Treat inferiors with kindness

  East Wing Annex

  Ying's maids all knelt on the ground, their heads bowed and not daring to speak. Wei Ya's nurse stood beside her, nodding repeatedly, her heart racing with anxiety. She was related to Wei's maternal family, which is how she managed to become Ying's nurse and take charge of Ying's courtyard; even the senior maids in the old lady's quarters had to address her as "Nurse".

  Now that Wei's aunt has lost power, the Wei family is also in a precarious situation. Wei's aunt is afraid that this fire will spread to her, and looking at Zhang's aunt standing next to Gui's aunt, Wei's aunt sees malice in her eyes. At first glance, it's clear that this is the mistress's deliberate attempt to undermine her authority. It's infuriating that she has relied on the mistress to win over the people in the eldest daughter's room in just a few short months.

  Madam Gui didn't notice Madam Wei's expression, and in her heart, she cursed, saying lightly: "The rest of you will be fined two months' worth of salary. If there is a next time..." She swept a glance around the room, "You will be immediately driven out!" The people below were even more fearful and apprehensive, their hearts racing with anxiety. Previously, a small maid had been taken away, and it had already been two days since she left without returning. However, no one dared to mention it, fearing they would be implicated.

  Madam Gui looked at Madam Wei with a hint of relief and said, "Where did you go yesterday? Although Wen's illness has stabilized, she still can't be left unattended."

  Wei's heart skipped a beat, and she forced herself to calm down, saying: "Yesterday my child was ill, I thought it would be okay for just one night, so I secretly went home. Elder sister is still here with Zhang sister..." She had long been displeased with Zhang, if she didn't live well, neither would Zhang.

  Madam Gui didn't stand on ceremony, and brought over a small box. As soon as Madam Wei saw it, her face turned pale. She tried to stop Baohe from approaching, but was blocked by Xiaoyu and Cuihu. Madam Gui opened the box, and suddenly her face changed: "Wei's family, how do you explain this?" The box was heavily placed on the table, inside were a few of the twelve enamel combs that Su Ying had recently given to Wen Yu.

  Wei's face turned pale, her lips trembling as she struggled to speak. She glanced at Zhang, who was standing silently beside Gui, and burst into loud wailing: "It's just that I'm in the way. Climbing high and blocking the road is nothing, but if you want to drive me away, just say so! Why must you be so heartless and use such tactics? Am I not also the wet nurse of the eldest sister? Don't I deserve some respect? How can I still serve the eldest sister with dignity in the future?"

  Zhang's wife and Gui's wife didn't dare to speak, and instead covered their faces with their sleeves. Pointing at Bao He, she scolded: "You're a good-for-nothing, you can't even die a good death! You're just a thing made of mud, and yet you come here to slander me? Even the old lady in the house calls me 'wife' when she sees me!"

  Wei's scolding was full of veiled insults and sarcastic remarks. Bao He's face turned bright red from being scolded, nowadays Su Ying's big sister-in-law is always being flattered and fawned over by everyone, even in her daily life she gets preferential treatment, no one has ever scolded her like this before, she retorted sarcastically:

  "Auntie, you really have a big face! Are you daring to say that you served Wen sister with all your heart and soul? I just brought that box and said that it was searched from your room. Auntie, you're so hastily defending yourself, isn't it because of a guilty conscience?"

  Wei's face turned red with anger and embarrassment.

  Guizhen said a sentence to Bohen, and Bohen pouted and retreated to the side. Guizhen seemed to ignore Wei's sarcastic remarks earlier and went to ask Hongyu, who was beside Wenyu, to check the things that Wenyu had obtained over the years, to see if anything was missing. She also said: "Since Wei has explained herself, if we don't get an explanation from you, we will be left with a bad impression."

  That voice made Wei's face turn pale, and Gui asked Zhang to go over and help. Baohe handed a cup of tea to Gui with a flattering smile: "Gui, please have some tea." The two words 'Gui' were pronounced very clearly, and without regard for the cold sweat on Wei's face, she asked Gui with a naive tone: "Gui, do you know why Wei Yong's family was sent to the government office?"

  Old Lady Gu sneered, "That family's people have blackened their hearts and hidden their conscience to embezzle our master's belongings. Our old master can't tolerate even a grain of sand in his eyes. But that family is very stubborn, however stubborn they are, can they be more stubborn than a wooden board? Let's beat her with dozens of boards and see if she can still be stubborn. And what about their seven or eight-year-old grandson..."

  Guizhi's words were not yet finished, but Wei Nainai was already scared stiff and collapsed to the ground like a sieve, wailing: "Guizhi, I won't dare again! Please spare me this time!" As she spoke, she frantically tried to run out, her mouth still shouting: "Good mistress, have mercy on me for having nursed your elder sister, and spare me this time!"

  The old woman was so angry that she stuttered, and someone hastily covered her mouth and pressed down on it. He lifted his foot and kicked her: "What have you been doing before? Now you know you're a 'slave'!"

  "Sure enough, they're all from the same family with a black heart, exactly the same."

  Old Lady Gui relayed the words to Su Ying, who snorted in laughter. Since she arrived here, except for being lectured by Wei's wife, it was clear that she hadn't said anything, yet people would hypocritically say that she wasn't magnanimous or understanding enough. Not to mention that over the past two days, she had been subtly insulted and ridiculed by her family members, did they think she was a soft persimmon?

  "What about him?"

  "In the barn, Zhang's sister and Hongyu were checking things, and I also asked the steward to take care of her outside. I think she was so scared that she must have stolen a lot of big sister's things. Originally thought she was an honest person, but in the end, it turned out to be a deceitful one."

  Su Ying pulled Gu Yehuo down to sit, "It's better this way, everything is clear and transparent, so that when the time comes, no one can say I'm taking advantage of others' difficulties or excluding dissidents."

  "Who dares?" The old lady's eyebrows were raised, and just as she was saying that, the reed curtain was lifted and someone came in to say: "Sister Dujuan has arrived."

  Madam Gui's lips moved a few times, and Su Ying smiled and let Du Juan come in. Du Juan hurriedly declined, saying that she had cold air on her body and it wasn't good to go inside, so she stood outside the curtain and recounted what Madam Fu had said: "The old lady said that although those slaves are hateful, they have been scolded and punished, and that's enough. The Hou Mansion has always treated its servants well and has a reputation for kindness. Don't let this incident cause people to criticize us or spread rumors."

  Listen to this, it still carries a hint of "I'm doing this for your own good, you must appreciate it", Su Ying's smile on her face became even brighter. "You go back and tell the old lady that this matter hasn't been investigated clearly yet, whether that servant is guilty or not has no conclusion, after all, this matter involves Wen sister so we have to be cautious. However, the old lady having this kind of consideration for me as the mistress of the house is a good thing. I, as the daughter-in-law, am grateful."

  Su Ying smiled brightly, but the cold light in her eyes grew stronger. She was just about to deal with Wei Nai'niang when Fu Mu found out. This news really spread quickly. Who was she putting on this "scolding daughter-in-law" act for?

  Fu's mother was actually thinking of what to do, Su Ying had a clear mind, but that also depends on whether she was worthy or not. Moreover, if something went wrong, Fu's mother would be accused of being biased towards her own granddaughter and bullying Wen Yu, the servant girl. Later on, everyone would say that the old lady of the Fu family was kind to her servants and was a charitable person.

  Duanjuan's face felt burning when she heard this, as Luhui sent her out. Duanjuan opened her mouth and revealed a name, Luhui blinked his eyes.

  Madam Gui was furious in her heart, but it's not good to speak ill of the master behind his back, so she looked at Su Ying. Su Ying slightly curved her eyebrows and eyes: "Since the old lady has spoken, I, as a daughter-in-law, can't pretend to obey on the surface but disobey in secret, and naturally won't do things that will make people gossip and criticize, so just wait and see."

  "By the way, how's the situation at Nanyuan?" Fu Yeyang told Wei Niangniang not to interfere with her affairs, so Su Ying naturally wouldn't go against Master's good intentions. Besides, she was currently sitting out her month of confinement and wasn't idle, even though she couldn't leave the house during this time. As it was approaching the year-end, usually she could let Gui Yatou or Qi Yatou take charge, and Lu Hui and Bai Zhi were also available for use. Su Ying just needed to oversee everything, but now it was different - some matters still required her personal attention. Fortunately, there were precedents to follow, so at least she wouldn't be too busy, unlike when she wasn't really sitting out her month of confinement.

  Besides, she couldn't just ignore a man's good intentions. She said don't intervene if you can't help it, but some things are bound to be clear anyway.

  That day, Wei's aunt was kicked by Fu Yeyang and pinched her neck, fell to the ground, under the grief, Wei's aunt spat out blood, Wei's aunt hid in the room to hold on to a breath. But unexpectedly, this matter also implicated her mother's family, the more it was pulled, the bigger it became, and the women of the Wei family relied on their "status" to come to the main courtyard to make trouble, speaking wildly, which was something Fu Yeyang could not tolerate.

  Listen to what they blurted out, and in their hearts, they still considered Fu Houye as a serious son-in-law/brother-in-law/uncle. Su Ying didn't say anything at the time, but privately rewarded each of those rough servant women with several silver coins. Especially the one who was bitten on the hand and slapped Wei Saozi several times, she got an extra half-meter of fabric, which made the other servant women extremely envious.

  There are many doubts in this matter, it's just like Wei's wife easily sneaking out of the south wing. Although all the women in the Wei family were being watched, they still managed to run all the way to the main courtyard without any obstacles, wailing and cursing, spewing filthy language, pointing at the sky and scolding the earth, almost directly scolding Su Ying's nose.

  How similar they are.

  These annoying things are really intentional to make Su Ying have no peace of mind even after a month of confinement.

  Madam Gui hesitated for a moment before saying, "Master has already decided to punish Wei Niang and send her to the villa after the New Year to reflect on her actions. This is a done deal. Moreover, the Wei family has made many enemies over the years by relying on Wei Niang's favoritism and acting arrogantly. Now that Master has dealt with them, no one will go to plead for mercy on their behalf. They have already been sent to the Shuntian Prefecture yamen in chains."

  "The old ladies and maids in the South House couldn't just accompany Wei Niang in her suffering, so Master ordered that the extra old ladies and maids be let go, leaving only the room where Wei Niang lived. The lantern at the door was also taken down. At least Master still had some regard for their past relationship and, seeing that Wei Niang was ill, left a small maid to take care of her."

  Wei Yiniang was still lying in bed, unconscious, when the old woman from the southern courtyard left with her bundle. The tree had fallen and the monkeys had scattered. In the past, people from the lower classes would have risked their lives to get into the southern courtyard, but now it was the opposite. Now that there was no future for them in the southern courtyard, why wait any longer? Only a small maid who had been left behind to attend to Wei Yiniang remained, and she was only spared because she had previously made amends for her mistakes.

  Otherwise, Wei's wife might not even make it through the year. This sentence was not suitable for Gui to say to Su Ying, and thinking about it, her last sentence wasn't quite right either. She hurriedly added: "I think Wei's wife is seriously ill, if something were to happen, wouldn't that be inauspicious during the New Year? Master must have thought of this too, which is why he's so concerned about Wei's wife's illness."

  After finishing speaking, she carefully looked at Su Ying's face. Su Ying rolled her eyes in her heart, thinking that the nanny was overthinking things.

  "Guizhen said that whenever they needed any medicine, they would go to the pharmacy to get it," noticing Guizhen's disapproving expression, Su Ying didn't mind, "Just consider it as accumulating good fortune for Fu'er and Lu'er." She hadn't even done anything yet, but was already being 'lectured' by the old lady. If Wei Niang had just let it go like that, who knows what kind of storm might have been stirred up.

  Besides, Wei Yiniang is also considered to occupy one of Fu Yeyang's concubine quotas. Looking at it now, she feels that Fu Yeyang's backyard is really shabby. Hehe.

  Fu Mu scolded Su Ying, but that's not all. Fu Yeyang was also called over by Fu Mu, who first asked about his well-being. This was unprecedented, but Fu Yeyang didn't feel a bit happy, instead feeling sarcastic. It seemed that only when the second son proved useless did she remember him, the eldest son who inherited the title. The current lord doesn't care about him.

  Fu's mother looked at Fu Yiyang's proper and square demeanor, as well as his cold and unyielding expression, and almost lost her breath. She decided to stop pretending and spoke with a heavy heart about how Fu Yiyang handled the matter of Wei Niang and Wei Yong's family.

  "That Wei Yong and his family are our Hou Mansion's house-born slaves, for generations they have been our Hou Mansion's servants. Even if they deceive their superiors and delude their inferiors, you can beat them or punish them, it's all right to drive them out, after all, a family scandal cannot be made public, how can you send them to the government office?"

  "And what about Wei Shi? Even if you don't like her now, she's still your elder sister's aunt and has been serving you for many years. How could I hear that you drove her to the villa? If others find out, won't it be a laughingstock?"

  Fu's mother continued to scold. "Your wife is also like this, although she seems ordinary and not foolish on a daily basis, why doesn't she know how to advise you? Is it because your reputation as a man will be damaged if she does her duty as a wife and the mistress of the house? I've even heard that she wants to drive out your eldest daughter's wet nurse, what kind of behavior is this, how can she let the big girl think?"

  Fu Yiyang suppressed the anger surging from his heart, although reason overcame emotions, but it was difficult to calm down. He slightly bowed: "But there are some ignorant people who come to mother's place and spread rumors, disturbing mother's rest? It's really punishable! The Wei family is involved in previous matters, and they can't slander the reputation of the Hou Mansion like this. As a son, I absolutely cannot tolerate it."

  Fu Yiyang says a word, and Fu's mother's face darkens by one degree. This good son of hers thinks her hand is too long, thinks she's getting in the way! She uses her reputation to suppress him, but he uses his reputation to fight back - what a sharp tongue he has!

  "As for Wei, it's actually his son who didn't think things through. Sending him to the Zhuangzi would only lead to more trouble, so instead, let's find a quiet courtyard in the mansion and have him live as a recluse." Fu Yeyang took a step back on this matter, but this was even worse than letting Wei's mother go to the Zhuangzi. Being a recluse meant losing face and virtue, and it would instantly drag Wei's mother down into the mud.

  Fu's mother didn't mind Wei's family, but felt that her authority was being questioned. Now she put on a good face and was willing to be a kind mother, but her eldest son actually didn't appreciate it, which was really annoying.

  As for Su Ying punishing Yu Nai, although Fu Ye Yang didn't know the specifics, he thought that Su Ying wouldn't have acted without reason and must have had a problem with the slave girl. He said: "Madam punished the slave girl on the orders of my son, Yun Yu is his eldest daughter, she can't let the slave girl bully her."

  Fu's mother held back her anger, unable to express it, and could only suppress it in her belly. She also had to force a loving smile: "It was like that, those slaves were just stirring up trouble, I was worried about you and the reputation of the Hou Mansion, now that it's clear, I can rest assured."

  If it were in the past, Madam Fu would probably slap Fu Yeyang's face and say: "You're really arrogant, I'm not even allowed to scold you half a sentence. Forget it, I'm tired too, just leave." But now, look at how gentle and pleasant Madam Fu is towards Fu Yeyang!

  Fu Yiyang came down the slope and said, "Then please rest assured, Mother, and take care of your illness. I'll take my leave first."

  Illness upon illness! This character for "illness" has really pierced Madame Fu's lungs, isn't this a reminder to her that she was driven mad by the Second Master? And what about the concubine the Second Master kept outside, if she had known that the concubine was pregnant, would she have been so ruthless? Moreover, this matter wasn't even done by her, unfortunately everyone is dead now, and there's no one to testify.

  Fu's mother suspected Su Ying first, but at that time Su Ying was having a baby and sitting in confinement, she didn't have the ability or time to do such a thing. Apart from Su Ying, she also suspected Chen Furen and San Taitai, but they were still under her control, nothing could happen without her knowing about it, let alone such a big thing. Besides, her two nieces didn't have the guts to do it.

  Even if Fu's mother suspected Su Ying, there was no evidence, so she could only swallow this dumb loss, but Fu's mother was still unhappy and wouldn't let others be happy either.

  Fu's mother, on the one hand, wanted to ease the tense relationship between Fu Yiyang and her son, and on the other hand, she used her illness as an excuse to comfort Fu Xiyang again, while also thinking of ways to pick on Su Ying.

  She patted her mother's stiff face and said: "Since you're busy, I won't bother you anymore. Originally, I wanted to keep you for dinner."

  Fu Yiyang's body stiffened for a moment, but he still slightly bowed and walked out.

  When Fu Yiyang walked far away, Mrs. Fu slammed the teacup and scolded with a gloomy face, her hands shaking constantly: "This is my good son, does he still put me, his own mother, in his eyes? I just said two words to her, but he stood up for her. How can I not even scold my daughter-in-law? It's really, really infuriating!"

  The maids downstairs were trying their best to minimize their presence, ever since the old lady fell ill and became irritable, no one wanted to be the scapegoat.

  Main Hall

  Zhang Niangniang handed the checked account book to Su Ying, who flipped through it and sneered: "I originally heard that some people's faces are more honest, but behind their backs they are more cunning. Now it seems there is indeed some truth to this. That wet nurse really has a big nerve."

  "Go and get Wei's nanny to identify the missing items on this list, see which ones she took away quietly, don't let people say I wronged her. Also, let Wen Yu's personal maid take a look, they can accuse each other, if they confess, we'll consider it as making up for their mistakes. During the New Year, no one wants to be involved in unlucky things."

  Zhang Ya lowered her head and responded. She went out the door, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and pondered what the mistress meant by this. If she wanted to replace everyone around Big Miss, then why would she also have Hongyu help with the inventory? Now that she was being asked about these two personal maids, could it be that she wanted them to shift the blame onto Wei Ya?

  It turns out that Zhang's mother-in-law really looks down on Wei's mother-in-law, not because she is too petty, but because her eyes are too shallow. Although Wen sister is not favored, she is also the eldest daughter of the old master and is now being raised by the mistress, so she can be considered a half-legitimate daughter. Looking at the mistress like this, in the future, she will not bully Wen sister. These kinds of mothers-in-law, no matter whether they follow their daughters to become a mother-in-law or are let go to enjoy their old age, it's all very respectable.

  Wei's aunt is digging her own grave, just stealing from her sister is enough to make her suffer, see how she can still be arrogant, thinking that with small favors she can deceive those foolish and fickle maids into becoming "good people" in their eyes, what a fool!

  Zhang's heart was still uncertain about the mistress's intention, and she ran into Gui, hastily getting close to her: "Good sister, this time you must give me some good advice." Then Gui, with a flattering tone, smiled and offered two suggestions. Zhang suddenly realized and expressed gratitude, saying "Tomorrow I'll invite older sister to have tea and snacks."

  When Fu Yiyang arrived, Su Ying didn't say a word and first reported the matter of confiscation, putting the checked books in front of Fu Yiyang. With a sincere tone: "Originally, I just wanted to punish that careless servant, but unexpectedly it also involved this kind of servant deceiving the master thing, it's also my fault for being neglectful."

  Fu Yiyang's face was twisted in anger as he asked, "What do you plan to do with that treacherous slave?"

  Su Ying hesitated and opened her mouth: "This wet nurse is really useless, although our family has always been kind to the lower people, this kind of slave absolutely cannot be tolerated."

  Su Ying's light and airy voice floated over 'being kind to subordinates', Fu Yeyang slightly sensed something, Su Ying's eyes flashed with a hint of light, and then said: "Investigate clearly which nursemaid embezzled Wen sister's things, let her return them intact, if they're gone, then compensate with silver according to the price."

  Eat mine and spit it back out yeah!

  ps：