The soldiers pulled Gu Fei up from the ground. Without a moment's hesitation, Zhenzhu reached for Gu Fei's chest. She had seen it clearly: the Second Miss had stuffed a pearl flower there.
Zhenzhu reached out, her hands feeling nothing but soft fabric. There was no pearl flower.
She froze for a second, then began to search through Gu Fei's hair. She remembered the Second Miss hiding a Dongzhu in it.
Zhenzhu quickly undid Gu Fei's hair, and a cascade of glossy black locks tumbled down. Gu Fei even cooperatively shook her head. Nothing fell out except for two silk ribbons.
Zhenzhu started to panic. She began to frisk Gu Fei frantically, but still found nothing.
"How can there be nothing? How is there nothing at all? I know I saw it!"
Zhenzhu's expression turned savage. With a sudden exertion of force, a RIIIP was heard as she tore open the front of Gu Fei's inner tunic, revealing the bright red dudou underneath.
Gu Fei quickly clutched her lapels closed with one hand and, with the other, delivered a sharp SLAP to Zhenzhu's face. Her eyes stared coldly at her.
A nearby soldier shouted, "What are you doing?"
"Stop wasting time! If this one's clean, search the other one!"
Those words instantly rekindled Zhenzhu's fighting spirit. 'That's right, Jadeite must have transferred everything to the Second Miss.'
She hurried over to the Second Miss, crouched down, and pulled off her embroidered shoes. The Second Miss covered her face in shame and indignation.
The insoles were ripped out of the shoes and thrown to the ground. The shoes were small; a single glance confirmed they were empty.
Zhenzhu grew vicious. Gritting her teeth, she forcefully tore the embroidered shoes apart. The exquisite pair was ripped to shreds, a terrible sight to behold.
Still nothing!
Zhenzhu flung the shoes away and began patting down the few places on the Second Miss's body she knew of. The sensation under her hands told her clearly: there was nothing but cloth and flesh. Nothing!
As if possessed, Zhenzhu muttered, "Where is it? Where are the things?" while patting down the Second Miss from head to toe. Still, there was nothing!
Zhenzhu was on the verge of despair. 'How could this be happening?'
It wasn't just Zhenzhu; the Second Miss herself never expected this outcome.
'What about the things I hid on myself?'
'When did they disappear? How did I not feel a thing!'
Lord Liu watched with a cold eye. Seeing that Zhenzhu had all but stripped Gu Fei and the Second Miss naked without finding anything, he concluded the situation couldn't be faked.
He snorted coldly. "Enough dawdling. This servant girl falsely accused her master and deceived an official. Give her twenty strokes of the heavy plank."
Zhenzhu shrieked in terror, "My lord, there really is something! There is! I saw it with my own eyes!"
As if Lord Liu would waste time on a mere servant girl. He waved his hand. "Drag her away!"
Zhenzhu was dragged to the side, crying and shouting. Her pants were pulled down, and a plank—as wide as an arm and as thick as two fingers—fell heavily upon her snow-white buttocks.
The female family members standing nearby trembled one and all. A beating from the soldiers was nothing like one from the matrons in the residence. One strike would split the skin, and a few more would send flesh and blood flying.
At first, Zhenzhu squealed like a pig being slaughtered. Gradually, her voice weakened. By the time the twenty strokes were finished, she was completely silent.
The official wasted no more time, ordering the soldiers to escort the prisoners to the Ministry of Justice Prison.