Chapter 4: Flogging

Jian Tang lowered her eyes, yet the corners of her lips curled into a mocking arc. "Your Highness, if you wish to see the truth, why not ask your own family directly?"

Jian Suishan was deeply alarmed and scolded her, "How can you speak to your elder like that? Apologize to your uncle!"

Shen Yuyang and Shen Chunmei exchanged glances; they were practically wishing for Jian Tang to offend Shen Suinian, that god of slaughter, to the point of no return. In Jian Suishan’s harsh reprimands, Jian Tang saw only a man eager to distance himself, terrified of being implicated. Yet, as an orphaned woman, she truly could not afford to offend Shen Suinian. She handed the surveillance footage to him, trying to act slick to mask the hostility she had just displayed.

Shen Suinian’s executive assistant stepped forward to take it. Shen Yuyang and Shen Chunmei’s faces turned deathly pale. They wanted to intervene, but no one dared to make a scene in front of Shen Suinian. A deathly silence descended upon the room.

Shen Yuyang broke into a cold sweat, his grip tightening on Shen Chunmei’s arm until she steeled herself and collapsed to the floor, feigning unconsciousness. Shen Yuyang shuddered, then reacted with a cry, "Mom! Mom, what’s wrong?"

Jian Suishan hurriedly pinched the philtrum of Shen Chunmei, desperate to rush her to the hospital, but he saw Shen Suinian sitting unmoved, watching the footage on Jian Tang’s phone. "Suinian, this is just a minor family matter. Why bother yourself with it? Why don’t you go downstairs and have some tea instead?"

Jian Tang tightened her bathrobe, mockingly waiting for the Crown Prince to take the convenient exit and sweep this matter under the rug. As she turned to head back to her room, Shen Suinian’s distinctively low, resonant voice drifted over. "Two days ago, while I was inspecting Singapore, I witnessed a caning administered for an assault on a woman..."

Jian Tang stopped dead in her tracks. Shen Suinian walked over slowly and handed the phone back to her. "Little Begonia, are you satisfied with such a punishment?"

Jian Tang doubted her own senses. Would he really be this kind?

Jian Suishan was shocked. "Suinian, this..."

Shen Yuyang’s face was devoid of color. When he met Shen Suinian’s dark, river-like eyes, he was struck with such terror he tried to flee, but he was pinned back by the assistant before he could even move.

"Uncle, Uncle, I... I didn't mean it! I'm your own kin! You can't... mmmph!"

The assistant covered his noisy, bickering mouth and began to tie him up. Shen Yuyang, who usually threw his weight around and bullied others, was left with no room to fight back.

Shen Chunmei heard everything clearly but was forced to remain in her feigned stupor. Having put on a show in front of Shen Suinian, she had no choice but to see it through to the end.

Twelve lashes, soaked in chili water, each one leaving the skin torn and bleeding. The execution took place right in the main hall. Shen Suinian sat solemnly on the sofa, his long, slender fingers holding a cup of coffee as he sipped, his long legs casually crossed. His polished leather shoes, like the man himself, exuded a cold, hard texture.

Even with his mouth gagged, Shen Yuyang let out agonized groans as his veins bulged from the pain of his flesh being torn apart. Jian Suishan wanted to plead for mercy, but under the weight of Shen Suinian’s dark, inscrutable gaze, he swallowed the words hovering on his lips.

Jian Tang stood to the side, expressionless, not missing a single lash that fell upon Shen Yuyang, while her mind raced to decipher the intent behind Shen Suinian’s actions. If she remembered correctly, Shen Suinian was currently involved in a high-level government meeting in the capital. Was this grand display today... an attempt to protect his own reputation?

The twelve lashes took a full hour, each one delivered only after Shen Yuyang had regained his breath, with no room for leniency. When the final lash fell and Shen Chunmei "woke up" from her faint, wailing to the heavens, Jian Tang slipped outside.

She knew the nature of Jian Suishan and Shen Chunmei all too well. After what happened tonight, she wouldn't be able to get a peaceful night's sleep if she stayed at the Jian residence. She decided to use this as an excuse to get away for a few days and find some peace while she liquidated her assets.

Jian Tang didn't go to a hotel. Instead, she drove her Maybach through the city’s endless night to an old residential complex. This was the only place left, besides the Jian residence, that held memories of her and her mother, Jiang Yunong.

Back when Jian Suishan and Jiang Yunong were starting their business, most of their funds were tied up in operations, so they had only bought a 78-square-meter two-bedroom apartment in this complex. It held the entirety of Jian Tang's childhood. During the process of moving her assets, she had liquidated all properties, including the Jian estate, but she had never sold this old home.

Following her memory, Jian Tang arrived at the door of 302, Building 11. As she pulled out her keys, a couple passing by kept staring at her. The woman was so focused on her that she nearly tripped over the stairs. When Jian Tang glanced at them, the woman hurriedly pulled her husband downstairs and away.

This strange behavior made Jian Tang frown.

"Click."

The moment the door opened, Jian Tang understood why that couple had looked at her so strangely. As the small entryway opened, the familiar sight of the past was gone. Instead, the room was bathed in dim, suggestive lighting, and the smell of cheap perfume rushed out to meet her.

What shocked Jian Tang most was the sight of two used condoms tossed by the doorway.

A woman wearing only a camisole nightdress with heavy makeup held a cigarette in her hand. She looked Jian Tang up and down with a flirtatious gaze. "Oh my... where did this little beauty come from?"

Jian Tang stood at the door, unmoving. "Who are you, and why are you in my home?"

"Your home?" Liu Yuan exhaled a cloud of smoke and walked slowly toward Jian Tang, smiling. "Sister, this place was rented out to me a long time ago."

"That's impossible." Jian Tang pulled out her phone, intending to call the police.

Liu Yuan glanced around the hallway, her smile suddenly vanishing. She grabbed Jian Tang by the hair, covered her mouth, and dragged her inside. Jian Tang clung to the doorframe, biting Liu Yuan’s hand fiercely.

Liu Yuan yelped in pain. "Damn it, are you two dead? Get in here and help!"

Two shirtless men emerged from the room. Jian Tang’s pupils constricted. She struggled desperately, trying to run, but was easily dragged back by the two men.

Not long after the door slammed shut, Shen Chunmei, who was taking Shen Yuyang to the hospital, received a phone call. She looked down at the bloodstains still on her hands, clenched her fist, and said, "Treat her well."

Downstairs in the old complex, a business car with license plates from three regions sat quietly not far from Jian Tang’s Maybach. Inside, the man sat motionless, his gaze dark and unfathomable as he stared at the suggestive, warm red light coming from the third floor.

That was not her taste.