Ning Chunlin broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this. If, as his mother said, Lianyao was not punished today, the Prince's Mansion would inevitably become a target for criticism in the future.
It would be better to give her twenty lashes today, and if the matter is brought up in the future, just say that Lian Yao did not mean to offend, and that the Prince's Mansion has already punished her.
Thinking this through, Ning Chunlin squatted down and whispered to Lian Yao:
"Lianyao, you have indeed made a mistake. Just bear with these twenty strokes of the cane."
Having said that, Ning Chunlin stopped looking at Lian Yao, who was staring at him in shock, and stood up to say to the princess:
“Mother, what you said makes sense right now. In that case, let Mother make the decision.”
The princess raised an eyebrow and glanced at Ning Chunlin, asking:
"Chunlin, are you going to take the punishment for her?"
Upon hearing this, Ning Chunlin hurriedly waved his hand in alarm, saying:
"No, no, no, there's no reason for someone to take the punishment for another. Let her suffer it herself."
The princess looked at Lianyao kneeling on the ground with interest after hearing this, then whispered an instruction to the maid standing beside her:
"Find two strong men to beat you up, and hit them hard."
Having received her instructions, Wang Ma hurriedly directed two servants to drag Lian Yao out.
"Brother Chunlin, I don't want to, please save me..."
Lian Yao never expected that Ning Chunlin, who usually doted on her, would so easily give her up now. She also never expected that Ning Chunlin was nothing in the eyes of the princess, so the princess would not care about a prostitute like her who Ning Chunlin liked.
Seeing that things were finished here, and feeling somewhat tired, the princess waved her hand and said:
"Everyone, you can leave now. I need to rest."
Seeing Lian Yao being beaten, Xu Qianqian was naturally delighted. She had been so focused on watching Lian Yao's misery that she hadn't bothered to choose a gift. Now that the princess told them to leave, Xu Qianqian naturally lingered, unwilling to go.
But then the princess turned to her maid and instructed her:
"Put all these things in my private treasury. Remember to leave me a copy of the gift list. I'll have to repay these favors later."
Then he said to the maids beside him:
"Go and send the pink shimmering brocade, the pair of sapphire blue vases with kingfisher feather inlay, the jade ruyi set, the blue crystal bead bracelet, and also the string of eighteen characters with the double happiness pattern, along with the set of twin golden lotus headdresses, to Jinglan Pavilion."
Several maids, having received their orders, hurried off to fetch the rewards.
Seeing this, Mrs. Sun became anxious.
“Mother-in-law, this shimmering brocade is something our Xin’er has her eye on. How could you give it away to someone else?”
The princess glared at Sun Shi angrily when she saw that she dared to question her.
"You ungrateful wretch! Why should you interfere with my arrangements? When did I say I was going to give you anything? I just invited you in to broaden your horizons!"
Xu Qianqian, who was standing to the side, was about to reach for the blue butterfly gilded eight-treasure hairpin in the box when she heard the princess's words and immediately withdrew her hand in fright. She did not want to be punished like Lian Yao.
Sun had never seen the princess angry before, and thought she was just a kind and virtuous mother-in-law. She never expected that the princess could be so frightening when she got angry.
So he quickly lowered his head and admitted his mistake.
"Yes, it was the daughter-in-law who overstepped her bounds."
Ning Chunlin, standing to the side, also felt a little awkward. He was clearly his mother's son, while Sun Shi and the others were his mother's daughters-in-law. Now, Jiang Yuwei, an outsider, was making them look good.
However, given Lian Yao's earlier example, Ning Chunlin naturally dared not speak out against it, and thus hurriedly tried to smooth things over.
"What are you all standing there for? Don't make Mother angry. Hurry up and go! Didn't you hear her say she was tired and needed to rest?"
Seeing this, Sun could only glare at Jiang Yuwei resentfully before picking up Ning Xin and making a move to walk out.
Little did she know that Ning Xin was used to being arrogant and domineering. Now that Ning Wan, whom she had always bullied and trampled underfoot, had snatched her beloved shimmering brocade, she was naturally extremely unhappy.
Ning Xin's eyes darted around, and she resorted to her usual tactic, starting to wail loudly.
"Waaah, Mother, Grandmother doesn't love me anymore! Why does she always give the things I like to that little bitch Ning Wan! Waaah! I want that piece of fabric!"
The princess was furious when she saw Ning Xin calling her precious granddaughter "little bitch" repeatedly. She slapped Ning Xin's left cheek again, making Ning Xin's face symmetrical with a handprint on each side.
After being slapped by the princess, Ning Xin forgot to cry and just stared blankly at the princess, not daring to say a word.
"Now that I'm unwell, Yuwei has been taking care of me day and night, and Ningwan has been by my side the whole time. Now that I'm giving them my own things as a reward, you all stop me. Where were you when I was sick?"
The princess looked around and continued:
"Now that you've seen the gifts sent from the palace, you've all rushed to my courtyard to wait for them. Let me tell you, this manor is still under my management. None of you are allowed to cause any trouble. Get out of here!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ning Chunlin dared not delay any longer. He quickly grabbed one of them with each hand and bowed to the princess, saying:
"Alright, alright, Mother, please don't get angry. Your health is the most important thing. We'll leave right away, we'll leave right away."
Without looking back, he pulled the two of them out of Diancui Courtyard.
Seeing Ning Chunlin's cowardly appearance, Sun couldn't help but glare at him secretly before shaking off his arm and saying coldly:
"I can walk by myself, young master. You should hurry up and check if your precious darling has been beaten to death!"
After saying that, he carried Ning Xin into his own courtyard without looking back.
Seeing that she hadn't gotten any benefits and had instead gotten a scolding, Xu Qianqian was naturally unhappy. She couldn't help but turn her head to look at Diancui Courtyard and muttered softly:
"What's so great about Jiang Yuwei? She just knows a little bit of medicine. Humph, how come I keep running into her wherever I go? Could it be that she's my mortal enemy?"
At this moment, although Ning Chunlin resented Jiang Yuwei for making him lose face in front of these women, he had no intention of saying anything more. He only wanted to go to the front yard as soon as possible to see how Lian Yao was doing.
So he turned around, glared at Xu Qianqian, and shouted:
"Don't cause me any more trouble, go back to your courtyard and stay there!"
After saying that, he walked towards the front hall without looking back.
When Ning Chunlin arrived at the front hall, the group of servants had just finished giving the last beating. They then wiped the sweat from their brows and looked at the unconscious Lian Yao with satisfaction. They had all followed Wang Ma's instructions and given the beating with all their might.
Even if Lian Yao doesn't die now, she's half-dead.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com