As the birthplace of common law, the 17th century United Kingdom, in some respects, was actually somewhat similar to the Qin Dynasty of our homeland:
It defined relevant laws for all possible occurrences, essentially adopting what could be described as brute force enumeration.
From igniting wars to petty household matters, even calling someone an idiot could find related punitive measures.
Right is right, wrong is wrong; wrongdoers must be punished, with no room for empathy or consideration.
However, as a modern person of the 21st century, Xu Yun's concept of 'punishment' was clearly different from that of a 17th century British person.
He wasn't a Holy Mother, but from a normal person's perspective, punishing a five or six year old child with twenty lashes for splashing some cow dung seemed excessively harsh.
In colloquial terms, it was overly severe sentencing.
But if he chose to do nothing and simply forgive her, whether Xu Yun would be satisfied was another matter, but would Lilani truly realize her mistakes?
That was clearly impossible.
Let's not forget, in the actual historical context, there was another unlucky soul who was once pranked by this mischievous child, and back then Lilani was two years older than she is now.
Therefore, such behavior cannot simply be explained away as an 'unintentional mistake'.
After much thought, Xu Yun finally made his previous decision.
The severity of evil varies, and the three lashes on Lilani represent Xu Yun's assessment of the degree of her wrongdoing.
And the three lashes on himself represented Xu Yun's stance:
No matter what, Lilani is ultimately just a child, so out of his moral integrity, he chose to share the punishment with her.
Of course.
Xu Yun could have used the so-called reason of 'a cousin standing in' to let Little Niu take the whipping on behalf of the young girl, and by the way, retaliate for the beating he received.
But after all, he wasn't Wang Qiang, and couldn't bring himself to say such shameless words.
In summary.
After modern 21st century concepts were repeatedly bombarded by the socio-cultural elements of 400 years ago, Xu Yun finally made his own voice heard in this era.
Even though this voice might be very small, almost unheard after today, its significance remains undeniable.
At least at this moment, everyone present was stunned by Xu Yun's conduct.
Of course, while they were stunned, everyone's reactions were somewhat different.
Mrs. Williams and the twins' gazes were quite pure; they were simply surprised by Xu Yun's unexpected actions, arising from preconceived notions.
However, Lisa Asku's expression was more complicated, carrying an air of pondering with half-understanding.
As for William Asku and Little Niu...
Their expressions were not exaggerated, but their eyes conveyed more information than those of the women.
Currently, British thought was at a time of intense clash and change, so although Xu Yun's actions seemed a bit unconventional, for individuals like Little Niu, Lisa, and William, who had received educational enlightenment (William was also a high-achieving graduate of the University of Cambridge), it wasn't something they couldn't comprehend or would internally curse as foolish.
After a while, William looked deeply at Xu Yun.
He walked over to Lilani's side and rubbed her head:
"Lilani, why don't you thank Mr. Feiyu?"
Lilani was silent for a moment. This five-year-old girl's little mind was filled with questions and feelings she couldn't understand, but in the end, she murmured:
"Thank you, Mr. Feiyu."
Xu Yun nodded with a pleased expression like he was teaching a promising child, and at the same time discreetly placed his hands behind his back, with a strong thought in his mind:
Damn it, I whipped too hard, it hurts like hell...
......
Seeing a potentially harmful prank being resolved in a relatively perfect manner, William, while exhaling lightly, also regained his patriarchal authority.
He cleared his throat and turned to ask Mrs. Williams:
"Dear, is lunch ready today?"
Mrs. Williams pointed to the wild vegetables on the table:
"The wild vegetables and lentils are almost washed, it will take no more than ten minutes to start stewing — today's lentils are very fresh, they're perfect for sandwiches."
William then nodded in satisfaction:
"Alright, then you go ahead and prepare, I'll sit with Mr. Feiyu for a while."
Mrs. Williams obliged, re-tied her apron, picked up the wild vegetables, and returned to the kitchen.
William Asku led Xu Yun to sit by the fireplace, pointed to his four daughters and said:
"Mr. Feiyu, you've already met Lilani and Lisa, they happen to be my youngest and oldest daughters.
The remaining two are Elura and Andrea, as you can see, they are a pair of twins, and they are exactly 12 years old this year.
Elura, Andrea, quickly greet Mr. Feiyu."
Compared to their elder sister and younger sister's liveliness, Elura and Andrea were much more shy, and the sisters softly bowed to Xu Yun:
"Hello, Mr. Feiyu."
Xu Yun responded with a nod:
"Hello, nice to meet you."
Elura and Andrea were very frail-looking, resembling two small bean sprouts, hardly having matured.
The reason for this situation was actually quite simple:
Their growth period coincided with William's financial downturn, leaving them with little opportunity to nutritional intake.
Unfortunately, this also affected their future life course — due to malnutrition, the sisters passed away one after the other at ages 38 and 41 respectively.
Of course.
There were also emotional factors, which are not elaborated upon here.
After introducing his daughters, William became quite curious and started chatting with Xu Yun — like Little Niu, he knew of the existence of Eastern People but had never interacted with them.
Although their worldviews were separated by four full centuries, William was, after all, a graduate from the University of Cambridge, with a view and intellect that ranked among the top-tier people.
Coupled with the fact that during these years, although he didn't make much money, he traveled to many places, so when it came to conversation, he was like an old fellow adept at fishing, knowing a bit about everything.
Therefore, after a pleasant chat, Xu Yun found himself unexpectedly hitting it off with William.
What, you're asking what Little Niu was doing at this time?
Of course, just sitting there munching away...
Approximately twenty minutes passed this way.
Mrs. Williams emerged from the kitchen, carrying a steaming pot with both hands and taking small steps.
....