Chapter 60: Punishment from Anew

despite not having secretly hidden anything, felt flustered. With the mentality of "comrades don't die, poor Taoists don't die," he double-checked with the servants carrying the boxes: “Open all the...Zhang's face was flushed. Even though her daughter had cried and been hurt, in the end, it seemed like her own daughter was at fault

Upon hearing this from Chen Shi, her face turned dark. By exaggerating such a trivial matter, Chen Shi had elevated it to the level of potentially making her mother-in-law ill, leaving her with no easy way out. If she were to let it go easily, wouldn't that be tantamount to condoning her daughter and disregarding her mother-in-law's health Wouldn't it also imply that she agreed with her daughter's words

She looked at her tearful daughter. She had thought it was Xuanying who was wrong and wanted to punish her severely, but now she discovered that it was Xuanyi who was in the wrong. If she didn't punish her harshly, she wouldn't be able to quell the matter.

As for how to impose heavier penalties

She thought of Gu Xiuming, who was still reflecting on the family rules in the ancestral hall. She thought to herself that Gu Xiuming, as the eldest son of the Houfu, the only legitimate son, had been beaten with twenty-five lashes, forced to copy the family rules a hundred times, and confined to the ancestral hall for a month of reflection.

Having witnessed this before, her daughter once again offended her mother-in-law with her words, bullied her younger sister, and even argued and twisted the facts in front of the elders. She reckoned that her daughter would likely be punished by being sent to the ancestral hall, otherwise, it would seem too lenient.

Zhang narrowed her eyes and said fiercely, "Xuan Yi, you have disappointed your mother so much. You bully your younger sister, speak disrespectfully to your elders, and even brazenly accuse your sister in front of your aunt, trying to shift the blame. This time, I will give you a severe punishment so that you know your mistake. Therefore, you are confined to the ancestral hall to reflect for two hours in front of our ancestors. You must copy the family rules twenty times and be under house arrest for half a month without leaving the courtyard as a form of discipline."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xuanyi was stunned. She never expected her beloved mother to be so heartless. She cried out in pain, "Mother, how could you be so cruel!" Then, she ran away sobbing.

Mrs. Chen secretly drew a breath of cold air. She knew how much Mrs. Zhang loved Gu Xuanyi. It was as if she were a precious jewel, held in the palm of her hand and doted on. Twenty recitations of the family rules, confinement for half a month, weren't even a drop in the bucket. Kneeling before the ancestors for two hours to reflect – that was the real punishment. Those who were punished to kneel in the ancestral hall had committed grave errors, each one ashamed to be so penalized. Mrs. Zhang was truly ruthless.

Zhang shi was afraid that her daughter would get into trouble, so she hurriedly ordered her two maidservants: "Quickly watch over the eldest daughter and take her to the ancestral hall to be punished."

Two maidservants saw that the mistress hadn't yet remembered to punish them, so they hurriedly responded and followed after her, lest the mistress remember later.

Chen gently asked, “Sister-in-law, aren’t you going to take a look Xuanyi was raised as a precious jewel and has never experienced such punishment. Sister-in-law, wouldn’t it be good if you went to comfort her What if she can’t bear it later”

Zhang, upon hearing this, felt a tightening in her chest and shot Chen a cold look. Gritting her teeth while suppressing her anger, she said, "Thank you, Second Sister-in-Law, for your concern. I'll go take a look right now." With that, she strode quickly towards the direction her daughter had left.

Gu Xuanying glanced in the direction that Zhang's mother and daughter had gone, a shiver running down her spine. If it weren't for San-Shi witnessing what had happened and being punished with kneeling in the ancestral hall, copying the family rules, and confinement for half a month, wouldn't she have been the one

Chen looked at her hurried retreating figure, a barely perceptible smile playing on her lips. She then turned to Meng Jinyao and said, "Third Sister-in-law, thank you so much this time. If it weren't for you seeing it, Xuanling, that clumsy and tongue-tied girl would have suffered a great loss."

Meng Jinyao replied softly, "Second sister-in-law, you don't have to be so polite. I'm just respecting the truth. Whether it was Xuanyi who made a mistake today or Xuiling, I won't take sides."

Chen once again expressed gratitude: "No matter what, I still have to thank my third sister-in-law. My third sister-in-law just appeared in time to stop Xuanyi from slapping Xuiling. That child has quite a bit of anger in her. If you hadn't appeared, Xuiling would have been outnumbered and might have been beaten by her. She might even have had her face scratched."

Hearing this, Gu Xiuling was even more afraid. Her stepmother wasn't exaggerating; when her elder sister got angry, she really wouldn't hesitate to act without consequence. She was already at the age where she should be getting married. If her face was ruined, how could she possibly get married Fortunately, her third aunt arrived just in time.

Meng Jinyao didn't want to hear people thanking her over and over. After exchanging a few pleasantries with the Chen family, she took her maid and left.

On the road, thinking of Chen's attitude just now, Meng Jin Yao sighed: "Xuan Ling is a lucky child to have a stepmother like this."

Chunliu agreed with this, opening her lips to respond: "The second young lady is very filial to her stepmother and well-behaved. Aunt Fang was gentle and humble in life, not vying or grabbing anything. She was also obedient to the second madam. Since the mother and daughter both gained the affection of the second madam, the second madam would naturally look after them."

Chunliu paused for a moment, then recalled something and added, “Speaking of Fang shi, she was once the head maid by Old Madam's side. She was deeply loved by Old Madam and caught the eye of the Second Master. He requested her from Old Madam to be his concubine. After the Second Mistress entered the house, she was promoted to a formal concubine position.

Meng Jinyao was slightly taken aback, then quickly understood. One couldn't just ignore the face of a monk, even if they didn't see the Buddha. Coming out of her mother-in-law's courtyard, a concubine favored by her mother-in-law held different meaning than one brought in later. If she were harsh to the former, it would be like slapping her mother-in-law's face indirectly.

Besides, Aunt Fang is a kind and humble woman who doesn't compete or grab. Xuan Ling is also filial and well-behaved. It's just that the stepmother has a narrow mind and can't tolerate others. She wouldn't go to belittle a young girl without a mother to ruin her own reputation. If she treated the young girl better, maybe if the girl married into a good family in the future, she could help her son. After all, things can change over time; thirty years east, thirty years west. It’s best to make fewer enemies for herself.

Looking at Chen's attitude, there seems to be some sincerity in it. It's probably that a young girl has always been so filial to him, and over time, he developed feelings for her.

In this light, Chen's nature isn't bad at all, much better than Zhang's.

A moment later, Meng Jiny Yao suddenly asked, "Second sister-in-law is not bad to Xu Ling, why is Xu Ling so timid"

Chunliu replied, "The eldest lady often bullies the second lady behind her back. The second lady is afraid of being bullied and doesn't dare to get along with the eldest lady privately. I estimate that compared to the eldest lady who is a legitimate daughter, she has been ridiculed by the eldest lady many times, so the second lady is a bit inferior and cowardly."

Meng Jin Yao glanced at her: "You seem to know quite a lot."

Chunliu explained: "I used to serve the old madam. When the two young ladies quarreled, the old madam knew who was at fault first, but she didn't want to intervene in the affairs of the first and second houses, so as not to help the second lady. If the first house blamed the old madam for favoring her, they would only let both parties' parents handle it. However, the second mistress is not easy to bully either. If the two young ladies' matters reached the elders, the second mistress would protect

Meng Jin yao listened and nodded in understanding. Every family has its own difficulties, and there are bound to be some conflicts. Compared to the Gu family, the Meng family was even more troublesome. Although the Gu family had their disagreements, they would never create as much chaos as the Meng family…

It's over, it's all in the past.u just tell my mother-in-law Skip all these formalities I've never touched a drop of water from the washing basin since I was a child. How could I possibly serve someone"Hearing her daughter say such...