Song Ruoci and the others wouldn’t go inside. They stood in the courtyard covering their mouths and noses, gleefully saying, “If you knew this would happen, why did you do it? Now you’ll face household punishment! We thought Prince Yin would save you, but who knew he’d not only refuse to help but even make you clean the guest room? Oh, how pitiful!”

Their mocking voices drifted over with exaggerated inflection, making Fengyue want to laugh.

Feng Huaimeng whispered, “The General’s household punishment is truly severe. What if she’s beaten to death?”

“Who cares? She agreed to the bet, and we’re not the ones carrying out the punishment.” With a snort, Song Ruoci smiled and had someone bring chairs over so the three of them could continue sitting and eating melon seeds.

The guest room was covered in messy footprints, likely left by General Yi or others who had wandered in. But looking around, the flower stand and bed were covered in dust without a single handprint.

If Yi Guoru had hidden something here, there should have been marks.

Wringing out her clothes, Fengyue began cleaning bit by bit. Following common techniques for finding hidden mechanisms, she carefully examined everything in the room.

Nothing.

Crouching in the middle of the room, covered in dust, Fengyue wondered for a moment if she had overthought things and looked in the wrong direction. Where else could it be hidden? The room seemed completely straightforward…

Wait.

She tapped the floor beneath her feet, eyes narrowing.

The only place with marks – wasn’t it this very floor?

Bringing in a bucket of water, Fengyue slowly poured it on the ground. The stone-paved floor didn’t absorb much water. But after emptying the bucket and watching carefully, Fengyue smiled, quickly finding the tile under the flower stand that absorbed water unusually fast. Just as she reached out to knock on it—

“Once you’re done cleaning, come out,” the guard in the courtyard frowned. “Don’t touch anything in there.”

Startled, Fengyue immediately withdrew her hand and continued scrubbing the floor.

“That’s enough, it’s been half an hour already. You’ll face punishment either way, so just finish up,” Song Ruoci called from outside. “Come out now.”

Quickly placing her earring on that particular floor tile, Fengyue stood up, wiped the dust from her face, and walked out carrying the water bucket.

The guard carefully closed the door and escorted her to the main courtyard.

Yin Gezhi sat drinking tea as if nothing was amiss. Yi Zhangzhu watched her enter with a sympathetic expression and said, “You’re in such a sorry state already? Well, the punishment needn’t be too severe – twenty strokes should do.”

His lips paused mid-sip, then continued drinking the Biluochun tea as if nothing had happened. Yin Gezhi kept his eyes lowered, appearing completely indifferent to the person below.

Yi Zhangzhu felt that while his cold detachment sometimes annoyed her, when directed at others, she quite enjoyed it. He wasn’t distant just with her – he was even harsher with others. Comparing the two, he treated her better after all.

“This servant thanks Young Miss Yi for her mercy.” The person below bowed and obediently lay across the long bench.

The three young ladies who had been so eager earlier sat watching from the side. Song Ruoci watched with pleasure, but the other two remained silent.

Did they have any real grudge against this girl? No, they barely knew her. Their antagonism only stemmed from Yi Zhangzhu’s dislike of her. To have her beaten… seemed excessive. However, at this point, they couldn’t say anything.

So they chose to remain silent.

The person carrying the punishment rod entered, rubbed their hands, and after Yi Zhangzhu’s nod, raised the rod and brought it down hard on Fengyue’s bottom!

“Aiyaa!!!” Fengyue’s scream pierced the heavens, startling Yin Gezhi so badly that he almost dropped his teacup. He glared at her with an annoyed expression.

Not catching his eye, Fengyue’s face was filled with pain, regret, unwillingness, and misery. With each strike of the rod, her “Aiyaa” cries rose and fell dramatically, the pitch climbing from low to high, suddenly weakening at the peak, followed by sobbing – rich in emotion with perfect expressions.

The servant wielding the rod’s mouth twitched, their hand hesitating. They looked up at Yi Zhangzhu, then at Yin Gezhi, but after meeting the latter’s cold gaze, decided against saying anything and continued striking!

Feng Huaimeng couldn’t bear to listen anymore and stammered, “I have matters at home. Young Miss, Changjiang and I will take our leave first.”

“In such a hurry?” Yi Zhangzhu looked at them and asked, “What about Ruoci?”

Song Ruoci pursed her lips in dissatisfaction. “I have nothing to do at home. If they want to leave, let them go first.”

Feng Huaimeng pressed her lips together, pulled Meng Changjiang to bow, and fled quickly. Even far outside, they could still hear Fengyue’s miserable screams.

“They’re going to beat her to death,” Meng Changjiang sighed. “Aren’t they hitting too hard?”

Feng Huaimeng shook her head, about to say something when a chilling voice asked, “Who’s being beaten?”

Startled, Meng Changjiang jumped aside, clutching Feng Huaimeng’s arm as they turned to see Nanny Xun looking at them seriously, asking again, “Who’s being beaten?”

“…Fengyue committed an offense.” Standing properly at attention, Meng Changjiang lowered her head and said, “She lost a bet with us, and Young Miss is giving her twenty strokes as punishment.”

Frowning slightly, Nanny Xun sighed, bowed to them, and walked toward the main house.

“No—” As the final stroke fell, Fengyue reached toward Yin Gezhi’s direction, her eyes full of grievance, finally growing dim as her hand dropped suddenly.

Yi Zhangzhu watched with a hand over her heart, wondering if she had gone too far. How had the punishment reduced someone to this state?

But when she turned her head, she saw Yin Gezhi’s face full of cold indifference, his eyes even carrying a hint of mockery.

Slightly stunned, Yi Zhangzhu couldn’t understand. Didn’t Brother Yin always like to seek out this girl? Why wasn’t he concerned at all when she was beaten so severely?

“Take her away,” seeing the person had fainted, Dianchai instructed the servants from behind, “Send her to the servants’ quarters and prepare a bed for her.”

“Young Miss,” someone said gently from outside the door, “Since the punishment is complete, let me take her back for further training, to prevent future transgressions.”

It was Nanny Xun’s voice. Yi Zhangzhu raised an eyebrow, looked at Yin Gezhi, and asked with a smile, “Will Brother Yin miss her?”

“Do as you please,” he yawned. “Just don’t assign me another maid. I’m not used to others.”

“Alright,” she agreed with a smile, waving for Nanny Xun to take the person away.

“Your Highness!” The supposedly unconscious person painfully opened her eyes just as she was about to be taken away, plaintively asking, “How can Your Highness be so cruel? You once gave me the bright moon earrings, but now you give me twenty strokes! Didn’t you promise to protect me?”

Yin Gezhi raised an eyebrow, glancing at her sideways. His gaze lingered on her empty earlobe for a moment before saying, “Go rest.”

How cold, how heartless, how delightful! Yi Zhangzhu felt that all the hurt this person had caused her before could be written off now. It wasn’t that he didn’t like her specifically – though he was cold to her, he was even harsher to others. Comparing the two, he treated her better.

After the person was taken away, Yin Gezhi looked at the sky and said, “It’s getting late. I’ll visit the training grounds later, then return to rest. You needn’t entertain me, just go about your business.”

“Good,” Yi Zhangzhu said. “I was planning to discuss summer clothes with Crown Prince Brother anyway.”

Yin Gezhi nodded, “His Highness the Crown Prince has been handling his duties well lately. He’s received many rewards from His Majesty. When you speak with him, someone as kindhearted as he is will surely help wholeheartedly. By then, you might get not just summer clothes but winter clothes too.”

Her eyes brightened, and Yi Zhangzhu nodded, immediately returning to her room to prepare for going out.

Fengyue was supported back to Nanny Xun’s courtyard, and as soon as the door closed, she opened her eyes.

“How did you still end up in Young Miss’s hands?” Looking at her, Nanny Xun sighed. “I thought you understood the rules well enough to avoid such trouble.”

Grinning at her, Fengyue said, “I’m fine.”

“Still fine?” Frowning as she looked her over, Nanny Xun said, “The General’s household punishment is truly not light.”

“Indeed, it was quite heavy. That’s why this servant padded herself beforehand.”

Standing straight, Fengyue winked, pulled Nanny Xun into the room, and under her shocked gaze, loosened her pants to pull out a heavy, dark piece of armor.

“This…” Nanny Xun was dumbfounded. “What is this?”

“A dragon-scale armor piece. It’s impervious to swords and protects vital organs. Warriors often carry it for protection,” Fengyue smiled. “This servant knew trouble was coming today, so I came prepared.”

The lie came naturally. At least Nanny Xun was convinced, her eyes showing admiration.

Breathing a slight sigh of relief, Fengyue looked down at the object.

A piece of dragon-carved armor about the size of two palms – it was what Yin Gezhi usually wore on his chest. In today’s emergency, he had pulled her behind the fake mountain and given it to her as padding.