Gu Yimiao opened her mouth but couldn't say a word. She couldn't very well admit that Xiaocui was the spy she had planted beside Gu Jiangyue, so she couldn't let her die. Seeing Gu Yimiao at a loss for words, Gu Jiangyue curled the corner of her lips in a barely perceptible smile. She turned to the two servants standing beside Xiaocui and tilted her chin in Xiaocui's direction.
The two servants quickly understood what Gu Jiangyue meant. They hoisted up Xiaocui's arms again, and her knees pressed tightly against the ground. The pebbles on the ground cut into her knees, and blood seeped through her trousers and dripped onto the soil.
"Let go of me! Let go of me quickly! Miss, save me! Save me!"
Xiaocui struggled desperately on the ground. Gu Yimiao couldn't bear to watch, but there was nothing she could do. If she really saved Xiaocui back, then Xiaocui couldn't stay in Gu Jiangyue's yard anymore, and she would lose her only value. Why should she waste time saving her?
If Gu Jiangyue reported this matter to the old matriarch, then she would be in even greater trouble. Everyone in the Gu Mansion knew that Gu Yimiao didn't get along well with Gu Zhengwan, and the old matriarch doted on her granddaughter Gu Zhengwan very much. If she caused trouble in front of the old matriarch because of a maid, the old matriarch would surely side with Gu Jiangyue, and maybe Gu Zhengwan would even mock her.
She wasn't going to do that. Moreover, she had just heard that Gu Jiangyue only intended to beat Xiaocui thirty boards. Thirty boards on a maid who had never done any heavy work would surely leave serious injuries, but she definitely wouldn't die. That wasn't such a bad outcome.
"Then you may punish her. This maid is truly over - reaching, but she was given to you by me. Please show some mercy."
Gu Yimiao had always been so high - handed in front of Gu Jiangyue. She never even called Gu Jiangyue "elder sister" but directly addressed her by name. But now they were in Gu Jiangyue's yard with no one else around. Only in front of outsiders or the old matriarch would Gu Yimiao reluctantly call her "elder sister".
Xiaocui knelt on the ground. After listening for so long, she realized that she couldn't escape the thirty - board punishment. Tears welled up in her eyes like a breaking dam. She stared fixedly at Gu Jiangyue. Since she was going to be beaten anyway, she might as well glare at Gu Jiangyue a few more times.
Xiaocui, perhaps influenced by being around Gu Yimiao, attached great importance to her own appearance. When she was with Gu Yimiao before, she would be a bit more restrained because Gu Yimiao never allowed any woman prettier than herself to appear in her yard.
But things were different after she came to Gu Jiangyue's side. She seemed to think highly of herself and always assumed a high - handed attitude. She always took things from Gu Jiangyue on the pretext of helping her take care of them and finally used them on herself.
Gu Jiangyue looked at Xiaocui's fair and flawless face. Instead of immediately ordering someone to take Xiaocui away for the thirty - board punishment, she strolled slowly up to Xiaocui.
Everyone was looking at Gu Jiangyue, wondering what she was going to do.
Until a clear slapping sound rang out. When everyone looked over again, they saw a distinct palm print on Xiaocui's originally fair face. In a short while, her face turned red and quickly swelled up.
Gu Jiangyue had put a great deal of strength into this slap. Xiaocui staggered from the blow, and her eyes were filled with disbelief.
"This slap is for defying your superiors and showing disrespect."
Gu Jiangyue's soft voice was clear and echoed in everyone's ears.
Before Xiaocui could even react, another slap landed on the other side of her cheek.
"This slap is for your laziness and sloth."
Gu Yimiao was stunned by Gu Jiangyue's actions. Only then did she come to her senses and was about to stop her.
"Gu Jiangyue, you!"
"What's the matter, sister? Am I wrong? Second Aunt promised the old matriarch yesterday that she would send someone to clean my yard today. Half a day has passed, and this maid is still slacking off. Look, sister, does this yard look like it has been properly cleaned?" Gu Jiangyue's tone turned cold. "Could it be that Second Aunt didn't even assign the task?"
What else could Gu Yimiao say? She now had only two choices. Either let Xiaocui continue to be beaten, or shift all the blame onto her mother. In that case, the matter would surely reach the old matriarch's ears, and then she would be unable to defend herself even if she had a mouth.
She wasn't stupid. A lowly maid couldn't be compared to her mother.
Seeing Gu Yimiao at a loss for words, Gu Jiangyue sneered and slapped Xiaocui hard on the face again.
"This last slap is for relying on others' power and bullying the weak!"
She deliberately emphasized the words "relying on others' power". On the surface, she was beating Xiaocui for her domineering behavior in the mansion, implicitly mocking Xiaocui as a dog, but these words made Gu Yimiao extremely uncomfortable.
If Xiaocui was a dog, then she was relying on Gu Yimiao's power.
Gu Jiangyue cast a cold glance at Gu Yimiao. Just this one glance made Gu Yimiao shiver involuntarily.
She realized that usually it was herself who had been bullying Gu Jiangyue. Now Gu Jiangyue was using Xiaocui to slap her in the face.
Gu Yimiao was so angry that her face turned pale, but what could she do? In this game, Gu Jiangyue was in the right, and she could only watch silently.
"Humph! Let's go!"
Unable to outwit Gu Jiangyue, Gu Yimiao could only leave angrily with the maids beside her, flicking her sleeves.
After they left, Gu Jiangyue lost interest in further punishing Xiaocui. She simply waved her hand and ordered the servant beside her to drag Xiaocui away for the beating.
By now, Xiaocui had stopped struggling because she knew it was all in vain. Gu Jiangyue knew exactly how to use power and status to crush her. Gu Jiangyue had really changed.
Before long, Xiaocui's shrill cries echoed through the yard. One after another, they were heart - rending and kept resounding in the yard.
Gu Jiangyue had spent twenty years in the Eastern Palace. She knew exactly how many blows it would take to beat someone to death.
Thirty boards on Xiaocui's body would definitely not kill her, nor would it make her faint too soon. It would only keep her awake and let her feel the process of her skin being split open.
She couldn't die. Gu Jiangyue had big plans for her.
Xiaocui's shrill cries still echoed in the yard, but Gu Jiangyue seemed not to hear them. She addressed the servants and maids standing in the yard.
"Xiaocui has received her punishment. Do your jobs well, and I won't treat you badly. I want to see a clean yard by the end of today."
She had not only quelled Xiaocui's arrogance, but also shown Gu Yimiao that she was not to be bullied. She had also vented the anger of the other servants in the yard and achieved the effect of killing the chicken to scare the monkeys. It was a four - for - one deal, truly cost - effective.