All the stewards felt chills in their hearts.

Eunuch Cai had eaten inside and outside, and it was not a pity to die. But after all, he was Empress Qiao’s person, and as the wife of the Second Prince, she should be merciful no matter what!

If these sixty boards go down, Eunuch Cai will lose half of his life.

This was no way of showing them her power. This was showing off to the Empress!

The stewards could all see it, so how could Li Jing not know?

He looked at Lu Mingyu.

Lu Mingyu’s face had been embedded in his mind countless times and he was already very familiar with it. Those bright black eyes now revealed a hint of edge and vigor.

It didn’t matter whether Eunuch Cai lived or died. What was important was that he had to take a stand on this matter, whether it was on his wife’s side or his mother’s side.

Even though Li Jing had been prepared, he still had some troubles and headaches at this time.

Lu Mingyu was particularly sensitive to the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law because of her previous life. If he didn’t do this, Lu Mingyu would definitely think, “Every man in the world has one virtue, no matter how easy it is to say it, he still turns to his mother at the critical moment.” The hearts that were getting closer and closer would immediately feel separated.

If he agrees, it would make Empress Qiao lose face again.

In just a split second, Li Jing made a decision and said, “Thirty boards will be taken first. When Lu Yi brings his people back, he will ask for details, and then he will make up for the other thirty boards.”

“Furthermore, I will enter the palace later to comfort the Royal Mother. With her placing such trust in him, he dared to betray her trust. As her son, I must avenge this injustice for her!”

Lu Mingyu nodded slightly: “That’s fine.”

She was indeed intentional just now, just to see how Li Jing would react.

Fortunately, Li Jing did not disappoint.

Of course, Li Jing had also devised a strategy to appease Empress Qiao, even preparing the rhetoric for external presentation. The words spoken just now, at the very least, would suffice to maintain appearances.

…

A series of shrill screams, accompanied by the muffled sound of the board hitting the body, spread into the inner hall.

Lu Mingyu didn’t speak, her eyes wandered around everyone.

None of the stewards dared to raise their heads, and the less courageous ones had already begun to tremble.

Thirty boards, it was just a matter of time over a cup of tea. Commander Zuo quickly reported back and forth: “Your Highness and Huangzifei, after thirty spanks, Eunuch Cai has passed out.”

Li Jing said lightly: “Pour cold water on him to wake him up, and carry him into the inner hall.”

Commander Zhou responded, and soon Eunuch Cai, with his skin torn and bleeding, was carried into the inner hall. Eunuch Cai was awakened by the cold water. He was so painful that he burst into tears and could not even say anything to beg for mercy.

The inner hall was quiet.

Absolute silence.

Lu Mingyu’s voice sounded again: “Where is the concierge steward?”

The steward, Eunuch Yu, stepped forward tremblingly under the eyes of all the stewards who said “silent farewell”, knelt down, and kowtowed three times: “I have seen Huangzifei niang niang.”

Very good, the effect of killing the monkey and scaring the chicken was well done!

Lu Mingyu’s expression was calm: “Get up and answer.”

Manager Yu didn’t even dare to delay taking a breath and immediately stood up to express his gratitude. Then he stood politely with hands folded.

Lu Mingyu did not make things difficult. After inquiring about the duties of the gatekeeper for a few moments, he said, “When His Highness lived in the palace, the duties of the gatekeeper at the Second Prince’s residence were leisurely. In the future, with people coming and going, there will inevitably be those delivering invitations. I have two rules, make sure you remember them well.”

“First, all invitations must not be withheld, but must be presented.”

“Second, you must not ask anyone for money. If I find out, I will chop off his hand.”

“Manager Yu, Do you understand these two rules?”

How dare Manager Yu not understand: “I understand. After I return, I will gather the people in the concierge together and tell them these two rules.”

Lu Mingyu nodded and moved on to the next one: “Where is the steward of the kitchen purchase?”

A slightly rounded forty-year-old palace maid came forward and saluted cautiously: “My surname is Tao, and I once worked as an errand in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It was also four years ago that this slave came to the Second Prince’s Mansion.”

Lu Mingyu didn’t say much and was very concise: “I don’t care about the previous accounts. From today on, the kitchen account books will be presented every five days. If there are any omissions, I will not be lenient.”

Just look at Eunuch Cai’s fate to see how she was not lenient.

Aunt Tao agreed submissively.

More than twenty stewards came forward one after another. Everyone had only a few words. Looking at the expressions on the stewards’ faces, they wished they could break into pieces what Lu Mingyu said and remember it in their hearts.

In less than half an hour, Lu Mingyu recognized all the stewards.

“Today is the first time we met. Let me explain clearly the rules of working here.” Lu Mingyu’s words were cold, which made everyone feel cold: “You guys work well on your assigned jobs, I won’t treat you badly. What will happen if you cheat and betray your master, you have also seen it.”

“Starting from tomorrow, report to the inner hall at the Chen hour ^[1]7 am to 9 am each day to brief on affairs.”

All the stewards agreed in unison and then filed out.

When passing by Eunuch Cai, all the stewards did not look sideways, as if they did not see Eunuch Cai who was stained with blood and dying.

…

After exiting the inner hall for a long time, Eunuch Yu breathed a long sigh of relief.

Aunt Tao, who was beside him, didn’t look very good-looking. She said in a low voice: “This second huangzifei is really amazing!”

Seeing was believing.

Meeting in person was even better than hearing about it!

Eunuch Yu quickly glanced at Aunt Tao: “You have to be more careful with the kitchen accounts from now on, so as not to be caught in the wrong. Eunuch Cai, who had the support of the Empress, was still beaten. For you and me, if something goes wrong, and the master wants our lives, it’s just a matter of words.”

Eunuch Cai once served in Jiaofang Palace and was Empress Qiao’s servant.

The second huangzifei didn’t even pay attention to Eunuch Cai, let alone the two servants from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Aunt Tao sighed: “I’m not a young girl. How can I not know the importance of this? You should be more careful. In the future, if someone comes to send greetings, don’t stop them on your own initiative. And never ever take the opportunity to ask for money.”

Eunuch Yu wiped the cold sweat on his forehead with his sleeve and lowered his voice: “Did you know that Eunuch Cai has a private house outside?”

Aunt Tao was somewhat annoyed. “We’ve been together for so many years taking care of household chores. Whenever I had free time, I would make clothes and shoes for you. Where would I find the time to pay attention to what Eunuch Cai was up to?”

Eunuch Yu raised his hand and gave himself a not-too-light slap on the face. “That’s nonsense,” he scolded himself.

Aunt Tao was a little angry at first, but when Eunuch Yu teased her like this, she started laughing again. She laughed for a moment and sighed: “That’s all. From now on, let’s stop gossiping and work hard. Don’t be dragged out to play a game again because of your age.”

Wasn’t that right?

Eunuch Yu was worried and not in the mood to chat, so he quickly went to the concierge.

(End of chapter)