Madam Han's eyes were filled with disbelief.
The woman in front of him with messy hair and pale cheeks, who seemed to have aged more than ten years overnight, was she really his mother?
In Madame Han's memory, her mother was dignified and gentle. She was dignified and generous to outsiders and virtuous and steady to her family. Madame Tao was well managed by her. From her father to servants, no one dared not to respect her mother. Her mother also lived a glamorous life. Wherever she went, she was a model praised by others. Whether it was her background, appearance, knowledge, or self-restraint … she was perfect!
Her hair was always meticulously combed and decorated with pearls and turtles. Wherever she went, she was the center of attention.
Under her mother's guidance and influence, Madam Han unconsciously integrated her mother's style into her bones.
Now, her mother, who had always been perfect, rushed up and slapped her like a shrew. It was undoubtedly destroying her perfect image in Madam Han's mind. Because she was too shocked, she did not come back to herself. Instead, she raised her hand to cover the swollen half of her face.
"Mother, mother …" Madam Han took two steps back and looked at Madam Tao sadly. "When did I do such a thing?"
Madam Han felt that she was wronged. She had always been arrogant, but she looked weak and helpless in front of her mother.
Madam Tao slapped her out of anger. She regretted it on impulse, but how could she apologize to her daughter?
Besides, she also believed that Madam Han was a traitor.
Otherwise, why didn't she divorce at other times, but at this sensitive time?
Madam Tao had high cheekbones, a narrow forehead, and not plump skin. She looked a little mean.
Usually, she could use makeup to cover her shortcomings, but now she did not. Madam Tao's face was so fierce, and she looked very strange.
Hearing Madam Han's wronged explanation, her daughter-in-law spoke before Madam Tao could speak.
"Are you saying that I wronged you?"
Madam Tao was very capable in the inner courtyard. She had children born by her legal wife. Although there were children born by concubines, they had to live under her nose.
The daughter-in-law who spoke was the youngest son's wife. She had been married for less than half a year.
She had thought that she could help her relatives when she married into the family. She did not expect her husband's family to be so disappointing. They were in trouble in just half a year.
Not only did he lose his wealth, but he had also become a prisoner. He was indescribably angry.
She wouldn't blame Madame Tao for being greedy and occupying the salt business. She could only aim at Madame Han who stayed at home peacefully.
Before Madam Han came, the sisters-in-law pushed all the anger onto Madam Han with just a few words.
Otherwise, Madam Tao wouldn't have walked up to her daughter and slapped her in front of everyone.
"I am innocent," Madam Han said. "What does Liu Xi's actions have to do with me?"
"It's not an auspicious separation," one of the sisters-in-law said. "Isn't it because you went back to your parents' home that you brought trouble to your parents' home?"
Madam Han was enraged as well. She blurted out, "You're twisting words and forcing logic. Wasn't Liu Xi targeting the Tao Residence because of the salt affair?"
Even though she was a lady from the inner residence, Madam Han wasn't truly ignorant.
She knew why Jiang Pengji wanted to deal with the Tao family. Wasn't it because of the salt business that the Tao family and other aristocratic families had seized? However, Jiang Pengji did not dare to tell him the real reason, so she made up a false accusation of "conspiracy to rebel." What they didn't know was that Jiang Pengji's accusation of punishing Madam Tao and the others were real. As a lady from the inner residence, Madam Han didn't have the means to know what the other clansmen were doing.
As soon as she finished speaking, Madam Tao, who had calmed down a little, gave Madam Han another loud slap.
"Evil girl!" Madam Tao gritted her teeth and said, "You're indeed a traitor."
The Tao family and the other aristocratic families had seized the salt business for too long. It had been so long that they regarded the business as private property.
Madam Han's words undoubtedly exposed the ambition and greed of the aristocratic families. How could Madam Tao not be angry?
After two consecutive slaps, the corner of Madam Han's mouth was bleeding. Both sides of her cheeks were swollen. She looked extremely embarrassed.
"Mother … Why are you like this? What did I do wrong? "
Madam Han finally couldn't help but cry. The smell of iron in her mouth made her feel nauseous.
The people in front of her were her relatives. Her mother was an elder she relied on and respected. She couldn't even recognize her mother's face now.
Madam Tao was still angry. She shouted, "Get lost! The Tao family doesn't have an unfilial daughter like you!"
The commotion alerted the female soldiers who were guarding them. They came in to take a look and immediately reported the matter to their superiors.
Xie Ze brought people over. Dozens of female prisoners in the prison were on guard when they saw the opposite sex.
In ancient times, once a woman was in prison, she basically couldn't keep her chastity. Many jailers were so evil that they bullied and humiliated the female prisoners.
But this time, the jailers were temporarily played by female soldiers, which brought a sense of security to the women.
Seeing a bunch of men, their relaxed nerves instantly tensed up.
Xie Ze brought people over. He looked around and found Madam Han in a sorry state. He suddenly felt embarrassed.
"Someone, open the door."
Xie Ze said to Madam Han, "I didn't think it through just now. I let you stay in the same cell with these unruly people. Please forgive me, Madam Han."
He thought that since Madam Han was Madam Tao's daughter, it would be fine if they were thrown together. Who knew that she would be beaten the moment she arrived.
Even though Madam Han and Han Yu had divorced, she still couldn't be humiliated by just anyone.
Madam Han stared at Xie Ze. She glanced at the other female prisoners in the prison and then at her mother who was gritting her teeth. She suddenly raised her hand to cover her face and ran out, sobbing. Xie Ze looked embarrassed. He asked someone to arrange a clean single cell for Madam Han.
Xie Ze asked Madam Han, "When this is over, will I escort Madam back?"
Madam Han said, "Now that you are in such a situation, people will laugh at you when you go back."
Xie Ze said, "Although Madam and you are not fated to be together, you are still the birth mother of the two young masters."
After he finished speaking, Madam Han cried even harder. It seemed that she wanted to vent all the grievances she had suffered these days.
In the words of the audience in the live broadcast room, Madam Han should have played the trump card badly. Who could she blame?
Xie Ze was worried that Madam Han would take things too hard. He specially arranged for female soldiers to guard her so that she wouldn't commit suicide.
Xie Ze arrested all the people and confiscated all the properties of the families.
When he saw the annual salt accounts of the families, he couldn't help but gasp when he saw the rough figures.
His lord was very generous to the soldiers in the military camp. The amount of military expenses allocated every year could be said to be an astronomical figure. This didn't even include the pensions for the deceased soldiers. If the families made a list of military expenses, his lord would definitely be at the top of the list, far ahead of the second place.
When he looked at the account book, he finally understood what the Lord often talked about meant by the picture of a broken account.
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