"Pfft... hahahaha..."
Someone in the crowd couldn't help but laugh, and soon the onlookers outside were roaring with mirth.
"The night-soil collectors will be here in an hour. Eunuch Wang, if you want that night-soil bucket, you’d better hurry!"
"Lord Luo is an honest official; his hands are as clean as his conscience. Unlike some eunuch dogs—not even a real man, yet still trying to hoard wives and concubines!"
"They flaunt their power while stripping the people of their livelihood, yet the ones who speak for the people are the ones being ransacked and exiled. What kind of world is this?"
"Insolent! Who dares to babble such nonsense!"
Eunuch Wang glared at the onlookers, but they ignored him, having no further interest in this farce.
"Let’s go, let’s go. When they actually go to ransack the home of some corrupt official, we’ll come back with rotten eggs and vegetable leaves!"
Ransacking a home was a lucrative job that everyone fought over. Eunuch Wang had hoped to pocket half the Luo family's wealth, but despite their respectable facade, the Luo family was shockingly poor!
"That’s not right! You must have hidden the treasures! Everyone knows your third son is a businessman—those thriving shops of his are worth a fortune."
Eunuch Wang charged at Luo Qingchuan like a rabid dog, grabbing his collar. "Where are the deeds to your shops and land?"
Luo Qingchuan gripped the back of Eunuch Wang’s wrists, causing such sharp pain that the eunuch’s strength vanished, and he let go with a shrill cry.
"I have no shops in my name. I was merely working for others. If you don't believe me, go investigate those shops and see if the owner behind them has even the slightest connection to the Luo family."
Furious, Eunuch Wang jumped up and down. "Men! Go check it at once!"
He then rushed over to Lin Yue, but was blocked by Luo Jingran.
Eunuch Wang had to shout over Luo Jingran, "What about the contracts of your servants? And your dowry, your daughter-in-law’s dowry? Your family can't possibly have nothing!"
Lin Yue retorted angrily, "Eunuch Wang, your words are unreasonable! My husband is an honest man, and the Luo family never covets dowries when taking a wife. When we first married into the family, the elders didn't ask for a single cent of dowry. Why should we provide you with one now?"
"Sharp-tongued wench! See if I don't—" Eunuch Wang raised his hand to strike.
Luo Qingyu stepped forward to shield his parents, growling, "Eunuch Wang, I advise you not to provoke me! We’re being exiled anyway; I don’t care if I beat you to a pulp before I go!"
Luo Qingyu’s fearsome reputation preceded him. Eunuch Wang knew better than to push him, so he swallowed his rage and spat, "I shall have the Ministry of Revenue investigate! If you are found concealing assets, the punishment will be doubled!"
The two junior ministers of the Ministry of Revenue were dragged out of their beds in the middle of the night, but after half a night of searching, they finally had their answer.
"Eunuch Wang, there are indeed no servants registered to the Luo family. They have all been officially released from their service."
"Furthermore, there is no farmland or property in their name. Those things were sold off and transferred long ago."
Eunuch Wang roared, "Selling property requires money! Where is the money?"
Luo Qingchuan crossed his arms, a smirk playing on his lips. "I donated it to the disaster areas! If you don't believe me, feel free to dig three feet under and find it."
Eunuch Wang paced in circles, pointing at the Luo family. "This is malicious transfer of assets! I will certainly file a report against you!"
Luo Qingshan offered a polite reminder: "Eunuch Wang, be careful not to use the wrong format for your memorial, or it will be considered an act of great disrespect. Also, there cannot be a single typo. If you don't know how to read or write, just turn right outside; there are scholars who can write it for you."
The Left Vice Minister of Revenue, who was on good terms with Luo Jingran, couldn't help but add, "Eunuch Wang, the Emperor's decree to ransack the house was issued today. Even if the Luo family had written separation papers today, the court would recognize them, let alone selling off a few servants. This hardly counts as malicious asset transfer."
"Then what about the money from the land sales? Why can’t I find anything!" Eunuch Wang looked ready to kill.
But the two ministers were not afraid of him. They said coldly, "The Luo residence is right here, and the family is right here. Ransacking it is your job; whether or not you find silver is also your job. I am due on duty tomorrow, so I shall take my leave!"
Eunuch Wang had come with high expectations but returned in defeat, his fury burning hot.
He snatched a whip from an officer and lashed out at the Luo family: "I’ll beat you incorrigible wretches to death!"
Luo Xueyao activated her Divine Sense, pulling a protective barrier from her Spatial Dimension to cover the family, while simultaneously flicking a "Backlash Talisman" at Eunuch Wang.
Eunuch Wang struck twice, but the Luo family remained unmoved, while he himself was whipped by an invisible force, his clothes torn and skin shredded.
"Aiyah! It hurts! Who? Who is attacking me?"
The officers nearby were watching, and the Luo family hadn't moved an inch!
A cold gust of wind blew, and someone shouted, "It's a ghost!"
The officer who had mentioned the full night-soil bucket let out a shrill scream: "Oh no! Eunuch Wang is being whipped by a ghost!"
The others joined in: "A ghost! There’s a ghost! Run!"
As the officers fled, only Eunuch Wang and the Luo family remained in the courtyard.
Luo Jingran asked coldly, "Eunuch Wang, are you going to keep whipping us?"
"N-no... no more..." Terrified, Eunuch Wang retreated until his back hit the doorframe. He stammered, "You... you go wait at the Ministry of Personnel prison yourself... wait for me to... to report you to death!"
It was the first time the guards at the Ministry of Personnel had seen prisoners escorting themselves to their cells.
However, the strange events at the Luo residence had already reached the prison. The guards, feeling uneasy, looked at the Luo family as if they were possessed by something sinister.
Not daring to mistreat them, they pointed to a pile of prison uniforms. "Take off your jewelry and fine clothes, and change into these. Men to the left, women to the right!"
Following Luo Xueyao’s advice, the family wore old clothes with soft undergarments beneath, so even though the prison uniforms were dirty and coarse, there was at least a layer of protection.
The men were taken to the left, and the women to the right. Fortunately, they were kept together, and there were no others in their cell.
It was already late into the night, and no food would be served.
Luo Xueyao retrieved Four-Joy Meatballs, sea cucumber with scallions, squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, stir-fried mixed vegetables, Eight-Treasure Tofu, a pot of rice, and clean bowls and chopsticks from the Spatial Dimension.
She cast the protective barrier over the cell so that neither the aroma nor the sound could escape.
"Mother, sisters-in-law, please eat with the children. Cover for me; I'm going to take some food to Father and the brothers."
Lin Yue looked nervous. "There are guards outside... can you get out? Don't take any risks. Your father and the others are tough; skipping a meal won't hurt them..."
Luo Xueyao pulled an Invisibility Cloak from the Spatial Dimension and donned it right before Lin Yue's eyes.
A living person vanished right in front of her.
Then, she took off the cloak and gave Lin Yue a playful smile. "Mother, don't worry. The goddess gave me a magical treasure!"
Gu Fang’s eyes brightened. "Does that mean the reason Eunuch Wang got hurt when he tried to strike us earlier was also because of a treasure from the goddess?"
Xia Lan bowed sincerely toward the west. "Thank you, Goddess, for your protection! I shall commission a golden statue of you and pay my respects daily!"
"Shh!"
Luo Xueyao made a silencing gesture and pointed to the next cell. "Keep your voices down, don't let anyone hear. Hurry and eat; I'll be back as soon as I'm done!"
With that, Luo Xueyao vanished once more.