Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 298 - 296

Chapter 298: Chapter 296

Li Yunning and Shen Bao’er were taken aback upon hearing these words. Was kneeling not considered a form of courtesy?

Despite wanting to refute Shangguan Xuanyi, both dared not to say anything and hastily stood up to kneel again.

"No need!"

Upon hearing his words, the two gave a sigh of relief. As they thought, the Sixth Prince still knew when to have mercy. He didn’t even require them to kneel anymore.

Both of them felt at ease after standing up.

However, Shangguan Xuanyi’s next words shattered their joy, sending them from heaven straight into hell.

"If you plead with someone, you should show sincerity. Go kneel in the courtyard until I can see it."

They looked at each other to confirm whether they had heard that correctly.

After getting affirmative answers from each other’s eyes, they turned their gaze towards the courtyard outside.

It was midmorning now, right? The sun was at its peak!

The sun would get more intense by the minute. If they were to kneel in the courtyard, they firmly believed they would turn into charcoal in less than 15 minutes!

And the Sixth Prince said, they must kneel until he believed they were sincere!

How long would that take? Did that mean the longer they knelt, the more sincere they would be seen?

If they knelt until the Sixth Prince felt they were sincere, would they still be alive? Even if so, would the skin on their faces still be presentable?

With these thoughts, hesitation crossed both their faces.

At this moment, Li Yunning could only regret her haste. She forgot her initial intentions.

She was here to make amends with the Mistress of Rui’an County and find an opportunity to get close to the Sixth Prince to foster feelings between them, not to stir up disagreement between him and the Mistress!

Her father told her that the Sixth Prince was meticulous and sensitive; if she chose this move, she had to genuinely befriend the Mistress of Rui’an County; otherwise, it might backfire.

Everyone in the royal family grew up amidst flattery and compliments; they were extraordinarily sensitive to people’s intentions. Real or fake, the Sixth Prince could tell at a glance!

Her father was right; the way the Sixth Prince was treating her was proof.

Shen Bao’er didn’t understand why the Sixth Prince wasn’t moved by her pitiful, teary appearance. It was a tactic that always worked on men.

Whenever she acted this way, Li Yunhua would agree to everything.

"So, are you going to kneel?" Shangguan Xuanyi’s mocking voice echoed over their heads.

At his words, both felt as if their darkest secrets had been exposed under broad daylight, leaving them nowhere to hide. They felt too ashamed to raise their heads.

To kneel or not to kneel? Both were struggling internally.

Li Yunning weighed the gains and losses. If she refused now, the Sixth Prince would likely think worse of her as a person of no integrity and dishonesty. If she chose to kneel, she could continue to support Bao’er and retain something of a kind and generous image to the person she cared for. At least she had initially spoken out to help Shen Bao’er, not for herself. As for the sunburn, well, don’t they have the ointment that can remove smallpox scars? She would just apply some when she returns.

Shen Bao’er was not aware of the existence of this ointment. After becoming a concubine, she mostly stayed in the courtyard where Li Yunhua kept her hidden to avoid attracting attention. Only after she felt secured by being pregnant, did she dare to venture out normally.

At the moment, she was rapidly assessing the situation. If she knelt, her skin would likely become unsightly. Given that Prime Minister Li currently confined Li Yunhua to the residence, preventing him from going anywhere, and Mrs. Zhang was conveniently pregnant, Li Yunhua had started visiting her room daily. If she were to become tanned and appear ghost-like, she was absolutely certain that Li Yunhua would never come to her courtyard again.

Shen Bao’er felt a pang in her heart: This is the sorrow of serving someone with your beauty! When beauty fades, so does love.

She wasn’t foolish enough to believe that Li Yunhua truly loved her so much that he couldn’t live without her. Therefore, she was desperate to restore her health and give birth to a son, then defeat Mrs. Zhang and secure the position of head wife, to guarantee a life of wealth and glory.

Everything she wanted depended on Li Yunhua’s love for her and her own beauty, so she couldn’t just stand up.

"I hope that the Sixth Prince and the Rui’an County Master, out of respect for my sincerity, could help Mrs. Shen."

"I wouldn’t make things harder for my sister, she just said she has no medicine or prescription left."

The two spoke simultaneously, but their words held different meanings.

When they realized what had happened, they looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Fine! You, go kneel! And you, continue with the ceremony!" commanded Shangguan Xuanyi, pointing to a space in the courtyard.

Their faces turned pale upon hearing these words;

The Sixth Prince was determined to punish them.

"Sixth Prince..." Shen Bao’er wanted to say something.

"Don’t let me repeat it a second time!" Shangguan Xuanyi’s whole body radiated an icy aura.

The two were so frightened that they immediately fell silent, and ran out.

The scorching sun blazed overhead, and in less than 15 minutes, their faces were drenched in sweat.

Shen Bao’er regretted bitterly for not checking the calendar before going out that day. The Sixth Prince was known for showing no mercy, had she not heard about how he dealt with Mrs. Shen and the second branch family in the government office? How could she not have learned from it?

And Li Yunning too was to blame! She should have coordinated with her instead of leaving her, literally, in the hot sun. Now, Li Yunning was comfortably kneeling while she crouched uncomfortably in the heat. In just a short while, she felt her legs would snap.

Li Yunning regretted even more blaming Shen Bao’er for duping her and causing her to lose face in front of her beloved and leaving a bad impression. Not to mention that she had to kneel under the sun for her punishment and her knees were being tormented by the hot, hard ground. She regretted insinuating that Rui’an County Master lacked compassion when she pleaded for Shen Bao’er earlier.

Both were not idiots, they knew Shangguan Xuanyi was punishing them purposely to air his grievances for Xiao’er.

Shangguan Xuanyi and Xiao’er were indoors discussing the curriculum for the Enlightenment Academy. In essence, they were to study three things: the Three Character Classic, Thousand Character Classic, and arithmetic.

There was no need to discuss the Three Character Classic and Thousand Character Classic. They were designed to help children recognize words. As for arithmetic, aside from bead arithmetic, Xiao’er also introduced mental arithmetic and the learning of rules for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Of course, to make it easier to learn these rules, Arabic numerals were also introduced.

Shangguan Xuanyi was impressed with the mental arithmetic and these rules, finding them swift and convenient.

Such efficient tools should be widespread. In the future, all calculations would be faster and easier, saving both time and energy!

Xiao’er taught Shangguan Xuanyi all the ins and outs he didn’t understand, making him feel more in awe the more he learned.

In the courtyard, the two women were in the scorching sun for the whole day. In the meantime, Shen Bao’er, unable to stand anymore, chose to kneel.

It wasn’t until the sun set that Shangguan Xuanyi finally let them go.

Xiao’er watched as they were carried away, in a state of utter disgrace, lips devoid of any color, unable to walk. She shook her head. They brought it upon themselves!

Hopefully now, they dare not bother her again!

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