Yao patted Su Su's back reassuringly, then mustered her courage and stepped forward to help Zhu, who was kneeling on the ground, up.
Without saying a word, Zhu pushed the person away, stood up, and before Yao could react, slapped her.
"Mother!"
When Susu saw her mother being beaten, she was anxious to go over, but Yao raised her hand and said to her, "Mother is fine, you stand there obediently."
Then, she looked at Madam Zhu and asked with a wronged expression, "Madam, have I done something wrong?"
As she spoke, she seemed about to shed tears again, which greatly annoyed Zhu.
That bitch, all she does is cry!
When He Jiuniang was making things difficult for her earlier, this bitch didn't say a word for her. Now that He Jiuniang is gone, this bitch is putting on an act for her!
How come I never noticed how good she was at acting before?
"You shameless woman, how dare you ask? Did you speak ill of the Hu family in front of Madam Lu? Don't forget your place. Do you really think the Lu family will protect you? Dream on!"
Zhu pointed her finger at Yao's head and poked her hard. Yao lowered her head and dared not resist. She even knelt down and pitifully said, "Madam, I'm innocent! I didn't say anything. It's just that Madam Lu likes Su Su, so she kept me here a little longer..."
"You didn't say? You didn't say that Madam Lu would be so hostile towards me? You bitch, you really think you have the Lu family as your backer? If you're so capable, then keep hiding here and wait until you go back to the Lu family, then you'll see!"
Zhu didn't dare to say anything too loud, for fear of being overheard, but instead reached out to pinch Yao.
Seeing this, Susu ran over and stood in front of Yao, saying fiercely, "Don't you dare bully my mother!"
Zhu was stunned for a moment. Good heavens, not only had Yao changed, but this little bastard had changed too.
Before, he would deliberately try to please her and call her Auntie, but now when he sees He Jiu Niang, his attitude becomes tough.
Zhu Shi's pent-up emotions reached their peak, and with a wave of her hand, she pushed Su Su to the ground. Coincidentally, the tassel pendant she had taken from the old emperor fell to the ground and broke in two. Upon seeing this, Su Su burst into tears.
Zhu was surprised that Su Su would fall down, and she was also surprised that the usually composed little bastard would burst into tears like this. She panicked instantly.
Before she could speak, the servants and maids who had just left with He Jiuniang returned. They saw Yao Shi and Su Su kneeling on the ground in a disheveled state, especially Su Su who was crying so pitifully. The maid hurriedly went forward to help them up, and then they saw the broken tassel pendant on the ground.
"Oh no! The pendant that His Majesty bestowed upon Miss Susu is broken! Damaging an imperial gift is punishable by death!"
A gift bestowed by the emperor?
behead?
Zhu was stunned for a moment, her mind not quite clear, unable to understand how the little bastard could have an imperial gift on him.
Upon hearing this, Su Su burst into even louder tears, saying, "It wasn't Auntie who pushed Su Su, waaaaah, Su Su fell down by herself, waaaah..."
Zhu, still somewhat dazed, instinctively replied upon hearing this, "Yes! She fell on her own, it has nothing to do with me..."
Halfway through her sentence, she finally realized that she had been tricked by this little bastard!
Although the bastard said she didn't push him, this was undoubtedly a case of protesting too much. Anyone with a brain would think that she forced the bastard to say that!
Zhu was furious; this little bastard was so cunning at such a young age!
The old nanny beside her was also getting anxious. Thinking that things had already come to this point, she might as well just give up and said, "It was indeed Miss Susu who fell down on her own. It has nothing to do with our mistress!"
The old woman thought to herself, "There are only a few servants anyway, I can just give them a perfunctory response, since He Jiuniang isn't here."
Besides, this little bastard only arrived at the General's Mansion this morning, how could she possibly have any imperial gifts? Perhaps these maids are lying to her.
She bent down to help Zhu up when applause rang out behind her. Turning around, she saw it was He Jiuniang.
Even the old nanny panicked. She dared not look He Jiu Niang in the eye and instead knelt down with Zhu Shi.
"Madam Hu is quite surprising. It seems she doesn't take me seriously at all."
He Jiuniang stepped forward with a cold smile, pulled Susu up to check on her. The little one was clever and not injured. She even secretly smiled when she saw her, implying that she was alright.
She felt sorry for the little one and told her to just find a chance to break the pendant, but she didn't expect her to use this method.
And then there's Yao Shi. If it's acting, then it's acting. How could she actually get slapped by Zhu Shi? It's realistic, but it's too unfair.
Zhu finally recovered from the shock of receiving the imperial gift, and when she saw He Jiuniang looking at her with a half-smile, her heart skipped a beat.
"Haha, this maid from the General's Mansion is really joking. Susu has never been to the palace, so where would she get a gift from the Emperor?"
Let alone this little bastard, she, the dignified lady of the Hu family, has never even had the chance to enter the palace.
Besides, it was just a small pendant. How could the Emperor possibly give her such a tattered thing?
Does this maid in the general's mansion really think she's easily frightened?
"A joke? Does Madam Hu really think that the maids of the General's Mansion would be so ill-mannered as to joke in front of guests?"
He Jiuniang raised an eyebrow, thinking that this Zhu Shi was truly a pig. (For plot purposes only, please do not associate with real people!)
Hui'er, who was standing nearby, spoke up at the right moment: "Our lady just took Miss Susu to the palace. The Emperor likes Miss Susu very much, so he gave her some little trinkets as a reward."
Zhu was utterly shocked. The bastard child had actually entered the palace and met the emperor?
And he even won the emperor's favor?
"No, no, it's not that, I just..."
Zhu wanted to explain, but didn't know how, so she could only look at Susu with a threatening look in her eyes.
Whether it was a gift from the emperor or not, this little bastard child has to accept it himself; she can't bear the crime of damaging a gift from the emperor.
Unexpectedly, her threatening gaze didn't meet Susu's, but instead met He Jiuniang's.
Madam Zhu was startled and leaned backward. The nanny beside her caught her in time, otherwise she would have fallen.
"So this is how Madam Hu bullies my goddaughter when I can't see her."
As He Jiuniang spoke, she said to the maid beside her, "Madam Hu damaged the imperial gift and bullied my goddaughter like this right in front of me. Isn't that blatantly showing disrespect for the General's Mansion? Teach her a lesson in manners!"
"Yes, Madam!"
Immediately, servants stepped forward and dragged Zhu outside, no matter what she said.
Outside, people had already prepared sticks. As soon as someone went out, they were immediately pinned to the ground and beaten with sticks.
The old woman was terrified. How did a perfectly normal visit turn into this?
"No, don't hit him! Madam Lu, isn't this a huge disregard for our master?"
The old woman was really going all out to save Zhu Shi. She thought that her master was at least an official of the court, and even if He Jiu Niang didn't care about the master, she couldn't punish her mistress directly!
He Jiuniang didn't say anything, but Hui'er stepped forward and said sternly, "Where did this insolent servant come from, daring to offend my mistress? Beat him up!"
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