Qinger’s eyes widened suddenly as she stared at the white paper before her, her eyelashes trembling uncontrollably.

Jiang Si smiled reassuringly: “Don’t be afraid. Just dip your finger in cinnabar and press it down. It’s simpler than writing.”

At the doorway, A-Man silently gazed at the sky.

Miss, what a comforting way you have.

Qinger was even more frightened now, hesitating to extend her hand.

Jiang Si’s pretty face turned cold: “What’s this? You dare to commit atrocities, but don’t dare to admit to them?”

Qinger fell to her knees with a thud, crying and begging: “Miss, please spare me. I won’t dare do it again…”

Jiang Si sneered: “If begging for mercy worked, what need would we have for courts?”

Qinger looked hesitantly at Jiang Si.

The young lady stared back at her coldly, her expression unyielding.

“Miss, I didn’t mean to harm anyone. I had no choice. If I hadn’t agreed to Young Master Zhu’s request then, my sister and I would have been ruined by my brother…” Qinger pleaded, clinging to a last shred of hope.

Jiang Si’s gaze grew even more intense, a mocking smile on her lips: “So to save yourself and your family, you can righteously harm innocent people? Where do you get the nerve to beg for mercy like this? Enough, sign, and press your fingerprint quickly. If I’m in a good mood, I might not hand this over to the authorities. But if you keep rambling on, I’ll go find Yu’er…”

“I’ll do it!” At the mention of Yu’er, Qinger completely lost her courage to resist. Tearfully, she pressed her fingerprint onto the paper.

Jiang Si blew on the ink to dry it, then folded the paper and put it away.

That night, many people lay sleepless.

Jiang Yi spent the night at Haitang Residence.

The night grew deep, and suddenly the wind picked up outside, howling and beating against the windows. Yet inside, it remained as warm as spring.

Jiang Si snuggled close to Jiang Yi as they lay down, turning to look at her elder sister who showed no signs of sleepiness.

“Elder Sister, can’t you sleep?”

Jiang Yi’s eyelids trembled slightly, but she didn’t respond to Jiang Si’s words.

Jiang Si reached out from under the brocade quilt and embraced Jiang Yi’s fragile body.

In the dim lamplight of the quiet room, as the biting wind howled through the cold night, Jiang Yi’s heart struggled in icy waters. Her sister’s gentle voice was like a floating piece of driftwood, giving her a glimmer of hope.

“Elder Sister, Yan’yan must be unable to sleep without you too.”

At this moment, Jiang Si wasn’t foolish enough to ask Jiang Yi if she still loved Zhu Ziyu.

She understood her elder sister’s feelings perfectly.

After trusting and loving a man for so many years, even if one sees that man’s ugliest side in an instant, how could those feelings be severed immediately?

What her elder sister needed now was time. Time, that coldest of whetstones, to gradually wear down that soft heart until finally, when recalling that man, she could calmly curse him as a “beast.” That would be time’s greatest kindness.

She believed such a day would come, but not now. Now, what she needed to do was use Yan’yan to inspire her elder sister’s courage to face everything.

Sure enough, Jiang Yi reacted when Jiang Si mentioned her daughter.

She clutched tightly at Jiang Si’s snow-white undergarment, crying silently.

Jiang Si’s eyes grew moist as she said softly: “Elder Sister, Yan’yan will come to accompany you soon. From now on, you and Yan’yan will live here, with Father, Second Brother, and me. Our whole family will be together and well…”

Jiang Yi’s grip on Jiang Si’s sleeve tightened, her sobs suddenly growing louder.

A-Qiao, sleeping in the outer room, quietly turned over, sighing inwardly.

Poor Elder Miss, so pitiful. Looking at it this way, it seems the Young Miss lives more freely.

Hmm, sneaking out for a midnight stroll or having a handsome young master climb over the wall for a late-night visit isn’t so bad either.

Elder Miss was gentle, proper, and virtuous, but in the end, what good did it do her?

Comforting her elder sister, Jiang Si was unaware that on this cold, deep night, her other senior maid A-Qiao’s attitude had undergone a drastic change.

Before the sky had even begun to lighten, officials who needed to attend court were already leaving their homes, braving the cold wind with lanterns in hand as they hurried towards the Qianqing Gate.

Emperor Jingming likewise rose early, assisted by his attendants in dressing, and began the day’s political affairs.

Last night, Emperor Jingming had stayed up late reading novels in secret, and now his head felt somewhat muddled.

Seeing the Emperor’s lack of energy, Chief Eunuch Pan Hai cautiously suggested: “Your Majesty, shall this servant bring you a bowl of invigorating soup?”

“No need,” Emperor Jingming waved his hand in refusal.

The daily morning court sessions were always about the same matters, utterly boring.

Of course, while Emperor Jingming complained, he still rather enjoyed this tedium.

Tedium meant no major events, no bad news, no worries had occurred, allowing him to read novels for entertainment with a clear conscience. Otherwise, as a wise ruler, he would have to lose sleep worrying about the state and its people.

Feeling a bit drowsy, he thought of taking a nap later. After dealing with state affairs, he still needed to finish the remaining chapters of the novel. Last night, just as he reached an exciting part, Pan Hai had confiscated it!

Emperor Jingming swept his gaze over those familiar faces, and his long-cultivated acuity immediately sensed something amiss.

Why did some of these fellows look as if they were brimming with energy?

Emperor Jingming quickly drew a silent conclusion: It seems someone is about to face misfortune.

Sure enough, after the routine reports were finished, several officials eagerly stepped forward to impeach the same person: Zhu Ziyu, Hanlin Academy Bachelor.

With the New Year approaching, these censors were worried about not meeting their quotas. You, a Bachelor who should be a role model for all scholars in the realm, a person of impeccable character, actually caused such a scandal. If they didn’t impeach you, what would they save it for? New Year’s Eve?

After listening to several censors eloquently berating Zhu Ziyu, Emperor Jingming was also shocked.

A promising Bachelor had kept a mistress and addressed her as his wife.

How did such an idiot pass the imperial examinations?

Emperor Jingming stroked his chin, feeling somewhat displeased.

This year, there had been quite a few cases of men disregarding social etiquette for the women they loved. First, it was the son of the Duke of An’guo, and now it was the son of Minister Zhu.

Such matters happening in novels could be called earth-shattering romances but occur repeatedly in reality. Was this saying he had failed to properly educate his subjects, that the people were now disregarding rules and etiquette?

It must be that his lenient treatment of the Duke of An’guo earlier had given these people the wrong idea.

Such a wayward trend must not be encouraged!

Emperor Jingming’s face suddenly darkened: “What you all say is quite right. Let’s strip Zhu Ziyu of his official position and bar him from ever serving in office again.”

“Your Majesty is wise,” several censors replied, feeling oddly deflated.

They hadn’t expected the Emperor to deal with the matter so swiftly, leaving them no room to expound further.

“Zhu Deming, Right Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, has failed in his duty to educate his son. Let him be demoted to Sicheng, Fifth Rank.”

The court officials were startled, thinking to themselves that the Emperor was truly showing no mercy this time.

It was normal for a son’s mistakes to implicate his father, but to be demoted two ranks at once—Minister Zhu would likely cry himself unconscious.

Emperor Jingming slowly swept his gaze over the assembled officials, then said: “The Duke of An’guo shall forfeit one year’s salary.”

The officials were now completely baffled.

What did this have to do with the Duke of An’guo?

Then they remembered, that the Duke’s youngest son had caused a scandal by eloping with a commoner girl in late spring, but they had been married for several months now.

Emperor Jingming seemed to anticipate what the officials were thinking and said flatly: “A supplementary punishment.”

The officials’ expressions twisted.

Could he do that?

Emperor Jingming’s three consecutive punishments demonstrated a certain attitude, causing the officials to feel a sense of awe.

“What is the background of the woman who was involved with Zhu Ziyu?”