Chapter 276: Chapter 276: I Have Never Suffered Such an Insult
"Aunt, what you just said is truly chilling. What do you mean, ’it’s not like anything happened to us’? Were you hoping something would?" Wei Jinxiu said angrily.
"That’s not what I meant... Of course, Jinyi was in the wrong, and I will definitely punish her. But, seeing as nothing serious happened to you, can’t you let her off this once?" Seeing everyone looking at her with condemning eyes, Lady Xu felt the pressure and was forced to change her tune.
"If Cousin-in-law Wan’er hadn’t been quick-witted and hidden with me in time, Wei Jinyi would have been responsible for two deaths!" Wei Jinxiu retorted loudly. "Wei Jinyi brought strange men into the estate to try and ruin our reputations. In my opinion, even drowning her in a pig cage wouldn’t be going too far!"
Lady Xu’s face turned white when she heard the words "drowning in a pig cage." "Y-you, you little brat, stop being so alarmist! How could it be that serious?"
"How is it not serious? A young woman’s reputation is her life! If our reputations are ruined, how can we live with ourselves? Isn’t Wei Jinyi trying to take two lives? I say Wei Jinyi should be paraded through the streets in shame, then drowned in a pig cage! If you don’t agree, Aunt, then we’ll go to the Government and ask them to judge!" Wei Jinxiu’s voice rang with conviction.
Hearing this, Zhi Wan truly began to admire the little girl.
She may be young, but she has more backbone than anyone. Everything she says is perfectly reasoned and strikes right at Lady Xu’s weak spots.
With that thought, she immediately chimed in, "What Jinxiu said is what I want to say as well. Wei Jinyi tried to harm the two of us today. We must report this to the Government!"
Lady Xu, who had originally wanted to smooth things over, saw their resolute attitude and quickly said, "It’s not that serious. I’ll have someone fetch Jinyi right now to kneel and apologize to you. And I’ll punish her by making her kneel in the ancestral hall!"
"Is that all?" Zhi Wan frowned.
Wei Jinxiu said loudly, "That’s just a slap on the wrist. I think we should still report it to the Government!"
Lady Xu said through clenched teeth, "Fine! I will also invoke the family rules and have her beaten twenty times with the paddle!"
Zhi Wan and Wei Jinxiu exchanged a look, and finally, they gave a reluctant nod. "Well then, for the sake of the elders’ reputations, we’ll... we’ll let it be so."
Lady Xu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and pretended to send someone to find Wei Jinyi. As long as she couldn’t be found, she’d have an excuse to delay.
However, just as she finished giving the order, she saw Nanny Fang approaching with two burly matrons, dragging a young woman with them.
When she saw clearly who the young woman was, Lady Xu’s vision went black, and she nearly fainted.
"Madam, we have brought Fifth Miss Wei!" Nanny Fang stepped forward and announced loudly.
It turned out that earlier, when Lady Wei had ordered someone to restrain Wei Jinyi, Nanny Fang had slipped away unnoticed with a few people to find her.
Seeing Wei Jinyi tightly bound and gagged with a rag, Zhi Wan and Wei Jinxiu almost burst out laughing.
Zhi Wan secretly gave Nanny Fang a thumbs-up.
Nanny Fang proudly puffed out her chest.
’Bully their Miss? Not on her watch!’
Lady Wei looked at Lady Xu with a smirk. "Sister-in-law, you should hurry up and deal with Jinyi. Don’t go back on your word in front of everyone."
Lady Xu clutched her chest. "Jinyi... she’s still your niece, after all. How could you let someone tie her up like this?"
"I may see her as my niece, but does she see me as her aunt? She is morally corrupt and has done something to disgrace the family. As the mistress of this household, Sister-in-law, you have an even greater duty to punish her severely, to serve as a warning to others!" Lady Wei said in a measured, unhurried tone.
Old Madam Wei, terrified that the guests would learn of the scandal, heard this and urged with a frown, "Eldest daughter-in-law, since Jinyi has done wrong, punish her quickly. Don’t let us become a laughingstock!"
Lady Xu was filled with hatred, but at this point, she had no other choice.
She said to Wei Jinyi, "Everyone knows about the disgraceful thing you’ve done. Hurry up and kneel to Zhi Wan and Jinxiu and apologize. After you’ve received your punishment, go to the ancestral hall and repent properly."
Tears streamed down Wei Jinyi’s face as muffled whimpers escaped her lips. She was seething with hatred.
In all her life, she had never suffered such a humiliation.
Today was supposed to be her day to sit back and watch Zhi Wan and Wei Jinxiu become laughingstocks, but she never imagined things would turn out like this.
She had planned everything so perfectly.
As soon as those three men started struggling with Zhi Wan and Wei Jinxiu, she was going to lead all the guests from the front courtyard over.
To be safe, she had even posted her personal maid at the entrance to keep watch.
But she never got the report from her maid. Instead, she heard that three thieves had been caught on the estate.
When she heard about the three thieves, she immediately thought of the three men she had brought in.
She knew something had gone terribly wrong and was about to hide, but Nanny Fang and her people found her, tied her up, and brought her to this garden.
"Are you wondering why your maid, Yihong, never reported back to you?" Zhi Wan suddenly asked.
Wei Jinyi froze, a bad premonition creeping into her heart.
The others also looked at Zhi Wan in confusion.
Zhi Wan didn’t speak, but instead raised her voice and called out, "Shuang’er, bring her in."
The next moment, Shuang’er and Wei Jinxiu’s maid, Yunxiang, came over, dragging a maid with disheveled hair.
Seeing the maid’s face clearly, Wei Jinyi’s face went pale with shock.
’Yihong really had fallen into their hands.’
Shuang’er and Yunxiang shoved Yihong down next to Wei Jinyi.
Yihong, trembling, huddled close to Wei Jinyi. "Miss, I... they found me..."
"Shut up!" Wei Jinyi hissed.
Zhi Wan gave her a smirk, then pointed to Yihong and explained to the crowd, "This maid was posted at the garden entrance, waiting to act as a lookout for Wei Jinyi. But unexpectedly, she saw Jinxiu and me walking out. When she tried to run, our maids subdued her."
Hearing this, everyone finally understood what had happened.
"Insolence!" Old Madam Wei was furious.
Of course, she wasn’t angry that Wei Jinyi had tried to harm Zhi Wan; she was angry that Wei Jinyi was too incompetent to succeed and only good at messing things up.
Lady Xu’s face was grim. She ripped the gag from Wei Jinyi’s mouth and urged, "It’s come to this. Hurry and apologize to them. Beg for their forgiveness."
Feeling utterly wronged, Wei Jinyi shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "I won’t..."
"Go now!" Lady Xu had lost all patience and snapped harshly.
Her daughter had caused her to lose face today, and she was not happy about it either.
In the end, weeping and sobbing, Wei Jinyi knelt and apologized to Zhi Wan and Wei Jinxiu. She was also given twenty strokes with the paddle.
While she was being beaten, Wei Jinxiu even "thoughtfully" helped count the blows. "One, two, three, four... twenty!"
Wei Jinyi was beaten until her skin split open. As she was carried away, she glared at Zhi Wan and Wei Jinxiu with a venomous look in her eyes.
"Were we too merciful to her?" Wei Jinxiu said, still fuming. "We should have just reported it to the Government!"
"Sister-in-law, I hope this is the first and last time. If Wei Jinyi doesn’t turn over a new leaf and dares to have such filthy ideas again, then don’t blame me for disregarding your and Eldest Brother’s reputations!" Lady Wei warned gravely.
Lady Xu was furious, but she still nodded. "Rest assured. If there is a next time for Wei Jinyi, I will not plead for her. You can do with her as you please!"
Only then did Lady Wei let the matter drop.
Soon after, the three men were also hauled off to the Government.
With the matter resolved, the group of ladies was about to leave the garden when, at that moment, two men walked out of a nearby pavilion.
Seeing this, Zhi Wan was completely stunned.
’Why hadn’t they noticed someone was in the pavilion before?’
