Chapter 11: What Was Gained
Yun Chu smiled faintly.
She surveyed the entire room. Apart from the four walls belonging to the Xie family, which item hadn't been furnished by her?
Even feeding these things to dogs would be better than giving them to these ungrateful wolves.
She spoke: "Since Wei Ge'er has said so, if I, as your mother, still insist on caning you, that would truly be too cruel. However, can you produce one thousand taels of silver?"
Xie Shiwei was immediately speechless.
He received a few taels of silver as his monthly stipend. The Old Madam would give him some money, and his grandmother would too. Altogether, it amounted to twenty or thirty taels, all of which he had squandered recklessly. He didn't have a single coin left in his possession.
Yun Chu raised her hand slightly: "If you can't produce it, then we'll have to make do with what we have."
Ting Shuang and Ting Xue stepped forward and began moving items.
Several servants and matrons entered from outside to help with the relocation.
The once exquisite bedroom was suddenly stripped bare.
Suppressing his pain, Xie Shiwei asked with restraint, "Mother, what are you doing?"
"First, these items are roughly worth some silver and will serve as compensation for the cricket," Yun Chu explained calmly. "Second, the texts say: 'When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it first tests their resolve, exhausts their muscles and bones, starves their body...' When you first entered the Xie residence, Wei Ge'er, you were obedient, sensible, and well-behaved. Now, you've become increasingly undisciplined. It seems I've been too indulgent in raising you. Starting today, your food, clothing, and expenses will be halved. When you show improvement, we'll reconsider."
Xie Shiwei wailed loudly: "Mother, no! I know I was wrong!"
Yun Chu turned and left with her attendants.
"Mother, don't go! I'll really change, I promise I will! Please, Mother, don't treat me like this..."
Xie Shiwei crawled down from the bed, scrambling on his hands and knees, until He Shi caught and held him back.
"Wei Ge'er, the Madam is doing this for your own good..."
He Shi struggled to console him.
Compared to An Ge'er, Wei Ge'er was indeed much less sensible.
This time, she decided not to report to the Old Madam, hoping that under the Madam's discipline, Wei Ge'er would truly improve.
After He Shi comforted him for a while, Xie Shiwei gradually fell asleep and quieted down.
She walked into the courtyard and sighed deeply.
Too many things had happened these past few days—more than in the past four years combined. She felt somewhat overwhelmed.
As she stepped outside, she overheard several matrons whispering among themselves.
"What did you say? Starting tomorrow, there'll be no afternoon tea or melon seeds?"
"That's what the people from the Eldest Young Lady's courtyard said. She's bringing it up tomorrow morning. Is the Eldest Young Lady making an example of us on her first day managing the household with the Madam?"
"Tea and melon seeds cost next to nothing. The Eldest Young Lady really doesn't treat us lowly matrons as human."
"If the Eldest Young Lady truly denies us even a cup of tea, I won't carry out any tasks she assigns in the future."
"..."
"What are you all gathered here for in the middle of the night!" He Shi emerged from the shadows and said coldly, "Disperse at once!"
Everyone knew she was Mother He, the most trusted servant by the Madam, and no one dared to say another word. They lowered their heads and hurried off to their duties.
Under cover of darkness, she went to Xie Ping's courtyard.
Xie Ping was still reviewing account books. Seeing her arrive, she frowned immediately: "Haven't I told you? Don't come here so often."She was now the legitimate eldest daughter of the Xie household and was reluctant to associate too closely with a servant, even if that person was her birth mother.
He Shi carefully chose her words: "Ping Jie'er, I..."
"What are you calling me?" Xie Ping said displeased. "You're the steward in Father's courtyard, you should address me as Eldest Miss. Don't make me remind you all the time."
"Yes, Eldest Miss." He Shi concealed her disappointment and said, "I heard from the maids in the courtyard that you canceled the daily afternoon tea and snacks?"
Xie Ping nodded: "Yes, what about it?"
"This won't do." He Shi said slowly. "You've just started learning household management from the Madam, and you're making such drastic changes already. This will make the servants resent you. In the future, no matter what you try to accomplish, they won't obey and will create many troubles for you. Don't think that just because those low-ranking maids are beneath notice, they don't matter. They..."
"Enough!" Xie Ping's face was full of impatience. "Mother said my method is excellent. What qualifications do you have to say it won't do? Mother is the eldest daughter of the Yun family and knows everything. You're just a low-ranking servant. Do you think I should listen to you or to Mother? I need to review the account books and don't have time to talk with you. Someone, please escort Steward He out."
A maid entered and made a gesture of invitation.
He Shi wanted to say more, but Xie Ping gave her no opportunity, hugging the account books as she directly entered the inner chamber.
Walking out of the courtyard, He Shi narrowed her eyes.
She repeatedly went over the recent events in her mind.
Although the Madam had reasons for each of her actions, for some reason, she vaguely felt that the Madam seemed to be deliberately targeting her children.
The Old Madam and the Lady listened to everything the Madam said, and the Master allowed the Madam to discipline the children. Even if the Madam crippled the children, the Xie family would probably think she was doing it for their future...
Whether she was overthinking or not, she couldn't just wait for disaster to strike.
An idea began to form in He Shi's mind.
Waking up in the morning, the spring rain pattered outside the window, and the fresh air improved Yun Chu's mood somewhat.
While Ting Shuang was combing her hair, she said quietly: "Last night, Steward He delivered a pot of flowers to Concubine Tao on the Master's behalf."
Concubine Tao was Xie Jingyu's third concubine, a freeborn concubine gifted by his superior. She was currently pregnant and due to give birth in just over three months.
Yun Chu selected a hairpin and put it on: "Continue watching He Shi."
She knew that with her successive actions, He Shi would definitely make a move.
In her previous life, something had happened to Concubine Tao's child... All evidence pointed to her, claiming she had attempted to harm Concubine Tao's child.
Although the Xie family had respected her before, after this incident, her status in the household plummeted...
Concubine Tao's child didn't die young, but suffered brain damage, unable to speak or walk, remaining in a dull, foolish state. It was she who searched everywhere for famous doctors to treat this child, she who begged and pleaded to get that miraculous physician, she who cared for the child tirelessly without even changing her clothes... But after curing this child, what did she get in return?
Yun Chu smiled mockingly.
This time, He Shi was acting more than a month earlier than in her previous life. She wondered if the Fourth Young Master of the Xie family would have the fate to be born alive.
Just as she finished washing up, Xie Shi'an came to pay his respects.
Because he had to study, he was always the first to arrive each day, waiting properly in the side hall for Yun Chu to emerge.Yun Chu exchanged a few casual words with him and, noticing he wasn't in a hurry to go to school, couldn't help but ask, "Is there something else?"
"I'm waiting for Father," Xie Shi'an replied. "Father is going to the Prince of Pacifying the West Manor and asked me to accompany him. Does Mother have any instructions?"
Yun Chu said gently, "Just be careful on the road."
Xie Jingyu valued this eldest son the most. Starting to pave the way for his eldest son so early—such profound paternal love truly moved her.
Unfortunately, Xie Shi'an would never achieve the accomplishments of his previous life again.
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