nycdaug Chapter 132 Shock and Anger
Chapter 132 Shock and Anger
Tongluo Lane, in a two-courtyard house.
Murong was in a particularly bad mood today, yelling at her maids and servants, her shrill voice carrying to the neighbors' houses.
The neighbors on the left were from a scholarly family; the father, Meng De, and the son, Meng Xin, were both teachers at the academy, and naturally, they preferred a quiet life. However, since the Murong family moved in, the peace of their home had been disrupted.
"How annoying this woman is!" Old Master Mengde couldn't help but curse.
Madam Meng said, "I heard from the maids that this is General Guide's mother. You'd better not scold her. If General Guide finds out, it won't be a good thing. After all, General Guide's aunt is none other than Her Highness the Princess. Moreover, General Guide's father is the owner of the Good Days Restaurant. This family has power and money; we, a small family, can't afford to offend them!"
The old man said, "What are you afraid of? This crazy woman has been divorced now. Otherwise, why do you think she would be living here alone? Since she moved in, have you seen General Guide come to visit her?"
Meng Xiaofuzi: "Father, General Guide has gone to the northwest border, so naturally he has no time to visit his mother."
Madam Meng: "However, General Guide's younger brother comes two or three times a month, and I've met his sister a few times. They are both excellent children, very polite. Every time they come, the Murong family scolds their children. Each time, the two children leave in a bad mood, and the girl always cries when she leaves."
The old scholar sighed, "Alas, what a misfortune for our family!"
Madam Meng: "It is said that General Guide's father originally took a liking to Princess Yulin and wanted General Guide to marry her. However, at that time, Lady Murong disliked Princess Yulin because she was the eldest daughter who had lost her father, and also because she had lived in the countryside for several years. Not only that, when Princess Yulin was a guest at the Princess's house, she rushed to the Princess's house and insulted Princess Yulin to her face, which angered her and made her leave."
The old lady said, "Oh, is that so? Where did you hear that from?"
Madam Meng: "That's what the old woman from the Murong family said. That old woman was beaten by Murong every few days. Even the most honest person will have a temper. She got drunk while drinking with our cook and let it slip."
The old man said, "Really? I've seen the old woman next door; she must be around forty years old. Someone that old still beats people all the time?"
Madam Meng: "It's absolutely true. If that Murong woman doesn't scold or beat people for a day, she feels uneasy, as if her whole body is itching. Not only does she beat the old woman, but the other two maids are also frequently beaten and scolded every day. Alas, she just happened to have three honest and kind servants. If she had encountered a vicious one, her life would have been in danger long ago!"
That day, Jiang Shichang was at the Good Days Restaurant when he overheard people talking about Murong Shi, saying that she often beat and scolded her maids and servants. Because of this, the old woman revealed many secrets about the Jiang family.
Jiang Shichang was both shocked and furious. He quickly beckoned a guard over and said, "Go and find out if Murong is beating and scolding the maids and servants. See if those three maids and servants are spreading rumors that are detrimental to the Jiang family."
"Yes, Your subordinate obeys!" The guard respectfully replied and immediately took his orders and left.
Two hours later, the guard returned: "Master, after a thorough interrogation, I can confirm that Murong Shi does indeed beat and scold the maids and servants, and it's mostly without reason. That servant has been drinking with the cook next door a few times, and when she was drunk, she revealed a lot about the Jiang family. Of the two maids, only one is hardworking and dutiful; the other has also been disheartened by Murong Shi and has told her friends a lot about the Jiang family."
"I know, you've worked hard!" Jiang Shichang waved his hand, and the guards quickly withdrew.
When Jiang Shichang returned home that evening, he told Jiang Yong and Hua'er the information he had gathered.
Jiang Yong was taken aback and quickly said, "Father, since that's the case, why not replace some servants for Mother? What do you plan to do with that gossipy old woman?"
Jiang Shichang: "Give them twenty strokes of the cane, then sell them off far away! No matter the reason, revealing the Jiang family's affairs is unforgivable!"
He was already merciful by not beating her to death, and it was also because he had been influenced by Zisu and valued human life more. If it were before, before he became familiar with Zisu, he would definitely have beaten that old woman to death.
Hua'er: "Father, let's sell that maid who's having an affair too!"
Although there are extenuating circumstances, keeping her alive, even if she were sent to a farm, would only breed resentment in her heart. Keeping her is not a good idea; it would be better to sell her off far away.
Jiang Shichang: "Okay, sell them all!" Keeping them around will only lead to trouble. How can they be loyal to their master if they harbor resentment?
Jiang Yong: "Father, why don't we send Liu Mutou's family to take care of Mother?"
Liu Mutou was a young man of fifteen or sixteen. His father was forty, his mother thirty-eight, and he had a ten-year-old sister. This family were all servants of the Jiang family, honest and law-abiding. However, they weren't submissive; Liu Mutou and his mother were quite spirited. It's unlikely that Murong Shi would dare to control this family, beating or scolding them as she pleased.
Jiang Shichang: "Alright, Liu Mutou's father will be the gatekeeper, his mother the cook, his sister the maid, and Liu Mutou the bodyguard. That's fine, let's do it this way!"
The next morning, Jiang Yong took Liu Mutou's family to Tongluo Lane, and took away the old woman and the maid who had ulterior motives, handing them over to the Jiang family's steward to deal with.
At this point, the flowers finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She didn't want her mother to beat or scold the servants, nor did she want her mother to be bullied by them. She hoped that her mother and her servants could live peacefully and take care of each other. Only in this way could her mother live a good and worry-free life.
Hua'er had a long talk with Murong Shi.
Hua'er: "Mother, you must get along well with the servants. Only if you treat them well will they be loyal to you and devoted to you."
Murong Shi: "They are just lowly servants. Why should I be nice to them? Even if I am not nice to them, what can they do?"
Hua'er felt a little annoyed upon hearing this, but she had to patiently say, "Relationships between people are reciprocal. Only if you treat them well will they treat you well, and only then will your safety be guaranteed. Otherwise, if you anger them and they put poison in your food or water, then everything will be irreversible! Take that old woman, for example. She's already so old, and you still beat and scold her. Now, she's turned around and started talking badly about you to others, revealing many secrets."
Upon hearing this, Murong finally felt fear: "Yes, Mother understands. Mother will treat the servants better from now on. However, Mother is suffering, otherwise, she wouldn't beat and scold the servants."
Hua'er: "As long as Mother cultivates her mind and gets along well with the servants, I will come to see you often in the future. I can't guarantee anything else, but I can definitely come every five days! In the future, when I have money, I will often buy things to show my filial piety to you."
Murong's heart finally calmed down a little: "Alright, as long as you come to see your mother often in the future, your mother will definitely be fine and will not cause any more trouble."
Hua'er felt relieved and bid farewell to her mother, but she couldn't help feeling very sad.
In other families, mothers comfort their children, but she's so young, yet she has to worry about her mother's affairs. Things are alright now, but if her father remarries, life will be even harder. Especially for her younger brother, he's so young. If his stepmother finds him an unreliable wife, wouldn't that ruin his life?
Hua'er went to the Good Days Restaurant and found her father: "Father, find a private room, I have something to tell you."
Jiang Shichang didn't ask any further questions and took his daughter to Zizhu Pavilion: "Speak, what do you want to tell your father?"
Hua'er: "Father, I hope you can promise me that if you get married in the future, you must personally decide on the marriages of us siblings and choose carefully. You must not leave it to our stepmother or let her interfere. This is my only request, because marriage is a life-changing event, and I don't want my stepmother to ruin it!"
Jiang Shichang couldn't help but chuckle: "Is that all? Don't worry, your father will absolutely not remarry before your brother gets married. After your brother gets married, if your father were to remarry, he would arrange for your brother and you to live separately, and wouldn't allow any other daughter to have the opportunity to harm you siblings!"
He wouldn't even take a concubine, let alone marry another woman. If he did, even a concubine would dare to harm Hua'er and her siblings. He wanted to eliminate all danger! He had already wronged his children by divorcing their mother; how could he possibly marry another woman and let her hurt them?
So what if he doesn't have a woman? He'll just think of himself as a soldier stationed at the border, unable to return home for years! Thinking of the soldiers there, compared to them, he can at least live a comfortable life. Not having a woman is nothing. For his children's safety, he's willing to give anything, even his life!
The day before Marquis Zhongxin brought his sixth concubine into the household, Fang Heng, along with his mother, sister, and two children, left the capital and headed to Zhangshu County. The family lived in a two-courtyard house next to the county government office. This house belonged to Zisu, and Fang Heng rented it from Zisu for ten taels of silver per month.
The monthly rent of ten taels of silver is the market price, so no one loses out.
---One more chapter to go, please vote with monthly tickets, mwah!