Chapter 248 What Did the Bird Do to Provoke Anyone?
In order to maintain legal order and prevent people from beating drums recklessly, Daliang had already made a regulation: Anyone who beats the drum to report must first be beaten with thirty sticks, and then the emperor must personally judge his injustice.
That's a serious 30-stroke beating! Even a man of steel would lose half his life!
Even if Mrs. Huo had not been beaten today, she would not have gone to knock on the drum in person to report the incident.
Poor Second Master of the Huo family, who was not born to Madam Huo, was forced to be beaten with thirty sticks in front of Dengwen Drum Courtyard!
Finally, he was supported by two servants and was able to barely raise his hands and beat the drum.
Old Madam Huo lay on the stretcher, forced herself to stand up, and knelt with Mr. Huo.
As time passed, the two men could no longer kneel, so they had to imitate Mr. Huo and half-prostrate themselves on the ground, gritting their teeth and holding on.
They had it figured out clearly in their minds... As long as they could see the emperor today and confirm the missing of Huo Tianling's body, they would be handing the knife to the emperor and taking the opportunity to overthrow Prince Qing!
Once this is accomplished, the Huo family will surely prosper and become the new elite in the court...
They no longer have to look at other people's faces, and they don't have to rely on the sickly and half-dead princess!
But who would have thought that the mother and her two children from the Guo family knelt for a full half hour, only to be met with the emperor who, contrary to the ancestral precepts, refused to see them and issued an order to dismiss the Huo family master from his official position. He also ordered them to be beaten with thirty sticks each, and asked them to pay money to redeem themselves?
Madam Huo refused to admit it and immediately started howling at the top of her lungs: "Your Majesty! I am innocent! The Huo family..."
Pah! !
The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict glanced at the expression of the imperial guards standing beside him, then raised his hand and slapped Madam Huo twice.
"Mrs. Huo, be careful with your words! Don't bring trouble to our family!"
Take money from others and help them get rid of disasters...
The eunuch touched the silver that was still warm on his chest, bent down, and said slowly: "You should be thankful that His Majesty is busy feeding snacks to Princess Zhaoning and has no time to pay attention to you..."
boom!
The three of them were struck by lightning, and their faces turned pale as paper in an instant.
How could that brat… have gotten back to the city before them? And he's even conflating right and wrong, blaming them in front of His Majesty?!
Seeing that Madam Huo's eyes were darting around and she was still unwilling to give in, the eunuch sneered and kindly reminded her, "To falsely accuse the princess is a capital crime with the confiscation of property and extermination of the entire family! Now, His Majesty is showing mercy by only allowing you to receive a few beatings and lose money to avoid disaster!"
He flicked his whisk vigorously and said condescendingly, "If you're smart, you'd better pay the money to atone for your sins... Otherwise, the next imperial decree won't be just a caning!"
As soon as the words fell, the eunuch who delivered the order turned away in anger.
The Huo family's mother and son stood there in a daze, their faces ashen.
It’s over! It’s all over!!
Mr. Huo's body went limp and he fell heavily to the ground. His eyes, which had been shining brightly just a moment ago, instantly turned dim.
He lost more than he gained...Now, he even lost that impressive empty position!
Each person can be lashed with thirty sticks on the buttocks, and redeemed with ninety catties of copper...
He had been an official for many years, and all he received was a fixed salary. Where would he find so much money?!
He turned around in panic, looking helplessly at Madam Huo, his voice trembling: "Mother, mother..."
Madam Huo closed her eyes tightly, turned her head away, and stared at the bastard beside her with her cloudy eyes, without blinking...
"Second brother, you've been doing business for so many years, so you should have some savings, right?"
"Your eldest brother has always been in poor health...you must quickly find a way to save him! Save mother!"
Mr. Huo, who was kneeling on the ground, felt a burning pain on his back... He couldn't help but sneer when he heard this.
After all, they are not biological children!
My eldest brother, who rarely gets sick, is not in good health. He is sick for two months every year. Is he getting better now?
It was in vain that he had been trying to please this old woman all these years and serving her like his own mother!
silver!
Haha...it's hard for her to think of him, her bastard, at this time!
The Huo family has long been a hollow shell. Even the old lady's dowry was squandered more than ten years ago!
Over the years, the mansion was barely supported by the eldest sister-in-law's dowry, and later it was with the help of the eldest princess that it was able to maintain a life of luxury!
The second master of the Huo family slowly turned his head and spoke in a hoarse voice, "Mother, all the money your son has earned over the years...hasn't it all been used to fill the holes in the Huo family?"
“???!!” Madam Huo’s expression suddenly changed, and her eyes became extremely terrifying, like a poisoned knife.
She pinched Mr. Huo's arm tightly with both hands, causing him to frown in pain.
"What do you mean?! Are you going to watch me and your elder brother die?!" Old Madam Huo suppressed her anger and felt extremely uneasy.
Mr. Huo squinted his eyes at the mottled bloodstains dripping from his torture not far away, and pried Mrs. Huo's hands apart with force, "Mother, you have to let me go, so I can get the silver!"
After all, he couldn't bear the torture anymore!
…
The next day, Xiao Tangbao went to school as usual. As soon as he got off the carriage, he saw a group of people standing on the wall of Hongwenguan, busily pulling a large hemp rope net.
"Huh?" She stood on tiptoe, her round eyes full of curiosity, "Eunuch Pei An, what are they doing?"
Pei An looked up at the giant net that stretched across the sky, then glanced at the gate of Hongwenguan, which was under renovation, and swallowed hard, "Maybe... maybe it's to catch birds!"
He couldn't possibly say that this was a plan that His Majesty, Master Ouyang, and the others had worked out overnight just to prevent someone from skipping classes!?
"..." Tang Bao tilted his head, instantly unhappy, "Bullying the weak! Who did the bird offend by being free?!"
snort!
The little guy walked into the classroom with puffed cheeks and angrily.
After taking just two steps, a group of children surrounded him.
"Your Highness," a little girl with twin buns squeezed in front, her eyes sparkling, "I heard you can solve cases and catch ghosts. Is that true?"
Little Tangbao shrank his neck and nodded slightly as he moved towards his seat.
"So, can you treat illnesses?" A chubby little boy impatiently squeezed next to her...
"There's a concubine in my family. Every time Daddy comes to eat with Mommy and me, she gets pains here and there... Even the doctor in the mansion can't find a solution!"
The boy took off his jade pendant and stuffed it into Xiao Tangbao's hand, looking at her eagerly: "Your Highness, if you can help me cure my aunt's illness, I will help you do the duty ten times, okay?"
Help her with her duty? !
Tang Bao's eyes lit up.
Doesn't that mean she doesn't have to participate in the cleaning?!
"Princess! Princess!" Another short boy jumped up and down anxiously. "Princess, look at me! There are always strange noises in my ancestral hall at night. If Your Highness is willing to go and take a look, I will help you with the duty!"
The classroom suddenly exploded:
"My mother's tabby cat always barks loudly at the dry well at night!"
"My grandmother's dowry nanny always said she could see the late Madam. It was so scary!"
“I, I, I…”
Little Tangbao was surrounded, and his clear grey eyes grew wider and wider.
She was wondering why everyone was suddenly so enthusiastic towards her when a loud cry suddenly interrupted everyone.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
