The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 766 - 755: Punishment

Chapter 766: Chapter 755: Punishment

When Bai Yu was invited into Bai Shan’s room, Manbao was giving them acupuncture treatment.

They lay on the bed, with charcoal burning in the room—it wasn’t very cold. They had needles inserted in their heads and their eyes tightly shut. There were no visible injuries on their faces, but they appeared to be seriously ill in their prone positions.

Zhou Silang followed behind and immediately said, "Lord Bai, as you can see, Shanbao and the others are really injured, and quite severely at that. Even though it doesn’t show on the outside, their injuries are internal. Look, look, there’s even bruising inside their heads, and we can only relieve it by using acupuncture to dispel the stasis."

Bai Shan and Bai Erlang just kept their eyes tightly shut.

Zhou Silang, speaking from experience, said, "They started complaining of headaches and dizziness as soon as they returned yesterday. Erlang even mentioned a pain in his lower back. Upon further inquiry, it turns out that it was the Second Young Master from your estate who kicked him there; he nearly couldn’t stand up. Would you like to examine the injury on his lower back?"

Bai Yu looked skeptically at the two young men lying on the bed with no obvious signs of injury. He was about to take a closer look when Mr. Zhuang, who was sitting to the side, let out a slight cough, rose to his feet, and greeted with a bow, "Lord Bai, the children need to rest quietly. If there is something to discuss, perhaps we should talk in the front hall."

Bai Yu had never seen Mr. Zhuang and hesitated, asking, "And who might this be..."

Zhou Silang immediately said, "This is Mr. Zhuang; he is their teacher. In our household, he makes the decisions."

Bai Yu knew Bai Shan had taken a teacher, the kind after a formal tea ceremony of acceptance.

As a mentor holds a position much like a father, here Mr. Zhuang indeed had more authority than he, a distant cousin, could claim. Of course, the implication was quite clear: Mr. Zhuang stood as the family guardian for Bai Shan and could discuss matters on their behalf.

After reflecting briefly, Bai Yu gave a slight nod to Mr. Zhuang and followed him to the front hall.

Facing Bai Shan and Bai Cheng, he could’ve taken advantage of his seniority to lecture them, but with a guardian present, it would be somewhat improper to overstep Mr. Zhuang’s authority to discipline them.

Bai Yu glanced back at the two young men lying in the bed before stepping out, his eyebrows furrowing slightly, full of doubts.

The previous evening, he had interrogated the servant that followed Bai Ning, who claimed that it was the three of them beating up his son alone—his son was beaten while being held down, so how could it be that they only suffered internal injuries?

As soon as Bai Yu left the room, Manbao tiptoed to the door to look out and then quickly hopped over to close it.

Bai Shan stealthily opened his eyes to sneak a peek and immediately whispered, "Quick, quick, take the needles out of my head."

Bai Erlang also whispered in a low voice, "Me too, me too."

Manbao proceeded to remove their needles and reassured them, "Don’t worry, I didn’t just stick you randomly."

Still, Bai Shan wouldn’t accept having needles in his head, no matter what— even if it didn’t hurt, he couldn’t mentally get past it.

After pulling out the needles, the three of them snuck over to the window and peered through a crack, wondering, "What do you think the teacher will do?"

Bai Shan urged Manbao to eavesdrop, "You weren’t pretending to be sick just now; you could go and take a look."

Manbao was curious herself, so she stealthily opened the door and slipped out.

Bai Shan and Bai Erlang, left unattended, crouched by the window, peering out for quite a while, but seeing nothing, they could only return to the bed to lie down.

Bai Erlang, holding contempt for Bai Ning’s actions, said, "If you can’t win, running to the adults to tattle, and then having them come knocking on our door—such poor character. We should definitely not play with him in the future."

Bai Shan heartily nodded in agreement.

They often fought in Qili Village too, and of course, most times it was they who did the beating. Back then, the villagers would never come to their doorstep about it.

Similarly, when they were beaten, their parents did not go knocking on doors either.

Unless called by the teacher, children’s fights were usually resolved among themselves.

Manbao sneaked to the front hall and eavesdropped quietly by the door.

Zhou Lijun carried tea from the kitchen, pretending not to see her as she passed by, going straight into the front hall to serve tea.

Zhou Si joined Bai Yu in the front hall, concerned that Mr. Zhuang might suffer a loss of face. Since he was also a parent, he naturally needed to be present.

Bai Yu maintained a normal demeanor upon entering, but soon described the sorry state of his son, who had been beaten with bruises and welts not just on his face but all over his body.

Of course, Bai Yu generously stated that he hadn’t come to settle accounts, as the three children were kin. He was merely curious as to why they had fought. Bai Yu glanced at Zhou Silang across from him and asked, "The three brothers all share the Bai surname, they should be united in harmony. They also got along well before, I really can’t think of a reason for them suddenly coming to blows. I heard that Young Lady Zhou was also involved in this fight?"

He was implying Manbao had incited discord.

Zhou Silang’s brows shot up, about to reveal the indecent plot his second son had concocted against his sister, when Mr. Zhuang gently coughed, causing Zhou Silang to close his mouth.

Mr. Zhuang signaled Bai Yu to have some tea and after he drank, said, "Lord Bai hasn’t asked your own son?"

Bai Yu replied, "I did, but the boy only knew how to cry, saying there was a verbal altercation and then they started fighting. However, I thought, since they are brothers, how could it end up as three against one, beating someone so viciously?"

Mr. Zhuang simply smiled faintly and said, "Lord Bai, I don’t feel it’s proper to comment on the matters of your estate. The children involved are even less entitled to speak. Perhaps you should ask your son again."

Zhou Silang couldn’t hold back any longer and declared, "Lord Bai, our Zhou family may come from humble beginnings, but we maintain our integrity. My youngest sister has been cherished since childhood. If your estate looks down on our family, you could have simply turned her away at the door. What is the reasoning behind inviting a guest in and then bullying her?"

Bai Yu was taken aback, and thinking quickly, denied it, "Impossible, how old is my son, and how old is Young Lady Zhou? How could he ever bully her?"

Zhou Silang still didn’t understand, but Mr. Zhuang’s expression suddenly turned stern as he warned, "Lord Bai, please speak carefully. Zhou Silang didn’t mean that. Perhaps you should ask your son again. If the Second Young Master won’t talk, isn’t there someone else in his quarters who will know? Bai Shan and Bai Cheng are honest children; they just saw their Senior Sister wronged, and since it started because of them, they were naturally upset."

"However, you are correct, Lord Bai, fighting is never the answer. Once they recover from their injuries, I will personally ensure they come to your doorstep to apologize and to be punished accordingly to give the Second Young Master a proper explanation."

Bai Yu narrowed his eyes slightly—Erlang bullied Zhou Man, but it was because of Bai Shan and Bai Cheng? His mind filled with doubt, but seeing Mr. Zhuang already offering tea as a parting gesture, he had no choice but to stand and take his leave.

Manbao, hiding outside, darted into the kitchen when the people departed, only emerging once the coast was clear, "Teacher—"

Mr. Zhuang gave her a glance and said, "Alright, the matter is settled. Call out your two Junior Brothers. It’s time for all of you to be punished."