Chapter 3 Fainting

Ru Qiu and Ru Xia were prepared, standing on either side to block Xie Sangning. Ru Xia even pushed Xie Wuyou away without any hesitation when he lunged at her.

Ru Chun rushed up and slapped him twice across the face!

Xie Sangning looked down at Xie Wuyou, who had fallen to the ground.

"Your courtyard? Xie Wuyou, have you lost your mind? Or is the feng shui of this General's Mansion so bad that it's raising a bunch of arrogant fools who don't know their place?"

She looked up, her gaze sweeping over the familiar courtyard: "This Ruixue Tower is the residence my parents left me, the place where I, Xie Sangning, was born and grew up."

"Ten years ago, it was only because the second wife took advantage of my young age and my father being far away on the border that she committed the despicable act of usurping my place and bullying an orphan girl. That's why you, the daughter of the second wife, had the audacity to move in."

"These things were all bought with my father's salary. How I deal with them is entirely up to me. When did it become your place to tell me what to do with them!"

Xie Sangning leaned down slightly, approaching Xie Wuyou on the ground, and said contemptuously, "A pheasant that has occupied someone else's nest for ten years, does it really think it's a phoenix? Doesn't it even look in the mirror and see if it's worthy?"

Then, she straightened up: "Ruchun, hurry up and throw all this unsightly junk out. Make room so I can properly put my things away. Remember, get rid of all the furniture and beds that have been used; I find them dirty."

"Yes, Miss!" Ru Chun replied loudly, and her hands moved even faster.

"No—!" Xie Wuyou cried out as she watched her belongings being dragged out without mercy, struggling to rush over and protect them.

Ru Xia stepped directly onto her skirt, rendering her unable to move.

Xie Wuyou couldn't stop her, so she could only stare at Xie Sangning with hatred in her eyes.

It was only then that she realized that Xie Sangning was not the country bumpkin she had imagined!

On the contrary... they are even more exquisite than the noble ladies of Jinling!

Why should I?!

She couldn't accept it for a moment. A sweet taste rose in her throat, and with a "pfft," she vomited a mouthful of blood and fainted.

Seeing that Xie Wuyou had also fainted, Xie Sangning curled her lips.

Therefore, one's life cannot be too smooth.

Otherwise, they would be like these two mother and daughter, fainting at the slightest setback; they are extremely fragile.

At the courtyard gate, Xie Chengzong, who had just settled his wife and rushed over, saw his daughter vomiting blood and fainting. Seeing the mess in the courtyard, his legs went weak, and he could only stand by holding onto the door frame.

Xie Sangning, however, seemed not to see him at all. She was giving instructions with great interest: "Place the screen over there, yes, the lighting is just right..."

Reclaiming the main courtyard was only the first step, but this step had already caused the second branch to lose face and suffer a great loss of vitality within the mansion.

Ru Qiu placed a rocking chair in the courtyard, and Xie Sangning lay down and closed her eyes.

Xie Chengzong didn't have time to calculate the accounts; he hurriedly took Xie Wuyou to find the family physician.

The physician hadn't expected that this proper young lady would cause two people to faint on her very first day back at the manor, leaving him sweating profusely.

——

As the sun began to set, Xie Sangning slowly woke up in a rocking chair covered with ferret fur.

In the courtyard, Xie Wuyou's belongings had been cleaned up, and the servants stood silently with their hands at their sides.

Granny Xia stood solemnly to the side. Seeing Xie Sangning wake up, she immediately stepped forward and whispered, "Miss, everyone is here. All the people that the Second Madam arranged to serve you are here waiting."

Xie Sangning nodded and was helped to sit up by Ruqiu.

She didn't look at the group of servants immediately, but slowly took the hand warmer, gently stroking the inside of it with her fingertips until everyone was frozen stiff. Finally, she raised her eyelids and glanced at their faces.

"Granny Xia," Xie Sangning's voice carried the languidness of someone just waking up, "tell me, who are they?"

As expected, Granny Xia immediately reported, "Miss, this old servant has investigated. I didn't expect there to be twenty people serving here."

"Two first-class maids and two second-class maids were kept, and the rest were promoted from the manor."

After hearing this, Xie Sangning scoffed. Xie Wuyou actually had twenty people serving her; she was quite pampered.

Does she even deserve it?

Among the maids prepared here, I bet every single one of them is an informant.

"In that case, I don't want any of these people. Granny Xia, return them all to the second branch of the family."

Granny Xia replied, "Yes, this old servant will take care of it right away."

“Once I return to Jinling, I must follow the rules of Jinling. I should have as many servants as I need. I must not break the rules like that pheasant and give others something to talk about.”

"Ruchun and the other three will continue to serve me closely. I will also buy four second-class maids from the slave trader. Xia Mama can make her own arrangements. The others I brought back can be placed in various places in the mansion or sent out to other places."

According to the rules of Jinling, only princesses could have more than sixteen maids to serve them; having more would be considered a great disrespect. Even the legitimate daughters of generals' mansions, whose fathers had made great contributions, were only entitled to eight maids.

She would never leave any evidence against her for such a basic mistake.

In other words, Xie Wuyou was brainless, but lucky that no one noticed she had exceeded the rules by so much.

As for the others, they were some of her trusted confidants whom she had brought from Xihan. There were as many as 500 people, both openly and secretly, but only about 100 of them were able to enter the city.

They have all disguised themselves as ordinary people and infiltrated the capital. Those who couldn't enter the city settled in nearby villages or county towns. Xi Han still has over a thousand people waiting for her orders.

"Yes!" Granny Xia bowed and accepted the order.

——

The next day, as the sun rose, Xie Sangning got out of bed with the help of Ru Chun and the other three. She was a little grumpy, as she hadn't slept well the night before and was somewhat disoriented.

After finishing her makeup, Ru Chun held the fox fur coat and said softly, "Miss, it's time to pay your respects to the Old Madam."

Xie Sangning gave a lazy "hmm," took the rose dew prepared by Ruqiu, and took a sip. The sweet and slightly bitter taste finally refreshed her.

"Is there any news from the Old Madam today?"

"Miss, the Second Master went to Fushou Hall before dawn and talked for about half an hour before coming out."

They're rushing off to file a complaint.

After Xie Sangning finished washing up, she took Ru Chun's hand, and the group headed towards Fushou Hall in a grand procession.

In front of Fushou Hall, an old servant with gray hair and a wrinkled face was already waiting there. When he saw them coming, he immediately came forward, bowed and greeted them, but blocked the gate: "Greetings, Miss. The old lady caught a cold yesterday and had a bad headache this morning. She just took medicine and rested. Please wait for her."

He spoke respectfully, but the old servant stood ramrod straight.

Is this a way of putting pressure on them and trying to establish rules?