Crossing Over to Yamada Love

Everyone was speechless at Cheng Yueqing's outburst, while the old Marquis was furious, his face turning red. He was almost a great-grandfather, and to be publicly told by a woman that he wanted to be her concubine was incredibly humiliating. How could he endure such an insult? He was a marquis, the face of the court; if word got out, he would lose all face.

"Guards, drag her away and slap her. Let's see if she still knows any shame!" the old marquis roared, ordering his men.

The servants dared not delay and went immediately. Cheng Yueqing was terrified, her face turning pale, and she collapsed to the ground, her body trembling. Madam Cheng went to hug her daughter, but was kicked away. The scholar Cheng stood there speechless, wishing he could beat his shameless daughter to death. What kind of words did she say? Were those words spoken by a young lady from a respectable family? He was furious. It was all because of his wife's spoiling.

Cheng Yueqing's screams rang out. Seeing that she couldn't help her daughter, Cheng Fangshi glanced at the grim-faced old Marquis; she dared not plead for her. She had spoiled her daughter rotten. She had become arrogant and dared to say anything. But no matter what, she was still her daughter. She couldn't abandon her.

Thinking of this, she took a few steps forward and rushed to Wang Shi, kneeling down and kowtowing repeatedly: "Auntie, please have mercy and save Qing'er. She's a junior, and she doesn't think before she speaks, but she doesn't mean any harm. Please have pity on her, Auntie. I beg you. I'm kowtowing to you."

Looking at Cheng Fangshi who kept kowtowing to her, Wang sighed inwardly. Back then, Cheng Fangshi looked down on her family because of their low status, gave her attitude, used tricks to ruin Cheng Xiao and Lanlan's relationship, and humiliated her like that. Did she ever think about today? Did she ever think that one day she would be kneeling on the ground begging her?

Mrs. Wang glanced at her granddaughter. She came from a wealthy family and was used to seeing people kneel; she might not necessarily soften her heart. But what about her granddaughter?

Seeing that Madam Wang ignored her and instead looked at Mo Lan, the little girl she looked down on, should Madam Cheng beg her? Should she lose face? Madam Cheng hesitated.

Hearing Cheng Yueqing's continuous screams, Cheng Fangshi no longer hesitated. She hurriedly knelt down and crawled two steps to Mo Lan, pleading, "Miss Lan, I was wrong. I shouldn't have done that. I was blind. You can hit me or scold me, punish me as you please, but please let Yueqing go. She's only seventeen, in the prime of her life. If she's crippled, her life will be over. Please, for the sake of us both being women, plead for her."

Mo Lan felt a pang of pity. She looked at Cheng Yueqing, whose cheeks were swollen from the beating, her hair disheveled, and her mouth covered in blood. She saw the hatred burning in Cheng Yueqing's eyes as she looked at her.

Hate herself?! Then why should she care about her? Mo Lan steeled her heart. She owed her nothing!

“I am just a peasant girl, I don’t have such great abilities, Madam has asked the wrong person.” Mo Lan’s words were very cold.

Cheng Fangshi was stunned, her face filled with disbelief. She had already humbled herself and kowtowed to beg her, what more did she want? What else did she want from her?

“Miss Mo Lan, Xiao’er is still unconscious and we don’t know how he will be. He’s really wrong, but his feelings for Miss Lan are real. I’m the one who got in your way, I deserve to die. Please, for the sake of Xiao’er’s only sister, let her go. I promise I’ll keep a close eye on her from now on, find someone to marry her off, and make sure she never causes trouble for you again, okay?” Madam Cheng brought up Cheng Xiao and kept pleading.

Mo Lan's heart stirred. Cheng Xiao, no matter what, he was whipped twice because of her, and she never intended for him to die. Hearing him like this now, she felt terrible. But Cheng Yueqing wasn't Cheng Xiao. Someone like Cheng Yueqing wouldn't let it go unless she was thoroughly terrified. If she pleaded for her now, Cheng Yueqing wouldn't be grateful; instead, she would hate her even more, thinking she was soft-hearted and easily bullied.

Thinking of this, Mo Lan smiled slightly at Madam Fang and said, "Madam, there's no need for that. Since you've said so, I'll give it a try. But whether it will work or not, I don't know."

"Thank you, young lady, thank you, young lady." Seeing that Mo Lan had responded, Madam Cheng hurriedly kowtowed in gratitude.

Mo Lan walked up to the old Marquis. The old Marquis narrowed his eyes. He actually admired Mo Lan. Was this girl really going to plead for the other party? If so, she was too soft-hearted. Such a person would not accomplish anything.

Mo Lan saw the old Marquis's expression and knew what he was thinking, but she didn't care. She had her own principles and ways of doing things. Mo Lan gave a slight bow and said, "Grand Uncle, that Miss Cheng is in the prime of her life. It's truly heartbreaking to see her being beaten like this. How about you just give her fifty slaps as a token gesture? If that's not enough, you can give her a caning. I've heard that maids and servants in wealthy families are punished with caning when they make mistakes. Twenty canes won't hurt her bones or muscles. If it's hit on the back, her face won't be affected, and it won't ruin her beautiful appearance. What do you think, Grand Uncle?"

As soon as Mo Lan finished speaking, everyone in the courtyard turned to look at her. Outsiders thought to themselves, "This girl is too heartless. They asked her to plead for leniency, and she just gave them the amount! If she hadn't, she probably would have only received twenty or thirty slaps. But she asked for fifty, and that's just a token gesture. If that doesn't work, she'll get a spanking, which would be even worse. She won't recover quickly, and she'll be tormented by not being able to sit or lie down."

The old Marquis's eyes flashed twice. He hadn't misjudged her. This girl was not only intelligent but also decisive and bold. She wasn't soft-hearted either; she could be ruthless when necessary. She was a good girl. Why not let his granddaughter marry her? Firstly, if she married into his household, he could take care of her. Secondly, it would be a way of making amends to his sister.

When Cheng Yueqing saw Mo Lan go to the old Marquis, she assumed Mo Lan was there to plead for her. She even planned to get revenge on Mo Lan once her face was healed. However, the old Marquis actually offered a sum of money and ordered her to be beaten. Cheng Yueqing refused. She didn't want to suffer like that, so she cried out, "Mo Lan, you bitch, you'll die a horrible death! I won't let you get away with this! Father, Mother, save me! I don't want to be beaten! It hurts, but please save me!"

"Ignorant fool," the old marquis's eyes flashed coldly, and he snorted coldly, saying, "Strike him, fifty slaps and twenty strokes of the cane."

Upon receiving the old lord's order, the men carrying it out hurriedly nodded in agreement and began beating the animals.

Cheng Yueqing screamed incessantly. After the slaps, she was beaten with a cane. Five strokes later, she fainted from the pain. The scholar, Cheng, stood there dumbfounded, staring blankly. His daughter's screams echoed in his mind. What could he do? He could only kowtow repeatedly to the old Marquis, pleading.

When Madam Cheng saw that her daughter had not only not been spared the beating because of her pleading, but had been beaten even more, she felt a sharp pain in her heart. She glared fiercely at Mo Lan, then couldn't catch her breath and fainted.

It's not that Mo Lan is heartless for not pleading for Cheng Yueqing; rather, Mo Lan understands Cheng Yueqing too well. Being kind to her or pitying her would only bring trouble, discomfort, and loss upon herself. Mo Lan is not a saint, which is why she can be so ruthless.

To be fair, Cheng Yueqing wasn't at a disadvantage being beaten. She and Mo Ju had already planned it out. When Mo Lan came to visit Cheng Xiao, Mo Ju would help her ruin Mo Lan's reputation in the Cheng family. They planned to lock Mo Lan and Cheng Xiao alone in a room for the night, so that Mo Lan would have no choice but to become a concubine in the Cheng family. If the Mo family disagreed, they would spread rumors in the manor that Mo Lan had already lost her virginity to Cheng Xiao, and that she had seduced him while he was ill. This way, the Mo family would have no other options, and no one else would want Mo Lan.

If Mo Lan were to enter the household as a concubine, she could torment Mo Lan relentlessly. She would make Mo Lan kneel before her every day, serving her, cleaning the toilet, emptying the chamber pot, and starving her. Once Mo Lan became pregnant, she would force-feed her an abortifacient. She wouldn't let Mo Lan give birth, but she would make her pregnant. She would torture Mo Lan relentlessly until she died, only then could she quell the hatred in her heart.

Mo Lan was unaware of Cheng Yueqing's plans, but she knew that Cheng Yueqing would not let her go given the chance. So why should she give her the opportunity to harm her? After Cheng Yueqing was beaten, once she recovered, her parents would definitely find her a husband. Once she was married, there would be many more problems, and Cheng Yueqing would have to consider whether she had the time or the inclination to harm her.

Cheng, the scholar, kept kowtowing, but it was no use at all. The old marquis didn't care about his kowtowing at all. The servants wouldn't stop until he had been given twenty strokes of the cane, and even after the old marquis gave the order, he could continue to be beaten.

Cheng Fangshi slowly woke up and saw her daughter still being beaten with a cane. The servants seemed to be doing it on purpose, as the cane was not being beaten quickly, but rather slowly, as if they were deliberately making Cheng Yueqing suffer more.

The girl fainted again, and blood had seeped through the back of her clothes. Cheng Fangshi rushed over; she couldn't let her daughter be beaten any more. She would rather suffer the punishment herself.

The servants of the old Marquis's household were used to beating people. Which mansion didn't have disobedient servants, maids, and old women? Which one made a mistake and didn't get a beating? These were the rules. So when they beat Cheng Yueqing, they didn't feel sorry for her. They also didn't show any mercy when Cheng Fangshi rushed forward to take the beating for her daughter.

"Slap! Slap!" Cheng Fangshi was also hit twice with the stick. Her body trembled. It really hurt. How could her pampered daughter, who had been spoiled since childhood, endure this? She had really suffered a great ordeal.

"Brother Cheng, is that enough?" one of the two servants who were beating him asked.

“Not enough. Two more strokes are needed. The two strokes this woman just took don’t count. The Marquis ordered her to be given twenty strokes, so it has to be exactly twenty. Not a single stroke less. If someone else takes her place, it doesn’t count.” The man called Brother Cheng raised the board and struck Cheng Yueqing twice more.

Cheng Fangshi was furious, her heart aching. It turned out she'd taken those two blows for nothing! She'd suffered terribly from the two lashes, while her daughter hadn't escaped a single slap. This was utterly outrageous! But the other party was a marquis; where could she turn to reason? If she tried to reason with him, and he got angry and threatened to beat her again, she'd only be asking for trouble.