At Yun Chu’s single command, the servants immediately carried a long bench into the courtyard.

Xie Shiwei was pressed onto the bench by the servants. He struggled desperately. “Mother, I was wrong! I truly was wrong! I beg Mother to spare me this once…”

Yun Chu said coldly, “Begin.”

Two strong and sturdy servants stood on either side, each holding a thick wooden plank in their hands.

“Smack!”

A vicious strike landed on Xie Shiwei’s bottom.

He let out a wretched scream.

“Stop!”

Nanny He, wearing the blue clothing of a servant, suddenly rushed in from outside the courtyard and shoved aside the person wielding the plank.

She lowered her head to hide her anxious expression, walked before Yun Chu, and curtsied. “Madam, employing family discipline is a momentous matter. Shouldn’t Madam ask Old Madam’s and the Mistress’s opinions first… Moreover, Second Young Master is young and might not be able to withstand twenty strokes. If he’s beaten badly and Old Madam holds you accountable…”

Yun Chu laughed lightly. “How is it that Nanny He seems to care more for Shiwei than I, his mother? It’s as if Nanny He is the birth mother, while I, the legitimate mother, am more like a stepmother.”

Nanny He’s face suddenly turned pale. “Madam, this servant doesn’t mean that. This servant is worried that Old Madam will blame Madam for injuring Second Young Master…”

“A servant has no place worrying about the masters’ affairs. Stand aside!” Yun Chu’s voice was extremely cold. “You all, continue!”

The two servants stepped forward. With another smack, Xie Shiwei let out continuous screams.

Nanny He bit her lower lip.

Indeed, not being her biological child, there was no heartache at all.

She turned and ran toward Anshou Hall.

Yun Chu calmly watched the servants strike with the plank—one, two, three strikes. At first, Xie Shiwei could still scream, but later his voice grew weaker and weaker.

By the tenth strike, he had directly fainted.

“Shiwei!”

Old Madam arrived late, leaning on her cane. Seeing this scene, she was utterly frightened.

“Quickly, quickly go fetch a physician!”

The old lady was terribly flustered, having people hurriedly carry Xie Shiwei back to his room.

“If I hadn’t come, were you planning to beat Shiwei to death!” Old Madam stared at Yun Chu, enunciating each word. “It’s just a cricket. If it died, it died. Just go buy another one. Was it necessary to beat the child like this! Even if punishment was needed, there are a hundred other ways. Who gave you permission to use family discipline? You’re trying to take Shiwei’s life!”

Xie Shi’an stepped forward. “Great-grandmother, this was my decision.”

Old Madam was stunned.

Nanny He had run here breathlessly to report that Chu’er was going to beat Shiwei to death. She had thought it was Chu’er who ordered the family discipline.

How could it actually be An brother?

“Shiwei’s temperament truly needs to be suppressed. Otherwise, who knows what great disaster he might cause in the future!” Xie Shi’an spoke. “Father’s reassignment is imminent. If we anger people from Prince Pingxi’s mansion, who knows what the consequences will be? These twenty heavy strokes—Shiwei must receive them.”

Old Madam gripped her cane tightly.

Prince Pingxi was the current Third Imperial Prince, with illustrious military achievements and great favor. He was a great personage their Xie family couldn’t dream of contacting.

Yet her grandson’s wife had become acquainted with the young lord of Prince Pingxi’s mansion.

Yun Chu lowered her eyes. “Whether punishing An brother to kneel in the ancestral hall or punishing Shiwei with the rod, Old Madam always worries I’ll harm the children. In the end, it’s because I’m not the children’s birth mother. Perhaps in the future, I can only indulge and spoil them, giving them whatever they want, for the household to have peace.”

Old Madam was somewhat at a loss for words.

These past few days, she had questioned Chu’er several times, and the facts proved that each time, she had been in the wrong.

“Chu’er, these children are registered under your name, so they are your biological children. Whether you beat or scold them, it’s all your right. I, a grandmother of a different generation, truly shouldn’t interfere too much.” The old lady sighed. “Let’s go, return to Anshou Hall.”

Standing behind Old Madam, Nanny He pressed her lips tightly together.

Even Old Madam wasn’t intervening, and the Mistress was even less likely to. Didn’t that mean her children could be tormented at will by Madam?

But as a mere servant, what could she say?

As she walked out of Yusheng Residence, she heard Yun Chu ordering the servants, “There are still ten strokes remaining. When Shiwei’s body has recovered, continue.”

Nanny He stumbled and nearly fell.

The concubines in the courtyard exchanged glances with each other, each lowering her head, trying to minimize her presence as much as possible.

Yun Chu waved her hand, dismissing them all, keeping only Xie Ping behind.

“Mother.”

Xie Ping felt somewhat apprehensive.

Previously, she had thought Mother was extremely easy to get along with, but now she didn’t dare think that way.

She stood at Yun Chu’s side, presenting an obedient appearance.

Yun Chu had Chen Defu go buy an even better cricket to send to Prince Pingxi’s mansion, then taught Xie Ping to read the account books.

Xie Ping had also studied, knew how to read and write, but didn’t know how to calculate accounts. Tingshuang taught her hand-by-hand how to calculate clearly.

For someone who had studied, as long as someone taught them, this matter actually wasn’t difficult at all.

Xie Ping quickly learned about seventy or eighty percent. She calculated using last year’s account book and said in shock, “I never imagined that our Xie family, with such a small household, would have such high annual expenses. If we relied only on these shops, the entire family would have to drink the northwest wind. Fortunately, Mother is here.”

Yun Chu set down the matter at hand and said warmly, “So currently, the most important thing is to increase income and reduce expenses. You’re a young lady of the inner chambers who doesn’t understand increasing income, so why don’t you help Mother think about how to reduce expenses?”

Xie Ping had a feeling of being entrusted with important responsibility. She nodded confidently. “Mother, rest assured. I will definitely come up with an idea.”

For the entire afternoon, Xie Ping remained in Yun Chu’s side hall reading account books.

When dusk began to fall, she excitedly said to Yun Chu, “Mother, our Xie household has over twenty rough-work matrons in total. These matrons are all provided tea and snacks every afternoon. Calculated per person, it’s about ten-some copper coins. In one day, that’s over two hundred copper coins. In a month, it’s close to ten taels of silver. If we save this expense, we could save at least nearly a hundred taels of silver in a year.”

Yun Chu smiled. “Although a hundred taels isn’t much, if we find several more places to reduce expenses, small amounts add up to large sums. Over a year, it would also be a considerable sum. Ping sister, this matter is entrusted to you to handle. Can you do it well?”

Xie Ping was encouraged. “I will work hard to handle it well.”

Yun Chu nodded. “You’re young. Even if you make a mistake, it doesn’t matter. If there’s anything you don’t understand, come ask me.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

Xie Ping was full of fighting spirit.

Shi’an and Shiwei had been consecutively punished. Only she had received Mother’s praise. She would definitely handle the matter Mother assigned well.

She carried a large pile of account books back to her own courtyard to continue studying.

Yun Chu pulled at her lips and continued lowering her head to read the account books.

What she was reading wasn’t the Xie family’s accounts, but the accounts of her own shops and estates.

The Xie family’s matters just needed to be done for show. What was most urgent was properly planning the businesses in her own hands…

She remained busy until the sky was completely dark. Tingshuang softly reminded her that it was time for the evening meal.

The food and dishes had just been set on the table when Tingxue came in from outside. “Madam, Uncle Chen just returned to the household. He says the young lord of Prince Pingxi’s mansion is unwilling to accept that cricket…”