On the afternoon of the next day, Su Hele was scolding the servants in the front hall when she saw Concubine Li storming towards her.
Su Hele's eyes darkened slightly. She slowly rose from her chair. Before she could even curtsy, Concubine Li pointed at her and shouted:
"Kneel down for me!"
Su Hele frowned and lifted her chin slightly, standing still without moving.
Concubine Li was so angry that she laughed instead:
"Good! You don't even take my words to heart. No wonder you dared to make wild remarks outside."
With that, Concubine Li glanced at Nanny Wang:
"Take off her cone-shaped hat!"
Nanny Wang immediately stepped forward and snatched off Su Hele's cone-shaped hat.
Su Hele let out a soft cry and quickly covered her face with the silk handkerchief in her hand.
Although her movement was fast, everyone still saw the obvious red and swollen handprint on her face.
"Humph! You still care about your face. Do you know how embarrassing it was for me when I was scolded by the Princess of Huai? Kneel down now!"
Concubine Li's chest heaved violently. Her eyes bulged as if she wanted to swallow Su Hele alive.
She was wondering why the Princess of Huai had suddenly invited her to a banquet for no reason. She thought she had finally caught the princess's eye, but it turned out she was just going there to be scolded.
Failure to teach one's children well and improper family conduct. Fine! She would set the family conduct right today!
"You may all leave first."
Seeing this, Nanny Wang immediately told the servants to disperse. After all, Concubine Li was still a mistress of the mansion, and they should leave her some dignity.
The servants left, looking back at Su Hele three times at every step. It was the first time they felt reluctant to part with Su Hele.
As soon as Su Hele heard the name of the Princess of Huai, the flush on her face instantly faded.
She thought the matter that day was already over, but she didn't expect that Princess Huici was so petty that she even told Concubine Li about it!
"Rude remarks, disrespecting the princess, and overstepping one's position. Su Hele, where did you get the guts!"
Concubine Li took a big step forward and stood in front of Su Hele, scolding while pointing at her nose.
Su Hele took a step back and raised her head, saying:
"Auntie, it's not like that. I didn't know the princess was there. It was Su Nansheng. She instigated..."
Before she could finish her words, a celadon teacup shattered in front of her, the porcelain pieces breaking into powder.
"Still trying to defend yourself!"
Seeing that she still showed no sign of repentance, Concubine Li reached out and smashed the teacup.
But even so, she still couldn't vent her anger. She was still so angry that her hands trembled and her face turned green. She reached out to cover her chest and gasped for breath.
Seeing this, Nanny Wang quickly helped her sit down on the chair and patted her back to calm her down.
After such a commotion for a while, Concubine Li's complexion finally improved.
She took a sip of tea to moisten her throat and then continued:
"Do you mean the princess wronged you? Do you dare to confront the princess?"
Su Hele, with tears in her eyes and about to explain to Concubine Li, paused when she heard this, and the tears in her eyes dried up a lot.
Seeing this, Concubine Li sneered sarcastically:
"I bet you don't dare. Do you know that just based on your words just now, Princess Huici could convict you of slander. If you want to die, do it far away and don't drag us down."
She knew that Su Hele would cause trouble sooner or later, but she underestimated her after all. She managed to offend the princess all at once. She was really something!
"Daughter-in-law didn't do it. Daughter-in-law doesn't dare."
Seeing that she couldn't explain, Su Hele had no choice but to lower her head and admit her mistake, but there was dissatisfaction in her tone.
Seeing this, Concubine Li pointed at Su Hele and looked at Nanny Wang:
"Look! Look! Is this how someone admits their mistake? Slap her in the face!"
Didn't she care most about her face? Then she just wouldn't let her keep it.
Su Hele suddenly raised her head and looked at Concubine Li in disbelief.
It was fine if others bullied her, but now even her own people wanted to bully her!
"What? Do you think I, as your aunt, can't discipline you? Do it!"
Nanny Wang immediately stepped forward and tried to slap Su Hele, but was sharply scolded by her:
"How dare you! You're just a servant. How dare you humiliate me!"
Before her words faded, she received a hard slap on the face. It was Concubine Li who had done it.
"She doesn't dare, but I do. I think you're really getting out of control."
Concubine Li reached out to hit her again, but Su Hele dodged:
"Even if I've made a mistake, it should be the mistress who punishes me. It's not up to you, auntie, to use private punishment."
Hearing this, Concubine Li's blood rushed to her head. Her eyes were wide with anger:
"Nanny Wang, hold her down for me. I'll show her today whether I can punish her or not."
"Sumo, go and invite the mistress."
Su Hele dodged quickly, and her voice became shrill.
For a moment, some were trying to catch her while others were running away. The front hall was in a complete mess.
...
"Reporting to my lord, after my subordinates' investigation in the past two days, we haven't found anyone in the Jingzhao Prefecture colluding with the bandits yet." Fei Yu bowed with his hands clasped.
He Xun put down the military book in his hand, his expression complicated.
Seeing that He Xun just remained silent, Fei Yu tentatively said:
"My lord, do you believe what Miss Su said? But the Qilin Mountain is indeed a complex terrain. It's not surprising that we can't catch those bandits. After all, they are more familiar with the terrain there."
He had fought with He Xun in the northern border for many years, and he was most reluctant to believe that there was a spy in their own team.
Just thinking that there might be someone among the comrades who had fought side by side with him and shared life and death betraying him made his back shiver.
But reality was always cruel. There had been spies in the Northern Frontier Army and among the northern border people, and they had also paid a heavy price for it.
Therefore, every time facing such a thing, He Xun took it extremely seriously.
"Tomorrow I'll pretend to send troops to test the spy. You send people to keep a close eye on those yamen runners and Ning Weizhi. Once you find any abnormalities in them, immediately capture them quietly and bring them to me."
Before the result came out, He Xun didn't trust anyone, including Ning Weizhi who had come to ask for help in person.
Fei Yu was a bit worried: "But if there is no spy, Ning Weizhi might be dissatisfied."
"If these bandits can't be wiped out for a long time, they will eventually suspect themselves. The earlier we find out, the earlier we can clear their names. As for whether Ning Weizhi will be dissatisfied, it's not within my consideration."
He Xun looked nonchalant.
Actually, he also suspected there was an insider at the very beginning. He just didn't expect that Su Nansheng, a young lady in the boudoir, would think the same way and even boldly discuss it with him.
He Xun paced to the window and looked at the small study not far away. The window there was also open, but he couldn't see the people inside.
He was getting more and more confused about Su Nansheng. He thought she was cautious, but she dared to suspect the people in the yamen.
He thought she had feelings for him, but she regarded him as a tool for reproduction.
But if she was heartless, she was willing to face the bandits with him...
He Xun stroked the wooden hairpin in his sleeve. Su Nansheng, what on earth are you thinking?
...
In the small study not far away, Su Nansheng suddenly sat up straight and looked towards the door.
Seeing that no one came in, she relaxed again.
What's going on? Why does she feel like she's being watched?