Sоng Ruосi аnd thе others did not еntеr, covеring their nosеs аnd mоuths аs thеу stood in thе courtyard watching, glоаting as thеy sаid, "If уоu hаd known it wоuld соmе tо this, why did уou do it in the first рlаcе? Now look, уou're gоing to faсе thе fаmilу рunishmеnt! We thought Рrinсe Yin might sаvе уou, but whо knew nоt оnly would hе nоt savе you, he еven had somеоnе clеan the guest rооm. Аh, how рitiful."
Тhе sаrсаstic vоiсe, winding its wаy thrоugh eighteеn twists and turns, mаdе Fеng Yue find it sоmеwhаt аmusing.
Feng Huaimеng whispered, "The fаmily punishment in thе Generаl's Mаnsiоn is reаlly severe. What if she gets beaten to death?"
"Who cares? She made the bet and accepted the consequences. It's not us who are enforcing the family punishment." With a light snort, Song Ruoci smiled and had someone bring over stools again, sitting down with the other two to continue cracking melon seeds.
There were many messy footprints in the guest room. They were likely left by General Yi or others who had accidentally entered. But looking around, the flower stand and bed were covered in dust, with no handprints at all.
If Yi Guoru had truly hidden something here, there should have been traces left.
Wringing out a cloth, Feng Yue began to clean bit by bit. Following the usual tricks for finding hidden mechanisms, she moved everything in the room to check.
Nothing.
Covered in dust and squatting in the middle of the room, for a moment Feng Yue wondered if she had overthought things and was looking in the wrong direction. Otherwise, where could it be hidden? The room was practically laid bare...
Wait.
Stepping on the floor beneath her, Feng Yue narrowed her eyes.
The only place with traces. Could it be this floor?
Bringing in a bucket of water, Feng Yue slowly poured it onto the ground. The square stone-paved floor didn't absorb water very quickly. But after pouring out the entire bucket and carefully observing in silence, Feng Yue smiled, quickly finding the floor tile under the flower stand that absorbed water extremely fast. Just as she was about to reach out and tap it—
"Once you've cleaned up, come out," the guard in the courtyard frowned. "Don't touch the things inside carelessly."
Startled into a shiver, Feng Yue immediately withdrew her hand and diligently wiped the floor.
"Alright, it's been half an hour already. No matter how much you delay, you still have to face the family punishment. That's enough," Song Ruoci called from outside. "Come out."
Casually taking off an earring and placing it on that floor tile, Feng Yue stood up, wiped the dust from her face, picked up the bucket, and walked out.
The guard cautiously closed the door and escorted her to the main courtyard.
Yin Gezhi was nonchalantly drinking tea, while Yi Zhangzhu looked at her with a sigh as she entered, saying with some pity, "You're already in such a sorry state? Then the family punishment doesn't need to be too severe—twenty lashes."
The lips sipping tea paused for a moment, then continued drinking the Biluochun tea as if nothing had happened. Yin Gezhi lowered his eyes, as if the person below had nothing to do with him at all.
Yi Zhangzhu felt that although his cold indifference sometimes annoyed her, when that indifference was directed at others, she was truly delighted.
"This servant thanks Miss Yi for your mercy," the person below bowed and obediently lay down on the long bench.
The three young women who had been cheering loudly earlier sat to the side watching the spectacle. Song Ruoci watched with great amusement, while the other two remained silent.If you asked whether they had any grudge against this girl, the answer would be no. They didn’t even know her. Their resistance stemmed from Yi Zhangzhu’s dislike of her. To actually beat someone up… that was truly going too far. However, at this critical moment, they couldn’t say anything either.
So they chose to remain silent.
The person carrying the court staff entered, rubbing his hands together. After waiting for Yi Zhangzhu’s nod, he swung the staff and struck Feng Yue’s buttocks with all his might!
“Ahhh!!!” Feng Yue screamed, her voice piercing through the heavens, startling Yin Gezhi so much that he nearly dropped the teacup in his hand. He glared at her with a dark expression.
Unaware of his gaze, Feng Yue’s face was filled with pain, regret, resentment, and desolation. As the staff struck her again and again, her cries rose and fell dramatically, the pitch shifting from low to high, suddenly weakening at its peak, followed by a series of sobs. Her emotions were rich, and her expressions were perfectly executed.
The servant wielding the staff twitched the corner of his mouth, paused for a moment, and glanced up at Yi Zhangzhu, hesitating as if wanting to say something. He then looked at Yin Gezhi, but upon meeting the latter’s icy gaze, he decided against speaking and continued striking with loud slaps!
Feng Huai Meng couldn’t bear to listen any longer and stammered, “There are matters at home, Eldest Miss. Chang Jiang and I should head back now.”
“In such a hurry?” Yi Zhangzhu glanced at them and asked, “What about Ruo Ci?”
Song Ruo Ci curled her lips, clearly displeased, and said, “My family has nothing going on. If they want to leave, let them go first.”
Feng Huai Meng pursed her lips, pulled Meng Chang Jiang along, bowed, and scurried away. Even from a distance, they could still hear Feng Yue’s pitiful cries.
“It really sounds like they’re beating her to death,” Meng Chang Jiang sighed. “Isn’t it too harsh?”
Feng Huai Meng shook her head, about to say something, when a sinister voice asked, “Who is being beaten?”
Startled, Meng Chang Jiang jumped aside, clutching Feng Huai Meng’s arm as she turned around to see Nanny Xun looking at them sternly and repeating, “Who is being beaten?”
“…Feng Yue did something wrong,” Meng Chang Jiang immediately straightened up and bowed her head. “She lost a bet with us, and Eldest Miss is administering household punishment—twenty strokes.”
Frowning, Nanny Xun sighed, bowed to them, and headed toward the main house.
“No—” The final stroke landed. Feng Yue stretched her hand forward, looking in Yin Gezhi’s direction with eyes full of grievance, before her gaze gradually faded into nothingness and her hand suddenly dropped.
Yi Zhangzhu watched with her hand over her chest, wondering if she had gone too far. How could she have beaten someone like this?
But when she turned her head, she saw Yin Gezhi’s face filled with indifference, even a hint of mockery in his eyes.
Slightly taken aback, Yi Zhangzhu couldn’t understand. Didn’t Brother Yin always like to visit this girl? Why wasn’t he worried at all when she was beaten so badly?
“Take her away,” Dianchai instructed the servants from behind, seeing that Feng Yue had fainted. “Send her to the servants’ quarters and prepare a bed for her.”
“Eldest Miss,” someone outside the door said gently, “since the household punishment has been administered, let me take her back for further training to prevent her from causing trouble again.”
It was Nanny Xun’s voice. Yi Zhangzhu raised an eyebrow, glanced at Yin Gezhi, and asked with a smile, “Brother Yin, are you willing to part with her?”
“As you wish,” Yin Gezhi yawned and said, “Just don’t send any other maidservants to me. I’m not used to it.”
“Alright,” Yi Zhangzhu replied with a smile and waved for Nanny Xun to take Feng Yue away."Your Highness!" The person who had just been unconscious painfully opened her eyes the moment she was about to be taken away, sorrowfully asking, "How can Your Highness be so heartless? Back then, you gifted me the bright moon earrings, but now you bestow upon me twenty strokes of the family punishment! Didn't you promise to protect me?"
Yin Gezhi raised an eyebrow, glancing at her sideways. His gaze paused on her empty earlobe for a moment before he said, "Go and rest."
How cold, how heartless, how utterly delightful! Yi Zhangzhu felt that all the harm this person had caused her before could now be wiped clean. It wasn't that he didn't like her anymore; though he was cold toward her, he was even harsher to others. Comparing the two, he was still better to her.
After the person was taken away, Yin Gezhi looked at the sky and said, "It's getting late. I'll be going to the training ground later and will return to rest afterward. Just go about your own business; there's no need to entertain me."
"Alright," Yi Zhangzhu replied. "I happen to have some time to go find Crown Prince Brother to discuss the matter of summer clothing."
Yin Gezhi nodded. "Crown Prince has been handling his duties well lately and has received many rewards from His Majesty. Tell him that someone as kind as him will surely lend his full support. By then, not only summer clothing, but winter clothing might also be secured."
Her eyes lighting up, Yi Zhangzhu nodded and immediately returned to her room to freshen up and prepare to go out.
Feng Yue was helped back to Nanny Xun's courtyard. As soon as the door closed, she opened her eyes.
"How did you still end up in the young lady's hands?" Looking at her, Nanny Xun sighed. "I thought someone as well-versed in the rules as you could avoid this misfortune."
Grinning at her, Feng Yue said, "I'm not seriously hurt."
"Not seriously hurt?" Frowning as she looked at her, Nanny Xun said, "The General's Mansion's family punishment is truly no light matter."
"Yes, it's quite heavy. So I padded myself a bit in advance."
Standing up straight, Feng Yue blinked, pulling Nanny Xun into the room. Under her astonished gaze, she untied the lower garment she was wearing and pulled out a heavy, dark-colored piece of armor.
"This..." Nanny Xun was dumbfounded. "What is this?"
"Heart-protecting scale armor, impenetrable by blades or swords, used to guard the vital heart area. Warriors often carry it for self-defense," Feng Yue explained with a smile. "I knew there would be trouble today, so I came prepared."
The lie was told naturally. At the very least, Nanny Xun was fooled, her eyes showing admiration.
Letting out a soft sigh of relief, Feng Yue looked down at the object.
It was a dragon-carved piece of armor, about the size of two open palms, which Yin Gezhi usually wore over his chest. In the urgency of the moment today, he had pulled her behind the rockery, removed it, and used it to cushion her backside.
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