After Transmigration, I Snag a Stunning Bigwig as My Husband

Chapter 1158 - 1146: Bullying (31)

General Shi has already been enfeoffed as a Prince; very few outsiders are granted the title of Prince by blood, and Prince Jing is an exception.Because he was originally a Prince by birth. His aiding Zhao Xu meant he gave up his own princely status, far too great a sacrifice; giving him a new title of enfeoffment—no one would find that inappropriate.

But after conferring a princely title on General Shi, to then grant him a Red Book Iron Certificate as well—that was putting General Shi on too high a pedestal.

General Shi’s merits are not small, but merits of this level, once a princely title has been granted, are not enough to warrant another reward of a Red Book Iron Certificate; otherwise the rewards given to the other generals would seem far too slight.

Conferring only the title of Duke on Prime Minister Zhao was precisely to keep the other generals’ hearts in balance.

No matter how great their merits, they could not compare with Prime Minister Zhao’s years of nurturing grace.

Although Zhao Xu has established the New Dynasty, Nanlin will not be peaceful in the next year or two; there are still many places where General Shi will be needed.

When a subject renders service, the King must reward it; only with clear rewards and punishments can the court be stabilized.

Above an Alien Prince is a Prince by blood, and beyond that...

Either General Shi will give rise to ambition, or Zhao Xu will give rise to suspicion.

That would be good for no one.

Young Master Shi was a clever man; he understood the implication behind Xie Jingchen’s words.

So long as the Shi Family remains absolutely loyal, Zhao Xu will by no means treat them poorly; that Red Book Iron Certificate will end up in General Shi’s pocket sooner or later—only that the time has not yet come.

On this point, Young Master Shi was quite at ease.

Dong Chenglang might be a bit of a pit, but he was, after all, his cousin; and with Dong Chenglang having married Prime Minister Zhao’s only daughter, whatever Zhao Xu intends toward the Shi Family, Dong Chenglang would not agree.

Dong Chenglang lay prone on his pillow, looking at Young Master Shi. "Brother Xie is so thorough in his thinking; it never occurred to me to destroy the Red Book Iron Certificate first, or I would have done it with my own hands."

Young Master Shi was furious.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, lifted his hand, and brought it straight down.

A pig-slaughtering scream rang out.

Prince NanAn clapped his hands over his ears.

Beaten to this state and still so stubborn-mouthed—worthy indeed of being the brother they’d acknowledged; utterly fearless.

Dong Chenglang felt as if the buttocks under the quilt had been smacked into eight petals.

Yesterday General Shi had been so enraged he’d kicked out with one blow, bruising and swelling Dong Chenglang’s backside so badly he couldn’t walk and could only lie down.

Even lying there he couldn’t move; if the quilt so much as shifted, the pain would make him cramp.

Young Master Shi knew exactly where he was hurt the worst; with five-tenths of his strength coming down there, one could well imagine the effect.

Dong Chenglang glared at Young Master Shi. "Cousin, search your conscience—are we in a worse position now than we were back then?"

The Emperor of Nanliang had feared General Shi, and Duke Huguo had also been eyeing the military power in General Shi’s hands like a hungry tiger.

Even if General Shi had voluntarily taken off his armor and retired to the fields, he probably still would not have escaped Duke Huguo’s murderous hand.

Destroying the Red Book Iron Certificate had likewise been to make General Shi disappointed in the court, to sow resentment in his heart and thereby inspire thoughts of rebellion; yet even so, General Shi still clung to illusions about the Nanliang Court.

If he hadn’t ruthlessly pitted his own uncle, he would still be loyally serving the Nanliang Royal Family, which was not worthy of his loyalty!

And since Zhao Xu was dead set on rebellion, would Duke Huguo and General Shi really have put aside their private grudges for the sake of a common enemy?

General Shi would have, but Duke Huguo would not.

Pitting his own uncle was wrong, but wasn’t he doing it for his uncle’s own good?

They ought to be grateful that he’d chosen to stand on Zhao Xu’s side, and that Zhao Xu was doing his utmost to win his uncle over; otherwise, the Heir of Prince Zhenbei of Daqi would hardly have resorted to mere sowing of discord, but to far more ruthless means.

Young Master Shi glared at his cousin. "You’ve made Father so angry he didn’t sleep the whole night, and you’re still lying here instead of hurrying to carry the thorny branch on your back and beg forgiveness."

Dong Chenglang, "..."

You’re kidding, right?

He’d already been beaten like this and still had to go with a thorny branch on his back to beg forgiveness?

"I’ve brought the thorny switch for you," Young Master Shi said.

As he spoke, a servant came in carrying a thorny branch.

The branch lay on a tray, densely covered in thorns; just looking at it made one’s whole body prickle with pain.

Dong Chenglang was truly frightened. "Cousin, you’re joking with me, aren’t you?"

"You know what my father is like. His anger will only build up; if you wait until you’ve healed to go, he absolutely won’t acknowledge you as his nephew," Young Master Shi said.

"If you take a beating now, your injuries can heal together with last night’s."

"..."

The light, casual tone made Prince NanAn and the others tremble all over.

Dong Chenglang tried to climb off the bed.

He struggled twice and still couldn’t get up.

Chu Shun and Prince NanAn helped him up.

Dong Chenglang, "..."

Honestly.

He regretted everything.

Were these really his brothers?

Couldn’t they see he was faking it?

If he really couldn’t get up, Cousin would soften.

Once Cousin went home and explained things to his uncle, he’d then have a maid help him over; Uncle would surely have calmed down by then.

But going right now, Uncle would definitely decide that last night’s beating had been far too light!

And these fellows were great—they just hauled him up, practically wishing they could carry him straight out the door.

He wore only an inner shirt; once the thorny branch was tied on, the thorns pierced his back until blood flecks oozed out.

"Too tragic," Prince NanAn said, unable to bear the sight.

"..."

Dong Chenglang felt like dying.

Could you maybe not call him tragic with one breath and then pull the thorns tighter with the next?!

Prince NanAn stroked the thorns on the branch and looked at Young Master Shi. "Aren’t there a bit too many thorns on this?"

Not only were there many thorns, but part of one end had even been shaved down; with the thorns removed, it was clearly meant to give General Shi a better grip.

As a son, he was filial.

But as a cousin, wasn’t this a bit too much of a pit for his own younger cousin?

Young Master Shi also felt a twinge of reluctance. "Nothing to be done; trying to fool my father would only make things worse."

The words sounded rather familiar.

Su Chong had said them before.

You can fool anyone, but you can’t fool his father, Marquis Dongxiang.

Still, General Shi was a bit better than Marquis Dongxiang; at least you could fool him a little.

If it had been Marquis Dongxiang, he probably wouldn’t just have failed to be fooled—he’d have beaten you half to death as well.

Prince NanAn and the others supported Dong Chenglang as they left the residence.

Miss Zhao—no, now the Heir of Duke Ning’s wife—walked over, her lower belly slightly rounded; she had been pregnant for more than three months.

She was aware that Dong Chenglang had pitted General Shi in order to help her elder brother.

That Dong Chenglang would take a beating was inevitable.

She had been mentally prepared for this.

Though she felt a bit distressed, an uncle would hardly beat his nephew to serious harm; a few superficial wounds that would heal with time were better than leaving a grudge between them.

Dong Chenglang was helped onto a horse; by now his back hurt so badly it was going numb.

He rode straight toward General Shi’s Mansion.

Dong Chenglang and Prince NanAn were much the same—they liked roaming about; many people knew him. Add in that he had married Zhao Xu’s younger sister, and he had leapt into becoming the most illustrious figure in Nanlin Capital City.

For someone of such exalted status, who could command wind and rain, to be carrying a thorny branch on his back was bound to arouse curiosity.

The news that Dong Chenglang was going with a thorny branch on his back to beg his uncle’s forgiveness spread like the wind.

People didn’t know the inside story, but yesterday in the palace, Dong Chenglang had vomited all over General Shi, and many had seen General Shi beat his nephew in public.

But getting drunk and accidentally vomiting on someone hardly seemed to merit something as serious as going with a thorny branch on his back to beg forgiveness, did it?

And this was his own nephew by blood.