Yun Chunfeng was utterly panicked.
All the civil and military officials were witnessing for the first time how the ever-composed State Preceptor could become so flustered and lose his composure.
And all because of his arch-rival, General Huo.
Although General Huo looked like a scholar, his years on the training grounds had long since toughened him up.
Just talking about beatings—he had been caned by Old General Huo since childhood.
A mere twenty strokes were nothing to him.
However, the relationship between these two was becoming more and more baffling.
Could there be some… particular fondness between them?
A collective shiver ran through the crowd.
It was better not to think about that too deeply!
Yun Chunfeng, no longer caring about avoiding suspicion, only wanted to save the Young Miss: “Your Majesty—”
“Hmm?”
Xiao Ao’s face darkened: “State Preceptor, if you plead for leniency, I’ll add another fifty strokes!”
Yun Chunfeng was filled with regret!
Before court, he had been too preoccupied savoring the intimacy with the Young Miss from last night. How could he have forgotten to give her a Clarity Pill?
And just by terrible luck, the Emperor had discovered it. Now, trying to intervene was far too late.
If those twenty strokes were to be transferred to the Young Miss’s own body, it would be no joke at all.
He formed a hand seal for sending a message. A paper figure, folded from a talisman, crept out from his sleeve, slipped through a window crack, and rode the wind, quickly disappearing from sight.
The only silver lining was that Xiao Ya had now adjusted to life in the military camp and didn’t need to be carried to court anymore, being left in the care of Qiu Yan and Chun Xue.
Otherwise, seeing this scene would have surely terrified her.
Yun Chunfeng worried for a long while before suddenly realizing: Why wasn’t the Young Miss crying out?
Seeing those solid strikes landing on her body, how could she not make a sound from the pain?
Had she passed out from the agony?
At this thought, he threw all caution to the wind and pushed to the front of the crowd. The sight before him filled him with both shock and astonishment.
The two men wielding the rods were breaking a thin sweat, breathing slightly heavily, while Jiang Xingyan lay over the long bench as if nothing was wrong.
She even seemed to be catching up on sleep.
Seeing Xiao Ao’s fists clench and a vein throb at his temple, Yun Chunfeng hurriedly formed another hand seal with both hands, blew a breath towards Jiang Xingyan.
Jiang Xingyan snapped to clarity in an instant. She looked up to see the Emperor standing before her with all the officials, their expressions varied.
Brother Yun stood among them, his anxious look speaking volumes.
She didn’t know what was happening. Glancing back, she saw two men diligently beating Huo Ci’s backside.
She was completely bewildered.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What am I doing?
More importantly, why don’t I feel any pain?
Yun Chunfeng was also stunned. The Young Miss wasn’t pretending. What was going on?
His gaze shifted to look behind her, and his pupils contracted sharply, his heart pounding wildly.
Huo Ci’s physical body bore actual wounds.
Did this mean the transfer of pain between the Young Miss and that man was no longer happening?
That was not good news.
Didn’t it mean Jiang Xingyan’s soul was integrating even more seamlessly with this body, making it much harder to swap back?
Jiang Xingyan figured out the situation in a few breaths. She didn’t have time to wonder why the injuries had appeared on Huo Ci this time.
She immediately began pleading pitifully with Xiao Ao: “Your Majesty, spare me! I will never drink again!
I swear, if I ever drink with the soldiers again, let me be caned in front of the entire Huo Army!”
Xiao Ao gave a cold snort, the anger in his heart towards ‘him’ subsiding.
The final stroke happened to land just then, so he took the offered way out: “Since General Huo understands his crime, if there is a next time, you will not be lightly forgiven!”
With that, Xiao Ao turned and left with a flick of his sleeve.
Yun Chunfeng rushed forward in a few quick strides, his tone urgent: “Young Miss, how is your body?”
Jiang Xingyan tilted her head: “I don’t feel anything at all.”
But looking at the horrifying wounds on her back, Yun Chunfeng dared not act recklessly.
“Someone! Carry General Huo to the Imperial Hospital.”
Four imperial guards used a carrying stretcher to lift the bloodied and mangled ‘Huo Ci’.
The gruesome sight was truly unbearable to look at.
Chirp chirp.
The paper figure floated back with the wind, clinging to Yun Chunfeng’s ear and whispering something.
Yun Chunfeng’s eyes widened abruptly: “What? He himself is in pain?!”
He couldn’t fathom the heavenly secrets behind this and could only follow behind Jiang Xingyan for now.
The group, along with Huo Ci, who had been carried over by the manor guards, met right at the entrance of the Imperial Hospital.
The two parties stared at each other.
General Huo’s poor backside was nearly ruined by the beating, yet he felt nothing at all.
The General’s wife, perfectly fine and sleeping soundly at home, was in excruciating pain in her lower half.
Where was the justice in that?
Yun Chunfeng, blinded by concern, only now relaxed upon seeing that the Young Miss was unharmed, both in soul and seemingly in body. Finally having a moment, he raised his hand to perform a divination.
His rapidly moving fingers suddenly froze mid-air, and his eyes grew slightly moist.
“Thank you… Master…”
Physician Sun, face dark, first attended to bandaging Huo Ci, while Sun Yaxiang beside him took Jiang Xingyan’s pulse.
Neither had ever seen such a bizarre situation, both wearing serious expressions.
They couldn’t very well attribute it to General Huo and his wife being so deeply connected that they could share their senses, could they?
As everyone was busy, someone arrived from the military camp.
“Reporting, General!
There are two identical Miss Xia Fengs in the camp tent, currently in a dispute. We request the General return to camp to handle it!”
Jiang Xingyan, having taken the Clarity Pill Yun Chunfeng fed her, was now fully alert.
Hearing this, she smiled with understanding.
It seemed the Commandant of her Embroidered Uniform Guard Battalion had come to report for duty.