The night in the study caused by that incident ultimately could not be suppressed.
Normally, if such matters only caused a loss of face in front of the heir, word might not spread too quickly. But Tong Wei had been dragged out of the study while crying, her makeup smudged, her hair disheveled, and that lotus-pink dress unusually ornate compared to her usual attire. Anyone who saw her immediately understood that this had not been a minor mistake in service.
By the next morning, the news had already reached the Duchess.
At that time, the Duchess had been drinking tea. After Dan Zhi quietly reported what had happened, she slammed the teacup back onto the table, her expression darkening on the spot.
“Say that again,” she said. Her voice was not loud, but it carried a suffocating pressure.
Dan Zhi did not dare embellish even a single word. She only repeated everything exactly as it had been told: “Last night, Tong Wei used the excuse of delivering soup to enter the study. Her dress and appearance were different from usual. Afterwards… she threw herself at the heir and was immediately reprimanded and driven out. The people in the study already know. It has not been spread outside yet, but it can no longer be concealed within the courtyard.”
After hearing it, the Duchess’s face turned iron-black. After a long silence, she actually let out a cold laugh.
“Good,” she said, nodding. “Very good. A mere household-born servant dares to dream such things under my nose.”
She was naturally straightforward and sharp-tempered. When angered, she did not bother to hide it. She shoved the tea cup aside.
“All these years, I’ve clearly spoiled her ambitions,” she said coldly. “Staying too long by the heir’s side made her forget her own identity.”
Gui Qiong stood to the side with lowered eyes, not daring to interrupt.
After a brief silence, the Duchess issued her order icily: “Someone, drag Tong Wei into the courtyard. Give her forty strokes of the board. After that, send her directly to the country estate.”
At that sentence, even Dan Zhi was slightly startled.
Forty strokes was enough to cripple a young maid.
But she quickly understood why the Duchess was so ruthless this time. Tong Wei was not an ordinary servant. She was a household-born maid, someone who had served by the heir’s side for years. When such a person developed ambitions to climb into bed with her master, what was ruined was not only herself, but the entire discipline of the inner household.
If she was not severely punished, countless others below would begin to entertain similar delusions.
Dan Zhi quickly composed herself and answered, “Yes,” then turned to carry out the order.
Before she even reached the door, someone outside announced that the heir had arrived.
The Duchess’s expression grew even colder. “Just in time.”
When Xu Jinzhi entered, he clearly already had some inkling of what had happened.
After he had thrown Tong Wei out of the study the previous night, he had expected that his mother would eventually learn of it. He did not expect it to come so quickly. The moment he stepped in, he saw the Duchess seated above with a dark expression, and he immediately understood that there would be no turning back.
“Mother,” he greeted, bowing.
The Duchess did not even look at him. “If you’re here to plead for that shameless thing, you may as well shut your mouth now.”
Xu Jinzhi paused briefly.
After a moment, he still spoke. “Mother, Tong Wei is at fault and should be punished. But forty strokes is too harsh.”
Only then did the Duchess look at him coldly. “What, you can’t bear it?”
His tone remained steady. “She has served by my side for many years. Punishment is necessary, and exile to the country estate is also justified. But forty strokes would likely cost her half her life.”
The words were measured and impartial.
The Duchess stared at him for a moment, and in the end, because of him, she softened slightly. “Reduce it to twenty strokes. But she will still be sent to the country estate. Someone with such thoughts cannot remain in the manor.”
Xu Jinzhi lowered his eyes. “Yes.”
The matter was thus settled.
Not long after, Tong Wei was brought to the courtyard.
She had barely slept the entire night. Her face was washed clean of powder, her eyes were bruised with dark circles, and her lips were pale. Her hair was hastily tied. She had still held onto a trace of hope, thinking that despite the heir’s anger, there might still be some mercy left for her dignity.
But when she was dragged into the courtyard by two rough older maids and heard the words “twenty strokes, then sent to the country estate,” it was as though she had been struck on the head with a heavy blow.
“Madam!” she cried as she collapsed to her knees. “Madam, I know I was wrong, I acted out of confusion—”
The Duchess sat under the eaves, her expression unmoving.
“It’s too late to know now,” she said coldly. “I once thought you were sensible, but I didn’t expect a household-born servant like you to dare develop such thoughts toward your master. If I don’t punish you today, will everyone in this household begin to dream?”
Tong Wei’s face went deathly pale, tears falling instantly.
Her greatest reliance had always been her status as a household-born servant and her years of service by the heir’s side. She had thought that even if she had erred this time, there would still be some old sentiment left to preserve her dignity.
But when she was dragged into the courtyard and saw the silent crowd of maids and servants, she finally understood—she was completely finished.
She tried to beg again, but the older maids forced her onto the bench.
The first stroke landed.
Her entire body jerked violently, and a scream escaped immediately.
The courtyard remained silent except for the dull sound of the boards striking flesh, again and again.
Dan Zhi stood under the corridor, her expression cold. Gui Qiong did not even lift her eyes.
They understood clearly that this punishment was not only for Tong Wei—it was to warn the entire inner household.
By the time the eighth stroke fell, Tong Wei’s voice had gone hoarse. Sweat soaked her forehead, tears covered her face.
By the twentieth stroke, she could no longer even cry properly.
When it ended, she lay collapsed on the bench like a broken thing, her face ashen.
The Duchess did not even look at her again. “Take her away. Let her recover for two days, then send her to the country estate.”
That was the final decree.
No mercy. No reversal. No room for complaint.
When she was carried away, her eyes drifted instinctively toward Xu Jinzhi’s standing figure.
He stood there the entire time without speaking.
He had already pleaded once last night out of old sentiment. At this moment, seeing her in such a state, there was bitterness in his heart—but he also knew clearly that she had brought this upon herself.
After the courtyard quieted, the Duchess’s anger had not fully dissipated.
She lifted her teacup, then set it down heavily again. “You too,” she said coldly. “You’ve raised even a servant into such ambition.”
Xu Jinzhi did not argue. “Mother’s reprimand is correct.”
His acceptance this time was heavier than usual, which made the Duchess unable to continue scolding. After all, he was her son. She softened slightly.
“Forget it. Since she’s been punished and sent away, let this end here. But you must remember—there must be boundaries between master and servant.”
“I understand.”
The matter did not end there.
News soon reached Listening Rain Pavilion.
Jiang Yunzhi sat by the window, her embroidery needle paused for a long time after Yin Zhu finished speaking.
She had only heard that Tong Wei had made a fool of herself in the study. She had not expected it to escalate so far—board punishment, exile to the country estate.
At first she was startled. Then, faintly, unease rose in her heart.
Yin Zhu lowered her voice. “Concubine, let’s treat this as something we’ve only heard. Not a word more should be said.”
Jiang Yunzhi nodded slowly. After a moment, she said quietly, “I just didn’t expect it to become this severe.”
Yin Zhu replied, “She brought it upon herself. Now that the main courtyard is stable and the Duchess favors it, yet she still dared to act this way—wasn’t that courting death?”
Jiang Yunzhi said nothing further.
Her thoughts, however, grew increasingly complicated.
Main Courtyard remained calm.
That afternoon, Wen Yunyi sat by the window. A small porcelain bowl of peeled lychees sat beside her. Bai Lan carefully adjusted the henna dye on her fingernails. Her expression was quiet, unchanged.
Qing Tao hesitated before speaking softly, “Se… no, Madam Tong Wei is finished this time.”
Wen Yunyi gave a light “mm.”
“You’re not pleased?” Qing Tao asked carefully.
Wen Yunyi lifted her eyes slightly. “She brought herself to ruin. What is there to be pleased about?”
Bai Lan quietly finished wrapping her fingers, saying nothing.
Wen Yunyi looked at the bright color slowly seeping into her nails.
She understood clearly—inner courtyards never had only one wave of trouble. Removing one thorn did not mean there would be no others.
But at least she understood one thing now.
She did not need to cry, argue, or rely on any man to suppress those who plotted against her.
In the evening, Xu Jinzhi returned.
When he entered, he saw Wen Yunyi seated by the window, Bai Lan gently removing the cloth from her fingers, revealing the freshly dyed, elegant color beneath.
He paused slightly.
That day had not been easy for him. After the punishment and his earlier misunderstanding, the weight in his chest had not eased—it had only grown heavier.
He had wrongly trusted Tong Wei, and because of that, he had overlooked Wen Yunyi’s grievance.
And yet she had said nothing.
No complaint. No demand for explanation. No attempt to use the matter to gain anything.
That silence made him even more uneasy.
Wen Yunyi looked up at him. “You’re back.”
“Mm.” His gaze lingered on her hands. “The color suits you.”
Wen Yunyi glanced down. “Just something I did casually.”
Her tone was too calm.
Xu Jinzhi suddenly found himself unable to speak further.
What unsettled him most was not anger or blame—but her complete lack of need to hold him accountable.
And for the first time, he felt that something between them had truly shifted in a way he could no longer ignore.