The lewd man took the money and ran away quickly. The mother looked Shen Qingyu up and down, and then her little maid helped her up.

"You can go now." Her mother's voice was like rain in the desert or a cold summer wind, carrying an unexpected tone that left Shen Qingyu stunned and even confused.

"If you dare to utter a single word about what happened today, don't blame me for turning my back on you. If they can kidnap you once, they can kidnap you a second time!" The mother's voice carried a threat, and her cloudy eyes suddenly sharpened.

Shen Qingyu's mouth was gagged with a rag, so she could only nod.

A burly old woman with a menacing look grabbed her and dragged her outside, saying, "Come on, go change your clothes!"

This is the back door of the brothel. If she just leaves like this, who knows what might happen to her.

Shen Qingyu was unwilling; the clothes were borrowed from Song Yaozhu. These people had let her go so easily, perhaps because of the clothes she was wearing. If someone used this against her, who knew what Song Yaozhu would face!

But she was powerless against the burly old woman, and her outer clothes were ripped off in no time.

Her fox fur coat had already been stripped off by the man who captured her, and that fox fur coat was quite valuable. Now that her outer garment had been stripped off as well, Shen Qingyu was filled with shame.

The old woman rummaged around and found a dusty, gray garment, which she tossed to Shen Qingyu. The old clothes were obviously discarded by some prostitute; they were wrinkled and had an unpleasant smell.

But she would freeze to death outside if she didn't wear it, so she had no choice but to put it on.

"Old woman, I'm warning you, if you dare to tell anyone what happened today, you can forget about your reputation! Your clothes are in our hands!"

Shen Qingyu was startled; this garment was indeed a bomb that could explode at any moment!

She suddenly lunged at the old woman, snatched the clothes, and threw them into the charcoal brazier in the room. The old woman cried out, "Oh dear! My goodness! You're utterly wasting such a precious thing! How could you burn such fine fabric!"

Even though the old woman rescued her in time, the clothes still had a big hole burned in them, ruining their appearance.

Hearing the noise, Mom came in, waving a handkerchief. When she saw the scalded clothes, she clicked her tongue in displeasure.

"I've already let you go, and you're still not at ease? I was hoping to take some of your clothes as collateral, so I wouldn't have made a losing deal!"

Shen Qingyu forced herself to remain calm and said, "This dress was borrowed from a friend, and I cannot ruin her reputation. I am very grateful that Mother is willing to let me go, and I will definitely not let Mother lose money. I will repay you double!"

Mom scoffed, her eyes narrowing, and said, "Get out of here! You'll have to wait another cup of tea. Whether or not you entertain guests isn't up to you; it depends on what the other people outside say!"

Shen Qingyu bowed to her mother and was hurriedly led out the back door by a maid.

The old woman hugged the clothes with a regretful expression, "What a waste! What a waste! You've wasted seventy-five taels of silver tonight!"

Her mother's expression turned slightly cold as she said, "Even if it's not ruined, would you dare wear this fabric out?"

"Old woman, I'll alter it; I can make it into a small garment to wear underneath!"

"Let's burn them all," Mom said wistfully, looking at the lights outside the window.

The old woman was very reluctant, "When did Mom become so soft-hearted?"

Hearing this, the mother's face was replaced by a mocking expression, and she said coldly, "In this line of work, I've seen hundreds of women who have acted like they're dying in front of me, but in the end, they were all trained to be obedient and spread their legs for whomever I told them to."

"It's just that there are some people you can't afford to mess with."

This fabric was a tribute item, and only royalty and nobility could afford to wear it. The woman was also incredibly beautiful; just looking up at her captivating appearance, even her mother, who was used to seeing beautiful women, was stunned, let alone the men.

Although she was a madam, she wasn't stupid and didn't want to get involved in the power struggles within the inner quarters of the wealthy and powerful, becoming the target of their venting.

"The lights are too bright."

Song Yaozhu looked at the gate of the Yong Prince's mansion and started to walk forward. The gatekeeper stopped her in surprise, "Princess Xiaoyao, is there something urgent that brings you here so late at night?"

"Go tell Princess Yong that I have come to teach someone a lesson on her behalf."

The gatekeeper was taken aback, but still sent someone to inform Princess Consort Zhai. Soon, a maidservant from Consort Zhai's side came over and led her inside.

The old woman had a serious expression and never smiled. She led her directly into the courtyard where Zhao Ying'e was.

At this moment, Zhao Ying'e was angrily in the courtyard, "That bitch dared to call the prince away at this time!"

"Don't be angry, Consort. The Prince is on your side. That Lady Zhai is rigid, boring, and unreasonable. The Prince would never like her!"

The maid was comforting Zhao Ying'e, but before she could finish speaking, the door was pushed open by the old woman.

"Consort, your maidservant is utterly disrespectful, daring to speak ill of her mistress!" The old woman stepped forward, grabbed the maidservant's hand, and dragged her outside. "According to the household rules, she should be flogged fifteen times as a warning to others!"

Zhao Ying'e angrily retorted, "You audacious servant! How dare you enter my courtyard and beat my people without prior notice!"

Zhao Ying'e suffered a humiliation at the Pear Garden today because her maid was standing with Zhai's maid. When Zhai's maid tried to leave, Zhao Ying'e tripped over her maid, fell against the wall, and broke her arm. Zhai then punished Zhao Ying'e by deducting three months' wages from her maid's allowance.

This wasn't a big deal, but she just couldn't swallow the anger of being suppressed by the Zhai family!

Therefore, when she saw Song Yaozhu in the Pear Garden, she became even angrier! If it weren't for Song Yaozhu taking her place as the Princess Consort of Xiaoyao, she would have married Xie Liwei and become the principal wife! Instead of being a concubine who was always overshadowed by others!

Adding to the fact that Song Yaozhu had run away during the last Zhai family wedding, she harbored a deep resentment. She knew that her situation with Song Yaozhu was a life-or-death struggle; the reason Song Yaozhu hadn't attacked her was because Song Yaozhu had no backing! She had to eliminate her before Song Yaozhu could!

So she had her people arrange for Song Yaozhu to be kidnapped and sold to a brothel!

Hahaha, the dignified Princess Xiaoyao, even if she was rescued, she was still rescued from that place, she has no face to live anymore!

Therefore, she was extremely surprised when she saw Song Yaozhu appear at the door with a murderous look on her face.

She failed again! Is Song Yaozhu really that lucky?!

"How did you get in!" Zhao Ying'e exclaimed in fear, immediately calling out, "Someone! Someone, get me here!"

But the old woman beside Lady Zhai said coldly, "The Princess Consort has something to discuss with the Consort; you must not disturb her."

After she finished speaking, the rough and unsavory women that Song Yaozhu brought all stood with their hands on their hips, glaring at them fiercely, looking like they were about to attack at any moment.

The old nanny beside Lady Zhai was extremely satisfied. Heaven knows how much humiliation her young lady had suffered at the hands of Lady Zhao! Unfortunately, the young lady was a moral person and had been tricked countless times behind her back, but she could only swallow her anger.

The young lady said that one should only deal with people through open strategies, never through underhanded means, lest the retribution fall upon one's descendants. But if Zhao continues to be so arrogant, I fear her mistress will have no descendants!

Therefore, she took it upon herself to have someone send the prince away from Zhao Shi and brought Song Yaozhu in.

Princess Xiaoyao said she was just looking for the clothes she left behind at the last wedding.

That makes perfect sense, doesn't it?