"Are you injured?" Bai Luochu's first statement wasn't to question why Qianqian and her aunt were here. She showed her concern for Cai Ling and asked if she suffered injuries instead.
Cai Ling shook her head in response and felt that she was really too lucky. She immediately denied, "This servant isn't injured. Many thanks for Mistress' concern."
Bai Luochu heard everything from inside and she wanted to wait for Qianqian to barge into the room. She didn't expect that Qianqian would actually make a move on Cai Ling. In the end, Bai Luochu disregarded everything and appeared to prevent Cai Ling from getting hurt. When she thought about this, Bai Luochu felt rather guilty and looked at Cai Ling with apologetic eyes. She comforted Cai Ling, "I came late and made you suffer. Don't worry, I will not let any one of them off." After she spoke, Bai Luochu turned around and glared at the mother and daughter pair. The look in her eyes was completely different as a ruthless light flashed through them.
Bai Luochu had a principle. 'If you treat me well, I will do the same. If you come looking for trouble and touch the people that I, Bai Luochu, want to protect, don't blame me for being ruthless.'
When Qianqian saw Bai Luochu's terrifying eyes, she immediately trembled with fear. The words became stuck in her throat and she shuffled her feet backwards. She hid behind her mother as she was afraid Bai Luochu would move against her.
The madam's scalp was also feeling numb. She heard that the lass was a completely different person after coming back. This was actually the first time she was directly confronting Bai Luochu. When she saw the look in Bai Luochu's eyes, she knew that her daughter wasn't lying to her. Whatever the case, she felt that she had to go through with her action now that they were here. When she thought about it, she turned to look at her incompetent daughter who was initially able to suppress Bai Luochu. How did the roles get reversed?!
"Hahaha. Luo Chu, this is all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. Recently, the capital has a lot of crooks mixing in with the common folks. When I was taking a stroll in the residence with Qianqian earlier, we saw a black shadow heading towards this place. We thought it was an intruder and quickly brought the guards over to take a look. It was to prevent you from running into trouble." The aunt responded by laughing and beating around the bush. However, her neck was stretched out as she peeked into the room.
Bai Luochu sneered in her heart but her expression didn't change. "Since that is the case, why are you dealing with my servant? All of you should know that Cai Ling is my personal servant. Are you trying to disrespect me by brushing her off?!"
The aunt heard Bai Luochu and assumed that she was trying to stall for time for her adulterer to make his escape. She stopped trying to be polite and she yelled, "Your servant girl blocked our way! We had no choice but to be impolite. We were worried about your safety and brought some men here to investigate. Who would have expected for your servant girl to be so rude?! What are you hiding in the room? Were you guilty of something? Did you invite the intruder here to steal from the general's residence?!"
She was trying to agitate Bai Luochu so that she could barge into the courtyard with a valid reason.
Bai Luochu chuckled and said, "Heh. Since that is the case, this niece will give my thanks to aunt's kindness. If aunt wants to search, you can go on ahead and search. You better search carefully. If you fail to find anything, I'll make sure all your servants pay the price for wasting my time. Of course, I won't do anything to you..."
When everyone heard Bai Luochu's words, they felt a chill down their spines and their scalp grew numb. They were used to acting arrogantly in the residence but all of them were cowering right now. They didn't dare to take a step into the courtyard. However, the madam felt that Bai Luochu was merely bluffing and if she were to retreat now, she would be embarrassing herself.
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and search! Search carefully!" After the guard servants heard the orders, they reluctantly entered to search.
Bai Luochu, Cai Ling, the aunt, Qianqian, and her personal servant, a total of five individuals faced each other. None of them wanted to back down.
Bai Luochu could hear the commotion inside the room. It sounded like a war was being fought and she knew that the guards were doing their best to find something. It was a pity that Ying Lan was hiding underground right now. With the likes of these brainless guards, they wouldn't be able to find anything.
Bai Luochu was as steady as a mountain, but her aunt's side wasn't doing so well. The more calm Bai Luochu acted, the more anxious the both of them became. A bad premonition filled their mind.
After a long moment, the guard servants came out of the house and had awful expressions stuck on their face. One of them took the initiative and spoke first, "There is nothing in the room." His voice got softer and he was obviously afraid. He was worried about the punishment he was about to face.
"Impossible!" Qianqian immediately revealed an expression of disbelief and before anyone could react, she rushed towards the room and personally conducted a search. Bai Luochu didn't stop her, and the aunt knew that things were going south.
Qianqian had nearly smashed up everything in the house and was still unable to find anyone. She left the room with an awful expression on her face.
"Since that is the case, is it my turn to give out the punishment?" Bai Luochu took the opportunity and successfully took over the initiative. She was preparing to suppress the arrogance of her aunt and her cousin.
"Young Lady, please spare our lives! Young Lady, please spare our lives!" When the guard servants heard Bai Luochu, they knew they were going to suffer. One could easily hear all of them falling onto their knees in the courtyard.
"Oh, Luo Chu, why not just let it pass? Do your aunt a favor and give them a chance." The aunt was currently pleading for the guards as she had a reputation to upkeep. She had specially bought these guard servants so that she could use them to beat people up who didn't listen to her. If Bai Luochu dealt with them as she saw fit, she would really lose big time.
Was it possible for Bai Luochu to let them off so easily?
"Spare them? Earlier on when my servant girl didn't allow you to disturb me, why did you not think of sparing her?!" Bai Luochu was clearly infuriated.
Just as the aunt had decided to abandon these people, Bai Luochu spoke up, "However, aunt doesn't have to worry. Since these people are my aunt's subordinates, as a junior, I naturally have to save some face for my aunt."
When the madam heard these words, she thought that Bai Luochu was still fearful of her and was prepared to exchange some pleasantries before taking her men back. However, Bai Luochu wasn't going to allow them to return scot free. She left behind a statement that allowed all them them to see that she was no longer the same Luo Chu as before.