Aunt Chen is back from the world of cultivation

When Zhang looked at Pei Xiao, her eyes were subconsciously filled with strong hope.

After kneeling for five days, even with a cushion, her legs would undoubtedly be crippled.

By then, if the abbot of Cihang Temple cannot treat her, she will become a disabled person for life.

But if the time can be shortened to two and a half days, she will have hope of recovering to normal even if treated by an ordinary doctor.

At this moment, even though Pei Xiao had been on the battlefield before, he still felt tremendous pressure.

The man has gold at his knees.

A man's face is more important than anything else. How could he be punished to kneel outside a rural Taoist temple?

If this gets out, he will be ridiculed for the rest of his life.

But if you don't kneel...

The words I said yesterday about facing it together with Zhang are still fresh in my mind. Moreover, kneeling can save Zhang two and a half days of kneeling, which can substantially reduce the harm to her body caused by this punishment.

Even though he never took women seriously, he knew very well that if he refused this time, it would really disappoint Zhang.

Zhang Jinghong's words echoed in my ears again.

"It may not be a bad thing for Jingnan Marquis's Mansion to show weakness and lose face at this time."

Moreover, by kneeling with Zhang, he was also sharing the hardships with her. If anything happened to Zhang, even if the Concubine Shu in the palace was resentful, she could not blame him.

After weighing the pros and cons, he had no choice but to kneel even though it was extremely humiliating!

"Okay, for my wife and for Brother Jin, I kneel!"

He said loudly and righteously, gritted his teeth, lifted the corner of his robe, and knelt beside Zhang.

Zhang was immediately moved.

All previous grudges disappeared.

Pei Xiao felt a little comforted when he saw this.

However, two and a half days is still a long time, and it is not something that two people can just spend casually just to show their affection and have enough water.

First of all, Zhang had prepared cushions in advance, but Pei Xiao did not.

Even though his physique was much stronger than Zhang's, his knees were still made of flesh and bones. However, he felt the pain after just one hour.

What was even more unbearable was that not long after, a noisy voice came from behind, as if a lot of people had come.

Pei Xiao looked back and saw dozens of villagers in plain clothes, all of them looking at the couple with great interest.

"Hehe, I thought my trip today was not in vain! Look, that lady really came to kneel down and atone for her sins again!"

One of the middle-aged men with a mouth full of yellow teeth said proudly.

"It really was a worthwhile trip! If it weren't for your news, how could we have seen such a noble official's wife! Moreover, an official's wife was punished to kneel, which is rare to see once in five hundred years!"

"This life is worth it!"

Obviously, some of these people were the people living nearby who came to burn incense yesterday.

It is no longer the busy farming season and it is rare to see new things in the village. Under the instigation of some people, they called their friends and came to Cihang Temple to watch the fun today.

Someone noticed Pei Xiao next to him.

"Hey, why is there an extra man kneeling together today?"

Although Pei Xiao's face was stinking and his eyes were cold, his temperament was really intimidating.

But these people who came to watch the fun were numerous and powerful, and they were not afraid of him at all as they were laughing.

After being reminded, everyone focused their attention on Pei Xiao again.

Kun Dao, the gatekeeper, heard this and kindly replied:

"This is the husband of that lady. He came with his wife to be punished."

Everyone immediately started to make a noise:

"Oh, you're still a romantic!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, a real man should kneel to heaven, earth, and his parents, but he kneels for a woman. How shameful!"

"Hey, wait, that lady is the Earl's wife, so her husband must be the Earl! Oh my god, he looks like a high-ranking official!"

Someone walked around Pei Xiao and his wife with a playful smile and entered the main gate of Cihang Temple. He stood in front of them and laughed:

"Hahaha, if I stand here, isn't that the equivalent of asking my uncle to kneel down before me? I can brag about this to others for the rest of my life!"

"I'm coming too! I want you to kneel down before me, too!"

Everyone suddenly became excited, and several people ran up to Pei Xiao to show off their might.

Being mocked and teased by a group of untouchables made Pei Xiao want to stand up and draw his sword to kill someone.

But he still had his sanity.

The Jingnan Marquis's Mansion is now seriously investigating the case and it is clear that he is still in prison and has not escaped punishment at all.

The Concubine Shu had finally persuaded His Majesty to forgive the Marquis' Mansion. If he went on a rage and killed or injured civilians in public, he and the Marquis' Mansion of Jingnan would be truly finished.

Thinking of this, and what Kun Dao had just said, Pei Xiao felt a chill down his spine for the first time.

The abbot of Cihang Temple actually knew that he would come a long time ago, and even planned to make him kneel down as punishment along with Zhang.

Then, now these people who came to watch the fun came to deliberately provoke him.

So, does it mean that all this was designed by the abbot of Cihang Temple?

Was she waiting for him to get furious and hurt someone, and then have Censor Yuan file a complaint against him in front of the emperor, so that the Jingnan Marquis' Mansion would be completely unable to recover?

Such speculation made Pei Xiao dare not act rashly.

Even when Zhang angrily asked his servants to drive away the people, he told them to be careful about their actions and not to hurt them.

Seeing how tolerant he was, the people could no longer get close to the two of them, but their verbal ridicule and mockery became more and more excessive.

"Ah, you were so ferocious just now, as if you wanted to eat us. Why are you not letting your servants hurt us now? Where did your courage to glare at us just now go?"

"You don't know, this guy is Jingnan Bo! He just made a mistake and was demoted from Jingnan Marquis to Jingnan Bo by His Majesty. If he dares to hurt us, I'm afraid he won't even be Jingnan Bo!"

"Oh - I see. I was wondering why he suddenly became so kind!"

"Hey, it seems the higher the position, the less courageous one becomes!"

Everyone pointed fingers at Pei Xiao and laughed at him.

Pei Xiao felt that he had never suffered such a great humiliation in his life, and he was so angry that his face turned purple!

But he is a man whose reason prevails after all.

Even though he was humiliated like this, he still knelt there motionless.

After all, he had already knelt and endured the humiliation. If he could not bear it and left now, all the humiliation he had suffered before would be in vain.

He kept taking deep breaths to keep his mind from being overwhelmed by anger and shame.

Finally, he found an argument that he felt was in his own best interest:

"My fellow countrymen, please calm down and listen to me!"

"I am indeed Jingnan Earl Pei Xiao. The reason I am kneeling outside Cihang Temple today is mainly because I came with my wife to apologize to Cihang Temple!"

"A few months ago, my wife failed to control her subordinates, which led to the servants setting fire to Cihang Temple. Not only did they burn down the meditation room of Cihang Temple, but they also blasphemed the gods. Although I have previously sent the chief steward to compensate Cihang Temple with 5,000 taels of silver, I still feel deeply guilty, so I personally brought my wife here to apologize to the gods!"

"The abbot said that if I am willing to kneel with my wife, he will reduce my wife's kneeling time by half, and she will only have to kneel for two and a half days. So I, Pei, am kneeling here too!"

After hearing these words, the opinions of many people watching the fun towards Pei Xiao changed greatly.

They all felt that he was approachable as he was willing to put aside past grudges and explain things to common people like them.

The servant in the house did something wrong, but he repeatedly apologized to Cihang Temple. This was really sensible.

Accompanying your wife in receiving punishment is a sign of love and righteousness.

No one laughed at Pei Xiao anymore.

Some people even applauded Pei Xiao and shouted that they wanted to be a witness for the Lord, sit beside him, and kneel with him for two and a half days.

Pei Xiao was greatly excited when he saw the situation turn around. He said with great pride:

"Okay! Since all the elders and fellow villagers are here, please bear witness to the sincerity of my apology. My wife and I will kneel for two and a half days and strive for the master's forgiveness!"

By then, with public opinion overwhelming, can Cihang Temple still say that it does not forgive the couple?

If he had a better attitude and took the opportunity to offer a large amount of offerings to ask the abbot of Cihang Temple to treat Jin Ge'er, the abbot would probably not be able to refuse.

Seeing the people applauding enthusiastically again, Pei Xiao thought so with full confidence.

Huiyun witnessed the changes in the situation outside from inside the temple and couldn't help but feel regretful.

The situation that was previously very good for Cihang Temple was turned around by Pei Xiao with just a few words.

Now no one laughs at Pei Xiao anymore, and the humiliating effect of kneeling as punishment is greatly reduced.

She reported the situation outside to Chen Qingzhu, and then asked expectantly:

"Master, should we do something else?"

How could she not understand at this moment that everything that had happened before was arranged by the master of the temple.

According to the master's style of planning three steps ahead, maybe there is a backup plan.

However, the abbot, who always holds the wisdom in his hands, shook his head without hesitation.

Huiyun was puzzled.

Chen Qingzhu didn't keep her in suspense anymore, and asked casually while playing with the beads:

"How did Lord Jingnan make his fortune?"

Huiyun hesitated for a moment and said uncertainly:

"Military merit?"

"That's right." Chen Qingzhu encouraged him with his eyes, "What if a general who rose to prominence through military exploits had his knees crippled?"

Huiyun suddenly understood, and excitement once again appeared on her face.

If a military officer's knees are broken, he will never be able to ride a horse and lead troops again, let alone make achievements and turn the tide!

If Pei Xiao found something wrong with his knee while kneeling, he would definitely leave without caring about his reputation in order to save his knee and future.

But now, he was overwhelmed by great anger and humiliation, and said those words before in order to save his face and reputation.

Inspired by the people's praise, he said with his own mouth that he would kneel for two and a half days and asked everyone to be his witness. That means he would never get up unless he knelt for two and a half days!

It was even impossible for him to put on the mat again.

After two days of kneeling on such a hard stone slab, his knees would definitely be broken! He would never be able to ride a horse and lead troops again!

Therefore, the original goal of the temple master's arrangement was to completely destroy the future of Jingnan Bo.

In this case, what does it matter if their family has a good reputation or returns to Beijing? As long as the Marquis of Jingnan is deposed, there will be no possibility for them to hold real power!