Chapter 41: Finger Pressing

Shen Shi had feigned illness for so long that her complexion had turned sallow and dull. Not only had fine wrinkles appeared at the corners of her eyes, but the sides of her nose and the corners of her mouth had also begun to droop. Neither powder nor rouge could conceal it.

Pear Moon felt that over this past month, Shen Shi had aged more than ten years, no longer resembling a young bride of nineteen.

Rather than this, it would have been better if the Young Master had not returned, so she could have continued living joyfully and delicately in Phoenix Ripple Courtyard.

Seeing Shen Shi in this sickly, listless state now, Pear Moon felt not an ounce of sympathy for her.

As a proper mistress, when Shen Shi felt displeased, she could vent her anger by beating or scolding the servants, and even driving someone to death without having to pay with her own life.

Meanwhile, innocent little maidservants had gone hungry for days because Shen Shi was in a foul mood.

If one were to speak of pity, Pear Moon believed she herself was more pitiable.

At this moment, Shen Shi was pointing furiously at Chun Tang. “You spend your days well-fed and idle, wagging your sharp tongue and gossiping about your master! Beat her mouth until it’s torn!”

During these days as the overseer, Granny He had been itching for a major incident to assert her authority.

Hearing that someone was to be beaten, she was as excited as if she had eaten honeyed dung. Flustered and eager, she barked orders at the matrons under her: “Fetch ropes, bamboo strips, and cold water! Wrap the bamboo strips with damp cloth and slap her mouth hard!”

The matrons bound Chun Tang’s legs and forced her to kneel on the ground. A two-inch-wide thin bamboo strip was wrapped several times with fine cloth, soaked in cold water, and then slapped fiercely against her cheeks with sharp cracks.

In an instant, over thirty blows were delivered, and Chun Tang screamed like a slaughtered pig.

Granny He, still prodding her cane, shouted, “Beat her! Beat her!”

Her delicate, oval face swelled instantly into a pig-like head. Because the instrument was soaked in cold water, no blood was yet visible.

After several dozen more blows, Chun Tang could no longer cry out, and fresh blood seeped from the corners of her mouth.

By the time over a hundred blows had been struck, she finally slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Even in this state, Shen Shi did not order the punishment to stop. Instead, with red-rimmed eyes, she sneered coldly.

“You wretched slave, open your eyes wide and see clearly! This is the fate of those who bully their master! Wasn’t it said that I favor my own dowry maids? Chun Tang, this wench, is also one of my dowry maids, and I will deal with her impartially!”

Shen Shi cried and cursed as she spoke, as if she were the one being bullied rather than the one punishing the servant.

Dozens of matrons and maidservants in the courtyard held their breath, not daring to make a sound.

Peering through the crowd, Pear Moon saw Chun Tang lying on the ground, a pool of blood by her mouth, a few white teeth spat out, her slender body trembling uncontrollably. It was unclear whether she was alive or dead.

Zhi Qing could no longer bear to watch and stepped forward, whispering in persuasion, “Chun Tang is ignorant. Since you have punished her, Mistress, do not let her serve you anymore. She is a servant of the Shen family. Have her parents come and take her away.”

Shen Shi, her eyes red with anger, shot a sidelong glance at Zhi Qing.

“Chun Tang gossiped about her master and spoke unforgivable words. If this were in our Shen family, she should have been beaten to death on the spot, and her parents held accountable! Granny He, summon a slave trader immediately. Sell her to another province and forbid her from ever returning to the capital!”

Granny He eagerly agreed and hobbled out.

“This ungrateful wench Chun Tang must be sold to a lowly household to atone for her sins. I doubt her parents would dare utter a word! Wait here, Mistress. This old servant will summon several slave traders and have her sold to the remote mountains!”

When she heard about selling Chun Tang, she began calculating in her mind, thinking she could pocket a tidy sum for her own coffin.

Chun Tang was fifteen this year, at the prime of her youth, and came from the households of Grand Secretary Shen and Ningguo Mansion.

In the hands of an outside slave trader, she would be worth at least fifty taels of silver. If sold to a brothel, she could fetch seventy or eighty taels without question.

Shen Shi was in a fit of rage and would likely hand over only three or four taels casually, leaving the rest for Granny He to pocket.

Granny He was overjoyed, but the maids and old women of the Ning household in the courtyard were all stunned.

In the hundred-year history of Ningguo Mansion, there had never been an incident of selling off servants. They had only heard of buying people, never selling them.

Seeing that Shen Shi was actually doing such a thing, a bold one spoke up to advise:

“Please calm your anger, Eldest Young Mistress. No matter how bad Chun Tang is, you should show her more leniency, considering she came with you as part of your dowry. If she served poorly, just send her back to the Shen family. Our Ningguo Mansion has never sold anyone before. Please don’t let anger cloud your judgment.”

Those who understood the situation better reminded Granny He: “With Granny Zhao idle, you, Granny He, are the one in charge. The Eldest Young Mistress selling a maid is just angry talk. Not only did you not stop her, why did you even rush to fan the flames? If word spreads outside, people won’t say you, Granny He, are foolish, but will instead think the Eldest Young Mistress is harsh. We are all servants. If Chun Tang can be sold today, you could be sold tomorrow. Why didn’t you say a word of advice?”

These words were like cold water poured over her head, striking straight at Granny He’s heart.

Everyone was a servant. If Shen Shi set a precedent for selling people, who wouldn’t she dare to sell when she got angry in the future?

Even if Granny He, being old, wasn’t afraid for herself, she had a large family of sons, daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters. Who could guarantee none of them would cause trouble?

Only then did the old woman realize she had spoken too absolutely.

Granny He hesitated slightly, but Shen Shi was relentless, insisting on selling Chun Tang before she would stop.

In the end, with everyone persuading her, they had the matron in charge of punishment strip Chun Tang of her clothes and give her thirty heavy blows with a rod.

Chun Tang, a delicate young maid, was beaten until her skin split and flesh tore, no longer looking human.

Only then did they send someone to the Shen family to summon her parents to take their daughter away.

Pear Moon stared wide-eyed, feeling a chill run down her spine, as if it were no longer spring weather.

Standing on tiptoe, she stole a glance at Shen Shi’s expression and knew she would not let the matter rest today.

Chun Tang had spread rumors, saying she relied on her sister-in-law to supplement her dowry, hindered her husband from inheriting the title, and was at odds with her in-laws.

If these were all lies, Shen Shi wouldn’t have been so furious, but every word was true, striking straight at her heart.

Shen Shi cared deeply about face. Just beating Chun Tang would never be enough.

Pear Moon’s heart sank. If she stood there waiting to be punished, wouldn’t she be a fool?

She had entered Ningguo Mansion at six years old and had experienced all sorts of things, big and small, but she had never seen a maid beaten to death.

Two years ago, when Third Madam slapped a young maid for stealing, Madam Ning scolded her for losing her dignity.

Shen Shi’s reputation was already poor. As long as she ran out of Phoenix Ripple Courtyard, could Shen Shi really chase after her to beat her?

With this idea in mind, Pear Moon grabbed Huan Huan with one hand, dragged Autumn Abundance with the other, lowered her head, and slipped through the crowd to run.

Unfortunately, the side gate was still bolted. Just as she was frantically trying to open it, she heard a thunderous roar from behind.

“Chun Tang was the instigator, but you are all in cahoots—a bunch of lazy, sneaky, worthless thieves! Granny He, for all the coarse maids in Phoenix Ripple Courtyard, clamp their fingers and give them twenty strokes with the rod to teach them a lesson!”

Before Pear Moon could turn around, she felt a tight grip on her back and was lifted up by a fierce old woman.

Two more stout, broad-shouldered old women grabbed Huan Huan and Autumn Abundance.

A group of coarse young maids were all thrown into the center of the courtyard.

Besides the three from the small kitchen, there were four from the miscellaneous courtyard who did laundry and cleaned chamber pots—seven girls in total, crying and begging in chaos.

Granny He, looking smug, ordered someone to bring the finger clamps and clamp Pear Moon and the others’ fingers.

The finger clamps were made of small bamboo sticks tied with thin hemp rope. When clamped on the fingers, the pain was excruciating.

They were only used in government offices for female prisoners. No one had ever heard of them being used as household punishment, let alone seen them in Ningguo Mansion.

Pear Moon was kicked twice by the fierce old woman and, unable to struggle free, had the clamps applied.

The finger press had not yet been tightened when a chorus of wailing erupted, with cries of pain shrieking like slaughtered pigs.

Granny He forbade them from weeping and urged the matrons to strike with bamboo boards.

The matrons swung a few random blows, none of them willing to be too harsh, and offered apologetic smiles as they tried to persuade Shen Shi.

“Chun Tang has already been punished—these young girls are innocent. When there’s food and wine, there are guests to share it, but who would willingly share a beating? They’ve learned their lesson now, and it would be wise for the mistress to show mercy.”

Shen Shi clenched her teeth tightly, her eyes red as blood, as if she had suffered a grave insult.

“You think because you’re born into this household, you can trample over me? Spreading rumors behind my back to tarnish my reputation—I’ll make sure you know who is the master and who is the servant in this courtyard! Hurry up and carry out the punishment! If they aren’t beaten to death today, you’ll all taste the bamboo boards yourselves!”

From Shen Shi’s words, it was clear she was not punishing the maids for their own sake, but to shame her husband’s family.

With no other choice, the matrons swung their boards in a frenzy of blows.

Pear Moon, her fingers caught in the press, felt a piercing pain shooting to her heart, yet she still had to roll frantically on the ground to dodge the bamboo boards.

The group of young maids wailed so loudly it seemed to shake the heavens, different from when Chun Tang was beaten earlier, and everyone who heard it trembled with fear.

Just as the chaos in Phoenix Ripple Courtyard reached its peak, a great commotion erupted at the entrance.

The lacquered door slammed open with a crash, nearly tearing it from its hinges, as a matron’s voice rang out sharply:

“Madam Ning is here! Stop at once!”