Baixi returned to her room, stunned by the scene before her. Her bed was a mess, with bags of food packaging such as spicy rabbit heads and sauce duck legs scattered on the floor.

Who did this?

Baixi squatted down and cleaned up all the trash, wiping away the dust with tissues and then sweeping the floor.

"Don't let me catch you, you little thief! Otherwise..." White Flame clenched his fist tightly, threatening in a vicious tone.

You see, Baixi didn't eat any of these snacks, but they were all stolen.

"Heartless thief! Didn't even leave me a bag of spicy rabbit heads. And not only did you not leave any, you finished them and left the trash behind." Baixi became more and more angry, pounding the bed fiercely a few times.

At that moment, Iris heard the commotion and walked in. Seeing Baixi squatting on the floor, venting her frustration by pounding the bed, Iris asked with concern, "What's wrong, Baixi?"

Iris had never seen Baixi like this before. Usually, she was mischievous and naughty, and when she made a mistake, she would escape punishment with a smile. But now, Iris could sense a deep resentment in Baixi, as if the accumulated anger could erupt at any moment.

"All my snacks were eaten by a thief. It's one thing to eat, but leaving the trash here and all those snacks were bought specially to reward myself." Baixi said angrily.

"So, it's because of this." Iris laughed and walked to the edge of the bed, gently patting Baixi's back to comfort her. "I'll give you money to buy more."

"I must catch this thief and teach them a lesson." Baixi clenched her fist in anger.

"After you tidy up the room, come find me in the bedroom."

"Okay."

…

Iris went to the bedroom, thinking about how to punish Baixi. After a while, she took out a square paddle made of cowhide from a storage compartment.

Iris tested the strength by trying it on her palm, making sure it wouldn't leave any marks, and nodded in satisfaction.

She placed the paddle by her side and quietly waited for Baixi to arrive. Iris had promised Baiying, two thousand years from now, that she would beat up Baixi for her. As the mother of both of them, Iris couldn't go back on her promise to future Baiying.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

"Come in!" Iris said gently.

Baixi pushed the door open and saw her mother sitting neatly on the bed. She wondered if there was something important happening. She approached and obediently greeted, "Mother, is there something you need from me?"

"Sit down!" Iris motioned for her to sit with a wave of her hand.

Baixi obediently sat down, looking at Iris with a puzzled gaze, wondering what her mother wanted to say to her.

"Baixi, have you been doing something bad recently?" Iris suddenly said, her dignified and elegant posture and indifferent demeanor evoking a sense of awe.

Baixi was stunned for a moment, then shook her head, "No, besides cultivating every day, I haven't done anything."

"Really?" Iris squinted at her, "But someone told me that you deceived her and made her very sad."

Baixi couldn't make sense of her mother's words. "Who is 'she' that you're referring to?" Could her mother be hinting for her to admit her mistakes?

Since the last kneeling punishment, Baixi has not looked at inappropriate comics or lied. What does my mother mean by that?

"Oh my goodness! Could it be that my mother knows about me peeping on her and a strange woman being intimate?!"

Baixi was shocked, no wonder her mother wanted to talk to her, it turned out she knew about the secret that shouldn't be known.

This is bad.

Baixi's mind raced, trying hard to come up with a set of lies.

If the lie is found out by her mother, won't the punishment be even worse?

In the end, Baixi decided to tell the truth. The punishment for being caught in a lie was being placed in solitary confinement for a period of reflection.

"Well, actually..." Baixi swallowed nervously, looked at Iris with lowered eyebrows, and apologized with a pitiful tone, "Mother, I know I was wrong. Can you please spare me this time? I promise not to do it again."

Iris frowned slightly, somewhat confused. Baixi had been practicing diligently and hadn't made any mistakes recently.

She originally intended to punish Baixi a little because "you will deceive people in the future" and wanted to prevent her from using future mistakes as an excuse to beat her.

She didn't expect that Baixi would do something behind her back and keep it hidden from her!

Iris's gaze instantly turned as cold as an ice blade, staring at Baixi and questioning her word by word, "Confess honestly, what did you do?"

Baixi felt her hairs stand on end, her mother was angry.

"Well...I peeped at you and a strange woman being intimate..." Baixi stammered, keeping the corner of her eye on her mother's face, carefully observing her changing expression.

"How much did you see?" Iris continued to ask, her face seemingly calm.

Iris knew that Baixi saw those things, and then Baixi left. Could it be that this person saw the whole thing?

Baixi didn't dare to speak recklessly, afraid that if her mother became unhappy, she would simply send her to the confinement room for decades. She carefully chose her words and slowly said, "I saw everything..."

With a loud bang, the teacup on the bedside table shattered into pieces, splashing tea all over.

Iris stood in place, her expression dark and terrifying.

"Who allowed you to peep?" Iris's cold and sharp gaze swept towards Baixi, the temperature around them dropped sharply, the air became stagnant, and a cold wind blew past.

Baixi knelt directly on the ground, bowing her head, not daring to utter a word.

"Lie down on the stool!" Iris scolded.

Baixi obediently complied, lying down on the wooden stool.

As soon as she lay down, Yanyuan immediately raised the square paddle in her hand and unhesitatingly struck Baixi's buttocks.

"Slap-"

"Ah~" Baixi cried out in pain, but she didn't dare to resist or beg for mercy.

Immediately after, several more strikes from the paddle landed on Baixi, causing tears to flow down her face. The pain made her grit her teeth, but she didn't dare to scream.

"Wuwu~ Mother~" Baixi endured the pain in her buttocks and mumbled.

Iris stopped her movements, pondered for a moment, and then softly spoke, "Let me correct you. That stranger is an angel named Jia Baili, she can be considered my sister for now."

"What's wrong with an angel? Could it be that you have fallen for an angel? I don't want her to be my mother." Baixi spoke frankly, without disguising her inner thoughts in the slightest.

Iris's eyes narrowed dangerously, her tone suddenly sharp, "I can't attack Jia Baili directly, so I can only disgust her through this method. Some things are not as simple as you imagine."

"What does it mean to be unable to attack? Mother loves that angel called Jia Baili and wants her to also become the mother of me and Baiying," Baixi complained in her heart, but she dared not say anything out loud.

If mother wants to get married, Baixi would prefer Singri as her mother's marriage partner.

During the days of being on the run, Singri had given the two of them the most help as mother and daughter.

Just as the square paddle fell from Iris's hand, Baixi suddenly spoke up, "What about Singri?"

Hearing this, Iris paused her actions and sighed, "Ah."

This sigh from Iris contained so much, including regret, guilt, and helplessness.

Regret that she couldn't become Singri's true spouse, unable to have children. More than that, a hundred years later, Iris would still be a beautiful young girl, while Singri would have aged and passed away.

Guilt for breaking the two-year agreement with Singri, wasting so much of Singri's time.

Helplessness in the current situation – she could no longer turn back into Night White. In other words, Night White didn't exist in this world at all.

There would be continuous wars in the future, who could be certain that they would survive? It might be better to let Singri forget her and embrace happiness again...

"The punishment ends here." Iris retrieved the square paddle and then took off the Dragonwood Jade Pendant from her waist.

A green light emitted from the pendant, swirling in her fair palm, exuding a gentle and refreshing aura.

She gently stroked Baixi's buttocks, and the cool aura penetrated her skin, instantly relieving the pain.

"Get up." Iris's voice returned to being gentle.

Baixi stood up and walked in front of Iris, lowering her head to look down at her, her voice soft and sweet, "Thank you, mother."

Due to the height difference, Iris stood on a stool and bonked Baixi's head.

"Bam!"

"Wow~ Mother, the punishment is over, why do you still hit me?" Baixi covered her forehead and complained with grievance.

Iris had a serious expression on her beautiful face and reprimanded, "Some things are not as simple as you imagine, like that Jia Baili. Remember what I told you today and don't make the same mistake again in the future. Also, you cannot tell anyone about your act of peeping on me, or I will lock you in the confinement room for hundreds of years."

Hearing Iris's threat, Baixi's small face showed a pouty and aggrieved expression. She pouted her lips and muttered softly, "Oh..."

"I'm going to rest now."

Iris waved her hand as a sign to leave.

Baixi bowed and then exited the room.

When the door closed, Iris finally let out a long sigh, tiredly leaning against the table, massaging her temples.