"Please give your instructions, sir." Si De replied.
Ye Zelin and Side said, "Take them to receive their punishment. Qiaochu will be given twenty strokes, and the others will be given ten. You will supervise personally."
Si De received the order and said, "Yes."
Everyone was stunned and their faces turned pale.
Qiaochu slowly raised her head and said timidly, "Second Master, I am from Feiyuan."
Ye Zelin said: "Four virtues, Qiaochu is in charge of thirty punishments."
Qiaochu's face suddenly turned pale, and she said, "This servant, this servant is the old general's servant."
"Forty," Ye Zelin said, and he added, "Not a single iota less."
Qiaochu's face turned pale in an instant, and his body collapsed to the ground.
Ye Zelin walked towards Penglai Residence, and Side led them to receive punishment.
When Ye Zelin returned to Penglai Residence, Hua Fushu was writing. He asked her a few questions casually and then said, "You don't teach those gossipers outside a lesson, but let them spread rumors and frame the master."
When Hua Fushu heard this, she knew he already knew what happened in Feiyuan. She said, "They have mouths on their bodies, and they can't be sewn shut. They can't be controlled. If you say let them be, I don't care."
Ye Zelin said, "Just let them gossip. You know this will only indulge them, and it will be difficult to control them in the future."
Hua Fushu said, "I just had a fight with your grandfather. The people who brought this up are most likely from your grandfather's family. If I punish them again, I'll offend your grandfather again. He might even cause trouble again. I'd rather have less trouble than more. I don't care about reputation."
Seeing that she didn't care, Ye Zelin felt a little unhappy. He said, "You don't care, but I do. I have punished them so that they will remember that my wife, Ye Zelin, is not someone they can talk about casually."
Hua Fushu paused with the yellow pear pen in her hand. She looked up at Ye Zelin, her eyebrows gleaming with joy, a smile blossoming on her lips. She was indescribably happy, "Really? You really punished them? My husband is the best!"
Seeing Hua Fushu laughing like an idiot, Ye Zelin laughed too, "Really."
Hua Fushu continued to write, Ye Zelin walked to the desk and took out a copy of "The Analects of Confucius" to read. Sanqiao asked Lizhi to bring a cup of tea to Ye Zelin.
Soon, Cuizhi from Rongliyuan arrived, saying that Madam Ouyang had asked Hua Fushu to come over. Hua Fushu glanced back at Ye Zelin, told Lizhi to take care of the Second Young Master, and followed Cuizhi to Rongliyuan with Sanqiao.
Not long after Hua Fushu left, Side arrived at Penglai Residence and said to Ye Zelin, "Master, the punishment is over. Didn't you see how loudly Qiaochu cried while being tortured? His hands were bloody and mangled. It was terrifying to look at. He passed out right after the torture. I'm afraid his hands won't heal for ten days or half a month. Even if they do heal, they're too shameful to be seen in public."
Ye Zelin warned Side: "You don't need to let the young lady know about Qiaochu's affairs."
Side nodded.
Ye Zelin flipped a page and continued, "This time, Master Kong is unwilling to become his disciple because I'm the son of a general. I think this is just one of the reasons. There must be other reasons why he doesn't want me to become his disciple. Go and find out who else Master Kong has besides Zhiheng's father. How many are there? What are their ages? Are they officials in the court? What are their official positions? In short, the more detailed the better."
Si De immediately went to do the work.
Ye Zelin was well-known in the aristocratic circles of Beijing, not only because he was the son of Ye Shiheng and a major general of the Ye family, but also because he was an exceptional young man. He had both military merit and fame.
However, his achievements only stopped at the level of Juren, and if he wanted to enter the officialdom, he could not stop at Juren.
Therefore, if he wants to take part in the imperial examination next year and pass it, he needs the guidance of a teacher who is familiar with the imperial examination.
This morning he went to visit a great scholar of the literary family. This scholar's surname was Kong. He was the former chief academic officer of the Imperial College. He was very knowledgeable. He had taught countless students, and almost every student who took the imperial examination was on the list.
Confucius taught many students. All the scholars he taught could be his students, but he had very few disciples. At present, he only knew that Ling Zhiheng's father was Confucius' disciple.
He visited Confucius because he wanted to become his disciple.
He wanted to become a disciple of Confucius for two reasons: first, he truly admired Confucius's knowledge and insights. Second, Confucius had many students and a wide network of contacts, and many officials in the court were his students, which would be of great help to him in the future.
In fact, the reason why he took part in the imperial examination was because of the will of His Majesty. His Majesty hoped that he would become a key minister of the Song Dynasty in the future, who could secure the borders with his military skills and stabilize the country with his literary skills.
At the beginning of the year, His Majesty had issued an edict to him, but because of his marriage and the Yuezhou case, the matter of becoming his disciple was delayed until now.
The news of Ye Zelin punishing the servants and maids reached the old general's ears. He was especially shocked when he learned that Qiaochu's hands were beaten to a bloody pulp. "This kid looks like a scholar, but he's really cruel. For a woman, he doesn't take me seriously. He's exactly like his father."
Ye Songyan disagreed. "Grandfather, I don't think Second Brother's actions were entirely due to Second Sister-in-law. Second Brother is a man who values rules. How could Second Brother not punish Qiaochu and the others for fabricating rumors about Sister-in-law? Without rules, there can be no order. If Second Brother doesn't punish them, wouldn't it be encouraging the trend of fabricating stories in the mansion? If it were me, I would also punish Qiaochu and the others."
The old general sneered and said, "You are the only one who can't see through Ye Zelin. That guy is just slapping me in the face because of that girl Hua Fushu."
Ye Songyan pinched the old man's leg, "That's impossible, Grandpa, my second brother doesn't like my sister-in-law, how could it be because my sister-in-law is against you?"
The old general looked at his grandson with disdain, "Yan'er, can't you open your eyes a little? I can see that your second brother likes your second sister-in-law."
Ye Songyan smiled and said, "Grandpa, you don't know that on the way to Wuyin, my second brother and sister-in-law often quarreled. How could my second brother like my sister-in-law? I can see that my sister-in-law likes my second brother."
The old general said with some resentment: "That's because he hid it well."
Ye Songyan said, "Anyway, I don't believe it."
The old general asked, "How about a bet?"
Seeing that his grandfather had little interest in gossiping about other people, let alone making a bet, Ye Songyan readily agreed, "Okay, Grandfather."
The old general took a sip of tea from the teacup and said, "I bet Ye Zelin likes that damn girl Hua Fushu."
Ye Songyan was convinced that he could win this bet, and said proudly, "Then I'll bet that my second brother doesn't like my sister-in-law. Grandfather, I'm sure to win this bet!"
The old general said, "Not necessarily. If I win, Yan'er, you must crush that brat Ye Zelin and dampen his spirit."
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