Chapter 686: Justice Tempered with Mercy
When those servants heard her verdict, they felt as if the sky was about to collapse.
They had gotten used to enjoying the good days, eating well and living well during these two years in the Qiao Estate.
At this time, the Qiao Estate had gloriously risen to the rank of a marquis’s estate and was becoming more prosperous with each passing day. Compared to other destitute families’ children, they each lived as comfortably as young masters and misses.
Yet Eldest Miss wanted to drive them out now?
This time, everyone was in a panic and could only resent themselves for offending Eldest Miss, this ancestor.
This ancestor was not as open to persuasion as the other people in the Qiao Family. She meant what she said, whether it was poisoning someone into a mute or killing someone. Her swift and decisive disposition was totally unlike the mild and tepid temperaments of the remaining people in the Qiao Estate.
The servants each bawled to the high heavens as they repeatedly begged for forgiveness.
But would Qiao Mu care about them?
She had already given them a chance. It was a pity that only half the people grabbed on to it.
Since that was the case, she didn’t need to hold back with them anymore.
“Such a ruckus, annoying! Kick them all out.” Qiao Mu threw the register onto the table and beckoned towards Chunying.
Chunying quickly jogged over, bowing respectfully before taking up the register.
“Cross out the names of the people that got kicked out today. Additionally, see if there are enough people to maintain the estate. If there aren’t enough, pick two to three well-behaved and dutiful people from the middleman. It doesn’t matter whether they’re male or female; they just have to be willing to properly do their job.”
“Yes, Miss.” Chunying was literate; furthermore, during these two years, she had always accompanied Madam and helped her manage the household duties, so she naturally had some ability to serve as a steward.
Qiao Mu nodded, satisfied. “It’ll be the new year in 10 days. Tomorrow, call over several dressmakers to sew two sets of winter clothing for each person for the new year. Calculate how much cloth will be needed and inform me later. It’s fine if there’s extra, but don’t cut back on anyone’s share.”
Chunying gaped her mouth slightly, and even the servants next to her were all gazing, dumbstruck, at their little master.
Their master, who was in a thunderous rage just earlier, was right now speaking softly, saying that she wanted to increase their monthly stipends and give them new clothes so that they could celebrate the new year gaily.
“Yes, Miss.” Chunying was all smiles as she bent her knees in a curtsy.
On the side, Shaoyao was smiling with compressed lips.
In fact, her miss was the easiest to get along with. As long as everyone dutifully did their job properly and didn’t cause any inconveniences nor stir up trouble, her miss wouldn’t care about what you did in the meantime.
Standing to the side, Chang Zai, whose thighs were still trembling, suddenly knelt to the ground with a flump and weakly called out, “Eldest Miss.”
By this time, Qiao Mu’s anger had already subsided by half, and when she turned to look at Chang Zai, her complexion had also improved a bit. “You weren’t strict in managing the household, which caused incidents to occur time and again. Do you know your mistake?”
“Eldest Miss, this old servant is to blame. This old servant earnestly requests Eldest Miss to not drive this old servant out.” Chang Zai said quaveringly.
The gardener Old Bai, who was close friends with Chang Zai, also knelt to the ground with a flump, kowtowing as he stuttered, “E-Eldest Miss, it’s o-okay if I-I d-don’t get that doubled monthly stipend. I-I b-beg Miss, don’t drive out, Big Brother Chang.”
They were both normal people, and Chang Zai was already more than 50 years old. If he were to be driven out, he would definitely be unable to find work. At that time, he truly wouldn’t be able to survive.
Mother Xu and the two of them were the earliest to enter the estate, so their friendship was naturally unlike others’. Mother Xu also hastily knelt down and pled for leniency together.
Qiao Mu looked at them expressionlessly, up until the point that the three people were on tenterhooks, with butterflies in their stomachs.
Chapter 687: Reward
Chang Zai was deeply afraid of implicating his two old coworkers and hastily cried out, “E-Eldest Miss, don’t be angry at Old Bai and Mother Xu. This matter has nothing to do with them. I-I, I’ll just go.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he stooped his back, turning around to leave.
Yet Qiao Mu called out indifferently, “Hold on right there.”
Chang Zai’s stride immediately froze.
Qiao Mu cast the three people a glance. “So that means, you two, are willing to give up your doubled stipend for Chang Zai?”
“Yes yes yes. Eldest Miss, we are willing.” The two people nodded together without any hesitation.
“You are also willing to leave the Qiao Estate yourself and won’t harbor a grudge against me?” Qiao Mu turned to Chang Zai again as she raised an eyebrow.
Chang Zai hastily turned around and knelt to the ground with a flump again. “This old servant doesn’t dare. These years, this old servant has received the Qiao Estate’s grace and has been in Master and Madam’s care. Even if this old servant leaves the estate, this old servant doesn’t dare do such things as betraying his masters.”
“Rise, all of you.” Qiao Mu looked at the three people exasperatedly. “When did I say that I was going to drive you out of the estate?”
Chang Zai, Old Bai, and Mother Xu were all stupefied, and then they started to carefully recall what had happened. Oh yeah, from the moment Miss started her tirade, she had never said anything about driving Chang Zai away. At most, she merely ignored Steward Chang.
“I retracted your position as the steward only because I felt that you’re not too suitable for the job.” Qiao Mu sighed and continued, “Although you’re irresolute in handling matters, you are a loyal and righteous person. In the many years that you’ve accompanied my parents, you’ve worked hard even if you didn’t produce results, so how could I drive you away? Could it be that in your eyes, your miss, me, is such an unsympathetic person?”
Chang Zai hastily said that he didn’t dare. Old Bai and Mother Xu were also clumsy of speech, so they copied Chang Zai in saying that they didn’t dare, they didn’t dare.
“Alright, all of you get up.” With a motion of her finger, Qiao Mu took out two small bags.
Completely understanding Qiao Mu’s intention, Shaoyao compressed her lips in a smile. She took the two small bags and walked to Old Bai and Mother Xu, handing them over. “Here, Miss’s reward to you. Take them and calm your nerves.”
The two people got up from the ground in a daze, and they each dumbly took over a small bag. Once they took a sneak peek inside, they saw two pieces of ham.
These years, the price of meat was much more expensive than that of rice.
This was a generous reward from out of the blue!
Old Bai and Mother Xu both dumbly looked towards their little master.
“Chang Zai, you have two very good friends.”
By this time, after knowing that Miss wouldn’t drive him out of the estate, Chang Zai’s nerves were already not as tense as before. Hearing her remark, he laughed from the bottom of his heart, nodding his head repeatedly.
“In the future, go serve my parents in their Beautiful Vista Court.” Qiao Mu said faintly, “You’re already getting on in years, so just instruct the younger ones to handle trivial matters.”
“Thank you, Miss. Thank you, Miss.” Chang Zai secretly wiped his old tears, and he felt even more guilty in his heart.
Miss not only didn’t blame him for not managing the household properly, she even kept him in the estate. He couldn’t be as careless anymore when taking care of Master and Madam’s small courtyard in the future. He definitely couldn’t betray Miss’s trust in him.
Qiao Mu gave a nod before dismissing them all.
Chunying also led the remaining two maidservants and two boy servants in excusing themselves. She then went with the procuress to pick new servants.
Very soon, a black-clothed youth flashed to Qiao Mu’s side and whispered into her ear.
Qiao Mu slightly raised an eyebrow, and a cold glint flashed past her eyes. “Let me go out and take a look.”
“Master, Nanny Qing, who serves the queen, has already been waiting for a long time.”
Qiao Mu’s footsteps paused before nodding at the youth. “Go call her over.”
Chapter 688: Punishment
Qiao Mu waved her hand, motioning for the other hidden guards to leave, before bringing a hidden guard called Lightning towards the front door.
This Lightning, along with Huifeng, had come out of the Hidden Guard Barracks, whose purpose was a bit different from the nature of the Hidden Night Pavilion’s work.
By now, Qiao Mu had finally figured it out completely.
People whose names had the character ‘hidden’ in them, such as Hidden Flower, Hidden Current, and the like, were all members of the Hidden Pavilion. They specialized in assassinations, but when those clowns were free, they liked to drop in at the Night Pavilion and stir up trouble.
On the other hand, people whose names had the character ‘ye'[1] in them, such as Mei’ye, Ao’ye, Xiao’ye, and the like, were all members of the Night Pavilion. Their main job was to shuttle between the various large cities and towns to gather intelligence. Sometimes, they might even have to make a distant journey to another kingdom to gather various kinds of intelligence.
While the hidden guards that came out of the Hidden Guard Barracks were normally the crown prince’s bodyguards.
Of course, sometimes, when the Hidden Night Pavilion was busy, the hidden guards might also need to lend a hand or whatnot…
The crown prince’s Hidden Night Pavilion and Hidden Guard Barracks had been established for who knows how many years already. Since it had already grown to an extremely grand scale, our dear Qiao Mu felt quite satisfied and untroubled when she directly made use of it.
In particular, the Hidden Guard Barracks had a lengthy history. Reportedly, the king’s old man, the late king, had directly passed it on to the crown prince when he was still alive. Inside, there were still some extraordinary talents and queer existences that Qiao Mu had never seen before.
Just as Qiao Mu brought Lightning to the front door, she saw a boy servant latching onto her younger brother, refusing to let go no matter what. Presently, that boy servant was bawling his eyes out, as if he wanted to vent out all his grievances.
The procuress could only awkwardly watch on as she stood to the side.
Other than this fired up boy servant who couldn’t be extricated from Qiao Sen however they tried, the other maidservants and boy servants shrunk behind the procuress listlessly, not daring to resist one bit.
With a point of Qiao Mu’s finger, Lightning’s figure flashed, and he lifted up that endlessly blubbering boy servant.
Qiao Mu beckoned her younger brother over. “You’ve returned?”
“Sister.” Just as he returned home from the academy, Qiao Sen was immediately rendered at a loss by his boy servant’s bawls.
At this time, when he saw Qiao Mu standing at the door, he hastily ran over and held his sister’s hand, asking, “Sister, what happened? Why is Ah-Dong sobbing like this?”
Qiao Mu didn’t hide it from him and narrated the events. Afterwards, she questioned, “Do you want to still keep such an overweening servant that bullies his master?”
The boy servant hastily crawled forwards and knelt at Qiao Sen’s feet, persistently shouting, “Young Master, Young Master, you can’t abandon this servant!”
Qiao Sen’s tiny face flushed red, and he gave that boy servant a good stomp. “You dare to disrespect my sister so! You deserve to be sold! This young master doesn’t have such a wicked servant, go away this instant.”
Let me tell you, even Crown Prince Big Bro had to listen to my sis, I, of course… can’t be an exception.
Even this young master had been ruthlessly beaten by Sister, let alone you, a mere boy servant. You really are blind, actually dim-wittedly going against the rules. Such a ridiculously hilarious joke, attempting to challenge my sis? How capable did you think you were!
Our dear little Qiao Sen was one tractable cookie. He had long discovered that his Eldest Sis was the one who made the decisions in the family. Even his Big Bro, who was such an amazing person, had to listen to his Eldest Sis. What did you, a boy servant, amount to? You even dared to climb all over his Eldest Sis, so didn’t it serve you right to be berated!
Our dear little Qiao Sen hurriedly drew a clear dividing line between him and the boy servant, indicating that they weren’t of the same kind. He then pulled his sister towards the inside.
[1] ‘ye’ means ‘night.’
Chapter 689: A Tease
Elderly Lady had kept this child by her side from when he was young, spoiling him to the high heavens. Luckily, in the present, he was a bit terrified of his sister, which curbed his out-of-control behavior. Otherwise, it would be even harder to discipline him later on.
Qiao Mu cast a glance at this hobgoblin child, both annoyed and amused, before shaking her head and following him inside.
Nanny Qing just so happened to be led inside, and when she saw Qiao Mu, her expression slightly sunk. She walked forward and curtsied sloppily. “Eldest Miss Qiao, are you ready to leave now?”
“Oh, wait a bit.” Qiao Mu said absentmindedly.
Yet Nanny Qing’s expression turned even more unsightly. “Still need to wait a bit? This old servant is only afraid that this old servant can wait, but Her Majesty the Queen won’t be able to!”
“You know whether or not Royal Mother can wait?” Mo Lian’s voice suddenly travelled inside from the doorway.
Hearing his voice, Nanny Qing’s heart jolted slightly in fright. She quickly turned around, and together with two junior royal maids, curtsied impeccably towards the crown prince. “Greetings to Your Highness.”
Qiao Mu pattered to the crown prince and tugged his sleeves, saying, “Bring me to where Wu Xiaosu got locked up.”
The crown prince nodded before turning to look at Nanny Qing and company. “You go back to Royal Mother and tell her that we’ll come over in an hour.”
Nanny Qing’s pupils contracted slightly, and she hastily prompted, “But Your Highness…”
Nevertheless, the crown prince’s cold and severe gaze shot over, landing on Nanny Qing. “You didn’t hear me?”
Nanny Qing broke out into a cold sweat from fright on the spot, and she quickly knelt onto the ground with a flump, firmly keeping her head down as she said repeatedly, “Yes, yes, this old servant understands.”
The crown prince held Qiao Mu’s small hand and walked outside.
Before leaving, Qiao Mu curved her mouth into a cold sneer as she cast a glance at Nanny Qing, who was furtively peeping at her from the corner of her eye.
Wu Xiaosu was locked up inside the Highest Judiciary’s prison, and she had already been in custody for almost four hours.
The two people’s carriage headed straight for the Highest Judiciary. When they arrived, the assistant minister had already been informed and had come out early to welcome them, leading them to the prison.
The prison gate opened, and a long staircase appeared beneath their feet.
Qiao Mu glanced at the crown prince and gripped his sleeve.
The crown prince gazed at her amusedly and asked softly, “Going down by yourself?”
Qiao Mu nodded.
The crown prince looked at her helplessly. “What is it, private gossip between young ladies?”
As he said this, he turned to say to the Assistant Minister of the Highest Judiciary, “We’ll wait here. Have the jailer help the crown prince consort open the door.”
“Yes, yes.” The assistant minister nodded repeatedly and motioned for a jailer to bring Qiao Mu downstairs.
Qiao Mu was just about to go down when she turned around again, suddenly raising a small hand and pinching the crown prince’s face. She murmured, “I don’t like her acting pitifully while looking at you.”
When she remembered how Wu Xiaosu, that white daisy, targeted the crown prince with her sobs, Qiao Mu felt displeased inside.
When she finished speaking, she followed the jailer downstairs and left behind the petrified crown prince, assistant minister, and company.
Huifeng: “…”
He suddenly discovered that his master had been flirted with. What to do?
The Assistant Minister of the Highest Judiciary was almost forty years old. Nonetheless, he felt that he had kept up with the times quite well.
At this moment, his soul had returned to his petrified body, and he stealthily peered at the crown prince. Seeing that the latter was smiling in a joyous mood, he instantly felt that his own mentality had gone through the vicissitudes of life. The young’uns nowadays really knew how to tease their partners!
“Cough, Your Highness, how about, we first go upstairs. This humble official will order someone to prepare tea.” Who knew how long the crown prince consort was going to chat with Miss Wu? In any case, he couldn’t allow the crown prince to keep standing at the head of the stairs the entire time!
Chapter 690: Delusional
“…” Crown Prince the Great?
After calling him three times, the crown prince still didn’t react much and just kept smiling…
On the side, Huifeng twitched his mouth before coughing lightly. “Uh, Assistant Minister, you go prepare first. Our Highness will head over in a bit.”
“Yes, yes.” The Assistant Minister of the Highest Judiciary hastily excused himself.
Huifeng couldn’t resist facepalming.
It was over, his master had turned silly from the crown prince consort’s flirting. The Assistant Minister of the Highest Judiciary didn’t see it, but from his angle, he could see that the tips of his master’s ears had turned red…
Sigh, life really was full of hardship. The crown prince consort’s casual tease was enough to make my crown prince’s soul leave his body!
“Your Highness.” Cough, don’t stand at the head of the stairs and laugh yourself silly.
“The assistant minister invites you over to drink tea.” Huifeng had no other choice but to poke the crown prince.
Mo Lian gradually recovered his wits, blinking his phoenix eyes. “Where’s Qiaoqiao.”
Huifeng almost missed his footing and nearly rolled down the stairs.
The crown prince consort that had left after flirting simply didn’t know that her one sentence had teased the man silly.
Under the jailer’s lead, she arrived at the door of a single prison cell.
This kind of prison cell that was designed to lock up mystic cultivators was comparatively advanced. The door was even secured with an additional confinement talisman matrix.
It was simply impossible for normal mystic cultivators, cuffed with the specially-made fetters and manacles, to escape from this prison that was filled with confinement talisman matrices.
However, it was reportedly par for course for Ding Tingding to escape from prison. Even if you set up 17 to 18 talisman matrices, it was merely a matter of minutes for him to escape.
The two adjacent prison cells were empty, while the person locked up inside this center cell was precisely Wu Xiaosu.
The jailer brought Qiao Mu to the door, and after she gestured to him with her eyes, he opened the door for her and tactfully retreated far away outside.
Qiao Mu stepped through the doorway, and her gaze landed on Wu Xiaosu, who was huddling in the corner.
Wu Xiaosu raised her head upon hearing the sound of footsteps. Upon discerning that the person standing against the light was precisely Qiao Mu, she immediately glowered and pounced at Qiao Mu like a starving tiger.
Yet just as she was only a few steps away from Qiao Mu, her body halted, abruptly pulled back by two chains.
Both her arms had been firmly bound by iron shackles secured to the wall, so she could only bare her teeth and brandish her claws at Qiao Mu from a distance away.
“I had originally been unable to understand why you had to approach our Qiao Family time and again.” Qiao Mu stood before Wu Xiaosu and gazed indifferently at her.
Later on, the crown prince had secretly told her that the royal maid who attempted to poison her during the small banquet had a brief contact with the Vassal King Consort of An’nan.
Her objective was already very clear.
The Vassal King Consort of An’nan wanted to avenge her good daughter, Commandery Princess Hui’an, and wipe out her humiliation.
“The Vassal King Consort of An’nan, Wu Hongmo, is your aunt, right.” Qiao Mu declared coldly.
Wu Hongmo had designs on her starting from the day of the small banquet.
She truly was a delusional woman.
She wanted to feed her a slow-acting poison, letting her die unwittingly, without making a splash, so that it wouldn’t draw the crown prince’s suspicion.
This kind of poisoning tactic was crude and simple. Truthfully speaking, if she were successful, it could be considered a good plan.
It was only unfortunate for her that even after making meticulous calculations, she left out the possibility that Qiao Mu would also be versed in poison, having read through countless poison classics. For other people, this kind of slow-acting poison might be fairly covert and undetectable, but to Qiao Mu, it truly was too commonly seen.
As for Wu Xiaosu, she was under Wu Hongmo’s orders to fake her sincerity and get close to the Qiao Family. This was so that she could gain their trust and find an opportunity to continue feeding Qiao Mu the slow-acting poison.
It was only unfortunate that Second Miss Qiao had disliked her from the beginning, let alone her sister, who was as cold as frost. Eldest Miss Qiao was so difficult to approach that she didn’t have a chance at all.