Chapter 240 The Zhao Family is Robberized
"The Zhao family is so wealthy anyway, they won't be noticed if they lose a few things."
Liu Shoucheng winked at his wife, and the two of them, not knowing where they got the courage from, tiptoed towards the courtyard closest to Hengyang Courtyard.
Two sides of the story
In Lixiang Garden, Cailian was sitting at a stone table, writing and drawing with a small booklet in her hands. She also instructed the maidservant beside her, "The master of the house has ordered that all the things in the young lady's yard be moved out so that new ones can be replaced. Go and get some of the servants from the front yard to unload the new furniture."
"The young lady has taken Qingshuang out. You guys get busy and try to finish it before the young lady comes back so that you can give her a surprise."
"I understand."
"Hurry up and go." Cai Lian waved her hand. She looked up and saw several maids rushing towards her. Her expression suddenly changed. "Hey, wait! Aren't you the maids that Qing Shuang assigned to serve in Hengyang Courtyard?"
"Yes." The leading maid bowed to Cailian and whispered, "A woman who is unfamiliar to me came over and told me that Sister Cailian said that Lixiangyuan is short of staff and wants us to come and help."
"Which old woman said that? Hengyang Court is short-staffed to begin with. Even if I were short of staff, I wouldn't send you over." Cai Lian realized something was wrong and hurriedly asked, "If you come here, who will be watching over Hengyang Court?"
"This..." The maids looked at each other, and no one dared to speak first.
"You bastards!" Seeing the expressions on their faces, Cai Lian was completely confused. She immediately slammed the table and stood up. "Since you knew that old woman wasn't familiar, why didn't you send someone over to ask her first? The old couple's son is still in the mansion! Get out of here right now. I'll settle the score with you guys when I find that woman!"
"Young lady has long ago instructed us to be careful of those two young thieves, but you left them unattended and let them all run away. Let me tell you, if anything goes missing from the mansion, the master will blame you and you will not be forgiven!"
The faces of several maids changed drastically. Without even bothering to say goodbye, they turned around and ran back, fearing that they would be implicated.
Cai Lian was so anxious that she paced back and forth in the yard, no longer caring about the new furniture. She grabbed the younger maid beside her and whispered, "Go and find out for me which foul-mouthed woman went to Hengyang Courtyard to spread such lies!"
There's probably some dirty stuff sneaking into the Zhao family.
Seeing the little maidservant running out as ordered, Cai Lian felt even more uneasy. "No... I can't just sit there and wait for death. I have to go and tell the young lady..."
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Hengyang Courtyard
Several maids hurried back and happened to meet Uncle Liu who was basking in the sun at the gate of the yard.
"Uncle Liu." The leading maid saluted him, her expression anxious. "I'd like to ask, has your son returned?"
"I left a long time ago." Uncle Liu fanned himself. Seeing the maids' unhappy expressions, he felt a bad premonition. "What's wrong? Why are you asking about Shoucheng?"
"Out...out?" The maid's face was pale, her palms full of sweat. "It's over..."
"What's going on?" Uncle Liu was about to ask in detail when he saw Liu Shoucheng popping his head out from the rockery not far away. He immediately sat up in shock, "Liu Shoucheng!"
His voice was loud and powerful, frightening Liu Shoucheng, who was not far away, so much that he trembled. Looking back, he realized that he had lost his way in Zhao's house and had returned to his father after going around in circles.
"Dad..." Liu Shoucheng laughed dryly, feeling quite guilty, and walked out with his wife behind him. "I got lost in the mansion. I searched for a long time but couldn't find the way out, so I circled back."
Uncle Liu's face was stern, and the uneasiness in his heart was rapidly increasing. "You walked for so long, and you were just taking a detour?"
"Yes." Liu Shoucheng remained calm, but he felt uneasy inside and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
Liu Cuilan lowered her head, not daring to look directly at her father-in-law, and whispered, "Dad, Rou'er is still waiting at the inn. We have to go back quickly. The child will make a fuss if she can't see me."
"Wait a minute." The head maid blocked the way as they were about to leave, her expression firm. "Please take out the cloth bags on your backs so I can take a look."
Liu Shoucheng's face turned pale, and he covered his hand with the cloth bag and yelled, "You...what do you mean by that?"
Uncle Liu also hurriedly stood up, rubbing his hands and asking, "Girls, do you think this rebellious son stole something from the mansion?"
The maid naturally knew how much the eldest lady valued the two elders, so she softened her tone. To maintain her elders' self-esteem, she had to make up a lie, "Don't worry, Uncle Liu. The mansion was indeed robbed, and some valuable trinkets were stolen. We are afraid that the head of the family will blame us, so we must search every person."
Hearing this, Uncle Liu's expression brightened. "So that's how it is. Since we've been robbed, let's search quickly. Search me and my wife later too, to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and worrying Ah Cheng. Liu Shoucheng, hurry up and get the bag out."
Liu Shoucheng took a half step back, holding tightly onto the cloth bag slung over his shoulder.
"Liu Shoucheng?" Seeing that he was not cooperating, Uncle Liu frowned and whispered, "Don't wait for me to get angry."
Liu Shoucheng's eyes flickered, and he subconsciously looked at the maid who was blocking the way. He knew that he would never be able to get out unless he handed over the cloth bag, so he had no choice but to throw the bag at the maid. "Search! After the search, we can be cleared of all charges."
Liu Cuilan hugged her husband's arm tightly and raised her chin to bolster herself. "That's right, although we don't come from high-class families, we're not the kind of people who would do such sneaky things."
The head maid carefully turned the bag upside down and saw that there were only a few pieces of silver and paper bills from the inn. She couldn't help but feel relieved and bowed to the two of them. "I'm sorry, it's just my job. I have to do it well, otherwise the loss will be deducted from our account."
Liu Shoucheng snorted coldly and reached out to grab the cloth bag back. "You are just looking down on others!"
Liu Cuilan nudged him with her elbow and immediately said, "Since you know we are innocent, why don't you lead the way and send us out!"
"Yes." The maidservant lowered her head and responded compliantly, but when Liu Cuilan passed in front of her, she suddenly raised her hand to hold her arm, and with a shake of her hand, she threw out two jade rings of extremely fine quality.
The ring rolled onto the grass beside the path. The grass was soft and did not break, but it hit Uncle Liu's face hard.
“How dare you…” Uncle Liu felt his vision go dark, he couldn’t catch his breath, and his body leaned backwards.
Aunt Liu, who rushed out upon hearing the noise, happened to see her husband fainted on the ground, her eyes bloodshot, "Old man!"
"Ling'er, go get the palace doctor." The head maid tightly grasped Liu Cuilan's wrist and whispered, "The rest of you, come with me to search your body."
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