In the foothills, amidst the noisy sound of birdsong, deep in the shade, the two black lacquered doors that had been tightly closed finally opened. An old steward walked out quickly, bowed to the man kneeling at the steps outside the Lu family's door, and then said, "Go away! The Grand Princess will not see you!"
Cheng Ping had been kneeling like this for an hour. He raised his head and said, "Please pass on a message for me, old man. Tell them that I came here to apologize for my crime and beg the Grand Princess to see me. As long as she can calm down, even if she wants me to pay for my crime with my life, I am willing to accept it!"
Seeing that he was unmoved, the steward sighed repeatedly and waved his hands: "Why don't you listen to others? Why does the Grand Princess want your life? If she says she won't see him, then she won't see him! Just listen to my advice and leave quickly—"
Before he finished speaking, a young man came out from behind the door, walked up to Cheng Ping and said, "Ashina, it's useless even if you kneel until dark! My mother really hates you this time. If you don't leave, she will get angry and it will be bad!"
Chengping grabbed Lu Wenzhong's arm.
"How is your sister now?" he asked in a low voice.
"She's fine!"
Lu Wenzhong was worried that his mother would see him and punish him, so he turned his head to look at the movement inside the door behind him while pushing Chengping up.
"Amei has remembered everything except you. She is happy every day. Don't worry!"
Chengping was stunned, seeming to be happy and sad at the same time. While he was in a daze, he heard a chaotic sound of footsteps from inside the door.
Lu Wenzhong turned his head and saw his mother's housekeeper leading a dozen strong women out, each holding a stick and looking aggressive. Another servant was carrying a clean bucket and was turning out from the side door. Wherever he passed, the maids and servants all pinched their noses and backed away, stamping their feet and saying, "It's bad! I told you not to listen! Go away!" Then he hurriedly hid.
The servants carried out the clean bucket filled with yellow and white things. The stench was overwhelming. Cheng Ping was still immersed in his thoughts, kneeling at the steps without moving. The housekeeper led people out of the door, crossed her hands on her waist, looked at him, and sneered: "He drinks vinegar instead of wine. Good words can't persuade the damned ghost! Come on, beat this bastard away, and let him taste the brain-stimulating soup we prepared for him, so as not to dirty the house and bring bad luck!"
At her command, a dozen strong women rushed up, raised their sticks, and attacked Chengping without thinking.
This scene was different from the last time when Chengping was beaten. Although the princess had led people to beat Chengping that time, the occasion was after all the wedding of the princess and her husband. She only took the opportunity to punish him slightly, and she was also careful when she did it. This time it was a real beating. After beating him for a while, the housekeeper came forward and raised a big foot to kick Chengping down the stairs. He rolled down and fell into a ravine.
"Fall down!" the housekeeper shouted.
Chengping was like a dead dog, curled up in the ditch with a bloody head, motionless. The servant brought the clean bucket forward and looked at each other.
This is the order of the Grand Princess, how dare I disobey it? Just as he was about to throw the water at the man, he saw the head of the family running out and ordering him to stop.
It turned out that after the previous incident, the relationship between the Grand Princess and her husband Lu Jinghu had eased a lot and they were back together. He finally had some free time these two days and came here to accompany his wife and daughter. He came out to stop them when he saw this. The servant hurriedly stopped. Unexpectedly, the Grand Princess followed him out again after hearing the news and was determined not to let Chengping go.