贵女撩夫攻略

Chapter 072

Chapter 72 – Punishment

Chu Sanghuai's face was gloomy for a moment after receiving the news yet he did not return to the campsite immediately. Instead, he wandered around in the woods hunting a lot of prey before leisurely strutted his horse back half a day later. It was already nightfall and standing in front of the tent was a group of people who had been waiting for a long time, including Chu Jinglan, Xie Miao and Xie Yuan, as well as some guards and the palace attendants.

Except for Chu Jinglan, the faces of the others were not very good.

When Chu Sanghuai walked closer, everyone knelt down successively to pay their respects like cleaved bamboos and his line of sight was lowered suddenly. Appeared in front of him was the lifeless white-fronted tiger which impaled in the middle of its forehead a white feathered arrow with no other traces of struggle. Upon seeing this, the corners of Chu Sanghuai's mouth hooked up slightly revealing a little cold profound smile.

"It has been a long time since Zhen [1] have seen Younger Brother draw a bow and unexpectedly it's still this accurate."

There were no ripples or billows on Chu Jinglan's face when he spoke in a flat voice, "A trivial skill, this minister does not deserve your praise."

"Younger Brother is too modest." Chu Sanghuai walked over and pulled the arrow out to examine it in his hands for a while without letting them got up, "We remember back then the late emperor used to praise you for this too and you have also live up to the expectations, taking the beast's head each time just like today."

The blood gradually trickled out of the tiger's forehead, staining the freshly budding grass. The fishy smell that assailed the nostrils was very unpleasant but no one cared to cover their noses. Even the palace attendants who stood silently with their heads hung low sensed another deep meaning of the Emperor's words as they quietly raised their eyes to look at Chu Jinglan, waiting to see how he would respond.

The bright eyes of Chu Jinglan constricted slightly. As half of his face was shrouded in the shadow of the bonfire, his emotion was obscured and no one could discern clearly but the words out of his mouth were enunciated clearly.

"Your Majesty, this minister can't remember much about the past. Taking the head of the beast today was by accident and not how superb this minister's skills is."

The harsh dense dark eyes of Chu Sanghuai were outlined with the slightly raised eyebrows. His entire person submerged into the night when he turned his body again when the lower hem of his clothes fluttered against the wind and the penetrated gloomy coldness was inexplicably chilling that even the fire could not iron out. Yet at this moment, the sound of kowtowing could be heard suddenly from the side which was so heavy that even the soil was somewhat indented.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it was all caused by the carelessness of this humble minister who alarmed the tiger and even involved Wangye in a dangerous situation. This humble minister can't escape the blame hence implore Your Majesty to penalize."

The look of Xie Yuan, who was by the side, instantly became extremely ugly while both his hands clenched within the sleeves as he tried to hold back not to go forward and drag Xie Miao away.

This idiot, does he know what he is talking about? It does not matter if he takes the blame himself but don't ever implicate the Xie family!

"So, speaking of it you are indeed guilty." Chu Sanghuai turned around quietly yet his gaze was directed at Xie Yuan and spoke with a faint smile, "I wonder what Minister Xie deems should be done with your nephew?"

Xie Yuan's heart thumped that he quickly ambled down and said, "This minister is apprehensive, my nephew almost killed Wangye and should be punished as a crime. No doubt this minister can't bear it but the law of the land is in force and as a veteran official of two reigns who also received valued enlistment by the Emperor, how can this minister show partiality in such matters? But my nephew's fault has a great deal to do with my failure to teach him well, so this minister asked Your Majesty to be fair and allow this minister to suffer on my nephew's behalf."