"Why aren't you doing anything? Keep going!" Madam Song was drinking tea with her head down and hadn't noticed the newcomer. After a while without hearing any movement, she called out to the nanny.

When she looked up, she saw Consort Tong standing not far from her. Her face turned pale instantly, and she dropped her teacup.

Wu also shrank back, completely losing the momentum she had shown when she was hitting someone. She secretly cursed herself for attracting Tong's attention; she was not strong enough to confront Tong head-on.

The two old women who had been hitting her retreated behind their mistress. Seeing Consort Tong's piercing gaze following them like a shadow, they trembled and lowered their heads.

Li looked at her with a slight smile. Anyway, it was none of her business, and she would just watch the show.

When Nara saw her arrive, her eyes flashed, and she chuckled, "Sister Tong is here, please sit down," and Linglong cleverly served her tea.

Yiren gently wiped the wound on her lover's lips. Just as she was about to help her tidy up, she heard her master say, "Yiren, come here. Don't rush to tidy up. The master is about to leave court. Let him see what a big deal it is that made the sisters so heartless as to beat a maid to death." Nan Yi sat down leisurely and suddenly spoke.

Everyone shuddered, especially Wu and Song, who had ordered the attack. Their faces fell, already out of favor, and now the Prince knew... However, upon further reflection, they thought, if the Prince were to punish them, they would all be punished together. They had already vented their anger, and besides, the Princess Consort had tacitly approved.

The two maids who had attacked immediately collapsed to the ground, their faces pale with fright, but no one cared about them now.

Lady Nara also thought that if the master wanted to blame her, she would have her own excuse. If the master hadn't been so unfair in his affections, favoring only Lady Tong, Lady Tong wouldn't have incurred public wrath by hurting her maid to vent her anger. Besides, this maid disregarded social hierarchy; what difference would it make if she was beaten?

Everyone thought it was none of their business.

"I have things to attend to in my courtyard. I'm afraid the young master is causing trouble again. I'll take my leave now," said Madam Li. She didn't want to get involved in the mess. She had already seen the show; it would be foolish not to leave.

"Don't go! Sister Li was so enthusiastic just now, but now she wants to leave. We have to finish watching the show," Nan Yi said, stopping her.

Li chuckled awkwardly, "No, this matter has nothing to do with me. What's this talk of watching a show?"

Nan Yi glanced at her sideways, "Sister Li, if you want to leave, that's fine. But when Master arrives later, if anyone tries to shirk their responsibilities, I'll say..."

"You, you..." She was furious at Tong's words, which were threatening her. "Sister Tong, don't go too far. I've already said this has nothing to do with me."

"Who knows?"

Li was so angry that she sat back down.

Nan Yi didn't care who was involved; she just wanted to teach them a lesson. She didn't cause trouble, but people always treated her like a pushover, which annoyed her to no end.

As Lady Nara was sipping her tea, Granny Liu, seeing the situation, fearing it wouldn't end well, leaned close to the Lady's ear and said, "Your Highness, it's best to deal with this first. You are partly to blame for your poor management."

Lady Nara put down her teacup and pondered deeply. The housekeeper was incompetent? Surely they wouldn't strip her of her authority. Lady Tong didn't care about anything, and Lady Li had to take care of her son. Besides her, who could help the master manage the inner quarters?

The lover collapsed in the hall. Nan Yi felt terrible. He had hit her so hard that her face was now swollen like a pig's head. He glared fiercely at the two old women who had hit her. "Hmph, now you know fear? Too late."

When Yinzhen stepped into the hall, he coldly looked at someone. Seeing that she was alright, he breathed a slight sigh of relief, but was annoyed that Xiaoshunzi hadn't explained things clearly and had only asked him to save her life when he appeared.

His residence had always been peaceful, his wife was fair in her dealings, and the other concubines were all gentle and kind. There was no need for a life-threatening situation. Even so, he was still uneasy. So he hurriedly returned to his residence.

Upon seeing Yinzhen return, everyone paid their respects.

When Yinzhen sat in the main seat and glanced at his wives and concubines, he found that they all avoided his gaze, showing none of the warmth and affection they used to show when they saw him.

When the lover saw her master, she sobbed and kowtowed, crying bitterly.

Yinzhen suddenly noticed a familiar-looking maid kneeling before him, her face unrecognizable. She looked like the head maid from Yi'er's courtyard. He frowned and turned to Nala with a stern expression, asking, "Fujin, what's going on?"

Just as Lady Nara was about to speak, Nan Yi said repeatedly, "It's not appropriate for anyone else to say anything about this. Only Huan'er can explain it clearly. Madam, why don't you let Huan'er speak?"

Lady Nara frowned. If Huan'er were to speak, she wouldn't be able to escape responsibility either. Everyone knew that girl was honest. Seeing Yinzhen's cold face, she could only say, "As Sister Tong says."

Nan Yi summoned Huan'er to explain in detail. The more Yinzhen listened, the angrier he became. His eyes flashed with frost, and his brows seemed to be knotted together. After Huan'er finished speaking, Yinzhen slammed his hand on the table with a loud bang.

Everyone fell silent, the air in the hall so cold it made people shiver.

Wei Nan smiled leisurely and looked at everyone with a mocking tone, saying, "Vixen, what a vixen! I'll take the blame. But one thing is certain: my maid has nothing to do with this. She was beaten innocently, and you have to give me an explanation."

Then, turning to the person he had just argued with that morning, he said, "I don't ask for anything else, but my girl is injured like this, she needs to be treated. I can't let her be disfigured and unable to marry into a good family."

First, dig a hole, then make them bleed a good beating. If they don't learn their lesson, there's no guarantee there won't be a next time.

Yinzhen frowned and asked, "What do you want?"

Nan Yi sneered, "Sister Song and Sister Wu got into a fight, so give my maid three to five hundred taels of silver as compensation, and the rest of the audience should each pay one hundred and five taels of silver as entertainment expenses. What do you think, sir?"

If someone hits you, just pay them back with money. Make them feel the pain so they'll learn their lesson.

Yinzhen raised an eyebrow. What a precious maid! It's a good idea. Apart from the Fujin (principal wife), the other concubines don't have much money. Even Li Shi (principal wife) is penniless. But if he agrees, they'll go back and cry their eyes out. It'll be hard to have any peace and quiet.

The women knelt down and kowtowed to Yinzhen with mournful faces. Where would they get the money to pay? Their monthly allowances weren't even enough. They were of low birth and had no dowry or private money. They lived on their allowances and daily rewards. Although they didn't have to worry about food and clothing, they had to find ways to be frugal if they wanted to live a better life. Consort Tong was asking them to pay several hundred taels of silver at once, which would probably drain all their savings.

Yinzhen's lips twitched, and he said indifferently, "Each person should pay twenty taels of silver. Be more careful in the future. Anyone who lays a hand on someone should be dragged out and given twenty strokes of the cane."

The concubines and maids in the room collapsed to the ground with a sigh of relief, then glared resentfully at Wu and Song. If it weren't for the two of them deliberately making things difficult for Consort Tong's maid, they wouldn't have had to pay twenty taels of silver. Twenty taels was half a month's allowance for their mistress.

The two old women who had assaulted the women were also dragged away. Madam Song and Madam Wu watched helplessly, their faces pale, without pleading for them.

Nara's face turned pale. She had also been involved in the matter today, but she also had to pay compensation. Wouldn't that be a public humiliation? But since her master had already spoken, she had no room for argument. This made Tong even angrier. She would get her revenge someday.

Nan Yi suddenly stood up. Twenty taels wasn't even enough to fill a gap in her teeth. "Twenty taels, how generous! I'm afraid they could afford it, but I wouldn't dare accept it." This scoundrel, he wants to protect his woman, but let's see if she's willing to do it.

Yinzhen's face darkened. He remembered what had happened that morning. He hadn't even held it against her yet, and now she was going against his wishes. It was just a maid, but all the women in the mansion had to pay compensation and lose face. And she was still not satisfied. So he said angrily, "If you don't dare to accept it, then don't pay compensation."

Everyone was delighted to hear this. Wu and Song, having forgotten their earlier reprimands, looked at Tong with great smugness and mockery.

Nan stared straight at Yinzhen, wanting to see him clearly, to see him completely, and to remember it in her heart. She didn't know why she was doing this; it was just instinct. Yinzhen returned her gaze with an indifferent face.