Chapter 616: Punishment

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

In the end, only Xie Dongzhu was left. At that time, Empress Qin didn’t like the girl called Ah Yu very much and hadn’t told King Xiaoyao about her.

Upon seeing Xie Dongzhu’s cleverness, resourcefulness, and her willingness to act ruthlessly, King Xiaoyao somewhat admired her. He decided to keep her in Duke An Manor and appointed her as a female strategist. In the process, he also helped her low-ranking father rise through the ranks, promoting him to the sixth rank official.

It was only when Empress Qin returned that King Xiaoyao saw his sister-in-law reveal a happy smile for the first time in his life.

“That girl called Ah Yu is suitable for Huai’er.” Only after Empress Qin said this, King Xiaoyao remembered this name.

It must be the same Ah Yu.

With all the clues connected, King Xiaoyao quickly knew the ins and outs of the matter. Moreover, he was also suspicious of the Xie Manor.

King Xiaoyao skillfully extracted information from Xie Dongzhu without raising any suspicion. He frequently had her contact her father, who was stationed outside the Xie residence, and through this, he was able to uncover some crucial clues.

Of course, he also realized that Xie Dongzhu actually didn’t know much more than King Xiaoyao. It was just that this girl had always been scheming and was good at strategizing, so he let her stay in the residence to relieve his boredom.

When Qin Huai returned to Wanning City and chatted with him through the night, the question he asked made King Xiaoyao spit out a mouthful of tea. “King Xiaoyao, you actually admire my mother, right?”

King Xiaoyao: “…Pu!”

He almost lost his grip on the teacup and looked at Qin Huai with an almost ridiculous gaze. “How did you come to this conclusion?”

With his sister-in-law’s personality, other than his brother, no one else could withstand her. It was not that she wasn’t a good person, but she was too good. She was so good that she didn’t have the basic emotions that anyone should have.

If it was a different gender, perhaps the position of his Imperial Brother would have been given to his Sister-in-law.

Just like his title, King Xiaoyao was carefree and didn’t like people who were too serious.

However, through his reaction, his intelligent nephew guessed many things, such as his true identity.

The two of them exchanged many pieces of information. One of them was about the suffering All Yu had suffered.

After returning, King Xiaoyao tacitly agreed to let Qin Huai deal with Xie Changting in the prison at will.

After he returned to Duke An Manor, he quietly listened to his subordinates report how the Young Master of Duke Yong Manor had tortured the prisoner in prison.

Hence, King Xiaoyao asked someone to find Xie Dongzhu and asked her with a smile, “Dongzhu, there’s something 1 don’t understand. 1 want to hear your opinion.”

When Xie Dongzhu heard King Xiaoyao call her that, she was already overjoyed. She thought that the day of her ascension was not far away. At that time, she would be the incomparably noble Princess Consort Xiaoyao!

However, she still pretended to be a young lady and said in a neither servile nor overbearing tone, “Your Highness, please speak.”

“1 have a junior 1 like very much, but she didn’t have a good life when she was young. Her family humiliated her a lot. Fortunately, that child finally grew up later, but she’s always been brooding about those things from her childhood and wants to take revenge. What do you think is the best way?”

When she heard the first sentence, Xie Dongzhu’s heart skipped a beat. Because it sounded too similar to what he had done to that person in the past, Xie Dongzhu heaved a sigh of relief when she heard the last sentence. The child she had humiliated naturally couldn’t grow up.

Hence, Xie Dongzhu probed, “Your Highness, one should forgive people when possible, right?”

King Xiaoyao snorted coldly. “Looks like Dongzhu has the heart of a Bodhisattva.”

Xie Dongzhu hurriedly changed her words. “Well, it’s not like that. It is said that if one personally punishes their close relatives, they will suffer divine retribution. It would be unwise to sacrifice oneself for the sake of revenge. Instead, what if we exile the family member to a harsh and cold place, where they will live a miserable life? This way, you can maintain a virtuous reputation while still carrying out the act of revenge. What do you think, Your Highness?”

Actually, this was also a way out for Xie Dongzhu.

However, she didn’t expect King Xiaoyao to smile at Xie Dongzhu. At the last moment of her life, Xie Dongzhu only heard King Xiaoyao say, “What you said makes sense—Take her away and let her suffer divine retribution. Use the Five Thunder Bombardment..”