Chapter 434: 434: Everyone with Their Own Thoughts_1

“Regardless, I entrusted Ruoruo to Yifeng and Yipeng. If they couldn’t properly look after Ruoruo, they should be held responsible. It doesn’t matter if Ruoruo wandered off world or if she was forced to leave, they carry an inescapable responsibility,” Lady Wei analyzed.

“This… There is some truth to what Madam has said.”

“However, considering it was an unintentional mistake by both of them, I would say they should each receive three beatings as a punishment,” Lady Wei said.

The punishment of three beatings might not sound too harsh, but it was no minor penalty either.

Lord Wei looked at Lady Wei and noticed the determination in her eyes. After contemplating for a while, he agreed to her proposition.

“Alright, let’s do it according to my wife’s proposal,” he agreed.

Upon hearing this, both Wei Yifeng and Wei Yipeng went pale.

“Grandfather, grandmother…”

Before the two of them could beg for mercy, Lady Wei gestured to the guards, “Take them away. Give each of them three beatings. Do not show mercy.”

The guards, upon receiving their orders from Lady Wei, led Wei Yifeng and Wei Yipeng away.

After they were gone, Lady Wei turned to Wei Ruo and asked, “Where did you go, Ruoruo? How did you return home?”

“After my two older brothers disappeared, I encountered a lascivious man,” Wei Ruo replied.

“What? You encountered a lascivious man?” Lady Wei’s face turned pale, a look of concern appeared on her face.

“Yes, I encountered a lascivious man and was nearly tarnished. Fortunately, a passing lady came to my rescue. Not only did she help me escape from the man, but she also took me around the Capital City and saw me home safely.”

“Oh? Who was this lady?” Lady Wei asked.

“I don’t know. She did not reveal her name or status and only mentioned that we might meet again in the future.”

“That’s a pity. Otherwise, I would have prepared a generous gift and personally visited her to express my gratitude,” Lady Wei said, then turned to Wei Ruo with a benevolent expression, “Ruoruo, you’ve had quite a fright today. You should go back and get some rest.”

“Thank you, grandmother. I’ll take my leave now.”

After Wei Ruo left, Lady Wei said to Wei Qingwan, “Wanwan, you should also go rest.”

“Yes, grandmother and grandfather, please get some rest too. I’ll make my leave now.”

Wei Qingwan then also left Shou’an Hall.

With the young ones gone, Lord Wei turned to his wife, “Why did you decide to punish Yifeng and Yipeng today?”

Lord Wei, having agreed to his wife’s decision out of trust, still did not fully understand why she made such a choice.

“Who do you think was lying today?”

“Less significant is who was lying, Ruoruo is about to get married, while Yifeng and Yipeng are the legitimate sons banks who will hold up the Wei Family’s foundation, especially Yifeng as he is the eldest legitimate grandson of our Wei Family. He holds much more importance than Ruoruo.”

The notion of beating his grandsons troubled Lord Wei.

No matter how valuable a legitimate granddaughter might be, she could never surpass the value of a legitimate grandson.

“Your words indicate that you might already know who lied,” Lady Wei said.

Lord Wei gave a light snort, which could be taken as a tacit agreement with his wife’s speculation.

“My thoughts are similar to yours. The possibility that Yifeng and Yipeng were the ones lying is far greater, based on their suspicious actions of bringing people to the Cockfighting Field.” Lady Wei analyzed, then continued, “Moreover, Ruoruo has always been distant from us. Now that you are pushing her away even further, can we still rely on her in the future?”

“Well . . .”

“Also, you must not forget that Ruoruo is Yichen’s legitimate sister. Aren’t you afraid of offending him by favoring the children of the main and second bedrooms?”

“You make a point.”

Even though Yichen is one of the legitimate grandsons, his standing in the minds of the elders has always been higher than the others’.

###

After the punishment of three beatings, Wei Yipeng was carried back to his room by the servants.

Seeing Wei Yipeng’s severe injuries, Bai’s heart ached and she was furious. She could not help but curse Wei Ruo:

“That Wei Qingruo is such a terrible omen. As soon as she came home, she had my Peng-er beaten. Even curses are less harmful than she is!”

“I told you earlier on, Wei Qingruo is a disturbance. It’s unfortunate that we all have to tolerate her now. Even if we have complaints about her, we need to put up with them for the time being.” Wei Mingyong was not very fond of Wei Ruo.

“You call that tolerating her? She’s merely a chess piece. Everyone knows she won’t have many peaceful days after marrying into the Xuanping Marquis Residence. The moment the old marquis passes away, she’ll be devoured.”

“As long as you know, then why are you still so angry with her?”

“Initially, she was to get married quietly. But this had to happen to my Peng-er because of her. Of course, I’m mad at her!” Bai was filled with anger.

“Alright, calm down. It’s better to use your energy taking care of Peng-er. If there was a way to deal with that girl, would I be waiting for you? I would have taken care of her a long time ago,” Wei Mingyong said.

“Just wait till I get a good opportunity. Once I do, I’ll make sure to take revenge for my Peng-er.”

###

“Our parents are really becoming more and more biased! It’s their daughter from the third room who went missing, and yet they punished my son! How absurd!”

Wei Minghong looked at his son who was laying on the bed in pain, and put all the blame on the third concubine.

“Yifeng really hasn’t done his part well, so it’s reasonable for our parents to punish him. They’re not necessarily biased…” Mo spoke softly with her head lowered.

“Are you still defending the third concubine?”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“That’s not what I meant…”

“What did you mean? Yifeng is your son! He’s being punished, and you’re still defending others?”

“I just felt that Yifeng really didn’t do well in some aspects. Our parents’ mild punishment is for his own good…”

“Nonsense! What do you mean by mild punishment? It’s just a performance for the third concubine! You’re still so naive as to believe that it’s because our Yifeng did something wrong! Even if he did something wrong, what’s the big deal? Yifeng is the eldest legitimate grandson of our Loyal and Righteous Duke Residence. Is it worth punishing him for a little girl? What a joke!”

Wei Minghong became angrier as he spoke. Mo could only lower her head and refrain from speaking anymore.

###

In the blink of an eye, it was already the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, and this year there was no thirtieth day, making the twenty-ninth day New Year’s Eve.

The entire Loyal and Righteous Duke Residence was busy preparing for the new year’s festivities.

In the past, Yun was always extremely busy during this time. But now that she was at the Duke Residence, Lady Wei and her two sisters-in-law were hosting the New Year preparations, and she didn’t have to worry about anything.

However, she still had other matters to attend to – preparing dowry for the two daughters’ weddings.

As Yun was considering what material to use for her daughters’ wedding gowns, Cui Ping came in to report, “Madam, someone has sent a piece of excellent fabric from outside to make Miss’ wedding gown.”

“What kind of fabric is it? Who sent it?” Yun asked.