It was because the one who said this was none other than...
It was the eldest brother, Xie Buyan, who had just come out of the bedroom.
Following Xie Buyan out was his cute little niece.
"Eldest brother."
"It seems that after all these days, your injury has almost healed."
"Eldest brother, as soon as I got better, I came to see you."
"Before, your sister - in - law and I went to see you several times, but you refused to see us. Why?"
"I thought my appearance was too disgraceful to be seen."
"I've seen you in much more embarrassing situations. Do you even know what shame is? If you did, you wouldn't have caused such a big mess. Do you know how dangerous that day was? You should know your limits when you act recklessly."
"Eldest brother, I—"
"I'm not your eldest brother. Go and call whoever you think is your eldest brother."
Zhao Shuning gave a soft laugh.
Sure enough.
Yan Ran was right.
Xie Buyan was a man of few words, but he was special to only two people. One was his daughter, Xiaotuanzi, and the other was his dissolute younger brother, Xie Jing.
Fortunately.
Although Xie Jing was dissolute, he still feared and respected his eldest brother in front of Xie Buyan.
"It can't all be my fault," Xie Jing murmured softly.
Xie Buyan's tone became harsher. "What are you talking about? Even now, you still don't know you're wrong?"
"Eldest brother, there's an outsider here. You're not going to beat me up in front of her, are you?"
It would have been better if he hadn't said this. As soon as he did, Xie Buyan remembered the ruler in the inner room. Their mother had given it to him when he was a child to discipline his younger brother.
Thinking of this, Xie Buyan walked into the room.
Xie Jing looked miserable.
"Come on! I'm already this old. Eldest brother, you're still going to hit my hand with a ruler in front of an outsider. If this gets out, where will I, the second young master of the Xie family, put my face?"
Xie Buyan still entered the room.
Zhao Shuning covered her mouth and laughed softly.
Of course, she had long wanted to teach Xie Jing a lesson. If it weren't for the fact that his injury hadn't healed, she wouldn't have waited until today.
But after all, he was a junior, and she couldn't show it too much.
"Hey, what are you laughing at?"
"You have the nerve to laugh."
"Did you surely talk my eldest brother into punishing me, right?"
"Don't even think about it. Although my eldest brother looks fierce, he actually loves me very much. Later, he definitely won't have the heart to punish me."
"You're still laughing?"
When they came in, to avoid being discovered, Xie Jing had closed the door, so the room was dark and it was hard for him to tell.
"It seems that your legs and feet have almost recovered. At least your mouth is more agile than before."
"Well, I said—"
Just then.
Xie Buyan came out.
Sure enough, in his hand was the ruler.
Xie Jing cried out. "Eldest brother, you're really going to beat me? You're so ungrateful. I'm going to tell mother that you're unfaithful to your wife."
"Uncle, did you call me?"
Just then, Yan Ran also walked out of the room.
Xie Jing looked at the couple, then at Zhao Shuning.
Then he said bravely, "Sister - in - law, why are you so generous?"
Zhao Shuning knew what he was going to say.
So she said, "Xie Buyan, can I beat this brat, Xie Jing?"
Xie Buyan bent down.
"Of course. Auntie is an elder in the family. It's her duty to discipline the juniors. How dare I interfere?"
"Brother, I'm your own brother! Brother, how can you let an outsider, ah—Auntie?"
Xie Jing quickly looked at Zhao Shuning.
Zhao Shuning was smiling, but she looked like a Satan from hell.
"Yan Ran."
"Auntie."
"Go and open the door."
"Yes."
Xie Jing gasped.
When the door opened, he finally saw the woman in front of him clearly.
She had bright eyes and white teeth, and her skin was fairer than snow. Her beautiful eyes were filled with smiles.
Every glance and smile of hers was just like the woman in the portrait at home.
He was stunned, and then he reacted and burst into tears.
Their mother had been extremely strict with them since childhood, but according to their father, their mother's strictness was not even half of that of their aunt.
Xie Jing knelt down and crawled towards Zhao Shuning's feet.
He was sniveling and crying.
There was no trace of his usual arrogance.
"Auntie, I'm Jing'er. I'm your own nephew. You can't treat me like this. Auntie, before, my eyes were injured, and I didn't recognize you. If I had known it was you, I wouldn't have dared to say those things even if you had beaten me to death."
"Auntie, I often hear my mother and father talk about you. They say you're upright and kind - hearted. An elder like you surely won't punish a junior like me. That would be a bit beneath your dignity, right?"
"Auntie, I was wrong. I was really wrong. I was terribly wrong. I shouldn't have gone to the Wanhua Tower. I shouldn't have quarreled with Hou Lin. I shouldn't have refused to repent until I was on the verge of death. Auntie, please forgive me, okay?"
Xie Jing really talked a lot.
Once he started talking, he couldn't stop.
Zhao Shuning said, "Xie Jing, do you really know you're wrong?"
Thinking that his "sincere words" had touched Zhao Shuning, Xie Jing quickly nodded.
Zhao Shuning turned her head and looked at Xie Buyan.
Then, under Xie Jing's expectant look, she said, "Is there a whip at home? I don't seem to be very used to using this ruler."
A whip?
The memory of being whipped by his mother when he was a child came back to him.
Xie Jing was about to cry.
He looked at his elder brother pleadingly.
But Xie Buyan didn't even look at Xie Jing. Instead, he turned back and said, "Auntie, please wait a moment. I'll go and look for it in the inner room."
"Brother, there's no whip in the inner room. Have you got a bad memory?" Xie Jing said while winking at Xie Buyan.
Xie Buyan thought for a while. Indeed, there was none.
So he turned back to Yan Ran and said, "Yan Ran, I'll take care of Xiaotuanzi. You go to the armory and find a strong whip."
Xie Jing had shot himself in the foot.
He quickly looked at Yan Ran.
With a bitter face, he said, "Sister - in - law—"
"Uncle, auntie is an elder. It's a rare opportunity for you to be admonished by auntie. It's something that others can't even dream of. Don't be afraid, sister - in - law will surely find a strong whip."
No way.
Why was his gentle sister - in - law now on the auntie's side?
Xie Jing muttered, "Auntie, my injury hasn't fully healed yet."
"It should be almost healed. These days, I've asked Buyan to send you pills, which are all great tonics."
"This—Auntie, you see, you've finally nursed my body back to health with those precious pills. You surely can't beat me up now. That's not worth it."
Zhao Shuning weighed the ruler in her hand and said, "Do you think that's why I've been asking your brother to send you medicine these days?"
"Ah?"
"It's just so that you can get a good beating today and learn your lesson."
"Auntie."
"By the way, I know you can take a beating. That day, Hou Lin beat you so badly, but you didn't even plead for mercy. But later, I checked. Hou Lin mostly used brute force when he beat you. The reason you couldn't move at that time was that most of the bones in your body were dislocated, which gave the illusion that you couldn't move your hands and feet. You weren't really lame. So you could walk soon after the joints were reset."
Cold sweat was streaming down Xie Jing's forehead.
What did auntie mean by saying this?