Old Man Qiao wavered, hesitant and reluctant to make a decision. He looked at Second Aunt Qiao and Qiao Ayun with a heavy heart.
Although Aunt Qiao was unreasonable and mean-spirited, she was still somewhat perceptive. She immediately cried out to Old Man Qiao in a heart-wrenching voice, "Brother, A-Yun is also your niece. She is only nineteen years old and has two children at home. If she gets punished, what will happen to the family's work?!"
Qiao Zhen retorted, not to be outdone, "Father! Three years ago, they didn't care about my life. Are you going to soften your heart because of that pile of work? Is my life not worth that pile of work, or are the heads of our whole family not worth twenty strokes of the cane?! Father, you are the head of the family, and you will be a third-class Duke of Cheng'en in the future. You can't make a mistake!"
Mrs. Qiao also chimed in, trying to sow discord between Mr. Qiao and his wife. She had long been dissatisfied with the mother and daughter from the second wife's side. "Yes, husband of the child, when A-Zhen first entered the palace, we all thought she wouldn't come back alive. Just think about the suffering A-Zhen endured in the palace? She was beaten and pricked with needles. My daughter is now the Empress. She carries the lives of her entire family on her shoulders. How can they compare?"
Old Man Qiao simply went inside, saying, "I don't care about this! I can't do anything about it!"
Qiao Zhen watched her father enter the house, then raised an eyebrow at her second aunt and Qiao Ayun, looking smug. She bossed the guards around, "What are you all standing there for? Drag them out and give them a beating!"
"Yes." The guard bowed and replied, then dragged the wailing Aunt Qiao and Qiao Ayun out.
Simply being flogged didn't seem to stop their wailing and unrestrained cursing.
Qiao Zhen beckoned, and a guard standing in the courtyard bowed to her. "The louder they shout and the more offensive their insults, the harder they should be beaten. Pass this order down to them as well."
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