Chapter 295: Don’t Air Dirty Linen In Public
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Prime Minister Su, this should have been a private matter of the Prime Minister’s Residence, but since the maidservant of the Prime Minister’s Residence has reported this to the government office, 1 cannot ignore this matter. The people from your Prime Minister’s Residence are bullying Princess Consort Qi publicly. According to the laws of the Chu State, such a crime calls for whipping as punishment.”
Lord Lin paused and looked at Su Ying. “What do you think, Your Highness?”
Su Ying wasn’t expecting such a good piece of fortune. “Whipping? How many lashes?”
“Twenty to fifty lashes.” Lord Lin asked for Su Ying’s view because he wanted to reduce this matter to a trivial level and turn the criminal case into a family dispute instead. This way, their family could argue behind closed doors. After all, if this matter blew up, it wouldn’t do any good to the reputation of either party.
All aristocratic families and nobles were proud and valued their dignity, after all.
Su Ying refused to play along.
“Then let’s go with the whipping.”
Lord Lin was utterly speechless.
Su Ying’s decisiveness stunned Lord Lin.
“Su Ying, you were clearly the one at fault in this matter!” As he looked at the palm print on Lord Lin’s face, Prime Minister Su finally calmed down.
He stood up and walked up to Lord Lin. “Lord Lin, this is just a small conflict and misunderstanding between the family members. There is no need to alert the Capital Governor’s office. We have made Lord Lin come here in vain. How about this? In a few days, when I am free, I will invite Lord Lin to take a cruise on the lake. As we are tied up at the moment, we won’t see you off, Lord Lin.” Lord Lin understood what Prime Minister Su meant. He didn’t want to offend the Prime Minister either, so he looked at Su Ying and said, “Your Highness, the prime minister is your father after all. If you have anything to discuss, it’s better to discuss it amicably. What does Your Highness think?”
Su Ying nodded. “Lord Lin is right. Let’s talk this out.”
Lord Lin didn’t expect Su to agree so quickly. Since both sides agreed to settle it privately, it did not concern him anymore.
“Then I will take my leave.”
Prime Minister Su glanced at the caretaker and signaled to him to send Lord Lin out.
Before Lord Lin walked out of the courtyard, Prime Minister Su’s face was calm.
When Lord Lin and the officials disappeared from the courtyard and the door was locked, the people of the Prime Minister’s Residence collectively changed their expressions in a second.
Prime Minister Su grabbed the teacup on the table and threw it at Su Ying.
Su Ying tilted her head slightly and dodged the strike.
“Su Ying, if 1 don’t teach you a lesson today, I would have been a father in vain! Men! Take her down!”
The guards waiting outside rushed to the entrance.
Little Madam Jiang and Su Yuyan had secretly followed Lord Lin into the courtyard when he left. Now, they were hiding behind the guards, looking at Su Ying with smug expressions.
They couldn’t wait to see Su Ying suffer!
After Prime Minister Su said those harsh words, he turned around and hid behind the guards. He glared at Su Ying maliciously, as if he couldn’t wait to skin her and swallow her alive.
Su Ying stood up without any emotion and looked at the guards who were waiting for her with a scornful laugh. “Looks like you guys didn’t get beaten up enough just now.”
She lifted her leg and kicked the stool. A wooden stick came flying out and landed in her hand.
“Capture her!”
Prime Minister Su bellowed, and all the guards charged at Su Ying.
Su Ying’s eyes narrowed as she swung the wooden stick in her hand at the guard.
The spots she hit were very uncanny. She could always hit the guard’s joints with one strike. Hitting this kind of location would not leave too many marks, but it could seriously injure people.
The courtyard was filled with wails as the guards were thrown around the courtyard like torn rags by Su Ying.
When they saw Su Ying lift up a guard who was several dozen pounds heavier than her and throw him out of the courtyard, Prime Minister Su and the others widened their eyes in shock.
If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn’t have believed what they saw was real.
How was this possible?
This wasn’t Su Ying!
Su Ying raised her eyes and looked at Prime Minister Su and the rest who were trying to escape. She flung out the wooden stick in her hand.
Bang! The wooden stick was embedded violently in the wooden pillar of the corridor right before Prime Minister Su’s eyes.
Prime Minister Su’s face instantly turned as white as a sheet. He was clearly extremely furious, but when he turned around to look at Su Ying, who was approaching him step by step, the words he wanted to berate her with were stuck in his throat.
Su Ying sent the guard who was rushing over flying with a kick and slowly walked up to Prime Minister Su.
“Su… Su Ying, what… what are you doing… I… I’m your father… How dare you…” “In that case what is Father afraid of now?” Su Ying tilted her head just like an obedient and sensible child.
Prime Minister Su became even more afraid. He had been working as an official for many years and had encountered all kinds of situations. After climbing to a high position, the only people left around him were groveling sycophants. He had long forgotten the most primitive emotion of human beings, which was fear.
Little Madam Jiang and Su Yuyan were terrified. The guards had all been knocked to the ground by Su Ying, but they weren’t dead. They were just lying on the ground, half-dead and unable to move.
They didn’t dare to step forward, much less look Su Ying in the eye.
“I’ll check and cross off the items you brought out today when I get back. If there is 70%, I will treat the balance 30% as expenses for my food and other costs all these years. If the items you returned don’t make up 70% of the dowry list, then don’t blame me for not showing you any courtesy, Prime Minister Su.”
Su Ying slowly stood up straight and broke the wooden stick in front of her with a punch. Then, she walked out of the courtyard without looking back.
The servants who had been waiting outside the courtyard to watch the commotion were all stunned when they saw Su Ying walk out. They had been expecting to hear Su Ying’s wretched cries coming from inside. To their surprise, they only heard the anguished cries of men. The servants wanted to know what had happened inside, but the courtyard door was tightly locked, and they couldn’t see anything.
There wasn’t even a trace of blood on Su Ying’s body, except for her dress which was slightly disheveled.
Su Ying walked out of the Prime Minister’s Residence and boarded the horse carriage that had been waiting outside the entrance.
When Bai Shuang saw Su Ying return, she immediately surveyed Su Ying from head to toe. “Your Highness, are you alright?”
Su Ying casually picked up the dessert on the table and took a bite. “What do you think?”
Bai Shuang let out a breath. Although she knew that Her Highness’s martial arts skills were impressive, her heart was still suspended in her throat. When they arrived at the Prime Minister’s Residence, Su Ying only brought two guards in, leaving Bai Shuang outside. No one was allowed to follow her.
“It’s good that Your Highness is fine.”
“Have all the things been brought back to Prince Qi’s Manor?”
“Mm-hmm. I have already arranged for them to haul the stuff back.”
Su Ying nodded in satisfaction. “Let’s go back first. I’m hungry.”
“Sure.”
As soon as Su Ying left, Prime Minister Su collapsed to the ground on his butt.
Little Madam Jiang and the rest screamed in shock as they rushed forward and lifted Prime Minister Su up.
“Quick! Go and summon the doctor. Be quick!”
The whole Prime Minister’s Residence was in chaos.
However, that had nothing to do with Su Ying anymore.
Soon, Su Ying returned to Prince Qi’s Manor.
“Where have you put all the stuff?”
“His Highness knew that Your Highness was going to the Prime Minister’s Residence today and instructed people to clear out the small storeroom in the back courtyard early in the morning for you. After the things were brought back, they were all moved there.”
Su Ying nodded and headed to the small storeroom.
She liked to take stock of her spoils of war as soon as possible.
When she arrived at the small storeroom, Aunt Zhao was checking off the items against the list. When she saw Su Ying return, she walked over.
“Your Highness, did you beat up the Prime Minister?”