Chapter 27: Kneel And Remember

Lu Zijin thought for a moment, then spoke again.

“Punishing you like this alone is meaningless.

Qing Zhi, go and summon everyone in the residence to my courtyard.

Let everyone see the consequences of disrespecting me and the master.

Only then will these treacherous people remember their place.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

Qing Zhi quickly dispatched the servants and maids in the courtyard to summon everyone.

Lu Zijin’s courtyard was extremely large, capable of holding over a hundred people.

In less than half an hour, every maid and servant boy in the residence, even the stable boys tending the horses, had all arrived.

At first, the crowd was a bit noisy and disorganized.

But when they saw the few people lying on the ground with ashen faces, the servants immediately fell silent.

Qing Zhi called out from the front, “Everyone, line up in rows and be quiet.

If you want a taste of the board, there are plenty right here.”

The crowd immediately quieted down.

They looked at each other, some unsure of the current situation.

Only those who lived near Jingchen Courtyard knew what had just happened.

The steward, Huang Min, also arrived with the four young servants who worked for him.

He glanced around and broke into a cold sweat.

Especially upon seeing Cao Qiushuang and Yun Xiang lying on the ground, the steward immediately stepped forward, knelt, and begged Lu Zijin for forgiveness.

After kneeling, he immediately kowtowed three times to Lu Zijin and Wei Lan, then spoke, “It is my failure to manage the household strictly.

I beg the Young Lady and the Master to punish me.”

Lu Zijin cast a faint glance at him and said, “Rise.

Today’s matter is not entirely your fault.

You have worked hard this past year.”

“This old servant dares not.

I am ashamed, deeply ashamed!

I beg the Young Lady to punish me.”

The steward dared not rise and continued kneeling, head bowed.

Lu Zijin stood up slowly, stretching her legs.

She paced a few steps casually and said calmly, “After my elder brother passed away, for this past year, the Lu residence has been like a piece of fat meat stared at by everyone.

Everyone wanted a piece.

To keep the Lu family’s foundation from being destroyed in my hands, I have been out running around every single day, trying to stabilize the external businesses.”

Lu Zijin sighed and continued, “I am truly grateful to you all.

I thank you for not leaving when the Lu residence was in turmoil.

Especially you, Steward Huang.

I know how difficult this year has been for you.

Just stabilizing the situation within the residence was no easy feat.”

Her gaze swept over the hundred-plus servants below.

“However, this past year, I haven’t had the time to manage the household, leading many to become lax and undisciplined, showing disrespect to the masters of this residence.

Worse still, some are pawns planted by others to spy on me.

Since they have dared to bully me to my face, I naturally cannot sit idly by.

Today, we will settle all accounts properly.”

Several people in the crowd clearly could not stand still.

Tian Da, in particular, broke out in a cold sweat, his heart pounding with guilt, his entire body trembling slightly.

Didn’t the young lady ignore all this before?

Why the sudden crackdown on internal affairs?

Lu Zijin pointed at the people lying on the ground and said, “Cao Qiushuang slandered the master and disrespected the master.

I have given him sixty strokes of the board.

As for Li Zhufeng and the others, as matrons in the master’s courtyard, not only did they fail to consider the master’s interests, they even slandered her.

They too have received their punishment of twenty strokes each.

Oh, and the remaining eight people, for blindly following others and disrespecting the master, will each receive twenty strokes as well.”

“Yes!”

“Young Lady, spare us!

Master, spare us!

We dare not do it again!”

“We truly dare not!”

Twenty strokes sounded like a small number, but it was enough to flay a person’s back open.

Especially since the guards, now eager to prove their loyalty to Lu Zijin, struck with extreme ferocity, each trying to outdo the other, putting all their strength into every blow.

The guards, well attuned to the situation, had already tied two people to the long benches and picked up their staves to begin the punishment.

Scream after scream echoed through the courtyard.

Among the maids and servants below, some were directly frightened into tears, others went weak in the knees and knelt down.

Seeing those in front kneel, others simply followed suit, until finally, over a hundred people were kneeling in a dense, black mass across the courtyard.

Lu Zijin didn’t say much else, only casting a faint glance over them.

The courtyard was deathly silent, save for the dull thud of wooden staves striking torn flesh, accompanied by the screams and pleas for mercy from the punished guards.

After two people finished receiving their punishment, the next two were brought up.

This continued until all eight had received their twenty strokes.

By then, over a dozen people lay on the ground in the courtyard.

Aside from Yun Xiang, every single one of them had their backs flayed open.

Lu Zijin glanced at the guards and ordered, “Lock the courtyard gate.

Have a few people stand guard.

Until today’s reckoning is finished, no one leaves this courtyard.”

“Yes, Young Lady!”

The guards conferred briefly, and six of them went to close the gate, standing guard with their swords drawn to prevent anyone from escaping.

The kneeling maids and servants were terrified, especially those with guilty consciences.

The servants from Fuqu Pavilion were also scared, not daring to lift their heads.

If the two matrons from their own courtyard were beaten like that, what would happen to them?

***

Lu Zijin sat back down in her chair, her face expressionless.

“Qianxue, you will read the names.

I am tired.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

Qianxue pulled a pre-prepared sheet of paper from her sleeve and waited for Lu Zijin’s instruction.

Lu Zijin’s gaze slowly swept over the kneeling servants below and she spoke.

“After my elder brother passed away, people have continuously been bought off by outsiders.

There are quite a few in this residence now collecting two wages, aren’t there?

Taking my Lu family’s silver while selling Lu family information to earn silver from outside.

You all have quite the scheme.”

She sighed and continued, “But I am not so easily fooled.

What I despise most are those who are disloyal to me.

Such dogs are of no use to me.

Qianxue, begin reading the names.

Those whose names are called, tie them up.

One hundred strokes each.”

“Yes!”

The guards responded with fervor.

Qianxue unfolded the paper in her hand and began reading the names on it.

“Li Xu, from the accounts office.”

A man in the crowd immediately buried his head, not daring to look up.

Everyone around him, however, turned to stare at him.

The guards rushed over immediately, grabbed Li Xu, and dragged him before Lu Zijin and Wei Lan.

Li Xu was so frightened he nearly fainted.

One hundred strokes – that was a death sentence.

He quickly cried out, “Young Lady, spare me!

Young Lady, spare me!

I know nothing!

I know nothing!”

Lu Zijin smiled at him. “Is that so?

People from Liu Ji Grain Store approached you many times.

You even visited Boss Liu’s home several times, staying for entire afternoons, sometimes not returning until evening.

What were you doing at Boss Liu’s home?

Surely not just chatting?”

Lu Zijin couldn’t be bothered with more nonsense.

She waved her hand, signaling the guards to start beating him.

Li Xu hadn’t expected Lu Zijin to know everything.

When they tied him to the bench, he was so frightened he wet his pants.

The two guards assigned to beat him found him even more despicable and struck his back with savage force using the thick wooden staves.

“Ah!

It hurts!

Young Lady, spare me!

I am an animal!

I betrayed the family!

I truly dare not do it again, Young Lady!

I beg you!

A hundred strokes will really kill me…”

Li Xu’s wails were unending.

Lu Zijin’s gaze turned coldly towards him, as if telling him that this time, death was exactly the point.

Scream after scream continued in the courtyard, gradually shifting from heart-wrenching to silence.

Li Xu had been beaten unconscious, and it was only after forty-something strokes.

A quick-witted guard fetched water to splash on him, waking him, and then the beating continued.

This Li Xu, as the residence’s accountant, had often tried to manipulate the internal accounts.

However, there was more than one accountant in the residence.

Every account had to be calculated by three accountants to prevent tampering.

So, although he had been bought off, he hadn’t actually had a chance to do anything yet.

The sound of beating filled the courtyard.

By the eightieth stroke, even splashing water couldn’t wake him.

Seeing that Lu Zijin remained seated without a word, they picked up their staves and continued.

They understood now: today was the young lady’s reckoning for the past year.

Anyone who dared to incur her wrath today was truly courting death.

By the ninetieth-something stroke, one of the guards checked Li Xu’s breathing.

He panicked and looked at Lu Zijin.

“Young Lady, he… he has no breath.”

Lu Zijin’s expression remained unchanged, calm as still water.

“What’s the panic?

If he has no breath, throw him aside.

We’ll deal with them all together later.”

“Yes.”

The guards untied the ropes and carried him over to an empty space, dumping him there.

Qianxue picked up the paper again, ready to read the second name.

Those with guilty consciences below were now shaking like leaves.

Some dared not make a sound but were already crying, tears streaming down their faces.

This was truly beating people to death.

One young servant boy couldn’t take it anymore.

He crawled out from the crowd, trembling.

“Young Lady, spare me!

It’s all my fault.

But I’m just a gardener in the residence.

I didn’t reveal any useful information to them.

Young Lady, spare me!

Young Lady, spare me!”

Lu Zijin’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

“My mouth is a bit dry.

Prepare tea for me and the master.

This residence is truly riddled with holes.

It seems the beating will continue for a while.”

“Yes.”

Qing Zhi quickly sent someone to prepare tea.

Seeing the guards standing stupidly below, Lu Zijin said, “What are you waiting for?

Continue.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

Several guards immediately tied the gardener to the bench, and then the relentless beating of flesh began anew.

This time, two different guards took over.

Beating someone a hundred times was physically demanding, so the guards took turns.

Wei Lan watched the scene before her without any feeling of discomfort.

Instead, she admired Lu Zijin’s decisiveness.

She managed the external shops alone while simultaneously finding the time and energy to sort out the internal affairs of the residence, all while having to guard against these people scheming against her.

It seemed being a wealthy heiress wasn’t so easy either.

Wei Lan took a sip of tea.

It was sweet, still with honey added.

Wei Lan couldn’t help but drink a few more sips, then handed the cup to the young maidservant beside her.

Lu Zijin did the same.

One by one, people were dragged out.

The screams were endless.

The sky was already growing dark.

Lu Zijin had lanterns lit, illuminating the courtyard as bright as day.

Beside her, Qianxue read the final name, the sixth one on the list.

“Tian Da.”

The moment Qianxue’s voice fell, Tian Da darted out from the crowd.

He ran straight for the gate, but people were blocking it.

So he ran wildly around the courtyard, trying to evade the guards’ pursuit.

The five before him had all been beaten to death.

Tian Da didn’t know where he found the courage.

At that moment, he only thought of escape.

He clawed at the courtyard wall, trying to climb over, but the wall was too high, and he couldn’t reach it.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

With a loud shout, a guard drew his sword and slashed Tian Da across the back.

Several other guards then pinned him hard against the wall.

They dragged him to the bench and tied him down.

“Young Lady, spare me!

Young Lady, spare me!

It wasn’t me!

I didn’t betray you!

You must have made a mistake, you must have made a mistake!

I don’t want to die!

Let me go!

I beg you, let me go…”

***

At this moment, Yun Xiang, lying on the ground, began to tremble.

She had only been disrespectful to the master a few times and received a hundred slaps.

If the young lady found out they had been telling the young master about the residence’s affairs, would she be beaten to death?

Yun Xiang trembled, trying to comfort herself.

The young lady and the young master grew up together.

Even if she found out, she should show them some leniency.

After all, although the young lady slapped her face, at least she had spared her the beating.

Compared to everyone else, her punishment was the lightest.