Chapter 25 Later, she and her mother finally...
Inside the courtyard, the servants of the Prince's mansion stood in a dense line, heads bowed and necks hunched, cautiously exchanging glances with those around them, all unaware of what had happened to warrant such a large-scale gathering of everyone together.
Just as they were puzzled, they suddenly heard the soft tinkling of jade pendants and saw two elegant figures flash by out of the corner of their eyes. They saw the princess and the county princess emerge from the carved corridor, and everyone hurriedly lowered their heads and held their breath in anticipation.
The princess wore a dark blue silk jacket with a grape vine pattern, paired with a light green horse-face skirt with twelve panels, the skirt panels embroidered with pith and waterfowl, making her exceptionally elegant and beautiful. Her long black hair was styled in a loose bun, adorned with a single silver-gilt filigree vine hairpin, and weighed down by a frosty green porcelain dragonfly on each side, exuding both nobility and gentle grace.
She glanced at everyone with an indifferent look, patted Feng Mian's hand, and gestured with her eyes to let Feng Mian handle the matter, telling her to go ahead and do it without worry.
The stewards below all wore subtle expressions upon seeing this. The future Crown Princess wasn't even married into the family yet, and she was already trying to establish her authority by interfering in the household affairs. It seemed that the Princess would soon hand over the management of the household to the Crown Princess.
Feng Mian smiled slightly at the princess, as if to reassure her, and seemed to have already made up his mind.
She stepped forward, the small bells tinkling softly from the apricot-red velvet cord that held her loose hair back. She was dressed very casually today, wearing a simple beige cross-collar blouse and a pale white skirt embroidered with playful squirrel and grape patterns. Standing next to the princess, they looked like mother and daughter.
This made him appear immature, and the servants below who were secretly watching couldn't help but show a hint of disdain in their eyes.
"Something important has gone missing from our residence today. Time is of the essence, and I hope everyone will cooperate fully." Feng Mian's voice wasn't particularly stern; it was the crispness of a young girl, yet it possessed an authority that commanded respect from all.
“We have all worked in the Prince’s Palace for many years, and I hope that this matter can be kept from getting too big and that we can leave some room for sympathy. If the thief can come forward on his own initiative, I will not pursue the matter any further, considering that he knows his mistake and is willing to correct it.”
The room fell silent, everyone bowing their heads in complete silence, except for one half-bald head that hesitated and turned left and right.
"A reward of ten taels of silver will be given to anyone who can provide a valid clue."
The half-bald head immediately jumped out and shouted, "I'm reporting this! It was Huaihua from the small kitchen who stole the instant soup noodles!"
Huaihua, who was standing at the front, trembled. She looked at Feng Mian in a panic, her chest heaving, but she still held back from saying anything.
Before coming here, the princess sent someone to tell her to trust her and not to act impulsively today.
Feng Mian glanced at the man indifferently, "I haven't even said what I stole, how do you know it's instant soup noodles?"
The man's beady eyes darted around, and he gritted his teeth as if he had made up his mind, saying, "I... I saw it with my own eyes! So I know what she took!"
Huaihua turned her head in shock to glare at him, and finally couldn't help but retort, "You're talking nonsense!"
Feng Mian's expression remained unchanged, her dark eyes fixed on him. "Think carefully before you speak. Did you really see it with your own eyes?"
The man shuddered involuntarily, thinking to himself that although the princess looked young, her overall demeanor was intimidating. He glanced to his side, composed himself, and said firmly, "That's right, I saw it with my own eyes! If the princess doesn't believe me, she can ask Wu the purchasing agent; he saw it too!"
As he spoke, he turned to look at Wu, the purchasing agent, and said, "Wu, you should stop covering for Huaihua. Considering your willingness to sacrifice your own family, the princess will probably be lenient towards Huaihua."
Huaihua and Aunt Wu looked at Wu the Comprador in disbelief. Wu the Comprador's face was swollen and flushed from a hangover. He looked at Huaihua with his cloudy eyes, feigning concern, "Huaihua, I'm doing this for your own good. I can't watch you make one mistake after another!"
He stepped forward, his voice filled with anguish, and said, “Your Highness, I did indeed see Huaihua steal something with my own eyes. She said that the instant soup dumplings Your Highness makes can fetch a high price, and seeing that Your Highness is about to open a workshop to make soup dumplings, she thought that even if these few instant soup dumplings in the storeroom were lost, it wouldn’t be noticeable, so she had this inappropriate thought!”
"I have failed to properly educate my daughter, allowing her to commit such a wrong act. I beg Your Highness to punish me!"
"I never said that! You're lying!" Huaihua was trembling with anger and tried to rush over, but Aunt Wu held her back tightly.
Wu, the comprador, retorted, "The princess can find out by having someone search this little slut's house!"
Feng Mian glanced at Wu Liu, who understood and left.
"You know that if the theft is confirmed, you will first be whipped thirty times, and then tattooed, right?" Feng Mian looked at Wu the comprador and asked, word by word.
Upon hearing this, everyone showed expressions of pity.
Aunt Wu cried out in anguish, "Husband, don't talk nonsense! If Huaihua gets those words tattooed on her body, her life will be ruined!"
“What’s the use of calling me! Tell your daughter not to do this kind of thing!” Wu, the comprador, shouted back without being moved.
He was determined; with witnesses and physical evidence, he knew he couldn't fool Huaihua!
Aunt Wu could only turn around and hug Huaihua, earnestly advising, "Hua'er, the princess said that if you take the initiative to admit it, she will give you a break. You should quickly tell the princess that you were wrong!"
Huaihua looked at the person holding her in disbelief, trembling all over, tears welling up in her eyes before finally falling. "Mother, you don't believe me? Why should I admit to something I didn't do?!"
"Whether you did it or not, we're saying you did it! What can you do? Wait to be executed?" Aunt Wu was both distressed and anxious. She naturally didn't believe her daughter would steal, but when faced with this situation, her first reaction was to try to smooth things over and get it over with as quickly as possible. Even if she had to bear the stigma, she hoped to get a lenient treatment.
Huaihua couldn't understand why her mother had endured so much for so many years, always just swallowing her anger and suffering. What good had she ever done? She was taken advantage of and then expected to give everything in return, hoping that once her sacrifice was taken, the other party would show her some pity.
But on what grounds?
Why should she bow down for something she didn't do?
Seeing that her daughter refused to confess without saying a word, Aunt Wu, in a panic, knelt down with a thud, "Princess, it was me, I stole it!"
"Mother!" Huaihua looked at her mother in astonishment, both anxious and angry. She stood stiffly in place, her back straight, wanting to help her mother up, but unwilling to bend her back.
Just then, Wu Liu returned, with a servant behind her carrying an oil paper package containing ready-to-eat soup noodles.
"Princess, everything has been found."
Wu the comprador glanced smugly at Huaihua and Aunt Wu.
Ha, these two scoundrels think they can ditch him just because they've latched onto the princess? No way!
Last night, as usual, he went out for a good drink before returning home, only to overhear that wretched girl, Huaihua, urging Aunt Wu to divorce him and move to Xueyue Residence with her. She said that the princess appreciated her because of the instant soup noodles and had transferred her to work by her side, so that she could support Aunt Wu and protect her in the future.
Wu, the comprador, had a terrible temper for so many years, but he managed to hold back that night and didn't rush in immediately. Instead, he went to his gambling buddies to discuss this scheme to frame him.
Once Huaihua has taken the blame, he'll collect a few taels of silver and sell her to be his concubine! That way, she won't be an eyesore in his sight every day!
Aunt Wu's face was deathly pale. She kept saying that she had done it and that Huaihua should not be punished, but she was flustered and her hands were trembling, and tears were streaming down her face.
What should be done about her locust flowers?
Huaihua looked at Fengmian expectantly. She believed what the princess said. If the princess believed her, she would definitely not let her be slandered like this!
Feng Mian gave Huaihua a reassuring look, then gestured for Wu Liu to tell her everything she had discovered.
“This servant did indeed find the ready-to-eat soup noodles in Huaihua’s room.”
Wu, the comprador, urged anxiously: "The evidence is there! Huaihua, why don't you confess quickly! The princess trusts you so much, how could you..."
“But!” Before Wu could finish speaking, Wu Liu interrupted him loudly. She glared at Wu with cold anger in her narrow eyes, which made Wu swallow his words and almost bite his tongue.
Wu Liu continued, "But Feng Jia and Feng Yi both saw with their own eyes that it was Wu the purchasing agent and Liu Da who, taking advantage of the early morning light, secretly stole the instant soup noodles and put them in Huaihua's room, away from everyone else."
A gasp rippled through the crowd. Huaihua's eyes lit up, and tears streamed down her face with joy. Aunt Wu, shocked and delighted, staggered to her feet and took her daughter's hand.
Both Wu the comprador and the bald-headed Liu Da who reported Huaihua were ashen-faced. Wu the comprador still stubbornly insisted, "How...how is that possible? How could you have seen it? What a coincidence! And how can you be sure it was the two of us who did it?"
Feng Mian: "I heard that you rushed into the small kitchen to attack Huaihua, so I sent two people to protect Huaihua in secret. As luck would have it, they witnessed your self-directed and self-acted act."
Feng Jia stepped forward at the opportune moment and presented two pieces of clothing. "These are the clothes that I saw Wu the comprador and Liu Da take off after they returned to their room. They have the smell of instant soup noodle sauce on them, so they can be used as evidence."
Liu Da immediately knelt down, crying and shouting, "Your Highness, please understand! I was blinded by greed and tricked by Wu the Comprador, which led me to commit this frame-up. I will never dare to do it again!"
The comprador's face drained of all color, the muscles in his cheeks twitched uncontrollably, cold sweat poured down his back, and he collapsed to the ground, stammering, "I...I just..."
"You just can't stand seeing your wife and daughters leave you, no longer able to be at your beck and call, can you?" Feng Mian's voice turned icy as she coldly glanced at Wu, the comprador. "How can someone of such low character be fit to work in the Prince's mansion?"
The princess had already heard the whole story. Fortunately, Feng Mian had discovered this wicked person in the mansion long ago and had been keeping a close watch on him. Otherwise, a young girl's reputation would have been tarnished today, and who knows what kind of trouble it would have caused in the future!
"The princess is right. Guards, take these two away, give each of them thirty lashes, settle their wages for the days to come, and kick them out of the manor!"
Wu, the comprador, and Liu, the steward, kept begging for mercy. Wu looked at his uncle, Steward Wu, and pleaded with him to speak on his behalf. Steward Wu avoided him like the plague, ignoring him and waving his hand to signal the servants to drag him away.
As the pleas faded into the distance, Feng Mian looked at the princess and said, "Your Highness, I have another request."
"Speak freely!"
Feng Mian looked at Aunt Wu and Huaihua in the courtyard and said, "Aunt Wu and Huaihua are truly innocent. I hope Your Highness will not be angry because of their kinship with Wu the Comprador, and also remember that Your Highness was able to help Wu the Comprador and Aunt Wu divorce."
Upon hearing this, Huaihua happily grasped Aunt Wu's hand. Aunt Wu paused for a moment, looked at her daughter, and then, recalling the farce that had just occurred, finally nodded: "Yes, divorce, I want a divorce from him!"
She had endured hardship for half her life, all for the sake of her daughter. Now that Wu, the comprador, treated her daughter this way, and her daughter was so successful, how could she hold her daughter back?
With tears in her eyes, she apologized to Huaihua: "I was wrong just now. I shouldn't have advised you to confess. I've wronged you."
Huaihua was crying and laughing so hard she couldn't speak. From then on, she and her mother were finally free!
"Of course. How could such a scoundrel be fit to be a husband and father? Rest assured, this matter will be handled perfectly."
Feng Mian and the princess exchanged a smile and looked at the mother and daughter who were embracing and weeping in the courtyard.
Finally, they no longer have to struggle in the mire for the rest of their lives.
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