Lu Jinmi's eyes were bloodshot: "Elder sister, you are so vicious! She was just a timid maid who didn't finish her sentence, and you took her life! How could you be so cruel!"

The Duke of Zhenguo frowned and looked displeasedly at Lu Jinmi, who was kneeling on the ground.

Zhu Yu stammered, "I...I...Father, I was just stating the facts. How could my second sister say I'm vicious? Does that mean Prince An is also a vicious person?"

Well, that's just how his reputation is. He spares no effort in using himself and tarnishing his own image.

"Insolence!" the Duke of Zhenguo shouted coldly.

Lu Yucheng looked at the Duke of Zhenguo, seeking his opinion.

The Duke of Zhenguo said calmly, "She's just a maid. You can decide what to do with her."

Lu Yucheng: "Twenty strokes of the cane, and be sent to the government office."

The maid fainted completely and was carried out by the servants.

Before long, the dull thud of sticks striking flesh and the cries of a maid being awakened by the beating could be heard from outside the courtyard.

The Duke of Zhenguo looked at Madam Fang and said coldly, "Madam Fang, what's the story behind the money Acheng gave to Xiaoyun?"

Fang's face was pale, and she trembled for a long time. Every sound of the stick hitting her flesh outside the courtyard made her body tremble involuntarily. The servants in the mansion were all trained in beating people with sticks. Twenty strokes would leave them half-dead, if not dead, and they wouldn't be able to say a word.

She was born into a humble family. Her father, who followed the old Duke Zhenguo, died on the battlefield taking a sword for him, leaving her all alone. Before her father died, the old Duke Zhenguo promised to take care of her and brought her into the Duke Zhenguo's mansion.

They raised her as their daughter, and after she came of age, they arranged a marriage for her.

However, Lu Xiaoyun's mother died in childbirth, and the household was in chaos, which delayed her marriage.

Having witnessed the splendor and wealth of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion in the bustling capital, and knowing that the Duke of Zhenguo was such a distinguished and charismatic figure, how could she possibly be willing to marry someone else?

During that period, she tried her best to please him and took good care of the dejected Duke Zhenguo and the infant Lu Xiaoyun.

Later, seeing that she was well-behaved, the old lady intended to have the Duke of Zhenguo marry her. However, the Duke of Zhenguo was unwilling in every way. So she conspired with the old lady and used some tricks to get the Duke of Zhenguo to have her body, and he had no choice but to take her into his household.

It wasn't until a year later, after she gave birth to twin daughters, that the old lady elevated her to the status of a principal wife.

Lu Jinmi gritted her teeth and bowed deeply: "Father, you have seen what kind of person my elder sister is. If we give her all this money, who knows what kind of bad reputation she will have. Mother used this money to buy several shops for her, thinking that when my elder sister becomes sensible, she can give the shops to her as her dowry."

Fang's mind went blank. This stupid daughter, a shop? Where did this shop come from? Are you trying to expose the dowry of that dead woman?

My daughter, you've fallen into Lu Xiaoyun's trap again.

“But my elder sister used such despicable means to marry Prince An. If the shop is handed over to her immediately, she will lose it all in less than two months. All the wealth that I painstakingly saved for her will be of no use. So, I will keep these dowry items for her for now.”

Fang closed her eyes. She had no other choice but to go along with her stupid daughter and try to smooth things over.

She bowed to the Duke of Zhenguo and said through tears, "Your Excellency, as you know, Xiaoyun has always been close to me, so it is only right that I take care of these shops for her."

"General Qi Shaocheng, the Marquis of Yongbo, has returned to the capital, and Xiaoyun is already eighteen. General Qi will surely fulfill his promise to marry Xiaoyun upon his return to Shengjing. I originally intended to hand over the shop to her after their wedding, but I never expected such a big thing to happen at the palace banquet."

The Duke of Zhenguo frowned and said, "Xiaoyun is already married to His Highness Prince An, so please don't say such things in the future."

Fang shut her mouth.

Lu Jinmi interrupted Fang Shi, looked up and glared coldly at Zhu Yu, saying, "Everyone in the capital knows that His Highness Prince An will not marry anyone but Miss Yong'an, but my elder sister interfered. Father, Mother is also worried that if His Highness Prince An ever gets tired of my elder sister, then these two shops that I helped her earn will be her fallback plan, so I'm temporarily managing them for her."

She said harshly, "But what about her? She actually turned the tables on me!"

Zhu Yu looked at the Duke of Zhenguo with teary eyes: "Father, I don't understand what my second sister is saying. Does she mean that if I am divorced by Prince An, he will covet my dowry, so my stepmother is holding onto it and refusing to give it to me? Does that mean that my stepmother is also holding onto all the dowry my mother left me and refusing to give it to me?"

Upon hearing this, Fang was shocked. This was no longer just about her holding onto Lu Xiaoyun's dowry, which belonged to her mother who had died young.

If Prince An were to find out about these words, what would become of me?

Who is His Highness Prince An? Last time, she went there recklessly and came out with a fine layer of cold sweat on her entire back, and that was after only exchanging two words with him.

She never expected the Duke of Zhenguo to speak well of her.

But ever since his mother-in-law moved to Ganlu Temple to pray for blessings, he has never set foot in her backyard, even when he is in the southern border region or has returned to Shengjing City.

She could imagine that if His Highness Prince An wanted to kill her, the Duke of Zhenguo would not hesitate to do so.

Lu Jinmi glared at Zhu Yu: "Elder sister, if you can't speak properly, don't talk nonsense. His Highness Prince An is a prince, a prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the commander of an army of 200,000. He has plenty of money, why would he care about your two small shops!"

Zhu Yu looked up at the Duke of Zhenguo and Lu Yucheng with a blank expression, blinked, and asked in confusion, "Father, brother, why does His Highness Prince An have so much money when he commands a large army? Father and brother also have 200,000 troops under your command, so do you also have a lot of money?"

The mother and daughter were so angry that they fell backward, their faces turning almost transparently white.

Lu Yucheng affectionately patted his younger sister's head: "They're talking nonsense. Father and brother don't have any money."

The Duke of Zhenguo, his face ashen, swept his gaze over the two kneeling figures: "Ignorant woman, are you trying to bring about the downfall of the entire Duke of Zhenguo's mansion?!"

Fang was so frightened that her whole body trembled like a leaf: "Your Excellency, I am innocent! It was Lu Xiaoyun who talked nonsense and deliberately misinterpreted things. Mi'er and I did not mean that."

“My lord, you know that this girl is close to me.”

Zhu Yu nodded in agreement.

Seeing that she was still nodding, Lu Jinmi said angrily, "Father, Eldest Sister must have been bewitched by that brat Li Feng to say such things. Her indenture is still in Mother's hands, yet she dared to secretly run away to Prince An's mansion!"

Fang was seeing stars. She truly regretted not poisoning her daughter to make her mute after giving birth to her.