Chapter 155: Three Days of City Sealing

Miss Fu's silver teeth clenched, and a malicious glint flashed in her eyes.

"Yes."

The servants dared not look at her, fearing the enraged miss would slash them; their legs trembled.

"So, that means Wang Laoyezi Pang is returning to the capital to attend her granddaughter's wedding?"

"Probably."

"Get out!"

The servants all left, and Miss Fu grabbed the tea cup at hand and threw it out.

"Wang Jiaru, you dare snatch my Longji brother; the Wang Family and the Pang Family cannot coexist!"

Qiao Mai and the others returned to Haitang Courtyard, let the children wash up and rest, and she got up to look for the elderly lady.

The elderly lady hadn't returned; after inquiring they learned she had gone back to her natal home to see several brothers.

The elderly lady came back after dark, perhaps happy; she had a bit of wine at the Pang Family, and the old couple slept upon returning.

"He who repeatedly commits injustice will bring about his own ruin; this is a warning—if you don't change, next time will be a death."

Diligence paid off, and she finally found it; it was already the latter half of the night.

"Miss, it's bad!"

"Who is this, who did it?"

"What nonsense. If the thieves dare come again, I'll skin them. This time it was our carelessness; we thought no one would dare act under the emperor's feet, but unexpectedly someone actually dared to disturb the imperial foundation."

"Then why not wash it?"

Miss Fu likes to sleep in; because the mansion was in chaos, she got up in a huff.

"Mother's dowry is also gone?"

Just before leaving, she wrote a note on the pillar in front of the Fu Family's living room door.

"Why are you crying? Quickly list the lost items so the Yamen can investigate; the sooner the search, the sooner the recovery. The city gates haven't opened; the emperor issued an edict to seal the city for three days for our Fu Family."

"Daughter, what's wrong with you?"

"Quick, quick, look."

Chunfeng hurriedly took the mirror from the dressing table and handed it over, trembling.

"If he hates our family, why not ruin the daughter's purity, only write on the face?"

Miss Fu saw the words on the face, let out a startled scream, and immediately threw the mirror to the ground.

Although the raid took many things, for the deeply rooted Fu Family it was insufficient to shake them; it was merely a lesson.

With her cultivation level, searching family by family was not difficult.

Someone of Miss Fu's conduct would surely grin and retaliate; if she didn't get what she wanted, she would later devise schemes to cause trouble.

Master Fu looked at his daughter's odd attire and said, "Rong'er, what is this?"

The Fu Family's discipline is lax, producing such a shameless woman; she will punish her for the Fu Family, and also punish the Fu Family.

"What happened to your face?"

"Did you lose something in the house?"

She sat alone in the courtyard; normally, Jingcheng lies to the south, and September nights can be hot.

"Can't wash it off; the more you wash, the clearer the characters become."

"All our family's gold and silver assets are gone."

But she felt a chill as the night wind blew, and the bright moon in the sky was quickly covered by a layer of dark clouds.

For dinner, the kitchen brought six dishes and a soup, with steamed buns as staple; the children ate their fill and went to sleep. Yuehong and Yuexia wanted to clear the table, but Qiao Mai wouldn't let them and told them to rest as well.

There was no need to tell the elderly lady about this; she would just come to resolve it.

"Who did it? Watch me tear him apart; aren't you going to wash it off quickly?"

When several people entered the room, they were all stunned; all the gold and silver jewelry had vanished.

But today, she got angry; she lost her temper!

It carries a medicinal property; the more you rub, the more its color seeps inward. This kind of pen is damn perfect for a woman like her.

"It's gone, vanished overnight; your face—maybe that thief did it."

Miss Fu, shocked, sat there silently weeping, "Daughter, the fine things she scavenged are all gone; several were rare treasures, even the Imperial Palace's consorts might not have them. My dear, sob sob sob!"

Two maids hurriedly shook their heads, "Miss, please wash your face first; something seems to have happened at home."

She truly didn't want more trouble; she came once hoping to take the children out for fun and broaden their horizons, and she still wanted a peaceful life.

Hearing that the assets might be recovered, the mother and daughter stopped crying, hurried to the desk, and began writing.

The next day, Jingcheng fell into chaos; the Tai Fu Family suffered theft, and the officials of the Yamen and the city patrol guards all left.

Miss Fu immediately threw herself into her mother's arms, "Mother, my face—sob sob sob!" and began crying.

"I don't know."

"Miss, your face, your face?"

"I washed it, but no matter how I wash, it won't come off."

The two were standing guard outside; hearing the sound, they hurried in.

Before the word "la" could be spoken, they saw the characters on the miss's face and screamed on the spot.

Madam Fu, recalling last night's theft, immediately thought of her daughter's face and asked hurriedly.

"Sir, is that strip in the living room real?"

She changed into Night Clothes and roamed around Jingcheng late at night.

"Mother, what exactly happened?"

She checked the sky, still had some time, and conducted another carpet‑sweeping raid on the Fu Family before leaving satisfied.

Miss Fu, irritated, dipped her hand in water and began washing her face, but no matter how she washed it wouldn't come off; she grew anxious and had Wang Jiaru's Servant Girl bring a fragrant pad, but even the fragrant pad was useless, and the more she washed, the deeper and clearer the characters' color became.

Madam Fu's eye circles were red; after losing so many things, she could no longer attend to her daughter's face.

"Father, you hurry up, Nü'er can't even go out."

She didn't know the Fu Family, but she knew that any respectable household in Jingcheng lived in bustling districts, with large Zhai and impressive Yuanzi gates.

One Wang Jiaru's Servant Girl attended to her dressing, another Wang Jiaru's Servant Girl fetched water for her to wash her face.

"I suppose only this way can further humiliate you."

"I don't know, just got up, was only busy fixing my face."

Miss Fu rolled her eyes, "What's wrong with my face?"

So she had to return to her Yuanzi, freshened up, changed clothes, brewed a pot of tea and began drinking.

First she snatched her own daughter's hair accessory, then drove them out of the Wine house, overwhelming them with force. Fu Family, you're really capable!

She first went to the back Zhai to check, stood before Miss Fu's bed, and Qiao Mai let out a cold laugh.

The mother and daughter clutched their heads and cried in the room for a while, then Minister Fu came over.

Qiao Mai pulled off a pen cap and wrote the character "bitch" on her left cheek, the character "child" on her right cheek, the character "despicable" on her forehead, and the character "person" on her chin.

Madam Fu plopped onto the ground, "It's over, it's over, our family is finished now."

Madam Fu lifted her veil with her hand, saw the characters, and asked angrily.

"Got it!"

Two Wang Jiaru's Servant Girls hurriedly wrapped her head and face tightly, and just as the three were about to leave, Madam Fu arrived; she was startled by her daughter's appearance.

She was quite beautiful, but her heart was like a poisonous scorpion, her conduct worse than that of a bandit clan, and her family actually still indulged her.

"What happened?"

"Then hurry up."

Minister Fu gritted his teeth, "Perhaps a drug was used inside; Nü'er need not worry, Father will later invite the palace's Imperial Doctor to come take a look."

He reached out, pinched her neck, thought for a moment and withdrew, then bought a pen from the Trading Platform; the characters written with this pen cannot be erased no matter how you try.

He snapped the pen cap and tossed it into the void, then gave her room a quick sweep, and only then left.

Anxious, Miss Fu burst into tears, "What to do, what to do, which depraved person did this?"

"Miss, it's chaotic outside right now, why not first wrap your head with a scarf, and in a while we'll go find Madam."

Qiao Mai blew Sleeping Drug into the children's room, and after they fell into a deep sleep, moved them all into the void.

"Spring Breeze, Winter Snow, what are you two despicable hooves arguing about?"

"Father, that Shiren wrote characters on my face."

Qiao Mai stepped out once to vent her anger, returned home and slept a lazy nap, only getting up at daybreak.

As soon as she opened her eyes, the door outside was knocked.

"Sister, sister, I'm here,"

Qiao Mai smiled, "Come in."

(End of Chapter)