Chapter 194 Treating Us Like Easy Pawns

Hong'er had never seen anything like this before. She was so frightened that she trembled all over. The two old women who were holding her let go, and she fell to her knees with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly.

"Madam, young mistress, and ladies, please forgive me! I didn't do anything. I was just curious and went in to take a look. I really didn't do anything."

In her panic, she looked up and saw Madam Wei, then hurriedly crawled to her side and continued to plead:

"Madam, please say something for me! I really didn't do anything!"

Wei's eyelids twitched, and she looked at this useless girl with disappointment and anger. What use is she if she can't even handle such a small matter?

Without saying a word, Wei raised her arm and slapped Hong'er across the face: "You lowly hussy, I told you to pack your things, but you had the nerve to run into my niece's room to see something strange. You've never seen anything like this before."

Fortunately, my niece and niece-in-law are both gentle people who are always kind to their servants. If it were a harsh and domineering family, they would have had you dragged out and beaten to death by now!

After scolding Hong'er, Madam Wei raised her face and smiled at Yun Chu, saying:

"Yun Chu, I'm so sorry to have made you laugh. I just bought this lowly hussy two months ago. She's never seen the world before. She must have been blinded by the wealth of the mansion these past few days. Before leaving, she couldn't bear to leave and secretly ran in to see your boudoir one more time so she could show it off to the other servants when she got back."

Don't worry, I'll take her back and teach her a lesson right away.

He then got up and pulled Hong'er away.

"Wait!"

Yu Qingci's voice wasn't loud, but the two words she uttered were very intimidating.

Wei's body stiffened and she stopped.

Yu Qingci said indifferently, "Judging from what you're saying, Auntie, if I dare to punish your maid for barging into the master's room, that would be considered mean-spirited, domineering, and bullying?"

Looking at Yu Qingci's almond-shaped eyes, which seemed to be smiling but weren't, Madam Wei awkwardly forced a smile and said:

"That's not what I meant. I'll teach that girl a lesson when I get back, so my niece-in-law won't have to get her hands dirty."

After saying that, he turned to leave again.

Yu Qingci: "You said it yourself, she's only been with you for two months. How can you know what she's up to by sneaking into Yun Chu's room? Could she have been dishonest and touched something she shouldn't have?"

I think it's best to search in front of everyone. If something really is missing from Yun Chu's room, it'll be hard to explain once you leave."

After saying that, he gestured for Lianqiao to step forward.

Without saying a word, Lianqiao went over and began searching Hong'er's body. Just as Wei was about to stop her, Lianqiao swiftly pulled a wad of fabric from Hong'er's arms.

Lianqiao took the fabric and unfolded it in front of Yu Qingci.

Everyone fell silent upon seeing this, and Yun Chu and the maids beside her immediately turned pale.

The fabric was actually a bellyband that Yun Chu wore close to her body; the soft, pine-leaf-colored material was embroidered with clusters of elegant chrysanthemums using colorful silk threads.

Yu Qingci and Madam Ning were also taken aback. Madam Ning stood up abruptly, looked at the bellyband in disbelief, and stared intently at Hong'er on the ground.

"What's going on? How did the young lady's things end up on you, maid? What are you trying to do?"

This was the first time Yu Qingci had ever seen Old Madam Ning loudly reprimand someone, and her gaze was as sharp as a knife as she looked at Wei Shi. It seemed that this time she had finally touched the old lady's sore spot.

The General's Mansion is now falling apart, especially the eldest branch. Madam Ning only has Yun Chu left, so she naturally cherishes her like the apple of her eye. Now that something like this has happened, it's no wonder that the usually gentle and easy-going old lady has changed her expression this time.

In this era, a woman's reputation was of paramount importance. If an unmarried young woman's personal clothing was stolen and the news got out, it was unimaginable what kind of miserable fate awaited Yun Chu.

Yu Qingci also stood up with a livid face and shouted angrily, "How dare you! Tell me, why did you do this? Who ordered you to do it?"

Hong'er was so frightened that she couldn't speak coherently, and could only stammer out a few words.

Madam Wei stepped forward and grabbed Hong'er's ear, sternly saying, "You little slut, what do you think this place is? How dare you steal even the General's daughter's personal clothing! If you like this kind of pattern, you can just borrow it from the maid next to the young lady and make one yourself. How could you do such a thing? I'll beat you to death!"

Hong'er understood the implication in Wei's words and quickly knelt down to beg for forgiveness: "This servant knows her mistake. That day, this servant followed our young lady to Miss Yun Chu's room and saw Sister Dong Yue tidying up her clothes. That... the bodice she sewed was so exquisite! This servant was so envious. Originally, this servant wanted to find an opportunity to borrow a pattern from Sister Dong Yue to make one herself, but unfortunately, my mistress sent me back today, so in a moment of confusion, I... I..."

"This servant knows she was wrong, Madam, Young Madam, Miss Yun Chu, please forgive this servant, this servant will never dare to do it again."

Yu Qingci sneered, "What a silver tongue you have! It seems you'll be taken advantage of if we don't teach you a lesson. Guards!"

Hong'er and Madam Wei panicked, and Madam Wei hurriedly stopped them:

"Niece-in-law, don't be angry, sister-in-law, this is all a misunderstanding. Please persuade your niece-in-law so that we can talk things over."

Madam Ning was furious and pointed at Madam Wei, cursing:

"What misunderstanding? I've been too lenient with you, which is why you think we, a widow and her children, are weak and easy to bully. You even dare to do such shady things in broad daylight. I want to ask you what you want to do."

You're a mother too, don't you know that if my daughter's personal clothing were lost outside, she might never be able to face anyone again!

Wei was so ashamed by the scolding that she couldn't lift her head, muttering, "How could that be?"

Yu Qingci: "Why not? Could it be that Second Aunt has already figured out how to use this thing?"

Madam Wei quickly waved her hand: "No, no, why are you saying such things, niece-in-law? This was all done by Hong'er, it has nothing to do with me."

Yu Qingci: "Yes, since it was Hong'er who did it, I will interrogate Hong'er separately now."

After saying that, he pointed at Hong'er and said to the two burly old women, "Lift her up for me."

The two old women stepped forward and pulled Hong'er up, making her face the crowd.

Seeing that she couldn't escape, Madam Wei simply put on a cold face and said to Yu Qingci:

"It's just that the girl was dishonest and took something she shouldn't have. Is there any need to interrogate her? Who is your niece-in-law trying to scare with this attitude?"

I kindly remind you, Hong'er is my maid, not from your general's mansion. If she does something wrong, I, as her mistress, will discipline her; it's not my place for my niece-in-law to overstep her bounds."

Yu Qingci: "It's a fact that Hong'er stole things. Since your girl did something wrong, I want to ask Second Aunt how she plans to give us an explanation?"

Madam Wei put on a smiling face and said, "Of course you want me to take her back and teach her a lesson. But it was just a little girl who made a mistake because she was confused for a moment. A little discipline will suffice. There's no need to make such a fuss, don't you think?"

Yu Qingci remained silent, her eyes coldly fixed on Madam Wei.