tallest building

Chapter 9 Severe Punishment

Granny Yang first asked Hongxing, "Tell me, are you deliberately slacking off?"

“I didn’t,” Hongxing said tearfully as she knelt down, “It was a little late today, but it wasn’t intentional.”

"Mother Yang, you know me. I've been in this household since I was a child. How could I be someone who cheats or slacks?"

"Nonsense!" Zhang Ma interrupted her. "You're only late today? You're always dawdling. And that pendant, whenever she orders you to do chores, it's either picking up dirt with a needle, and she never does it willingly. Or she just disappears without a trace, hiding somewhere."

You keep saying you didn't mean it, so you mean we're making things difficult for you?

Zhang Ma had a fierce appearance, and now with her hands on her hips and her thick eyebrows raised, she looked even more menacing.

Zhui Zi, who had been standing to the side, was intimidated by her imposing presence and knelt down without realizing it.

"Old sister, don't get angry," Granny Yang said, pretending to be kind. "These young girls are sometimes stubborn and inflexible. Or they're forgetful and seem lost. We need to guide them properly!"

"I know that no one is perfect, but the most important thing for a servant is loyalty. It doesn't matter if he does something wrong once or twice."

But if your heart becomes corrupted and your lungs become rotten, that's no good at all." Zhang Ma also put on a smile, though it wasn't a very attractive smile; she looked like she was about to bite. "Don't you think so, Yang Mama?"

“That’s natural, that’s natural.” Of course, Granny Yang wouldn’t refute that.

Zhang Ma brought over the food box and addressed Song Shi, Yang Pozi, and everyone present, saying, "Don't worry about it being a little late. Just take a look at what kind of food the two maids have brought to the Madam and Young Master these past few days."

The food in the food box had long since gone cold, and it wasn't even the master's food.

"What's wrong with you two?" Madam Song preemptively demanded. "Who gave you permission to do this?"

Hongxing and Zhuizi panicked and stammered, "That...that was all we had when we went to the kitchen..."

"It seems that Zhang Mama was not wrong about you at all! If the food in the kitchen is not up to par, you can just come to me. How dare you make decisions on your own?" Granny Yang scolded. She did not want to implicate the people in the kitchen because of this matter. Her in-laws were in charge of that area, so she simply made the two girls take all the blame. "Hurry up and apologize to Madam!"

Madam Song apologized profusely to Wen Mingqian, saying, "I've been ill these past few days and have been quite negligent. I never expected these two girls to be so presumptuous. It's truly unfair to you and the Fourth Young Master, and it's no wonder that Madam Zhang is angry."

At this moment, Wen Mingqian, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up: "Zhang Ma is not making trouble out of nothing, it's just that these two are really outrageous."

I initially thought that perhaps they had made a mistake by accident, and that it was inappropriate for them to quarrel and act so improperly over such a trivial matter.

But then I realized they were doing it on purpose. If we don't punish them, not only will we indulge their evil intentions, but we will also ruin your reputation as a virtuous person.

Those who don't know the details will inevitably spread rumors that they mistreated my child and me because they were acting on your orders.

"Madam, please understand, I truly had no idea these two audacious girls would dare to harbor such thoughts," Madam Song couldn't possibly protect the two maids in front of everyone, especially since she hadn't instructed them to do so. "I also thank you, Madam, for knowing it wasn't my doing and protecting my reputation." "Aunt Song, it's not my fault for speaking, but you've been far too lenient with your servants, which has led to their lack of respect. Today, we should use these two fools as examples to prevent such absurdities from happening again," Zhang Ma said, pursing her lips. "This is a good opportunity for everyone present to hear that even though Madam has been away from this mansion for many years, she is not someone you servants can neglect. Otherwise, we'll either beat or sell her off, and see who has no shame!"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked somewhat embarrassed. Madam Song smiled apologetically and asked Wen Mingqian for instructions, "Madam, how do you intend to deal with the two of them?"

“Aunt Song, why do you need to ask Madam? Don’t you know the rules of this household, or are you intentionally making Madam do things that might offend people?” Zhang Ma asked Aunt Song with a half-smile.

"Mother Zhang, please don't misunderstand. I was only asking Madam for instructions out of respect. If Madam has any special instructions, I will certainly follow them," Madam Song quickly explained.

"I don't have any special instructions, just follow the rules," Wen Mingqian replied calmly. "After all this commotion, Chang'an should be studying now. Everyone, disperse!"

“Then let’s follow the rules and have a slave trader sell them,” said Madam Song. “I will handle this; you don’t need to trouble yourself.”

Upon hearing this, Hongxing and Zhuizi naturally cried and begged, not because the mansion was so nice, but because they were kicked out for mistreating their master, which was a huge taboo.

Even servants need to protect their reputation. If your reputation is bad, how can you expect to find a good master?

But at this point, who spoke up for them? Several older women came over and pulled them away.

“Madam and Fourth Young Master haven’t had breakfast yet,” said Granny Yang. “Tell the kitchen to prepare a meal quickly so that Fourth Young Master can eat his fill and study.”

"Let's skip this meal!" said Zhang Ma. "We'll talk about it at lunchtime."

After the servants dispersed, they all gossiped privately, saying that even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. No matter how out of favor Wen Mingqian was, she was still the mistress of the mansion. Those two maids were really too tactless. Even now, Aunt Song couldn't protect them.

"Just as I expected, they finally had their outburst." Granny Yang helped Song walk back. "But I thought that old bastard Zhang wouldn't be able to hold back on the first day. Who would have thought he would only have it happen today?"

“That Zhang Ma is rough around the edges but shrewd,” Madam Song chuckled. “If she had a fit on the first day, she would have at most scolded those two maids a couple of times, but she would naturally not have dared to be so blatant afterward.”

They remained silent at first, intentionally letting him become increasingly unruly. Then they would cause a scene in public, serving as a deterrent to others.

"Now that you mention it, young mistress, it's true." Granny Yang nodded. "Are we really going to sell those two girls?"

"Of course we'll sell it." Madam Song's smile deepened. "Not only will we sell it, but we'll sell it in a grand and impressive way, so that everyone knows how powerful our lady is."

Granny Yang immediately understood and clapped her hands, saying, "Excellent, excellent! What the young mistress said makes perfect sense."

"In addition, arrange for two more maids to go and serve you," Madam Song said. "You should know what kind of people to send this time."

"This old servant knows that we must send someone who is clever, intelligent, and loyal." She emphasized the word "loyal" very much.

(End of this chapter)