Chapter 27 Family Law
Qiaozhu was slapped to the ground and continued to cry pitifully, "This servant doesn't know what kind of medicine it is. Steward Zhou said it's a forbidden drug, and that anyone who uses forbidden drugs is a spy. He wants to arrest this servant and Miss and put them in jail..."
Meng Huanyan became even angrier. She walked past her, rushed to the bound martial arts man, and slapped him one after another.
"What kind of drug did you give me? You clearly told me it was 'Pink Fragrance,' how did it become a banned substance? Tell me! Tell me! Why did you frame me..."
The surroundings fell silent, save for the sounds of Meng Huanyan slapping herself and cursing.
The group of江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the martial arts world) men, having failed in their attempt to seduce the woman, were instead met with a barrage of slaps across the face. Feeling utterly humiliated, they exclaimed, "We did indeed give her 'Pink Delight,' so why did it become a forbidden drug in your hands? That's a question for you! Who knows if you switched it or not, and now you're accusing us!"
Unfortunately, they were all tied up and unable to resist, so they could only exchange insults with Meng Huanyan.
The two sides started fighting like dogs, creating a huge mess.
When Meng Huanyan finally stopped, exhausted and panting heavily, she realized something was wrong.
She seems to have said something wrong...
Du Shiyin looked at her and sneered.
Meng Lingge slowly said, "You just admitted that you took the powder from these people and then had Qiaozhen poison it."
"No, I was just confused from anger and talking nonsense..." Meng Huanyan cried out in panic.
"Shut up!" Meng Xingyuan strode forward and slapped Meng Huanyan hard across the face. "You beast! I trusted you so much, and you've done something so despicable!"
The servants present all knew perfectly well which of Meng Huanyan's words were true and which were false, so what was there for him, as her father, not to understand?
Although Meng Xingyuan had never seen Pink Delight, he had heard of its great reputation, as it was the king of aphrodisiacs.
Meng Huanyan actually gave such a lewd drug to the mistress and her elder sister, and then let a group of rude men break into Zhufeng Residence. How despicable are her intentions?
If she succeeds today, the entire Prime Minister's Mansion will be disgraced, Lingge's life will be ruined, and the lady will never be able to hold her head high again.
His wife was already bedridden and paralyzed, and he couldn't bear to say a harsh word to her, yet he almost had his innocence ruined by this illegitimate daughter.
All the reputation and achievements Meng Xingyuan had built up throughout his life would be destroyed in an instant.
Madam and Lingge are both her family! How could this beast do such a thing? How dare he do it?
Meng Xingyuan grew angrier the more he thought about it, wishing he could just kick that beast to death!
On the day of Lingge's wedding, she was already embarrassed and disgraceful, but instead of restraining herself, she went too far and almost ruined the entire Prime Minister's mansion.
If this beast isn't taught a lesson now, who knows what kind of trouble it might cause!
Meng Xingyuan took a couple of deep breaths and pointed at the group of martial arts men, saying, "These thieves broke into the mansion to rob and injure people. I suspect they are repeat offenders. They will now be handed over to the authorities to have their past crimes investigated and dealt with severely."
"Yes!" The guards dragged the men off the ground one by one.
The room suddenly felt much more spacious.
Meng Xingyuan glared fiercely at Meng Huanyan: "The external traitors have been eliminated; now it's time to deal with you, this internal threat."
"Guards, bring the family discipline!"
In order to educate their descendants, government officials and wealthy families all had family rules. If any of the younger generation were unfilial, disloyal, or acted outrageously, they would be brought out and punished in public. This served both to punish the offenders and to warn others.
Meng Xingyuan had three daughters and two sons. He couldn't bear to hit the daughters, and the sons were still young and hadn't done anything seriously wrong, so this was the first time he had asked for family discipline.
The servants were caught off guard, unsure how to invoke the Meng family's rules. Having never seen their master so angry before, they dared not inquire further and could only follow what they had heard about other families' rules.
They hurriedly brought over a few stools, pinned Meng Huanyan down on them, and then hastily found a whip and presented it to her; this was considered to have brought in the family discipline.
Meng Huanyan had never seen anything like this before, and struggled incessantly: "Father, I know I was wrong, please put me down, I'll never dare to do it again... um..."
"Smack!"
The long whip lashed down from the sky, striking Meng Huanyan hard on the back, causing her to let out a cold groan in pain.
"I always thought you were as gentle and virtuous as your mother. Even though you did something shameful three days ago and ruined your elder sister's wedding, I just thought it was because you were willful and impulsive, and confused for a moment. Only today do I realize that you, this beast, have no bottom line and are so vicious! For the sake of the peace of the Meng family, and to prevent you from making any more big mistakes, I must teach you a lesson today!"
"Clap clap clap..."
The long whip lashed down one after another, each lash delivered with fierce force.
Guan Yi'an's expression was subtle; his lips moved, but he ultimately did not speak.
Blood slowly seeped from Meng Huanyan's back. Seeing that begging for mercy was useless, her resentment deepened, and she recklessly cursed, "Go ahead and kill me if you dare! You didn't kill me today, but I'll definitely get my revenge when I get the chance! Father always claims to treat everyone equally, but if Meng Lingge had made a mistake today, would you have hit her? Three days ago, if Meng Lingge had eloped, would you have refused to give her a dowry? I am what I am today because of your favoritism! If you and Du Shiyin treated me and Meng Lingge the same, why would I have to fight for everything? If a child is not taught properly, it is the father's fault. You shouldn't hit me; you should hit yourself first..."
"You beast! How dare you twist the truth like this! Fine, I'll kill you first, then deal with myself..." Meng Xingyuan was almost furious, wondering how he could have given birth to such a wicked child. He used even more force with his hands.
He originally intended to lash her ten or twenty times, but this wretched girl was so stubborn and defiant, publicly arguing and insulting him, that he couldn't stop even if he wanted to. He could only cover his chest with one hand and continue whipping her with the other.
Before long, Meng Huanyan was whipped until her skin was torn and bleeding.
Meng Lingge and Du Shiyin watched coldly. They had no sympathy for the person who had almost killed them. The fact that they didn't kick him when he was down or gloat was already a testament to their good manners and upbringing.
After all, if Meng Huanyan's scheme had succeeded today, their fate would have been even worse.
Only Qiaozhu cried and pleaded, "My lord, please spare the Second Miss. Second Miss, please say no more, I beg you..."
As Meng Huanyan grew weaker from the pain, she struggled to lift her head, tears welling in her eyes. Her gaze swept across everyone's faces before settling on Guan Yi'an.
Guan Yi'an turned his face to one side and stood ramrod straight.
Meng Huanyan couldn't see his expression, so she didn't know if he was reluctant, disdainful, or indifferent.
This man is so cruel.
She was beaten half to death, but Guan Yi'an didn't even glance at her.
She was Guan Yi'an's concubine, and as long as Guan Yi'an pleaded for her, her father would always give her some face.
However, Guan Yi'an refused to say a single word in her defense in order to avoid suspicion and prevent others from arousing his suspicion.
Will she be beaten to death here today?
Guan Yi'an remains unmoved; can such a man still be her support?
They all made the same mistake, so why is she the only one being punished?
On what grounds?
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