Blue bricks and green tiles, lush osmanthus trees. The courtyard was filled with a faint fragrance of sandalwood, and the melodious sound of Buddhist chants could be faintly heard, but it couldn't conceal the hostility of Nanny Li.
"I heard that Miss Caiyu couldn't hold on after kneeling outside the hot spring pool for just one hour. Is this the body of a servant? You're clearly acting like a second mistress!" Nanny Li waved the switch in her hand, making a whistling sound in the air. Her eyes were fixed intently on Caiyu kneeling in the courtyard, and her lips were tightly pursed.
"Today, I'll take advantage of my seniority as an old servant in the palace and teach Miss Caiyu how to kneel and for how long to be a qualified servant!"
Caiyu had not rested well last night because of the wound on her back. Before dawn this morning, she was forcibly "invited" by Taoyao and several other new maids to the Zhaonan Studio in the Lianyin Pavilion and forced to kneel down.
She struggled a bit, and the wound on her back split open again.
The Zhaonan Studio was the garden of the Lianyin Pavilion. There were numerous pavilions and towers in the studio, with rockeries and strange stones scattered everywhere. The gurgling sound of clear springs could be heard everywhere among the green shade and flower paths, and the chirping of orioles and the singing of insects echoed each other, one after another.
It should have been a place that would make people feel intoxicated, but unfortunately, Nanny Li had other motives for choosing this place. The paths in the garden were all paved with cobblestones.
Caiyu knelt on them, and the uneven stones pressed against her knees, causing a sharp pain.
Coupled with the wound on her back, the pain from both above and below was unbearable. Before long, beads of sweat had covered her fair forehead, glistening in the light.
Her body couldn't help but sway a bit. Nanny Li was quick - eyed and quick - handed. She whipped the switch across Caiyu's back!
"Kneel properly!"
The new lash on the wound on her back was several times more painful than yesterday. Caiyu gritted her teeth and managed to swallow back her cry of pain. The sweat on her forehead slid down onto the ground in front of her and was quickly absorbed by the soil.
To make matters worse, Nanny Li called all the maids and servants in the Lianyin Pavilion to gather in the Zhaonan Studio.
Under the pretext of making everyone abide by the rules, in fact, it was to make an example of someone to frighten others.
The servants of the Lianyin Pavilion filled the courtyard. Watching Caiyu being punished, they all showed expressions of schadenfreude on their faces.
Especially Sui'er, who happily murmured, "Serves her right! She was acting high - and - mighty. On her first day here, she sold off Chunxi. Just because she's a senior maid, we've all been here in the Lianyin Pavilion for a long time. She didn't pay respects to the seniors when she came in and even tried to show us who's boss..."
The others also whispered to each other.
"Hehe, we couldn't deal with her, but there are plenty of people in this mansion who can. Look at how embarrassed she is now. Where's the arrogance she had yesterday?"
"Best if Nanny Li punishes her until her legs break. Then we'll see how she tries to seduce the prince!"
The chattering voices reached Caiyu's ears. They were harsh and annoying, like the buzzing of flies.
Caiyu suddenly raised her head and asked, "May I ask, Nanny, what are the rules in the mansion regarding servants gossiping privately?"
Nanny Li narrowed her eyes slightly and stared at her coldly. "What do you want to ask?"
Caiyu placed her hands on her knees and said in a calm tone, "I'm a new servant and don't understand things well. I'm just humbly asking Nanny about the rules. Since Nanny was sent by the former princess to teach the rules in the Lianyin Pavilion, and now I've encountered a problem. If in the future I come across the junior maids in the pavilion gossiping privately, how should I deal with them? If I handle it properly, it'll also be a sign of Nanny's good teaching."
Nanny Li looked at the chattering junior maids in the courtyard and then turned to look at Caiyu, who was kneeling upright on the ground. Suddenly, she sneered.
"You're quite smart."
Caiyu remained silent, but her face was full of stubbornness.
Since she was getting soaked in the rain, it wasn't too much to splash a couple of buckets of dirty water on those who were watching the show, right?
Nanny Li said to Taoyao, "Bring all those servants who are watching the show in the Lianyin Pavilion closer."
Taoyao immediately took the order.
Sui'er and more than twenty others were standing far away and didn't know what Caiyu had just said. When they were brought forward, they still looked proud, standing there swaying their waists and hips without any sense of propriety.
Nanny Li was angry when she saw this. She had heard that there had been no senior maid to manage the Lianyin Pavilion in recent years. The prince was a man and from a military background, and he was too lazy to manage the young maidens. So they had really been spoiled and become insolent.
Nanny Li said, "I heard all your chattering when I was teaching the rules just now. I'm here on behalf of the former princess to teach the rules. I'm acting on behalf of the master. When the master is teaching the rules and etiquette on top, you should listen and watch carefully instead of gossiping nonsense. Since you can't learn properly, then I'll teach you in a different way!"
"Taoyao, divide them into two groups. Let them face each other in pairs and slap each other!"
"I want them to know what the consequences are for a servant who talks too much!"
Hearing this, Sui'er and the others were shocked and started shouting for mercy.
Taoyao didn't care. She waved her hand and ordered the servants in the mansion to divide Sui'er and the others into two groups, each facing their partner.
Nanny Li said, "Slap!"
Sui'er and the others looked at each other, and no one was willing to slap the other.
Nanny Li sneered. "It seems you really have no rules and can't understand my words. Let me tell you. I'm the former princess's dowry maid. Thanks to the former princess, I can be considered half a master in this Yan Mansion. Not to mention you junior maids of the third rank, even senior maids like Caiyu and Bailu have to address me as Nanny when they see me. How dare you not listen to my order?"
After she finished speaking, she said to the servants, "Since they're not willing to do it themselves, then you do it! I originally thought that the junior maids would be gentle when slapping each other, but unfortunately they're ungrateful. You don't need to show any mercy. Just make them remember the lesson!"
Several servants responded and rushed forward, raising their arms and slapping Sui'er and the others one by one.
The men were strong, and they were used to doing odd jobs and guarding the yard. With one slap, the faces of the junior maids swelled up badly, and blood immediately came out of their noses and mouths. Their screams and cries filled the air.
Nanny Li said disgustedly, "Why are you crying when it's a slap from the master? No rules! Who was crying just now? Hit them again until they stop making a sound!"
Sui'er and the others' legs went weak.
Everyone had made a sound just now!
Before they could come to their senses, another round of slaps came as expected.
This time they learned their lesson. They swallowed their pain and held back their cries, but their tears fell like raindrops, and the blood from the corners of their mouths flowed down with the tears onto the ground.
Caiyu, who was kneeling in the middle, suddenly felt much better.
Look, she was just kneeling, but these people were really miserable. Their teeth had probably been knocked out, right?
Nanny Li stared at Caiyu menacingly. "Don't be so smug. You kneel properly for me. Otherwise, this switch has no eyes. If it accidentally hits your beautiful face, you'll lose your capital to seduce the prince!"
"Straighten your back! Keep your upper body upright!" She gently whipped Caiyu's thighs with the switch. "Separate your right knee, right foot, and left foot. Lower your center of gravity!"
Caiyu was sweating profusely, and her body swayed again.
Immediately afterwards, Nanny Li's eyes flashed sharply. Taking the opportunity, she raised the switch and whipped it towards Caiyu's face!
Caiyu even heard the sound of the switch cutting through the air. Instinctively, she wanted to dodge to the side, but Taoyao, who was standing beside her, was quick - eyed and quick - handed. She pressed her hand firmly on Caiyu's shoulder, not allowing her to move an inch.
Just as the shadow of the switch flashed in front of her eyes and was about to hit her face, a hand suddenly intercepted the switch out of thin air.
The familiar fragrance of sandalwood wafted faintly in the air. Caiyu was surprised and looked up sideways. She saw again the figure that had made her tremble with fear and anger yesterday.
Then, a rough voice full of mockery came from behind. "Nanny Li has quite a lot of prestige. You're even stricter than I, Lao Zhu, when training soldiers in the barracks. It's a pity that you're just a servant in the mansion. You should be a general!"