Chapter 7 The first thing to do after rebirth: plot to get rid of the maid.
Zhang and Shen Lingyi exchanged a guilty glance.
Lu Zhaoruo lowered her head, her voice trembling: "Please punish me, Uncle. It was indeed because my brother from my maternal family passed the martial arts examination and I thought that the county magistrate would have to give my brother some face in the future. Then I remembered how I had been humiliated by the wicked servants for the past three years. So, I talked back to my aunt last night and lost my composure today..."
"As for the fact that the young master has taken a wife outside..."
She looked cautiously at Li Chunyan and cried out in a pitiful voice, "It's...it's my aunt's...my aunt's personal maid. A few days ago, she said that my husband has already married and had children overseas. She also said that I'm just an old maid in the house, doing all the work for others for free for three years, and that I'll have to make room for the true mistress in the end!"
Tears streamed down her face: "I can't tell what's true or false, nor do I know if Sister Chunyan was deliberately trying to anger me. I just couldn't stand it anymore, so I stood up for once and asked to leave to go back to my parents' home."
"Smack."
The teacup in Zhang's hand fell to the ground, the porcelain shattering with a startling sound.
Her face turned pale and she looked panicked. Then she looked at Li Chunyan with a fierce look in her eyes. This lowly maid, could it be that she saw my letter?
"thump."
Li Chunyan knelt heavily on the ground, her usually shrill voice trembling with fear: "Master, please understand! Even if this lowly servant had the guts of a bear and the gall of a leopard, she would never dare to utter such words!"
"You wretched servant!"
Shen Qingshu roared angrily.
Li Chunyan pounded her forehead repeatedly: "Master, Madam, I swear I never said such a thing. It is clearly Madam who has wronged me."
Lu Zhaoruo raised her eyes and cried, "How did I wrong you? You even said that when my husband married me three years ago, he just wanted me to serve his parents-in-law and didn't treat me like a wife at all."
Li Chunyan raised her swollen forehead and glared at Lu Zhaoruo: "Don't make false accusations. I never said anything like that. I just called you a dead widow when I went to your room to call you, and you've been holding a grudge ever since, haven't you?"
Lu Zhaoruo: "Just now you came to my room to urge me, and you did indeed call me a 'dead widow.' I thought that you were, after all, my aunt's personal maid, serving her for over ten years, so I tolerated it. But, a 'widow' is a woman whose husband has died. Are you trying to curse your husband to die young? My aunt has always treated you so kindly..."
"I shouldn't have brought this up, but I'm afraid that if even a whisper of it gets out, outsiders will just say, 'How dare the old lady of the Shen family curse her master to die young'..."
"Even if the servants are gossipy, it will inevitably damage Aunt's reputation. They may suspect that Aunt secretly approved it, or criticize Aunt for not disciplining her properly. In the end, she will be unable to defend herself and it will only hurt the relationship between Aunt and her husband."
Shen Rongzhi was Zhang's precious son, and even though Li Chunyan was her confidante, she could not curse her son!
However, Madam Zhang wasn't stupid, and naturally wouldn't completely believe Lu Zhaoruo's words. At most, she would punish Li Chunyan with a beating. But if she brought up Li Chunyan's statement that "Shen Rongzhi has married and had children outside"...
Zhang dared not disbelieve!
Li Chunyan hugged Zhang's ankle, sobbing, "Madam, I deserve to die. I only scolded her because I spoke carelessly. But I never said that my master had married and had children outside. I have served you for ten years. You know my character best."
Lu Zhaoruo sobbed softly, "But you clearly said that the legitimate wife outside has the surname... I think it's Lin?"
You heartless, rotten-necked bastard!
Zhang kicked her hard, cursing, "How dare you gossip and ruin my son's reputation! He's away doing business, when will he marry and have children? How dare you sow discord between me and my daughter-in-law! I've served you for ten years and treated you well every day, yet you curse my son and spout nonsense!"
"I'm going to sell you to the charcoal kiln outside the city. Anyway, with your cheap skin, you're only fit to warm the feet of a charcoal burner!"
"Drag him away, give him thirty strokes of the cane, and then sell him!"
Shen Qingshu roared angrily.
Hearing the noise, the guards outside rushed in and grabbed Li Chunyan's arms on either side, dragging her outside.
In her past life, Lu Zhaoruo was also dragged away by her in the same way.
Lu Zhaoruo looked at her and smiled.
Upon seeing that smile, Li Chunyan kicked her legs wildly and cried out in a pitiful voice, "Madam, save me! This servant has been framed by Madam Lu..."
How could Zhang possibly believe her now?
They almost revealed the name of their daughter-in-law from outside the marriage.
Lu Zhaoruo feigned suspicion: "Aunt, Li has served you closely for ten years. She knows everything about you—your letters, your box, your lamp at midnight. Since you refused to let me see that letter, it's hard to say that she didn't secretly read it before daring to use it to stab me..."
"Aunt, I only have one question: when my husband is away, does he really not have another room?"
The handkerchief in Zhang's hand was soaked. She shouted, "She's talking nonsense! My son is an honest businessman, how can he be slandered by a lowly servant! Drag him away and give him a good beating!"
Dragged to the door by the guard, Li Chunyan retorted, "Zhang, I've served you for over ten years, and you're so heartless, believing just a few words from her? Have you forgotten that for the past three years, it's you who instructed me to humiliate Madam Zhang?"
Before he could finish speaking, Zhang interrupted him sharply: "Gag him! Drag him away and pull out his tongue!"
After Li Chunyan was dragged away and the main hall fell silent, Lu Zhaoru tore up the 'Request for Separation' and said with tears in her eyes, "Auntie's treatment of her shows no favoritism, which means that Li was just instigating things. My husband and I grew up together and our love remains as deep as ever. How could he betray me? I will wait for him to come back."
After speaking, he knelt down and said, "The letter requesting separation has been torn up. Please punish me lightly, father-in-law."
Shen Lingyi shouted loudly, "Of course she should be punished, Father! Give her a few lashes! Make her put a copper basin on my head, and those beasts in the room scratched my neck like this! Give her a good beating!"
How could we dare to fight?
"Shut up!"
Shen Qingshu roared, recalling Lu Zhaoruo's words, his finger trembling as he pointed at Shen Lingyi: "You asked for this! She is your brother's wife. Now that you have been divorced and returned to your parents' home, you eat and drink her food, so you have to respect her."
He grew angrier as he spoke: "When have you ever been as respectful to us morning and evening as Zhaoruo? When have you ever served us a cup of tea? All you do is gamble and drink all day long. If it weren't for Zhaoruo protecting you this time, you would have completely disgraced the Shen family!"
Lu Zhaoruo's words truly chilled his heart towards Shen Lingyi.
Seeing this, Shen Lingyi pouted and tried to tug at Zhang's sleeve, but was violently shaken off. "Go embroider the shoes! Don't even think about stepping out of the room until you've finished embroidering two pairs!"
Seeing that her mother wasn't helping her, Shen Lingyi stomped her foot and stormed off.
Lu Zhaohua lowered her eyes to hide the sarcasm in them.
Zhang hurriedly stepped forward and patted her husband's back, saying, "My lord, please calm down."
She turned her head and said sternly, "She disrespected her parents-in-law today, she definitely needs to be punished..."
"Enough!"
Shen Qingshu suddenly roared, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at Zhang Shi: "Look at the good servant you've trained! Spreading rumors and stirring up trouble in the household all day long! The servants' rudeness is all your doing."
After saying that, he spoke gently to Lu Zhaoruo: "Zhaoruo, you have suffered these past three years. I know you are a filial son and I also know you want to leave. First, the Shen family depends on you and you are exhausted. Second, the servants have been rude to you and spread rumors. From today onwards, if anyone is rude to you again, as the mistress, you can sell them off."
Lu Zhaoruo feigned slight fear: "Your daughter-in-law wouldn't dare. If any servants are disrespectful in the future, I will speak to my uncle, and he will not sell them off so easily."
Shen Qingshu smiled, still behaving as timidly as ever...
He added, "Also, don't take a single word that lowly maid said to heart. The Shen family's reputation cannot tolerate the slightest filth. If Rongzhi really dares to marry and have children outside, I will definitely break his legs, and I will never allow his mistress and illegitimate child to enter the Shen family."
After saying that, he gave Zhang a wink: "If that's really the case, I'll make your aunt kowtow to you and admit her mistake. It must be because she didn't raise her son well."
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