"Hmpf! No need! I will be the one who disciplines her and I want you to be the witness." The matriarch pointed at Liu Li who didn"t dare to move and still kowtowed on the ground without the courage to raise up her face. "This is also an explanation for you why I give her a punishment."
Concubine Wan wanted to say something, but she retracted it back. She wanted to know what Liu Li did to make the old madam angry until this point.
"This concubine will listen and obey Old Madam"s decision," Concubine Wan said obediently. She didn"t want the matriarch to turn her anger at her, so she stood at the side and simply became a spectator. She pitied the girl, after all... she was her personal maidservant and a clever one too. However, she was just a concubine and she couldn"t help her without knowing the reason.
"Liu Li... do you know your mistake?" The matriarch asked.
"This... this servant is being framed. Please give this servant justice, Old Madam!" Liu Li begged.
Yao Ling sneered at Liu Li"s stupidity. Liu Li never felt that she did something wrong, so she demanded justice. If she was repentant and begged for forgiveness, the matriarch probably would be lenient. However... because of her pride, she still demanded justice. "Good for you! You dig your own grave!" Yao Ling thought to herself.
"Hmpf! You still dare to say that you are being framed!" After saying that, the matriarch turned to Yao Ling and asked, "Explain to all of us, Yao Ling! What did she do?"
Liu Li was afraid that Yao Ling would say something about the brothel part. If Concubine Wan knew about this, she would be as angry as the matriarch! But... that was exactly what Yao Ling planned to do! How could she let such an opportunity to make Xiao Yu happy with such an act of simple revenge go? At first, she planned to protect Yao Ying, but she changed her mind and she could find an excuse for Yao Ying later.
Yao Ling started her white lotus act once again, "Grandmother, Liu Li only warned me because of her kindness. She went to visit her family and friend at hua lou and accidentally met Yao Ying."
The matriarch and Concubine Wan had a different reaction. The matriarch felt angry at Yao Ying for going to a hua lou after he had just entered w.a.n.g Fu. It wasn"t only a disgrace! But also disrespectful toward Yao Ling. Her heart was more biased toward Yao Ling --- she liked the girl.
Concubine Wan was surprised for a little while. But the surprise turn into anger! Her pity turned into hatred. How dared Liu Li go behind her back?! She had already told her to cut off herself from the past. She dared to go to hua lou again?! Concubine Wan looked menacingly at Liu Li, promising herself to teach Liu Li a lesson. Liu Li could feel Concubine Wan"s angry gaze directed at her and she shuddered in fear.
Yao Ling quickly saved her husband by saying the next thing. "Liu Li told me that Young Master Lin was there as well. Father also told me that Yao Ying was going out with Young Master Lin and he was being dragged around by him." In other words, Yao Ying didn"t go to the hua lou because he wanted it, but because of Lin Jian.
The matriarch sighed in relief because it wasn"t that Yao Ying was being ungrateful and lecherous. "And then? Why was she worried about Yao Ying?"
"Grandmother, please don"t be angry... Liu Li just wanted to protect Yao Ying and asked me not to blame him. See...? She is a kind maidservant," Yao Ling deliberately praised Liu Li but actually... it had the opposite effect.
Liu Li, who was already muddle-headed, thought that Yao Ling was actually saving her and feeling grateful. She even said, "Yes, Old Madam. This servant just worried about Young Master."
It was going in the direction that Yao Ling had predicted before. What she had said made the matriarch angrier. "Wan Lu Xi! What a good maidservant that you have! I already told you when you stepped your feet inside my "w.a.n.g Fu"! If you want to stay here, you should cut off your past and never make contact with everyone in the hua lou! Look at this! Are you the one who told her to go?"
Concubine Wan quickly kneeled down and cried. "This concubine is being framed! This concubine really didn"t know about this matter! I also have been telling her every day not to keep in touch with someone in the hua lou!" Concubine Wan was really afraid this time.
"After this matter is finished, I want you to control your subordinates better! Do you hear me? Once the same thing happens again, I will throw you out along with this disgrace! I don"t care about what w.a.n.g Luo Hai will say. I won"t let you and your disgraceful maidservant taint my "w.a.n.g Fu" name!"
Concubine Wan really felt being wronged, but she could only swallow her own bitterness. She would certainly beat up that woman after they got back to their own courtyard! The matriarch basically said she would throw her out and she knew this old woman would never joke about that kind of thing. Concubine Wan kowtowed in front of the servants which made her want to die in embarra.s.sment... but the matter had already reached this point, she had no other choice.
"Please forgive this concubine, Old Madam. This concubine will certainly pay more attention to this concubine"s maidservants. Please forgive this concubine this once," Concubine Wan begged for forgiveness.
"Hmpf!" The matriarch was still angry, but she knew how to be reasonable. "Get up! I will let you go this once." She didn"t want to clash with w.a.n.g Luo Hai because of this. The matriarch only wanted to warn and scare them.
"Thank you, Old Madam." Concubine Wan quickly thanked her and got up. She stepped aside and didn"t dare to meddle with this affair.
The matriarch turned her gaze to Liu Li and asked in a piercing tone, "Who are you to care about Young Master? Even dare to tattle on him to Young Mistress?"
Liu Li bit her lips in distress. She didn"t know how to answer this tricky question. She was nothing to them! She wasn"t Yao Ying"s concubine, so she didn"t have the right to worry about him. She wasn"t Yao Ying or Yao Ling"s personal maidservant, so she also didn"t have the right to worry about him. She was pretty sure that the matriarch had already seen through her intention to sow discord.
"This... this servant didn"t think much and this servant just didn"t want Young Mistress to suffer because of Young Master"s deed," Liu Li answered.
"Hah! I heard it perfectly clear that the one you are worried about is Young Master. Now... you cleverly changed your words. I am might be old, but not deaf! Did you already know the full reason why Young Master went to a hua lou? What kind of deed that Young Master have done? Did you see it for yourself? I can hold you on the account of framing your own master!" The matriarch said angrily.
"This servant doesn"t dare," Liu Li cried. She quickly sat down and slapped her own mouth to put on an act of repentance.
*Pa* "This servant is wrong!"
*Pa* "This servant will not dare to do this again!"
*Pa* "Please have mercy on this servant!"
*Pa* "Please have mercy on this servant!"
*Pa* "Please have mercy on this servant!"
Liu Li kept slapping herself because no one was stopping her. She could see that Yao Ling tried to open her mouth, but the matriarch"s glare stopped her and she obediently stood beside the old matriarch. What Yao Ling just did had erased Liu Li"s doubt about Yao Ling. At first, she thought that Yao Ling was only putting on a white lotus act and made her get into deeper trouble, but it seemed like she was wrong. Yao Ling was really kind enough to help her.