The carved wooden door of Xiefangyuan was kicked open with a bang. Liu's red gold headband lurched to her temples, and her jade armor scraped harshly against the doorframe. Shen Ruoruo curled up in her brocade quilt, the red bump on the back of her neck seeping blood through her gauze dress. She raised her head hastily at the noise, only to be met with a barrage of saliva from Liu.

"Waste! Absolute waste!" Liu grabbed the jade comb from the dressing table and hurled it at him, the teeth denting the brocade quilt. "You can't even do the job I asked you to do! Now the whole capital knows you're a fool who wears itchy skirts!"

Shen Ruorou huddled up in fear, the pearl flowers in her hair falling down: "Mother... I..."

"You still dare to call me mother?" Liu rushed to the bedside and grabbed her daughter's hair, "Why did I give birth to such a money-losing thing like you! What kind of occasion is the Spring Banquet? Are they asking you to be a stepping stone for Shen Weiwan?" She became more and more angry as she spoke, and raised her hand to slap Shen Ruoruo. The "slap" sound was particularly harsh in the silent room.

"Mother!" Shen Ruoruo covered her burning cheeks, tears bursting out, "It was Shen Weiwan who plotted against me! She shook the grass scraps into my skirt pocket... wuwuwu..."

"Plotting?" Liu shook her hair away, and Shen Ruorou's head hit the bedpost with a dull thud. Liu pointed at the red bump on the back of her neck, her voice sharp as a knife, "I think you have a pig's brain! How can she, an orphan without a mother, be a hundred times smarter than a legitimate daughter like you?"

Suddenly, the servants' tittering could be heard outside the window. Liu flung aside the curtains, only to see two young maids whispering behind a Taihu rock. They scattered like birds and beasts at the sight of her. Trembling with rage, she grabbed the teacup on the table and threw it at them, sending shards of celadon scattering at the maids' feet as they fled.

"He's rebelled! He's really rebelled!" Liu grabbed her hair and paced around the room. Her jade armor scraped across the rosewood dressing table, leaving a few white marks. "Where's that idiot who used to be so timid when he saw me? How come he suddenly became more clever than a monkey?"

Shen Ruorou sobbed and said, "Mom, she must have been possessed by an evil spirit... otherwise how could she suddenly become so smart..."

"Possessed?" Liu sneered, and suddenly seemed to remember something. She turned around and grabbed Shen Ruoruo's wrist, "Explain it to me clearly! What happened to that grass clippings? Did you accidentally shake it in?"

Shen Ruorou was pinched so hard that she cried out, "It wasn't me! It was Chuntao! It must have been Chuntao who did it when I wasn't paying attention!"

"Chun Tao?" Liu narrowed her eyes, thinking of Shen Weiwan's maid who had suddenly become sharp-tongued. "How could a little maid have such courage? It was clearly Shen Weiwan who taught her that!" The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. If Shen Weiwan really became smarter, then the general's family property...

"Mother, what should we do now?" Shen Ruoruo pulled at Liu's skirt, "The Taifu's wife has given Shen Weiwan cloud-patterned satin... From now on, all the noble ladies will revolve around her..."

"Cloud pattern satin?" Liu screamed like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "That's a tribute from the palace! How can a motherless girl like her be worthy of wearing cloud pattern satin?" She suddenly shook off Shen Ruorou's hand and paced around the room. "No! I can't let her be so proud!"

At this moment, the maid Qinghe came in with a bowl of medicine and knelt on the ground in fear: "Madam, it's time for the second young lady to take medicine..."

"Get out!" Liu kicked the medicine bowl, splashing the brown liquid all over Qinghe. "It's all because of you useless people! You can't even keep your skirt!"

Qing He was so frightened that she trembled all over and dared not say a word. Shen Ruorou looked at her mother's distorted face, and suddenly remembered something, crying, "Mother, Shen Weiwan also accepted the jade hairpin of the Seventh Prince! It's the one with the Twin Lotus..."

"What?" Liu's voice suddenly rose, pinching Shen Ruorou's chin, "Explain clearly! Why did the Seventh Prince give her a jade hairpin?"

"I...I don't know either..." Shen Ruorou was strangled to the point of being unable to breathe. "The Seventh Prince even spoke to her at the Spring Banquet...He said she looked good in cloud-patterned satin..."

Liu let go of her hand and sat down on the embroidered cushion, her face turning from red to blue. Who was the Seventh Prince Xiao Yu? He was a prince that even the Emperor looked upon with a different eye! How could he be interested in Shen Weiwan? Could it be...could it be that Shen Weiwan really had some seductive tricks?

"No... absolutely not..." Liu murmured to herself, and suddenly grabbed the account book on the table, "Chen Weiwan, do you think you are so great just because you have the favor of the Taifu Madam and the Seventh Prince? I tell you, as long as the general's house is still in my hands, you can't turn over!"

Shen Ruorou looked at the fierceness in her mother's eyes and suddenly felt a little unfamiliar. Liu took a deep breath and shouted to Qinghe: "Go! Bring the key to the warehouse!"

Qing He was stunned for a moment: "Madam, isn't the key to the warehouse in..."

"Stop talking nonsense!" Liu picked up the feather duster and hit him. "Just take it if I tell you to! If you keep talking nonsense, I'll break your legs!"

Qing He was so frightened that she rolled and crawled out. Liu paced back and forth in the room, her nails digging deep into her palms. Shen Weiwan, don't you want the family property? I won't let you have your wish! Even if I smash it, I can't let you get it for free!

Shen Ruorou looked at her mother's frantic look and suddenly felt a wave of fear. She whispered, "Mom, should we...should we ask Li Xiu for help?"

"Li Xiu?" Liu said as if she had heard something funny. "That lame gay? He can't even protect himself now, how can he help us?" She remembered the rumors about Li Xiu being gay, and she was even more furious. "It's all your fault! If you hadn't had an unclear relationship with him, would you have caused so much trouble?"

Shen Ruorou was so scolded that she couldn't say a word and could only lower her head and cry. Liu was even more upset when she saw her daughter's useless appearance. Just then, Qinghe came back with a sad face: "Madam... the key to the warehouse... is missing..."

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