Such a calamity was heartbreaking.
"Master, Old Madam, the bandits beat Steward Qiao three times, each time more brutally than the last. By the time I found them, Steward Qiao was already delirious."
As the servant spoke, he covered his mouth with his hand, hiding the corners of his lips as they curled sharply upward.
Their plight was miserable, but whenever he pictured their pig-headed faces, he wanted to laugh.
Steward Qiao had always thrown his weight around the household and abused the servants. Now he had gotten his just deserts.
"Investigate! Even if you have to chase them out of Hezhou, find out who dared deal such a vicious blow to our Qiao family! Do they not know whose name Hezhou City bears?"
The old woman raised a trembling finger. Never before had she been so distraught.
Old Master Qiao was much calmer. Suppressing his fury, he summoned his trusted servant.
"Go, get the constables from the Government Office to search all of Hezhou! Let the culprits learn the price of offending our Qiao family! And..."
Suddenly, Old Master Qiao narrowed his eyes and stopped speaking.
He slowly turned his gaze toward the Inner Residence, a suspicion beginning to take shape in his mind.
"Master, what..." his trusted servant asked.
"There is no need to investigate. We must swallow this loss. But one blow deserves another. They will pay a price too!"
Old Master Qiao's words carried a pointed, deeper meaning.
"Master, do you know who did it?" Supported by others, Old Madam asked in a trembling voice.
"It is not hard to guess. But we cannot say it aloud."
He spoke slowly.
At these words, an unutterable suspicion also arose in the old woman's heart.
If Princess Ximing's people had truly done this...
Would they not have to