Madam Tang flicked her sleeves and raised her voice, "You don't know? How could you not know? The Prime Minister's daughter is so capable! Do you really think I don't know what you've done? Do you think I'm blind?!"
Tang Ruozhi appeared to be well behaved but was actually extremely panicked inside, thinking about how to deal with the situation.
She should have guessed long ago that Mrs. Tang had countless spies around her, guarding against her like a thief. How could she hide her every move?
Regardless of whether it was Xiao Hua's matter or her cooperation with Jin Xiwen, Mrs. Tang would not let her off easily.
"Mother, please listen to my explanation."
Mrs. Tang interrupted her and said, "Tell me first, where is Xiao Hua?"
Xiaohua...
It was indeed Xiao Hua's fault, but Xiao Hua's death was not her fault. It was done by that prodigal son Tang Lei.
She answered truthfully: "Xiao Hua is dead. She committed suicide in the yard where Tang Lei was waiting for me."
Mrs. Tang automatically ignored the last sentence, "Xiao Hua is dead, why didn't you tell me? Is there nothing I can do about you?"
Tang Ruozhi sat up straight and said, "Xiao Hua's death has nothing to do with me. Tang Lei forced her to die!"
Mrs. Tang had a look on her face that said, "You are hopeless." She said, "She is the maid I gave you. Your life and death are all decided by you, and you are responsible for them. If you hadn't failed to take good care of her, would Tang Lei have taken a fancy to her?"
Tang Ruozhi was heartbroken that her mother actually blamed her for a maid. She said aggrievedly, "But she's just a maid. Why are you scolding me because of her? Her life belongs to the Prime Minister's Mansion. So what if she dies?! I let her die or live!"
Mrs. Tang looked at her in surprise. After a moment of silence, she calmed down and said, "Okay, let's not talk about whether I'm scolding you for Xiao Hua. You secretly hid her body, concealing the fact that she was dead, and ordered none of the servants to report it! Isn't this disobeying me? Xiao Hua is the person I placed by your side to supervise you. She is the most suitable candidate for you after careful selection. Her character and personality are top-notch in every aspect. I'm doing this for your own good!"
Tang Ruozhi hated her mother's condescending attitude the most. She stared intently into Mrs. Tang's eyes and said, "But I don't want this."
"When I eat, sleep, go out, or even take a shower, someone is watching me. I feel like there are people around me, and they are all spying on my life! I feel very depressed, like living in a prison. Mother, do you understand? I am not free!"
Madam Tang flicked her sleeves and turned her back, clearly disagreeing with and not accepting Tang Ruozhi's statement. "So you're free now? That lowly servant, she won't supervise you or watch over you? She usurped Xiao Hua's position, and I slapped her lightly. What do you think freedom is? If I didn't find someone to watch over you, to monitor your every word and action, could you possibly be a candidate for Crown Princess? Could you possibly be the best among the noble ladies of Funing? Could you possibly catch the eye of the Queen Mother and the Crown Prince? Impossible. You're not like those vulgar so-called noble ladies. You're my daughter, Tang Yueyan, the daughter of the Prime Minister of Fuding. How could you possibly live an ordinary life?"
She knew... Tang Ruozhi knew that it was impossible to persuade or convince her mother.
She was incredibly stubborn, having been like this since she was a child. She clearly loved music and wanted to learn to play the pipa, but Madam Tang insisted that dancing would improve her figure and make her slim, so she took up dancing. She clearly loved food, but Madam Tang said it would make her fat and she would be laughed at when she became a crown princess, so she only ate two meals a day. She clearly disliked studying, but Madam Tang insisted that she must master the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, so she memorized and copied books...
She was instilled with the idea that she would become the Crown Princess in the future since she was a child, and Mrs. Tang raised her as the Crown Princess.
Three years ago, when the Queen Mother ordered the Shi family to marry the Crown Prince, Madam Tang got very angry with her.
She cursed at Shi Ran with all kinds of nasty words, so she hated the Shi family and Shi Ran.
But she didn't hate Helan Ruizhe, because she had liked him since she was a child and had wanted to be his wife since she was a child.
Be his wife only.
Since the year Shi Ran died, she no longer blamed her mother and treated Helan Ruizhe even better, because she felt guilty, and she would always feel guilty.
Tang Ruozhi stopped talking. She knelt down, lowered her head, and thought about the past.
Hongyan also knelt down with her. Mrs. Tang looked at them coldly and left in a huff.
Why kneel?
Because you will have to kneel down sooner or later, so you might as well kneel down first.
From then on, Mrs. Tang had only one way to punish Tang Ruozhi, which was to make him kneel.
Mrs. Tang never beat her, but she often beat and punished the people around her.
When he was really angry, he would punish her by making her kneel down.
She knelt in the snow, she knelt under the scorching sun, and she knelt in the pouring rain.
Kneel for three hours and are not allowed to eat dinner.
Suddenly I missed Xiao Hua a little. My mother never punished Xiao Hua. When she made her kneel down and not allowed to eat as punishment, Xiao Hua would secretly leave a plate of peach blossom cake for her.
A hot tear slid down the cheek, dripped onto the ground, melted, and was dried by the wind.
"Miss, are you crying?"
"I got some sand in my eye, it's nothing serious."
So she secretly swore that day that she must become the Crown Princess, no matter what the cost.
——
South Street.
Outside a shop that is closed all year round, a man in night clothes reached out and knocked on the door.
"Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock."
Then the door creaked open and the man in black slipped in.
Inside the door, there was a woman sitting in the room. That woman was Han Shuangye from Mu Han Pavilion.
Han Shuangye is the deputy leader of Muhan Pavilion and the heir of the Han family.
As soon as the man in black entered the room, he knelt down in front of Han Shuangye and said, "Reporting to the Deputy Pavilion Master, Han Wen of Lingzhi Hall has been captured by the imperial court."
Han Shuangye didn't seem to care, playing with the silk in her hands - she particularly liked silk, that silky and soft feel. She said lazily: "Was he captured by the court, or by Helan Ruizhe? You'd better explain it clearly."
The man in black lowered his head, not daring to look at Han Shuangye, and reorganized his words: "Our people saw the young master of the Yu family's people capture Han Wen. The Yu family works for the court, so..."
Han Shuangye looked up at the man kneeling on the ground with disdain and said, "Idiot, whose orders does the Yu family obey? You still don't understand? Is Mu Han Pavilion's intelligence on Funing so bad?"
The man in black kowtowed several times, each one louder than the last, and said, "It was a small oversight, a small mistake."
Frost Leaf was annoyed by what she saw, so she waved her hand and called for a stop. "Pay attention, or I'll make sure you never get a next time."
After saying this, he smiled sinisterly, which was creepy.
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