Chapter 5 Punishment: His body was covered in purplish-red marks.
When Pei Xiaoyun came in, Mingying was making tea for him.
Through a layer of hazy white mist, he could see the pink skirt again.
She bent down to pour tea, her movements fluent and practiced, as if the beautiful figure at the back door just now was merely his illusion.
Hearing the footsteps, Mingying guessed that he had returned. She placed the hot tea on the table and walked towards him with a smile: "Young master is back. I brewed Osmanthus Dew Tea, and this time I made sure to control the heat perfectly."
As she spoke, she reached out to untie the belt of his outer garment. He was very tall, and she had to stand on tiptoe to touch his neck.
She knew his habits well; he was a clean freak and would always take off his clothes when he came into the room.
Ever since they talked things out that day, Pei Xiaoyun has treated her very well. He doesn't mention his marriage, and she doesn't ask about it either.
When he returned home in the evening, he would often bring her some novel little trinkets and her favorite snacks. When he had free time in the evening, he would teach her to write.
She continued to brew tea and embroider for him as usual, and boldly pestered him to teach her how to paint camellias.
Just like when they were still in Yangzhou, they didn't care about anything.
Pei Xiaoyun did not bend down to make it easier for her to untie her clothes, but stared at her pink ear tips and suddenly reached out to put his arm around her waist.
She's been quite well-behaved lately, doing whatever he says.
If he hadn't caught her today, he would have really thought she would continue to be so obedient.
Mingying gasped in surprise, twisting her waist to avoid him, her face turning half red.
He always loved to tease her, going back and forth every night, but now that it was broad daylight, it was all too absurd.
"Mian'er, where did you go today?"
A cold sound crashing down from above dampened Ming Ying's beautiful thoughts.
She held her breath, her fingertips trembling slightly, and struggled for a while before finally taking off the moon-white cloak.
She turned and put the clothes back in the incense burner. The rosy glow on her face faded, and she looked somewhat pale. "I've been in the courtyard the whole time. I embroidered a sachet for you and brewed some tea."
Pei Xiaoyun didn't make things difficult for her. He summoned servants to serve the meal. When the dishes were on the table, Mingying picked up a piece of cherry meat for him and stood back properly beside him.
Her palms were sticky, as if from cold sweat.
"Sit down, what are you standing for?" Pei Xiaoyun took her hand, noticing its coolness seeping into her bones, and asked, "Are you cold?"
He took in her reaction and witnessed her restless behavior behind his back.
Mingying shook her head; she felt a chill threatening to engulf her.
"Why do I never see you wearing that white coral hairpin I gave you before? Don't you like it?" Pei Xiaoyun didn't even touch her chopsticks.
Mingying clenched her fists, her heart pounding. The excessive tension made her cough involuntarily. After a moment, she said, "This servant... likes it very much, but it's too precious, so I'll put it away."
Why did he suddenly ask about this hairpin? Could it be...?
Pei Xiaoyun's cold gaze lingered on her face, and finally, he let out an enigmatic laugh.
"Kong Qing, bring the person in."
Then, a commotion broke out in the courtyard. Amid the whispers of the servants, a man in brown was lifted off the veranda and slammed heavily onto the steps.
Through the curtain, the man panicked and kept kowtowing, begging for mercy: "Sir, spare my life! Sir, spare my life!"
When Mingying heard the familiar voice, her heart leaped into her throat, and she was about to collapse when Pei Xiaoyun pulled her up.
He pinched her delicate chin: "You embroidered and brewed tea for me? You thought the gifts I gave you were too expensive and put them away? Is that really the case?"
He took excellent care of her; when she lied to him, she was all sweet talk and charming words.
All that pampering he's shown her these past few days has been for nothing.
Mingying knelt down abruptly, just like countless times before when he was angry, she knelt before him and begged.
"Young master, I didn't mean to lie to you..."
How dare she make decisions on her own?
Did she think that just because he had been nice to her for a while, she could really do whatever she wanted?
She felt like an inanimate object; every action she took, from eating and drinking to making a move, required his permission.
Pei Xiaoyun sat down in front of her, looking down at her: "Didn't I tell you that you weren't allowed to see him? You gave the things I gave you to an outsider, are you planning to have an affair with him behind my back and elope with him?"
Mingying tugged at his soft, luxurious robes and moved her knees toward him: "This servant would never dare to have such thoughts! The hairpin is only for treating my foster mother's illness, and I will bring it back in two days."
Undeniably, she admired the man before her, yet she also feared him to the core.
The way he looked at her just now was like the way he would choke her when poison takes effect, sending chills down her spine.
Pei Xiaoyun ignored her sobs.
If she truly knew she was wrong, she shouldn't have ignored his words time and time again.
"Kong Qing, go and chop off his fingers one by one."
Upon hearing this, the man outside the door turned ashen-faced and kowtowed repeatedly, pleading, "Miss Ming, please save me! Please beg this gentleman!"
Mingying had never heard of such a cruel torture as chopping off fingers, and even if the person in front of her was a stranger, she couldn't bear to watch.
"Young master, please spare him! I will never see him again!"
Pei Xiaoyun tried to pull her hand away from her grasp, but her hand was held tightly in her palm.
Her hands were small, fair, and soft and sticky, like a lump of soft cake stuck to me.
His rough fingertips caressed her tearful eyes, which always held an innocent purity, as if she truly knew nothing.
The sounds of caning echoed incessantly, and the people on the benches were torn and bleeding, a sight that terrified outsiders.
The person was carried away, and only the desolate sound of the wind remained in the courtyard.
The man's screams still echoed in Mingying's ears, and her arms trembled uncontrollably.
This was the first time Pei Xiaoyun had tortured someone in front of her. She refused to watch, so he forced her to.
Why are you shaking?
Pei Xiaoyun pulled her slender, bamboo-like arm into his embrace, warning her, "This is the last time."
One last time, he allowed her to lie.
Mingying was thrown into the tent, the sound of her clothes tearing assaulting her eardrums, and she was stripped naked by one hand.
Kneeling.
In the tent, whenever he was angry, he always made her kneel.
She lay sobbing and struggling on the embroidered quilt, but he looked down at her humble and pleading posture. He would not spare her; instead, he would intensify his actions. She was out of breath, but he would not stop.
It looked like they really wanted to kill her.
A red silk ribbon bound her entire body, preventing her from struggling even slightly, so that he could leave his mark on her body.
In his rage, he had peculiar tastes and his methods were always ruthless and unpredictable, as if she were an unforgivable sinner whom he wanted to humiliate and punish in this way.
"pain……"
The words she tried so hard to utter were ruthlessly shattered by him. She looked up, searching for a breath of air, but he pressed her back down hard.
It seemed that beneath him, she would never be worthy to look up.
As she lay dying, she thought of many things.
The year he rescued her from the Moonlit Pavilion, she hid her burgeoning feelings, wanting only to repay him properly, even if it meant working like a slave, it would still be better than living in that filthy place.
But he said that with such beautiful hands, how could she do such rough work as sweeping and cleaning?
He called her into the room, listened to her play the pipa, and asked her to grind ink, make the bed, and brew tea.
His approach made her want to get closer.
But she was just a servant; how could she possibly covet him?
When she was fifteen, he gave her a pair of beautiful earrings, played with her earlobes, and said something to her.
Her face turned red.
He looked at her shy and timid appearance and chuckled, "Has no one taught you?"
She lowered her eyes and whispered, "I will."
The older sister in the building taught her.
At that time, she was terrified at the thought of having to serve men she had never met before. Those men were bad-tempered, old, and ugly, so she hoped she wouldn't grow up so quickly.
Meeting the young master was her good fortune.
Therefore, she didn't have to serve others; she gave her virginity to the person she loved.
But gradually, she discovered that the young master was not always the gentle and refined person he appeared to outsiders. Sometimes he was fierce and cold, and he was not as gentle to her as he was to his beloved.
Just like tonight...
She only loves him, but he can still marry other women, treat her with unpredictable moods, and humiliate her wantonly.
What was she to him? A puppet who couldn't have a temper or thoughts, and could only smile at him?
These kinds of days...
Is this really her fate?
—
When I woke up, there was no one beside me.
Her undershirt was soaked with sweat, clinging tightly to her skin, making her look as if she had just been pulled out of the water. She tried to get out of bed, but her legs felt numb, as limp as water.
She could only suppress her shame and call out for help. Her throat felt like it was filled with rough sand and gravel. After a few shouts, her throat was practically bleeding.
The two young girls who came in to fetch water were terrified by her pitiful appearance and didn't dare to breathe. They put down the bath tub and quickly ran out.
Ling Shuang came in to see her, casually tied her hair up, and couldn't help but exclaim, "My God, how did you get it like this?"
The person in front of me was covered in purplish-red marks, with dense red marks from ribbons wrapped around their arms and thighs. Their eyes were swollen like peaches, and their fair face looked like crumpled paper.
The old man punished someone in the yard last night, and everyone knew it. He was angry with Miss Ming because of that man.
But in the end, Miss Ming was just helping her relatives, so how could she dare to do anything out of line? The old man was being too ruthless.
Mingying remained silent, only leaning against the headboard and crying.
I cried until the sky darkened and a heavy rain began to fall.
The wind, smoke, rain, and dew washed through the window screen.
She was too weak to get out of bed to gather the camellias, and all she heard were repeated "bang bang" sounds.
The wind blew the flowerpot off.
"Hurry up and sweep it up! It's a mess everywhere. The old man will be annoyed when he comes back. Planting this cheap white camellia is just bad luck!"
Just a window away, Mingying could tell that it was Yuzhong instructing the little maid to sweep away the mud and fallen petals.
She silently wiped away her tears.
After this rain, I wonder how many of the flowers outside will survive.
It's lowly and unlucky.
But they are growing very well; they just need a little bit of sunlight.
But the heavens were stingy with giving them light, so they could only wither and die in the rain.
A note from the author:
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Is anyone watching? I'm so lonely [crying][crying][crying]
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