After Song Yue was carried out, Song Shicheng displayed an appearance of remorse, pounding his chest and stamping his feet. He struggled to squeeze out a tear, eager to show it to Song Zhao.
Song Zhao was all too familiar with this hypocritical face.
When their mother passed away, wasn't Song Shicheng just as affectionate?
But he clearly watched their mother being beaten to death...
The sight of Song Zhao now made her sick to her stomach.
Her hatred for Song Shicheng was even greater than her hatred for Jiang.
But for now, she couldn't show this emotion. She had to pretend with Song Shicheng.
"Father, Mother entrusted me with something to tell you.
Mother can't bear to leave you. She said that her suffering doesn't matter, but she fears that the Emperor will continue to suspect you and it will affect your career and our elder sister's future marriage prospects. So, Mother has decided not to take her own life but to let you carry out the punishment, flogging her to death, as a sincere gesture to the court."
Song Zhao originally thought that no matter what, Song Shicheng would refuse this matter first.
But to her surprise, he only cried harder and whispered a sentence,
"Tong'er... why do you have to do this?"
Song Zhao also wanted to see how far he would take this act, so she deliberately said,
"The decision still rests with you, Father. Although Mother has this idea, you can refuse."
Then, she saw Song Shicheng, with the most affectionate expression, utter the most heartless words,
"Since your mother has made this decision, I can't let her die with resentment. Let it be as she said. But after being married to your mother for decades, how can I bring myself to do this?"
As he spoke, Song Shicheng's murky gaze fell on a servant standing nearby.
The servant panicked and knelt down before Song Shicheng spoke, "Sir, Madam has always treated us poorly, often beating and scolding us, and withholding our monthly wages. Where does his claim of 'treating us well' come from?"
The servant's words made Song Zhao realize that the entire Song residence was like a troupe of actors in the Ministry of Rites, each one better at acting than the other.
Jiang had always mistreated the servants, frequently resorting to abuse and withholding their wages. How could they say she treated them well?
The servant's words were just an attempt to avoid responsibility.
If someone actually killed Jiang, when Song Yue woke up, wouldn't they be skinned alive?
Furthermore, the execution of family law had to be resolved within the Song family itself.
The officials sent by the court were there to take Jiang's self-inflicted death decree, and they dared not act.
The situation reached a stalemate.
Pretending to be conflicted, Song Zhao finally knelt before Song Shicheng, as if she had made a great decision,
"Our family is in trouble, and Mother is acting righteously! I don't want to trouble you, Father. If there must be someone to play the villain, let me do it."
Song Shicheng appeared deeply moved by Song Zhao's actions on the surface, but deep down, he understood that Song Zhao's willingness to take action also meant a desire for revenge on Bai.
But he wouldn't stop her.
Jiang's death had become a settled matter, and only by her death could the court believe that he was not involved in those crimes.
In reality, many things are simply a matter of each person taking what they need, and there's no need to reveal it all.
After Song Zhao had everything prepared, she had the palace attendants wait outside the inner courtyard while she and Song Shicheng entered.
Jiang knelt in the center of the courtyard, and Song Zhao whispered to Song Shicheng:
"Father, if you can't bear to watch, then stay in the room and don't come out."
She took the whip from Song Shicheng's hand and continued, "Although your daughter is acting on your behalf, this matter needs to make it seem like you personally took action in order to have an effect on the court.
Later, when you submit another memorial in the room, explain in detail the reasons for carrying out family law and whipping your mother. It's crucial to make the emperor believe that your mother's actions over the years have no connection to you, otherwise her sacrifice would be in vain."
Song Shicheng certainly understood that the wording of this memorial had to be heart-wrenching in order to regain the trust of Xiao Jingheng.
Perhaps out of guilt or an unwillingness to part,
He didn't even say a final farewell to Jiang before hastily returning to the room and closing the door.
Song Zhao tightened her grip on the whip in her hand and looked up at the misty sky.
The snow was falling heavily,
even heavier than the day her mother died.
Expressionless, she walked up to Jiang,
before Jiang could even feel fear, Song Zhao had already raised the whip and struck her waist forcefully.
The plain clothes were instantly torn, revealing bloody flesh.
Jiang fell to the snowy ground, and in that moment, Song Zhao seemed to see her mother's shadow in her expression.
That expression, eroded by despair and fear step by step, Song Zhao would never forget it in her lifetime.
"Crack"
"Crack"
"Crack"
Throughout the punishment, Song Zhao remained silent, but the force in her hand grew stronger with each strike.
The skin at the base of her thumb was marked with blood, but she still gripped the whip tightly, exerting all her strength with each swing,
yet each strike cleverly avoided vital areas.
It wasn't until Jiang was beaten to the point of being covered in blood, with deep wounds exposing bone,
until she lay on the ground, her hysterical cries growing weak,
that Song Zhao finally stopped.
She slowly squatted down, admiring the painting made of blood on Jiang's body,
and suddenly, she smiled.
"Mother, rest assured."
She approached Jiang step by step, and in a lowered voice, added,
"Don't worry, in the near future, I will send Father and Eldest Sister down to accompany you.
On this journey to the underworld, you won't be lonely."
Jiang's eyes filled with terror, almost using up her last bit of strength, she weakly said,
"You...you're deceiving me..."
With a smile, Song Zhao raised her delicate eyebrows and suddenly, her gaze turned fierce. She forcefully struck Jiang's skull with the whip.
Watching Jiang take her last breath, Song Zhao then threw the whip beside her lifeless body and casually said,
"Forty-six lashes."
"For the twenty-three lashes you once struck upon my mother, I shall repay them twofold today."
With those words, Song Zhao's knees sank into the snowy ground,
Her bright eyes filled with tears as she bowed three times in the direction behind Jiang,
"Mother, may you rest in peace."
*
It was already three days later when they returned to the Wenspring Villa.
News of Song Shicheng personally killing Jiang had reached Xiao Jingheng's ears ahead of time.
On this day, when Song Zhao returned, Xiao Jingheng personally went outside the estate to greet her.
As soon as Song Zhao saw him, she started crying, and my heart went out to her. "Emperor..."
Xiao Jingheng embraced her and gently consoled, "What happened? Why are you trembling like this?"
Yun Shan explained from the side, "Your Majesty, the Princess was frightened at home."
"Frightened?" Xiao Jingheng asked, "What happened?"
Song Zhao, like a startled cat, clung to Xiao Jingheng's embrace, shivering and unable to speak.
Yun Shan continued, "My lord, in front of the Princess, Lord Song personally beat Lady Jiang to death... The Princess has never seen such a bloody scene before, and since then, she has been restless and plagued by nightmares at night, unable to sleep well."
Xiao Yinzi also added, "Your Majesty, I went to take a look, and the condemned woman was beaten beyond recognition, so it's no wonder the Princess is afraid."
As she spoke, Xiao Yinzi took out a memorial from her bosom and presented it to Xiao Jingheng with both hands, saying, "Lord Song entrusted me to deliver this memorial to Your Majesty's hands, and I ask Your Majesty to take a look."
