Chapter 16

Ever since Huo Bujue received a definitive answer from her younger brother, she felt as if she had taken a reassuring pill.

When she returned home, she didn’t even ride a horse. Instead, she had people weave a bamboo sedan chair and carry her back home.

By the time she arrived home, it was already late at night.

At this hour, even those with the calmest minds in the Huo mansion couldn’t sleep.

The entire mansion was brightly lit, waiting for Huo Bujue’s return.

The servants, upon seeing Huo Bujue from afar, quickly notified the masters of the house.

Huo Bujue looked at everyone and let out a big laugh: “Everyone, rest assured. My brother has already given his word. The Prince won’t blame us!”

Upon hearing this, Huo Laodie’s face, already lined with wrinkles, broke into a smile:

“As expected, Buqian is capable!”

Huo Xiucai, being slightly more clear-headed, asked uncertainly:

“Did your brother go to see the Prince? Did you hear the Prince say it herself?”

Huo Bujue confidently said: “What difference does it make? When has the Prince ever denied my brother anything he wanted?

Besides, who in this world doesn’t spend money to get things done? The Prince was just deliberately making things difficult for our family because she had an argument with my brother.

Now that my brother is angry, the Prince is in a hurry to appease him. How could she truly give us trouble? Does she not fear that my brother might never forgive her?”

Huo Xiucai, thinking of the Prince’s usual attitude towards her son, felt that Huo Bujue’s words made sense.

But she still felt somewhat uneasy in her heart.

Huo Bujue didn’t pay much attention to her mother. She turned to Ruan Shi and sarcastically said:

“It only took a mere five hundred thousand taels of silver for me to see through you. No wonder my brother said you’re only fit to be a concubine. You truly are a worthless thing!”

Ruan Shi’s attendant couldn’t bear to see his master insulted. He stood in front of Ruan Shi and indignantly said:

“Young Miss, how can you speak of our master like this!

What do you mean by ‘mere five hundred thousand taels’? That amount is enough to support an entire army! Have you ever heard of any new son-in-law willing to take fifty thousand taels from his dowry to help his wife-master through difficult times? Our master…”

“Slap?!”

A resounding slap landed on Ruan Shi’s face, causing it to instantly swell and redden.

The air froze for a moment.

It turned out that Huo Bujue, angered by the attendant’s words, had intended to slap him hard across the face.

Ruan Shi pulled the attendant behind him but didn’t have time to dodge, taking the slap head-on.

This was the second time Huo Bujue had struck Ruan Shi.

Surprise flashed in Huo Bujue’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by shame and anger.

She spat on the ground and cursed:

“Asking to be beaten, you cheap thing!”

Huo Xiucai, seeing the situation becoming unpleasant, came out to mediate:

“Alright, alright, family members shouldn’t hold grudges overnight. Let’s put this matter behind us, and no one should bring it up again.”

Huo Laodie, already displeased seeing his daughter being contradicted, now saw his wife-master defending Ruan Shi. He instantly became angry and retorted:

“What family members? Have you ever seen family members who don’t help repay debts? He’s just a concubine, yet he dares to talk back to his wife-master. He should be taught a good lesson!”

Huo Bujue let out a cold snort and scolded:

“Did you hear that? Being someone else’s husband, you should act like one. If you embarrass us like this again and affect the reputation of the Huo family, see how I’ll punish you!”

Ruan Shi covered his slapped face, tears welling up in his eyes but still refusing to back down. He looked at Huo Bujue and said:

“If you find me so detrimental to the Huo family’s reputation, then let’s separate!”

Huo Bujue believed that men should be subservient. Ruan Shi’s defiant gaze seemed to mock her incompetence, instantly enraging her:

“Ptui! You think you’re worthy of separating from me?!

What’s the matter, now that you can’t benefit from the Huo family anymore, you want to leave?

Let me tell you, I’ll never separate from you in this lifetime. You’re only fit to be discarded by me!

But even if I want to discard you, that’ll be after I’ve had my fun with you.”

She didn’t forget to emphasize viciously: “Ruan Chengming, just wait and see how I’ll torment you to death!”

Ruan Shi hadn’t expected that even after things had come to this point, Huo Bujue not only wouldn’t let him go but would even humiliate him like this in front of so many people.

Although Ruan Shi was the son of a merchant, he was also the son of an official family.

He was the only son in his family, always pampered. He had never seen such a vile side of human nature.

Ruan Shi trembled with anger, pointing at Huo Bujue and saying in a shaky voice:

“Huo Bujue, when I was demoted from husband to concubine, you clearly said you would treat me well. If not for that, how could I have married you!”

Huo Bujue revealed a malicious, roguish smile:

“I am the sister of the esteemed Huo Prince Consort. Letting you marry into our family is already treating you well.

You’d better behave yourself. If you cause any more trouble, even if I cut you into pieces and feed you to the fish, no one would dare say anything. If you’re smart enough, you’ll serve me well. If you serve me well, I might just let you keep your life!”

After saying this, she reached out to pinch Ruan Shi’s chin in a vulgar manner.

However, this pinch ended up touching a woman’s hand.

Huo Bujue was about to curse at whoever dared to spoil her fun when she saw Xiao Dezi standing in front of her with a smiling face, saying:

“Miss Huo is so enthusiastic, knowing that your home would be searched today, you even came to wait for us in advance.”

Huo Bujue was already displeased about having her fun spoiled, and now hearing the other party mention the house search right off the bat, she put on a fierce face and said:

“How are you people doing your job? The house search was just a little game between my brother and the Prince, yet you’re so eager to carry it out.

You’re really taking a chicken feather as an imperial edict. If you end up angering the Prince, let’s see how many heads you have to spare!”

Although Xiao Dezi still maintained that smiling expression, the disgust in her eyes was rapidly increasing.

Xiao Dezi came from a poor family. Back then, when her family couldn’t even afford food, they had to sell her with a heavy heart for just ten taels of silver.

But Huo Bujue had embezzled a full five hundred thousand taels, yet showed no sign of remorse.

Moreover, her character was low and greedy, making it hard for anyone to like her.

Xiao Dezi smiled and said: “I’m not as understanding and empathetic as Miss Huo, able to guess people’s hearts. Today, I’m merely carrying out orders.”

Xiao Dezi’s smile disappeared, and she said in a cold voice:

“The Prince said to search the entire household, so we’ll search the entire household. Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we can’t miss a single coin.”

“Yes!”

Huo Xiucai, seeing the situation becoming more serious, originally wanted to say a few words. However, before she could open her mouth, she saw Huo Laodie take on the posture of a common street ruffian.

He sat down on the ground, wailing loudly: “Murder! Murder! The officials are committing murder!”

It was already deep into the night, and everywhere was extremely quiet. Huo Laodie’s commotion drew out quite a few curious onlookers.

Xiao Dezi, seeing the surrounding citizens gathering to watch, didn’t stop them. She simply said:

“The Huo family has embezzled five hundred thousand taels of silver. The evidence is conclusive. The Prince’s guards are here to enforce the law.”

The surrounding citizens, who originally thought it was just a matter of the Prince’s inner court, were all shocked to hear that the Huo family had embezzled such a huge sum of money.

Huo Laodie, seeing that the eyes of the people around them had changed towards his family, suddenly jumped up and shouted loudly: “The officials are framing good people, I can’t live anymore!”

With that, he immediately rushed towards a nearby pillar to crash into it.

As they say, birds of a feather flock together.

Without any prior rehearsal, Huo Xiucai steadily caught Huo Laodie, and the two embraced, lamenting how pitiful they were, attempting to gain the sympathy of the guards in one go.

However, after crying for a while, they noticed no additional sounds around them. Opening their eyes slightly, they saw that the guards had simply walked around them and headed into the house.

Realizing that their long performance had been in vain, the two were stunned.

Huo Bujue, seeing the soldiers unhesitatingly walking into her house, tried to block them while shouting:

“How dare you treat my Huo family like this? Aren’t you afraid of my brother’s blame?”

If these words had been said a few days ago, even if Xiao Dezi was following orders, she would have hesitated a bit.

But now, thinking about how the Prince had changed her usual style, acting decisively and clearly.

And thinking about that Jade One who slept on the Prince’s couch daily, and was now even being nourished with the Prince’s internal energy.

Xiao Dezi revealed a fearless expression and said passionately:

“We are the Prince’s guards, of course we act on the Prince’s orders. If one day the Prince Consort Huo blames us, this humble one is willing to accept punishment!”

Huo Bujue hadn’t expected that in just a few days, the guards who used to obey her every word now completely ignored her.

For the first time, panic and unease appeared in her eyes. While trying to stop the guards from searching the house, she shouted hoarsely:

“Even if you don’t care about my brother, doesn’t the Prince care about my brother? If my brother finds out that the Prince is treating his family like this, he definitely won’t forgive the Prince. Can you bear that responsibility?”

“Miss Huo is overthinking. The Prince is doing this for the Prince Consort’s sake.

If the Prince Consort’s family home is a place that harbors evil, it would also affect the Prince Consort’s reputation. Now the Prince is helping to clean things up for the Prince Consort, so that Prince Consort Huo can serve the Taoist ancestors with a clear conscience.”

Huo Bujue never expected that even after bringing up her brother, the other party would still remain so unyielding.

Thinking about how the money she had ‘worked hard to earn’ was about to disappear into thin air.

Thinking about how everyone around was watching her make a fool of herself, thinking about how she would have to go back to struggling for survival in the fields, her eyes turned red with anger.

“I absolutely won’t let you take these things away!”

Huo Bujue seemed to have gone mad. She angrily ran to the kitchen, grabbed a butcher’s knife, and started wildly slashing at the guards.

The scene Huo Bujue had imagined, where the guards would show fear and blood would be spilled, didn’t materialize at all.

She, a pampered noble who couldn’t even lift a finger, was quickly subdued by these guards in just a few moves.

Whether intentionally or not, in the process of being subdued, Huo Bujue was pressed to the ground, her face forced into several deep interactions with the floor.

Now, Huo Bujue bore no resemblance to her previous domineering self. She looked like a mad woman who had been playing in the mud.

Huo Bujue hadn’t expected to be treated like this in public. She was dying of shame and anger.

Just then, she heard Xiao Dezi’s voice, which sounded like heavenly music to her:

“Let go, let go. How can you treat Miss Huo like this?”

Before Huo Bujue could feel relieved, she heard Xiao Dezi continue:

“What if we accidentally kill her? Who’s going to take those eighty lashes then?”

Huo Bujue looked at Xiao Dezi in shock. It was only then that she realized Xiao Dezi still wore that smiling expression, but her eyes looked at Huo Bujue as if she were a corpse.

A chill ran from Huo Bujue’s feet straight to the top of her head. This time, she was truly scared.

She wailed: “Mercy, Official De! If those eighty lashes are dealt, this lowly one will truly lose her life!”

But at this point, who would pay attention to her? The only response she received was the sound of blows, each heavier than the last.

The Huo elders had long enjoyed the fruits of the people’s labor, but considering they hadn’t directly handled it, they only received twenty lashes.

For a time, the sound of lashes rose and fell in the Huo household.

Apart from pleas for mercy and wails, no one tried to stop the guards from searching the house anymore.

Huo Bujue felt as if her flesh had been beaten to pulp. She could even taste the blood in her mouth.

Just when she was in extreme pain, she suddenly discovered that Ruan Shi was standing nearby, not being beaten.

She roared in a hoarse voice: “He’s also a member of the Huo family, why isn’t he being punished?”

Xiao Dezi innocently asked in return: “Don’t you know? The Prince has already agreed to Ruan Shi’s separation from you.”

Although Ruan Shi had previously asked the Prince to make a decision, it was only with a mindset of giving it a try, not daring to be certain whether the Prince would agree.

Now, suddenly hearing this news, he was somewhat at a loss.

Then Xiao Dezi, as if remembering something, suddenly said:

“Young Master Ruan, we all just witnessed Miss Huo insulting and beating you. If you report her to the magistrate’s office, we can all be your witnesses.”

Ruan Shi had been oppressed for too long. Now, suddenly hearing that he had not only gained freedom but could also seek justice, although his heart was joyful, he inevitably hesitated.

Huo Bujue saw that Ruan Shi, who usually acted like a lamb, actually dared to go to the Prince to ask for separation, and even wanted to report her.

She immediately shouted: “You little cheap thing, if you dare to report me, I’ll make sure you die a miserable death!”

Hearing this, Xiao Dezi put on an exaggerated expression and said:

“Miss Huo, you’re really brave, daring to openly threaten the victim in front of so many of us.

Young Master Ruan, if you want to file a complaint, we can also testify that she threatened you!”

Ruan Shi, seeing the encouraging look in Xiao Dezi’s eyes, felt a surge of warmth in his heart and said resolutely:

“Good, I’ll report her!”

Huo Bujue hadn’t expected that Ruan Shi would actually dare to report her. Feeling both fearful and angry at the same time, she suddenly coughed up a large mouthful of blood and fainted.