Chapter 1009: The Punishment That Came Late

She was blessed with natural beauty and allure.

Like what many said, some people looked good even if you dressed them up in rags. Xia Ling was this kind of person.

The stylist closed her eyes and, with much difficulty, used the standards used to put together Pei Ziheng’s clothes to put together an outfit for Xia Ling. The style and the color schemes were all chosen to be very much similar to Pei Ziheng’s. The elegance of the various shades of grey, the warmth of the dark, light and gentle hues of blue, together with some black, white and a detailed pattern which most girls would not be in favor of, somehow looked really good on her.

Xia Ling wore the outfit to class.

When she stepped into the classroom, everyone’s eyes lit up.

The Xia Ling today was no longer the colorful peacock who was mistaken for being one of the swans. She looked gorgeous and elegant and had become a swan of nobility. It was as if she was the most beautiful swan of the flock.

Flames of jealousy burnt up bright in the hearts of many.

Only this time, they did not express it too obviously.

Ever since that time in the classroom when Xia Ling was personally carried away by Pei Ziheng, this group of girls now knew that she was a person of background. Who would dare offend Pei Ziheng? Many of the women were reprimanded by their parents when they went home, scolded for being blind, and even had some of their precious belongings taken to give to Xia Ling as a form of repayment…

So what if they held much unwillingness and dissatisfaction in their hearts?

The circumstances faced in a situation were more significant than the people themselves.

But this didn’t mean that they liked Xia Ling. The rules of hierarchy were anchored deep in the hearts of each of these ladies who lead extravagant lives. Having to be on the same level as this low-life was an insult to them. Many of them were already secretly plotting, waiting for the day Pei Ziheng abandoned Xia Ling to get back at her.

Xia Ling stood at the classroom door, scanning across the room.

She found it strange that the students were being so quiet. As if not many of them liked her…

That’s strange. Didn’t their families send many presents over to express their apologies? She couldn’t wrap her head around the way these ladies acted. A flash of suspicion entered her heart, but she didn’t think too much of it. She spotted an empty desk not far off from where she was and began making her way over.

“Miss Xia Ling.” Suddenly, a voice called her to a stop.

She turned around to find a woman, dressed in a working suit, her hair piled high on her head.

“Teacher Gao.” She called out gently, recognizing her as the teacher she had previously met.

Teacher Gao had on silver-framed glasses, and behind those glasses, steely eyes held her in a gaze. “Do you acknowledge your mistake?”

Xia Ling was stunned. Mistake? What mistake?

Teacher Gao told her, “Miss Xia Ling, for the fight between you, Pei Jingshan, and Pei Jingmei, they have already received their punishment. You have not. So today, I am going to punish you.”

Pure ecstasy bloomed on the faces of the other ladies.

They already knew that Teacher Gao was extremely strict during her lessons, and clear in her distinctions between praise and punishment. When they deserved to be punished, she would not go easy on them regardless of their status.

Xia Ling gaped in silence. She had forgotten about this.

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“They were the ones who provoked me first.” She tried to reason softly.

Teacher Gao exploded in anger. “I don’t care who provoked who first. Fighting just isn’t right! You are all ladies from the Pei family. When you walk out into the world, you carry with you the image and reputation of the Pei family. If someone sees you fighting in public, all they will care about is that the ladies of the Pei family hit someone, they will not care who is right or wrong. You all are ruining the image of the whole family! Also, people will claim that you have no values. They wouldn’t care about the difficulties you faced!”

Teacher Gao was strict in her tone and facial expression.

Xia Ling felt misunderstood. She wanted to say that she was not a lady of the Pei family, but the moment she thought about Pei Ziheng, she silently kept that line tucked away at the corner of her mouth. He took her in, so how was she that much different from the ladies of the Pei family?

“Do you understand?!” Teacher Gao asked her sternly.

She nodded her head, feeling miserably wronged.

“Why aren’t you speaking up? Are you mute?!” Teacher Gao’s voice sharpened.

A few ladies of the Pei family chuckled under their breaths, watching the scene unfold in front of them in glee. This lowly beggar, this brat from the countryside, what did she know about mannerism? What did she know about being natural and unrestrained, about mincing one’s words?

Out of the corner of her eye, Xia Ling spotted them laughing at her, and her heart sank even further. Alas, receiving those gifts meant nothing. They still didn’t like her. As her mind ran wild, the coldness of the tip of a long cane lifted her chin. This took her by surprise, and in the next moment, her eyes were locked in Teacher Gao’s cold, steely gaze. “Drifting off during a teacher’s reprimanding, adds one count of punishment. Miss Xia Ling, please answer me. Do you understand?”

“Understood!” Frightened by Teacher Gao’s demeanor, she replied instantly.

“Very good.” Teacher Gao released her, a look of satisfaction on her face. “Since you have understood, you go stand over there. You shall stand throughout the entire day, as due punishment for your involvement in the fight, and for drifting off during a teacher’s reprimand.”

Xia Ling obediently headed over to the classroom wall and stood at where Teacher Gao instructed her to.

The rest of the ladies gleefully took in the sight of her being punished. Many of these ladies had previously been punished to stand because of a fight with her, and finally seeing her going through the same punishment today was a sight to behold. Haha, at least they had company and were not seen by this beggar when they were punished. Now, she was being punished and they were there taking in the moment! At the end of the day, they were the ones who got the upper hand.

The ladies felt elated.

Teacher Gao began the class, telling them all about manners and etiquette.

Initially, Xia Ling stood obediently, but her tiny shoulders began to sag as the tiredness seeped into her.

“Stand properly!” Teacher Gao was facing the classroom straight on, but she was keeping an eye on Xia Ling all the time in her peripheral vision. The moment her shoulders sank, a whip of the cane came down on her. “Did you not have enough to eat for breakfast? You are not standing properly, even a beggar from the roadside can stand with better posture than you!”

Xia Ling felt cold, and the whip of the cane was painful, causing her to release a yelp of pain.

Another lash of the cane came down on her. “Why are you making noises? Ladies do not make noise unnecessarily, understand?”

Xia Ling’s eyes misted over, but she remained silent. Two more lashes of the cane came down on her shoulders, and they stung painfully. Teacher Gao still didn’t let her off and used the cane on her once more. “Stand up straight! Lift this part of your body higher!”

She caned on the parts of her shoulders that weren’t straight enough.

Xia Ling fought to keep her body posture upright.

“Lift your chest! Keep your stomach in! Feet flat on the ground! Don’t move your hands unnecessarily!” With every line Teacher Gao made came one lash of the cane. There were at least ten more lashes before the cane was kept away. Teacher Gao then gave the girl standing ramrod straight by the classroom wall one last look before resuming with her delivery of the lesson.

Xia Ling was exhausted from all that standing, but she did not dare move a muscle.

Every movement was immediately met with a lash of the cane.

Since young, when had she ever taken such a strict mannerism class? Barely past an hour and her whole body began to sway. In her mind, Teacher Gao shook her head. Was this girl really so delicate? She deliberately went harder on her, choosing to go on a while more with her lesson, only dismissing the class when Xia Ling looked like she was going to faint if she stood any longer.