Two hundred lashes? That was an astronomical figure for Nan Zhiyun. Yet, she dared not argue or beg for mercy. She could only extend her hand again. The force used earlier had been a bit too much, and a swollen mark had already appeared on her hand.
Yu Jingchen said nothing and struck. This time, he used about five parts of his strength. Zhiyun was prepared and controlled herself from retracting her hand. Seeing this, Yu Jingchen wasted no time and delivered three more strikes, each with the same five parts of strength. However, Nan Zhiyun still couldn't endure it, her hand trembling slightly.
Yu Jingchen watched without comment. The subsequent strikes used perhaps only three parts of his strength, but Nan Zhiyun could no longer hold on. After perhaps four more blows, she once again pulled her hand back.
This time, Yu Jingchen was truly incensed. He roared, "Extend it!"
Nan Zhiyun's hand was already swollen, but she had no other choice. She extended it again. Yu Jingchen, whether out of extreme anger or for some other reason, used ten parts of his strength this time. Nan Zhiyun felt her right hand was about to be ruined. She couldn't withstand this single blow. Tears welled up. She wanted to cry but dared not make a sound.
"One hundred and ninety more lashes. What are you crying about?" Yu Jingchen looked at her coldly, but this time he didn't urge her to extend her hand.
Nan Zhiyun's hand, hidden beneath her sleeve, trembled. The pain was real, especially from the last strike. She felt as if her hand had gone numb.
"If you can't bear it, then let these palace servants kneeling here bear it for you," Yu Jingchen said, putting down the ruler in his hand.
"Each of these kneeling people will receive ten lashes." Yu Jingchen gave the order, and the sounds of punishment filled the room. Nan Zhiyun's heart ached intensely.
"Next time, if you don't finish copying and can't bear the punishment, they will still take it for you, but it will be doubled," Yu Jingchen stated.
Nan Zhiyun dared not utter a single word of argument. Her right hand was just hit; it was difficult to even hold a brush, let alone finish copying. Yu Jingchen was clearly doing this deliberately, wanting Nan Zhiyun to deeply remember this punishment, this lesson. He knew her weakness well and thus chose this method to make her hesitant.
Such a tactic was not difficult to understand. It was like someone who loved cats; rather than hitting the person directly, it would be more profound to kill their beloved cat right before their eyes. Such punishment was more impactful than anything else. Yu Jingchen had always been this cruel.
If he couldn't bring himself to harm Nan Zhiyun directly, he had ways to make her suffer more than if she were punished herself.
During this interval, Xing Lai had already arranged for the congee that Yu Jingchen had ordered from the imperial kitchen to be brought over. Xing Lai knew who this bowl of congee was for and had it placed directly in front of Nan Zhiyun.
"Didn't you refuse to eat all day and then knock things over? Eat now. Finish this, or you understand the consequences," Yu Jingchen said, his tone leaving no room for negotiation.
Nan Zhiyun looked at the congee before her. She knew she had no choice but to drink it all. But her hand truly hurt so much... She found it unbearable. Perhaps it was the humiliation, or the grievance and anger, that made tears fall as she drank the congee. Yet, she held back, eventually even eating ravenously. It wasn't that she was too hungry, but rather that her emotions had overwhelmed her.
After Nan Zhiyun finished the entire bowl of congee, she desperately wanted to throw the bowl away. However, with Yu Jingchen watching, she dared not. Her heart was full of unspoken grievances and anger. Perhaps her heart had turned to ash.
"Since you've finished eating, continue copying. Remember, you only have half an hour. After this half-hour, you must finish fifty pages, with ten lashes for each page not completed," Yu Jingchen allowed no bargaining.
Nan Zhiyun dared not delay. Even though she knew the ultimate outcome, she hoped to mitigate it somewhat. She picked up the brush beside her. However, her right hand was severely swollen and so painful that she could barely grip the brush.
Writing with the brush felt like enduring the punishment once more. But no matter what, Nan Zhiyun had only one option: to endure.
Despite Nan Zhiyun's best efforts, she couldn't meet the target. She couldn't finish. Because of the injury to her hand this time, she only managed to write about three pages within that half-hour.
"You were supposed to write fifty pages and have written eight. That leaves forty pages, totaling four hundred and twenty lashes." Yu Jingchen's punishments were cumulative. Nan Zhiyun knew her protests would be ineffective, so she promptly extended her hand.
Yu Jingchen struck without mercy. Nan Zhiyun did not retract her hand. Seeing this, Yu Jingchen sneered. He delivered several more blows in quick succession, and Nan Zhiyun finally could not bear it.
"Retracting your hand signifies you can no longer bear it. The remainder will be carried out by them, twenty lashes each," Yu Jingchen continued. These palace servants, already kneeling on shards, had knelt for an hour and received thirty lashes on their palms, yet Nan Zhiyun dared not utter a single word of plea.
Another half-hour passed. It was evident she had not finished writing. Nan Zhiyun's hand was terribly swollen, but she still hoped to endure more herself, so the palace servants would suffer less. However, Yu Jingchen clearly saw through her intention. With just one strike, Nan Zhiyun could no longer endure.
This time, the palace servants received thirty lashes. Nan Zhiyun couldn't help herself and looked at Yu Jingchen, "Why are you doing this? I've clearly listened to you. Why are you still doing this?" Nan Zhiyun didn't explode, only expressing her deep grievance.
"Don't try that with me. You have the last half-hour. This time, it will be caning," Yu Jingchen's expression did not change.
Nan Zhiyun kept looking at him, but ultimately, she was no match for Yu Jingchen. In a short while, she gave in and obediently continued copying. She could no longer even hold the brush, so in the final half-hour, Nan Zhiyun barely managed to copy one page.
Seeing that time was up, and she had only copied about twelve pages in total, Nan Zhiyun felt close to breaking down. Resigned to her fate, she raised her hand and closed her eyes. Yu Jingchen looked at her red and swollen hand, but the ruler did not fall again.