Chapter 14: Retreat to Advance
No matter how unfavored Jiang Fei was, she was still a young lady. If it weren't for Yao's order, no maid would dare to be so arrogant to her, let alone punish her to kneel without authorization.
Yao didn't like her in the first place, and she would definitely not let her off easily if she got the chance.
Jiang Fei slowly knelt down, and as soon as her knees touched the ground, she knew she was in trouble.
The stone slabs below my knees were a little hot from the sun, and the sun was scorching above my head.
If I had known earlier, I would have come back at night. Not only could I have played for half a day longer, but I wouldn’t have felt hot kneeling at night.
Jiang Fei knelt on her legs so that her knees would feel better.
But in just a moment, his inner clothes were soaked with sweat and his cheeks were burning from the sun.
It was hot outside, and Nanny Wang was too lazy to stay with her, so she went to the side room to rest.
There were faint sounds of conversation coming from the main room. After a while, Yao still didn't open the door and come out. It seemed that they were deliberately punishing her by making her kneel for a while longer.
Suddenly, there was a sound of footsteps behind her, and a person came running from behind her, passed her and ran directly to the door of the main room.
Jiang Fei looked up and saw a boy of six or seven years old, who was a little fat. He should be the original owner's younger brother Jiang Chenglang.
Jiang Chenglang raised his foot and was about to kick the door, but after thinking for a moment, he turned back, ran to Jiang Fei, and kicked her without saying a word.
"Bad woman!"
The kick came unexpectedly. The child was young and as fat as a small landmine. His kick was quite powerful. Jiang Fei grimaced in pain.
"You're a bad woman!" Jiang Chenglang pointed at her and said, "Third sister said you're a bad embryo! You're a slave girl, and mother said so too!"
Jiang Fei narrowed her eyes, "Try kicking me again."
"Kick me if you want!"
Jiang Chenglang raised his leg and kicked again, but this time Jiang Fei was quick-witted and grabbed his leg and pulled him forward.
Jiang Chenglang did a split on the spot, then burst into tears, covering his crotch.
The previously closed door of the main house was immediately opened.
Yao walked in front, and several maids came out of the side room and helped Jiang Chenglang up.
"What's going on?" Yao asked in a deep voice.
Jiang Fei spoke first, "Fifth brother seemed unhappy to see me kneeling here, and when he kicked me, he accidentally got stuck in the crotch."
She was already tactful enough and didn't say that Jiang Chenglang accidentally kicked her and pulled her balls.
Yao: “…”
The maids wanted to laugh but didn't dare, so they could only hold it back. They probably thought about the most painful things in their lives.
Jiang Chenglang was in so much pain that he couldn't straighten his back and cried like a loud speaker.
Yao was heartbroken. "He's just a child. If you didn't provoke him, how could he kick you?"
Jiang Fei hesitated to speak.
Yao thought there must be something hidden, "What's going on?"
"It's hard to say."
"What's so awkward about it? Say it now!" Yao said in a deep voice.
Jiang Fei raised her head. "It's like this. Fifth brother heard some rumors from somewhere, saying that Mother and Third Sister told him that I was a bad kid and a slave. He must have been bewitched by others, so he's particularly disrespectful to me, his sister."
"No!" Jiang Chenglang covered his crotch, "It was when I kicked her—"
"Cheng Lang!" Yao interrupted harshly, fearing Jiang Cheng Lang would say something unkind. "Why don't you help the young master in quickly?"
She is partial, but which mother can treat her children completely equally? This is understandable.
But if what I just said were to get out, it would be bad news.
Yao glanced at the footprints on Jiang Fei's skirt. She had originally planned to let her kneel for the whole afternoon, but it seemed that she had no choice but to let her get up.
"You should get up too."
Jiang Fei tried to move, but she knelt down again without any effort.
"Why don't you help the young lady up?" After saying this, Yao flicked her sleeves and went back to the room.
The maid helped Jiang Fei into the house and sat her down. Jiang Chenglang, with tears still on his face, looked at her angrily.
"Where did you go today?" Yao asked.
Jiang Fei leaned on the armrest of the chair.
She wasn't pretending to be weak, it really hurt. It didn't hurt so much when she was kneeling, but now the blood was flowing back into her legs, and the pain spread from her toes to her knees.
Seeing that she remained silent, Yao's anger flared up again. "I asked you to speak, are you mute?"
"Does Mother really want me to tell you?"
Yao was about to speak, but she remembered that Jiang Rufei didn't intend to say it in the yard before, but was forced to say those unpleasant words by her, so she didn't dare to ask.
Jiang Fei, however, refused to listen and said, "Since mother really wants to hear it, I won't hide it from you. The servants in the mansion all act according to their master's mood. They are used to flattering the powerful and bullying the weak. I am not favored, so naturally the servants don't take me seriously. They pretend to obey mother but actually disobey her. Their food, clothing and other expenses are all cut back."
Yao: “…”
I didn't say I really wanted to hear it.
Jiang Fei took a breath and continued, "I had no choice but to pawn some of my jewelry to make ends meet. Otherwise, life in this mansion would be impossible. Now that this matter has been reported to mother, I'm sure they won't have the courage to deduct money from me in the future."
Yao: “…”
It’s not the maid, it’s me, it’s me!
If you say that, how can I continue to deduct money from you in the future?
Yao regretted it so much that it reached her throat, as if nothing good would happen if she asked Jiang Rufei what was going on.
Miss Jiang had fallen to the point of selling jewelry to make a living. If this were to get out, it would not be a big deal for her as the mistress to have a hard time living in the future. The key point was that it would make people think that the Jiang family was declining, which would be a big deal.
"Ahem." Yao cleared her throat, took a sip of her tea, and softened her tone. "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier? There are so many things going on in the mansion, and so many people involved. There's no guarantee someone might be taking advantage of this. I'll investigate this matter later. Please don't make it public, so as not to alert the enemy."
Of course Jiang Fei knew that it was not the servants who were trying to make money. Housekeeper Yao was strict, and no one would dare to do this without her instruction.
Seeing her silence, Yao forced a loving smile and said, "Child, you don't even know how to speak up when you've been wronged. It makes me, as a mother, seem inconsiderate."
Jiang Fei lowered her eyes and said in a gentle tone, "My daughter dared not cause trouble to her mother, but today she really couldn't hold on any longer, so she had to resort to this last resort."
Yao secretly resented it, but she had to pretend to be distressed on the surface. "You silly child, if you have anything to say next time, just tell me directly. Why bother pawning your jewelry? What will happen if the news gets out?"
"Really?" Jiang Fei made her eyes starry.
Seeing that Jiang Rufei didn't seem to be prepared to be polite to her, Yao felt a little regretful.
You have to keep what you say even if it means crying.
"Um... yes."
The goal has been achieved. Jiang Fei curled the corners of her lips slightly, "Thank you, mother."
Jiang Chenglang was confused as he listened. Seeing his mother's attitude towards Jiang Fei suddenly change, he immediately became unhappy, "Mom! She just made me fall!"
"Ahem." Yao continued, "But as the mistress, I must clearly distinguish between rewards and punishments. Although you left home today for a reason, you cannot escape punishment. Kneeling is just a minor punishment, but it's a warning. When you return, you will be punished by copying the "Instructions for Women" ten times."
After saying this, Yao breathed a sigh of relief. Jiang Rufei had made her suffer a loss, and she felt much better after punishing Jiang Rufei.
But she was also wondering, it seemed that since the day Jiang Rulin took her to catch the adulterer, Jiang Rufei seemed like a different person. Could it be that she had finally come to her senses?
"Then go back."
"yes."
Jiang Fei handed her hand to the maids, leaned on them to stand up, took a few steps, and turned back, "Mother, there is one thing I forgot to mention."
Yao's nerves, which had just relaxed, suddenly tensed up again, and her back straightened involuntarily. "What else?"
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