The bright moon hangs high, beckoning him down from his pedestal.

This was the scene that Shen Wangxi saw when she stepped into Yilan Palace.

His eldest daughter, Shen Jingyan, knelt in the hall, her hair wet, her palace dress stained with dark tea, and a few tea leaves stuck to her hair and clothes, looking disheveled.

His delicate little concubine was sitting upright at the head of the table, picking up a silk handkerchief and slowly wiping her wet fingertips.

When he came in, Shen Qingruo was clearly stunned for a moment. Her almond-shaped eyes flashed with guilt, and her gaze began to wander, not daring to meet his eyes.

Shen Jingyan seemed to have seen a savior. Her eyes reddened, and she choked out with a nasal voice, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."

Shen Wangxi's gaze swept between the two women, finally landing on Shen Qingruo, her voice revealing neither joy nor anger: "What's going on?"

Shen Qingruo lowered her head, her voice soft and gentle, with a hint of playfulness: "My hand slipped."

"Father!" Shen Jingyan suddenly looked up, her voice trembling with tears as she hurriedly complained, "It wasn't a slip of the hand, it was the Imperial Concubine who deliberately spilled the tea on my face, Father."

"Your Majesty, I would rather fight on the battlefield than stay in this Yilan Palace and suffer her torment any longer. I beg you to have mercy."

Upon hearing this, Shen Wangxi turned her gaze to Shen Jingyan, her tone flat and indifferent: "Okay."

Shen Jingyan's sobs stopped abruptly, and she looked at him blankly.

Shen Wangxi continued, "The war on the Loulan border is not yet over, and banditry continues."

"This time, I will not send any of my trusted generals to protect you."

"Are you willing to take the existing soldiers of your Princess's residence and go to the border to fight a real battle?"

Shen Jingyan's face turned deathly pale instantly, her lips trembled, and she couldn't utter a single word.

Without the elite guards sent by her father, and without experienced generals to guide her, relying solely on the guards in her household, going to the battlefield would be tantamount to sending them to their deaths.

How could she dare?

Shen Wangxi looked at her pale face and said calmly, "If you can't do it, then don't talk about things you can't do next time."

He paused, his gaze darkening slightly, "Also, next time the Imperial Concubine is speaking, do not interrupt her rudely."

"Go down and clean up."

Shen Jingyan seemed to have all her strength drained away. She stood up listlessly, forgetting even to perform the proper etiquette, and staggered out.

The moment she turned around, large tears finally rolled down her cheeks, mingling with the tea on her face, making her look disheveled and desolate.

Shen Qingruo blinked, staring in astonishment at Shen Jingyan's departing figure.

She hadn't expected that Shen Wangxi's few casual words, without even a single harsh rebuke, would directly shatter Shen Jingyan's pride and confidence.

This seemed to hurt her more than any of the humiliations she had ever inflicted on Shen Jingyan.

You should know that when faced with her bullying, Shen Jingyan only had anger and hatred in her eyes, and she had never cried like this before.

Shen Wangxi walked up to her, her tone devoid of emotion: "Did you slip your hand?"

Shen Qingruo raised her watery eyes to look at him, pursed her lips guiltily, and muttered softly, "It was just a slip of the hand."

Shen Wangxi didn't say anything, she was a little angry, but she still gave her face in front of the palace servants.

He pulled the person up.

Immediately afterwards, a warm, large hand pressed against her lower back, holding her in place, while the other hand...

Shen Qingruo was stunned, and it took her several seconds to realize what had happened.

He actually hit her?

That initial guilt was instantly replaced by shame. She abruptly turned her head, her eyes immediately reddening, her voice filled with disbelief: "Shen Wangxi! You hit me?"

"I'm not your princess anymore, what right do you have to hit me like this? When my mother was alive, she only ever hit my palms, never this spot, boohoo..."

She struggled to get up, but he held her waist, preventing her from moving.

Looking at her aggrieved and angry face, Shen Wangxi's anger flared even more, and his voice was cold and deep: "On what grounds? Because you went too far today."

"Shen Jingyan is nominally still the eldest princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty. You threw tea in her face in front of so many palace servants, humiliating her like this. Did you think about your own reputation? Did you think about the fact that she is my own daughter?"

He grew increasingly angry as he spoke, and when he thought of another possibility, his tone became even more stern:

"Furthermore, she has been to the battlefield and fought the enemy. She has a fiery temper. If you push her too far, she might become reckless and hurt or even kill you. How many of your palace servants could truly stop her?"

"How can you be so careless about yourself!"

He disciplined her like a disobedient child, not actually hurting her, but enough to make the delicate girl cry out in pain and remember it.

She was in pain and felt wronged, so she cried out incoherently:

"Shen Wangxi, you're so biased! You only care about your own daughter!"

"Saying you like me or cherish me is all a lie."

"I don't want to love you anymore, and I don't want to have your little prince anymore."

"Hmph! I won't bear your children. I'm leaving the palace to marry another man and have children with him!"

The last sentence made Shen Wangxi so angry that the veins on her forehead throbbed. She immediately took off her boots, knelt on the soft couch, and continued to lecture him, her voice filled with anger and jealousy:

"You don't know what's good for you. I think you need to be disciplined."

"Furthermore, I was once your father. Now that your biological father and mother are gone, what's wrong with me disciplining you on their behalf?"

"You dare say you won't give me a prince? Let's see which man you'll bear one for!"

"I dare! I dare!" Shen Qingruo was suppressed by him and hit a few more times. She was both ashamed and angry, and began to resist recklessly. Her small hands grabbed wildly behind her, and her nails scratched red marks on his strong forearm.

"Hiss—" Shen Wangxi winced in pain, paused in his movements, and his eyes darkened.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the little girl struggled and almost turned over. As she kicked wildly, she knocked over the small tea table next to her with a bang, shattering the tea set and fruit plate on it into pieces, leaving a mess.

Looking at her spoiled and tantrum-like behavior, Shen Wangxi was both angry and amused by her vibrant personality, which made him even more attracted to her.

His voice was hoarse, carrying a dangerous undertone: "You still dare to kick things?"

"Kick! Let me go!" Shen Qingruo cried with tears streaming down her face, still struggling to twist her waist, her fair legs kicking wildly, knocking over an embroidered pillow next to her.

Seeing her spoiled and willful appearance, Shen Wangxi's anger burned even more fiercely.

"It seems I've spoiled you too much," he scolded in a low voice, before striking again.

"Ah!" Shen Qingruo exclaimed softly, but more than that, she was shy.

"Waaah, Shen Wangxi, you bastard!" she cried, scratching back with her small hands even harder, leaving red marks on his arm.

"Hiss—" He inhaled, but instead of loosening his grip, he easily restrained one of her legs, making it even harder for her to escape. "You dare to scratch me?"

"I'll scratch you, who told you to hit me!" she retorted, her voice trembling with tears. But her body was gradually losing strength from his antics, and her struggles became much weaker, leaving only a slight tremor.

Shen Wangxi's voice was close to her ear, "I'm disciplining my disobedient woman. Let's see if you dare to do it again next time."

"Waaah, stop hitting me!" Shen Qingruo started to feel the pain and twisted around, trying to escape. She had to temporarily suppress her temper and said in an apologetic tone, "I know I was wrong."

"What did I do wrong?" He still didn't let go of her.

"I shouldn't have kicked things." She sobbed, obediently admitting her mistake, trying to appease him.

"Anything else?" he persisted, pressing down on her waist.

She bit her lower lip, muttering softly with a sob in her voice, "I shouldn't have said I wouldn't give His Majesty a son."

"Speak louder, I didn't hear you." He deliberately... nudged her.

She shrank back, tears streaming down her face, feeling both ashamed and angry. Finally, she succumbed to his threats and cried out in grievance:

"I shouldn't have said I wouldn't bear His Majesty a son!"

Shen Wangxi was finally satisfied. He released his grip on her and turned her limp body over.

As soon as Shen Qingruo gained her freedom, she immediately wanted to run away, but he stopped her.

Looking at her tearful, blushing face, he bent down, kissed away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and whispered, "Do you really know you were wrong?"

Shen Qingruo was taken aback by his sudden gentleness, and subconsciously nodded, her small hand timidly placing on his shoulder.

"That……"