Chapter 227 The Princess's Mansion Was Robbed

The next morning, Furong rushed into Liuye's room in a panic, carrying a bunch of keys: "Princess, something terrible has happened! The storeroom has been robbed, and everything inside has been stolen!"

Liu Ye sat up in bed, still half asleep. She couldn't believe her ears: "What? The warehouse was robbed? Whose warehouse was robbed?!"

Furong anxiously shook the key in her hand: "Our storeroom has been robbed! Today is the day to distribute the monthly allowances to the people in the manor. I just went to the storeroom to get the money, and I found that the entire storeroom was empty, with nothing but dust. Group leader, please go and take a look!"

Liu Ye was only slightly shocked after hearing this, thinking to herself, "What the hell am I supposed to see? You said there's only dust left in the room, what's so interesting about dust? Humph! Hei Yi and the others just left, and her storeroom was robbed. That's interesting!"

However, she knew in her heart that it wasn't Hei Yi and his gang who stole it. She threw off the covers, put on her shoes, got out of bed, grabbed some clothes from the side and put them on, asking casually, "Is there any commotion at the General's Mansion next door? Is it just that our Princess's Mansion's storeroom was robbed?"

Furong hurriedly said, "The General's mansion's storeroom has also been robbed. I heard people next door shouting that they're going to report it to the authorities. The Princess's mansion is also making a fuss, it seems like it's been robbed too. Princess, let's report it to the authorities too, and let them catch the thieves quickly, otherwise I won't have any money to buy groceries, and the servants in the mansion are waiting for their monthly pay..."

Liu Ye rolled her eyes and immediately put on a worried look: "What should we do? All my valuables are in the storeroom, and I don't have many silver notes on hand. The fruit shop has made a lot of money these days. Go to the fruit shop and get the money. After you get the money, you can pay everyone their monthly wages first, and keep the rest for our household expenses."

"Sigh, if you don't have money, save it. You'd better go now."

Furong nodded: "I'll go right away." Furong didn't even close the door when she left. Liuye rolled her eyes speechlessly. Humph, she doesn't even try to hide it anymore. She doesn't even call herself a servant anymore. She keeps talking about me and me. It seems she's going to the palace to enjoy herself. She even has to play a trick on her before leaving. OK, let's see what tricks you can pull.

A little while later, Xiao Qiu brought breakfast to Liu Ye. Liu Ye looked at the bowl of porridge and the plate of pickled vegetables on the table, and she almost couldn't help but curse: "Xiao Qiu, is this the breakfast the kitchen made for me?"

Xiao Qiu nodded expressionlessly: "Yes, the kitchen ran out of food yesterday. This morning, Butler Furong didn't give us any money, so Aunt Zhao didn't have any money to buy vegetables. The kitchen also doesn't have much rice or flour left, just enough for lunch and dinner..."

Liu Ye was so angry she almost laughed. When had her kitchen ever run out of rice and flour? There was always chicken, duck, fish, and meat every day. Whatever she, the mistress, ate, they, the servants, ate too. Yesterday the storeroom was robbed, and today the kitchen is empty. Good heavens, Furong, you're something else!

She waved her hand at Xiao Qiu with a cold face and said, "I understand. You can go now."

Xiao Qiu knelt down on the ground with a thud: "Princess, Steward Fu Rong was bought as a servant for 20 taels of silver. I want to use 30 taels of silver to redeem myself. Please, Princess, return my indenture to me..."

Liu Ye was so angry she almost laughed. Fine, fine, she'd really learned something new. Fu Rong wasn't just leaving herself, she was taking all her people with her. Perfect, that suited her perfectly.

She sighed with feigned helplessness: "Well, alright, the manor's storeroom was robbed, and all the valuables were stolen. I can't support you servants with just a fruit shop. Since you want to redeem yourself, I'll agree. But 30 taels of silver won't do. You've been eating and drinking my food these past few days. I've spent a lot of money on you. 50 taels. Tell the others that whoever wants to leave can bring 50 taels to me to get their indenture. Go."

Xiao Qiu got up from the ground without hesitation: "This servant agrees. This servant will go and get the silver right away. This servant will also pass on the message to the others. However, the princess must pay us our monthly salary this month..."

Liu Ye nodded coldly: "Don't worry, you won't be shortchanged by a single copper coin. Go and collect yours from Butler Furong!"

Xiao Qiu returned shortly after leaving with everyone from the manor, including Aunt Zhang and Aunt Zhao from the kitchen, Zhang Wei and the guards from the manor, Fu Rong, Xiao Chun, Xia Xia, Wang Wu from the fruit shop, and all the servants from the manor.

Xiao Qiu led the way, and they all knelt on the ground, offering silver with both hands: "Princess, we have brought the silver. Please have mercy and let us go."

Liu Ye pulled out a stack of indentures from her bosom, her face dark, and threw them in front of Xiao Qiu: "These are your indentures. Put down the money and leave!"

Xiao Qiu picked up a stack of indentures from the ground, put the silver on a table, and the others followed suit, placing their silver on the table as well. Then, Xiao Qiu left without looking back.

Liu Ye arrived at the living room door and looked at the open gate. The huge princess's mansion was now empty except for her. She felt a little uneasy. Being a princess felt like a dream. Hmm, she was indeed not suited for palace intrigue dramas, and neither was Bai Zilin. Her brother Bai wasn't very bright, and neither was she...

Just then, a carriage drove in through the door. Wang Wu was driving it, and Furong, Xiaochun, and Xiaxia got out. The people from the fruit shop had all returned. Does that mean the fruit shop has to close down? Those bastards.

Liu Ye feigned ignorance and asked, "Why are you all back? Who's going to watch the fruit shop?"

Furong took the lead, and the four of them knelt on the ground in unison. Furong said with a guilty look, "Princess, the fruit shop was smashed, and the fruit and silver in the shop were stolen. It's not just our shop; many shops were robbed, and many people's homes were also robbed. The Prince Qing's mansion, the Princess's mansion, the Prince's mansion, Lord Li's mansion, Lord Zhang's mansion, the Prime Minister's mansion—all of their homes were robbed..."

"It's all my fault. I didn't take good care of the shop or the princess's residence. I have let the princess down. I have no face to stay in the princess's residence any longer..."

After Furong finished speaking, she got up from the ground, turned around and ran away. Liu Ye shut her mouth in shock. She was leaving already? At least let me say a few words. She looked at the three kneeling people and said, "What do you mean? Everyone else in the mansion has redeemed themselves and left. They paid 50 taels of silver each. I gave them the indentures. If you also want to leave, take the silver and go."

Wang Wu kowtowed to the ground, then stood up, took out 50 taels of silver from his pocket, and held it out to Liu Ye with both hands. Xiao Chun and Xiao Xia did the same. Liu Ye accepted the silver without ceremony, took out three indentures from her pocket, and handed them to Wang Wu: "Help me close the door!"

Wang Wu accepted the indenture: "Take care, Princess!" And just like that, Wang Wu left with Xiao Chun and Xiao Xia, leaving the Princess's mansion truly empty-handed.

Liu Ye breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and went back into the house. Oh right, there are still people from the Su family next door who were bestowed by the Empress Dowager. Those people also need to be dealt with. Oh well, why bother with that? They left on their own without any food or drink.

It's a pity about this house. By the way, it's definitely not good for her to suddenly disappear. Since there's no one left in the Princess's Mansion and it can't be sold, she'll just burn it down and be done with it.

As for the fruit shop, just leave it there. Anyway, she's not short of money now; she's the richest person in Wuli Kingdom.