“How dare the two of you?!” Emperor Wu was furious. “This is unacceptable!”
“Your Majesty, please forgive us —”
Mrs Dugu and Mrs Zuo pounded their foreheads on the floor.
“After what you did, do you actually expect me to forgive you? In your dreams!” Emperor Wu had been very frustrated to begin with, and he just vented all at once.
“Take them out and flog them twenty times each!” Emperor Wu gave the order.
WHAT?!
Everyone was dumbfounded!
So were Mrs Zuo and Mrs Dugu!
They couldn’t believe their ears.
The emperor usually only punished his officials, and the punishment hardly ever extended to their family members, let alone was anything as humiliating as flogging.
Because those who were flogged would have their pants removed so that their lower torsos were naked!
“No —”
Mrs Dugu and Mrs Zuo went pale in fright and almost fainted.
If they really were flogged, they would lose their dignity for good.
“No — please don’t — Your Majesty, please forgive us. Please —” Mrs Zuo wrapped her arms around Emperor Wu’s thigh and whimpered. “Your Majesty, please forgive us. Please! We’ll never do it again! It was all our fault —”
That punishment was simply unimaginable!
Empress Dugu had arrived, and her face was very dark as well.
Mrs Dugu was her sister-in-law, and Mrs Zuo was her sister. If these two women were flogged, Empress Dugu would be humiliated as well.
“Your Majesty, please don’t be mad —”
Empress Dugu pleaded for the two women.
She reasoned with him, laid out all the facts, and tried to persuade him as tears ran down her cheeks.
“Your Majesty, please don’t flog them. Even if Your Majesty has to flog someone, it shouldn’t be them. Please consider their dignity…”
Emperor Wu calmed down slightly, but it wasn’t enough to appease him.
He said, “They can’t be flogged? Great! Get Zuo Ming and Dugu Wangwo here and flog them fifty times each! Now!”
WHAT?!
Everyone was dumbfounded.
“What?”
“Why?”
“Your Majesty, please don’t —”
Mrs Zuo felt desperate. If Zuo Ming knew that she was the reason he was going to be flogged, he would hate her!
Mrs Dugu thought the same.
However, Emperor Wu had made up his mind, and he wasn’t going to cut them loose.
Poor Master Zuo and Master Dugu. Right now, they were standing there with hands behind their backs as they watched Feng Wu banter with Feng Xun and Xuan Yi.
Master Zuo said in a contemptuous tone, “This Feng Wu is such a superficial and restless girl. No wonder Brother Feng doesn’t like her. She’s such a troublemaker.”
Master Dugu nodded. “That’s right. A daughter like that is bound to bring trouble to a family.”
Master Zuo said, “One should always marry a woman for her virtue, such as our wives. With a good wife, for the next three generations…”
However, an army marched toward them before he could finish.
It was led by the chief steward.
“Sir, where are you heading?”
The chief steward was quite a respected figure, and even someone like Zuo Ming would treat him appropriately.
However, the chief steward had a very stern look on his face, which was very rare, because he always had a smile.
Behind him, the army looked very aggressive.
“Are those His Majesty’s imperial guards? What’s going on? Is there an assassin?” Master Dugu was perplexed.
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