Su Mingyu listened, momentarily stunned. If not for the frosty look Gu Ruobai shot her, she would have laughed out loud.
Shi Jian had clearly racked his brains to dodge Gu Ruobai’s wrath. He’d even dredged up the detail that there had been another man beside her that night — a petty, spiteful touch meant to oblige the prince’s jealousy. Shi Jian expected to watch her flush and panic. Instead, Su Mingyu sat with one leg crossed, utterly unperturbed.
That only made him angrier. He doubled down. “Prince Ruixian,” he said, lowering himself to his knees again, “everything I’ve said is true. That white-clad man looked extremely familiar with Su Mingyu. One look from her and he moved aside as if to avoid attention.”
“If they were just friends, they wouldn’t have been alone in a private room like that. Even if they were dining together, when he saw me looking at her, he should’ve intervened — told me to leave, said something. But he did nothing! He merely stuck out a foot and tripped me, then behaved as if he didn’t exist, curling up in a corner like a cat. It’s obvious they’re trying to hide something.”
Su Mingyu could only smile faintly at his performance. “Must I not have male friends?” she said. “Shi Jian, you see me with a man and immediately smear me. Did you actually see us being intimate?”
Shi Jian pressed his attack, relentless. “Friends? What is his name? Where does he live? Miss Su, could you bring him here now?”
When someone gets obstinate, they can at least feign logic. Su Mingyu narrowed her eyes. “Sorry, I can’t do that.”
“See?” Shi Jian scrambled to Gu Ruobai. “Prince Ruixian, clearly there’s something wrong with Su Mingyu.”
“Why are you so flustered?” she tossed back, rolling her eyes. “I haven’t finished speaking.”
Shi Jian ground his teeth. “Say it then. What other lies will you tell?”
She almost laughed at the certainty in his tone. “What I said was — why can’t I have male friends? I never claimed the man that night was my friend.”
“You weren’t friends, so why did you dine together in that private room? Do you think I’m an idiot?” Shi Jian’s voice rose, rough with accusation.
“It was a coincidence,” Su Mingyu said calmly. “We happened to go to the same restaurant and chose the same private room. So we shared the table. It sounds unlikely, but that’s all it was.”
Impossible, Shi Jian thought without hesitation. No such coincidence. She must be hiding something. He stared at her, sure of victory.
Su Mingyu shrugged and turned her gaze toward Gu Ruobai. “Do you believe me, Prince Ruixian?”
All eyes followed hers. To everyone else, she had clearly wronged the prince. Gu Ruobai felt the weight of that scrutiny, then gave Su Mingyu a faint, half-amused look before speaking softly. “I believe you.”
The room went silent; disbelief rippled across faces.
Su Mingyu’s mouth tipped up. “So, Shi Jian, anything more to add?”
Shi Jian’s expression collapsed into stupefaction. He muttered, “Prince Ruixian... I’ve told the truth. Why won’t you believe me?”
Gu Ruobai didn’t spare him another glance. He turned instead to Shi Minglong. “Shi Minister,” he said evenly, “if someone in your family commits a wrong, they must be punished. Do you accept that?”
Shi Minglong could see then that arguing was useless; Gu Ruobai had already decided to stand by Su Mingyu. He sighed, the air leaving him like resignation. “I... have nothing to say.”
“Good.” Gu Ruobai had wanted that answer. He lifted a brow at Su Mingyu. “You’re the one harmed here, Mingyu. Tell me how to punish him.”
Su Mingyu had expected Gu Ruobai to use this as leverage to force Shi Minglong’s cooperation, but he simply wanted to let her vent. She glanced at the prostrate Shi Jian and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Twenty strokes with the board,” she said.
“I won’t!” Shi Jian protested immediately, enraged. He was about to hurl insults when a hand struck his cheek. Shi Minglong had risen and slapped his son hard enough to sting. “You ungrateful fool! You should be thanking Prince Ruixian and Miss Su for sparing you. Do you still have anything to say?”
Shi Jian’s face was already swollen; the fresh blow puffed it higher. He cupped his cheek, bewildered at how his father was shielding him from harsher consequences.
Shi Minglong lowered his voice so only his son could hear. “Say your thanks. Do you want to die at their hands?”
Humiliated, Shi Jian faltered and knelt. “Thank you, Prince Ruixian, for sparing my life. Thank you, Miss Su, for your mercy.”
Su Mingyu’s mouth quirked. “Enough words. Start.”
Gu Ruobai gave Mu Yi a look. Mu Yi immediately moved forward, seized Shi Jian, and led him to the stool set aside. The wood board came down hard across Shi Jian’s backside.
Each strike landed with controlled force. By the second stroke, Shi Jian’s face had gone ashen. By the tenth, his eyes rolled back and he fainted.
They splashed water on him and resumed; the cries that tore from his throat filled the courtyard. Shi Minglong watched, his eyes watering despite himself. The punishment finally ended only when Shi Jian lay nearly unconscious, lips split from biting in pain, lungs heaving in ragged gasps like a wounded animal.
Mu Yi drew back. Gu Ruobai hardly paused; with a curt nod to Su Mingyu, he turned to leave. The cold disdain on his face made Shi Minglong’s features twitch with suppressed anger.