Chapter 1146: Chapter 1146: Two Choices

The next moment, Yao Po brought a rattan whip, made of two thumb-thick vines bound together, over a meter long, and terrifying to behold.

Yao An’s face turned pale, struggling as he angrily glared at Yao Tianqin seated in the main seat, “You can’t hit me. I’m not even family. What gives you the right to use family discipline on me? What do you think you are?”

He panicked, seeing that Yao Po had already stood up behind him, and struggled even harder to free himself from the servants’ restraint.

Yao Hong screamed desperately, trying to rush in to save her brother, but the Yao Family servants held her tightly, unable to move.

Let alone Wang Jiayi, who was already pale as a sheet, hiding in the corner, wishing she could disappear, fearing she would also be whipped.

“Yao Tianqin, you’re just a distant cousin of mine, how dare you hit me? I’ll tell my father when I get back, he won’t let you off. Stop it, I’m a guest; if word gets out about how you treat guests, aren’t you afraid of being laughed at by others?”

The rattan whip was already raised high, and upon hearing Yao An’s ranting, Yao Tianqin grew more disillusioned with him.

He spoke slowly, “I give you two choices: either I, as an elder of the Yao Family, discipline you according to house rules. Or, as a guest conspiring against the host, I send you to the Governing Mansion. Weigh it yourself.”

Yao An’s shouting abruptly stopped, and Yao Hong’s screaming also came to a halt.

Even Wang Jiayi and the others all turned their gaze to Yao Tianqin in unison.

Yao Po coolly remarked from the side, “If you go to the authorities, given what you’ve done today, a beating is inevitable.”

Yao An shivered suddenly, knowing full well the implications.

Not just Yao Po, but there’s also Lu Shuyu, who is the Village Chief.

A Village Chief with backing, if Lord Qi and Lord Jing find out, as long as they pressure the Capital Governor, it could cost him half his life.

So he fell silent.

Seeing him quiet, Yao Tianqin snorted coldly, “It seems you are willing to endure family discipline.”

As he spoke, he raised the rattan whip high and swung it down heavily without another word.

“Ah…” Yao An thought he could bear it, but the pain was unimaginable, making him unable to utter a sound, wishing he could faint away immediately.

But the second whip followed quickly, heavier than the first, and even if he fainted, the pain might revive him.

Yao Tianqin showed no mercy; though he was a Minister of Public Works, he dealt more with wood tools daily, accustomed to hard work, his body robust, and his strength uncompromising.

In the late summer and early autumn, the clothes weren’t thick, and Yao An, a pampered young master, soon had blood seeping from his back, crisscrossed with whip marks, a ghastly sight.

Yao Hong cried until her voice was hoarse, and Yao An couldn’t hold on, starting to sway.

Seeing this, Yao Tianqin quickened the pace of the last few lashes, finishing a total of twenty before exhaling heavily, stopping, and handing the rattan whip to Yao Po beside him.

Yao An wobbled and collapsed, completely passing out.

Zhao Xi stood by coldly, but now eagerly stepped forward to help lift him up, “I’m a doctor, let me take a look at him. Come, come, let’s support him to a room first.”

Shu Yu looked at him suspiciously, always feeling he was… excessively enthusiastic.

Yao Hong stumbled along after them, now obedient as could be, not daring to utter a word.