Xiong Jingfei immediately gave her father a polite bow, "Welcome back, father."
"Mn." Xiong Guozhi answered with a head nod towards his eldest daughter. Then he stared down at his second and third daughters, "What are the two of you doing here in the middle of the night?"
Xiong Changchang and Xiong Jiayi"s body trembled, feeling the enormous pressure he was putting on their shoulders. They didn"t think their father will return home today of all days.
Every single one of them knew one thing for sure. They were so dead. Now that the main head of the household is involved.
"F-f-ffather…" Xiong Changchang stuttered, attempting to control the fear of escaping through her. "W-w-we were here to give eldest sisters our regard before the night ended."
Xiong Changchang tried standing up, but her legs almost gave out if it wasn"t for the help of her right-hand maid.
When she looked up, her father"s eyes were written with great disappointment. At how small her courage was compared to Xiong Jingfei. How she couldn"t even compare to the eldest Miss of the household. She hated those eyes of her father! Why is he always comparing them!
Meanwhile, Xiong Jiayi didn"t have the guts to even get up from the ground. She kept kneeling along with the maids.
"You do know I am your father?" Xiong Guozhi scoffed, with his hands behind his back and his chest held with pride. "Then, do you know who you are in this household?"
It didn"t take long for Xiong Changchang to drop back down on her knees again. However, this time, her head was down on the ground with her folded hands in front of her. The most sincere bow you can give for an apology. Biting her bottom lip till it almost bled, Xiong Changchang loudly acknowledge, "I admit my mistake!"
Xiong Guozhi"s facial expression did not change, nor did his pressure against them dim. In his usual loud voice, he roars, "Good! Feifei!"
"Yes, father?" Xiong Jingfei promptly replied although she was startled at the sudden call out of her name.
"What the law in the military for causing a scene?"
Xiong Jingfei whipped up her head to look at her father to see if he was serious. He really was. She couldn"t believe he was going to use the military law on them. But then again, why wouldn"t he?
The Xiong manor for generations never had their own set of rules. That is because they used the military law in replacement of creating their own.
"Those who make a scene without reasons in the military…" Xiong Jingfei looked down at her younger sisters, who were no longer trembling because they weren"t afraid of the punishment. But because they were so scared, they no longer have any strength left to even s.h.i.+ver. "Will get ten whiplashes each. Regardless of status, relations.h.i.+p, or gender."
Xiong Changchang fingers dug into the ground, and Xiong Jiayi couldn"t keep her kneeling posture any longer. The rosy cheeks Xiong Jiayi had was no longer there. Instead, it appeared like someone had drained the blood in her body within one go.
"Guards, did you not hear? Take them!" Xiong Guozhi commanded.
"F-f-father! It"s not fair!" Xiong Changchang screamed, having her arms locked in place by the guards. She struggled to free herself from them, but she wasn"t going to win against two grown men. "I"m your daughter too! You can"t do this to me!"
"Then, next time, you should think of that before causing trouble anymore!" Xiong Guozhi exclaimed, not batting an eye at his two daughters being dragged away by the guards.
Xiong Jingfei"s courtyard went up in a blaze with the cries and screams of not only the second and third Miss. But also the innocent maids who had no choice but to follow their master"s orders. While Xiong Jingfei"s maid held onto each other, being thankful it wasn"t them who was getting punished. Or else, those cries will be theirs instead.
"Please have mercy on us, master!" The second and third Miss"s maids cried, refusing to go with the guard without a fight. They all got down on their knees and banged their heads against the ground floor, asking for forgiveness.
Getting four military whip was already harsh enough upon a full-grown man, but to endure a total of ten. It was a death sentence! He might as well chop off their head and end their misery on the spot.
"Father!" Xiong Jiayi childish voice cried out for him.
With her being so small, the guards did not think to have a tight grip on her. She was able to slip out of their hands. Instead of begging her father further for mercy. She turned towards the sister, she was taught to hate. Grabbing onto Xiong Jingfei"s legs, she cried, "Eldest sister, I was wrong! Please forgive me! Please don"t let father do this!
Xiong Jingfei"s hands hidden within her inner sleeves shook. She was afraid too. Extremely afraid… She wasn"t getting punished for what happened today, but she doesn"t want any bloodshed because of her. Innocent lives are being punished because of her two senseless younger sisters. Not only did she think of the innocent maids, but for her two troublemaking younger sisters as well. They will not survive the punishment this time.
All the times her younger sisters had caused nothing but trouble for her. She had always given them light punishments. Not to the point, their skin bled and not enough for them to regret what they did. She blamed herself for not using the military law right away on them. If she did, perhaps today, none of this would have happened.
"Eldest Sister, I"m scared!" Xiong Jiayi cried.
It was the only thing a nine-year-old child like her know what to do in this situation. Her tears filled with fears soaked Xiong Jingfei"s pink robe into a darker color.
It was like they had forgotten she wasn"t much older than them, and also fear their father. As much as her father favors her and given her the freedom to do anything she wants. She will never cross Xiong Guozhi"s line of tolerance, and he didn"t have much in him.
"Do you not have eyes? Hurry up and pull the second miss away!" Xiong Guozhi yelled, seeing the guards was hesitating to punish the two misses of the household.
Hearing Xiong Guozhi"s patience reaching his max. They quickly and aggressively ripped Xiong Jiayi"s small arms from around the eldest Miss"s legs. Even Xiong Jingfei did not have time to react to what just happened.
"No! No! No!" Xiong Jiayi"s cries turned into screams. She reached out her arms, trying to grab onto anything that was part of Xiong Jingfei"s body. "Help me, eldest sister!"
Xiong Jingfei wanted to close her eyes and cover her ears to stop hearing the sins piling on top of her. Still, she didn"t. If she did, it would escalate the ever so strict Xiong Guozhi even more. So she stared on, watching all of them slowly getting dragged away.
Xiong Guozhi shook his head in the disappointment of his two daughters. Right as he was leaving, a fearless voice called out to him, "Father!"
He turned around to find his most beloved daughter down on both her knees with her head pressed against the dirty ground.