Chapter 365: Li Bihan’s Outburst

Chapter 365: Li Bihan's Outburst

This time, Li Bihan couldn't even get into Lu Lingyun's courtyard.

After Cheng Bingzhi was escorted to Lu Lingyun's courtyard, she directly administered household punishment to him.

He was tied to a long bench and whipped ten times on the buttocks with a rattan cane.

Each strike brought a howl of pain.

The cries were deafening, making everyone's hearts race, and causing his mother, who was waiting outside the courtyard, to be extremely anxious.

Li Bihan anxiously knelt outside Lu Lingyun's door, begging to see her son.

The maids guarding the door did not allow her to enter.

"Concubine Li, please go back. The young mistress has said she will not see you. Even if you kneel here until dark, she will not meet you."

Hearing this, Li Bihan kowtowed on the ground, "Please, young mistress, have mercy! Bingzhi is young and doesn't understand. It's just about a few books. Books are just objects, but people are living beings. Please let Bingzhi go!"

Upon hearing this, Little Wei, the head maid inside the courtyard, came out and angrily retorted, "Concubine Li, how dare you say it's just about a few books? Those were all the books from our young mistress's entire study! Many were rare editions, each priceless and irreplaceable!"

"Bingzhi is still the young master of the house, the flesh and blood of the Crown Prince. Surely the Crown Prince's lineage is worth more than a few books!"

Little Wei was almost amused by Li Bihan's audacity, "No wonder the young master acts so unruly. With a mother like you, even the best upbringing would go to waste! I must urge the young mistress to discipline the young master properly. If not, he will be ruined!"

After saying this, Little Wei slammed the courtyard door shut and went back inside.

Little Wei, now the head maid serving Lu Lingyun and also assisting in managing the accounts of several households, was not at all lenient with Li Bihan's insolence. She immediately went inside to report the incident.

Seeing this, Li Bihan's eyes welled up with desperation.

At this moment, the cries from inside the house also stopped.

After the ten lashes were done, intermittent cries could be heard again.

Li Bihan's heart was pushed to the edge.

She knew Lu Lingyun would never treat her son right!

She never taught him right and often starved him, and now that she had a reason, she would surely punish him severely!

"Where is the Crown Prince!"

"Where is the Crown Prince!"

Li Bihan frantically got up and grabbed a passing maid to demand.

"The Crown Prince just left the mansion."

Hearing this, Li Bihan hurriedly ran towards the mansion's exit.

As soon as she reached the side gate, she was stopped by the gatekeeper.

"Let me out! I must find the Crown Prince!"

"Concubine Li, do you have the young mistress's permission?"

Li Bihan screamed, "Let me out!"

The gatekeeper slammed the door shut, "Concubine Li, it's no use troubling us. Without a written order, you are not allowed to leave!"

Li Bihan was forcefully stopped at the door, not allowed to take even half a step out.

She was filled with urgency and desperation. She clung to the tightly shut door and slowly slid down.

By evening, Cheng Yunshuo returned home. He had just entered through the main gate when someone rushed out from the side gate.

"Crown Prince!"

"Bishuo?" Cheng Yunshuo had visited Guangji Temple again today.

After learning that Master Yuanqing's departure was scheduled for five days later, he spent the day at the temple with Master Yuanqing, listening to his sermons, temporarily forgetting his own worries and pains before returning.

As soon as he returned, he saw Li Bihan in a disheveled and anxious state.

"What happened?"

"Crown Prince, I beg you, give Bing Zhi and Lan Ying back to me!"

Hearing this, Cheng Yunshuo frowned, and the slight peace he had found was disturbed again, "Let's discuss this inside!"

He didn't comfort or ask questions as he used to, but walked straight ahead.

Seeing this, Li Bihan, despite her emotions and his changes, quickly followed.

Bishui Courtyard.

The lamp shadows flickered.

As soon as Cheng Yunshuo entered the room, Li Bihan, following behind, knelt down with a thud in front of him, tears streaming down her cheeks, "Crown Prince, Bing Zhi and Lan Ying are the children I carried for ten months, risking my life to bring into this world! They are my heart and soul. Bishuo begs you, give them back to me!"

Cheng Yunshuo looked at Li Bihan, crying uncontrollably in front of him again, feeling only annoyance.

His father had died, and he hadn't shed a tear yet. What does Li Bihan have to cry about!

Crying every single day!

"With you like this, what good would it do to return the children to you except to teach them to cry every day!" Cheng Yunshuo's pent-up pressures exploded at this moment, "Lan Ying is one thing, but Bing Zhi is a boy. Look at how much he lags behind his brothers! None of them are as timid as Bing Zhi, crying at the slightest harsh word! When his grandfather went to war, he was the only one scared to tears! Who do you think you're doing justice to!"

Hearing Cheng Yunshuo's sudden outburst, Li Bihan's anxiety lessened by a third, "Crown Prince..."

"Don't call me! You always come to me with trivial matters. Don't I have things to do? You cry and cry, as if someone has died. Has the sky of the Marquis's Mansion fallen? Even if it has, there's still me and Lingyun to hold it up. What do you have to cry about!"

Under his fury, Li Bihan gradually lowered her head. She slowly clenched her palms, letting him vent his anger, and quietly said with her head down, holding back her tears.

"Crown Prince, Bishuo knows she was wrong."

Her sensible and understanding attitude calmed half of Cheng Yunshuo's troubled anger.

Cheng Yunshuo originally wanted to scold her more, but seeing her so obedient with her head down, he swallowed his pressures and let out a long sigh. After a while, he brought up the matter Li Bihan had begged for earlier.

"Lingyun is helping to raise the two children for your own good. If you were truly capable of raising them well, why would I have to give them to Lingyun! Managing the entire Marquis's Mansion and raising children is already difficult for her. You always bother us with such small matters, how can I keep bringing it up with her."

The sudden accusations and anger were one thing.

But at this moment, with Cheng Yunshuo speaking like this, Li Bihan truly couldn't bear it anymore.

Small matters?

Her son's future is just a trivial matter to him!

Because he thinks it's insignificant, he can't bring himself to mention it to Lu Lingyun again!

At that moment, all of Li Bihan's pent-up anger burst out.

Cheng Bingzhi means everything to her!

Lu Lingyun treated him this way today, and Cheng Yunshuo still hasn’t returned her child. She’s reached her breaking point—she’s ready to fight with everything she’s got.

"Crown Prince, what a wonderful husband you are!"

As Li Bihan’s sarcastic words hung in the air, Cheng Yunshuo met her gaze, now blazing with anger for the first time.

"What are you trying to say?"

"You’re so caring and devoted to the young mistress, yet you keep bringing in one concubine after another!"