Chapter 11: Simply Speak, and I Shall Fulfill Your Every Desire!
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“Yuan’er, you…” Madam Chen tried to speak on her behalf, but when she glanced at the whip beside Shen Yong, fear for Wanning’s punishment made her ask evasively, “Did you say something to Wanning in private? Is that why she introduced you in front of everyone? If you are dissatisfied with your marriage to Chengyuan, Mother can find someone else for you.”
The last glimmer of hope in Shen Yuan’s eyes faded into desolation.
That feeling of being abandoned, cast aside, and trampled upon surged through her once more.
Forcing out a bitter smile, she asked, “If my marriage to Lu Chengyuan is called off, then what? What sort of family does Mother intend to find for me? Some old, decrepit man? Or a cripple missing an arm or a leg? In your eyes, Mother, have I become a villain too?”
“That’s not what I mean, Yuan’er…”
“Why waste your breath on her?”
Shen Yong rose in fury, seizing the whip in his hand. The intent to punish her was unmistakable. “The Shen family has already shown you immense mercy by taking you in, not striking your name from the family register, and supporting and raising you! Whom are you trying to fool with that aggrieved expression? I have no desire to punish you for what happened today. As long as you kowtow several times before us, loudly admit your mistake, and promise never to do it again, I can spare you—for the sake of the father-daughter bond we have shared these past few years!”
The whip in his hand had once been used to discipline servants.
Shen Yuan had never imagined that it would one day be used on her.
Her body stiffened, and her knees grew numb and cold.
“If Father despises me so much, why not drive me out of the residence? Is it because you do not wish to—or because you cannot?”
When Grandmother had been alive, she had loved Shen Yuan most of all.
From the moment Shen Yuan was born, countless shops, estates, and sums of money had been placed in her name. They had all been Grandmother’s private property.
After Shen Yuan disappeared, Grandmother wept day and night, never once ceasing her search.
Even after Shen Wanning returned to the Shen residence, every asset belonging to Shen Yuan remained untouched.
Later, overwhelmed by grief and worry, Grandmother’s life drew near its end.
She feared that if Shen Yuan were ever found, Shen Yong would secretly hand her property over to his biological daughter, Shen Wanning.
Thus, despite her frail health, she brought her noble title before the Empress Dowager and petitioned her to have Shen Yuan’s inheritance sealed temporarily.
It would be handed over to Shen Yuan whenever she returned.
The Empress Dowager had been Grandmother’s close friend since their youth and agreed to fulfill her final wish.
On the second day after Shen Yuan returned safely, the Empress Dowager even sent her chief palace matron to pay a visit—a clear sign of how seriously she regarded Grandmother’s dying request.
If Shen Yong tried to drive Shen Yuan out without regard for right or wrong, it would not be so easy.
“You still dare to talk back?”
The private estate under Shen Yuan’s name was worth as much as the entire Shen residence. Every bit of it had been bestowed by Grandmother, and not one member of the Shen family, father or son, had any right to claim it.
Shen Yong could not understand how his mother, before her death, could have been so foolish as to leave all her money and estates to Shen Yuan.
Resentment and fury had therefore long been festering in his heart.
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“I’ll teach you to talk back! I’ll teach you to be insolent!”
Shen Yong rose in a fit of rage and swung the whip viciously at Shen Yuan.
Like a spirit serpent, the whip struck her body. Pain tore through her, sharp enough to reach the bone.
Madam Chen instinctively shielded Shen Wanning in her arms, terrified that the flying whip might touch her.
Shen Yuan’s body trembled faintly as blow after blow rained down. The scene merged with the shadowy beatings buried in her memories, and for one dizzying instant, panic seized her mind.
“What have you turned such a fine girl as Wanning into? And you have the nerve to be proud instead of ashamed! You even dare defy me! If I don’t teach you a lesson today, then my name isn’t Shen Yong!”
Shen Yong’s fury only intensified, and the force behind each lash grew heavier.
Only when Shen Yuan had been beaten to the floor, her cloud-brocade skirt torn and soaked with blood, did Madam Chen finally plead in a trembling voice, “Yuan’er is still only a child. Perhaps some unsavory person led her astray. We can teach her properly from now on. Please stop beating her! You’ll kill her!”
The whip continued to fall without mercy.
Lying facedown on the floor, Shen Yuan felt blood seep from the corner of her mouth. With all the strength she could muster, she lifted her eyes toward Madam Chen’s flustered expression.
That was not concern for her pain. It was guilt—the fear that Shen Yuan might die in the residence and leave the family unable to answer to the world.
The mother who had spoiled and cherished her since childhood was truly gone.
The eldest brother, Shen Yi, watched her being beaten in silence before quietly looking away.
The second brother, Shen Lang, wore a trace of pity, yet his concern was directed only at Wanning.
Even the youngest, Shen Yu, hid behind a pillar and dared not make a sound.
Every one of them watched with cold indifference.
Shen Yuan forced out a mad smile, her teeth stained a horrifying crimson.
Her feral, bloodthirsty gaze swept over each of them, as though she intended to engrave their faces into her memory forever.
“Is Lord Shen abusing his authority to administer private punishment?”
A brisk, cold voice rang out before the hall.
Shen Yong stopped.
Commander Pei Ji, who should already have left the Shen residence, had returned.
His eyes held no warmth, not even the slightest ripple of emotion.
That changed only when he saw Shen Yuan lying on the floor, her dress mingled with blood, while everyone present had withdrawn from her with detached indifference.
“Commander Pei, you… why have you returned?”
Shen Yong handed the whip to a servant and resumed his usual hypocritical expression. “My daughter is simply too unruly. I lost my temper because of her, so I gave her a little family discipline as a warning. I’m afraid you have witnessed an unpleasant spectacle, Commander.”
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Pei Ji noticed the blood dripping from the whip.
“If this was family discipline, Lord Shen, you were rather severe.”
“You do not understand, Commander. My daughter is impossible to discipline. Otherwise, she would never have…”
Before he could finish, Pei Ji’s next movement left everyone utterly stunned.
Shen Yuan, whose mind had been scattered by pain, felt the ground vanish beneath her. When she opened her eyes again, she was already cradled in Pei Ji’s arms.
He did not look at her.
With an indifferent, haughty air, he swept his gaze over everyone present. His eyes were dark as ink.
“Even in the army, such private punishment is forbidden, let alone when inflicted upon a defenseless woman. If Lord Shen wishes to hold a funeral at home, all he need do is say the word. This commander will gladly oblige.”
Ignoring the astonishment of everyone present, Pei Ji carried Shen Yuan toward Autumn Water Court.
He was even careful not to touch her bloodied back, lest he aggravate her wounds.
Afraid that he might drop her in retaliation, Shen Yuan instinctively tightened her arms around his neck until their skin pressed together, their warmth mingling.
Shen Wanning’s heart felt as though it were being cut by a knife as she watched her own husband carry another woman away.
“What is the Commander doing? Why would he save Shen Yuan?”
Shen Lang could not recall the two of them ever having any contact. They had not even met face-to-face once.
As far as he knew, the Commander was not compassionate enough to go so far.
“Mother, Sister… does she not want to marry Brother Chengyuan? Does she want to marry Commander Pei instead?”
Pain pierced Shen Wanning’s eyes, and tears spilled down her cheeks.
Her words made Shen Yong frown. For once, he could not help reproaching her. “The Commander is not a fickle man! Perhaps he saw that I had struck too hard and feared that someone might die, so he intervened. You are the woman who will marry the Commander and become his wife. How can you be so petty?”
“But I…”
“Wanning, do not worry! If Shen Yuan dares to steal Commander Pei from you, I will drive her out of the residence immediately!” Shen Lang comforted her.
Madam Chen joined in, offering words of reassurance for a while.
Shen Wanning stopped crying, but whenever she recalled Pei Ji carrying Shen Yuan away, jealousy flared within her like a sudden tongue of fire.
Even if it cost her life, she could not allow Shen Yuan to steal Pei Ji from her.
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