Chapter 18: You've hit a brick wall when you hit me
The snow in the capital stopped and the sky began to clear up gradually.
This morning the sky is clear and the sun is warm.
There are usually not many people in the west courtyard, and Tangli still keeps it very clean.
All the dead weeds were removed, and the newly transplanted flowers and trees were arranged neatly, ready to bloom next spring.
As the New Year approaches, classes at Hongwenguan are suspended.
Luo Wan was leaning on a lounge chair in the yard to bask in the sun, while Tang Li was standing beside her, carefully sorting out the list of servants that Ye had brought as a dowry.
Tangli said, "Madam had four maids back then: Fuling, Gancao, Platycodon grandiflorum, and Shaoyao, as well as a Nanny Li. Except for Nanny Li, who retired and returned home, the rest were sold off by Concubine Feng."
Feng Yuyun has always been very careful in her actions, but she only left Li Ma behind and allowed her to retire and return home.
Although Nanny Li was old and frail, and seemed unable to cause any trouble, Feng Yuyun knew that the truth of the confession presented in court should not be judged based on age.
What kind of situation could cause a cautious person like Feng Yuyun to willingly leave behind trouble? It could only be someone who was bribed by Ye Shi back then, that is, Li Ma, who was in cahoots with Feng Yuyun.
The old man was dying and wanted to repent, so he sent a letter to Chi Wanwan to gain a good reputation for himself.
Regardless of whether Nanny Li is willing to take the risk and report Feng Yuyun, even if she is willing, it is difficult to convict Feng Yuyun based solely on her one-sided statement.
Besides, Feng Yuyun is not alone, she has the Feng family behind her.
If there is no solid evidence to nail Feng Yuyun down, then any action will alert the enemy.
The only plan now is to find Ye's maid who came with her as a dowry, clarify what happened one by one, and collect evidence.
Luo Wan asked, "Where do the maids that high-ranking officials sell usually go?"
"The Red Mansion." Tang Li lowered her voice, "That's where the rich and powerful trafficked people."
Luo Wan's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Human trafficking. Every time I hear these four words, the image in my memory suddenly becomes clear.
When I was seven years old.
At first she was locked up in the kitchen, her hands were white and swollen from being soaked in the water, but she was still washing pots and dishes for the restaurant.
If you don't wash it, you'll get whipped.
It hurts a lot.
After washing for a while, she was thrown onto the stage to perform acrobatics.
Later, a man from Tingyu Tower came to the restaurant and wanted to buy her.
She cried and begged the madam not to sell her, saying that she wanted to stay in that city and wait for someone.
But she was still sold by the money-hungry brothel owner.
After all these years, she still hasn't become desensitized.
Now when I think back to the years I spent with both, I can’t really say which one is better, Tingyu Tower or the restaurant.
Luo Wan's palms hurt from being dug into by nails, but she still asked calmly, "Does the Red Mansion in the capital only engage in human trafficking?"
She had seen many restaurants doing shady business before, which often involved several gray industrial chains connected together.
Tang Li swallowed her saliva, and after seeing that no one from the East Courtyard was watching her, she spoke cautiously, "I heard from other servants that the Red Mansion is a casino on the surface, but behind the scenes they're doing some shady things..."
“Dongdongdong——”
The sudden knock on the door startled Tangli.
"Chi Wanwan!" Chi Mingshi's voice exploded outside the yard.
"Hey, hey," Chi Mingli pulled Chi Mingshi aside and frowned, "Can you be a little more polite?"
Boom boom boom——
Chi Mingli knocked on the door and called out, "Chi Wanwan!"
Luo Wan didn't need to think too much. It must be the incident of the palace banquet last night that reached the ears of the brother and sister.
She could even guess clearly why these two people came to see her.
Chi Mingshi wanted to go to the palace banquet to meet Jiang Cichen, and she talked about it for a long time in the mansion, but in the end she didn't go. Instead, her sister, the daughter of a merchant, whom she looked down upon, went.
Chi Mingli admired Jiang Cichen. Now that he heard that she had met Jiang Cichen, he naturally came to ask her to keep her promise.
One of them was eager to meet Jiang Cichen, and the other admired the young general extremely.
Luo Wan sighed, fearing that he would break his promise to Chi Mingli.
Jiang Cichen, I can’t recommend you.
She didn't have time to hide.
Luo Wan gestured to Tangli to open the door.
As soon as the door opened, the Chi brother and sister pushed each other in, neither of them giving way to the other.
Chi Mingshi took the initiative to attack: "I heard that you went to the palace banquet last night?"
The four people in the East Courtyard were still having breakfast when a spy came to report what happened at the palace banquet last night. She was so angry that she threw down her chopsticks.
"Yeah." Luo Wan swayed lazily in the rattan chair, not even bothering to lift his eyelids: "I also saw General Jiang, the one you've been thinking about day and night."
Chi Mingshi's face suddenly turned red and she was extremely angry.
She was already feeling unbalanced because she didn't go to the palace banquet, and now Luo Wan was showing off in front of her!
Ever since Luo Wan returned home, everything has gone wrong for her - Nanny Liu was punished, she was humiliated in school, and now even the palace banquet has been preempted.
Chi Mingshi had never been treated like this since she was a child. She was about to explode when Chi Mingli pulled her behind him.
Chi Mingli squatted in front of Luo Wan and asked excitedly, "I heard that the title of Major General was your idea?"
"Um."
Chi Mingli asked again: "Have you spoken to the Major General?"
"Chi Mingli!" Chi Mingshi gritted her teeth, looking very disappointed.
Luo Wan deliberately raised her voice: "I said it."
Chi Mingli said: "Then you are now in a relationship where you can talk to him!"
Luo Wan looked at Chi Mingli, not knowing where he came to this conclusion.
Just because you have spoken, does that mean you have a say?
Absurd logic.
Luo Wan also came to a conclusion: Jiang Cichen must have put a curse on the Chi brothers and sisters.
Even though Chi Jing'an is currently clinging to the Gu family, his son and daughter are both on Jiang Cichen's side. It is possible that when Chi Mingli becomes the head of the family in the future, he will be the first to submit to Jiang Cichen.
Luo Wan thought of Jiang Cichen's sharp and unpredictable eyes. To prevent a recurrence of last night's incident, she could only try to fool Chi Mingli. She sighed helplessly and said, "People like him would disdain to associate with a small family like us."
Chi Mingli suddenly wilted and sat on the ground dejectedly.
Unexpectedly, these words touched Chi Mingshi's sore spot.
She said in an unhappy tone, arrogantly: "That's you, our grandfather is the Minister of Rites!"
Chi Mingshi is the youngest daughter. She has been spoiled by Feng Yuyun and Chi Jingan since she was a child. Chi Mingli also often protects her and gives in to her.
So he developed a spoiled personality.
Luo Wan didn't indulge her and said calmly, "Really? I didn't see him at the palace banquet last night, but this is the first time I've heard of him today."
Chi Mingshi rarely showed any anger, as if she had comforted herself. She glanced at Chi Mingli coldly and said, "Let's talk business."
Chi Mingli, who had been slumped on the ground, slowly stood up and said in a weak voice, "Mother asked you to go to the ancestral hall."
The ancestral halls of aristocratic families have always been solemn and dignified. They are holy places for enshrining ancestral tablets and holding sacrificial ceremonies.
As soon as I stepped in, I was hit by a strong scent of sandalwood, which formed a heavy and oppressive feeling at the tip of my nose.
Feng Yuyun turned her back to the door and slowly rotated the Buddhist beads in her hand.
She faced the stacked spirit tablets, struck the wooden fish and silently recited scriptures. Her plain dress looked particularly pious amid the smoke of incense.
He is a snake in the mouth of a Buddha but has a snake heart. He recites scriptures to save the world but acts like a wolf.
Chi Mingli had already opened his robe and was kneeling neatly on the palm-leaf fan.
Feng Yuyun didn't open her eyes: "You guys go out, Wanwan stay."
Chi Mingli was confused: "Why?"
In his memory, his mother had always been a Buddhist and often took him and his siblings to the ancestral hall to chant scriptures and pray for blessings. But today was the first time that Luo Wan was left alone, which really puzzled him.
Chi Mingshi understood, pulled Chi Mingli's sleeve and walked out, whispering: "Mother has her own reasons, let's go out first."
When she reached the threshold, she suddenly turned around and raised her eyebrows meaningfully at Luo Wan.
When the footsteps faded away, Feng Yuyun stopped beating the wooden fish, still with her back to Luo Wan: "Wanwan, kneel down."
The three incense sticks in the incense burner were almost burnt out, with gray ashes hanging trembling at the ends.
Luo Wan looked up at the dusty tablet in the corner. It was the memorial tablet of Chi Wanwan's biological mother, Ye.
Luo Wan remained motionless and asked, "Why are you kneeling?"
Feng Yuyun said, "You are a woman, unmarried, yet you are showing up in the court. How can this be proper?"
Luo Wan said calmly, "It's true that I'm a woman, and it's also true that I'm unmarried, but there's no law in the Northern Kingdom that forbids unmarried women from discussing political affairs."
Feng Yuyun still looked like a good wife and mother. She said earnestly, "Your words represent not only you, but also the entire Chi family. If your words implicate the entire family, wouldn't you become the sinner of the Chi family? Your mother passed away young, so I naturally have to teach you well on her behalf..."
"No need." Before she could finish her words, Luo Wan interrupted her: "Wan Wan's advice was personally appointed by His Majesty. How will Concubine Feng teach me? Are you trying to teach me to disobey His Majesty's order?"
The entire Chi Mansion is the burial place of Ye's mother and son, and Feng Yuyun actually has the nerve to talk to her about the Ye family.
Feng Yuyun's face rarely showed anger after these words were spoken. She turned and said, "Chi Wanwan, do you know who you are talking to?"
Luo Wan said, "Madam Feng."
Feng Yuyun said, "You know I'm your aunt, and you speak to your elders in this tone. Is this what your grandfather taught you during all these years away from home?"
Luo Wan said, "Madam Feng seems particularly fond of mentioning the deceased. My grandfather taught Wanwan that one should be like a green bamboo, rather breaking than bending; and one should be like a clear mirror, untainted by dust. True etiquette lies not in flattery but in distinguishing right from wrong. If, because of so-called etiquette between seniority and juniority, one should go against one's conscience and confuse right and wrong, then I cannot agree with Madam Feng's views."
Feng Yuyun was furious and shouted, "Madam Liu!"
Upon hearing the sound, Nanny Liu, who had been guarding the door, immediately ran in.
Only Tangli was left waiting anxiously outside the door.
Feng Yuyun said, "Chi Wanwan's words were disrespectful and insubordinate. She will be punished according to family rules."
Aunt Liu replied, "Yes."
The East Courtyard had been waiting for this moment for a long time, starting from when Luo Wan did not enter the Chi Mansion through the side door.
Since they couldn't find any other evidence, they would use the excuse of insubordination to accuse her of a false crime.
Madam Liu rubbed her hands together and weighed the long wooden board twice in her palms: "Young Miss, please extend your hand."
It was just a few beatings with boards. Luo Wan could bear it, but Chi Wanwan couldn't. Ye was suppressed to death by Feng Yuyun, and her daughter couldn't follow in her footsteps.
If Feng succeeds once, Chi Mingshi and Madam Liu will become even more aggressive, and Tangli may also be humiliated in the future.
Luo Wan said, "If you think Wanwan is being disrespectful, why not tell me which of her words constituted disrespect?"
Madam Liu said, "Madam is the mistress of the Chi family. Young Miss must obey whatever the mistress says. Otherwise, it would be disobedience."
Luo Wan took a breath. What a nest of snakes and rats!
First it was rebellion, now it is disobedience.
If you are beaten, it means you admit the crime of treason; if you are not beaten, it means you are disobedient.
It makes no sense to them at all.
Luo Wan said coldly: "You try."
Feng Yuyun ordered: "Madame Liu, beat him!"
At first, Nanny Liu was a little scared. After all, she was almost beaten by Luo Wan in Rong'an Hall before, and she was still in shock.
After getting Feng's approval, he immediately turned his fear into strength.
The wooden board held by Madam Liu whistled down with the wind, but suddenly stopped three inches away from Luo Wan's back. A white hand firmly clamped her wrist.
Luo Wan exerted force with her fingertips, and Madam Liu's wrist bones made a crisp sound as she could not bear the weight.
The wooden plank clanked to the ground.
Nanny Liu widened her eyes in shock, and before she could react, she felt a surge of force coming from her own strength.
Luo Wan's slender white fingers gently twisted her wrist, and used the force of her strike to pull it to the side.
"Ouch!" Madam Liu's fat body suddenly lost balance, and she fell forward like a wooden stake.
Luo Wan calmly withdrew his hand and looked down at Madam Liu, who was lying on the floor grimacing in pain.
Feng Yuyun's expression suddenly changed. Finally unable to pretend any longer, she sternly demanded, "Chi Wanwan, are you planning a rebellion?!"
Luo Wan remained calm and even politely bowed, "My aunt, you are too kind. However, I simply cannot accept this unwarranted punishment."
Feng Yuyun said sternly, "Since the young lady is so ignorant of the rules, she should reflect on her behavior in the West Courtyard! No one is allowed to let her out without my permission!"
The author has something to say:
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This article is not a traditional house fighting article, but there will be a little bit, not too much~
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