Chapter 66: Chapter 65: No Negotiation—You’re Getting Beat!
Ye Qing’s face turned pale, and she immediately knelt on the ground, calling out in fearful unease, "Princess Consort Su, this servant did not mean to come out, please forgive me."
Princess?
Princess Consort Su?
Ye Qing’s mother and Ye Miao trembled even more fiercely.
They had been in Shangjing for many years now, and though they hadn’t heard of Princess Consort Su, they had heard of Prince Su.
In their eyes, Prince Su... a fierce and menacing figure, terrifying and ruthless...
Any sort of vile word could be used to describe Prince Su.
Moreover, Prince Su not only commands the Dragon Shadow Guards but even the dread-inducing imperial prison is under his control.
Rumor had it that once, a corrupt official refused to confess his crimes until his last breath, and even dared to contradict Prince Su. When Prince Su merely walked five steps toward him, the corrupt official suddenly died!
Ye Qing’s mother grasped Ye Miao’s hand, about to cry from fear, "No wonder Qingqing said her master is difficult to deal with. She has actually gone to work at Prince Su Mansion. Miao’er, what should we do?"
Ye Miao gritted his teeth, distastefully pulling his mother’s hand away, lowering his voice, "How would I know what to do? You deal with it yourselves. I still need to take the money to find my classmates."
As he spoke, he wanted to sneak away while they weren’t paying attention.
"Miao’er, is the money meant to treat your classmates?" Ye Qing’s mother finally understood what he was implying, her voice rising several pitches, "No way, this money wasn’t easy to come by, it’s still needed for your tuition!"
Ye Miao responded impatiently, "What does it have to do with you? This concerns my future; everyone takes turns treating. Do you want me to lose face in front of my classmates?"
"Mu Hongxuan, bring the money back to me." Yu Nianzhao, of course, wouldn’t give him the chance to leave, commanding loudly.
Mu Hongxuan dashed past like a shadow, and the money pouch was already in his hands.
"Hey! That’s my money, how can you just take it?" Ye Miao shouted in panic at Mu Hongxuan, and upon recovering his wits, he froze in place, facing Mu Hongxuan’s icy gaze, he shrank back like a quail, "T-this is my money."
Dongfang Chenyuan rudely retorted, "How is this your money? It’s clearly Ye Qing’s money, all of us saw it; you took the money from her."
Yu Nianzhao took the money pouch and tossed it to Ye Qing, "Your indenture is in my hands; you belong to Prince Su Mansion now, where do you still have any family? Ye Qing, are these your relatives?"
Ye Qing quivered, "This servant was sold when I was young, I no longer have any family."
"Then why are you giving them money?" Yu Nianzhao smiled wickedly at Ye Qing’s mother and Ye Miao, "What? Do you want to redeem her? Well, it’s not impossible, let’s calculate the cost then. After Ye Qing arrived at Prince Su Mansion, food, clothing, and other expenses were provided by us, let’s count that as fifty taels of silver. And the other day, she broke my agate hairpin, which was gifted by the Empress, worth over a thousand taels of silver, all included. Let’s round it to fifteen hundred taels of silver for you, give this, and her indenture is yours."
Yu Nianzhao was very generous!
Ye Qing’s mother stammered and shivered, "Fifty taels of silver for food and expenses? That’s enough for our household expenses for years."
Ye Miao dragged Ye Qing’s mother back, clearly upset, "Mother, have you gone crazy? Why ask about these things? Fifteen hundred taels of silver, we couldn’t save that in ten years without food or drink. When we sold Ye Qing, it was just for a few broken silver pieces; now to redeem her costs so much? Crazy? We don’t need her, what use is she? Even if sold to an old man as a concubine, the bride price won’t be that much, it simply isn’t worth it!"
Ye Miao calculated meticulously, regarding Ye Qing as mere merchandise in his eyes.
Though Ye Qing had already known she was completely abandoned, her heart still couldn’t suppress the pain.
Upon hearing such derogatory remarks about women, Yu Nianzhao squinted displeased, "Mu Hongxuan, slap him!"
Mu Hongxuan immediately gave him two hard slaps.
Pa! Pa!
Ye Miao’s face instantly swelled with redness, his hands covering his cheeks in panic, not daring to look Mu Hongxuan in the eyes, let alone fight back.
"Kneel!" Yu Nianzhao commanded harshly, and Ye Miao’s legs went weak, forcing him to kneel heavily.
"Having sold her once, you want to sell her again to an old man as a concubine. So young yet so heartless, can’t you even see who’s funded your schooling these years? Educating people, yet you’ve digested books like a dog?" Yu Nianzhao gestured to Yiu Renjian for a whip.
Yiu Renjian immediately offered it with both hands.
This was prepared by Yu Nianzhao early on; she handed it to Ye Qing, "The silver over the years, you won’t be getting back, but at least give him a beating to vent."
Ye Qing accepted the whip, red-eyed, staring at Ye Miao.
Ye Miao feared Yu Nianzhao and Mu Hongxuan, but he wasn’t afraid of her.
He sneered baring his teeth at Ye Qing, "Do you dare to hit me? I’m cherished by parents, if you resent, blame yourself for being a useless girl. Even spending your money for schooling is what you should do. My dad said your only value is to earn money for me!"
Originally, Ye Qing would have felt some lingering affection had Ye Miao not said these words.
After hearing such ungrateful, heartless words, her gaze turned even colder. She gripped the whip tightly and lashed out without hesitation!
Pa! Pa! Pa!
Three strikes landed, causing Ye Miao to wail in pain, "Mother, save me! Ye Qing actually hit me, it hurts so much, mother..."
Ye Qing’s mother rushed forward, full of distress, to stop her, "Ye Qing, this is your brother, your own brother! We in the Ye Family only have this one male; don’t beat him anymore, what if you hurt him!"
"When he spends my money, did he ever consider I’m his own sister?" Ye Qing said with red eyes, "You all are a family, I’m just an outsider, but you still covet my money. Hearts are all made of flesh; do you consider I also feel pain? You all are just a group of leeches, biased towards males while wanting to drain my every value, truly hateful."
"Wretch, what are you doing? You dare hurt Miao’er, you seek death!"
Mr. Ye had appeared unknowingly, armed with a wood-chopping knife, storming over aggressively.
The moment Ye Qing’s mother saw him, she reflexively crouched to the ground helplessly, clutching her head trembling, clearly beaten countless times.
Unfortunately, before Mr. Ye could approach, Mu Hongxuan kicked him flying.
"In the presence of Princess Consort, how dare you act wild!" Mu Hongxuan pressed a long sword against Mr. Ye’s throat, stupefying him.
He had just wondered why Ye Qing’s mother hadn’t returned after being out so long, deciding to check, unaware he would witness the scene of her whipping her brother, not knowing the identity of those around her.
"P-Princess Consort?" Mr. Ye was nearly scared to wet himself.