Fearing complications, the three siblings rushed back to the general's mansion, only to find the old steward waiting at the door from afar.
"Butler Lü, who are you waiting for at the door?" Nan Wuyu had a bad feeling.
"Young Master, Second Young Master, Third Miss, the General is waiting for you in the front hall." Butler Lü did not answer Nan Wuyu's question, but instead looked at them with sympathy.
The three men felt a chill run down their spines, and simultaneously thought that they were probably doomed today.
There was no way to avoid it, so we had no choice but to grit our teeth and accept the "storm".
On the way to the front hall with Steward Lü, Nan Wuyu winked at Ye Zi. Ye Zi, who was not usually very clever, was surprised to understand and quietly broke away from the group, running towards the madam's courtyard.
Although Steward Lü saw it and should have stopped it, he considered the seriousness of the matter and feared that the young master and young lady would not be able to withstand the general's wrath, so he chose to turn a blind eye.
The three entered the front hall, where they saw Nan Tianba standing there with his back to them, looking gloomy. The atmosphere in the hall was extremely tense, and the servants dared not breathe, standing there trembling with fear.
"Father." The three of them called out softly, all with their heads down, not daring to look at Nan Tianba.
Upon hearing the three voices, Nan Tianba finally turned around. Seeing their timid and cowering appearance, he became even angrier.
"What kind of behavior is this! Do you even respect me as your father? Huh?" Nan Tianba's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and his thunderous voice echoed throughout the entire hall.
After Nan Tianba lost his temper, Steward Lü, being very perceptive, immediately kicked all the servants out of the hall and followed them out as well.
"Kneel down!" Nan Tianba sat down.
The three of them obeyed and immediately knelt down in a row.
"Who can tell me what happened today?" Nan Tianba glanced at the three of them. "Wu Feng, you go first."
"Ah." Nan Wufeng, who was called out, looked embarrassed and glanced at Nan Wuyu next to him.
"What the hell?!" Nan Tianba was furious. "Hurry up and tell the truth. If you dare to tell a single lie, I'll skin you alive."
Having lived under Nan Tianba's shadow for so long, Nan Wufeng couldn't stand the threat. He knew his father's personality very well; the saying "even if you don't die, you'll be skinned alive" was no joke. So he quickly recounted the whole story as he knew it.
As he spoke, Nan Tianba's face grew even darker.
After explaining everything, Nan Wufeng looked utterly dejected, not daring to look at Nan Tianba or his younger siblings. He could only hope they would find their own happiness.
"My dear brother and sister, it's not that I'm a coward, but you two should just pray for your own good fortune," Nan Wufeng thought to himself.
Nan Tianba trusted Nan Wufeng's words; the kid was simple-minded and had never lied since childhood. He then turned to Nan Wuyu: "Wuyu, is there anything else you'd like to add?"
"No, Father." Nan Wuyu knew there was no way to explain in this situation, so he continued, "It's all my fault. Punish me if you want. My little sister is still young and doesn't know any better. It's all my fault for neglecting to teach her properly."
Nan Wuyu's words left Nan Tianba speechless, his face turning pale and then white again.
It is said that the eldest brother is like a father. Because Nan Tianba spent most of his time at the border, he rarely had time to spend with Nan Wuyu and Nan Wusi, so he naturally couldn't teach them. Nan Wusi could even be said to have been raised by Nan Wuyu. A few words made Nan Tianba feel guilty, and his anger subsided a bit.
During the time that Nan Tianba remained silent, the three little ones kneeling on the ground naturally dared not utter a sound and could only kneel obediently.
"Wu Si, you tell me, why did you go to that kind of place?"
"Dad, I'm just going to sell things."
"What kind of things could you possibly sell in a place like that? And why did you get involved with Prince Yi?" Nan Tianba couldn't understand his daughter.
“They’re selling girls’ underwear. Prince Yi wants to cooperate with his daughter and get a share of the profits,” Nan Wusi answered honestly.
Her answer surprised her two older brothers, who thought Nan Wusi was just being playful and never expected that their little sister was actually selling undergarments in a brothel.
"Bang!" Nan Tianba slammed his hand on the table, making it shake violently as if it were about to fall apart.
"How could a girl like you do such a scandalous thing?" Nan Tianba said angrily.
"It's just selling clothes, what's so indecent about it?" Nan Wusi muttered softly. However, she forgot that everyone present was sharp-eared and sharp-eyed; even though she spoke softly, they could all hear her.
"Little sister, stop talking," Nan Wuyu reminded her at the right moment.
Nan Wusi then realized what was happening and shut his mouth tightly.
"It seems you have no remorse whatsoever." Nan Tianba shouted outside, "Guards, bring me the family law."
"Let's see who dares!" Jiang Zhirou's voice rang out at the right time. Her clothes and hair were slightly disheveled, indicating that she had run all the way over.
Thank goodness, the reinforcements finally arrived, and the three siblings secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Madam, what brings you here?" Nan Tianba quickly went to greet her, not forgetting to glare at the three people kneeling on the ground.
"Why can't I come? Nan Tianba, how dare you keep such a big thing from me?" Jiang Zhirou said, finding a seat to sit down.
"What are you three still kneeling for? Get up." Jiang Zhirou didn't even look at Nan Tianba.
"Madam, can't I punish them for their mistakes?" Nan Tianba's tone was full of helplessness, feeling that he had lost face in front of his children.
“I know the whole story. How could this be such a big deal? You still want to punish her with family discipline? You don’t care about our daughter, but I do! I won’t allow it.”
"Madam! This matter cannot be left like this, otherwise they will do even more outrageous things to you next time." Nan Tianba did not back down at all.
"So what if I just visited a brothel? It's no big deal. I've been there before. Are you going to punish me too?" Jiang Zhirou glanced at Nan Tianba standing to the side.
The three people standing to the side silently gave their mother a thumbs up in their hearts; she truly was a heroine among women.
Just as the two sides were at an impasse, Steward Lü came in to announce, "General, Madam, the Minister of Rites and his wife have come to pay a visit."
"What are they doing here?" Jiang Zhirou asked. As far as she knew, the two families were not close and rarely interacted.
"This..." Butler Lü hesitated for a long time before replying, "They said they came to seek justice for their son." After saying that, he glanced at Nan Wusi, and everyone present knew that Nan Wusi had caused trouble again.
On the contrary, only Nan Wusi looked completely bewildered. What was going on? Why wasn't this part of the story in the book? Had the butterfly effect already occurred so quickly?
Nan Tianba could only glare at the clueless Nan Wusi again, and then asked Steward Lü to invite the person in.
Nan Wusi quickly called Ye Zi over and asked her to give a complete account of what happened, so that Ye Zi wouldn't be unable to respond without understanding the situation.
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