In front of everyone, Liu Po-zi’s skirt was pulled off, revealing her undergarments with holes in them. Even with her thick skin, Liu Po-zi couldn’t bear it. She hurriedly reached down to snatch the skirt from under A-man’s foot.
A-man kept her face stern and refused to lift her foot. There was a ripping sound, and the earth-yellow skirt tore into two pieces.
Laughter erupted immediately.
“How unseemly, how unseemly!” Old Madam Feng’s face turned ashen with anger.
Jiang-si didn’t even glance at Liu Po-zi. She stepped around her and walked up to Second Madam Xiao-shi. With a serious expression, she said, “Second Aunt, if you can’t even control such an unruly servant, perhaps it’s better not to manage the household.”
“What did you say?” Xiao-shi was stunned by Jiang-si’s directness and momentarily froze.
The laughter immediately stopped, and all eyes turned to Jiang-si.
“Second Aunt, you promised Grandmother to send Liu Po-zi’s family to the estate. Yet they’re still here, and Liu Po-zi even dared to come here and make a scene. Fortunately, we had already paid our respects to Grandmother and left Ci-xin Hall. If it had been earlier, would Liu Po-zi have barged into Ci-xin Hall?”
Jiang-si glanced at Old Madam Feng, her lips curled in a cold smile. “Just now, Liu Po-zi even threatened to kill herself. If she had rushed into Ci-xin Hall and my maid hadn’t stopped her in time, wouldn’t there be blood splattered in Ci-xin Hall by now? How could Grandmother continue to live there after that?”
Hearing this, Old Madam Feng’s face grew even darker.
Xiao-shi nearly fainted.
This Jiang-si was so sharp-tongued, not leaving her face in front of so many people!
“Second Aunt, you’ve managed the household for years. Now, when you want to dismiss someone, it causes such a commotion. I can only assume you’ve been too lenient with unruly servants, to the point where they treat your orders as mere suggestions!”
“It’s not like that—” Xiao-shi began to explain, but Jiang-si didn’t give her the chance. She turned to Old Madam Feng and curtsied, “Grandmother if the servants in our household follow this example and threaten to kill themselves whenever they’re dissatisfied with their punishment, won’t our Earl’s mansion fall into chaos? Today Liu Po-zi can threaten me with death; tomorrow Zhang Po-zi or Wang Po-zi might threaten other sisters, or even Second Aunt, Third Aunt, or even Grandmother. How can our family maintain its reputation then?”
The young girl’s clear voice rang out like pearls falling on jade. Her words made Old Madam Feng’s face turn pale, and she looked at Xiao-shi with increasing displeasure.
“Old Madam—”
“What did I say yesterday? Xiao-shi, can’t you even handle this small matter? Do I need to ask her to leave me?” Old Madam Feng pointed at Liu Po-zi.
Xiao-shi’s heart sank. She knew Jiang-si had gained the upper hand by striking first, and it wasn’t wise to continue this commotion. She immediately shouted at Liu Po-zi, “You old slave, why are you still standing here? Hurry up and go to the estate!”
Liu Po-zi, already frightened out of her wits, kowtowed to Old Madam Feng and was about to flee this place of trouble, holding her torn skirt.
“Wait a moment,” Jiang-si said coldly.
“Does Fourth Miss have something else to say?” Xiao-shi’s scalp began to tingle at the sound of Jiang-si’s voice.
“Threatening the masters with death and facing no consequences afterward—Second Aunt, your kindness is why you can’t control such unruly servants. I can already foresee that once this servant leaves the Earl’s mansion, she’ll have no fear in trampling my reputation as she pleases.”
“I’d like to see who dares!” Old Madam Feng snapped coldly, her gaze slowly sweeping across everyone like a knife.
Everyone who met Old Madam Feng’s gaze involuntarily lowered their heads.
“Liu Po-zi, listen carefully. If you breathe a word about what happened here once you’re at the estate, your whole family won’t need to stay there anymore.”
Liu Po-zi fell to her knees with a thud. “This old slave wouldn’t dare, wouldn’t dare.”
As she kept her head down and begged for forgiveness, she couldn’t help but blame Second Madam Xiao-shi in her heart.
Second Madam had promised that today’s scene would surely ruin Fourth Miss’s reputation, and there would be many benefits for her at the estate.
But now that Old Madam had spoken, not only could she not speak ill of Fourth Miss outside, but she also had to be constantly on edge. If anyone else spoke out of turn, she would be in big trouble.
If she had known this would happen, it would have been better to quietly go to the estate.
“As for the rest of you, if anyone discusses this matter in the future, they’ll be sent directly to the slave trader!” Old Madam Feng shouted.
“We wouldn’t dare, servants wouldn’t dare.”
“All of you, disperse! Jiang-si, you stay.”
Everyone left as if granted amnesty, hurrying outside.
Jiang-qiao turned her head, curiously glancing at Jiang-si.
She had to admit, compared to Jiang-si’s usual bickering with her, today’s boldness in confronting Second Aunt was impressive.
“Qiao-er, let’s go,” Third Madam Guo-shi quietly pulled Jiang-qiao.
“What instructions does Grandmother have?” Jiang-si asked calmly.
Old Madam Feng looked Jiang-si up and down, her expression cold. “Jiang-si, remember, it’s not good for a young lady to be too sharp-tongued.”
She wasn’t deaf or blind; she could see that this granddaughter had clashed with Xiao-shi.
She didn’t care how Jiang-si behaved—a girl who had broken off an engagement had limited prospects. But if she tarnished the reputation of the other granddaughters, that wouldn’t do!
“Grandmother, don’t worry. Your granddaughter will remember,” Jiang-si smiled sweetly at her, seemingly oblivious to Old Madam Feng’s displeasure.
“You may go now.” Old Madam Feng found Jiang-si’s smile irritating and waved her hand impatiently.
A granddaughter who had become useless wasn’t worth her concern, as long as she didn’t cause too much trouble.
As for Xiao-shi… after managing the household for so long, it was time someone gave her a setback.
“Your granddaughter takes her leave.”
Jiang-si left gracefully. On her way back to Haitang Residence, she encountered Xiao-shi waiting by the roadside.
“Second Aunt,” Jiang-si greeted Xiao-shi with a smile as if her earlier aggressiveness had never happened.
Xiao-shi gritted her teeth secretly.
This dead girl’s thick skin, she had to admire it!
“Fourth Miss, do you have a problem with your Second Aunt?”
“Second Aunt is overthinking. Your niece always discusses things based on facts. How could I have a problem with my elders?”
“Such a good ‘discussion based on facts’!” Standing outside, Xiao-shi maintained a gentle smile on her face, but her words were not pleasant. “Your mother left us early, and as your aunt, I can’t stand by and watch you go astray. Let me kindly remind you, that public opinion is fearsome. The hardest thing to stop in this world is people’s mouths.”
Although Old Madam had forbidden the servants to gossip, there are no walls in the world that are completely airtight. Would Old Madam dismiss all the servants in the mansion? That was impossible.
Jiang-si smiled brightly at Xiao-shi, “I understand the principle that the law doesn’t punish the masses. But it doesn’t matter. I’m only sure of one thing—when the time comes, I’ll still come to Second Aunt.”
After saying this, Jiang-si gracefully curtsied to Xiao-shi, “Second Aunt can enjoy the scenery more. Your niece will take her leave first.”
Xiao-shi stood by the flowering tree, staring at the young girl’s graceful figure, her chest aching with anger.
This dead girl, one day she would teach her a good lesson!
“Miss, Second Madam must be cursing you in her heart,” A-man looked back and quietly reported.
“It’s fine, as long as I don’t hear it,” Jiang-si said calmly.