Chapter 234
After Zheng Meimei stood half a meter away from Lu Youning, she reached out and placed her hand on Lu Youning's chest.
"How come it's you?" Lu Youning snapped back to reality, his face darkening instantly.
"I..." Zheng Meimei hadn't yet recovered from the romantic atmosphere when she was met with a furious roar, "Get out!"
Immediately afterwards, she was struck hard in the chest, and Zheng Meimei crashed through the door and flew out, landing heavily on the ground.
"Dr. Zheng!" Jiao Xiongfei and the others waiting in the courtyard exclaimed in surprise, and quickly stepped forward to help her sit up. However, Zheng Meimei suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood and then collapsed softly into Jiao Xiongfei's arms.
It felt like being hit hard in the chest with a heavy hammer. Zheng Meimei felt suffocating pain, and her internal organs felt like they were on fire, as if they had been shattered.
"Who let her in?" A voice as cold as ice rang out in the courtyard.
Everyone was startled and quickly looked up, only to see Lu Youning slowly stepping out of the house.
He exuded a strong killing intent, and the coldness in his eyes was almost freezing. As he walked into the courtyard, the temperature in the entire courtyard suddenly dropped to zero.
Jiao Xiongfei and the others were astonished, and a deep unease spread from the bottom of their hearts. They had never seen a general like this before. He was like a demon who had walked out of hell. At this moment, in the general's eyes, they were not comrades-in-arms or subordinates, but mortal enemies with a blood feud.
Panic and fear enveloped them; everyone fell silent, unconsciously lowering their heads and avoiding Lu Youning's gaze.
For a moment, the entire courtyard was completely silent, and the atmosphere was frighteningly oppressive.
"Is it you?" Lu Youning asked again.
The emotionless voice, the low tone, was like a death warrant, sending chills down the spines of Jiao Xiongfei and his group of personal guards.
They looked at each other, none of them daring to utter a sound. They knew that admitting they had brought the person in would likely lead to dire consequences.
Seeing everyone with their heads down and silent, Lu Youning sneered, "None of them? Then she must have come in on her own?"
As Lu Youning spoke, Jiao Xiongfei's body gradually stiffened.
Lu Youning's voice was like a heavy hammer, each word striking Jiao Xiongfei's heart.
"Unauthorized trespassing in the general's residence is a crime punishable by death!"
"No!" Jiao Xiongfei exclaimed, finally gritting his teeth and slamming his knees heavily on the ground. "General, please forgive me! It was I who brought Doctor Zheng in. I thought your wound hadn't been treated yet..."
"You're asking for it!" Before Jiao Xiongfei could finish speaking, Lu Youning kicked him away.
Jiao Xiongfei smashed the stone table behind him, spitting out more blood than Zheng Meimei.
However, he dared not lie there motionless like Zheng Meimei. He quickly got up, ignoring the blood at the corner of his mouth, and kowtowed repeatedly, "General, please forgive me! General, please forgive me!"
The other guards also knelt on the ground, shouting "General, please forgive us!" and banging their heads against the ground.
No one expected Lu Youning to get so angry this time.
Zheng Meimei struggled to lie on the ground, trying to look up at Lu Youning. All her admiration and affection had been shattered by that slap, leaving only fear and pain in her heart.
"Those who make mistakes must be punished; everyone will receive 100 lashes!"
Lu Youning's voice was calm, while Jiao Xiongfei and the others cried out in grief, "General!"
"General, spare my life! I will never dare to do it again!"
One hundred strokes of the military rod were meant to kill them; even if they were made of iron, they couldn't withstand it, but they didn't want to die!
Jiao Xiongfei knelt down and approached Lu Youning, pleading, "General, spare my life! I know I was wrong!"
Beside them, the sound of kowtowing grew louder and louder.
Who would have thought that simply bringing someone into the general's mansion, though for other purposes, also had a legitimate excuse? They thought that even if the general got angry, he would only scold them a few times, but in the end, it would cost them their lives.
The generals of the past were too easy to talk to, making them forget what it means for military orders to be absolute and what it means to have the wrath of a god of war.
At this moment, Jiao Xiongfei was filled with regret and trembling with fear. He desperately begged for mercy.
Unfortunately, it was all in vain.
"Guards! Execute him!"
Lu Youning coldly shouted, and in the blink of an eye, someone brought benches and military sticks. They put Jiao Xiongfei and more than a dozen other personal guards on the benches and immediately began to execute them.
The sound of heavy wooden sticks striking flesh rang out immediately.
The entire courtyard was filled with the painful wails of Jiao Xiongfei and others.
The executioners showed no mercy, striking with all their might. Their faces were cold and stern, and their chilling aura was no less than that of Lu Youning.
Soon, Jiao Xiongfei and the others' lower bodies were beaten to a bloody pulp.
Each subsequent fall of the wooden stick produced a suffocatingly dull thud, accompanied by splattering blood.
At this point, Jiao Xiongfei and the others were mostly exhaling and barely breathing.
They no longer had the strength to wail, and could only groan.
However, this muffled groan was even more chilling than a loud roar.
Born under the red flag and raised in a peaceful era, Zheng Meimei witnessed such a cruel and terrifying scene for the first time.
Although she had often faced wounded patients in the past, she had seen wounds even more severe than those on Jiao Xiongfei and others now.
But she knew it was caused by war, and she wasn't afraid.
But at this moment, she clearly realized that in ancient times, human life was worthless, and ordinary people without status could be easily killed.
Even the smallest mistake can be fatal.
Zheng Meimei couldn't stop trembling all over; the beautiful image she had of Lu Youning was completely shattered.
The inexplicable sense of superiority she had felt since transmigrating, along with her unfounded confidence and courage that were beyond the reach of ordinary people, finally dissipated at this moment.
She began to face the times and everyone around her squarely.
Thinking about all the reckless things she had done in the past, she suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, especially this time, she finally realized that she was courting death.
It was like a sudden enlightenment, but unfortunately, she seemed to have realized it too late.
Will she survive this time?
As she became more lucid, she grew increasingly fearful of Lu Youning.
As she watched the batons fall continuously and saw the miserable state of Jiao Xiongfei and the others, her body trembled even more violently.
Suddenly, Jiao Xiongfei roared hoarsely, "General, one person does things...one person takes responsibility! It was my decision to bring Doctor Zheng here, it has nothing to do with...the brothers!"
"Please, General... punish me alone! Spare... my brothers!"
Jiao Xiongfei strained to open his eyes wide. They couldn't fight anymore, they really couldn't fight anymore. If they continued, they would surely die, and even if they were lucky enough to survive, they would be crippled.
He came up with the idea, so let him take the blame alone!
Jiao Xiongfei looked at Lu Youning with hope, but at that moment, it was hard to tell whether the tears in his eyes were sweat or tears. In any case, he couldn't see Lu Youning's expression clearly.
Even though he couldn't see clearly, he could still feel the coldness emanating from Lu Youning.
The silence, the oppressive silence, suffocated Jiao Xiongfei.
He finally broke down in tears, filled with regret! He truly regretted it! If he could do it all over again, he wouldn't dare do it again even if he had a thousand or ten thousand lives!
How could he have lost his mind? How could he be such an idiot? He's the biggest idiot in the world!
Perhaps inspired by Jiao Xiongfei, others who still had the strength also wept bitterly, but most of them were those who were almost out of breath; they remained silent, as if they were already dead.
Just as Jiao Xiongfei and the others were in despair, the old steward came into the courtyard and loudly reported, "General, there is a young lady outside the gate requesting an audience!"
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