Chapter 032: When Something Is Unusual, There Must Be Something Amiss

She had always been a kindly old lady, yet in this moment, as her cold and piercing gaze swept across the crowd, there was an inexplicable chill that made all present tremble with fear.

The servants dared not make a sound.

“No—” Liu Ning screamed, but the first thing Steward Qin did was to have someone gag her at once.

Soon the guards brought in a bench and a thick board.

By then, Liu Ning was already paralyzed with terror, her face deathly pale and her eyes wide with dread. She had no strength left to resist and was dragged over and pinned onto the bench like a lifeless dog.

When the heavy board finally came crashing down, pain roused her into a frantic struggle. Yet with two strong young men holding her down, she could not move an inch. Her eyes were red with anguish, and she wept and wailed through the gag.

Wu Tan watched on dispassionately—as if none of this had anything to do with her.

She truly cared little about how much Liu Ning knew. Even if the girl had been deceived, even if it was an unintentional mistake, so what? If not for their swift response this time, the entire Marquis of Dingyuan’s estate might have been destroyed.

Such was the way of the world: whether clever or foolish, everyone must bear the consequences of their choices and actions, with no excuse to shirk responsibility.

Next to her, Wu Qingqiong shrank back in terror at Liu Ning’s first scream and buried her face in Lady Meng’s arms. “Mother!”

Lady Meng merely patted her back, her expression cold and silent.

Her hatred for Liu Ning ran even deeper than that of the old lady. Where the old lady sought only to enforce family law, Lady Meng wished she could flay the girl alive and cut her into pieces—for after all, it was her precious daughter who had suffered most from this calamity.

Only one person was charged with wielding the board, so the punishment dragged on excruciatingly long.

After a dozen strokes, Liu Ning was motionless, collapsed like a pile of meat, all resistance beaten out of her. Now there was only a muffled whimper from her lips with each blow.

By the time twenty strokes had fallen, her flesh was torn and her clothes soaked in blood, clinging to her body.

Some among the crowd could no longer bear the sight and discreetly averted their eyes.

Wu Tan sighed inwardly and signaled to Cheng Cheng and Xingzi to fetch a chair for the old lady.

Young Wu Qingrui was kept away from this bloody scene, left in the main quarters under the care of Nanny Zhou, at the old lady’s request.

The two maids brought a chair from the flower hall, and the old lady sat with her eyes closed, resting.

She felt no pity for a treacherous servant, but age and years of Buddhist practice made her unwilling to witness such brutality.

The ordeal dragged on for half an hour. Liu Ning fainted several times, only to be revived with cold water and beaten again, until she was barely clinging to life and only then did Steward Qin call a halt.

The old lady opened her eyes, admonished the crowd once more, then dismissed them. The battered Liu Ning, limp as a sack, was dragged away by Steward Qin to be delivered to the magistrate.

Lady Meng supported the old lady herself, and Wu Tan and the others accompanied her back to the main quarters.

After such an ordeal, everyone’s spirits were weighed down.

The old lady remained silent until she’d drunk a cup of tea and the maids had refilled the pot and left. Only then did Wu Qinglin speak: “Grandmother, we can’t go on like this. It’s difficult to manage these hired outsiders, especially in the inner quarters. I think we should use this opportunity to review all the staff in the estate. From now on, we should rely on maids and matrons who have signed binding contracts. That way, with the contracts in our hands, they’ll be more careful. And if trouble does arise, it’ll be easier to deal with them directly, without involving the authorities unless necessary.”

The reason Liu Ning hadn’t been beaten to death on the spot was exactly this. Keeping her alive, they still needed to assign her a crime and hand her over to the authorities for final judgment.

The old lady agreed, nodding at Lady Meng. “Qinglin is right. See to it today. The men in the front courtyard are manageable, but those serving in the inner chambers must be thoroughly screened.”

“Yes, I’ll see to it at once,” Lady Meng replied.

The old lady was still shaken by the day’s events, her face cold and stormy. Her anger flared anew when she glanced at Wu Qingqiong’s bruised forehead and the fading slap marks on her cheeks. “What kind of mess is this?”

“I…” Wu Qingqiong, already feeling wronged after the beating, dared not protest and began to weep anew.

Yesterday, after Lady Meng struck her in a fit of anger, the maids in her room, fearful of further trouble, hadn’t dared to call for Doctor Xu. They’d only massaged her wounds with leftover medicinal wine.

Lady Meng quickly explained, “Mother, I am to blame. Yesterday, after we returned from the palace, I acted rashly and lost control. I meant only to teach her a lesson, so I didn’t tend to her injuries.”

Earlier, when Wu Tan had seen Wu Qingqiong’s battered face, she’d already found it odd. Lady Meng had always favored this daughter. If the old lady, furious, had beaten her, that would be understandable. But for Lady Meng, so concerned about her marriage prospects, to beat her so mercilessly?

Such unusual behavior always hid ulterior motives. Was Lady Meng staging a show of suffering for the old lady’s sake?

Lady Meng looked flustered and ill at ease.

Wu Qingqiong’s tears fell in heavy drops.

The old lady grew angrier at the sight of the mother and daughter. “Have those bruises treated at once! Must you make trouble every day? If you ruin your face, you’ll be finished!”

“Yes, Mother-in-law,” Lady Meng replied, biting her lip.

In truth, no one felt more pain for her daughter than Lady Meng herself. She had lashed out in anger and then, after waiting up late with the old lady for the return of Wu Tan and her brother, she’d grown too weary and forgotten all about Wu Qingqiong’s injuries.

Unwilling to dwell on the matter, the old lady let the room lapse into awkward silence.

Wu Qinglin glanced sideways and signaled to Wu Tan.

“Grandmother, now that everything is settled, why are you still angry?” Wu Tan, though reluctant, set down her teacup and sidled up to the old lady with a playful smile. “Grandmother, the weather is getting warmer by the day. I’d like some new clothes. Would you send Uncle Qin to invite Manager Liu from the silk shop to come and measure me and Third Sister for some new dresses?”

“If you have new dresses made, will you want new jewelry too?” the old lady asked sternly, though most of her anger had faded and her tone was much gentler.

Wu Tan grinned, “I don’t need new jewelry! Don’t you still have several trunks of your dowry untouched? Let Nanny Zhou open them for me to choose a few pieces, and that will do.”

The old lady couldn’t help but laugh, poking her forehead. “Can’t I keep anything for myself? You’re always after my things!”

She gave Nanny Zhou a look, and the old woman smiled and went to find Uncle Qin.

Privately, the old lady had long since decided that her dowry, along with the keepsakes left by Wu Tan’s late mother, would go to Wu Tan as part of her marriage portion. She knew Wu Tan was deliberately trying to cheer her up, and she was happy to humor the girl in return. She only worried that her own jewelry was old-fashioned and might not suit a young girl’s taste.

Wu Tan’s efforts to please her brought her comfort, and she was happy to indulge the child.

Meanwhile, Wu Qingqiong dared not act out, hastily wiping her tears and stealing glances at the intimacy between Wu Tan and the old lady, feeling a pang in her heart. She clenched her skirt tightly under her sleeves, lowering her head to hide her feelings.

“Since Tan is so magnanimous and bears no grudge, let us consider the matter closed for today,” the old lady said after a brief teasing exchange with Wu Tan. She turned to Lady Meng, her tone serious, “Daughter-in-law, make a fair copy of Qingqiong’s birth characters and bring them to me. Tomorrow morning, I will go into the palace to see the Empress.”

Lady Meng and her daughter both looked up sharply in astonishment.

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