Chapter 152: Each of You, Save Your Own Skins

Chapter 152: Each of You, Save Your Own Skins

Xiao Yuming, Qi Er, and Yan Wu stood in a row with their heads bowed, listening to Tang Shuyi, Qi Liangsheng, and Nanling Bo threatening the madam of Chunxiang Tower, their hearts trembling with fear.

Qi Er nudged Yan Wu and whispered with his head bowed, “How did the news leak out?”

Yan Wu also lowered his head and replied, "I have no idea!"

Both of them turned their gazes towards Xiao Yuming, feeling that the issue must lie with him; after all, the recently formidable Lady of Yongning Hou was adept at catching even the slightest clue.

Sensing their stares, Xiao Yuming rolled his eyes and said, "Is now really the time to discuss this? Better think about how to avoid a beating."

Qi Er and Yan Wu had an epiphany and immediately set their minds racing, but before they could start, Nanling Bo approached, grabbing Yan Wu by the collar and said, "What are you plotting? Planning which brothel to visit next?"

The collar choked Yan Wu, causing him to cough painfully, yet he still pleaded, "Dad... Dad, go easy, if you strangle me, my mother won't survive either."

Nanling Bo: "......"

Without another word, it's best to take him home for punishment.

Nanling Bo dragged Yan Wu by his collar and headed outside. Tang Shuyi glanced at Xiao Yuming and, without saying a word, strode out. Xiao Yuming hurried to follow. Upon exiting the back door of Chunxiang Lou, Tang Shuyi was assisted into her carriage by Cui Zhu and Cui Yun, and seeing this, Xiao Yuming quickly stepped onto the footstool to follow.

Sitting inside the carriage, Tang Shuyi saw her troublesome son attempting to board and, without thinking, kicked him on the shoulder.

Caught off guard, Xiao Yuming was sent tumbling to the ground. Knowing his mother was furious, he rushed to appease her, clinging to the carriage curtain and calling out, "Mother, I know I was wrong, Mother..."

"If you want all of Jingdu to know that Xiao Er, the young master, frequents brothels, then keep wailing, wail to your heart's content," Tang Shuyi hissed angrily.

Xiao Yuming promptly shut his mouth and looked around, relieved to see that aside from Qi Liangsheng and Qi Er, there was no one else around. Seeing this, Tang Shuyi snorted, "Silently follow behind the carriage, and run back home."

"Yes, yes, Mother, I won't lose track," Xiao Yuming quickly replied.

Tang Shuyi, seeing his shameless demeanor, felt a surge of irritation and flung the curtain closed, cutting off Xiao Yuming from her sight.

As the carriage began to move, Xiao Yuming immediately followed. As for Qi Er, he couldn't be bothered with him; right now, it was each to their own.

Meanwhile, Qi Liangsheng was lost in thought as he watched the carriage of the Yongning Hou's residence fade into the distance. Qi Er stood there, waiting for his father to come and fetch him, but after a while, seeing no movement from his father, he cautiously approached, following his father's gaze into the pitch-black night, seeing nothing else.

Had his father been stunned by anger?

"Father," Qi Er called out tentatively. Qi Liangsheng didn't come back to his senses, so Qi Er looked carefully again, there was nothing but darkness ahead, "Father, what are you looking at?"

Qi Liangsheng snapped back to reality and turned his head to see his vexing son's face magnified. He huffed heavily, stepped onto the footstool, and climbed into the carriage. Qi Er also wanted to get in but heard his father say, "Follow behind, walk home."

Qi Er: "………" Alright, if walking it is.

On the other side, Tang Shuyi entered the Hou's residence and headed straight for Shi'an Yuan, with Xiao Yuming following her, slightly out of breath, not daring to speak. In a short while, the mother and son duo entered Shi'an Yuan one after the other, with Tang Shuyi standing on the steps of the corridor, looking at Xiao Yuming who was trying to appear obedient. Despite this, the anger in her heart refused to subside.

"Thirty lashes, no objections, I presume?" she said.

To hell with the idea that children must not be hit or scolded, and that we should find the root cause and reason with them. All she knew now was that only true pain could teach a real lesson and make it stick.

Xiao Yuming had long known that this beating was inevitable, so upon hearing Tang Shuyi's words, he quickly responded, "No, not at all, Mother, you can even add a few more if you like."

Tang Shuyi snorted coldly, "Fine, add ten more, making it a total of forty lashes."

Xiao Yuming: "………" I was just trying to be cute.

Tang Shuyi wasn't concerned with the details; she summoned Niu Hongliang to carry out the punishment, as he was strong. She had made up her mind to discipline him thoroughly this time.

After a while, Niu Hongliang arrived, and Tang Shuyi said to Xiao Yuming, "Kneel down."

Without a word, Xiao Yuming knelt before her. Niu Hongliang, whip in hand, raised it and brought it down with a smack upon Xiao Yuming's back upon receiving Tang Shuyi's nod. The lash was delivered with great force, tearing through Xiao Yuming's clothes.

Niu Hongliang had once served under Xiao Huai and, after being injured, came to serve as the captain of the guard in the marquis’s household, his loyalty was unquestionable. Having watched Xiao Yuming grow up, and considering him almost an apprentice, he was furious to learn that Xiao Yuming had visited a brothel, so he did not hold back in the slightest.

Smack smack smack...

Lash after lash fell upon his back, and in no time, Xiao Yuming's back was stained with large patches of blood.

Tang Shuyi now fully understood the saying, "When the child is beaten, the mother's heart aches." With every lash that fell upon Xiao Yuming, her heart trembled. She felt torn between heartache and anger.

Suppressing the urge to yell 'stop', she watched Niu Hongliang deliver forty lashes before approaching Xiao Yuming and saying, "Captain Niu, you may leave now."

"Yes," replied Niu Hongliang, casting a glance at Xiao Yuming before striding away, his heart also heavy with pity.

"Go inside," Tang Shuyi said, turning to head back to the house.

Xiao Yuming’s back was a mess of open wounds and torn flesh, blood oozing from the gashes. From behind, he looked almost like a bloodied figure. Enduring the excruciating pain, he tried to stand, supporting himself with his hands, but fell back halfway up.

Seeing this, Shi Mo and Yan Tai hurried over to help him. Yan Tai was so frightened she cried. Xiao Yuming, with their assistance, managed to get up, then pushed them away and staggered into the house.

At first, he was scared but didn't take today's mistake too seriously. It was just a visit to a brothel, and he hadn't caused any major trouble. But now, his perspective had shifted. Even though he hadn't caused a scandal, the fact that he forced his mother, a woman, to fetch him from a brothel was a grave error in itself.

Entering the room, he saw Tang Shuyi sitting on a brocaded couch with a stern face. He walked over and knelt before her, saying, "Mother, I realize my mistake."

Tang Shuyi looked at the bloody mess on his back, his face so pale from the pain that she almost cried. Holding back her tears, she asked, "What exactly did you do wrong?"

"I shouldn't have gone to the brothel. I worried you, and even made you visit such a vile place," Xiao Yuming said earnestly.

Tang Shuyi snorted. It seemed he still didn't realize the true nature of his mistake.