Old Madam Feng looked at Second Madam Xiao, her expression vacillating.
Had this daughter-in-law forgotten who truly ruled the Earl’s manor after managing the household for so long? She dared to extend her reach into the Hall of Compassion!
Jiang Si’s parting words had infuriated Old Madam Feng.
Why was the main kitchen suddenly making things difficult for Jiang Si? And on the very day, Jiang Qian returned?
It was obvious that news of Jiang Si giving Jiang Qian the cold shoulder in the Hall of Compassion had reached Madam Xiao, prompting her to teach Jiang Si a lesson.
Old Madam Feng, being experienced, didn’t care much for such inner court tactics. But when used against her, it became intolerable.
Jiang Qian hadn’t even gone to Yaxin Court, yet Madam Xiao had targeted Jiang Si. Didn’t this imply that Madam Xiao was fully aware of what transpired in the Hall of Compassion?
For someone as controlling as Old Madam Feng, the idea of another sleeping too close to her bed was unacceptable.
The more Old Madam Feng thought about it, the angrier she became. She raised her hand and splashed tea onto Madam Xiao’s face, gritting her teeth: “I’m not dead yet!”
The tea had cooled to lukewarm and wasn’t scalding, but Madam Xiao, being of a certain age and having managed the household for years, now had tea streaming down her face with tea leaves clinging to her cheeks and temples. Her face felt as if it were on fire, and she wished the ground would open up and swallow her.
“Old Madam, your words make this daughter-in-law feel utterly ashamed. I don’t know what I’ve done wrong to anger you so…”
Old Madam Feng came to her senses. Looking at the disheveled Madam Xiao, most of her anger had dissipated, but she felt a twinge of regret.
She had gone a bit too far. After all, Madam Xiao managed the household, and even if not for her sake, she should have left her some face for the sake of her two grandsons.
“Enough, you may go back. First thing tomorrow morning, have Old Woman Liu’s family leave the manor. Don’t cause me any more trouble,” Old Madam Feng said, softening her tone.
“Old Madam, please rest well. This daughter-in-law will take her leave now.”
As soon as Madam Xiao left, the spacious Hall of Compassion fell eerily quiet, so silent one could hear a pin drop.
Old Madam Feng swept her eyes over Madam Feng and the others, not uttering a word.
The oppressive atmosphere made it impossible for Madam Feng and the others to lift their heads, sweat silently soaking through the backs of their clothes.
Madam Feng took the lead and knelt, with A-Fu and A-Xi quickly following suit.
As for the other maids and servants, they were all kneeling outside, not qualified to enter.
“Speak up, who was it that couldn’t keep their mouth shut?” Old Madam Feng reached out to pick up her tea, only remembering halfway that she had thrown that cup of tea in Madam Xiao’s face. Her expression darkened further.
Seeing this, A-Fu bravely stood up, swiftly replaced the tea with a fresh cup for Old Madam Feng, then returned to her spot and knelt obediently.
Old Madam Feng picked up the teacup and took a sip. Though still furious, she was satisfied with A-Fu’s attentiveness.
“No one’s admitting to it?” Old Madam Feng took another sip of tea, her tone now unreadable.
The more composed Old Madam Feng appeared, the more chilled the kneeling servants felt.
A-Xi finally cracked under the pressure, kowtowing repeatedly: “It was this servant… this servant spoke out of turn…”
Seeing it was one of her maids, Old Madam Feng’s lips tightened as she stared down at A-Xi, who was frantically kowtowing on the ground, without saying a word.
In this short time, A-Xi had kowtowed so hard that her hair had come loose: “After Second Miss left, a little maid from Yaxin Court came to speak with this servant. Thinking of Second Madam’s maternal affection for Second Miss, this servant couldn’t help but say a few words. Old Madam, this servant knows she was wrong. If this servant had known it would cause such trouble, even beating wouldn’t have made her speak out of turn…”
A-Xi kowtowed several more times with loud thuds, her fair and delicate forehead now bruised purple: “This servant truly knows her mistake. Please forgive this servant, Old Madam. This servant will never dare to do it again…”
“Enough.”
Old Madam Feng uttered these two words, and A-Xi immediately stiffened and stopped kowtowing, looking up at her in terror.
“Starting tomorrow, you’ll work in the needlework room.” Seeing A-Xi’s forehead bruised and bleeding, Old Madam Feng’s heart softened a bit, and she abandoned the idea of dismissing her from the manor entirely.
“Th-thank you… Old Madam…” A-Xi collapsed on the floor, utterly dejected.
To fall from the prestigious position of head maid in the Hall of Compassion to a mere servant in the needlework room was a blow that made her wish for death.
A-Fu, noticing A-Xi’s distressed state and remembering their childhood friendship, quickly pulled her up and said, “Old Madam, this servant will take A-Xi to clean up.”
“Go.” Exhausted from the commotion, Old Madam Feng spoke coldly, “Madam Feng, I leave it to you to discipline these people. Anyone who speaks out of turn in the future is to be driven out of the manor immediately!”
That night, the servants of the Hall of Compassion seemed to collectively fall silent, not daring to breathe too loudly.
The situation at Yaxin Court was no better.
Madam Xiao returned to her quarters in a disheveled state. As soon as she entered the room, she overturned a table, sending teapots and cups crashing to the floor, and scattering broken porcelain everywhere.
“What’s going on here?” Second Master Jiang happened to enter at that moment, frowning as he found nowhere to step.
Feeling both embarrassed and wronged, Madam Xiao dismissed the servants and explained the situation.
“How foolish!” Second Master Jiang immediately rebuked her after hearing the story. “As an aunt, why are you trying to put pressure on your niece over such a trivial matter? How will it look if word gets out?”
Madam Xiao’s face burned with shame and resentment: “Who knew Jiang Si would be so shameless as to openly confront me?”
In other manors, when legitimate mothers mistreated concubine-born daughters, or when stepmothers bullied the legitimate daughters left behind by the original wife, didn’t they all use such small matters to exert pressure? Which of those girls being pressured dared to speak up? Why didn’t it work when it came to her?
“Don’t be so indignant. Do you think the fourth girl is easy to deal with? Earlier when she had a good marriage prospect, she naturally cared about her reputation. But now things are different.”
“How is it different?”
“She’s got nothing left to lose.” Mentioning Jiang Si put Second Master Jiang in a foul mood as well.
He hadn’t forgotten how his niece had left him speechless in front of the storehouse that day.
As Madam Xiao’s lips trembled, about to speak again, Second Master Jiang coldly said, “In any case, that girl now has nothing to fear. You’d best keep your distance from her!”
With that, Second Master Jiang looked at his aging wife under the lamplight. Her complexion was even more sallow than the tea leaves clinging to her temples. She truly had become a yellow-faced old woman. No longer wishing to stay, he turned and headed towards the western courtyard.
Madam Xiao, receiving no comfort from her husband and instead being scolded, then watching him go off to sleep with a concubine, trembled with anger. Her eyes darted as she summoned a trusted old servant and whispered a few words in her ear.
The old servant nodded and quietly left.
Back at Crabapple Residence, Jiang Si and her maids returned. A-Man eagerly asked, “Miss, how did you know that Old Madam and Second Madam wouldn’t dare to make things difficult for you?”
Jiang Si smiled faintly: “It’s simple. When one desires nothing, one becomes formidable.”
Having no desires, she could naturally haggle with her grandmother using her mother’s dowry as leverage. Her grandmother, unwilling to give up profiting from her mother’s dowry, could only stand by when she confronted her second aunt.
As for her second aunt, she merely thought Jiang Si was a young lady without a mother’s protection and assumed her thin skin would make her resolve the issue tactfully. If that were the case, the kitchen would likely back down before she even had to act, leaving Jiang Si to suffer in silence.
Unfortunately, her second aunt didn’t know that long ago, Jiang Si had already understood that in life, face and dignity are two different things.
Face is not as important as living happily, but living happily cannot come at the cost of one’s dignity!
“Go to sleep. Tomorrow, there will be quite a show to watch,” Jiang Si gestured for A-Man and A-Qiao to help her prepare for bed.
A-Man and A-Qiao exchanged glances, both wondering: What kind of show would tomorrow bring?