After swallowing my anger and taking the blame, I became the lucky little queen

The people below were ready to make a move, but no one dared to step forward. Everyone was waiting for someone to take the lead, but since everyone was thinking this way, no one stepped forward.

Jing Qiu raised her voice and said, "No one wants to leave? This is your last chance! If you don't leave tonight, and if you find someone sneaking away in the future..." At this point, she gritted her teeth and glared at Fang Fang and Yuan Yuan fiercely, "Beat them to death with sticks!"

Everyone was trembling, but these words gave them enough courage.

Yang Yuerong calmly glanced at everyone and said, "If you want to leave, you can come up now. We in the Xiangfu never force anyone to do anything."

As soon as he finished speaking, a servant rushed up, knelt in front of Yang Yuerong and burst into tears, kowtowed three times, "Madam! I have old parents and young children to support, and my whole family depends on me! I really have no other choice, Madam!" He cried heartbreakingly, wiped his tears, and choked up, "My relationship with the Nian family ends here..."

Yang Yuerong remained calm and winked at the two people behind her, "Give it to him."

The housekeeper threw the monthly salary into his arms with disdain, and Jingqiu returned the indenture contract to him with a cold face.

The servant was so grateful that he kowtowed to Yang Yuerong three times, then ran away with a smile.

The rest of the people were envious, watching him disappear into the darkness, still not coming to their senses, secretly complaining in their hearts: Could it be that he really left the Xiangfu so easily? This is not like Yang Yuerong's style.

Yang Yuerong said, "Is there anyone else who wants to leave? Come and get your things and leave." She yawned lazily.

Then two... three... a group of people swarmed forward, took their things, and left happily.

After one round, about twenty to thirty people left, including maids, servants and guards.

Nian Susu was getting sleepy from waiting, and heard Yang Yuerong asking again if anyone wanted to leave.

No one stepped forward this time.

Yang Yuerong winked, and the two guards who followed her took out a five-foot-long wooden stick as thick as an arm from somewhere.

Pian Jia and Jing Qiu dragged Yuanyuan onto the bench, and each of them held one of her arms to prevent her from escaping. They hit her with a long wooden stick again and again. The cries, pleas for mercy, and the sounds of torn flesh mixed together, which was both shrill and horrifying.

Yuanyuan and Fangfang were each hit with ten sticks. They had already fainted and were dragged away by the guards.

The hall was filled with a strong smell of blood.

They all saw how ruthless the guards were. They were afraid that the two sisters were useless. They couldn't describe the feeling in their hearts. On the one hand, they were afraid, and on the other hand, they were regretful.

Nian Susu couldn't bear to watch it. She felt a little guilty and reflected on whether she had done something wrong. If she hadn't pulled Fang Fang and Yuan Yuan in front of Yang Yuerong, they wouldn't have died.

"Now that you have the chance to leave, if you are found to have escaped secretly in the future, your fate will be the same as those two. This time, you will be punished with ten strokes of the cane. Next time, you will be punished with twenty strokes of the cane. The next time, you will be punished with thirty strokes of the cane. And so on."

Yang Yuerong stood up with the help of the chair, and looked around coldly, "Is there anyone else who wants to leave?"

This time, more than 20 people left, and no matter how they threatened or intimidated the rest, no one came forward.

Yang Yuerong nodded with satisfaction and gave an extra 1 or 2 taels of silver per month to those who stayed.

Those who did not leave were all loyal to the Prime Minister's Mansion and had made up their minds not to leave. They were naturally happy about the increase in monthly salary, and their previous fear also dissipated a lot.

Yang Yuerong dismissed everyone and only kept Nian Susu.

Nian Susu thought she was going to ask her why she was dressed like that, and she immediately wanted to find an excuse to slip away, but her mother took her hand and walked towards the east wing, intending to send her back.

Although she was nervous and confused, she did not refuse and let her mother lead her.

"Lingling, your birthday is in ten days. Have you thought about how to celebrate it?" Yang Yuerong's tone was gentle and her face was soft. She was completely different from the mistress who had just ordered the beating.

Nian Susu looked up at the bright moon, and a sense of sadness rose in her heart. The things that happened in the past few days were too sudden and too heavy. She was not in the mood to think about her birthday now, nor did she want to make a big fuss about it.

"The situation in the court is unclear, so we'd better keep a low profile. Father Jiacha is still seriously injured and lying in bed. I really don't want to celebrate my birthday. It's better not to hold it this year. Mother, just have a simple meal with me."

Nian Susu smiled sweetly, hugged Yang Yuerong's arm, leaned his head on her shoulder and acted coquettishly.

Yang Yuerong smiled dotingly, "You, you're so grown up but still act like a spoiled child." But she did not push her daughter away.

Soon, she sighed with regret, "Lingling has grown up and become sensible, but mother is not happy at all. Mother hopes that you will be a willful and spoiled child all your life. As long as father and mother are around, you can be sensible all your life."

Nian Susu could hear something behind her words, or maybe... she really thought so in her heart, but the reality was contrary to her wishes, so she felt sad and said it out loud.

"How can I be ignorant all my life? I don't want my father and mother to worry about me when they are old." Nian Susu frowned.

The mother and daughter glanced at the same time, met each other's gaze, and smiled at the same time.

"But you're right. Given the current situation, I'm afraid we can't do anything big... Mom is afraid that you'll be wronged." Yang Yuerong shook her head, feeling helpless.

Nian Susu suddenly realized that this was what Yang Yuerong was worried about?

"Anyway, I don't want to bother myself with any troubles or tiredness. On my birthday, I just want to have a simple home-cooked meal with my father and mother. I won't do anything else."

Isn't frugality in vogue nowadays? How dare we waste and indulge in extravagance?

She doesn't want to be caught by someone again.

Yang Yuerong was touched and distressed to see her say this.

The two of them walked to the gate of the east wing. Yang Yuerong had no intention of going in. She told her to have a good rest and then returned to the north courtyard.

……

A few days later, Nian Susu met Xiao Jianting by chance in the central hall of the prime minister's mansion.

After more than three months of not seeing each other, Xiao Jianting's temperament has changed a lot. He has become more mature, calmer, and more taciturn. His brows are always furrowed and his face is full of worry.

At that time, Nian Susu was about to go to the North Courtyard to visit her father. When the two met, she was shocked and felt a little distressed - Xiao Jianting looked much more haggard, with a few strands of white hair on his temples and obvious dark circles under his eyes.

She remembered that Xiao Yunzheng once said that Xiao Jianting was hanging out with Taoist priests, trying to summon souls or find a way to communicate with the dead.

But most of those quacks are not good people. The way they make money is to trick people into buying elixirs that promise "immortality" and "eternal beauty."

She was worried that Xiao Jianting had been tricked into taking a lot of pills that contained excessive amounts of gold, and that he would surely die within a few years.

"Miss Nian." Xiao Jianting took the initiative to greet her with a forced smile on his face.

His face was as stiff as a puppet; the corners of his mouth only curled up when the string was pulled, and his emotions did not come from the heart.