Chapter Seventy-Six: Disciplinary Actions

Bai Mei stepped forward angrily and slapped his hand away:

"Third Young Master, you're certainly always busy! You usually forget about our young lady, but when trouble comes, she's the first person you come to! What's wrong this time?"

"Is it because your beloved Ying'er has gotten into some strange situation again, and my young lady needs to go to the ancestral hall to plead for her?"

Song Haochu blushed as Bai Mei choked on his food, and glared at her angrily.

"Who do you think you are! When the masters are speaking, how dare a servant like you interrupt!"

Song Yiqiu's face instantly turned cold, and she turned to leave.

"Bai Mei is like a sister to me. If Third Brother treats her like this, then there's nothing more for us to talk about. Bai Mei, Qing Zhu, let's go back to the main courtyard."

Bai Mei made a face at Song Haochu and turned to leave.

Upon seeing this, Song Hao panicked and hurriedly stopped Song Yiqiu again, disregarding his pride and bowing repeatedly.

"Oh dear! My good sister, it was my fault. I was in a moment of anger and spoke without thinking! Miss Bai Mei, I apologize to you here. It's all my fault!"

He was so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead.

"But now, little sister, you really have to go to the ancestral hall to save your elder brother! If you don't go, Father might beat him to death in his rage!"

Song Yiqiu nodded upon hearing this. She had already guessed most of it in her mind. She wondered why there was no show in the front hall. It turned out to be in the ancestral hall.

On the surface, however, he feigned confusion:

"Eldest brother? Isn't eldest brother on duty at the Ministry of War? How come he's in the ancestral hall? And how could he have angered Father so much that he wanted to beat him to death?"

Song Haochu didn't bother to explain in detail; he grabbed Song Yiqiu's arm and dragged her towards the ancestral hall.

"Oh dear! There's no time to say more! My dear sister, let's talk as we walk! If we're too late, someone might really die!"

I rushed to the ancestral hall with my third brother. Before I even entered, I heard my mother, Song Shenshi, crying out in anguish.

Upon entering the ancestral hall, the eldest brother, Song Tianhan, knelt upright in the center. His clothes were torn in the back, revealing a shallow bloodstain, indicating that he had just been subjected to family discipline. However, compared to the family discipline that Song Yiqiu had endured before, the executioner had clearly shown leniency.

Madam Song sat to one side, wiping away tears with a handkerchief, her voice choked with sobs:

"Master! You can't hit him anymore! Han'er knows he was wrong. Look at his back... If you keep hitting him, our son... our son will die! Please forgive him this time!"

Bai Mei whispered mockingly in Song Yiqiu's ear:

"That old hag is really biased. Compared to the young lady's last injury, this wound will probably heal after a while of crying. We won't even need to call a doctor."

Song Qingming's face was ashen, his chest heaving violently. He pointed at Song Tianhan and roared furiously:

"Spare him? How can you expect me to spare him!"

"Today, Vice Minister Li of the Ministry of War personally came to inspect the roll call, and when he called Song Tianhan's name, he wasn't there. We couldn't find him anywhere, and we thought something had happened to him!"

"And then? A colleague said he saw him at Doushengzhuang. He was there spending a fortune, fighting over some ridiculous Siamese fighting cock!"

The father grew angrier as he spoke, pointing the family discipline stick at Song Tianhan:

"When Vice Minister Li sent someone to inquire, he learned that my good son often skipped work without reason during his shifts. He always refused to pay for meals with colleagues or necessary social engagements. He spent all his time in those low-class gambling and dog-fighting venues!"

"If it weren't for Vice Minister Li catching me today, how long would I have been kept in the dark and humiliated? Such a good-for-nothing should be beaten to death to prevent him from causing even greater trouble in the future and implicating the whole family!"

Song Tianhan knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face, and clung to his father's legs, pleading:

"Father! Father, I know I was wrong. I will never do it again. I am your own son. How can you bear to beat me to death?"

Seeing that her husband wouldn't listen to her pleas, Madam Song quickly gave a wink to Song Sangyu, who was standing nearby, asking her to help persuade him.

Song Sangyu simply stood aside coldly, watching without lifting a finger.

She knew her elder brother's character well and understood that her father was in a bad mood. Going up to persuade him at this time would not only be useless, but might also backfire. She would not do such a stupid thing.

Seeing Song Yiqiu enter, Song Tianhan seemed to see new hope, and he scrambled to her feet, hugging her legs.

"Sister Yiqiu! My dear sister, please plead for your brother! Father listens to you the most, please save him!"

Song Yiqiu feigned ignorance of the situation, displaying just the right amount of surprise on her face, and turned to her father:

"Father, what's wrong? Why are you so angry? Did my elder brother...do he do something wrong? Could there be some misunderstanding?"

Upon hearing Song Yiqiu speak, Song Sangyu immediately launched into a sarcastic remark:

"My sister really doesn't miss a thing, big or small, in the family. She's incredibly well-informed. Anyone who didn't know better would think that all these troublesome things were orchestrated by her behind the scenes!"

She glanced meaningfully at Song Yiqiu.

Song Yiqiu's eyes instantly darkened. She had to admit that this fool's casual remark was somewhat close to the truth.

but……

Song Yiqiu remained outwardly calm, but retorted with a barbed tone:

"What you're saying, little sister? When your older brother is in trouble, it's only natural for me to be concerned and come to check on him. Do I have to stand by and watch like some people to show my deep sibling affection?"

"Shut up, all of you!"

Song Qingming interrupted them irritably.

"All you do is argue all day long, what's the point! Your brother has ended up in this state, and you two sisters are partly to blame! You've always covered for him, which has only emboldened him to become more and more lawless. Anyone who dares to say another word today will be punished along with you!"

Seeing that the situation was not good, Madam Song immediately turned her anger towards Aunt Yun, who was standing quietly in the corner, and said in a shrill voice:

"Master! This can't be entirely blamed on the children; it's all that wretched woman, Aunt Yun. She's now the assistant steward, and she knows best about the money in the treasury! Why didn't she report to Tianhan sooner when he withdrew so much silver? She's clearly harboring malicious intentions, wanting to see something bad happen to Tianhan!"

When Aunt Yun was called out, she trembled and knelt down with a thud. Before she could speak, tears streamed down her face. She cried even more miserably than Madam Song, and anyone who didn't know better would have thought it was her son kneeling on the ground.

"My lord, please understand! I... I only discovered this today when I was checking the accounts! The eldest young master... he usually takes advantage of being the legitimate son to withdraw money from the treasury. I'm just a concubine, with no power or influence, how could I dare to stop him?"

"It was the same when Madam was in charge of the household. I just thought it was the usual practice... I figured I could just put up with it..."

She raised her tear-filled face, looked at Song Qingming, and spoke in a gentle, soothing voice:

"But now that such a big thing has happened, affecting your reputation, if I were to keep quiet, then... then I would truly deserve to die! I am but a lowly servant, and it is nothing for me to suffer some grievances, but I cannot let the young master's future and your reputation be ruined!"