Chapter 84: Punishment
Steward Sun's face turned pale with shock! How could this be? Concubine Song had just become pregnant—how could she be under house arrest without any servants to attend to her?
Jinchao said calmly, "Perhaps Steward Sun is unaware. My mother didn't simply take her own life—Concubine Song murdered her, and Father has confined her. Whether she's pregnant now or even if she gives birth, she will never recover from this."
Naturally, Steward Sun had no knowledge of this! But he couldn't be sure if Gu Jinzhao was just making it up.
However, Luo Six was truly terrified, especially when he saw Xue Sixteen glaring at him. Trembling, he crawled toward Jinchao, kowtowing repeatedly as he pleaded, "Eldest Miss, I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! I didn’t go to the inner courtyard to harass the maids—someone sent me there! Please spare me! Don’t let Xue Sixteen beat me to death!"
Frightened out of his wits, Luo Six finally cracked.
Jinchao pressed further, "Who sent you? What did they want you to do in the inner courtyard? Tell me everything clearly, leaving nothing out."
Steward Sun lunged forward, trying to cover Luo Six’s mouth, but Xue Sixteen and another guard held him firmly in place. Struggling violently, he threatened Luo Six, "Don’t you dare say a word! Do you have a death wish?"
Luo Six flinched but quickly blurted out, "It was Steward Sun who ordered it! Concubine Song wanted to harm Madam, so she sent her maid Yu Xiang to meet me in the Weeping Willow Grove to pass messages to Steward Sun—telling him to add rhubarb to Madam’s medicine! I went four times in total, and Steward Sun kept adding rhubarb to Madam’s medicine for over half a year... I couldn’t bear it either, but Steward Sun forced me!"
Steward Sun was dumbstruck—this damned fool had actually confessed everything!
Luo Six wasn’t finished. He continued, "As for what the Eldest Miss said about Madam’s ledger—Madam’s belongings were actually stored separately, and the ledger is still there. It was Steward Sun who wanted to..."
Jinchao cut in, "Steward Sun wanted to embezzle my mother’s belongings, so he lied to Mama Xu, claiming they were misplaced. Isn’t that right?"
Luo Six looked momentarily confused—even if Steward Sun was bold, he wouldn’t dare openly steal from the household. But he quickly grasped Jinchao’s implication and nodded eagerly. "Exactly! Steward Sun wanted to take Madam’s things for himself, so he lied about mixing them up!"
Steward Sun’s veins bulged on his forehead. While he had tampered with Madam’s medicine, this accusation was pure slander from Gu Jinzhao!
Furious, Steward Sun roared, "Luo Six, you’ve got some nerve!" Then he turned to Jinchao. "Eldest Miss, twisting the truth like this—I never intended to steal from the household! You must be reasonable!"
Jinchao nodded. "With reasonable people, I am reasonable. But since Steward Sun refuses to be, what can I say? You dared to hide my mother’s belongings for Concubine Song and lied to Mama Xu, claiming they were lost. If I hadn’t been watching, would you have tried to loot her private storeroom too? Trying to curry favor is one thing, but this is too much! If you hadn’t provoked me, I wouldn’t have had to stop being reasonable with you!"
"Even if I were to reason with you, do you think you’d come out unscathed? Conspiring with a concubine to harm the mistress—that’s enough to get you killed several times over!"Steward Sun turned pale upon hearing her words. Gu Jinzhao was absolutely right—just the charge of framing the mistress was enough to warrant his death, not to mention embezzling the household’s belongings. Even several lives wouldn’t be enough to pay for his crimes!
Unwilling to accept this, he protested, “Even if Eldest Miss wants to convict me, she must go through the master first! I’m the steward of the Affairs Office—you can’t just sentence me based on her word alone! I won’t accept such an unjust accusation!”
As if anyone cared whether he accepted it or not!
Jinchao said coolly, “Xue Sixteen, Steward Sun colluded with the concubine to frame the mistress and stole from the household under his watch. His conduct is utterly despicable. Tie him up now, break his legs, and throw him out without a single possession!” Xue Sixteen acknowledged the order and immediately moved to restrain Steward Sun, who kicked and struggled, shouting for them to let go. Another guard joined in, and the two of them swiftly subdued Steward Sun and carried him out. Luo Six, witnessing this scene, trembled uncontrollably on the ground.
Jinchao turned to Luo Six. “Do you want to live?” she asked.
Terrified and deathly pale, Luo Six stammered, “E-Eldest Miss, I’ve done everything you asked. You can’t kill me now.”
“I won’t kill you.” Jinchao even smiled at him before continuing, “You exposed the mastermind behind this, so you’ve done us a favor. Not only will I spare your life, but I’ll also give you a hundred taels of silver to leave the Gu household. But you’ve seen what happened to Steward Sun. I can assure you, if you disobey me, your fate will be a hundred times worse than his.”
Luo Six hastily nodded. “Of course! Whatever Eldest Miss says, I’ll do it!”
Jinchao smiled. “Good. All you need to do is repeat to the master exactly what you told me. I’ll arrange for witnesses to support your testimony.” She then called for Mama Xu and instructed her to take Luo Six and Yu Xiang to her father to clarify the matter involving Steward Sun and Concubine Song. With two witnesses now, the evidence was irrefutable.
Mama Xu acknowledged the order and left.
Gu Dezhao was in his study copying scriptures. Wracked with guilt over Madam Ji’s death, he hadn’t even visited Concubine Luo these past few days, choosing instead to transcribe the Great Compassion Dharani Sutra alone in his study. A few days prior, he had also donated a thousand taels of silver to Ciguang Temple to print scriptures and erect a merit stele in Madam Ji’s memory.
Just as he finished copying a scroll, Shui Ying knocked on the door. “Master, Mama Xu requests an audience.”
Hearing it was Mama Xu, Gu Dezhao quickly instructed Shui Ying to let her in.
Mama Xu entered, followed by a young servant and a maid.
After paying her respects, Mama Xu said, “May the master be at peace. This servant has come to report a matter concerning the late mistress. I beg the master to hear me out.”
Gu Dezhao replied, “Speak plainly, Mama Xu. Is there an issue with Xiangjun’s funeral arrangements?”
Mama Xu shook her head. “It’s not that… Today, Eldest Miss went to the Affairs Office to inventory the mistress’s belongings, but Steward Sun insisted they had already been mixed with the household’s and refused to hand them over. Perhaps he thought Eldest Miss was vulnerable without her mother’s protection and treated her with disrespect. Just as Eldest Miss was at her wits’ end, Luo Six approached her and said he knew something about Steward Sun’s misdeeds and wished to inform her.”
Luo Six immediately knelt. “Master, this lowly one is Luo Six.”
Gu Dezhao’s anger flared upon hearing that Steward Sun had slighted Chaojie. How dare these stewards bully Chaojie so soon after Madam Ji’s death! Did they think he was dead? And to withhold Madam Ji’s belongings from Chaojie!Suppressing his anger, he asked Luo Liu, "What did you say to Chaojie?"
Luo Liu hurriedly replied, "Since Madam passed away, I've been filled with fear and unease. I privately believe her death was far from ordinary! This servant once saw Yu Xiang, the maid from Concubine Song's side, come to Steward Sun and give him something to add to Madam's medicine... As I was in charge of Madam's medicine, I later discovered it was actually rhubarb! Concubine Song had been conspiring with Steward Sun all along to harm Madam's life..."
"After Madam's death, I've been burdened with guilt! If I didn't speak up, I'd never find peace. Today when Eldest Miss came, I gathered the courage to report this to her... It turns out Eldest Miss already knew about this matter, but wasn't aware of Steward Sun's involvement. I beg Master to investigate thoroughly and bring justice for Madam."
Yu Xiang bowed and said, "This servant is Yu Xiang. What Luo Liu said is true... I previously served under Concubine Song and witnessed many of her deeds, but was too afraid to speak out while under her control. That the concubine framed Madam shocked me deeply—she committed countless other misdeeds as well. The details are too appalling to recount, but I beg Master to hear me out..."
Gu Dezhao listened to Yu Xiang's words, his fury mounting.
When Concubine Song had mentioned the rhubarb incident before, he had assumed Madam Ji was vying for favor...
When Chaojie brought up the rhubarb matter, he thought it was merely Concubine Song colluding with a servant boy. Never had he imagined she would conspire with an outer courtyard steward to harm Xiangjun! And beyond that, she had done so much more—sowing discord between Chaojie and Rongge, tarnishing Chaojie's reputation. How vile she was! To carry out such deeds right under his nose—did she take him for a fool?
Too enraged to speak, it took him a long moment before he gritted out, "Where is Steward Sun? Bring him to me at once!"
Mama Xu interjected, "Master, Steward Sun has already been beaten and thrown out on Eldest Miss's orders." Outer courtyard stewards typically didn't sign indentures, so they couldn't dictate life or death—this was the harshest punishment possible.
Gu Dezhao took a sharp breath and snapped, "Find him and break his legs! Let's see how he survives after this!"
Mama Xu paused, then said softly, "Eldest Miss said the same thing."
Gu Dezhao pressed his lips together, visibly agitated. He paced the room several times, unable to contain his fury.
Seeing his state, Mama Xu added, "There's one more matter this servant must report. Second Miss came to me, asking to have the maids who previously served Concubine Song returned... It seems Concubine Song isn't satisfied with her current two maids."
Gu Dezhao shut his eyes tightly before roaring, "She still wants her old maids back? Not a single one! They're all a bunch of gossiping, lowly creatures! If she dares make another fuss about servants, throw out the remaining two as well! Once she gives birth, send her straight to the nunnery! I won't have her staying in the Gu household any longer!"
After catching his breath, he continued, "And forbid Gu Lan from visiting her mother! Have her practice calligraphy in the study! If she dares visit again, break her legs too!"
Mama Xu acknowledged the orders, leaving Gu Dezhao at a loss for further words.Mama Xu, seeing that he had been silent for a long time, said, "...Eldest Miss still has tasks for this servant. If the master has no further instructions, this servant will take her leave now."
Gu Dezhao closed his eyes and nodded, signaling for Mama Xu to leave.
As Mama Xu turned to go, she heard him say softly, "You're now assisting Chaojie in managing the inner courtyard. Take good care of her. If she suffers any grievances... let me know."
PS:
Today's two chapters are being posted together, so don't skip ahead, everyone.
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