Chapter 98 The Gluttonous House Slave
Granny Pei chimed in, "If anyone's to blame, it's Yang Qi himself. He's so young and yet he spends all his time idling around. He even dares to go to places like gambling dens and brothels. When the young mistress asked me to have someone keep an eye on him, I was worried that we wouldn't be able to find any dirt on him. But we didn't have to put in any effort. A little investigation revealed his true colors."
Let's not talk about them anymore, young mistress. We've seen Third Aunt's family off, so what's next...?
Madam Pei glanced at the courtyard where the second and fourth families lived.
Yu Qingci nodded; it was time to make a move.
At the back gate of the general's mansion, a young maid in her twenties quietly pushed open the closed wooden door from the outside, poked her head in and looked around. Seeing that no one was there, she simply walked in openly, locked the door again, and prepared to leave.
As soon as he turned around, he saw that there were suddenly several old women in front of him, the one in the lead being Wang Mama, who was by the old lady's side.
The maid was startled and quickly hid the basket she was carrying behind her back, forcing a smile: "Granny Wang, what are you doing here? You startled me by being so quiet."
Granny Wang glanced at the basket the maid was trying to conceal behind her, and seeing that it was completely covered up, she couldn't help but snort coldly:
"Isn't this Lady Liu, who serves the Second Madam? Why is she running off instead of serving the Second Madam at this time? Oh, what's that she's carrying behind her? Let me see."
As she spoke, she stepped forward and lifted the cloth covering the basket. Inside, there was a whole roasted chicken still steaming, a large bag of smoked duck and other meats, and even two bottles of wine. Judging from the bottles, the wine was not cheap and definitely not something that servants like them could afford.
Seeing that she had been caught red-handed, Liu Niangzi immediately became embarrassed and hurriedly explained:
"It's just a little food, nothing to worry about. The Second Madam is still waiting in the courtyard, so I won't say any more to you, Granny."
Granny Wang's face darkened: "How dare you! Knowing full well that the General's Mansion is in mourning and abstains from meat, you still dared to bring these things in. It is utterly despicable."
"What? Just because you brought up your master doesn't mean I won't do anything to you! Guards, tie him up!"
The old women following behind immediately stepped forward, pinned Liu Niangzi to the ground, and gagged her.
An old woman, quick to notice, brought over a stool and placed it in front of Granny Wang. Granny Wang gave the old woman an appreciative look and sat down facing the back door.
The other old women stood respectfully behind Granny Wang. They had come prepared today and were now waiting for her to come to them.
Before long, they heard someone knocking on the door. At Wang Mama's signal, a trembling old woman guarding the door went to open it.
The moment the door opened, a teenage girl quickly slipped in, carrying a basket in her hand.
After the girl came in, she didn't look around and casually said to the old woman guarding the door, "Thank you, Granny. Here, these are some dried almonds I bought outside. Please have a taste."
As he spoke, he stuffed the snacks in his hand into the gatekeeper's hand.
The gatekeeper dared not accept the offer and hurriedly hid her hands behind her back, while still trying to wink at the girl.
The girl was quick-witted; she turned her head sharply and saw Granny Wang and her group sitting on the stool watching the commotion. The girl froze on the spot.
Granny Wang sat there leisurely and said, "Oh, isn't this Miss Rui'er from the Fourth Madam's side? She just came back from shopping. Let me see what nice things she bought."
After giving her a look, an old woman walked towards Ruier from behind.
Hua Rui unconsciously hid the basket behind her back, forcing a smile as she said:
"It's Granny Wang! You startled me. No, it's nothing. It's just that our Fourth Madam asked me to go out and buy some everyday needles and thread."
Rui'er chuckled, "Wang Mama, it must be hard work of you to be out here in this cold weather. I won't bother you any longer. Our Fourth Madam is waiting for me to go back and serve her."
After saying that, he tried to leave.
The maidservant snatched the basket from Hua Rui's hand, lifted the cloth covering it, and presented it to Granny Wang. Everyone saw that it was another package of meat and vegetables wrapped in oil paper, with a small porcelain bowl at the bottom.
Granny Wang reached out and lifted the lid of the porcelain bowl. Immediately, a rich aroma of meat wafted out, making one's mouth water.
Granny Wang: "Oh, it's Tianxianglou's signature dish. As far as I know, Tianxianglou's signature dishes are not cheap. Miss Rui'er has struck it rich, she's willing to buy such expensive things to eat."
Rui'er's face flushed red and then turned pale, unsure of what to say.
Granny Wang waved her hand: "Alright, take them all away. The old lady and the young mistress are still waiting for a reply."
He glanced back at the gatekeeper, who was kneeling on the ground, too afraid to utter a sound.
The old woman was so frightened that she immediately begged for mercy, saying, "Please forgive me, Granny Wang. I was confused for a moment. I thought we were all servants in the same household and would see each other all the time, so I made it easy for them by opening the door for them. I will never dare to do it again."
Granny Wang spat at her and said, "You greedy old woman, you open the door wide as soon as someone throws you a little benefit. If one day some thieves outside give you a few extra taels of silver, you might just open the door and let them in right away."
It seems you're not cut out for this easy job of guarding the gate. You'd better go to the outer courtyard and stretch your muscles.
Then he had someone send the old woman to the outer courtyard's servants' quarters.
After dealing with the gatekeeper and finding a replacement, Granny Wang led everyone towards Songbai Hall.
Yu Qingci and Madam Ning were already waiting in the main hall.
Soon after receiving the news, Wei and Ma arrived one after another.
As soon as Madam Wei entered the door, she exclaimed, "Oh dear, what terrible thing has happened? How come my servant was arrested as a thief just because he went out for a short while?"
Madam Ma chimed in sarcastically, "That's right. I only sent a maid out to buy some needles and thread, and she got caught and brought here by my sister-in-law. Anyone who didn't know better would think that no one in the General's Mansion is allowed to leave their homes."
Although the two were arguing, their faces betrayed their guilty conscience.
After arguing for a while, the two saw that Old Madam Ning and Yu Qingci were sitting there expressionless and ignoring them. Old Madam Ning's face was very ugly. The two quickly gave up and glared at the servants kneeling on the ground with disappointment before finding a place to sit down.
Madam Ning remained silent, while Yu Qingci lowered her head and drank her tea, making the entire main hall unusually quiet.
Madam Wei and Madam Ma exchanged a glance, and Madam Ma smiled and said:
"It's so much warmer here, sister-in-law, with plenty of charcoal. Unlike our courtyard, we don't even dare to waste charcoal in the inner room, let alone the main hall, and we can't even sleep in the bedroom during the day. At night, we can't do without a kettle in our beds."
Old Madam Ning glanced at her and then turned her gaze to Granny Wang. Granny Wang stepped forward, bowed, and then began to recount what had happened at the back gate that day. After speaking, she ordered someone to bring Rui'er and Lady Liu in.
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