Old Madam sprang up with a cry. She didn’t know where she got a broom and began beating Xu Erya with it: "I’ll beat you to death, you bad girl, how can your heart be so evil, how can you do such a thing?" Mrs. Feng wept but did not dare to go over and help Xu Erya. Instead, it was Xu Daya who, fearing Xu Erya would be badly beaten, shielded her and ended up taking several hits herself. "I didn’t, I didn’t." Xu Erya kept dodging and crying out. "Beat her, beat this ingrate to death." Anning stood to the side, hands on her hips, fanning the flames: "I felt pity for Daya and Erya being young and not having enough to eat, so I would save some snacks for them. It turns out my kindness was wasted on a dog. Now she dares to harm me; such a little girl, already daring to do such things. If she grows up, she’ll probably drag the whole family into prison. We can’t tolerate her any longer." Xu Erya glared at Anning: "Great Aunt, how could you be ? I had no such intentions, you..." "No such intentions?" Content originally comes from novel⚑fire.net Anning went up and slapped Xu Erya hard across the face, using all her strength. With that slap, half of Xu Erya’s face swelled up: "You say you had no such intentions? I saw with my own eyes you taking a candle to burn my embroidery, and if I hadn’t intervened, my house would probably be on fire by now. You didn’t just want to burn my things; you wished you could burn the whole family to death." With her saying that, even the master could no longer tolerate Xu Erya. Fuming with anger, he said: "Beat her, beat her hard. If a child isn’t disciplined, they’ll never grow up right. This child has gone bad; she needs to be set straight." With the master speaking out, Old Madam got even more vigorous in dealing with Xu Erya, who cried out for her father and mother. She tried to run, but who was Anning to let her escape? Anning blocked her retreat, while Old Madam beat and pinched, practically beating Xu Erya half to death. Xu Daya initially cried and tried to intervene, but one glance from Anning stopped her: "Second Younger Sister-in-law, Third Younger Sister-in-law, are you just going to stand there and do nothing?" Mrs. Feng hurriedly pulled Xu Daya aside, while Mrs. Li quickly kept the children at bay. It wasn’t until Xu Erya was beaten until she collapsed, unconscious on the ground, that Old Madam dropped the broom and pointed at Xu Erya: "See that? This is the lesson for disobedience. If any of you dare to act out in the future, you’ll end up just dead girl." The children huddled together in fear, none daring to make a sound, and even Xu Daya was terrified. After a while, when Xu Daya saw that Old Madam wasn’t as angry, she let Mrs. Feng help her, and they carried Xu Erya to the bed inside the house. Once they got Xu Erya onto the bed, Xu Daya lifted up her clothes to take a look, and tears immediately fell. "Mother, look at Second Sister’s body." Mrs. Feng also took one look and turned her face away, unable to bear it. Xu Erya had been beaten by Old Madam until her body was a mix of black and blue bruises, some places even bleeding, and there were even cuts as if made by a knife, probably inflicted by Anning. In the end, there wasn’t a single unmarred spot on her body, the sight was absolutely horrifying, and both Mrs. Feng and Xu Daya felt their hearts break from pity. "Your Great Aunt is trying to take Erya’s life." Mrs. Feng covered her face and cried: "Even if Erya did something wrong, she shouldn’t be treated . She’s an elder; how can she be so unforgiving?" Xu Daya hurriedly stopped Mrs. Feng: "Mother, lower your voice, if Madam overhears, it will stir up another round of trouble." Mrs. Feng sobbed quietly, not daring to complain further. Xu Daya whispered, "What happened today indeed was Erya’s fault. What was she doing in Madam’s room for no reason? Everything in Madam’s room is valuable, either embroidery or the husband’s books, damaging any would be beyond our means to repay." "She’s still young, doesn’t understand these things." Mrs. Feng tried her best to excuse Xu Er Ya, "If Madam disciplines her, wouldn’t that suffice? Why be so ruthless? If anything happens to Erya, I... I will fight with my life." Then a gentle voice was heard. Following that, Anning entered with a bowl of medicinal paste. Upon entering, she smiled first, her smile containing a hint of mockery, "What, planning to fight to the death with me? So what if I hit her, if you have the guts, come fight me now." Xu Daya quickly jumped off the bed and bowed to Anning: "Madam." Mrs. Feng was also terrified, stammering, "Sister-in-law, it... it was all said in anger." Anning spat out and placed the medicinal paste on the table: "Don’t say I am intolerant. I never wished for Erya to die; look, I even brought special medicine for you." Mrs. Feng was made so embarrassed by Anning’s words she turned red: "It’s my fault, sister-in-law, please don’t take offense." Anning softly said, "Not to criticize you, but as someone who should stand upright, it’s high time you disciplined Erya properly. She used to be obedient, but too obedient—she wouldn’t dare to say a word. Now it’s the opposite, she can’t seem to stop causing trouble several times a day. What do you think Mr. Qu’s family is like? They are prominent in our area, extremely influential. Their daughter married the county magistrate’s family. I am embroidering items for the daughter’s wedding. Tell me, if Erya damages something, our entire family naturally cannot escape blame, and will you then end up well? They won’t distinguish between the main and side branches of the family; they’ll hold everyone accountable, and the lives of our family of over a dozen people won’t be enough to compensate." Mrs. Feng went pale with fear: "It’s just embroidery; surely it’s not that serious." Anning sneered: "Not serious? Do you know what is meant by a Magistrate destroying a family and a county magistrate annihilating a household? With just a few words from these lords, they could make your life impossible. Not to mention anything else, when they levy conscription and labor, they’ll make things hard for our home. Our home has lost its pillar, but Second and Third are still there. If they are conscripted to serve, they will be assigned the most arduous and body-wearing tasks. Even if they manage to return alive, they’ll be half-dead from exhaustion. You pity your daughter, yet don’t you feel pity for your husband?" After speaking, Anning left with a flick of her sleeve: "I can’t be bothered to talk with someone as muddleheaded as you. Mother is still fuming, I must quickly go to pacify her, lest she suffers from your family’s unfilial actions." Xu Er Ya’s entire body was in pain, feeling like she was on the brink of death. Her mind was clear, yet her eyes just wouldn’t open. Amidst the haze, she absorbed everything Anning had said. Exactly because of this, Xu Er Ya became considerably more alert. That’s right, she had forgotten this was ancient times, an era where collective punishment existed. She and Mrs. Wen belonged to the same family—if Mrs. Wen committed an offense, Erya too wouldn’t escape misfortune. Previously, Xu Er Ya had been self-satisfied, considering herself smart and looking down upon these people of ancient times. But now she had learned her lesson and understood the importance of conforming to local customs. Ancient and modern customs were different, as were people’s thoughts. This is a place where filial piety is paramount. Even if Old Madam beat her to death, there would be no one to seek justice for her. Having realized this, Xu Er Ya began to reflect on her recent behavior of talking back to Old Madam. Indeed, she had truly made a foolish mistake.