The temperature in the courtyard was chilling cold. Even though it was the middle of spring, it felt as if it was winter there. No servants dared to speak up in fear that they would get implicated. Everyone knew how ruthless and unreasonable Prince Ji Shu was when he was dealing with those lower officials who dared to cross him.

As Prince Ji Shu's mother is the Emperor's favorite concubine through the years, it gave the impression as if the Emperor wanted to give the throne to him. However, no one could say for sure as they would never point it blatantly in front of the emperor. They still wanted to keep their neck intact.

"Second Miss Wei naturally has her own legs. Why would she listen to her younger sibling?" Ji Shu said rhetorically.

With this sentence, Wei Zilin's face paled drastically. She knew that it meant Prince Ji Shu wanted to hold her accountable for peeking into his business. Even if her father pleaded for lenience, it didn't seem that anything could happen.

"However," Ji Shu's next words were even colder. "It didn't explain why you would send your servant to watch over Xiao Hua. Do you really think that the main daughter's position is so low to the point that a concubine daughter like you can pry into her business?"

Ji Shu ruthlessly directly used their status as a means to oppress her. No one could pick their birth and status, which was especially restraining when it came to women. Their position would always be low as only those who were the main daughter and main wife would enjoy better treatment.

Someone like her was simply treated worse than dirt.

Wei Liuying kept her eyes locked on Ji Shu. There was no emotion on her face nor eyes, as if whatever Ji Shu's said only landed on her ear to come out from the other one. Even if she was thinking something, her expression never changed. It remained placid throughout the entire time Ji Shu was talking.

"Are you going to punish this lowly servant*, Your Highness?" Wei Liuying asked faintly.

Ji Shu crossed his hand. "Xiao Hua is my fiancée, so naturally I'll be the one who will protect her."

"This servant understands. If Your Highness wished to, who can possibly stop you?"

Hearing that, Ji Shu's eyes flashed. He felt that the young girl in front of him was too cunning. She twisted her words so that she wouldn't need to admit that she was watching Wei Xiao Hua. Before this, he had already seen Xiao Yu not far from them when he came to visit.

"Do you admit that you try to pry into Xiao Hua's business despite being in much lower rank?" Ji Shu asked again.

Wei Liuying was still staring back expressionlessly. "If that's what Your Highness said, who can say that it's wrong?"

She knew. Even if she denied it countless times, they would never believe her. If only her position in the household was a bit higher, she would be able to act braver and not completely at the mercy of the prince.

However, it was impossible. Such were the laws of this world. Only the strong and influential had the right to speak. Someone like her was nothing in front of the prince's eyes.

The Imperial Family's words were irrefutable.

Ji Shu was still looking at Wei Liuying coldly. He waved his hand and his servant came out. "What's the punishment for stepping on authority, peeping into important people's business, and not willing to admit?"

The servant cupped his hand. "It's 20 beatings for the first one and 10 beatings for each of the two, Your Highness."

The servant girls around them were all surprised. It would be 40 beatings if they counted it all. Normally, even just 10 beatings were already more than enough to send noble ladies crying because of pain. Now that it was upped by four times, would Wei Liuying die because of the punishment?

Ji Shu nodded his head in satisfaction. He looked at Wei Liuying. "Do you have any objection, Third Miss Wei?"

"This servant didn't have any objection Your Highness," Wei Liuying replied placidly. It didn't look as if she was about to face harsh punishment as her expression didn't change in the slightest bit. If anything, she was so calm and unperturbed that it was the audience who felt uncomfortable.

But her attitude didn't affect Ji Shu in the slightest bit. He had seen a lot of people similar to her. He looked over to Xiao Yu. "Since the servant is the one at fault, she should also share the punishment. 40 beatings for two people meant 20 beatings each."

Xiao Yu's face paled almost immediately. Unlike Xiao Qing, she didn't learn martial arts, which meant that she might die if she had to endure 20 beatings. However, if she dared to refute, she knew that she would be punished again.

"There's no need."

"What do you say?"

"This servant said there's no need," Wei Liuying repeated. "The servant didn't do anything wrong, so naturally I'm the one who had to bear the punishment."

Ji Shu arched his eyebrows. "Are you telling me that if the servant is the one who makes a mistake, the master is the one who had to bear punishment?"

"If the servant made a mistake because of the master, wouldn't it mean that the master is the one who made the mistake?" Wei Liuying asked back. Her eyes were staring straight at Ji Shu without any hint of fear.

Ji Shu snorted. He had heard from Wei Xiao Hua that his two sisters were annoying. It was especially true for the third miss because she had such a cunning mind that even Ji Shu had to respect. Even when she was at an utter disadvantage, she still showed a brave front and stayed calm.

Unfortunately, she stood on Wei Xiao Hua's way. Because of that, Ji Shu had to eliminate her first. Could a frail young lady even survive 40 beatings? If she didn't die or bedridden for months, it would be a miracle.

"Stand up."

Wei Liuying stood up and a servant placed a chair near her. it was intended to help her keep standing even under the severe punishment.

"You can start the beating now."

The servant was stunned, but he quickly obeyed. "This servant understands."

Wei Liuying was watching without a hint of fear. She understood why Prince Ji Shu wanted them to beat her up here. There were so many servants around and if news about her being beaten up in front of servants were to go out, many people would mock her. After all, noble ladies cared for their reputation the most.

But for Wei Liuying, did it even matter?

Because of her mother, she didn't have the time to study arts that women have to learn, making her the second laughingstock. With her status, it was already impossible for her to marry a high ranking official unless she became a concubine.

With this beating, would it be possible that her father finally gave up trying to match her with someone high ranking?

Wei Liuying was more curious than worried.

As for the beating, it didn't matter much for her.

"Begin."

Pak! Pak!