Chapter 11: Expelled from the House
Mother Fang was known for her iron-fisted methods and loyalty to her master, and it was she who had cut off Jiang's hair a few days ago, so she would not show mercy to Lihua at this moment.
She ordered two servants to hold Lihua down firmly and carried out the rest of the punishment.
Snapped! Snapped! Snapped
With every slap, Lihua's originally fair face gradually swelled up, bruised, and blood oozed from the corners of her mouth.
The maids and old women around were all silent and huddled together in fear, fearing that they would be the next to be punished. They were all waiting for the arrival of Old Lady Zheng and Guo, hoping that someone could save them from their suffering.
Just when the atmosphere was tense to the extreme, a maid seemed to lose control due to fear. She screamed at Su Wanyu: "You are just a merchant girl. Everyone knows that the second young master doesn't like you at all! When he gets tired of you, your fate will be worse than that of us servants!"
After these words came out, Su Wanyu's expression did not change, but a cold smile rose at the corner of her mouth, "Come here, these maids and old women who don't abide by their duties and are disrespectful to the second young master will be punished with fifty strokes of the cane each, and then expelled from the mansion!"
The order was given, and in silence, the punishment came, with a thick sense of despair and unwillingness filling the air.
“Fifty lashes?!” Mother Zhang’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in surprise.
Before she could come to her senses, Su Wanyu raised her hand lightly, and the servants rushed forward, kicking Mother Zhang to the ground with a fierce kick, followed by a rain of beatings.
"Oh, my goodness—"
Mother Zhang's throat was hoarse from the severe pain, and her cry for mercy was as thin as a thread: "Second Young Madam, please spare me! Second Young Madam, please spare my life!"
The crowd was instantly excited by this scene.
The maids and old women, who had been silent, became excited and furious.
In their hearts, they had never taken the new Second Young Lady seriously, and at this moment they had forgotten the difference between master and servant. They all stood up in resistance, and their anger and injustice spread.
"Second Young Madam, how could you treat us like this!"
"If you want to punish me, you have to wait for the old lady to make the decision!"
"That's right, only the old lady can handle it!"
But the servants and old women were not going to listen. When they were about to attack again, they were surrounded by the angry crowd. The scene became more and more chaotic as they pushed and shoved. It was very lively.
At this tense moment, Su Wanyu looked sharp and cleverly cast a look at Yun Yi.
Just at this moment, Old Lady Zheng and Mrs. Guo hurried to the gate of the courtyard and witnessed the melee in the courtyard. Everyone's face was solemn and ashen.
"How disgraceful! Stop it all!"
Unfortunately, the fight in the field had reached a fever pitch, and the scolding outside was drowned out by the noise.
Some maids even tried to take advantage of the chaos to attack Su Wanyu.
At the critical moment, Mother Ping rushed out from behind Su Wanyu like an arrow, picked up a wooden stick, and hit the maid on the head with it.
The maid screamed in pain and fell to the ground.
Su Wanyu turned around and looked at the familiar figure. A warm feeling surged in her heart and she blurted out, "Nurse!"
Mother Ping threw away the stick and quickly pulled Su Wanyu over. She looked her up and down, her concern evident in her words: "Miss, are you okay?"
Facing her long-lost relatives, Su Wanyu's usual calmness was mixed with a bit of uncontrollable excitement. She shook her head gently, with a voice full of dependence: "Nanny, I'm fine."
Ping's mother was originally scheduled to arrive in two days, but in order to deal with today's situation, Su Wanyu specially brought her to the house in advance and secretly escorted her here late at night.
Mother Ping supported Su Wanyu, and scanned the crowd with a sharp gaze, and gave orders to the maids and old nannies behind her: "These lawless servants dared to lay hands on the second young lady, arrest them all!"
Although the maids from the Su family who came with Ping's mother were not martial arts masters, they were obviously more capable than the spoiled maids in the mansion.
They acted quickly and soon had the situation under control.
The noise gradually faded away and the courtyard gradually returned to peace.
Old Madam Zheng walked forward quickly with the help of her maid, her face still showing anger: "What on earth is going on?!"
Su Wanyu bowed and said respectfully, "Madam, when my daughter-in-law found that the gold ingots in her room were missing, she immediately sent someone to search for them. As a result, they found them in the rooms of these maids and old women. Not only did they not admit their mistakes, they also used your name and mother's authority to attack my daughter-in-law."
Guo hurried forward, looking around worriedly, gently put her arm around Su Wanyu's shoulders, and asked softly, "Child, are you okay? Did those people hurt you?"
Su Wanyu lowered her head and responded with gratitude: "Thank you for your concern, mother. Thanks to the nanny for arriving in time, otherwise..."
Her unfinished words hung in the air as she simply wiped her face gently with an embroidered handkerchief, looking quite aggrieved.
While comforting her, Guo scolded the maids: "How dare you touch the Second Young Madam! This is simply outrageous!"
Old Mrs. Zheng wanted to criticize Guo a little, but after hearing what Guo said, she clenched her Buddhist beads tightly and remained silent.
Although arresting people for gold was a bit excessive, the old lady had to admit that these servants were indeed making a mess after blaming them.
She and Guo had seen it with their own eyes, so naturally they would not favor the maids and nannies.
Old Madam Zheng turned her gaze to the maids brought by Ping's mother and frowned slightly: "This is the Zheng family. What are you doing here, people from the Su family?"
Mother Ping knelt down respectfully and replied, "Madam, my master learned that the second young lady has not been able to get pregnant after many years of marriage, so he specially sent us maids who are familiar with medical skills to help the second young lady recuperate, hoping that she will have children for the Changping Marquis Mansion as soon as possible."
Old Madam Zheng sneered, "Does our Changping Marquis' Mansion still need you little female doctors?"
Mother Ping continued calmly, "Of course, there is no shortage of supplies in the Changping Marquis's Mansion, but the master is worried about the Second Young Madam. If the old lady is unhappy, we will return to the Su family immediately."
The group entered through the main entrance and would not leave quietly.
Mrs. Zheng waved her hands impatiently for the sake of her dignity: "Forget it, all of you leave."
"Yes, old lady." Mother Ping bowed and saluted, leading the Su family's maids to retreat behind Su Wanyu.
Old Madam Zheng stepped forward and looked at the maids and old women who were still struggling. Her expression was stern. “Someone, sell all these people!”
When these words were spoken, everyone was shocked!
Especially Zhang's mother, she had hoped that Mrs. Zheng would show some leniency: "Madam, I have served you for so many years and have always been loyal to you. How can you sell me out like this?"
Mother Zhang crawled forward, kowtowed repeatedly, and cried incessantly.
If it was just a simple theft, Mrs. Zheng might have helped.
But they were so presumptuous in front of the Su family and openly confronted the Second Young Lady, which was a direct provocation to the Zheng family's authority.
Normally, family affairs can be settled privately, but today, the Su family is here, and if they are not severely punished, once the news gets out, how will the Zheng family maintain their reputation?