Along the way, there wasn't a single person in sight. It was completely empty. There were only one or two broom maids who stayed in their respective courtyards to look after them. It was clearly a hot summer day, but there was a strange atmosphere.
/p
Xiao Yi supported me, but she was trembling with fear. She said, "Ever since I was bought into the fu, I haven't seen such a scene in four or five years."
/p
She was trembling so much that she couldn't even walk steadily. It was I who supported her, as if she were the master. I said, "I haven't experienced it before, but I've experienced it today. It's a good thing to be with you. It will save you the trouble of losing your footing when you have to take charge in the future."
/p
"Miss, you don't seem to be afraid at all?"
/p
I sighed. What was the use of being afraid now? It was obvious that things were coming for me. I could only counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir.
/p
The entrance of Qiushi Hall was very lively. A large group of upper-class women crowded inside the room. In the courtyard, the upper-class women brought along with them were also respectable second-class maids. As I walked through, not a single one of them saluted me. If it was any other day, I would have lost my temper. But today, ai, forget it.
/p
Xiao Yi opened the curtain for me. I walked in sideways. The upper-class women in the room uniformly looked at me. I first paid my respects to the old taitai sitting at the head of the table. The old taitai pointed at me with tears streaming down her face. "You, you, tomorrow you will be a Wangfei. Today, we old bones won't be able to order you around anymore!"
/p
There was an upper-class woman sitting below the old taitai. She sarcastically said, "I don't know if it was yesterday, but it caused a big matter that was brought to the Emperor's attention. It caused the old taitai to be blamed. Even our old taitai was implicated."
/p
I didn't wait for the old taitai to let me get up. I stood up spontaneously. I sneered at the unkind upper-class woman and said, "Madam, you said so. You didn't ask for the Emperor's permission to directly convict me. Chuizhu didn't think that I had offended Madam.
/p
The eldest madam held the prayer beads in her hand to mediate the situation. Pulling the aggressive lady behind her, she said to me, "Second Young Lady, your second aunt is also very anxious. She doesn't have a filter on her mouth. Everything comes out of her mouth. As a junior, you should understand."
/p
"Understanding is one thing, but framing is another," I bluntly retorted the Eldest Madam, "This is a big case that has already passed through the Emperor's eyes. There are twists and turns, and there are various judgments. It's best to let His Majesty personally look at it. Unlike Second Aunt, who made a guess without the slightest bit of evidence and directly accused me of a crime. It's fine if I've been wronged. After all, we're family, so it's fine as long as we talk things out. But to overstep the judgment of the case like this, isn't she looking down on His Majesty?"
/p
The eldest madam held the bracelet and smiled. "Yes, yes."
/p
The noblewomen had been chatting among themselves, but now they stood up straight, looking proper and virtuous.
/p
"Alright, alright." The old madam tilted her head and raised her hand, stopping our quarrel. "The things outside haven't stopped yet, and you're already quarreling in your own home. Do you still have any respect for this old woman?"
/p
I didn't say anything else, but my second aunt still didn't let it go. "Old madam, old madam, you see, I only said one sentence, and Second Young Lady refuted me ten times. In the end, I'm not the legitimate wife who married into the family with eight people carrying a sedan chair. Why is she looking down on me like this?"
/p
The old madam slapped the couch.
She angrily said, "Since you don't think you're the legitimate wife, then get out of the door and go back to your own courtyard!"
/p
The second madam stood up in fear and trepidation. "Old madam, your daughter-in-law isn't …"
/p
"Cui Liu, why aren't you helping your wife back to her room?"
/p
A beautiful young lady gracefully stood up. She was born elegant, and her hair was decorated with only a few ruby flower hairpins. She stood up and saluted the old madam. "Old madam, mother is going back to her courtyard alone. As a daughter, I'm really worried. It would be better for me to go with her to serve her, so that old madam and the other madams will feel more at ease."
/p
"Nonsense!" The old madam reprimanded. "Later on, First Master will be responsible for searching the house. The people from the yamen are still sitting in the front courtyard. You're a young lady, and you're not at ease with me. Why are you going out to join in the fun? "
/p
"But mother … she …"
/p
The old madam waved her hand and said, "No matter what, your mother still has a courtyard full of women to protect her. You can't miss out on serving her!"
/p
The young lady had no choice but to bow and say, "Yes." Then she sat back down.
/p
I saw that there was something wrong with this family. They said that they were a family of scholars, so how could they let such a vulgar woman enter their door? They kept saying that she was the wife of the first wife of the first wife of a small family. They were just short of asking for property.
/p
Looking around, it was really nice. Everyone was seated. The servant girls with status also occupied good seats next to their masters. I stood awkwardly in the middle of the hall. It looked like an interrogation. The old madam was sitting on a soft couch in the middle of the hall. There was a layer of ivory chopsticks on top of her head. She was holding her head and crying. She didn't pay any attention to me. The other madams didn't even dare to breathe loudly. They each sat in their own seats like statues. It was as if the smart eldest madam had already begun to chant Buddha's prayer.
/p
I could only order Xiao Yi, who was acting as my servant girl, "Go and bring me a chair."
/p
Xiao Yi had a calm temperament, but this temperament was mostly cautious. She looked around and advised me: "Young lady, good young lady, please stand for a while. The old madam didn't say that you should sit."
/p
It wasn't a big deal for me to stand, but all the masters in the room had their own seats. She wanted me to stand in the middle of the hall like a servant who was being questioned. Heh, do I not want face?
/p
"Not good, old madam, not good!"
/p
A servant girl rushed in with her head against the curtain in a panic. She directly used the momentum to kneel in the middle of the hall and kowtowed. I didn't know why, but I didn't say that she didn't have any manners. Instead, I felt a bit uneasy.
/p
The old madam scolded: "You're in a hurry and don't have any manners. Is this how you greet your masters?"
/p
The servant girl fiercely kowtowed a few times, "Old madam, please forgive me. The master outside sent a message and told this servant to tell old madam that he found something. He told me to hurry back to old madam."
/p
For some reason, the old madam didn't panic. It was as if she had expected this. Instead, she looked at me and asked: "Tell me, what did the master say? What did he find?"
/p
"The master found a moon-white man's clothing in the Second Young Lady's courtyard. He said it was exactly the same as the one mentioned in the court!"
/p
The room full of noble ladies was in an uproar. The old madam asked: "What happened? Where is the master? What should we say?"
/p
Before the maidservant could reply, the First Master rushed in. My eyes were sharp and my hands were nimble, and I hurriedly sensed the commotion. I hurriedly dodged. Unexpectedly, my father rushed straight for me. He raised his hand high, preparing to slap me. "Unfilial daughter."
/p
My mind spun 180 times to think of a countermeasure. I also had 180 ways to catch the palm of this weak scholar who didn't even have the strength to truss a chicken.
/p
"Pa!"
/p
My head was smacked to the side. Although one side of my face was red and swollen, it didn't hurt too much. In the end, I still gave this old man some face and forcibly received the slap with my face.
/p
"What's wrong? Master, what happened?" The old madam asked angrily. She didn't care about me at all.
/p
The finger he pointed at me with was trembling violently, "This rebellious girl, this rebellious girl, old madam, I really did find a set of moon-white men's clothing in this rebellious girl's room. The pattern on the clothing was exactly the same as what was described in the imperial court. Official Gao from the yamen has already returned with the evidence. He asked me to detain the second girl in her courtyard and wait for an imperial decree to arrive. The second girl really won't be able to escape this calamity!"
/p
I hastily put on a grief-stricken appearance, tugging at Da Laoye's clothes as I knelt down. I did not know why, but unexpectedly, I saw several streaks of black light appear between his eyebrows. However, my eyes were now hazy with tears. Perhaps I was mistaken. Sobbing, I said, "Father, how can you detain me just like that? Your daughter doesn't even know what happened. How can you take your daughter away?"
/p
The third madam was a gentle and virtuous woman. She came up to support me: "That's right, Master. Our family can't go to court. We just heard that you came back from court and said that someone in our house committed a big crime and came to search the house. This search was carried out, but it was done by our own family. But the Second Young Lady was taken away for no reason. It doesn't sound good! "
/p
There was a girl who committed a crime and was detained in the house. How can it sound good?
/p
The First Master looked at the Third Madam and seemed to be unhappy that she had spoken up. However, all the women in the room were eagerly waiting for an explanation. He probably couldn't bear to lose face, so he coldly said, "At the morning court today, the capital's magistrate reported a major case. It said that a fire broke out in the red-light district around one o 'clock this morning. It burned down three buildings and a few private residences. There were many casualties, and some people claimed that a young man wearing a white robe with a bamboo leaf pattern was causing trouble in the red-light district that night. This young man was small in stature and had delicate features like a young lady's. She left the red-light district around one o' clock, but someone saw her when the fire broke out at one o 'clock in the morning. One of the night watchmen felt something was wrong and followed her. He saw her enter our manor through the small door!" The master stamped his foot and sighed: "The capital's magistrate requested to search the house. The Emperor pitied me and allowed me to search on my own. Who would have thought that I would actually find something in this rebellious girl's room? This time, there are witnesses and material evidence. How can this rebellious girl be protected?"
/p
As soon as I heard this, I knew that something was wrong. There were too many coincidences. Even the way she entered the house was different from mine. It was clear that someone was trying to frame me.
/p
When the third madam heard this, she covered her handkerchief in shock: "This concubine heard from the third master that the red-light district was the property of the government. Since the time of Prime Minister Guan Zhong, there was a saying that 'the capital of the night was used to make the country rich.' The three buildings in the red-light district were all burned down.
/p
The master sighed: "This is taking money from the national treasury."
/p
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