Since the Jiedushi had said so, how could the executioners dare to disobey? There was no room for leniency, and they used heavy hands.
Although Qiu Ju was destined to be a servant, she had been in the Xie family for many years because she was good at flattering people and was quite popular with Xie's mother. She lived like a half-master. Apart from serving Xie's mother some personal matters, she was not involved in any rough work. Her skin was delicate and her flesh was tender. After only ten strokes, her buttocks were swollen and rotten. She could not bear it any longer and shouted, "Master, spare my life! It was... Madam Qi who asked me to find out!"
Xie Changgeng stopped, signaled the servant to pause, turned around and looked at Qi Lingfeng.
Qi Lingfeng's eyes were filled with disbelief and anger, and she was shaking with anger.
She rushed to Qiuju, slapped her hard in the face, and said sternly: "You slut! It's obvious that you did this behind people's backs for other purposes, but how can you slander me and put the blame on me! It's fine if I was wrongly accused and killed by you, but do you think you can get away with it?"
Qiu Ju met Qi Lingfeng's gazes on her, shuddered, closed her mouth, covered her face, and burst into tears.
Qi Lingfeng turned around, her face flushed red, her eyes filled with tears, and she said to Xie Changgeng, "Sir! This slut has always relied on her beauty to dream of climbing up the social ladder and hooking up with you. I saw it, and because we have been together for many years, I could only persuade her to be honest. But she thought I was useless and couldn't help her, so she started to think crookedly. I don't know what kind of evil has possessed her, thinking that she can win your favor without the princess. When the princess was still in her hometown, she looked down on me. "She has no regard for the princess, and she pretends to obey but actually disobeys. After coming here, she regards the princess as a thorn in her side. These days, she has left me alone and secretly inquired about the princess and her son, trying to sow discord. This is why there have been so many bad things in recent days! She went to the old lady to gossip behind my back, took advantage of the old lady's soft ears, and coaxed the old lady to go to the horse farm to cause trouble! After I knew about it, I also tried to persuade the old lady not to go, but I hated this lowly maid for instigating it. If you don't believe it, just go and ask the old lady!"
She turned to Xie's mother. "Madam, I was wronged by the slave! Please speak for justice!"
Mother Xie came back to her senses and quickly looked at her son: "Yes, yes, Geng'er, you can't wrongly accuse Feng'er! It was Qiuju who told me about the child. It has nothing to do with Feng'er!"
Qi Lingfeng thanked Xie's mother, wiped her tears, and said to Xie Changgeng: "My lord, it is late tonight. The old lady just had a heartache. She is old and may not be able to bear the fatigue. Now that the matter is clear, it is a trivial matter like punishing a lowly maid. Why bother your lordship with anger? If you trust me, you may as well leave it to me. I will punish her severely and put an end to the disaster. There will be no such thing to distract you next time!"
Xie Changgeng had a blank expression on his face: "What are you waiting for? This maid first spied on the master, and then framed you. She added crime to crime, and she was beaten to death."
"Get started!"
He shouted at the steward.
Qi Lingfeng's expression changed slightly.
The servant received the order and immediately swung the board again.
Just now, Qiu Ju couldn't bear the torture and pointed out Qi Lingfeng, but Qi Lingfeng slapped her quickly and gave her a hint with her eyes. Then she understood what was going on and had a little hope that she could admit the crime, save Qi Lingfeng, and then get her protection and escape this disaster.
Unexpectedly, the Jiedushi was not moved at all and ordered himself to be beaten to death on the spot, which instantly scared him to death.
"Madam Qi, it was you who asked me to find out! It was you who asked me to pass the word to the old lady! It would be fine if you didn't save me, but why did you put all the blame on me!"
She screamed and struggled desperately, but she was like a fish on a chopping board. How could she escape the board
With a crackling sound, the skin and flesh were torn apart, and the board was soon stained with blood.
Qi Lingfeng gritted her teeth and said in hatred, "You slut, you deserve to die! I treat you well, but you framed me like this! It's all my fault for being too kind. My Lord is wise. Keeping a slut like you will only bring disaster!"
After she finished speaking, she turned around and went to help Xie's mother, who was watching with her eyes wide open and her face pale, and said, "Sir, although this lowly maid deserves to die, the old lady is old and it is not appropriate for her to see such a scene. I will send her back to her room to rest first..."
Xie Changgeng looked sullen. He ordered Ah Mao to bring a chair, and he brought it himself. He placed it upright on the eaves, facing Qiu Ju who was being punished. He helped his mother over and said, "Mother, please sit down and watch how your son punishes this naughty slave."
Mother Xie was half-supported and half-forced by her son to sit down. She looked at Qiu Ju, who was being beaten to pieces and looked extremely miserable. She felt a little bit reluctant and panicked. She said in a trembling voice: "Son, this... this girl has served me for many years... She also had good intentions... Please forgive her..."
Xie Changgeng stood beside his mother, his eyes fell on the maid whose buttocks and back were already bloody, and he said lightly: "Mother, you are soft-hearted and you don't even know you are being coaxed. You can't let such a servant go. I was too busy before and neglected you. Tonight, you have time, mother, just sit down and watch."
His tone was respectful, yet cold and chilling.
In the past, Xie's mother had always seen her son being filial and always greeting her with a smile. This was the first time she had seen him like this. Seeing that he was unmoved, she couldn't help but feel a little scared and didn't dare to speak again.
Qiu Ju, lying on the ground, felt as if a layer of skin and flesh had been peeled off. She was in excruciating pain. She knew that Qi Lingfeng no longer cared about her, and she wished she could die soon. She was filled with hatred, and cried out with all her might, "Sir! Don't believe her! She really asked me to do it! I used to be a servant of the Qi family. When she was still at her brother's house, one day I overheard her conversation with her brother. Her brother said that you, sir, were engaged to marry the Changsha princess, and she had no hope, so he advised her to take more benefits and find someone else to marry. She said that you, sir, would have a bright future in the future, and even if you were a mistress, it would be better than marrying another man. She also said that you, sir, were a filial son, and that based on her kindness to the old lady, if you served her well, with the old lady around, it was not certain who would win or lose with the Changsha princess in the end..."
Xie's mother was dumbfounded, and Qi Lingfeng's face turned pale.
Xie Changgeng's expression was still indifferent, but his eyes gradually became gloomy.
"Please, sir, please stop hitting me. Please spare me. I have something else to say..."
Qiu Ju closed her eyes, gasped, and painfully dug at the gravel and dirt on the ground with her fingers, her nails cracked and bleeding.
"You slut! How dare you make up stories out of thin air!"
Qi Lingfeng cursed angrily, pulled out a hairpin from her head, rushed to Qiuju, and stabbed her mouth with her tongue.
Qiuju screamed and fainted.
Xie Changgeng signaled to pause the execution. The steward and the male servant pulled Qi Lingfeng away.
Qi Lingfeng ran to Xie Changgeng and knelt down with a plop. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she choked with sobs, "Sir, this slave made up lies and bit me like a mad dog. I can't listen to a word she says! I can only blame myself for being too soft-hearted and blind. I didn't see through this slave's sinister intentions earlier, which led to me ending up like this..."
Xie Changgeng pretended not to hear anything and ordered someone to bring cold water and pour it on Qiu Ju's head as she fainted on the ground to wake her up.
Qiu Ju woke up and continued to struggle, "After the princess got married, Qi was at her brother's house. She told me to keep an eye on the princess and say bad things about her in front of the old lady when the master is not at home. She also promised that when she gets a chance to make a comeback, she will promote me and let me serve the master... Because of this, no matter how the princess serves the old lady, the old lady doesn't like her... This time, that child was also secretly instigated by her, wanting to ruin the princess's reputation so that the old lady can force you to divorce the princess... It was all Qi's idea..."
After she finished speaking, she lay on the wet ice, dying.
Qi Lingfeng suddenly knelt down in front of Xie's mother, tightly grasped Xie's mother's hand, and cried: "Madam, I really was wronged! Madam, you have to believe me..."
Xie's mother was already dumbfounded, at a loss, muttering "this..." "this..." and subconsciously looking at her son.
Xie Changgeng looked at Qi Lingfeng.
Qi Lingfeng met the two glances the man cast at her, knowing that no matter how much she tried to hide it, it would be useless. Her face turned pale, and she weakly let go of the hand that was holding Xie's mother, then sat down on the ground, motionless.
Xie Changgeng asked Amao to help his mother up and send her back to the room. He ordered the steward to drag Qiuju away and assign her to the meritorious veteran soldiers after she recovered from her injuries. When he turned to leave, Qi Lingfeng quickly crawled over from behind and hugged one of his legs.
"My Lord! I was wrong! I admit that I deserve to die. I did do something inappropriate to the princess. But I was really infatuated with you..."
She cried.
"Back then, I believed that you were a rare talent, and I admired your talent. After my elder sister passed away, you left home, and the old lady was left alone. I swore that I would be filial to the old lady on your behalf in this life, so that you would have no worries. After losing my mother, I was grieving and regarded the old lady as my own mother. Later, I learned that you had arranged a marriage outside. I was confused for a while and went astray out of jealousy. Later, I knew that you had no intention of marrying me, and my infatuation was in vain. This made the mistake even worse! Please, sir, for the sake of the relationship between the two families in the past, and for my infatuation with you over the years, please have some pity on me. I swear that from now on, I will correct myself and serve the old lady, you and the princess sincerely! Please, sir, give me another chance!"
Xie Changgeng didn't move.
“When someone does me a favor, I repay them to the best of my ability, and everyone is happy.”
"If someone has done me a favor and uses this as a threat to force me, I can tolerate it."
"Now, you have done me a favor, but not only do you force me to do it, you also take me as a sucker and scheme against the people around me."
He turned his head slowly.
"When I was a bandit, I had a sworn brother who saved my life. Later, that man parted ways with me and wanted to betray me. I found out and killed him."
He looked down at Qi Lingfeng lying on the ground with cold eyes.
"I give you face, the so-called favor, which is your amulet. If I don't give you face, I am nothing."
"Do you understand?"
Qi Lingfeng shrank back, let go of her hand weakly, and covered her face and cried bitterly.
"I was wrong! I understand now! When I get back, I will follow the adults' arrangements, get married, and live a peaceful life in the future. I will never dare to have any wishful thinking again!"
Amid the woman's desperate cries, Xie Changgeng turned around and walked away.
He went to his mother's room.
Mother Xie sat on the bed, not lying down yet, her face still not recovered, obviously, she has not woken up from the huge blows tonight. When she heard her son telling her to rest and still saying that he would send her back tomorrow, she always felt that the son in front of her was not the same as before. She felt sad and cried, "Forget it, forget it. I gave birth to you, but today, you are worse than a bastard that a woman outside got from nowhere. What's the point of me living..."
As Xie Changgeng listened to his mother's resentful words, the scene of the first time he saw the child seemed to reappear in front of his eyes. He broke into the inner room and the child woke up from his sleep, opened his eyes wide, and looked at him carefully.
Later, in a rage, he transferred his resentment and dissatisfaction towards the woman to the child and abducted him. When they were sleeping in a dilapidated temple at night, the child, carrying the leftovers, tried to sneak out from under the altar where he was sleeping like a puppy and escape.
He knew his own identity, and perhaps he had received some instructions from the woman, so he kept his mouth tightly shut stubbornly and refused to talk to him.
Later, the child began to trust him and admire him. He was even afraid that he would catch a cold, so he considerately gave him a separate bed and covered him with a quilt.
Scenes of the past flashed through Xie Changgeng's mind.
Without realizing it, the bond between him and the child he originally hated had become so deep.
When he heard his mother say these two words in such a tone, anger suddenly surged in his heart.
He didn't know when it started, but he could no longer tolerate others using such a word to imagine the child. Even if that person was his mother, the child was indeed a "bastard."
He looked at his mother who was crying and complaining, and said coldly: "Mom, from now on, I don't want to hear you call that child a bastard."
"He is my son. He is the son that Mu gave birth to for me."
He thought of the curved eyes and eyebrows of the child when he smiled and said how good he was. He paused, gritted his teeth, and spoke word by word.
Xie's mother was stunned, opened her mouth and looked at her son.
After saying this, Xie Changgeng suddenly seemed to relax.
Of course, he could not forgive the woman for her betrayal and humiliation.
The reason for doing so was for the sake of the child who trusted her completely. She did not want him to always be a "bastard" with unclear origins in the eyes of his mother.
He took a slow breath.
"Back then, I went to Changsha to ask for marriage. Because of my family background, I was afraid that the King of Changsha would not agree, so I used coercion on the princess and made her lose her virginity to me. Only then did I succeed in my marriage proposal."
"This child was born at that time. However, it is inconvenient to let outsiders know about this matter in recent years, so he was raised by her side as an adopted son. In the future, he will be returned to the clan and recognize his ancestors depending on the situation."
"It's not just about this child. Mother, you don't like Mu and you criticize her a lot. If we really talk about right and wrong, it's my son who was shameless and despicable first."
"From now on, I hope you, my mother, will enjoy your life. Don't interfere in things that are not your business. Don't say things that are not your business!"
The author has something to say: Thank you little angels for voting for me~
Thanks to the old town's Sham Shui Po
Thanks to Yingying for the shallow water □□
Thanks to Old Street Market x2, Jiyuetang Hall Master for the rocket launcher
Thanks to Ye Gong x4, 23228263, Moshang Huakai, Yuer, 20171539, Juanjuan, Shili's Grenade
Thanks to Xinghe in the sky 03x5, caterpillar x5, Xiaoqi_tsex4, 28851213x4, Hua Chenyu's garlic x3, gold, silver, copper and iron x3, Ranma x2, Bailuqing x2, Ye Gong x2, Xiyangyang x2, lina love x2, Shili x2, Qingxin Qingxiang, Future, Siqing, Daren, Mr. Luo who loves children, Zhang Qian, Dazi, Elephants don't like to take a bath, Caramel Macchiato, hlohlo, follow fate, rea l__bhyyyyy7, Gun Gun, Xiaolanxue, Caomu Feifei, a little bit of dots, Shanshan 1015, pork bone soup, light clouds??, waves, are you sure you want to see me, 21326071, tailless cat, Yuer, Zifeiyu, Baiyunyouyou, the user did not enter a nickname, sophia?, mrsfirefox3952, ah Changchangle, wine bottle, xuxia, 21320398, Yu, zoe, Luo Qianqian, Nini, late summer, slightly cool landmine
Thanks to Zhen Youmei, 14191188, for the nutrient solution
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: A cat that doesn't eat fish is not a good monkey 183 bottles, Xiaoxiao Weixun 90 bottles, 429859 50 bottles, Liu Shuguang 50 bottles, Gao Haha 48 bottles, Ge Li Ruofei 44 bottles, Dahuang 43 bottles, Fuyunsan 38 bottles, Manman 30 bottles, Rabbit 30 bottles, Ping Xiaolan 30 bottles, w2954c 30 bottles, jj777 30 bottles, Cheng Yux 30 bottles, Mao Er? 28 bottles, Junxin 20 bottles, Mumu 20 bottles, Mark Toast 20 bottles, You Xiaobing 20 bottles, Dachen Fat Mom 20 bottles, Mumu 20 bottles, amiaoer 20 bottles, gemmayan 20 bottles, Jiang Jiyue 17 bottles, Ting 16 bottles, Li Zao's Min 15 bottles, Yuanma xj 14 bottles, vivian 10 bottles, Ersha 10 bottles, Little Pony Under the Osmanthus Tree 10 bottles, Sanke 10 bottles, Shanlihong 10 bottles, 23228263 10 bottles, lovecloud 10 bottles, Cangxuhuang 10 bottles, Cat Listening to the Alarm Clock 10 bottles, rm Ranran 10 bottles, Shuishui 10 bottles, Tianjun Momo 10 bottles, Xiaoxing 10 bottles, lanlan161654 10 bottles, Gentle Little Sister 10 bottles, Ranma 10 bottles, 23394739 10 bottles, Feiyu Kuaizou 10 bottles, Shuigongnvkai 10 bottles, Zebra Dots 10 bottles, Xiao He classmate ~ 10 bottles, Aqing 10 bottles, White Crystal 10 bottles, jenniferca 10 bottles, Mayonnaise 10 bottles, 27196789 10 bottles, 19955211 10 bottles, Giant Panda 10 bottles, 31646800 10 bottles, a beam of sunshine 10 bottles, 25423386 10 bottles, 21320398 10 bottles, moon shadow 10 bottles, calcium Yaya 10 bottles, one 8 bottles, little lion in the forest 8 bottles, cherry 6 bottles, dog fat carp 6 bottles, reluctant 5 bottles, ? Dingding shrimp 5 bottles, it's a little fox 5 bottles, rub blue shirt apricot yellow skirt 5 bottles, eat whale snack 5 bottles, -u 5 bottles, wei-3 5 bottles, panda sister? 5 bottles, cav 5 bottles, cheese?? 5 bottles, red-billed green parrot 5 bottles, read romance when depressed 5 bottles, self-5 bottles, sycamore tree 5 bottles, withered green 5 bottles, cloud rise 5 bottles, Tianniu 5 bottles, Lukui 5 bottles, love v 5 bottles, Bu 5 bottles, reading is like taking drugs 5 bottles, Ushuaia 4 bottles, chicken DJ 4 bottles, Xiangxiang 4 bottles, ss 3 bottles, Fangfang 3 bottles, Ruoke 3 bottles, Weirui 2 bottles, Yushumeiyan 2 bottles, liliang1972 2 bottles, Lala 2 bottles, After the rain 2 bottles, Muyuweiliang 2 bottles, Jing 2 bottles, Yanshu 2 bottles, Momo cactus 2 bottles, □□ile 2 bottles, 21622185 1 bottle, Xiyangyang and Xiaomimi 1 bottle, Xiaoweijie 1 bottle, Ye Xi 1 bottle, Sitting and watching the clouds roll and the clouds 1 bottle, Her Majesty the Queen 1 bottle, Yangyang 1 bottle, Pingshui Xiangfeng 1 bottle, snfh2006 1 bottle, uynehc_0 1 bottle, yier097 1 bottle, In fact, scum is a positive word 1 bottle, Xiaobao 1 bottle, Alawangwang 1 bottle, 30977726 1 bottle, Qiuqiu 1 bottle, 24828306 1 bottle, starbase 1 bottle, july 1 bottle, 1 bottle of Qiu, 1 bottle of Xiaopaopao, 1 bottle of Damenguo, 1 bottle of Banye Tuge Erzhuzi, 1 bottle of Xinyuan, 1 bottle of Maris, 1 bottle of Mumutu, 1 bottle of awwasai
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard! ^_^