bayedsolid Chapter 446 Punishment
Chapter 446 Punishment
"Has anyone been here today?" Zhuang asked suspiciously.
"Madam, no one has come to visit."
"Oh, that's good."
When Zhuang heard that no one came to complain, she immediately felt relieved, because she knew that the news would not come so quickly.
"Don't worry, Yanli, nothing will happen."
Zhuang seemed to comfort her son, and at the same time she comforted herself.
She knew that the Zhou family was a little different from other farmers and she shouldn't have provoked them.
But for the lifelong happiness of her son, she, as a mother, must give it a try. If the other party is willing, wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?
The mother and son walked happily towards the inner courtyard. As soon as they reached the door, they saw a long bench placed in the inner courtyard. It was placed squarely in the middle of the courtyard, and looked quite intimidating.
"Mom, father-in-law, what happened? You don't look well."
Zhuang walked forward cautiously and quickly, pushed the nanny beside Mrs. Niu aside, and began to serve her parents-in-law.
"How dare you ask us? How dare you do that? Get down on your knees!"
Magistrate Niu slammed the table so hard that the teacup on the table shook three times and a few drops of tea splashed out.
Zhuang was frightened and knelt down tremblingly.
"Grandma, Grandpa, if you have anything to say, please speak slowly and don't get angry. Let mother get up first."
Niu Yanli smiled shyly and tried to help Zhuang up from the ground.
But before Zhuang could get up, Niu Yanli was kicked to the ground by County Magistrate Niu, who then started beating and kicking him.
"You two, follow the family rules!"
County Magistrate Niu gave an order to the servants holding the wooden planks, and Niu Yanli was dragged and tied to a long bench.
"Grandfather...Grandfather...I don't know what mistake did Yanli make that you want to punish me like this?"
Niu Yanli was so anxious that he was sweating profusely, his face was covered with tears and snot. He thought again and again, but he couldn't remember what he had done wrong that was worth his grandfather making such a fuss? !
"Father, Yanli is still young. Please show mercy. Your daughter-in-law is willing to take the punishment for him... wuwuwu..."
Zhuang was also crying breathlessly.
"I ask you, do you know where you went wrong?"
Magistrate Niu put his hands behind his back, showing no intention of giving in.
"Daughter-in-law...daughter-in-law..."
Zhuang's brows were lowered, her eyes were full of tears, and as her eyeballs moved, big tears fell "patter". She really couldn't remember what she had done wrong.
"Someone, come and beat them up! Beat them up hard! Beat them until they admit their mistakes!"
Seeing that his daughter-in-law and grandson were completely unaware of their mistakes, County Magistrate Niu directly issued an order.
After one blow of the board, Niu Yanli let out a long roar towards the sky.
Zhuang lay on the ground and begged for mercy repeatedly. The beating hurt her son and her heart. Every time Niu Yanli howled, Zhuang's heart ached.
But the mother-in-law in the room sat very still, showing no intention of trying to mediate.
"Father-in-law, father-in-law, I know I was wrong. We shouldn't have come to the Zhou family today..."
Zhuang's tears fell like beads from a broken string, and she kept wiping them with her handkerchief.
"Okay, since you know you're wrong, then kneel down here and reflect on it."
Niu Yanli had finished beating with ten boards at the back, and the housekeeper and the servant beside him carried him to the yard in a hurry.
With the young master's physique, if he were to be beaten with ten more boards, he would definitely be beaten to death.
The master is really angry this time...
None of the servants in the mansion dared to bring bad luck upon him.
Zhuang knelt obediently on the spot. She looked up at her mother-in-law and the maids and nannies beside her, but no one dared to come forward to speak for her.
She could only kneel like this.
But after kneeling for just a few minutes, her knees were already aching. She didn't know how long she had to kneel...
After a great outburst of anger, County Magistrate Niu finally vented his anger.
It happened that the meal was about to be served, so he sat down and ate well. Mrs. Niu beside him kept picking up dishes for him, which was completely different from her usual style. Magistrate Niu knew that she was asking for mercy.
"Let Zhuang kneel for two hours, not even a quarter of an hour less. Yan Li should stay at home and recover from his injuries for the time being. No outside visitors are allowed. Madam, this matter is not a big deal, but it is not a small matter either. You must know the seriousness of this matter. If they dare to use their power to oppress others, others can use their power to oppress us. If Lord Qi really gets angry, he can kill our whole family with a little trick. Please help me keep an eye on them."
"Yes, I understand, sir."
After finishing his meal, County Magistrate Niu left in a huff. Mrs. Niu looked at the huge table of food with a sad face.
The old man was in a bad mood, and he slowly went to the study to meditate.
He has worked diligently for so many years and has seen his children and grandchildren grow up to be successful. Now he is about to make his retirement home in his old age. This should not have happened.
"Prepare some generous gifts. We will go to Lianglin Village tomorrow morning to apologize to the Zhou family."
"Yes, sir."
Others may not know the importance of Zhou Mingshu, but how could he not know?
The little girl has been personally appointed by the emperor as the governor of agriculture. This is an official position specially created for her. Who knows, she may even get promoted in the future. Besides, the person behind her is Lord Qi. How could a mere county magistrate like him dare to bully her?
County Magistrate Niu had a bitter look on his face. He had been very careful about his reputation throughout most of his life and had never done anything harmful to others. Who would have thought that at this age he would be implicated by the younger generation in his family.
He scolded Zhuang and beat his grandson. In fact, he felt a little distressed, but more of it was disappointment, anger, and deep regret.
The child does not teach, the father too.
It was he, as a grandfather, who failed to teach his child well.
The moon was high in the sky and Zhuang's legs were already numb.
She didn't understand why her father-in-law would punish them like this, she was just a little peasant girl.
Considering Yanli's appearance and background, making her a concubine was already a bargain for them.
Zhuang was crying in the yard. Not only were her legs painful from kneeling, but she also felt sorry for her son.
Her husband and son were always on duty outside and they seldom saw each other, so she kept her youngest son by her side.
The relationship between mother and daughter has always been close, and she feels very sad.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Mrs. Niu held the nanny's hand and walked into the yard.
"Help your wife up."
Zhuang got up from the ground tremblingly, and the pain in her legs almost made her fall to the ground again.
"I have always thought you were a good person and I have always trusted you. I have entrusted all the big and small matters in the mansion to you, but you are really foolish. You actually dared to want the girl from the Zhou family to come to the mansion as a concubine. You are really blinded by greed."
"The master has long told Yanli to study hard, why don't you listen? Your father-in-law has already thought about Yanli's future, and now you have messed it up. Also, you probably don't know that Mingshu has been conferred the ninth-rank agricultural governor by the emperor! The emperor conferred it on purpose!"