Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
How strange it was that Madam Hu hadn’t told anyone about her real identity, even though she knew about it! Because they only saw each other a few times a year, she and Liu Lanting were not particularly close. Although Madam Hu had never deliberately wronged Lanting, she was indifferent and never spoke more than 10 lines to her.
Madame Hu had kept the secret, though, so perhaps she did not dislike Lanting as much as Lanting had thought.
Madam Hu was curious after receiving the unexpected answer. “Then what are your observations?”
“Madam, you never seem to age with time. The years only added to your beauty in the same way that time enriches the taste of wine.”
Upon hearing Lanting’s reply, some gasped. “Oh my god, you do not speak to your family member in that manner!” they thought.
Gripping a handkerchief shyly, Madam Hu laughed softly. “Langjun, you almost made me believe in your sweet compliment.”
“Any compliment for your beauty is truth, as it is manifest and unmistakable.”
Immersed in their conversation, they neglected the head servant’s family. Suddenly, Madam Hu asked Lanting what she thought about the mole near her eye.
Without knowing why she had asked, Jiang Pengji spoke her mind. “Half of your attractiveness is attributed to the mole.” The room fell silent. She wondered if she had said something wrong.
A viewer who knew about fortune telling explained through a bullet screen.
Fengshui Xiansheng Gaotu: “Host, that is a taboo. A mole near the eye symbolizes evil fortune that will affect her husband and son. Moreover, it suggests a possibility that she will be disloyal to her spouse.”
“...”
But Madam Hu gave Lanting a gorgeous smile. “What an adorable flattery! You speak like your mother.”
Her mother? Did they know each other? It appeared as though their relationship was not as tense as others thought!
As Jiang Pengji sat in contemplation, Madan Hu leaned on a table beside her and directed her gaze at the servants behind the folding screens.
“They say you ordered the housekeeper to send their son to the local affair office and that you also seized their valuables without permission. Is that true?” As she changed the subject, Madam Hu’s countenance became cold again. It was as if the woman Lanting had just been speaking to was a different person.
Jiang Pengji sat up straight. “Yes. Are they here to bother you with the matter?”
“You should have thought twice about it beforehand. Sending away your father’s old servants could be considered inappropriate.”
Her words seemed to ease the worries of the head servant’s family, and their faces expressed agreement.
“Should I be constrained by unfaithful servants? Just because my father trusts them does not mean they can make mistakes without paying the consequences. Madam Hu, what do you think is a better image for the family: being restrained by servants or discarding dishonest people from the house?”
In Hejian, the latter would be seen as a result of the housekeeper’s incapable monitoring, but the former could bring mockery to the family because it would show that their own servants did not respect them.
Madam Hu lifted the corners of her lips. “Inferior as these people are, we must follow the rules and present our evidence.”
Jiang Pengji was not used to this way of dealing with problems, and she took a deep breath. Where she came from, anyone who dared to ask her for proof would have been silenced by her violence.
The servants had used up all her patience. If they had come for a more severe punishment, their hope would be fulfilled soon. Apparently, selling them to remote places was not enough to teach them a lesson.
“Housekeeper, look for a girl in the inner yard’s kitchen. I have no idea what she looks like, but it is very likely that she has asked for sick leave today. If she has not, she is probably working with low energy and unable to concentrate.”
Her description puzzled everyone except the head servant’s son. Jiang Pengji was the only one who noticed his quivering legs and tightly gripped hands. She looked at him with malice and snorted lightly.
They asked for proof, so she would show them proof. And then she would give them the most severe punishment they deserved.
As the housekeeper exited the room, Jiang Pengji slowly opened her fan, closed it, and then opened it again. On her face was a bloodthirsty smile.
Inexplicably, no one sent a single bullet screen. The number of viewers had risen to almost 1,500, and over 300 of them had subscribed to the channel. Since subscribers received notifications every time her livestream started, they could become regular viewers who would help her accumulate popularity. The System was overjoyed by the subscriptions.
Soon, the housekeeper returned. Behind him was a maid in a rough grey dress. “Langjun, I have found the girl.”
He then kneeled and moved forward on his knees until he could whisper to Jiang Pengji. “She was trying to commit suicide when we found her.”
Jiang Pengji though for a second and then asked Madam Hu, “May I borrow your attendants?”
“Certainly.”
Madam Hu was interested in her plan. However, what Jiang Pengji said afterwards incensed her.
“Check her body to find marks caused by a recent sexual assault...”
Madam Hu interrupted Jiang Pengi’s order. The sound of her slamming a table resounded throughout the room. “That is ridiculous!”
Jiang Pengji’s instructions and the loud sound terrified the servant. After observing the servant’s reaction, people gulped as they realized what had happened, even though no evidence had been presented yet.
A servant from the outer yard and a maid from the kitchen of the inner yard! No man except for the masters were allowed to enter the inner yard. The housekeeper himself was only allowed to enter when there were important issues, and even then, his actions were always be monitored and the time of his visits were restricted.
“Madam Hu sent servants to search for me yesterday, but these deceitful men went to brothels and gambling houses instead. After they returned at midnight, some snuck into the inner yard and assaulted the maids who were on duty... The inner yard accommodates my mother, Madam Hu, and other sisters, and these people threatened their security!”
They should have never been tasked with saving Liu Lanting.
“After all they had done... you still think I should not discard them, Madam Hu?”
The accusations startled the head servant and his wife, and a chill ran through their bodies as they saw their son panic.
“No, that maid... She seduced me! I am innocent...” the servant immediately denied. He then reached the kneeling girl and pushed her away, as if that could conceal his wrongdoings.
He would never risk his life and admit the crime!
“Ha! I suppose you entered the inner court for your mother. She was on duty, and you were going to ask for money so that you could go to the gambling house again, is that correct?”