The saying goes, "Spare the rod and spoil the child," and it also produces an obedient granddaughter.
He beat her until she had no choice but to obey, no choice but to marry, and never dared to defy the authority of her ancestors again. He beat her until her pride was broken, leaving her only fit to be a subservient appendage to men.
In short: Fight!
The assailant was a guard from the Xiling Pavilion. He had followed the old master in battles across the country and was used to wielding weapons that could kill. Now, he picked up a stick, his imposing manner unchanged, exuding a murderous aura.
With a whack on the back of the fourth young lady's leg, Wei Pingxi knelt down without resistance. She smiled, seemingly oblivious to the pain, her slender phoenix eyes fixed on her grandfather who continued to play with walnuts.
Do you know you're wrong?
Grandpa Wei asked her.
Wei Pingxi had been used to being hurt since childhood, and had endured countless beatings to grow into her current size and eccentric personality. She felt no pain, and when the stick came down, Yu Zhi's fingernails were almost split.
"May I ask, grandfather, what has my granddaughter done wrong?"
She was nonchalant, yet her heart was filled with resentment and her eyes with untamed spirit.
Old Master Wei closed his eyes, and when he spoke again, his voice was even more ruthless: "Give him a good beating!"
Li Le felt dizzy, and the handkerchief in his palm was about to be torn to shreds—why hasn't the madam come yet?
Yu Zhi bit her lower lip until it bled, her eyes brimming with tears, but she held them back.
The Fourth Miss was in so much pain but didn't shed a single tear. If she did shed a tear, wouldn't she lose face?
Wei Pingxi knelt there with her upper body straight. The stick had broken her legs and her spine, and the blows landed on her fragile waist. Filled with resentment from two lifetimes, she stared straight at her heartless grandfather.
The old man had weathered many storms in his life and seen countless people, but he was still taken aback by the madness burning in his granddaughter's eyes.
He leaned forward, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the handrail.
The sticks struck his flesh and blood, but he didn't hear his granddaughter utter a single cry of pain. He was both angry and felt a faint, indescribable sense of admiration.
One moment he thought, "He truly is a descendant of the Wei family," and the next he thought, "Such disobedience is unlike that of a member of the Wei family!"
Conflicts arose one after another, and the Opera Pavilion was as silent as death, with only muffled sounds of something breaking through the air and falling back down.
Miss Wei's throat was filled with the taste of blood. In her past life, she tried her best to integrate into this family and become a true member of the Wei family. What did she get in return?
It's still the same old saying: unpredictable temperament, utterly bizarre.
So why not be your true self? What's the point of enduring this? If your grandfather can't kill her today, then no one should dare to stand in her way in the future.
She was gambling with her life, and also with her grandfather's heart.
She really wanted to see if this domineering old man truly intended to beat her to death.
She died a tragic death in her past life, and she wanted to see who had the intention to kill her.
Or, besides her mother, who else in this family would come to her rescue?
Could it be her father? Or her older brother who carried her around the yard when she was three years old?
She wanted to see whichever one it was, to see if anyone cared whether she lived or died.
The grandfather and grandson were locked in a stalemate, neither willing to back down. Blood soaked through Wei Pingxi's clothes, making the bright red blood even more vivid.
The news that the old master had disciplined the fourth young lady at the Xiling Pavilion spread like wildfire throughout the entire Wei family.
Why did Grandfather resort to family discipline?
Young Master Wei was in his study, and after a long pause, he asked this question.
The servant below replied tremblingly, "The Fourth Miss refuses to marry; she wants to take a concubine!"
The words "taking a concubine" caused a thunderous uproar.
Young Master Wei's eyelids twitched, and after holding back for a moment, he slammed his hand on the desk made of centuries-old wood: "Nonsense!"
This "nonsense" was certainly not a sign of dissatisfaction with the grandfather.
One shout of "Nonsense!" echoed throughout the Wei family. Not only did the masters think it was nonsense, but the servants also felt contempt.
People who fawn over the powerful and belittle the weak are everywhere; they all have to watch their master's mood.
They all thought in unison that the Fourth Miss had indeed become wild after her trip. She had given up a good marriage and the position of a noble young master's wife to play around with other women.
Is she a man who sleeps around with women?
He wasn't afraid of being beaten to death by the old man for playing around with women.
Even if they were beaten to death, they deserved to be beaten to death.
The series of "outrageous" incidents made Wei Pingxi's act of bringing a woman back seem utterly absurd.
Everyone thought it was absurd, so this slight pity was suppressed, and no one came to her rescue.
Even if it means kneeling at the old man's feet and pleading for his life.
The person who could save her was devoutly worshipping Buddha in the small Buddhist shrine in the backyard. Madam Wei knelt on the prayer mat with her eyes closed, her hands twirling prayer beads.
The servants guarding outside the small Buddhist hall were extremely anxious and wanted to break down the door, but they didn't have the courage.
"Stop hitting me..." Yu Zhi said with difficulty.
However, she was of low status and her voice was weak, so amidst the repeated blows, no one could hear her pleas.
"Stop hitting! Stop hitting!"
She cried out, startling everyone present into realizing that there were 'outsiders' present.
Yu Zhi shielded the Fourth Miss just as the next blow came down, her eyes filled with tears: "Stop hitting her! If you keep hitting her, she'll die!"
Wei Pingxi let out a soft sigh.
No one knew what she was sighing about.
Looking at his granddaughter, who was swaying precariously but refused to give in, Old Master Wei asked in a hoarse voice, "Aren't you afraid of dying?"
"Does Grandfather really want me dead?"
One question caught the once-powerful old man off guard.
He disliked his granddaughter, but how could he let her die? Even tigers don't eat their cubs; he was just... just annoyed by her disobedience.
"A woman who doesn't uphold moral principles and insists on doing things that the world dislikes—do you think you can do much more without the Wei family?"
Wei Pingxi was used to hearing this, and she was tired of hearing it. She smiled, and Yu Zhi knelt down beside her and took out a handkerchief to wipe the bloodstains from the corner of her lips.
"I'm not a monkey, why would I do somersaults? Just because people like it doesn't mean I should do it. What a coincidence, people like it, but I don't."
"I don't like it either!"
A chilling shout sent a shiver down everyone's spines, causing them to lower their eyes and dare not look in that direction.
Emerging from the small Buddhist hall, Madam Wei, clad in brocade robes, strode into the Opera Pavilion, her brows furrowed and eyes cold: "Did your father-in-law ask me before he wanted to kill my daughter?"
Chapter 15 My Darling
In Mr. Wei's eyes, women are all playthings, and playthings can be divided into those that can be played with and those that cannot.
For example, the maid who holds his feet and massages his legs is someone he can play with.
For example, the phoenix, sitting serenely in its position, is not to be trifled with.
The reason his daughter-in-law dared to rebuke him so boldly was simply because she was his beloved wife, whom he loved more than his own life, the second legitimate daughter of a top-tier family, and the elder sister of the empress with whom he had a deep bond.
Madam Wei stepped forward to stop the one-sided beating. Old Master Wei gave her a deep look, but his gaze finally fell on his granddaughter, who was beaten until her skin was torn and bleeding, yet still wore a defiant expression.
I was furious.
The old man calmly flicked his sleeve: "Where did you mean to beat me to death? My daughter-in-law's words were too rude."
Madam Wei, who was usually a gentle person, was now relentless: "Even if it sounds bad, it's still better than my own grandfather beating his own granddaughter to death."
Wei Pingxi was numb with pain, and upon hearing this, he chuckled.
She felt emboldened; with a powerful backer, she stood tall and proud.
However, her broken leg and fractured spine prevented her from standing up.
Madam Wei glared at her irritably, her anger rising at the sight of the mottled bloodstains. Wei Pingxi smiled innocently at her, pointing with his little finger in the direction of Yu Zhi.
She's asking her mother for someone.
A beautiful woman who had cultivated her character for many years suddenly broke down in self-control. It's hard to tell whether she felt more heartache or anger.
She took a deep breath, refusing to budge an inch: "She's just a concubine. If you want her, give her to her. But if you kill my precious daughter, have you thought about how you're going to explain this to me, to the Yan family, and to the Empress?"
After asking the three questions in a row, the old man's face turned even blacker than the bottom of a pot.
In this world, only those with power can bully others. He's always the one bullying others.
The Empress Dowager liked this niece. It was also because Lingnan Prefecture was quite a distance from the capital that Wei Pingxi would inevitably have to visit the palace every few days to keep his aunt company.
Those who are registered with the Empress, let alone people, even a cat or a dog, would be treated with utmost respect and called "Little Ancestor".
If you beat your troublesome granddaughter to death, not only will the mother not stand for it, but the maternal grandfather will also not stand for it. Has the Wei family thought about how to face the Empress's wrath?
These words, taken literally, were utterly ruthless. The old man, who had reigned supreme in Lingnan Prefecture for years and had never been humiliated, kicked the maid in the chest: "A doting mother spoils her son!"
He stormed off in a huff, and the butler and the others followed, none of them daring to be a thorn in Madam Wei's side.
The Opera Pavilion fell silent for a moment, its deathly stillness gone. A spring breeze rose, carrying with it the pungent smell of blood that made one dizzy.
Madam Wei was anxious to see her daughter. Wei Pingxi mustered her last bit of strength to grab Yu Zhi's hand, and soon fainted.
The Wei family suddenly became very busy.
In the study, Wei the eldest son learned that his mother had rushed to the opera house in a great hurry. For the sake of his sister, she did not hesitate to confront his grandfather, and the pen she was holding between her fingers broke instantly.
"It's always like this."
He let out a sigh of frustration, unable to understand what was so good about his fourth sister that made his mother protect her again and again.
From childhood to adulthood, my fourth sister has always been favored by our mother, to an extreme degree, as if anything my mother would do for my sister would be worthwhile.
She could give her father the cold shoulder because her younger sister didn't want to stay in her room to learn needlework, but she could build a racetrack just because her sister said she "wanted to learn horse racing." One sentence from her sister was often worth a hundred sentences from the three brothers.
Which of the Wei family's children doesn't study literature and martial arts regardless of the weather?
This is the only exception.