Song Yuan naturally would not let anyone else see what was in his hands, wishing only to burn it quickly to preserve the Song family's honor.
Tiaohong also followed Song Chaoyu to see Xun Lü's "outcome."
Song Chaoyu followed the servants to the backyard, where there was a place specifically for punishing errant maids and servants.
According to family law, Xun Lü was to receive twenty strokes of the cane.
These twenty strokes were unlike ordinary caning.
The wood of these planks was thick and hard; a solid blow from one of them, relying solely on its weight, could inflict extreme pain.
Furthermore, the planks used by the Song family to punish maids and servants were studded with barbs.
Barbs as thick as a little toe, densely covering the surface of the planks.
Normally, if a maid or servant committed a major offense, five or ten strokes would suffice, requiring them to recuperate in bed for several days.
Now, Song Yuan intended to give Xun Lü twenty strokes, which was tantamount to beating her to death!
Song Chaoyu watched as Xun Lü struggled in vain and was tied to a long bench.
Her limbs were bound with hemp ropes as thick as an infant's arm, and her mouth was gagged to prevent her from biting her tongue or crying out too loudly.
Her eyes shifted from terror to pleading, and finally to regret and despair.
"Miss, it's too gruesome. Do you want to watch?"
As the first stroke fell, Tiaohong couldn't help but step forward and grasp Song Chaoyu's arm: "If Miss doesn't wish to watch, you may return first!"
"Why shouldn't I watch?"
Her gaze did not flinch as the cane fell.
"Mmm!"
Because her mouth was gagged, Xun Lü could only emit meaningless whimpers when the cane struck.
Song Chaoyu watched as the barbs on the planks made Xun Lü's back a bloody mess, stroke after stroke.
The Song family's servants were not entirely merciless; they did not strike Xun Lü's waist and back with the full force of the heavy planks. Otherwise, if her spine were broken, even an immortal could not save Xun Lü's life.
With the first five strokes, Xun Lü could still manage a whimper.
By the time ten strokes had fallen, her body was slick with sweat and blood, and she could no longer make any sound.
When the fifteenth stroke landed, she finally could not bear it any longer, closing her eyes and falling unconscious.
But the Song family's servants showed no mercy, and two basins of cold water were thrown on her to revive her.
"Wait!"
Seeing them do this, Song Chaoyu finally stepped forward.
Tiaohong handed some broken silver to the servants: "Our Miss wishes to speak with Xun Lü. I fear that after the next four strokes, Xun Lü will be unable to utter a single word. Gentlemen, please go have some tea and rest for a moment. After our Miss has finished speaking with her, I will call you back, alright?"
By now, all the Song family's servants knew that Song Chaoyu was deeply favored by the Old Madam.
Therefore, the servants accepted the reward and did not make things difficult for Song Chaoyu and Tiaohong: "Very well. Fourth Miss, please speak with her quickly, no need to rush. We will go and rest for a while. When Miss is finished, just send someone to call us."
"Thank you!"
Even towards these servants, Song Chaoyu was always polite.
As the servants left, Xun Lü's eyes slowly blinked, and her entire body went limp.
Tiaohong stepped forward and pulled out the blood-stained cloth from her mouth.
Xun Lü's mouth was also filled with blood, which mixed with saliva and dripped slowly onto the ground.
Song Chaoyu slowly approached her, then crouched down, looking directly into Xun Lü's eyes: "Xun Lü, we were mistress and servant. Today, consider this me sending you off. Father said that if you were beaten to death, he would send your body back to your family. This is to explain your crime, so your family knows that it is not our Song family that insists on your death."
A tear slid from Xun Lü's eye.
She opened her mouth, and after a moment, managed to squeeze out a sentence from her throat: "Miss, you knew all along?"
Song Chaoyu did not answer Xun Lü, but continued: "If you are fortunate enough to survive, Father intends to sell you again. However, your crime will be recorded. No matter where you go in the future, you will not escape it."
Another tear rolled down Xun Lü's cheek.
The tear landed on the bloodstains on the ground, like a faint crimson bloom.
Song Chaoyu then answered her previous question: "That's right, I knew it was you all along. You and Zhuzi conspired together, originally intending to make me push Third Miss to her current state, is that it? Zhuzi had aspirations to climb the social ladder, so you thought of me."
"I... I did it for Miss's own good!"
Even at this point, Xun Lü refused to yield: "I have been by Miss's side for many years, how could I harm Miss? Why is Miss treating me like this?"
"Heh!"
Song Chaoyu let out a cold laugh: "Yes, I don't understand either, how could you, after being by my side for so many years, want to harm me? But Xun Lü, we both know many things, don't we?"
At this point, there was nothing that couldn't be revealed: "From the day you came to the Song family with me, how many times did you go to Madam's chambers? You met with that Zhuzi again and again, was it truly just for my benefit?"
"And that day."
Song Chaoyu stared at Xun Lü with icy eyes: "That day Madam went to catch you in the act, intending to catch me. It was because you went to tip her off, wasn't it? I'm afraid you still haven't figured out why Zhuzi and Third Miss were under that pavilion, instead of Zhuzi and me?"
Xun Lü indeed hadn't figured it out, and was even more perplexed.
Song Chaoyu, however, reached out and gently stroked Xun Lü's tear-and-blood-streaked cheek: "Xun Lü, if you hadn't intended to harm me, you wouldn't have ended up like this. I gave you many chances, but what about you? If you hadn't done those things later, I might have turned a blind eye to many of the earlier events. Xun Lü, you insisted on doing these things, you insisted... on framing me!"
Her newly grown fingernails lightly traced across Xun Lü's face.
Until her fingers were empty, Song Chaoyu stood up: "We were mistress and servant. I am sending you off on this final journey, and letting you depart with understanding. That day, I had already sent the news of Zhuzi's planned meeting to Third Miss. They were close, so I specifically went to Third Miss's place and told her that I was going to be with Zhuzi. Therefore, Third Miss, in order to keep Zhuzi, would definitely go to meet him that day."
Song Chaoyu turned away, no longer looking at Xun Lü: "It's just that I didn't expect Third Miss to give herself to Zhuzi that day! Perhaps it was fate or destiny. If they had merely met in secret, you wouldn't have received twenty strokes. Unfortunately... some things are man-made, and also heaven's will."