Wuchun's sobs came from behind the handkerchief, while Ranxin and Ranyu, preoccupied with kowtowing, dared not beg for mercy, thus masking Wuchun's cries. If they did, Fukang'an would be even more enraged. The frozen wounds on their foreheads were now reopened, bleeding again, the scabs that had congealed in the morning light melting away with the warm blood.
Sunlight filtered through the curtains, falling sparsely on Fukang'an's moon-white robe, making his face, as cold as snow-capped mountains and jade, appear even more aloof.
After a long while, Wu Chun's sobs, broken and intermittent due to exhaustion, continued like a fine drizzle. Yan Ning looked at her; she wore a moon-blue cheongsam, her hair adorned with countless pink and jade beads, her face half-hidden behind a white veil. Yan Ning couldn't help but wonder how a woman could evoke such pity when she was grieving.
Fukang'an was also disturbed by Wuchun's crying. The servants in the manor had always been prone to bullying the weak and favoring the strong. After he left the manor, although Yan Ning would not bully Wuchun and her son, the servants' sarcasm and ridicule were still extremely difficult to endure.
He slammed the covered bowl heavily onto the table, the splashed tea water rolling like round beads on the rosewood surface.
"Guards, give Ranxin and Ranyu twenty strokes of the cane and expel them from the Fucha Manor! From now on, if anyone dares to spout nonsense in the manor, they too will be expelled from the Fucha Manor with them!"
His voice was devoid of emotion, as if he were only punishing two prisoners.
Ranxin and Ranyu stopped, their heads bobbing on the ground. They looked up. The violent shaking of their heads had wiped away the blood that was gushing from their foreheads, staining their youthful faces.
They pleaded earnestly, "Please, General, don't drive us out of the manor!"
Their voices were filled with sorrow, tears streaming down their faces, as they uttered these words incessantly.
Yan Ning was about to speak when her hand was grabbed by Fu Kang'an beside her. He looked at Yan Ning expressionlessly.
Her waist-length hair cascaded down as she turned her head, resembling layers of dark clouds drifting across the moon. She was already a married woman and should have styled her hair in a bun, but she disliked the need for gold and silver hairpins to secure it, the heavy weight of which made her neck ache. Thus, Fukang'an permitted her rudeness at the Jian Gong Zhai, but this tolerance was something he couldn't extend to others, especially not to Ranxin and Ranyu kneeling below.
Zhao Xing, along with the two servants who had just brought Ranxin and Ranyu, dragged Ranxin and Ranyu, who had begged for mercy, out of the house.
From the courtyard of Jian Gong Zhai came the cries of Ran Xin and Ran Yu begging for mercy, while maids, servants, and young men from various courtyards gathered outside the gate.
Zhao Xing raised his voice, so that all the servants inside and outside the courtyard could hear him, "The general has ordered that if anyone dares to spread rumors and cause trouble in the manor again, the punishment will not be as light as caning or being expelled from the manor!"
Zhao Xing's words reached Yan Ning's ears through the curtain. She knew that as orders were passed down through the ranks, they lost their authority. Zhao Xing had no choice but to emphasize the severity of the punishment in order to gain the trust of everyone in the household.
With the curtains drawn, Yan Ning couldn't see clearly how Ran Xin and Ran Yu were being beaten, but from their trembling pleas for mercy, she could tell that twenty strokes would be enough to leave their skin torn and bleeding.
Even though she wanted to plead for them, the gossip and slander they spread behind her back piled up between her and Fukang'an. Whether Wuchun gave birth to a son or a daughter in the future, it was none of their business to criticize her, and how could Fukang'an tolerate others bullying his wife and children!
If Wu Chun pleads for mercy, Fukang'an will definitely keep Ranxin and Ranyu.
Yan Ning looked at Wu Chun, "They're talking nonsense and have upset Aunt An. A beating to appease her anger is enough. Keep them in the manor, and I will forbid them from saying another word about Aunt An!"
Wu Chun's belly was already bulging high, like a small hill. She could only lean against the back of the chair with cushions on it, looking at Yan Ning with a sidelong glance.
"I have neither the general's favor nor the noble air of a lady. If these servants do not respect me and the children in the manor, in the long run, must I and the children hang ourselves with three feet of white silk to receive even a shred of honor?"
She had only spoken out of spite, but as soon as she said it, Fukang'an looked at her with a sharp, cold gaze, silencing her.
In the silence, the servants had already dragged Ranxin and Ranyu to the gate of the mansion, intending to drive them out.
Normally, Ranxin and Ranyu only tended to the flowers and plants at Jianguozhai and didn't have much contact with Yan Ning. But they were, after all, servants of Jianguozhai, servants of Yan Ning. Wuchun's intentions this time were not what they seemed.
Yan Ning genuinely felt sorry for Ran Xin and Ran Yu. They were bondservants, bought and educated and served in the Fucha household when they were seven or eight years old. Now that they were being driven out of the mansion, they would surely suffer the ridicule of their relatives and neighbors.
Zhao Xing had already sent someone to the steward to collect the money for their medical treatment, but once that money left the Fucha residence with them, it was uncertain whether it would actually be used for treatment. If treatment was delayed and the injuries developed chronically, the lives of these two young women in the prime of their lives would be ruined.
Yan Ning was somewhat angry. She frowned as she stood up, pulled her hand back from Fukang'an's, and stood outside the main room. The servant had already dragged Ran Xin and Ran Yu to the courtyard gate, leaving two long white streaks on the asphalt slabs behind them.
She stopped the four servants who were carrying Ranxin and Ranyu as they tried to cross the courtyard threshold, "Stop! Take them to the side room to recover!"
Seeing that the servant, though standing at the courtyard gate, was still looking at her and dared not obey orders, Yan Ning cleared her throat. "This is the general's order!"
At this moment, Zhao Xing was standing in the courtyard, watching the servants pack up the instruments of torture. He immediately glanced at Yan Ning, hesitating whether he should listen.
The four servants standing at the courtyard gate were also looking back and forth at Zhao Xing and Yan Ning's expressions. One was the general's confidant, and the other was the general's darling. They did not know whose order was the general's true intention.
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