Chapter 13: Have you finished speaking

"Mother, have you finished speaking?"

"And have the rest of you finished speaking as well? Don't leave anything out at the last minute; just say everything at once."

As soon as she asked this, Madam Er involuntarily looked at the several maid servants.

Wasn't her expression clear enough? She had been very clear from beginning to end!

"Alright, then I'll speak! Grandmother, father, the fruits at Peach Garden have always been taken care of by Qi Fei and me, as it was the original intention when mother forced us into Peach Garden.

But these peaches are for the Emperor and the palace ladies. I don't believe it. For example, last year, we only got 30 baskets of peaches. When Uncle and Aunt came, they got 10 baskets of white peaches, 18 baskets of plums— all of which I picked!

And the year before, when Uncle's son Xinyu came, he ate 38 peaches at Peach Garden, only eating the tips. Before leaving, he got 15 baskets of peaches.

We only have one Emperor in the Great Yan Dynasty, and none of the palace ladies have the surname Yu. It's only because the girls are young and don't know that the Emperor and the palace ladies come from mother's maiden family?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Luoyujuo was so scared she stood up and hurriedly bowed toward the direction of the palace, "Forgive me for speaking out of turn, please don't blame me, Your Majesty!"

"Luor, stop talking nonsense!" Madam Er gave her a warning glance.

How could such words be spoken recklessly? If blamed, it would be a great offense for the whole family to be exterminated.

"You, how could you speak such absurdities? Master, this girl has gone mad, she hit me and made up lies... Master, quickly, beat this girl to death with a stick to prevent trouble for the Prime Minister's residence!"

"You, kneel down!"

"Father!" Luoyujuo didn’t kneel, she looked at Luoruo, "Just now mother said these peaches are for the Emperor and the palace ladies. If father doesn’t remember, everyone here can testify."

"You...!"

Luoyujuo clenched her fists tightly, glaring at her, as if she wanted to strike her dead in one blow.

"Enough! Juo, it's just some peaches, the Yumen family eats them, and the Lu family naturally does too. Why make a big deal out of it with a child?"

The old lady glanced at Madam Er.

Frightened, Madam Er hurriedly knelt down and said, "Yes, I did not consider it well and overreacted! But, this girl should not beat me, after all, I am her mother."

"Mother, have you finished speaking?"

Luoruo asked Madam Er again.

After hearing this, everyone present twitched nervously, fearing that she would say something outrageous again.

"Luor, think carefully before you speak!" The old lady couldn’t help but advise.

"Yes, Grandmother!"

"Mother said I hit you, but isn't that confused? Look at your face, the marks are clearly from being beaten with a cane. And also on your arms, it's also from the cane. And where is the cane? It's still in their hands! How could I have hit you?

Mother, are you afraid of telling the truth because these maids have beaten you, and now that Grandmother and Father are here, if you have any grievances, you can say it and let Grandmother and Father plead for you!"

"You..."

This statement made Madam Er jump with anger.

"You clearly grabbed the cane from their hands and beat me!"

"Oh? Is that so?"

Luoruo took the cane from one of the maids and walked towards Madam Er.

"What are you trying to do?"

"Master, save me, this girl wants to beat me again!"

Madam Er was scared and sat on the ground.

"Grandmother, Father, you see, I just took the cane and hadn't approached mother yet, and she started shouting. These maids she brought will definitely come to stop me, how could I beat her under their obstruction, and they are unharmed?"

Yes!

These maids had no signs of injuries, how could Luoruo have beaten Madam Er under the obstruction of these eight maids without injury?

"This is how you are!"

Madam Er saw the situation was not right and quickly explained, trying to convey how Luoruo managed to pass through each maid and then beat her with the cane.

But having lived a privileged life for so many years and never having gone through training, she couldn’t replicate it, and looked like a madwoman hopping around.

"Mother, are you out of your mind?"

Luoruo laughed, covering her mouth.

The maids also began hopping around, but none of them could mimic it.

"Haha, Grandmother, Father, you see, these maids have gone mad too! They must have driven mother mad."

"Enough!"

Luoyujuo shouted in anger. The head of the Prime Minister's residence was hopping around like a madwoman; this was intolerable.

"Juo, in my opinion, these maids should be sold off to prevent future trouble."

"Old lady, you’re wronged us!"

"Madam Er, help us! We all listen to you!"

"Madam Er..."

These maids had been in the residence for many years and were well-experienced. They were living a good life.

If they waited for a few more years, they could retire in the Prime Minister's residence. If they were driven out now, they would have nothing.

Humph! Luoruo was very satisfied; she wanted them to be dissatisfied so they could reveal more.

"Mother, since Father has already spoken, I believe you won't disagree, right? Or maybe Mother still isn’t satisfied and wants to beat them to vent your anger?"

"You...!"

Madam Er felt the world spinning at this moment, and she had countless things to say, yet she couldn't say anything at all.

She was clearly beaten by the despicable girl in front of her, but she ended up splashing the dirt onto a few old ladies, leaving herself with no defense.

"Madam Er, you can't ignore us!"

"Madam Er, we are your people, we listen to you for everything. You can't burn bridges after crossing the river."

"Yeah, burning bridges is not allowed!"

"Shut up, all of you!"

Madam Er became increasingly irritated as the old ladies spoke without restraint.

"Now the master only wants to drive you out. You should be grateful that the Luofu didn't involve your families. If you continue to talk nonsense, it won't just be you."

The families of these old ladies all work at the Luofu. Upon hearing this, they were afraid of implicating their families and quickly shut their mouths.

"Hey? Mother, you're wrong about this," Luo Qianqian quickly interjected, "Since ancient times, when one person gains power, even the chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. If they admit their misfortune, their whole family will suffer. Today, they have caused such a big disaster. How can their families continue to stay at the Luofu? They might hold a grudge against the Luofu and do something bad! Their families should be driven out as well."

"You... you are so harsh to the servants at such a young age? How will the face of the Prime Minister's mansion be saved if this gets out?"

"Mother, don't worry. If they dare to set me up to hit you today, they will dare to spread rumors about our Luofu tomorrow. If it reaches the Emperor's ears, our Luofu will be in trouble..."

Luo Yujue turned his eyes and looked at Luo Qianqian, "Luo'er, what do you think should be done?"

"Mother should not suffer in vain. Each of them should receive one hundred lashes, to show that no one will dare to slander the Luofu in the future. Right, Father?"

Luo Yujue remained expressionless and did not comment.

Ah Zhong looked at Madam Er with difficulty.

Madam Er was also afraid that these old ladies would spread rumors, so she said, "Luo'er is right. Each of them will receive one hundred lashes."

One hundred lashes, even a strong person couldn't bear it, let alone these old ladies. This was clearly a death sentence for them.