Madam Liang really wanted to kick this useless servant away, but he was someone she had brought with her, and she couldn't let him be identified as a thief, otherwise, where would she put her face?
She said, "Madam Hui, did you hear that clearly? My servant was just talking to your servant. He didn't steal or rob, he's no thief at all. You need evidence to back up your claims!"
Song Anxin sneered: "Yes, he didn't steal or rob. Let's hear what he actually did. Granny Wei, go and get Anji and Angui."
"Madam Hui, this person pretends to be friendly with us but keeps asking us about things in the manor..."
"Yes, he gets especially concerned when it comes to Madam's affairs..."
Anji and Angui knelt down below, their faces filled with anger as they accused Achang.
Song Anxin said coldly, "Madam Liang, what else do you have to say? Your men are running around my household, deliberately befriending my family and asking about the master's affairs. Isn't that just coveting the thieves in my household? Do you think you care about my family? My household has more than a dozen people, do you think a servant of the Liang family cares about them?"
Madam Liang's face turned ugly, and she was speechless.
The ladies and young women around them also changed their expressions. Families of high social standing value rules the most, and it is taboo to intrude into other people's homes. They never expected that Madam Liang would be so shameless.
They had long suspected that Madam Liang's attitude towards Madam Hui was unusual. They had initially thought that Madam Liang admired Madam Hui and intended to befriend her, but it seemed that things were not as simple as they had imagined. No wonder Old Madam Lu hadn't come these past few times; this was not something they could interfere with. So they exchanged glances and stood up.
“Madam Hui, we will not disturb you any longer as there are matters to attend to in your household. I will take my leave with my daughter.”
"Yes, Madam Hui, we won't disturb you any longer. We'll take our leave now and meet again another day."
"......"
A group of ladies and young women walked away together.
As they left, their eyes held a hint of ambiguity as they looked at Madam Liang.
Madam Liang was furious. Her hands clenched tightly under her sleeves. She had lost face big time. How could she ever face the wives of officials again?
The way she looked at Song Anxin was as if she wanted to tear her apart. This Lady Hui had actually brought her people to these ladies and young misses in public; it was clearly intentional.
Song Anxin was not afraid of her gaze at all. She said calmly, "Madam Liang, if the people in the manor are not properly disciplined, then don't bring them out anymore. It spoils everyone's enjoyment and makes you unhappy. I won't pursue this matter. You can take this person back."
She had achieved her goal; after all, Madam Liang was the wife of a sixth-rank official, and she couldn't afford to make things too ugly.
Madam Liang rose heavily, gritting her teeth as she said, "Madam Hui, farewell!"
Song Anxin breathed a sigh of relief. She had finally seen off a big shot like Madam Liang. She figured Madam Liang wouldn't be coming to see her again.
Seeing Madam Liang storm off, Song Mei looked worried and said, "Mother, we embarrassed Madam Liang in public and offended her. Will Lord Liang hold us accountable? After all, he is a sixth-rank official."
He's one level above her mother; don't people always say that a higher-ranking official can crush you?
Song Anxin shook her head: "No, we are in the right in this matter. If Lord Liang retaliates against us for this, it will only make the Liang family lose face even more."
Song Mei felt relieved after hearing this. She sighed and said, "Madam Liang is indeed annoying. It's a pity that we won't have this storytelling anymore. I wonder if the scholar and the young lady ended up together."
Song Anxin: "......." I didn't expect Meizi to be a drama fan.
Meanwhile, in the Liang residence.
Lord Liang was furious when he learned of this.
"You are all utterly useless and more likely to cause trouble than anything else! You were actually discovered and exposed in public, making the Liang family lose all face." She then questioned her wife: "And you, as the wife of the Liang family, why didn't you defend her? How did you end up taking the blame?"
Madam Liang said aggrievedly, "My lord, how could I not defend myself? It's just that Madam Hui's words were all sharp and confrontational. She even brought people to confront me in public. I... I really had no way to refute her. You didn't see the way those ladies looked at me. When have I, the wife of a dignified sixth-rank official, ever been so shameless? She did this on purpose!"
The more Madam Liang thought about it, the more resentful she became of this Lady Hui: "How dare she, a mere seventh-rank lady, publicly humiliate our Liang family like this! Master, you must avenge our Liang family, otherwise I will feel extremely aggrieved."
Lord Liang angrily flung his hand away and said, "Enough! Aren't you ashamed enough? I, a grown man, have to pick a fight with a mere woman over this. Do I have no face left? Don't go looking for that Lady Hui again. You are such a troublesome woman. How could I have ever married you!"
Madam Liang not only lost face in front of the wives and daughters of the officials that day, but was also scolded by her husband when she returned home. Her husband even said such hurtful things to her, and she felt both sad and angry.
She immediately vented her anger on Achang, who was kneeling below.
"It's all because of you, you stupid, incompetent servant! You can't even handle such a small matter, causing me to suffer like this. Guards, drag this servant out and beat him, then sell him off!"
Achang immediately kowtowed and begged for mercy, "Madam, no, no! Please spare me! I don't know how they found out..."
Madam Liang's eyes were filled with rage: "Take him away! Take him away! Beat him so badly he can't get up! You damned, useless scoundrel!"
The servants immediately came and dragged Achang away.
Achang kept begging for mercy and was about to be dragged away when he suddenly seemed to remember something and shouted loudly:
"My lord, my lord, I have something to report about Madam Hui. It will surely be of use to you. Quickly, release me! I need to tell you, my lord..."
Lord Liang stopped in his tracks and turned around: "Let him go and let him talk."
Achang immediately scrambled to Lord Liang's feet as if he had been saved: "My lord, the servant in the lady's mansion was talking about the potato with such great interest, and that old woman appeared and interrupted him at that moment. The lady has never mentioned the potato to the madam. My lord, I think this potato must be extremely important."
Lord Liang interrupted him with a stern face: "Do you need to tell me that? That's why I asked you to find out the truth."
Achang immediately said, "My lord, please don't be impatient. Let me finish. I was just thinking about these potatoes, and that's when I came up with a good idea." He lowered his voice, his eyes darting around, "My lord, since we can't find out openly, we can try infiltration. There are guards patrolling Hui Ruren's residence regularly, so we can't get close, but we can..."
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