Nan Shiying ignored Nan Yuan'er and walked to the chubby boy's coffin, offering three sticks of incense.
This was not a child spoiled by the Liu clan; he was a mischievous child with a righteous heart. A child's innocence, before the chubby boy was consumed by hatred and sought revenge against her, Nan Shiying had not considered cutting off the roots.
She had been bullied by the Liu clan, and the Liu clan needed to pay. Just as she could flay Liu clan into a human pig, if one day, this chubby boy had the ability to step on her, he could flay her into a human pig as well.
Life was like this, a cycle.
The chubby boy died on the lake. There was no need for further evidence or any means of deduction or certification. The killer was obvious.
Wang Shi was going to die!
What Nan Shiying couldn't understand was why Nan Chaoyin would allow Wang Shi to kill his own son.
Nan Chaoyin's hidden guards were rooted in every corner of the Nan manor. Nan Jin had them, Wang Shi had them, Nan Yuan'er had them, and Nan Shiying didn't believe the chubby boy didn't have hidden guards.
Wang Shi must have succeeded because Nan Chaoyin allowed it.
Perhaps, when the chubby boy was rolling in the icy lake, Nan Chaoyin was standing in an unseen corner, watching coldly.
"Your Royal Highness Consort, if you are done with your performance, please depart!"
Nan Yuan'er was trembling, as if she were suppressing anger and grief with all her might. Although she had become disabled, somehow, the added delicacy and resilience evoked a sense of pity in people's hearts.
Nan Shiying turned and looked at Nan Chaoyin, "Father!"
She called out.
Nan Chaoyin seemed to see her for the first time, his expression dazed, as if he had lost his soul.
He knelt and performed a deep bow, "This humble subject greets Your Royal Highness Consort."
Nan Shiying looked at him quietly. She did not offer a perfunctory gesture of support to his arm to help him up. Instead, she slightly turned her head and glanced at Nan Yuan'er, who was still standing.
Nan Yuan'er's expression stiffened. Lü Wan stepped forward, placed a hand on her shoulder, and kicked the back of her knee. Suddenly, a surge of internal energy pushed against Lü Wan's palm. She was slightly stunned. Just as she was about to investigate, the internal energy receded as quickly as a tide, disappearing without a trace. Lü Wan's foot met no resistance and directly kicked Nan Yuan'er to her knees.
Her knees landed on the ground with a dull thud.
"Miss Nan, Your Royal Highness Consort is merciful and does not wish to trouble her relatives. However, His Highness cannot bear to see Your Royal Highness Consort suffer any grievance. If there is a next time, you will be punished for the crime of great disrespect!"
Lü Wan's aura was formidable. A mere maid possessed an aura more potent than those of noble ladies. She suppressed Nan Yuan'er, her gaze sweeping over everyone present. Those people had been gossiping incessantly. Did they really think that because their voices were low, she and Her Royal Highness Consort couldn't hear them?
A group of gossips deserving of having their tongues ripped out.
Wherever Lü Wan's gaze fell, people lowered their heads, not daring to meet her eyes. They weren't afraid of a maid, but of the mistress behind the maid.
The Regent of Linyuan.
Even though the Liu clan had been favored for a lifetime, managed the household as a co-wife, and had even been granted a noble title by the Emperor, in the end, was she not dismembered like a chicken by the Prince?
Therefore, one could be stubborn, but not stubborn with everyone.
If you don't want to be skinned and have your bones ground, if you don't want your entire family and relatives to die tragically, you must constantly be vigilant about who truly cannot be offended within the capital.
Before, it was only the Prince. Now, the Consort must be added.
Offending the Prince might only result in death, but offending the Consort would make life worse than death.
"This humble subject greets Your Royal Highness Consort!"
Nan Yuan'er lowered her head, her voice seeming to seep through her clenched teeth, enduring tears and bleeding. The crowd felt that the Consort was being too overbearing, but they truly dared not step forward.
"I represent the dignity of the imperial family, not to deliberately humiliate. Not kneeling is to disdain the royal family, which is a grave crime punishable by confiscation of property and execution of the entire clan. I truly cannot bear to see my family suffer such a fate. I hope all the clan elders can understand!"
The elders of the Nan clan had already stood up when Nan Shiying arrived. Before Nan Shiying married the Regent, they had long forgotten that Nan Chaoyin had another daughter. Her birth mother was of low status. If Nan Chaoyin had not been resolute, they would never have allowed her to enter the Nan family. And she, a bringer of misfortune who killed her mother at birth, even though she had now climbed into the Regent's bed, they did not show much respect towards her. However, the charge of disdaining the royal family was too great. Even if it was obvious to everyone that she was fabricating charges, they dared not gamble.
"We greet Your Royal Highness Consort!"
The clan elders knelt and paid their respects.
Nan Shiying's face revealed a gentle smile, and she said, "Elders, please rise quickly!"
"Oh, and Father!"
Leaving Nan Yuan'er kneeling alone. In this cold weather, the doors and windows of the main hall were open during the day. Cold wind poured into the room, and the floor was chillingly cold. The chill seeped into Nan Yuan'er's body through her knee bones. Her already pale face turned even more ghastly pale.
"I see you have deep feelings for your late brother, so I presume you are willing to kneel in mourning for him. Then you shall kneel for three days. Your brother, knowing this from the underworld, will also bless you with good health."
Killing the heart.
Nan Yuan'er had already become disabled, yet she still spoke of good health.
Moreover, where in this world would a sister kneel in mourning for her brother? Guarding the spirit and kneeling in mourning were different. In this freezing weather, if she knelt for three days without anything placed beneath her knees, her legs might not be废, but her womanhood would be ruined. This Nan Shiying was truly wicked; she had cut off her path to bearing children.