The Minister's wife took Zuo Lanzhi to see a doctor, while Xiao Yunying was forced to kneel on the stone path in the courtyard by brute force.
The person holding her down must have deliberately used force, causing her knees to ache terribly due to the pressure of gravity.
"Let go, I can kneel down myself."
The other guard stayed behind to signal to the old woman that she could let go, and only then did the two guards release her.
Xiao Yunying stretched her arms, thinking about how to escape.
Kneeling as punishment is a very common thing in this world and is nothing special. If the Minister's wife is only punishing her because he was disrespectful, even if Luo Sheng came, he probably wouldn't be able to find fault with it.
What bad luck! The county magistrate took away the gold medal that exempted him from kneeling, and it hasn't been returned yet.
The old woman standing nearby, who was watching her coldly, said, "Young lady, let me give you a piece of advice: don't have any ulterior motives. Just kneel here obediently, and when our mistress and young lady have calmed down, they will naturally let you up."
Xiao Yunying glanced at her and said, "Stop talking nonsense. I may not be able to touch your wife, but I can certainly touch you."
The old woman choked for a moment, but remembering her status, she ultimately didn't dare say anything more.
As expected, Xiao Yunying's legs started to go numb after kneeling for a short time.
Just as she was contemplating whether or not to make a scene, Zuo Lanzhi returned, having finished tending to her wounds.
She walked up to Xiao Yunying: "Weren't you so arrogant? Why are you kneeling here so obediently now..."
Before she could finish speaking, Xiao Yunying stood up abruptly. She swallowed the groan that was about to come out and tried her best to stand up straight: "Go to hell with you, do you really think I'm afraid of you?"
In all her life, the only time she's ever knelt before the Emperor and Empress Dowager was when she visited her ancestral graves. There's no way she'd kneel before Zuo Lanzhi.
Zuo Lanzhi was also terrified of her, and was startled when she suddenly stood up: "What do you want to do?"
Xiao Yunying's gaze was cold: "Zuo Lanzhi, I'll say it to you one last time, it's your business if you want to marry Luo Sheng, it has nothing to do with me. As long as he agrees, I'm ready to receive his letter of divorce at any time."
Don't provoke me again, or I don't know what I might do.
Supported by the old woman, Zuo Lanzhi finally remembered that this was her territory: "What a joke! Who are you trying to scare? Don't you know your own situation? Guards, seize her!"
Two guards came over again and restrained her. Xiao Yunying strained her legs, intending to try to struggle.
Unexpectedly, Zuo Lanzhi did not force her to kneel. Instead, she said to the old woman and the maids around her, "Take off her outer garment and hang it under the sunlit corridor."
Xiao Yunying was stunned for a moment: "You dare!"
Seeing her like this, Zuo Lanzhi felt a surge of satisfaction: "My mother said that you are at my disposal, as long as you don't take a life."
"I am, after all, a county princess personally appointed by the Emperor, and I also have a gold medal bestowed by the Emperor himself. I will not tolerate such humiliation from you!"
"Really? Where's the gold medal?"
Xiao Yunying bit her lip. Damn it, the gold medal wasn't hers.
Zuo Lanzhi must have known that she hadn't won the gold medal yet, and deliberately chose this time to catch her.
Zuo Lanzhi wanted to pat her face, but when she saw the red rash on her face, she felt creeped out and ripped off her veil.
"Why are you covering it up? Let everyone see your face properly, it's disgusting."
Xiao Yunying sneered: "I'm not as disgusting as you. Before this, Luo Sheng always said that Minister Zuo was upright and strict, and that his family had a pure and rigorous style. I was wondering why he could raise a daughter like you, and I even suspected that you were not his biological daughter. Now I understand. It's because your mother raised you well. It really proves the saying, 'If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked too.'"
As she spoke these words with anger, her voice grew louder and louder until she almost shouted them, as if she wanted the Minister's wife to hear her.
But she also knew that the Minister's wife was not there and could not hear her at all; she was just taking this opportunity to vent her emotions.
Unbeknownst to her, a nanny who had been standing in the corner of the front hall shook her head slightly upon hearing this and left through the side door.
Zuo Lanzhi heard that sentence again and screamed, "You're not allowed to say that! Shut up! Take off her outer clothes right now and hang her there!"
Xiao Yunying couldn't break free from so many people's hands, and in the end, her outer clothes were removed.
The two guards didn't dare to undress her; they simply tied her wrists with rope and hung her from the roof beam facing the sun.
The afternoon sun was blazing, and Xiao Yunying adjusted her angle to avoid the glaring sunlight, saying to Zuo Lanzhi, "Aren't you afraid that Luo Sheng will hate you even more if he finds out you treat me like this?"
Zuo Lanzhi scoffed, "You really think Brother Luo Sheng likes you? It's just that he likes you a little bit because the children like you, and also because you're somewhat useful. How could he possibly like you?"
It's too late to take action now, but you can still talk to her. Xiao Yunying said in a nonchalant tone, trying to annoy her: "I don't know if he likes me or not, but I know he definitely doesn't like you. Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked the Emperor for permission to marry me instead of you."
Snap!
Xiao Yunying felt her cheeks burning. She looked defiantly at Zuo Lanzhi and said, "I will remember this slap, Zuo Lanzhi. I will repay you twofold for everything that happened today!"
Zuo Lanzhi said arrogantly, "I want to see how you will repay me double. Someone, bring a few braziers and put them around her. It's already autumn, and she's not wearing an outer garment. Be careful she doesn't catch a cold."
Xiao Yunying stopped looking at her, closed her eyes, and tried her best to ignore the gazes of everyone around her.
Zuo Lanzhi nodded in satisfaction after watching the maid set up six or seven braziers around Xiao Yunying, then snorted and turned to leave.
Under the scorching sun and the heat of the brazier, Xiao Yunying's clothes were soon soaked with sweat, leaving a wet patch on her white undergarments.
The old woman watching her from the shadows said, "Young lady, you should soften your stance and beg our young lady for forgiveness..."
"roll!"
The old woman was speechless again: "You really don't appreciate kindness. I'll see how long you can keep up this stubbornness."
Sweat dripped down Xiao Yunying's cheeks, even wetting a small patch of the ground.
Painful times always seem to drag on, and Xiao Yunying didn't know how much time had passed before she felt her consciousness gradually fading, while the hatred in her heart grew stronger and stronger.
Zuo Lanzhi, you better pray that I don't gain power or influence, otherwise I will definitely repay you twofold.
And that bastard Luo Sheng! If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have gotten involved with such a vicious woman and suffered so much for nothing.
Her mind was foggy at the moment, and she unconsciously blurted out what was on her mind.
"You dog of a man... Luo Sheng... you bastard, take your crazy and vicious childhood sweetheart and get far away from me."
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