The legitimate daughter was reborn, and the emperor’s little Jiaojiao went crazy.

The woman had never seen such a scene before. She was originally standing in the crude mourning shed, but now she was far away. She retreated so far outside the shed that her knees weakened and she knelt on the ground, her voice trembling, "We respectfully welcome Her Royal Highness the Princess."

The maid put away the green umbrella, revealing a plain white cloth canopy opened above her head, blocking out the sound of the dripping rain.

Princess Haiyan didn't even glance at the woman, she just said to Chi Shuang gently, "No need to be polite." She paused slightly when her eyes swept across the empty coffin, her crow-like eyelashes casting a shadow under her eyes, "I am here by the emperor's order to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers in Guicheng."

The accompanying guards marched forward holding gilded sacrificial vessels. Amid the flickering of incense and candles, Shi Anxia slowly walked towards the coffin.

Her bulging belly made her movements a little slow, but it did not reduce her dignity at all. Hong Que hurried forward to support her, but she gently waved her hand to stop him.

She took the three incense sticks, her fingertips trembling slightly, but she still straightened her back and bowed solemnly three times.

The guards and maids behind her all knelt on the ground, and she was the only one standing quietly. Her moon-white sleeves fluttered slightly in the wind, making her expression even more solemn.

After the worship, Shi Anxia looked at Chi Shuang and said, "Miss Chi, your brother is loyal and brave. He is a hero of the North Wing. The court will not forget him. Three days later, all the fallen soldiers will be enshrined in the Martyrs' Shrine, and your brother will be posthumously named Zhaowu Colonel."

Chi Shuang's eyes instantly turned red, but she stubbornly refused to let the tears fall, and knelt down again, "Thank you for the grace of the court."

Shi Anxia nodded slightly, and suddenly turned to look at the woman who was shaking like a sieve. "Just now, I was outside the door, and I seemed to hear someone say - if anyone comes to pay their respects, they can use their heads as a stool to sit on?"

When the woman heard this, her whole body trembled violently, her face turned as pale as paper, and her forehead hit the wet ground heavily, splashing tiny dots of mud.

"I lost my mind for a moment and talked nonsense. I beg the princess to forgive me!" Her voice was trembling and out of tune. The mud on her forehead mixed with rain and slid down her cheeks.

The water on the ground had not yet dried up, and the hem of her red dress had long been soaked, sticking to her legs, making her look even more miserable. Her hair was disheveled, with a few strands of wet hair sticking to the side of her neck, which was really miserable.

Shi Anxia lowered her eyes, and gently stroked the intricate dark patterns on her cuffs with her fingertips. She spoke in a leisurely tone, "I think that's a very good point. I will grant your wish today. Come here!"

The guards immediately stepped forward to obey the order.

The woman collapsed all over and almost fainted.

Shi Anxia seemed to have changed her mind and suddenly said, "Forget it. Today is a day to commemorate the dead, so it's not appropriate to shed blood." She paused for a moment, and her tone suddenly turned cold. "However, since you are so ignorant of your words, I will slap you in the face twenty times to serve as a warning to others."

As soon as he finished speaking, Bei Hui stepped forward and gave him a loud slap in the face.

"Snapped--"

The crisp sound of slapping exploded in the silent mourning hall, startling the raindrops on the eaves and shaking them three times.

The woman was trembling all over, but she dared not even utter a word to beg for mercy. She could only bite her bleeding lips tightly and swallow the sobs back into her throat.

After the twenty slaps, the woman's cheeks were already red and swollen like steamed buns, and a bloodstain appeared at the corner of her mouth, mixed with rain water and flowing down.

Her messy hair mixed with mud and water stuck to her face like a broken spider web.

Just when she was trembling and thought that the punishment was over, Shi Anxia suddenly made a soft sound and stroked her white sleeves with her fingertips, "What is the crime of wearing red clothes and disrespecting the dead?"

The voice was neither light nor heavy, but it made the woman's back suddenly tense.

These days, she deliberately wore this bright red dress to show off in front of the mourning hall. There were tacky gold-thread peonies embroidered on the hem of her dress. It was obvious that she was deliberately trying to stab Chi Shuang in the heart.

In such a huge Chi Mansion, who really takes Chi Yue’s death seriously?

If Chi Shuang hadn't threatened with his life, and hadn't had to deal with the officers from the Ministry of War who came to investigate, I'm afraid they wouldn't even have been willing to vacate this remote side yard to set up a mourning hall.

Over in the main courtyard, the Chi family's masters were still reveling every day as usual, and the young masters were attending banquets and visiting prostitutes as usual, as if the one who died was just an insignificant member of a side branch.

"Come here, give me twenty strokes of the cane!" Shi Anxia's words were like the cold autumn wind blowing past.

She ordered someone to bring a chair, sat in front of the coffin, and watched the guards carry out the execution with cold eyes.

She also wanted to let Chi Yue's ghost know that she was supporting him and his elder sister, and that the imperial court was supporting him and his elder sister.

His death was valuable and was not deliberately drowned out.

The heavy board fell on the woman, and each blow was accompanied by a shrill scream that echoed inside and outside the mourning hall.

The sound of the execution alarmed the entire Chi Mansion.

Soon, the young and old of the Chi family arrived one after another. They were all dressed in bright clothes, with brocade clothes embroidered with flowers, and jade pendants jingling around their waists, which was out of place in the plain white mourning hall.

In particular, there were wine stains on the collar of Mr. Chi Sanye, Chi Yirong, and it was obvious that he had just returned from a banquet.

Shi Anxia tapped the armrest of the chair with her fingertips, and her eyes gradually turned cold as she scanned the crowd. "Lord Chi's house is so lively, I wonder what happy occasion it is today?"

Old Master Chi finally woke up from his dream and was about to step forward to pay his respects, but he saw the drunken Third Master Chi Yirong tilting his head to look at the princess's bulging belly, muttering, "I'm afraid she'll be born soon this month..."

"How dare you!" Bei Hui shouted so loudly that the raindrops on the eaves broke their tracks. "You don't even show respect when you see the princess. Are you talking nonsense and want to show contempt for the court?"

"Zheng——" The guards drew their swords out of their sheaths in unison. The cold light dimmed the candles in the mourning hall.

Master Chi's legs went weak and he knelt down in the mud. The pearl hairpins of the women behind him jingled against each other and several of the timid ones fainted.

Chi Yirong was sobered up by the scolding. When he saw the scene clearly, his face turned pale and his knees touched the ground.

In the crowd, Madam Chi knelt down tremblingly with the help of a nanny, and her old kneecaps hit the bluestone slabs with a dull "dong" sound.

No one in the yard dared to move until the princess called out. All that could be heard was the rustling of fabrics rubbing against each other.

Several female relatives kneeling outside were unable to squeeze into the mourning shed. Their luxurious dresses had long been soaked by the rain, and their carefully applied makeup was smudged along their cheeks.

"Long live the princess!" The crowd cheered in unison.

Shi Anxia came here specially to repair the Chi family compound today. Suddenly, he sneered, "You are quite courageous! The eldest grandson of the Chi family sacrificed his life for the country, and your Chi family is honored! Why are you so careless now?"

With a flick of her finger, Bei Hui immediately held up a bright yellow imperial edict and said, "Would you like me to read the imperial court's commendation order again?"

Old Master Chi was sweating profusely, his back was soaked, "I, your humble servant, heard that Chi Yue, this unworthy descendant, violated military discipline..."

His voice trailed off, the last few words almost caught in his mouth.

At that time, Anxia raised her jade hand and unfolded the imperial edict with a "rustling" sound. The dragon pattern embroidered with gold thread shone brightly in the gray sky, making it difficult for everyone in the Chi family to open their eyes.

"It's true that Chi Yue violated military discipline, but it's also true that he made contributions to the country! Merits are merits, and faults are faults. His faults will be taken care of by his superiors; as for his merits--" She suddenly sneered and slammed the edict shut, "Originally, your Chi family should have been rewarded, but looking at the colorful clothes in the mansion, and the presumptuous red clothes in front of the coffin, I think you... are really unworthy."