Chapter 183: Punishment or Not

Xia Zhuoqin's request was also justified. As a younger generation, it was not right for them to interfere in matters between elders, not to mention forcing elders to apologize and write a letter of guarantee. If it was spread out, it would be a bit treasonous. But Jinxuan did this for Youshi. Did she want Youshi to bow her head and apologize? Then what face would Youshi have?
The old marquis' heart is biased towards Jinxuan, and Jinxuan has already asked to kneel in the ancestral hall as punishment.

"It is wrong for Chunyu's wife to do this, but she has good intentions and hopes to settle the matter peacefully. Now she has taken the initiative to kneel in the ancestral hall. I think she should kneel for two hours as a punishment."

"Two hours? Master, Jinxuan is so frail, how can she endure it?" Xia Youshi asked anxiously.

After tonight, she has completely regarded Jinxuan as her confidant. Even her own daughter may not be able to do this for her. Jinxuan has done nothing wrong. In order to keep things peaceful, she has wronged herself. The master only wants to show his kindness. He also wants to punish her for two hours. She firmly disagrees.

"Brother, you are obviously protecting me." Xia Zhuoqin was still not satisfied.

Xia Chunyu didn't say anything after entering the room. He just kept listening. He didn't understand the situation and had no right to speak. He knew that the punishment must be imposed, but two hours was too heavy. He had experienced how hard and cold the ground in the ancestral hall was. How could Yaoyao possibly bear it? It had been two quarters of an hour since they entered the room. Just thinking about it made him feel distressed.

"Ahem..." Xia Chunyu coughed twice and said slowly, "The Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel will retire next year. This vacancy... many people are eyeing it. However, if the Helian Palace comes forward, there will be basically no problem. However, Princess Yide and the old princess are also famous for protecting their own shortcomings. If they knew that Jinxuan was punished to kneel because of Third Aunt's matter, ahem... I guess the cooked duck will fly away."

The old marquis understood and deliberately said sternly, "So what if you are protecting someone? No matter what the reason is, it is wrong to offend elders. No one is allowed to plead for mercy, otherwise, the punishment will be doubled. As for Third Brother, at most he will have to wait another three to five years, and there will always be a good position for him."

Xia Zhuoqin and Zhou looked at each other in bewilderment. They almost forgot that Chunyu's wife was the old princess's goddaughter! Compared with the vacancy of the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, what was this grievance? If this matter really fell through, there would be no tears to cry.

Xia Zhuoqin couldn't help but complain about Zhou.

Zhou's expression changed quickly: "Brother, we are all family, and there are times when we have to bite our tongues! Chunyu's wife is ignorant, and I am the elder. Can an elder still argue with the younger? Just give her a small punishment as a warning."

The old marquis shook his head like a rattle: "No, no, we must abide by our ancestral teachings and family rules."

Xia Youshi already understood that the father and son were playing a double game, and couldn't help but join in: "Didn't my sister-in-law righteously accuse the second son's wife of being disobedient? Didn't she say that the second son's wife forced you to sign a guarantee? Didn't she keep saying that you wanted the master to do justice?"

"Sister-in-law, I was just saying that in anger. Don't you know my temper? My anger comes and goes quickly. Now that I'm not angry anymore, you're still here pestering me. How bad is that?" Zhou said with a thick face and a smile.

I have to accept the loss today and swallow it. I must not let it affect the master's future, otherwise he will blame me for the rest of my life.

"That depends on what Third Brother means. No one else's words will work. The Master values ​​brotherly love the most." Xia Youshi said in a weird tone, which did carry some resentment towards the Master. If the Master hadn't spoiled him, he wouldn't have ended up in this situation today.

Xia Zhuoqin weighed the pros and cons and said unwillingly: "Since Chunyu's wife has just married and doesn't know the rules, let it go this time. I won't be so easy to talk to next time."

The old marquis waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, it's because we just came in that we have to set the rules. How can we just let it go like this?"

Xia Zhuoqin was depressed. What was wrong with his elder brother? This was not helping him vent his anger, but harming him!
He could only soften his tone and said, "Brother, Chunfeng is getting married soon. If there is discord in our family at this time, what will the Queen Mother think if it gets out? Besides, Zhou was also wrong. She lost her mind when she got impulsive and bumped into my sister-in-law. Zhou, why don't you apologize to my sister-in-law quickly?"

Zhou was filled with hatred in her heart, but she didn't show it on her face. She smiled awkwardly and bowed to Xia Youshi again, "Sister-in-law, I'll keep you company, okay?"

Xia Youshi said calmly, "Master, since Third Uncle has said so, please forgive Jinxuan this time. This is also for Third Uncle's future. Besides, Jinxuan has been married for more than a month. What if she is pregnant..."

Xia Chunyu's eyes twitched. Mom, you have such a rich imagination.

The old marquis's mouth twitched, and he said to Chunyu, "Go, tell your wife to get up. She doesn't need to kneel down, but copy the family rules a hundred times."

Chunyu accepted the order and hurried to the ancestral hall to see his wife, not noticing that there was a little tail following him.

Ye Jiayao had been kneeling in the cold ancestral hall for more than half an hour. It was fine in the first few minutes, but after kneeling for a long time, her knees felt like being pricked by needles. Last time, Chunli was punished to kneel for a whole night, and the pain was imaginable. Moreover, this place felt gloomy and terrifying. The portraits of the ancestors above had eyes that were drawn straight and staring at her without blinking, which was really scary.

She knew Chunyu would find a way to save her, but she was unsure of the old marquis's attitude. The old marquis valued brotherhood more than anything else.

You won't let her kneel for a whole night, will you? She will become crippled. Chunli has been lame for several days!
There were hurried footsteps outside, and Ye Jiayao could tell it was Chunyu's. Only he would be so anxious! But, was he bringing good news or bad news?
"Yaoyao." Xia Chunyu walked into the ancestral hall and saw Ye Jiayao's thin body kneeling there. He felt so heartbroken as if it was being cut by a knife.

"Yaoyao, get up quickly." Xia Chunyu rushed forward to help her.

Ye Jiayao endured the pain and asked: "Who asked you to come?"

"Get up first." Xia Chunyu couldn't bear to let her kneel for another second.

Ye Jiayao insisted: "Explain clearly first. If you came here privately, then you should go back. You don't want to get involved with both of us."

"Did dad ask me to come, or did my third uncle and aunt beg dad to let you go?" Xia Chunyu pulled her up.

"Ouch, it hurts..." Ye Jiayao cried out in pain. Her legs felt like they were being pricked by countless tiny needles, causing both numbness and pain.

Xia Chunyu picked her up and said, "I'll rub you with medicinal wine when we get home. It's such a cold ground, don't get yourself hurt from kneeling on it."

Xia Chunyu turned around and saw Chun Guo standing behind him. "Chun Guo, why are you here?"

Chun Guo pursed his lips, his nose twitched, and he looked at his second brother's sister-in-law in his second brother's arms with his big watery eyes.

"Chun Guo, are you okay? Did your father scold you?" Ye Jiayao asked with concern.

Chun Guo burst into tears.

Ye Jiayao and Xia Chunyu looked at each other in shock. What happened?
"Put me down." Ye Jiayao whispered.

Ye Jiayao walked over with difficulty, squatted down with difficulty, wiped Chun Guo's tears, and asked softly: "Chun Guo, what's wrong? What happened? Tell Second Sister-in-law, and Second Sister-in-law will help you vent your anger."

Chun Guo's tears flowed even more violently. She hugged Ye Jiayao and cried, "Second sister-in-law, it's all Chun Guo's fault. If Chun Guo hadn't said the wrong thing, Second sister-in-law wouldn't have been punished to kneel."

Uh, it turns out this little guy is feeling guilty.

Ye Jiayao patted his shoulder comfortingly: "Chun Guo, stop crying. Men don't cry easily, you know? You are a boy from the Xia family, you can't cry."

Chun Guo was twitching violently, but his crying became quieter.

"Actually, what you said today is not wrong, but there are some things that we just need to know in our hearts. Some things should be kept in our hearts, or told to people we can trust, understand?"

Chun Guo nodded vigorously: "From now on, I will only tell my second sister-in-law."

Ye Jiayao smiled and took out a handkerchief to wipe his tears: "Okay, from now on Chun Guo can tell Second Sister-in-law anything you want to say. Only the two of us will know and we won't tell anyone else, okay? Don't cry. Our Chun Guo is a handsome boy. If his face is covered with tears, he won't be handsome or cool anymore."

"Second sister-in-law, what is cool?" Chun Guo asked naively.

Ye Jiayao pointed at Xia Chunyu and said, "Cool, just like your second brother, who has a stern face all day long, with the words "Keep Out" written on it."

Chun Guo looked at his second brother with disdain and said with a curled lip: "I don't want to be like my second brother."

Xia Chunyu said depressedly: "Chun Guo, don't listen to your second sister-in-law's nonsense, that is called majesty, that is called momentum."

Ye Jiayao couldn't help laughing: "Chun Guo, let's ignore him. Can you help my second sister-in-law go back?"

Chun Guo agreed loudly: "Okay."

Carefully holding Ye Jiayao's hand, he said to Xia Chunyu, "Second brother, you help me too. I'm afraid I can't hold it steady by myself."

Xia Chunyu hurried over and held her other hand: "Yaoyao, can you do it? Or should I carry you back."

"I'd better walk by myself!" Ye Jiayao walked with a limp. The last time she fell asleep, Chunyu carried her back to the room and was scolded by Xia Youshi.

Xia Chunyu had no choice but to let her do as she pleased and returned to his room. He asked Song Qi to get some medicinal wine, Qiao Xi to get some hot water, and Jiang Yue to help her roll up her trouser legs.

Although she had only been kneeling for more than half an hour, Ye Jiayao's fair skin had already turned red in a large area, which looked quite shocking.

Xia Chunyu frowned and said to Chun Guo who was standing by, "Let Song Qi take you home first. It's getting late and you have to go to school tomorrow."

Chun Guo insisted on seeing Ye Jiayao apply the medicine before leaving.

Xia Chunyu had no choice but to let him do what he wanted. He poured some medicinal wine into his palms, rubbed his hands together to warm them up, and said to Ye Jiayao, "It will take some force for it to be effective. Just bear with it."

In fact, Ye Jiayao was no longer in so much pain now. After walking a few steps, her blood circulation was restored. However, she would definitely have bruises tomorrow.

"Well, it's okay, just rub it!" Ye Jiayao said bravely.

Damn, you really used that much strength! Ye Jiayao gasped.

Xia Chunyu looked at her worriedly and loosened his grip a little.

It took a whole incense stick of time to finish the job, and Chun Guo then obediently followed Song Qi.

Ye Jiayao leaned on the bed, watching Xia Chunyu packing up the medicine bottles, and asked, "You said that it was Uncle San and Aunt San who begged for mercy from Father? What's going on?"

(End of this chapter)