Chapter 235 To the Death Do Us Part
When he said that, everyone was stunned.
After a moment, Madam Min waved her hand and ordered, "You may leave."
"Yes." He actually responded and disappeared.
Then Madam Min Qiao looked at the people kneeling in front of her and said, "Those of you who want to leave with Wei Jia, feel free to come along."
After saying that, she ruthlessly shook off Wei Jia's hand and turned to go into the inner room.
After taking two steps, Madam Min Qiao added, "Wei Jia, when you leave, ask the others if you can take anything you want with you."
"I believe that with your abilities, supporting them is no problem at all."
After saying that, he didn't linger and quickly went into the inner room.
Others wanted to come in and plead for mercy, but Wei Jia shook her head and stopped them.
"Sister Weijia, what should we do? Are you really leaving?" Ayi was the first to burst into tears. "If you leave, what will happen to Madam? I'm so stupid, without your guidance, I can't take good care of Madam on my own!"
Ajiu, her eyes also red, said, "Sister Weijia, the Grand Madam is truly angry this time."
Ah Shuang didn't say anything.
Qiao Yuanyao looked bitter. After thinking for a moment, she said, "How about I ask my mother to help persuade my aunt?"
Wei Jia shook her head, "Don't worry about me. I'm thick-skinned. Even if the old lady kicks me out, I won't leave."
Everyone turned to look at Wei Jia. "But what about the Grand Madam..."
Wei Jia smiled and said, "It's alright. The old lady is still angry, so I won't go near her and upset her."
"I'll be moving to the new house for the time being, and I'll also be keeping an eye on the renovations there. If you need anything, you can come find me there."
"While I'm away, you should prioritize taking good care of the Grand Madam. And don't mention me in front of her."
"I will come back to apologize to the old lady after a while when her anger has subsided."
Ayi burst into laughter through her tears, exclaiming with delight, "So, Sister Weijia isn't leaving?"
Wei Jia wiped away her tears. "Of course. I would never leave Madam, not even if it meant death!"
Ayi, Ajiu, and Qiao Yuanyao all wore expressions of joy and relief, while A Shuang's expression was complicated.
Aside from Qiao Yuanyao, who was practically their mistress, the rest of them all entered Songhe Hall at the same time.
Wei Jia is full of ideas, while A Yi is not very bright, but she is reliable in doing things. Therefore, from the beginning, A Yi has been Wei Jia's follower.
Ah Jiu was quiet and unassuming, but he was exceptionally skilled. In the beginning, Ah Jiu was the most daring and the one who caused the most trouble.
Wei Jia was the one who controlled A Jiu the most and distrusted A Jiu the least.
But now, Ajiu has become the person who listens to Weijia the most after Ayi.
Wei Jia also trusts A Jiu quite a bit.
All the arrangements for the children in the village were handled by Ajiu.
She still vividly remembers Ajiu's attitude when she first met those children.
Perhaps because they came from the same place, Ah Jiu had a very deep affection for them.
Now, however, he is able to assign people out according to Wei Jia's instructions.
This shows that Ajiu trusts Weijia.
As for her, she initially just wanted to be a hardworking and ambitious young girl, not necessarily too likable, but definitely not to be disliked by the matriarch.
At that time, Wei Jia also encouraged her, gave her advice, and even took her to a teahouse to listen to storytelling and learn storytelling from the Lady of Enping.
At that time, she genuinely admired Wei Jia.
However, in just one year, Wei Jia won over the hearts of everyone in Songhetang, but her heart was no longer with Songhetang or with the Grand Madam.
Her heart, following her gaze, flew to the even more vast world beyond Songhe Hall.
Everyone felt that Sister Weijia's actions were to prevent the Grand Madam from being wronged and to better protect her.
But didn't they ever consider that these were really what the old lady wanted?
Didn't they consider what consequences the old lady would face if the incident came to light?
Most importantly, didn't they ever consider that the Dowager Lady was their master?
As maids, weren't their responsibilities to take good care of the matriarch's daily life and help her solve her problems?
How could you act on your own initiative and cause trouble for the Madam?
Do they really remember who they are?
Ah Shuang felt a mix of emotions.
She wasn't much better off than them. She knew it wasn't good to keep many things from the Grand Madam, but because of various concerns, she became one of them.
***
Min Qiao felt bad, but she still insisted on driving Wei Jia away.
Wei Jia moved out of the Marquis's residence that same day. Everyone else remained the same, continuing to perform their duties as usual.
After Wei Jia left, Madam Min Qiao summoned Granny Fang and her husband to the mansion, letting Granny Fang temporarily take over the affairs of Songhe Hall, and letting Yang An take over the affairs outside.
The elderly couple were startled when they heard Min Qiao's instructions.
Yang An, in particular, knew all too well how much control Wei Jia had over the Min Qiao family's businesses.
Let alone him, even if Madam Min Qiao went in person, the shopkeepers would only listen to Wei Jia's orders.
There's no way around it; the pursuit of profit is human nature.
In the past six months, Wei Jia has quadrupled the salaries of the shopkeepers and employees, and their status has risen accordingly due to the booming business of each shop, making them far superior to the employees of other shops.
Now, when they go out, shop assistants from other shops fawn over them, hoping that one day they can also find a job as shop assistants in Min Qiao's shop through connections.
Therefore, even if Madam Min uses her status as the head of the household to coerce people, I'm afraid those people would rather quit than disobey her.
Yang An had mentioned these things subtly twice before. After returning from Jiangnan, Yang An learned of Wei Jia's abilities, and after working for her, he admired her immensely.
However, he also saw the hidden dangers brought about by Wei Jia's absolute control over the shopkeepers and employees.
He had mentioned these things to Madam Min, but she hadn't taken them to heart.
She said, "Trust those you employ, and don't employ those you don't trust."
Since Madam Min believed in Wei Jia, he, as an outsider, couldn't say anything more.
But how come only a few months have passed? How did the master and servant end up like this?
Yang An was filled with unease, but he still told her the story with a bitter face, "Madam, I'm afraid we won't be able to take back this power anytime soon."
Madam Min sighed, "Go directly to Wei Jia. If she's willing to hand over the power to you, then you can manage it for me. If she doesn't..."
Yang An looked at Min Qiaoshi nervously, waiting for her to continue.
Then Min Qiao said in a muffled voice, "If you don't hand it over, just say I don't want any of those properties anymore."
Before Yang An could react, Granny Fang jumped up and exclaimed, "How can this be? That's the Grand Madam's property! How can a mere maid take it for free?"
Madam Min Qiao couldn't help but smile. "I don't lack that little bit of money, why are you in such a hurry?"
Even without those shops, she still has the estate and the dowry in the storeroom. Selling just a few items would be enough to ensure she'd live a comfortable life.
Granny Fang was furious. "That won't do! What's yours is yours. Even if you have money, you can't let others take advantage of you for nothing!"
"No, I have to go and confront her. If it weren't for the Grand Madam buying her back then, she would have been sold to some filthy place."
"Now that you've grown up, are you going to repay kindness with enmity?"
At this point, Granny Fang became even more furious. "Madam, where is that girl Wei Jia now? I want to ask her if she has any conscience at all."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com