Lessi was dragged outside the palace to receive punishment. Four black-armored demons held down each of her limbs, while another black-armored demon wielded a cane and mercilessly struck her buttocks. Waves of excruciating pain made her unable to suppress her screams, and several ribs on her body were broken.

"Smack, smack, smack..."

The cane fell, causing Lessi's skin to split open and her flesh to become mangled. Her buttocks, in particular, had swollen up and were covered in patches of dark purple bruises, with hints of fresh red blood seeping through.

"Waa... it hurts!" Lessi cried, begging for mercy.

Iris had already returned to her resting chambers and paid no attention to whether Lessi was begging for mercy or not. Even if she did beg, Iris wouldn't be able to hear her.

Merice and Xue Youyue could only watch as Lessi was punished, feeling distressed themselves.

"Merice, you are the sister of the Empress. Can you plead on her behalf and offer to take the remaining blows? I'm willing to endure it!" Xue Youyue pleaded, not wanting to see Lessi being harmed, especially since this was all a misunderstanding.

Merice sighed and shook her head. "Xue Youyue, you should know Iris's personality. Since she has ordered the punishment, she is determined to chastise Lessi. Iris is now the Empress of the Shuowang Empire, and it's impossible for her to ignore the public humiliation she received. How could such an offense escape punishment?"

"But it really is a misunderstanding..." Xue Youyue continued to argue.

"To be honest, I am currently under indefinite house arrest. Without Iris's approval, I can't leave the palace," Merice replied with a bitter smile. "Though we have superficially reconciled, there will always be a river that separates us, and we can never bridge that gap. As her closest family, I have hurt her the most."

Xue Youyue didn't know what to say and could only remain silent. She understood all too well how painful it was for there to be such a rift between sisters.

The two sat on the steps, silently watching Lessi being punished.

Merice sighed repeatedly and occasionally glanced towards Iris's chambers. Her sister, who used to struggle to pay the rent, had become the revered Empress, while she, the older sister, was indefinitely confined within the palace.

And all of this was her fault.

Merice kept blaming herself in her heart. If time could be reversed, she would never cripple her sister's ankles. It was thanks to Baixi's intervention that Iris was able to stand again. If Merice hadn't arrived in time, Iris might never have been able to walk again.

But unfortunately, this world had no "if," and there was no turning back time.

After fifteen minutes, the punishment of one hundred lashes finally came to an end.

Having completed the execution of this penalty, the black-armored demons retreated one by one.

Lessi remained lying on the ground, her beautiful face caked with dirt, and a trickle of blood flowing from the corner of her mouth.

She cupped her hands over her buttocks, in so much pain that her body convulsed, rendering her motionless. She felt a piercing agony in her lower body, as if her entire being had been hollowed out, leaving her weak and powerless.

Xue Youyue and Merice hurried forward to help Lessi and guided her towards the resting chambers.

They settled Lessi onto a bed, and Merice quickly retrieved a medical kit to tend to her injuries.

Merice dipped a cotton ball in some pain-relieving ointment and gently applied it to Lessi's buttocks.

As soon as the cotton ball touched the skin on her buttocks, it immediately caused a wave of pain.

"Ah, it hurts!" Lessi screamed, trembling uncontrollably.

"Hold on, it will stop hurting soon, and the swelling will go down quickly," Merice comforted softly.

Lessi bit her lip tightly, tears welling up in her eyes, too afraid to make another sound, enduring the pain.

After a moment, Merice threw away the cotton ball and took out gauze and a powder, kneading them together on the cotton and then applying it to Lessi's buttocks.

"Yikes..."

Merice gently wiped it, causing Lessi to make a muffled groan from the pain.

"This medicine works really well, the swelling will go down in a little while," Merice smiled.

"Mhmm." Lessi nodded, enduring the sting in her buttocks.

Immediately after, Merice began to use healing magic to treat Lessi's fractured bones. A cold and soothing sensation spread from Lessi's buttocks throughout her body, making her feel much more comfortable.

"Thank you, Merice," Lessi said.

"It's nothing, I just hope that from now on, you won't anger Iris anymore," Merice said, then she put away the bottle of medicine.

Lessi nodded, indicating her understanding.

After finishing these, Merice spoke, "You rest well, I'll go to the infirmary to see who that other person Iris mentioned is." With that, Merice turned and left, heading towards the infirmary.

"Merice!"

After Merice left, Lessi suddenly called out, "That person is Dugu. From his tone, I can tell that the princess knows where Her Majesty is. It's highly likely that the princess has imprisoned Her Majesty, since Her Majesty is the one who hurt the princess the most."

Merice stopped in her tracks upon hearing this.

She turned around, her expression serious. "These are just baseless speculations of yours, without any evidence. You shouldn't just make random accusations."

"I really feel that this is highly possible. You know the princess' vengeful nature very well. In private, Her Majesty has been extremely harsh to the princess. It's not surprising if she seeks revenge on Her Majesty along with the severed-arm grudge," Lessi said anxiously.

"That's enough, Lessi. As our subjects, how can we speak ill of the Empress behind her back? Do you know that it's a grave offense?" Merice scolded, displeased.

"I..." Lessi lowered her head under Merice's reprimand. "Yes, I know I was wrong."

Merice paid no further attention to Lessi and walked straight out of the room.

After leaving the chamber, Merice headed directly to the infirmary. She knew very well that Iris would definitely seek revenge on her aunt, considering how her aunt had hurt her in the past.

The palace infirmary had two floors, resembling a small hospital. It was well equipped with medical devices, and there were professional royal physicians to assist with treatments.

Upon arriving at the infirmary, Merice asked a nurse if a vampire had been brought in by a group of black-armored soldiers that night.

After checking the records, the nurse replied, "Yes! He's in Room 2."

"Thank you, I'll go there now!" Merice said.

Merice hurriedly arrived at the door of Room 2 and found it slightly ajar, so she pushed the door and walked in.

There is only one single bed here, and a young man in a patient gown is lying on the bed. The man's head is wrapped in bandages, and his body is also wrapped in thick white bandages, looking extremely miserable.

At the moment, Dugu is still in a coma, showing no signs of waking up.

Seeing that Dugu is safe and sound, Merice breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards the young man, asking, "Dujing, are you there?"

"I'm here." A soul appeared from Dugu, she bowed slightly and respectfully said, "Princess, long time no see."

"Do you know where Auntie is?" Merice asked directly.

"I know." Dujing nodded, then said, "Her Majesty was taken away by a silver-haired girl with golden red pupils, she is about 1.65 meters tall."

From Dujing's description, Merice could infer that the silver-haired girl with golden red pupils was Iris.

"How have you been in these three years? With Auntie's personality, she should have made a comeback and sought revenge for herself, shouldn't she?" Merice asked with some confusion.

"In that rebellion, Her Majesty saw her own Shadow Guards, whom she had trained personally, dying in front of her, coupled with her guilt towards Princess, it led to her complete mental breakdown. Later on, Her Majesty's memory began to become chaotic, even forgotten, to the point where she only remembered Iris's name and appearance. Before being captured by that silver-haired girl, Her Majesty forgot Iris's appearance, only remembering a teardrop birthmark under her left eye. In order not to forget Iris, she repeats this sentence day and night." Dujing explained.

After listening to Dujing's explanation, Merice was secretly shocked. She did not expect Auntie to be so devastated because of this.

"I understand. Tell Dugu for me that the silver-haired girl with golden red pupils is Iris and ask him not to trouble himself anymore."

"I understand!" Dujing responded.

After finishing these arrangements, Merice left the infirmary. By chance, she saw a doctor heading upstairs, so she followed along.

Just as she was about to track the doctor, she was stopped by two black-armored demons, "Her Majesty ordered that no one is allowed to step onto the second floor."

Merice frowned upon hearing this, but did not engage in conflict with the two black-armored demons. Instead, she left.

Auntie should be in one of the rooms on the second floor. Iris should think that there is no pleasure in seeking revenge from a memory-loss auntie, so she should heal Auntie before seeking revenge.

From the current situation, Iris should not harm Auntie.