Zhao Yarou was sure Ye Lang"s capabilities were more than just his alchemy skills. The fighting styles he displayed were completely different from what she had seen on the mainland. Even without using douqi, his combat techniques were flawless.

He wasn"t just an alchemist, he was also a brilliant martial artist…

She had no way of proving his capabilities as a martial artist because that was the only time he had ever fought in public. Not just her, even Ye Lanyu and the seventh princess did not know about his combat skills.

Zhao Yarou was already irritated by this incident. And now, right in her own backyard, was an ignorant peasant who dared touch one of Ye Lang"s properties. She was furious!

She initially intended to sentence him to death but the Li family was a clan who supported her so she decided she still had to give face. In addition to that, she could reap a few benefits from it too. That was why she waved it off quickly.

However, she did not want this to happen again in the future. She had to state clearly that no one was ever allowed to touch anything Ye Lang left behind, especially places he once stayed in.

“Meeting adjourned. I"m tired, I"ll be at my quarters. Spread the news across the empire, Li Yan has been stripped of his t.i.tles and he will never receive a t.i.tle again,” announced Zhao Yarou.

He was no longer a lord, that meant he was now a regular aristocrat. Since this was a lifelong sentence, that meant he could never take an important position in the government.

In this mainland, you had to have an equivalent n.o.ble t.i.tle to take a higher-ranked position. Usually, people who could attain such a position was already awarded a t.i.tle even if they started out as a commoner. This was why this law wasn"t a problem.

Right now, this news meant Li Yan"s future was ruined unless he could slowly crawl up the ranks through the military route up to be a general.

However, everyone knew he was no military material. It would be impossible to fake anything either because an official announcement was to be made across the empire.

“Your Majesty, please…” Li Tianjun wanted to beg Zhao Yarou for mercy but was interrupted before he could speak.

“Sir Li, I think it"s already great he"s still alive. What do you think?” Zhao Yarou said gently, her tone still eerily calm.

“I…” Li Tianjun hesitated, unsure if he should proceed. Like what she said, they were already fortunate Li Yan was still alive. Perhaps he should talk about the matter of t.i.tles another day.

“I"m worn out. We shall discuss other matters tomorrow,” said Zhao Yarou. The entire room watched as she left.

When she stepped out, the crowd heaved a sigh of relief and started to discuss among themselves.

“Sir Li, teach your son to be a wiser man so he never makes the same mistake again. It"s not a problem if he harms himself, but he would be in deep trouble if he hurts another with his ignorance.”

Within the palace, the Li family"s influence didn"t mean no one dared speak out against them. The size of your family had no direct correlation to your ranking in the government.

Some may fear the Li family but there were many who didn"t.

At the same time, this was exactly what they were all thinking. The fury radiating from the empress was terrifying, they absolutely did not want to be collateral damage if someone else angered the emotionally unstable Zhao Yarou.

Thank goodness she didn"t involve anyone else or these palace officials would never forgive the Li family even if Li Yan was released in the end.

“Who do you all think you are, talking to my father like that?” asked Li Yan arrogantly. The Li family"s fortune during these past two years had inflated the already spoiled brat even more. He now had no respect for anyone else.

SLAP!

The sound of a slap rang across the room.

“Why are you still talking? Go home!” raged Li Tianjun, who had slapped Li Yan across his face. Li Yan was stunned. “My apologies everyone, I will talk to my son when we get back.”

“Then we shall not bother you, Sir Li. Please send my regards to Grand Marshal Li.” The rest of the palace officials excused themselves one by one, though they were all thinking the same thing. Good! The only way is to teach the idiot a lesson is to smack him hard!

“Why are you still here? Haven"t you embarra.s.sed me enough today?” roared Li Tianjun at Li Yan, who was still stunned on the spot, then stormed out.

When Li Yan came to, he glared fiercely at all the officials then followed his father.

As Li Yan was taught a lesson by his father at home, Zhao Yarou had already given orders for her men to shut down the Romantic Floor again and lock everyone inside up. She had to know what these people were doing inside and if they damaged anything.

If they did, no matter who they were, they would face harsh consequences.

This was the scene Ye Lang had witnessed. He secretly shot a look at Coldblood Seven as if to say, See? I told you.

Hmmph, you were lucky.

That was Coldblood Seven"s reply.

Coldblood Five did not speak, she was silent…

Then, the three of them left the restaurant and went back to rest.

While they were resting, the others were wide awake-- especially the Li family, who was fated to endure a long, sleepless night.

“Ahhh… Ahh…” Shrieks of agony came from the Li house, sending chills to anyone who heard.

These shrieks were made by Li Yan after he reached how because Li Tianjun decided he was going to punished him the Li way.

“Tianjun, what are you doing? You"re going to beat your son to death!” Madam Li was stopping Li Tianjun, for the Li tradition was to punish their sons with the military baton. It was common in many families.

“If I kill him it would be better than him dragging our entire family into trouble!” Li Tianjun said coldly, his rage apparent.

Madam Li didn"t know what happened. Her son had left for the palace filled with excitement, now his father was punishing him.

“He"s your son! Do you really want to see him like this?” Madam Li sobbed.

“Then he"s not my son today,” said Li Tianjun. “I"ll beat some sense into the boy.”

“Ahh…”

There was no trace of the rich, spoiled brat in Li Yan now. Rich brats like him relied on their parents for their status. Now that he"d angered his father, all he could do was to accept the punishment.

Fight back?

That would only further anger Li Tianjun. It would only result in him actually being beaten to death or chased out of the Li family.

What would a rich, spoiled brat be without his family? He would be nothing.