Mischievous wife

  Tao Le'er was gnawing on a piece of candy, slowly making her way to the kitchen. She wasn't in any hurry to clear up the misunderstanding for herself; since others liked to put on this kind of tragic show, she might as well not spoil their fun.

  When she appeared at the kitchen door, without any surprise, those people looked over in unison. Even those who were not working in the kitchen all gathered nearby.

  Tao Le'er couldn't help but sigh inwardly. It seems that whether in ancient times or modern times, humans have always liked to join the crowd.

  She raised her bright eyes, innocently swept a circle, and found that everyone had tacitly shrunk their shoulders and lowered their heads. Hmm, still well-trained.

  Finally, her gaze fell on the steward. A man in his forties or fifties, originally not good-looking, was now even more unsightly after being beaten up like this.

  "Heh heh——" Tao Le'er looked at her pig-like appearance, biting her lip, but still couldn't help laughing out loud.

  Her laughter was actually sweet and pleasant, like pearls falling onto a jade plate, crisp and melodious. But those people suddenly looked up at her with startled eyes, as if she was letting out a maniacal laugh before going on a killing spree.

  Taole'er laughed enough, rolled her eyes twice and walked up to the face of the person in charge. "Person in charge, do you remember how many slaps I gave you? Which hand did I use?"

  The guilty caretaker just hung his head and didn't answer.

  "Ouch, it's swollen like a pig's head! You're really suffering. Doesn't it hurt? Why don't you apply some medicine? Are you trying to show everyone how ruthless I am as the queen? But this move seems quite clever, actually. After I went out for an afternoon stroll and came back, everyone saw me and shrank away in fear, just like I was a big demon king. It looks like from now on, no one will dare challenge my authority as the queen. Tell me, how should I reward you? Or would you rather say what you want as a reward, and I'll give it to you?"

  Tao Le'er patted the old face full of palm prints with her palm, and sighed. The smile on her lips was very gentle, but in that gentleness, there was something frightening.

  "The old slave dare not..." The steward shook his body and replied in a low, trembling voice.

  "What's wrong, aren't you daring? You helped this princess so much, it's only right for the princess to reward you well. How could you not dare? Or are these palm prints not the credit of this princess?" Hmph, since you dare to ride on my head, then you must have enough courage to bear the consequences.

  With a cold laugh, Tao Yue'er turned around and ordered: "Chunyue, pass on the order of the princess, all the servants in the palace are to gather in the courtyard. Call the concubine too, especially the fourth concubine. The princess wants to reward the steward publicly, so everyone will be a witness today and open their eyes wide."

  She sat down on the stool in front of the chopping board in the kitchen, picked up her chopsticks and tasted the dishes on the board. Hmm, after strolling around for an afternoon, she was indeed a bit hungry. Her husband didn't know when he would be back to accompany her for dinner, so she might as well eat first.

  It wasn't long before Chunyue returned. "Your Highness, all the servants in the estate have gathered in the courtyard except for those who were sent out on errands. The four madams have also been summoned."

  Chun Yue watched as their queen ate leisurely, without any signs of urgency, and her worries decreased a lot. From the events in the morning, she had already seen how clever the queen was.

  "Ah, monkey!" Tao Le'er mumbled with something in her mouth. As a result, Chunyue handed over a handkerchief to wipe her mouth, drank a cup of water, and stood up to walk towards the kitchen door.

  Wow—— Tao Le'er was dumbfounded, almost shouting out loud. She didn't expect the Wang Fu's servants to be so numerous. My goodness, such a large courtyard, densely packed with people, and it seemed like there were even more outside. Heaven, this wasn't a gathering of servants, but rather an army of militia!

  But now, it seems that this princess is quite majestic, able to command so many people. God, allow me to indulge myself for a moment. Others are always working in the restaurant, being called and ordered around by their superiors, so when they finally have the opportunity to give orders themselves, they must be thrilled.

  She looked around and found that there was a small staircase behind her, so she walked up the stairs and looked down at the crowd. Then she turned her head to Wang Guan Shi, who was about to be submerged in the crowd, and beckoned him: "Wang Guan Shi, come over here by my side. I want to reward you, how can you hide in the crowd? Chun Yue, help me invite Guan Shi up."

  Looking at Guan Shi being pushed up by a few young girls, he swept his eyes over the several madams in front of him. "Xiao Si, you come too. After all, Wang Guan Shi is your aunt, and there's also your credit in this matter. Chun Yue, Xia Yue, help Fourth Madam."

  Hmph, looking at Jiang Yuanling's pale face, her mood could only be described with one word - refreshing!

  "Clearing his throat, Tao Le'er took a few deep breaths and said loudly: 'Today, I've gathered everyone here to watch a show, something very interesting.'"

  Turning around, I saw that the two of them looked even more unpleasant. Tao Le'er hooked up a sly smile, no wonder I did, who let you guys think of me as a sick cat.

  He reached out and pulled Wang Guan Shi forward, letting everyone see her swollen face and the clear palm print. "Seeing Wang Guan Shi's swollen red face, didn't everyone's heart beat faster? Can't help but shrink their bodies, afraid that the next one to become like this is you, right?"

  There was no response from the crowd, and it was eerily silent.

  Taole'er walked down the stairs and came to a maid standing in front of her. Sure enough, she saw that the other party was biting her lip and desperately shrinking back. Taole'er picked up her hand and pulled her up the steps.

  Everyone below stared at her without blinking, unable to understand what she was doing. But they all knew the following play was important, so they watched quietly, not making a sound.

  Taole'er smiled and looked at the little girl who was about her age. But the other party looked at her timidly, obviously very fearful. "Come on, tell Princess Ben, what's your name?"

  "Xiao, Xiao Cui..." The little maid called Xiao Cui swallowed hard, her eyes wide with fear. Poor little thing!

  "Don't worry, I won't hit you or scold you. Come and take a look, there are several kinds of palm prints on the face of the king's steward. Not a few, but several kinds, that is, different shapes and sizes of palm prints."

  The girl looked at her again with a hint of fear, staring at the smile on her lips, as if pondering whether her words were true or false.

  Wang Guanshi and Jiang Yuanling's faces turned a few shades paler at this.

  "Princess, you've called us all here, surely it's not to play riddles? I have something very important to attend to and can't stay to play with the princess. I'll take my leave first." With that, Jiang Yuanling was about to hastily depart.

  "Hey, Xiao Si, what's the hurry?" Tao Le'er pulled her back, causing her to stumble backwards. She lifted up her hand and placed it over the palm print on Wang Guan Shi's face. Because the time since she was slapped wasn't too long, the palm print hadn't faded yet. "That's strange, why does the palm print on Wang Guan Shi's face look exactly like Xiao Si's hand?"

  As she spoke, she took Jiang Yuanling's hand away, but didn't let go. She stuck her own hand on top, of course it wasn't a match. Her age was younger, her height was shorter, and her palm was obviously much smaller than Jiang Yuanling's. "Strange, since I'm the one who hit you, why doesn't it look like mine? You all come up one by one to see if I, the princess, made a mistake. Xiao Cui, take a good look first."

  There's a good show to watch, and with Xiaocui leading the way, those people wouldn't refuse. One by one they came up, and one by one they left. But it was no longer as quiet as before, instead they were whispering to each other. What they said, even if you couldn't hear it, you could guess.

  "Alright! Let me show you another palm print, whose is it?" As he said that, he released Jiang Yuanling's hand and grabbed Wang Guanshi's hand, covering the other palm print on his face. It was identical, not a single detail different. "Wang Guanshi, how come this palm print looks like you hit yourself? This is strange! Those who didn't come up earlier can now come and take a look!"

  "Spare the princess's life! Spare the princess's life......" The king's steward, knowing that everyone understood the truth of the matter, hastily knelt down and begged for mercy.

  Taole'er smiled and pulled her up. "Wang Guanshi, today, the king's concubine will spare you. Because the king's concubine is very clear that someone must have forced you to do this, as for who that person is, everyone already knows without me saying it. You can go back, your position as a manager you can still keep, but I hope you can stay within your bounds."

  "Thank you, Princess. I will be a good person from now on and follow the rules. Thank you, Princess." The old servant ran down the stone steps in a hurry.

  Taole'er looked at her as she returned to the crowd below, quietly scanning the crowd for a while before speaking: "I'm not trying to show off how tolerant and generous I am. I think many of you also know that I'm actually an orphan. I've also experienced the difficulties of life and know how hard it is to live a good life."

  I'm fortunate to be a princess. Perhaps I can't change your fate of being slaves and servants, but I won't arbitrarily scold or make things difficult for you. If you encounter difficulties, don't hesitate to come find me for help. Of course, you have the right to choose whether to believe it or not. But if someone dares to try boldly, I will prove it to you. I only hope that everyone can do their own job well and not have any ulterior motives. You can go back to work now."

  "In the spring, let's go back, I'm thirsty. In the summer, help me see if my husband has returned, I'm hungry." She raised her head and looked at the western sunset. So dazzling, so beautiful. The princess under the sunset, although a bit vulgar, is indeed extraordinary."

  The scattered servants around the courtyard, who were tending to the flowers and grass, also had a layer of misty light on them. They whispered to each other, occasionally stealing glances at her. She knew they still didn't believe in her. But she would slowly let them know that this mistress was different.

  For some reason, she suddenly felt that if she were to come to ancient times, perhaps she could accomplish many things and change many things.

  Tao Le'er, jiayou!