Everyone went to the meeting room, and after the matter was thoroughly investigated, the second kitchen steward Wu, who was mainly involved in the incident, was beaten with 20 boards and sold, the second foreign affairs steward Jiang, who bullied his master, was beaten with 10 boards and expelled from the mansion, and the kitchen steward Luo, who was jointly responsible, was transferred to another place as a junior steward. Chen Afu had long disliked these people, who were sent by the Luo family. She felt that the Luo family was the real uncle's family of the Chu Mansion, and they pretended to obey her, the eldest grandmother, and what about A Lu, the uncle's family from the countryside.
When Wu Pozi was dragged away, she was still shouting, "I was sent by the Madam to serve the Master, you can't do this to me..."
Chen Afu shouted, "Give him twenty more strokes of the cane. You actually dared to sow discord between my aunt and my master and me." They were all trusted aides of Chief Steward Liu Er. Although Chief Steward Liu Er's face turned pale, he still did not dare to plead for mercy.
The two gossiping maids and the two maids in the kitchen were each given 20 strokes of the cane and driven out of the house, never to be employed again. Sanquan and Lancao were each given 10 strokes of the cane and driven out of the house. Lanhua continued to serve her uncle.
A-Lu came to beg for mercy again, and Quan San and Lan Cao were given a lighter sentence; they were spared from being beaten and were only driven out.
He also deducted half a year's salary from the coachman that day, but left everything else alone. Killing the chicken to stop the monkey is enough, and it was indeed A-Lu who was not angry enough to give the servants money on his own initiative.
In addition, because of the poor management of Yang Da Zongguan and Liu Er Zongguan, three months' salary was deducted from each. Chen Ahfu hit Liu Er Zongguan severely, which frightened Liu Er Zongguan so much that he kept kowtowing and begging for mercy.
During the process, the old marquis and Chu Lingxuan from the lower yamen sent people to say that the grandmother had full authority to deal with the matter, and her meaning was theirs. This made some people who wanted to go to the old marquis and the eldest master to beg for mercy give up the idea.
After finishing the work, it was already evening. Chen Afu and A Lu walked hand in hand from the meeting room to the main courtyard.
Ah Lu stammered, "Sister, I want to live with my third uncle or my uncle." Without waiting for Chen Ah Fu to dissuade him, he added, "Sister, don't you always tell me that you should have your own opinions? This is my first opinion."
Under the starlight, A Lu looked at her firmly with his little mouth pursed into a slit.
Chen Ahfu said sadly, "It's my fault. I didn't manage the household well and didn't understand the intricacies of a big house. I have wronged my brother. The matter has been resolved. Can you not leave? I will send you a capable servant, and no one will dare to treat you like that again."
The respectable servants in the mansion actually have more face than their masters! The reason why Dabao was not wronged was because his servant Luo Mama had a strong background and knew how to deal with people.
A Lu shook his head and said, "These servants look down on me, which means they look down on my sister's family. I will work harder and make more progress in the future. Let your husband's family see that your family can't be looked down upon. In this way, they won't dare to look down on my sister, and my sister will have a better life in the future."
This little brother has always been so sensible that it makes people feel sad. Also, he has grown up and his self-esteem has become stronger.
The main reason for this matter to get to this point was that the slaves bullied their masters. She, as the mistress of the house, did not manage the house well and neglected her younger brother, so she was also responsible. Apart from these two external factors, A Lu was also at fault, and his fault was not small. He was too honest, allowed others to manipulate him, and was unwilling to tell his sister. In addition, he was inferior, lacked self-confidence, was not confident enough, handled things improperly, and wanted to buy dignity with money. This was a typical case of holding a good hand but playing it badly. It was a fatal mistake and must be corrected.
Chen Ahfu felt sad and blamed herself. She hugged him and said, "Alu, it's my fault. Because you are sensible, I have been ignoring you."
A Lu said, "Sister, you have done a good job, but I have to move out tomorrow. I will come to your house as a guest later."
He was determined to move out, no matter how much Chen Ahfu persuaded him. Once an introverted and overly self-respecting child becomes stubborn, nothing can stop him.
Chen Afu nodded in agreement. He thought that it would be better to move out for a while instead of forcing him to live here unhappily. He should spend more time communicating with him in the future to help him build up his confidence. In addition, he must be encouraged to get along with and communicate with outsiders, especially children of the same age, as his social circle is too simple.
Before, he only went to Luyuan, Fuyuan, and Tangyuan, and the people he interacted with were either his caring family, or a few much younger children, and servants. He was mainly in charge of the children, and Chen Ming and Wang were both simple and kind people. It would be fine to let him go out and interact with Atang and Xiaodi's children, and then find a way to let him get along well with Chen Yulan and Qin Mu who were the same age. Only when you have a wide range of social contacts can you broaden your horizons.
At the fork in the road, the two parted ways and agreed to send him to Chen Shi's house the next night. Wu was in poor health and her younger sister was still young, so it would be better for her to live at Chen Shi's house. From then on, the General's Mansion would send a carriage to pick him up every day, and he would still come to the main courtyard for lunch at noon, so the two siblings could see each other every day. During his rest time, he would be arranged to make friends with children of the same age.
Chen Ahfu returned to the main courtyard, and Dabao and Yan'er were waiting for her on the kang in the side room. One was writing on the kang table, and the other was folding something with a handkerchief.
Seeing Chen Afu coming back, they all stood up and stood on the kang.
Chen Ahfu walked over, and Dabao hugged her and kissed her twice, then said, "Mom, have you eaten yet? Don't let Mom, my brother, and my sister go hungry. I feel bad for you."
Chen Ahfu kissed him back twice and said with a smile, "I've eaten."
Yan'er was already getting impatient, so she pushed Dabao aside, hugged Chen Afu and kissed him, pouting and saying, "Why did mom come back so late? I missed you so much that I didn't even have a good meal."
The little girl is becoming more and more expressive now.
Chen Ahfu pinched her little face and smiled, "Tomorrow mother will cook a dish of golden prawns herself, so please eat a few more, little sister."
He coaxed the children a few words and sent them away.
Chen Afu told Chu Lingxuan how he handled the matter. Chu Lingxuan was very angry and blamed himself. He felt that he was too busy to take care of the mansion, so he indulged the servant, let the servant bully the master, ignore his wife, and drive his brother-in-law away.
He cursed, "These dogs are too abominable. Ah Fu has dealt with them too lightly. I will find time to clear out all the people involved, beat them half to death and sell them off."
Chen Ahfu sighed, "Many of them are elderly people sent by my mother-in-law's family, and their relationship with them must be complicated. We will only deal with a few who make too much trouble. This way, both sides will show mercy, and if they are unhappy, we will have an excuse. Later, I will find out the situation, and we will continue to use those who have behaved themselves, and those who are dishonest cannot blame me."
What she didn't say was that the Luo family didn't like her and didn't even send anyone to congratulate them on their wedding. At first, they wanted to marry the second master Luo's concubine's daughter to Chu Lingxuan as his successor, but Chu Lingxuan didn't agree. Instead, she married her, a "illegitimate daughter" who grew up in the countryside. You can imagine how angry the head of the Luo family would be. Although Chu Lingxuan didn't tell Chen Afu about these things, Chen Afu still heard some of the rumors from Luo's mother and daughter-in-law.
Luo Xunfu is Liaochen's elder brother, who has helped Chu Lingxuan a lot. He is also a provincial governor and is in charge of Chen Shiying's father. He cannot be offended in public or private. Chen Afu also doesn't want Chu Lingxuan to be caught in the middle. Therefore, she follows the principle of "leaving a way out for future encounters".
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