The guard came to the second concubine's courtyard and was about to grab her, but was stopped by her personal maid.
"How dare you! You are so bold. Second Concubine is the master's wife. How can you thieves touch her? Don't you know the difference between men and women? Be careful or the master will chop off your hands." said the maid Xiao Cui.
"What do you mean by 'Master's concubine'? She's nothing but a troublemaker. Let me tell you, it was Master who ordered us to arrest Second Concubine and take her to the exile center to apologize to the princess. We also had to clear her name in front of the people. The rumors that were spreading throughout the capital were spread by Second Concubine."
The Emperor was furious and had the Master demoted and ordered to move out of the Shangshu Mansion. It was all because of her that the Master was demoted.
The Emperor also wants her and the Second Young Master's lives, so they will be sent to the execution ground today," said the head guard.
"No, everything you said is a lie. How could the Master ask me to apologize to the Princess and even kill me? This is all just nonsense from you, a dog slave. I'm going to see the Master and expose your lies. I'll tear you into pieces," the Second Concubine said arrogantly. She didn't believe that a mere Princess could persuade the Emperor to intervene on her behalf. She wouldn't believe it even if she was beaten to death.
"He is not talking nonsense. It is indeed the master who asked them to take you to apologize to the princess!" The wife of the Shangshu came here after leaving the study.
"Hello, Madam!" The servants saluted the Minister's wife.
"You're talking nonsense. The master wouldn't treat me like this." The second concubine said in disbelief.
Two crisp slapping sounds were heard.
"Nonsense, it's all because of you, a troublemaker. How dare you, mother and son, insult the princess? How many lives do you have left to die? Are you determined to have your entire family executed and your entire clan exterminated before you're satisfied?
"The princess is the future consort of Prince Jin. You dare to offend the Prince of Jin? You must be afraid of death. Don't implicate the Shangshu Mansion. If it weren't for Cai'er's relationship with the princess, not only the Shangshu Mansion, but also your family would be executed. Take her to apologize to the princess. If she talks nonsense again on the way, stuff her mouth with a rag." The Shangshu's wife angrily scolded the second concubine.
"No, she is just a village woman. The master will not take my life for a village woman. I want to see the master, mother, save me!" The second concubine refused to believe it and asked to see the master.
"Are you dead? Stuff your mouths with rags!" the Shangshu's wife said angrily.
"Yes, madam." A guard said, picked up a rag from the stage, stuffed it into the second concubine's mouth, and pulled her down.
"Come here, drag Xiao Cui away and beat her to death with a stick. Wait for the housekeeper to come back and sell the rest." The Shangshu's wife dealt with the servants in the second concubine's room.
"Madam, please spare us! This was all done by the Second Concubine. We are innocent!" Xiao Cui and the other servants begged the Shangshu's wife.
The Shangshu's wife ignored them, and the guards quickly took Xiao Cui and the others away.
The Shangshu's wife asked the people around her to search the second concubine's room for valuables, all of which were to be taken away.
Ma Youdao was also stopped, but his actions were dealt with by the confidants sent by the Shangshu's wife. The servants who followed Ma Youdao were beaten to death, and the rest were sold.
The servants in the mansion began to pack up, which alarmed the old lady.
"Zhang Lan, go out and see what's happening outside?" the old lady said to the nanny beside her.
This nanny was the old lady's personal nanny since she was a child. She grew up with the old lady and was married off as a nanny. She was also once the maidservant of Old Master Ma, and this was agreed by the old lady.
Many wealthy families would arrange for attractive maids to serve in the master's or young master's rooms, where they would sleep with him or her. They would only escape this fate if their master refused to accept them. Therefore, maids in the rooms held a high status; aside from taking care of the master's or young master's daily needs, they were not required to do any other chores.
"Yes, madam." Zhang Lan left the room and went to ask someone.
Soon, Zhang Lan returned to the old lady and told her what had happened.
"Madam, something bad has happened. The master has been demoted and has to move out of the Shangshu Mansion today. The second concubine and the second young master have been taken in to apologize to the group leader and then sent to the execution ground." Zhang Lan told the old lady everything she heard.
"What? You said the master was demoted? And he's going to move out of the Shangshu Mansion? Is this the emperor's intention? The emperor is going to touch our Ma family for that little bitch?" The old lady said in disbelief. Wasn't the princess a powerless village woman? Why would the emperor do this to the Ma family for a village woman?
"It's the emperor's intention." Zhang Lan said truthfully.
"Hurry, let's go find the master." The old lady felt that she should ask her son in person what was going on.
Zhang Lan supported the old lady as they went to find the master. Everywhere they passed, the servants were packing up their things. At this moment, the old lady had already believed Zhang Lan's words for 70%, and her heart began to panic.
"Son, the servants outside are saying that you were demoted and had to move out of the Shangshu Mansion. They asked the Second Aunt and Dao'er to apologize to the princess and also to behead her and her son. These are not false, right?" The old lady came to the study and saw her son packing up. She asked her son anxiously.
"Mother, this is true. Zhang not only humiliated the princess, but also had people spread rumors in the capital to slander the princess. This has angered the emperor. The emperor wants me to let the second concubine and Ma Youdao clarify the rumors to the princess and apologize in person. He also wants their lives." Minister Ma said to the old lady.
"How could this happen? Since you are being punished like this, why should you be demoted? And why should you move out of the Shangshu Mansion?" The old lady asked Shangshu Ma.
"Mother, why don't you understand? Slandering the princess? Denigrating the princess? That's slandering the royal family. The whole family will be executed, and nine generations of the clan will be exterminated.
Taking into account the relationship between Cai'er and the princess, the emperor spared the execution of the entire family and only demoted me. "Mother, you are happy this time. At the beginning, my son refused to let Zhang into the mansion, but you insisted on forcing her in. Now, because of her, our entire family is almost executed." Ma Shangshu said to the old lady with some resentment. He had worked hard to climb to the position of minister and loyally protected the emperor. In the past, when the prime minister made things difficult for him and suppressed him, he resisted because he knew that the emperor was a wise ruler, but he could not compete with the prime minister now. In time, the emperor will definitely eradicate the prime minister's party and stabilize the court. They, the royalists, will be promoted. Now, before the emperor can promote them, they are demoted by Zhang. Will the emperor still use him?
"Are you blaming me?" the old lady asked Minister Ma in disbelief. This son, who had always obeyed her since childhood, had obeyed her in everything except marrying the minister's wife and not letting the second concubine into the house. It was hard for her to accept that he was suddenly blaming her.
"Shouldn't I be blamed? If mother hadn't insisted on marrying a vicious woman, why would I have been demoted to Minister? If mother hadn't stopped me from punishing Zhang and that unfilial son the day before yesterday, why would I have moved out of the Shangshu Mansion? Shouldn't I blame mother for all this?" Shangshu Ma said angrily.
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