Madam Sun whispered in her ear, "Little sister, when you said he divorced you and left you in the river without looking back, did you ever think this day would come?"
"You have to bear the consequences of your actions. If you don't want others to know, then don't do it in the first place. This saying is very true."
This was the third time Du Pengzhi had been flogged. He had fainted twice during the twenty strokes. This time, he only had ten strokes left, and for some reason, he didn't faint.
Two bailiffs, holding sticks, put a cangue on Du Pengzhi's head, affixed a seal, and pushed him out of the county government office.
"Make way, make way!"
The constables pushed through the crowd, creating a path for them to emerge.
Sun started yelling in the crowd, "You heartless bastard! You don't even respect your own mother! You love to live off women! You only live off women!"
When Du Pengzhi was close to the Wang family, he often abused his power and influence through his advisor and the Wang family, and even bullied some poor families.
Now that they're prisoners, they've all retaliated.
A rotten egg hit him squarely in the face. "You stinking man who can't control his lower body!"
"Unfilial and disrespectful! Worse than pigs and dogs!" A few more rotten leaves.
The yamen runners ignored him, but he still resented Du Pengzhi.
When Master Liu was still alive, he wasn't very kind to the yamen runners. In the past, they would all have to bow and scrape when they saw Du Pengzhi.
I've disliked him for a long time; he's such a pretty boy. I don't know how this scholar got such good luck.
Du Pengzhi was in pain all over his body, but his nose didn't hurt. He felt nauseous from the stench coming from his head.
My stomach was completely empty, and I couldn't vomit anything.
They're moving slower and slower.
More and more of his body was being hit.
The constable couldn't stand it anymore and hit his leg with a stick, yelling, "Hurry up! If you stay any longer, you'll have to sleep outside tonight!"
Another constable tried to scare him, saying, "I've heard there are tigers outside. If you get eaten, it's not our problem!"
Upon hearing this, Du Pengzhi gritted his teeth and quickened his pace.
Since Chu Guan arrived, Qingshui County had not seen prisoners paraded through the streets for a long time, and everyone loved to join in the fun.
The Ye family stopped, because Ye Panjiu did not follow.
"I'm going to the academy to keep Miss Guan company. Why don't we all come together?"
She noticed that Guan Muning liked being around people and was prone to feeling down when she was alone.
She's different; she feels comfortable when she's alone, but when there are many people around, she finds it a bit noisy.
Grandma Ye took out a small hat from her bosom. "Come on, I specially got a hat for Miss Guan to protect her head. This hat brings great fortune."
The Great Fortune is a blessing, and it was something the Ye family started wearing when she was pregnant with her first child. Later, the Liu family, the Sun family, and Ye Panjiu also wore it.
The children are healthy, and the mothers are all recovering well.
Sun also took out a small blanket. "When I was in confinement, I loved this little blanket the most. When I put it on the bed, it felt like it warmed up a bit, and I felt comfortable."
Everyone was coming to the academy to pick up Ming'er, and knowing that Guan Muning had recently given birth, they all brought her some small, inexpensive, but useful gifts.
Guan Muning was lying in the inner room, her eyes glazed over, feeling distressed.
Ever since the day she went into labor, she has been having nightmares.
After Ye Panjiu arrived, she slept more peacefully.
But I can't help but think, what if this child finds out in the future that I am his biological mother but he doesn't want him? Will he hate me?
The days and nights spent in the Zhou family's backyard kept churning in my mind.
The heavy black ink weighed on her heart, and she was sustained only by hatred. She hated Zhou Xinran, and she also hated her own parents and elder brother who had sold her out.
Zhou Xinran is the same age as his father and is extremely abnormal.
Once, she was hung up and fainted. Zhou Xinran had his servant splash her with water to wake her up.
She was completely naked at the time. When she opened her eyes and saw the servant, she immediately closed them and refused to open them again.
Unexpectedly, that beast had the servant wait aside while he brazenly groped her.
Thinking of all this, Guan Muning bit her lower lip so hard that it bled.
She kept telling herself, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Zhou Xinran is dead. She saw him die with her own eyes..."
"Miss Guan, we've come to see you!"
Several voices came from outside. Guan Muning recognized the voices as those of Madam Sun and quickly wiped the blood from her lips with a handkerchief. "Second sister-in-law, come in quickly!"
The women of the Ye family all came in, each placing a small gift for her.
My heart, which had just been filled with pain and coldness, slowly regained feeling and warmed up a little.
Grandma Ye held her hand and said, "Be patient, rest a little longer, and you'll be fine in time."
Guan Muning obediently replied, "I'll listen to my aunt."
Grandma Ye said with a kind and loving expression, "If you want to eat something, just ask Panjiu to buy it for you. You can't deprive yourself at a time like this."
Ye Panjiu nodded with a smile, "That makes sense, Mother."
Inside the room, Ye Panjiu lit some calming incense; she had noticed Guan Muning was having nightmares, so she started lighting it.
Since the men of the Ye family couldn't come in, Ye Daniu pulled them to the horse farm.
The group ate lunch at the horse farm at noon.
Ye Lei dropped Ye Ming off earlier and then immediately went home to be with Wang Jiao.
Ye Panjiu and the others ate together with Guan Muning.
Grandma Ye exclaimed, "The food at this academy is really delicious!"
Because it was free, it greatly improved my impression of it.
Sun laughed, "It's free! I really want to stay here with Ming'er all day long. Food and lodging are free. I only need to make some clothes, which will cost a few taels of silver."
Ye Panjiu smiled at them, without mentioning that her son had previously told her that if she passed the high school entrance exam, she would donate a large sum of money to Bailu Academy, far exceeding the amount he had spent.
This is probably why Bailu Academy is able to extend an olive branch to these students from impoverished backgrounds. As long as they focus on their studies and do not violate the academy's rules, they can stay here.
The academy has a large collection of books, and it's a place that she's also drawn to.
Grandma Ye pointed at Madam Sun with her finger, "Is this how a woman who's about to become a grandmother should talk? You're not going to get married tomorrow? You're so spineless."
Madam Sun pursed her lips, "I was just joking. Look at what Mother said, it doesn't sound like you're really taking it seriously!"
His eyes darted away guiltily, not daring to look at Old Lady Ye.
Grandma Ye put down her chopsticks, grabbed her arm, and slapped her. "I'll teach you to joke around!"
Sun smiled and hid behind Guan Muning, saying, "We're here with Sister Guan today, so we can't fight anymore."
Grandma Ye didn't hit her hard; Mrs. Sun just liked to play around.
Guan Muning smiled brightly. If even a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law can get along like this and have genuine feelings for each other, how could she and her own mother be so heartless as to sell her into a pit of fire?
The differences between people are truly vast.
The group chatted and laughed for a while. After the meal, Ye Guihua made tea for everyone.
She returned to the academy a few days ago and continued to study with the teacher during her free time.
At the hour of Shen (3-5 PM), the Ye family members headed towards the examination hall again.
Although it was not yet dusk and the examination hall had not yet opened, a large number of people had already gathered outside.
They were all relatives waiting for the test takers to come out.
Time passed anxiously.
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