Wu Wan furiously shouted, "You dare pressure me with palace rules again?"
"This servant does not dare." Nan Yan gasped with nervousness. "This servant is just afraid— afraid that Consort Kang might accidentally break the rules because of a moment of anger. Wouldn’t this servant be blamed if that were to happen?"
"……"
Wu Wan looked at her skeptically.
She had always believed Si Nan Yan to just be a handmaiden with a humble background that had climbed His Highness' bed. Never would she have expected her to be such a strong-willed person.
After this train of thought, she got up from her stool, closed in on Nan Yan and grabbed her chin to raise her head.
"Such a silver tongue," she praised after scrutinizing her face for a while. "Do you really think you can trick me with a few words?"
"……"
"Is it this mouth how you seduced His Highness?"
At the sound of this, Nan Yan’s heart missed a beat.
Could it be that Consort Kang believes that Zhu Feng and I are…
Nan Yan was confused. She didn’t think that this whole matter about stealing a bracelet bestowed by His Highness would have anything to do with her relationship with him.
Wu Wan was suddenly calm and firmly said, "Of course, this consort is not here to bully you because of a private matter. You deserve to be punished and this consort is willing to perform that task."
Once she finished talking, she returned to her seat.
"Palace Maid Si Nan Yan went against this consort!" she coldly announced, then ordered, "Someone! Slap her mouth!"
At her command, Xiao Qizi and Qiao Yun immediately rushed over. The latter grabbed the struggling hands of Nan Yan and immobilized her while the former rolled up her sleeves while standing in front of Nan Yan then slapped her hard.
PAF!
The force of the impact whipped Nan Yan’s head to one side. Her cheeks became painfully sore.
"Good slap," Wu Wan expressed her approval then smiled. "Give her a few more!"
"Yes."
After that, Xiao Qizi raised her hand and striked Nan Yan’s face again.
PAF!
PAF!
Nan Yan’s eyes watered because of the pain but no tears came out. She clenched her teeth and endured. She was desperate to not let this get to her.
After all, it wasn’t the first time she was a victim of slander.
Xiao Qizi slapped her a dozen of times in quick successions until Wu Wan ordered her to stop. By then, the corners of Nan Yan's mouth were cut open and a bright red liquid was trickling down her face. Even Xiao Qizi's own palms were now colored a bit red after the ordeal.
Looking at her battered and exhausted appearance, Wu Wan was pleased with herself and leisurely crossed her legs.
"Can you still move?"
Nan Yan slowly opened her eyes after hearing her question. Consort Kang couldn’t help but be stunned when she discovered that her usually bright eyes were now dark with an inexplicable hint of haughtiness.
Nan Yan gritted her teeth and reiterated stressing each word, "This servant is innocent."
“You—!"
Once again, Consort Kang was provoked by her stubbornness.
Originally, she had thought dealing with her would be a simple matter. However, she didn’t expect to be met with so much resistance from this formerly small servant.
With a sneer, she finally retorted, "Still won’t tell the truth? Good. Let’s see how long you can keep pretending. Slap her again!" she ordered Xiao Qizi.
"Yes!"
Xiao Qizi raised her arm and gave Nan Yan a heavy slap.
This slap was especially hard and barely missed Nan Yan’s temple. Right after, her body suddenly went limp and hit the ground.
This startled the people in the room. They temporarily panicked, especially Xiao Qizi who even took a few steps back.
"This— she won’t die from just this right?"
Wu Wan also stood up and asked, "What’s the matter?"
Qiao Yun squatted down to examine the fainted. After taking her pulse, she stated, "Master, she just fainted."
"Fainted?"
Wu Wan looked at her frail form sprawled across the floor with a pair of vicious eyes.
"You think you can escape just like that? Someone, bring me a bucket of cold water to revive her!"
End of Chapter
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Edited: Sage Kage & Michelicious11