Deliver The Punishment

"Miss!" Xu Song screamed with happiness seeing Xiong Jingfei making her way through the crowd towards her. "Where have you been? Do you know how worried I was!"

Xiong Jingfei immediately covered Xu Song's mouth. In a low voice, she whispered, "Didn't I say to call me Feifei when we are outside?"

Xu Song gasped, realizing she said the wrong thing. She was not used to calling her Miss by her nickname. It felt so unfamiliar and did not have a nice ring to it for Xu Song.

"Mis-, ahem, Feifei... We have to return now!" Xu Song took Xiong Jingfei by the hand and forced her towards the back alleyway. It was the fastest route to get back home and without bring much attention to them.

"Why?" Xiong Jingfei asked, frowning. It was about to get to the best part! The street market will be open again for business since Zhao Fan's wedding festival was over.

"Because we sneaked out!" Xu Song turned around, seeing they weren't too far away from the manor. She gasped in horror, "What happened to you?"

Xiong Jingfei gave her a confused look before following Xu Song's eyes to her clothes. She can see why Xu Song gasped in shock. Earlier, her clothes were clean without a speck of dust. Now, it appears like she voluntarily rolled around on the ground.

Xiong Jingfei patted some of the dust off her. She didn't mind it too much because her outfit was not made out of silk, nor was it one of her best dresses. The outfit she had on was plain, one layer, and not colorful. It helped her and Xu Song blend in with the crowd, and it did not invite unwanted gaze.

"Listen, I met a vulgar person today! I fell off a tree-" Xiong Jingfei attempted to explain, seeing the disapproving expression on Xu Song's face.

"You did what? Tree? Fell!" Xu Song began shouting from the shock.

So many things happened within the short amount of time she lost sight of Xiong Jingfei. She had a bad feeling the moment her Miss disappeared.

"Are you hurt? Show me! Now!" Xu Song asked with a demanding voice. Meanwhile, she did a quick walk around Xiong Jingfei before twirling her to the left and right.

"T-t-this person caught me when I fell, and then he dropped me on the ground… Ah, very rude of him to treat a lady this way." Xiong Jingfei stuttered, confessing the whole truth and hoping Xu Song will sympathize with her. Xu Song was rather scary when she was mad.

"Who is this person? How dare he drop my Mi-"

Xiong Jingfei immediately covers Xu Song's mouth from continuing her shouting. Just now, she saw the Xiong manor's gate guards turning their attention towards their direction.

"Miss..."

"Hmm?" Xiong Jingfei replied, peeking from behind the wall to check their surroundings. Thankfully, the gate guards stopped paying attention in their direction. They went back to talking with one another.

Xiong Jingfei sighed. It was risky trying to get near the Xiong's manor without them noticing. Those who know how her father rules will never dare to sneak around the area. You're just asking to be punished!

In the Xiong manor, it was easier to exit than to enter. Especially if you weren't supposed to leave like Xiong Jingfei and Xu Song. If they entered through the front doors, they're walking in to ask to be punished. Xiong Guozhi does not care if you're a female or male. He will deliver the same punishment upon you.

Luckily, Xiong Jingfei was never discovered sneaking out or caught red-handed doing things she wasn't supposed to do.

"Miss, you're dressed as a man right now!"

"Oh... Oh!" Xiong Jingfei gasped, realizing why the icily young man was treating her so rudely. She immediately covers her mouth. The guards almost heard her!

She completely forgot she was dressed as a man today. It was so she can do a lot of things more freely and enter places, not meant for a woman.

"Now!" Xiong Jingfei said, grabbing Xu Song's wrist and ran to the wall near her courtyard. She rechecked her surroundings. It was quiet and doesn't seem like the guard had noticed.

Once she made it to her courtyard's wall, she removed some of the bottom loose bricks that easily came apart. She always makes sure to thank the wall for giving her way to leave the manor without anyone noticing. No one knows about this wall beside her and Xu Song. Even though she had a way to come go as she pleases. She will have to be quick in returning, or else someone may notice her missing.

"Miss, I'll go in first and pull you from the other side." Xu Song said, volunteering to crawl to the other side first. She wanted to clean up the pathway before letting Xiong Jingfei do it.

Xiong Jingfei followed when Xu Song seemed to have made it through to the other side. Halfway through, her bottom wouldn't budge and allow her to move forward. She used her crawling strength to push forward, but her bottom wouldn't budge.

"Xu Song, I'm stuck!" Xiong Jingfei hissed in a low voice. She doesn't know why she'll be stuck now when she left her courtyard this way just fine. "Help pull me out."

Instead of a soft hand gripping on hers, it was a strong but yet a gentle pull. Xu Song, in one move, pulled her through the hole effortlessly. There was a loud rip coming from the side of her clothes. Turns out, her robe got stuck to the outside wall and was holding her back.

Xiong Jingfei let out a big sigh when she got to the other side. She didn't get up from the ground but laid there, assuming no one on the other side of the wall saw her.

"Xu Song, when did you get so strong?" Xiong Jingfei asked, opening her eyes to look upward. Instead of coming into contact with Xu Song's eyes, who was actually standing off to the side, waving her hand to deny the pull. She met with a pair of gentle eyes.

"It's my first time seeing a noble lady crawl through a wall hole." Yang Zheyan smiled, bring a shiver down Xiong Jingfei's spine. "Sneaking in and out without no one in the Xiong household noticing."

Xiong Jingfei's eyes open wide, not expecting to find Yang Zheyan in her back courtyard. Though his smile was warm as always, his eyes were telling her another story. He was angry... Very angry.

He bent down on his knees and wiped the dirt off her face. In his usual gentle caring voice, he asked, "Who was this rude young man you met?"