Slates

  "What does Rong Er want to say?" The emperor suddenly said coldly, with increasing displeasure in his eyes.

  "I...” Hua Xiang Rong bit her lip, wanting to say something, but it got stuck in her throat and she couldn't get it out. She just raised her eyes and looked at the man in white who was frowning on the other side, his expression unreadable. Suddenly, she smiled helplessly: "Daughter-in-law, I didn't mean to say anything."

  "You..." The emperor frowned.

  Hua Xiang Rong inexplicably felt a tremble, and even Xiao Yue Han, who was holding her hand beside her, couldn't suppress her trembling. It seemed as if something planned by others was about to happen. She reached out to grab the cup on the table, wanting to drink some wine to calm herself down.

  But unexpectedly, before her hand even touched the cup, it seemed as if she had deliberately knocked it over, and it fell down.

  A crisp cracking sound shocked Hua Xiang Rong and also caused Xiao Yue Han, who was holding her hand, to furrow his brow.

  Hua Xiang Rong stared disbelievingly at the shattered night light cup on the ground, it was something that the Emperor had personally bestowed upon her just moments before in front of everyone... and she had smashed it to pieces right in front of everybody... what did this represent...?

  Hua Xiang Rong suddenly looked at Xiao Luo Han sitting opposite her, seeing him toss the stone in his hand to the ground, a cold smile spreading across his lips.

  It turned out that way, Hua Xiang Rong bit her lip and looked at Xiao Yue Han with a cold and gloomy face, unsure of what he was thinking.

  "How dare you! How could you shatter the Nightlight Cup bestowed upon you by His Majesty? This is clearly a grave disrespect. Your Highness, Jin Wangfei, showed such disrespect during the Emperor's birthday banquet, daring to interrupt the Emperor's words and shattering a sacred object. You cannot be excused from punishment. According to our dynasty's laws, princes who break the law are punished the same as commoners. Jin Wangfei's actions constitute the crime of deceiving the monarch, punishable by death!"

  As soon as the word "behead" came out of that dog official's mouth, who was clearly in cahoots with Rong Wang, Hua Xiangrong suddenly raised her eyes and looked at him incredulously.

  Xiao Yuehan didn't speak, Hua Xiangrong knew that he couldn't talk now, everything today wasn't aimed at her, it was clear that it was from her body to target Xiao Yuehan. That Rong Wang Xiao Luohan is really sinister, even on a day like this, he wants to do something.

  Later, a group of people stood up and said that Huaxiang Rong should be executed. Another group of people from her father's side also stood up and said that she was just an unintentional mistake. Gong Sunlong, who had not spoken until then, also stood up and said that Huaxiang Rong's crime did not deserve death, it was just an unintentional mistake, and should not be treated so severely.

  Hua Xiang Rong sat quietly, watching the commotion of these people, from tension to finally calming down. In fact, she was not important; today's her was just a fuse for some people with ulterior motives.

  Finally, the emperor suddenly spoke in a cold voice under the persuasion of a group of people: "The death penalty can be exempted, but the living penalty cannot escape. Forty big boards will be used as a warning. Come on, take him away and execute the punishment."

  The air around them seemed to vibrate with tension, and Hua Xiang Rong suddenly felt that Xiao Yue Han, who had been tightly holding her hand all along, seemed to want to stand up and say something. He clearly knew that if he spoke now, the blame would definitely be directed at him, so how could he possibly speak?

  Hua Xiang Rong hastily pinched Xiao Yue Han's hand and winked at him.

  Xiao Yue's cold eyes stared at her, the complex lights flashing in his eyes made Hua Xiang Rong somewhat incomprehensible, but at this moment, he was willing to risk danger and speak up for her, she was very satisfied, at least, this iron-hearted man's heart still had some temperature.

  Hua Xiang Rong gave him a reassuring glance, as if to say it was nothing serious, then stood up with ease and followed the guard out.

  As she passed in front of Xiao Luohan, Hua Xiangrong paused for a moment, gave him a cold smile, and then continued walking. When she arrived in front of Gong Sunlongqing, she lowered her eyes, took a deep breath, didn't look at him, and walked out.

  No matter whether Gong Sun Longqing is expressionless or full of heartache, she can't look at him. If she looks, it will only cause trouble.