Chapter 11

Last night, Mu Yulu sent all the servants sent by Qingwu Courtyard back. After returning to the courtyard, the servants were like quails, not daring to utter a sound. No matter how Aunt Wang asked, they only said that the eldest young lady was under house arrest, which was the master's order, and they dared not force their way in.

Aunt Wang immediately sensed that something was wrong.

Based on her understanding of Mu Yulu, this arrogant and domineering young lady should have caused quite a stir last night.

Her real purpose in sending the servants to bring Mu Yulu to Qingwu Courtyard was not to have the servants bring Mu Yulu there. She planned to invite the master over when the young lady was digging her own grave. This was her true plan when she sent people to make a scene in Mu Yulu's courtyard last night.

Unexpectedly, these servants were humiliated by Mu Yulu and were all sent back in disgrace, not daring to even breathe loudly.

She felt that Mu Yulu was different from before.

This brainless girl seems to have suddenly grown a brain.

Therefore, upon hearing that Mu Yulu had fallen into the lake again last night, Aunt Wang rushed over, pretending to be concerned about Mu Yulu, but actually testing her to see if she was telling the truth.

Unexpectedly, it wasn't just Mu Yulu who changed, but also her timid maid.

When did this maidservant grow so bold as to spout such nonsense in front of her?

However, Mu Yugang was staring at her, waiting for her reply, so she couldn't immediately lash out. She took a breath and said with teary eyes, "It's nothing serious. In the end, it's still the children's business."

"Xing'er had a suit custom-made two months ago for the temple fair last night. The dress was really rare, and she looked absolutely stunning in it. As the saying goes, clothes make the man, and Xing'er wanted to make the Mu family's daughters look good at the temple fair."

"Later, Xiao Lu saw the clothes and took them to wear. Xing'er couldn't find the clothes and cried in the courtyard. So I asked the servants to look around to see if they had been left somewhere."

She quickly added, "It's not that I'm wronging Xiaolu. Yesterday, when I sent servants to look for the clothes, we didn't just go to Xiaolu's courtyard; we searched everywhere else as well. It was only later, when I heard that Xiaolu was wearing that dress and spreading it around the mansion, that I realized she had actually taken the dress."

Mu Yugang's face turned ashen: "So all this talk is about a piece of clothing?"

When Xin Yun heard him ask this, she immediately perked up. Just when she thought that the master was going to uphold justice for the young lady, she saw Mu Yugang turn around and spit at Mu Yulu, who was lying on the bed, saying, "You're still the older sister, arguing with your younger sister over a piece of clothing!"

“Who says otherwise?” Aunt Wang wiped away her tears. “But sir, Xiao Lu is still a child. What does she know? Please don’t be angry with her.”

As she spoke, she started crying again: "What kind of mess is this? Xing'er cried several times in the yard because of this dress. Who would have thought that not only did she not find the dress, but she also fell ill. Her little face is still burning hot."

“My poor child, she has been looking forward to the temple fair for so long, and she just missed it like this. I don’t know how heartbroken she will be when she wakes up.”

Aunt Wang cried incessantly in front of Mu Yugang, but he didn't find it annoying at all and patiently comforted her.

He must have felt heartbroken because Aunt Wang was already crying so much. When he heard that Mu Xingzi was still lying in bed with a high fever, he felt even more heartbroken.

This made him even angrier at Mu Yulu, the one who started all of this.

However, Mu Yulu was still unconscious in bed at this moment. Mu Yugang had nowhere to vent his anger, and no one would care even if he did. So he turned his head and vented his anger on Xinyun: "Miss has had one accident after another because of you lazy and incompetent servants!"

Aunt Wang quickly chimed in, "Xiao Lu has been behaving recklessly lately, threatening to hang herself or jump into the lake, and even dragging her sister down with her. How could a proper young lady do such a thing? Xiao Lu was originally a good child. In my opinion, all her actions lately must have been instigated by these vile maids!"

She raised her hand and touched Mu Yugang's chest, patting him to help him catch his breath as she continued, "It's all my fault. I chose this maid to serve Xiaolu because I valued her for being attentive and considerate. But who knew she would turn out to be such a wicked and two-faced wretch? She's corrupted such a fine young lady!"

She started sobbing again: "Master trusts me and asked me to assist Madam in managing the household, but I can't even train these lowly maids properly. Master, please take back my housekeeping key. I really have no face to manage this huge Mu Mansion anymore."

Today, Xinyun truly witnessed Aunt Wang's formidable power. She was no match for her; the other woman could twist the truth with a mere word. Xinyun felt that even if she had ten more mouths, she still couldn't out-argue her.

Mu Yugang then busied himself comforting Aunt Wang: "Alright, alright, stop crying. You said it yourself, this huge Mu mansion isn't so easy to manage. There are countless things to do in the mansion, and it's all thanks to you that the Mu mansion has been kept in such good order all these years."

He practically showered Aunt Wang with compliments: "How can you possibly manage so many things on your own? Just the annual banquets alone are enough to keep you busy. Not to mention, your daughters are growing up, and even Xiaolu's coming-of-age ceremony this year will require your attention. Even if you had three heads and six arms, you couldn't possibly manage so many things."

Aunt Wang sobbed, "Madam is unwell. The more I can help with the household affairs, the less burden she has to bear. Letting me help manage the household is a sign of the master and madam's trust in me. Now that Madam is ill, and Xiao Lu has had these mishaps, I really... I really..."

She subtly steered the conversation back to Mu Zhaoshi.

Guo Wenmu said angrily, "Madam is used to being a hands-off manager. She doesn't know how difficult it is to manage such a large mansion. She pushes everything onto you and is happy to be relaxed."

Aunt Wang quickly said, "Master, you're wronging Madam. Madam is very attentive to the affairs of the household. Although I manage all the affairs of the household, I still have to report to Madam on everything."

She glanced sideways at Xinyun, who was kneeling on the ground: "For example, in these recent incidents, I wanted to punish this lowly maid who was stirring up trouble between the master and the servants, but the Mu family has its own procedures for dealing with servants. I still had to report the situation to Madam and wait for her to make the final decision. Isn't this something that Madam needs to worry about?"

Mu Yugang sneered, "Don't try to make excuses for her. Although I'm often away from the manor, I know that you're in charge of everything here. What has Zhao Shi ever worried about? Her daughter has been acting recklessly these past few days, has she done anything about it?"

He then let out another cold laugh: "Do you think I know nothing? The so-called concern for the affairs of the manor is nothing more than requiring you to report to her every month where the money in the manor goes and what the daily expenses are."

He looked at Aunt Wang with concern: "Isn't this just making trouble for you? Look at you, you've gotten thinner and thinner these past few years."

Finally, he made a decision: "Alright, I think you've managed things quite well on your own all these years. From now on, you can make your own decisions and don't need to report to Madam anymore."

Aunt Wang looked troubled: "But what about Madam..."

Mu Yugang adopted a stance of taking charge for her: "You don't need to worry about this. I'll talk to Madam. Since she's not in good health, let her take good care of herself and not worry about these trivial matters."

After saying that, he casually pointed at Xinyun and said, "A matter like disposing of a maid can be a big deal or a small deal. She really didn't take good care of the young lady and let her run wild. Tomorrow you can find a slave trader to sell her off and find a reliable and steady maid to serve her."

Only now did Xinyun finally understand.

It turns out that Aunt Wang was using the incident of Miss falling into the water to challenge Madam, and she unfortunately became cannon fodder.

She knew that nothing she said at this moment would make a difference. Aunt Wang had clearly come prepared, and every word she uttered was aimed at Mu Yugang's sore spots. If she spoke again now, it would only hasten her being sold off.

Having achieved her goal, Aunt Wang said no more. She curtsied to Mu Yugang, then beckoned a servant to take Xinyun away immediately.

Mu Yulu finally woke up at this moment. As soon as she woke up, she saw Mu Yugang standing in front of her bed like a black tower, Aunt Wang pretending to be hypocritical, and Xinyun being roughly dragged out of the door by the servants.

She closed her eyes again and sneered inwardly.

Good, good, good. Such a big show has just happened in front of me as soon as I woke up. I'm really afraid that she won't be able to catch her breath.

She coughed heavily twice and said in a cold voice, "Father and Aunt, you're really making a big fuss. I haven't even woken up yet, and you're already going to punish the only maid who serves me."

Mu Yulu's reputation had already spread among the servants of the Mu family. Upon hearing Mu Yulu speak, they quickly released their grip on Xinyun's arm and stood aside with their heads bowed.

This scene clearly provoked Mu Yugang; the servants' fear of Mu Yulu made him feel that his authority had been challenged.

Therefore, he became extremely angry, almost jumping up and pointing his finger at Mu Yulu's nose, yelling: "Listen to what you're saying! Is this how Zhao Shi usually teaches you? All the servants in the Mu mansion were bought with my money, and I can do whatever I want with them!"

He roared at the top of his lungs, "Get this wretched woman out of here right now!"

The servants were startled and quickly dragged Xinyun towards the outside.

But then Mu Yulu suddenly threw off the covers and got out of bed.

"If anyone dares to take Xinyun away today, I will smash my head against the ancestral tablets in the ancestral hall and die." She looked up and stared directly into Mu Yugang's eyes, showing no fear of the fierce light in them: "Father, I mean what I say."