Chapter 135: The Empress get Angry, uses paddle to hit people.

Money is light on the lips but heavy in the hand.

So, trembling with fear, Hu Po accepted five taels of silver and agreed to the widow’s request.

Another person came, and Hu Po carefully accepted seven taels of silver.

When ten taels of silver were placed in Hu Po’s hands, she no longer hurriedly stashed it into her sleeve. Instead, she leisurely appraised the silver’s quality. If the quality wasn’t good or if it contained lead or tin, she would have to charge extra.

Later on, Hupo was no longer satisfied with being passive. After all, waiting under the tree for a rabbit to come, why not pick up a hunting rifle and catch a whole nest of them?

Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui, the ten major laundry rooms, she summoned the managers to see who could handle their responsibilities. Distributing tasks in front of everyone, isn’t that great?

Immediate results.

Therefore, no matter what era, people will always be stabbed several times while wandering in the world.

However, Hupo is a bit short-sighted. It’s fine to fleece the feudal empire, but she shouldn’t just focus on one or two sheep. Those sheep already bald with only their skin left, and she is not planning to stop.

She thought the outer laundry bureau was her sheep pen, and the sheep and wool inside belonged to her. However, there were no thick walls here, only a door that could be entered and exited.

The people in the outer laundry bureau could go home; widows also had families.

Hu Po was squeezing and exploiting happily, sleeping soundly at night.

Others go home in tears, find someone to talk to and have nightmares.

These matters will inevitably spread sooner or later. Over time, people will come to believe that the outer laundry bureau is a hellhole that eats people without spitting out their bones.

The one who established this hellhole is the Empress.

Making herself a demon king?

Ma Enhui naturally refuses to do that.

When she arrived at the external laundry bureau, Ma Enhui didn’t need to inquire. A glance around made it clear what was going on.

On one side, over a hundred people were idle, preparing to lay down for sleep. On the other side, a dozen or so people were bustling with joy, and piles of clothing were stacked like mountains nearby.

If it weren’t for the enthusiastic expressions, Ma Enhui would have thought these people were being enslaved.

Upon asking, turns out, it’s piecework pay: the more work you do, the more you get paid.

As for whether others have work to do, it doesn’t matter. Who made them ignorant of social etiquette?

Ma Enhui’s face darkened. She had good intentions, giving money to these people to help them find a way to make a living. And now, in such a short time, things had turned out like this?

If these people are all forced away, who will take on the tasks of the Foreign Laundry Bureau?

Who will clear their own tarnished reputation?

“Go, catch Hu Po for me!”

Ma Enhui was furious.

This matter has reached the Emperor’s ears. Can it not be serious?

In the room, Hupo walked to the bedside, took out a package, and opened it to reveal a pile of miscellaneous silver coins. A smile filled her face. There should be more than eighty taels of silver here, right?

In a few more years, she could leave the palace, and the second half of her life would be worry-free.

Bang! Bang!

A dull knocking sound came from the door.

Hu Po frowned, sternly asking, “Who?”

“Open the door.”

Recognizing the voice as one of her subordinates, Hu Po thought there might be an issue with the laundry. She quickly put away the package, hiding it under the blanket, and approached the door. However, before she could react, two eunuchs rushed into the room, without a word, grabbing Hu Po and dragging her outside.

Hu Po was completely bewildered, hastily shouting, “I am in charge here. Let me go, or I will report to the Empress.”

The eunuchs ignored Hupo, dragging her from upstairs to downstairs and then to the backyard, where they simply threw her next to a water tank.

Hu Po gasped in pain. Along the way, her shins banged against stairs and stone steps. Before she could comprehend what had happened, she saw Ma Enhui glaring at her.

Startled, Hupo disregarded the pain and quickly knelt, saying, “Hu Po pays respects to the Empress. May the Empress be in good health.”

Ma Enhui coldly snorted, saying, “I trusted you, handed over the management of the Outer Laundry Bureau to you, and this is how you repay me? Come, give her twenty strokes!”

“Empress, have mercy! Empress, have mercy…”

Hu Po was terrified. The eunuchs showed no hesitation, and with two kicks, Hu Po was lying on the ground. After a dozen more strikes, Hupo could only let out pitiful cries. By the time they reached twenty, she had fainted.

The eunuchs fetched water from a nearby tank and poured it over Hu Po’s head. Hu Po slowly regained consciousness, the searing pain causing her to tremble uncontrollably. Tears streamed down her face as she pleaded with the Empress, “Empress, have mercy…”

“Mercy for you? Who will show mercy to them? I established the Outer Laundry Bureau, considering their difficult lives and lack of support, to provide them with a way out. Originally from impoverished families, how could you, with a heart of stone, target them like this?”

Ma Enhui walked up to Hu Po and sternly interrogated her.

Hu Po lay on the ground, weakly saying, “Empress, Hu Po was wrong.”

“Some mistakes should not be made! Some money should not be taken! As someone in the palace, you should know what to do when you make a mistake! Take her away!”

Ma Enhui looked coldly at Hu Po as the eunuchs dragged her out.

The members of the Outer Laundry Bureau, witnessing the scene, mostly expressed joy, thinking that Hu Po deserved the punishment. Only a few remained uneasy.

Ma Enhui looked at the piled-up clothes and gritted her teeth. “It’s my lax discipline that allowed Hu Po, the head of the Outer Laundry Bureau, to act recklessly, focusing on making money and neglecting the well-being of the majority. I am revoking Hu Po’s position, confiscating her ill-gotten gains to compensate for your losses.”

“I hope that in the Outer Laundry Bureau, everyone will work diligently, harmoniously, without intrigue and bribery! You are here; consider this place as your home, not a small court.”

Early the next day, Huang Jiu’er’s wife, Huaniang, arrived at the Foreign Laundry Bureau. Upon entering, she saw two familiar women. Before she could say anything, the women bowed and greeted her, “Greetings, Chief.”

“Chief?”

Huaniang looked behind her in confusion, staring at the two women. “Is Chief not here today, or do we not have any tasks? I’ll go talk to the Madam in charge.”

“Huaniang, Hu Po, the head, is no longer here.”

One woman quickly explained.

Huaniang looked at her in puzzlement, not understanding.

“Last night, the Empress personally came and punished Hu Po, revoking her position. Now, the head is our room’s Tiaoniang, and Tiaoning recommended you as the Chief of Ding room to Empress.”

As Huaniang listened to the explanation, her eyes welled up with tears.

The guest from her family was indeed the Emperor.

“Emperor…”

Huaniang whispered.

“Qiaoniang, look at how happy Huaniang is, she’s disoriented. Huaniang, you got it wrong, it’s not the Emperor, it’s the Empress…”

Huaniang shook her head heavily and sincerely said, “It’s both the Emperor and the Empress!”

Kunning Palace.

Zhu Yunwen tasted a bun, addressing the still-angry Ma Enhui, “It’s been a whole night; why haven’t you calmed down? Come, Empress, these mushroom and pork buns are really good. Try them.”

Ma Enhui angrily said, “I won’t eat. Thinking of this matter makes me furious. I’ve been kind to them on ordinary days. Was I wrong? Such deception from below and silence from above truly confound me!”

Zhu Yunwen blew on the soup and said to Ma Enhui, “Empress, when a matter arises, deal with it. If everything is like this, won’t my anger burn down the Fengtian Hall?”

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