Seeing Fang Ruzhu's pitiful look as she begged for a hug, Zhen Wanwan selectively ignored it.
Zhen Wanwan saw that her wet nurse was on the verge of death, as if she was about to die on the spot.
My anger subsided slightly.
But thinking about what happened in the dream, he became angry with Madam Fang again!
"Madam Fang, this old woman is your servant! Don't you have anything to say to us?"
Madam Fang was taken aback by what she heard, seemingly not expecting Zhen Wanwan to say such a thing.
“Madam Zhen, I have indeed failed to discipline this old woman properly. If you wish to punish or beat her, I have absolutely no objection.”
Zhen Wanwan raised her hand to stop her, saying, "Her! I definitely won't let her get away with this! But doesn't Madam Fang bear any responsibility?"
What responsibility do I bear?
What does Lady Zhen mean by those words?
Her daughter, Zhu'er, was also a victim. Did she think that since she almost lost her daughter, she would have to pay for it with her life?
"Your servants have been illegally trafficking children. As their master, aren't you guilty of an even greater crime?"
No matter how noble the other party's status was, Zhen Wanwan still couldn't bear to suffer this loss.
Madam Fang, sitting opposite, stared in shock at the aggressive Zhen Wanwan.
“I have no objection to killing or dismembering this wicked servant, but my Pearl is also a victim. What crime has she committed?”
Are you sure you're innocent?
Zhen Wanwan sneered, "According to the laws of this dynasty, the crime of trafficking children punishable by confiscation of the entire family's property and exile..."
"This wet nurse is now your servant, and she almost kidnapped my child. Tell me, are you guilty or not!"
Madam Fang was speechless after being questioned. Wasn't this person being too unreasonable?
However, out of fear of Zhen Wanwan's status, Madam Fang had no choice but to grit her teeth and swallow her grievances.
"What do you want me to do!"
Given their background and social standing, it's unlikely that their entire family would be exiled for this matter.
Massive bleeding is inevitable!
Zhen Wanwan knew that this was not very realistic, but she was still happy to see the other party feel frustrated.
"I'm not sure how to decide this matter either. Why don't we ask Lord Feng to speak on it?"
"Alright!"
Feng He was already waiting outside; being a man, he had to avoid suspicion.
Although Madam Fang and Feng He had a falling out a few days ago.
But now that this has happened, she has no other suitable candidate besides Feng He.
"Lord Feng! What do you think of this matter?"
Feng He adopted the airs of an official, acting as if it were business.
"This wet nurse has violated the laws of the imperial court and should be punished by the government, but since the servant committed the crime, the master also bears responsibility for negligence in management..."
"Considering that Miss Fang is also a victim, I can be lenient with the Fang family and will not pursue the matter further."
"However...it's pitiful that the Zhen family suffered such misfortune for no reason...so the court orders the Fang family to compensate the Zhen family with three thousand taels of silver..."
Upon hearing that the fine would only be silver, Madam Fang eagerly agreed, "Okay!"
Zhen Wanwan frowned and asked in return, "Then how should this wet nurse be punished?"
Money doesn't matter; what matters is how the wet nurse should be convicted!
If the price is too low, she would rather not have the money.
Feng He knew that Zhen Wanwan was unhappy, but as a government official, he had to handle things officially!
"According to the laws of this dynasty, wet nurses are not only guilty of child trafficking, but also of crimes such as 'the servant is more powerful than the master'... Multiple crimes will be punished concurrently. The most serious offenders will be beheaded in the autumn, while the less serious offenders will have their names carved and be exiled to the border, becoming slaves for life."
After the wet nurse fainted from the pain, she woke up to hear these words, which frightened her so much that she fainted again.
Zhen Wanwan was fairly satisfied with the punishment.
"In that case, I'm relieved!"
Seeing that both parties were satisfied, Feng He wrote the judgment on the spot.
The Fang family was very accommodating; after receiving the judgment, they immediately settled the bill.
He turned and left the scene.
Madam Fang still had many questions. Why would the wet nurse do such a thing?
She was extremely careful with the servants who served her son and daughter.
She couldn't help but speculate: was the second branch of the Fang family plotting against her?
Thinking of this, Madam Fang felt a wave of fear.
Their methods were so vicious; they wanted to replace her pearl in order to obtain the title of Marquis!
In Kyoto, everyone knows how important the title of the eldest daughter of a noble family is.
This was personally promised by the late emperor: once Miss Fang comes of age, she can freely choose any wealthy young man from the capital as her husband.
The Crown Prince's concubine also revealed that if given the opportunity, she would be willing to marry into the royal family as a concubine!
Thinking about how Zhang Zhelan risked leaving Beijing with her big belly, judging by the time, she must have already given birth!
If she had given birth to a girl, it wouldn't be hard to guess their purpose in wanting to replace Pearl.
"I thought I had planned things quite well, but I still made a mistake!"
Once she had doubts, Madam Fang went over the events of the past few days again and again.
The final conclusion was that she had been caught in the trap set by the second wife from the moment she boarded the ship.
They deliberately made her offend Zhen Wanwan, and even bribed the wet nurse, intending to switch Zhen's little girl with her own Zhu'er.
She suddenly realized, "So that's how it is! What a wicked heart!"
Zhen Wanwan was unaware of Madam Fang's conspiracy theories.
She's currently busy comforting her crying baby.
For some reason, after the wet nurse was taken away by Lord Feng, Tianbao's eyes started to droop.
No matter how they tried to coax Old Lady Li, they couldn't soothe her.
Sweetie didn't stop crying until Zhen Wanwan came back.
"Waaaaah..." Mommy~ I'm so scared! I saw my wet nurse! And my foster mother too!
Seeing Tianbao crying so pitifully, Zhen Wanwan's heart ached.
"Don't cry, don't cry~ Sweetie, Mommy's here!"
Smelling the familiar scent of Zhen Wanwan, Tianbao stopped wailing.
However, his eyes and nose were still red.
Both Grandma Li and Grandpa Zhen were moved to tears.
Old Mrs. Li said angrily, "That old woman has such a vicious heart! Luckily, Granny Zhang discovered it early and took Tianbao away beforehand..."
Thinking of the consequences, Grandma Li was both shocked and frightened, wishing she could glue her eyes to Tianbao.
I'm afraid that in the blink of an eye, the person will disappear.
Grandpa Zhen also felt sorry for his granddaughter and wished he could kill the wet nurse himself.
Granny Zhang stood beside Old Lady Li, trying to calm her down, afraid that she would get too angry and faint.
Holding her soft and cuddly baby, Zhen Wanwan sighed deeply.
It's still my fault for not having enough power.
If she had people under her command, she wouldn't be afraid of a mere wet nurse.
It seems that besides getting rich, she also needs to cultivate a few skilled people.
This dynasty doesn't seem to have had any restrictions on the number of people a wealthy family could have.
However, they cannot forge weapons on their own.
Aside from the guards in a military officer's household, only the government offices that enforce the law can use knives.
Civil officials could only use spears or wooden sticks as weapons at most.
Merchants face more restrictions, and even the guards protecting the house can only use wooden sticks.
People who are wary will sharpen one end of a wooden stick to use as a weapon.
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