Upon hearing this, Madam Zhang frowned, feeling that the Lady of the Marquis's punishment of Gu Qianluo was too lenient.
He suddenly stood up, walked closer to Lady Hou, and smiled gently with lowered eyes.
“Mother, I believe this punishment is too lenient. It is insufficient to deter others.”
Lady Hou looked embarrassed, her lips drooping slightly. She asked in return, "Qinhe, what do you think should be the punishment?"
"In my opinion, it is a dereliction of duty for the servants of Luoying Palace to fail to remind their master and allow him to make mistakes."
"Your Highness Luoying should each receive twenty strokes of the cane and be fined one month's salary."
Upon hearing Zhang's idea, the two old ladies frowned and offered a gentle reminder.
"Madam Hou, I think Qin'er's suggestion is inappropriate."
I've heard of servants being punished for their masters' mistakes, but I've never seen anything this harsh.
If outsiders found out, they would probably say that the Marquis's mansion was mistreating its servants!
The third old lady gently brushed the fan in her hand and began to speak.
"Madam Hou, I think Qin'er's suggestion is quite good."
If they aren't punished properly, the servants in the other courtyards might help their master make mistakes in the future. It's better to punish them severely!
Upon hearing this, Lady Hou's expression shifted unpredictably, her eyes revealing a hint of embarrassment.
Lin Ruoyan, who was standing nearby, noticed the Lady Hou's predicament. A glint of cunning flashed in her eyes, and she spoke up to offer some advice.
"Madam Hou, Ruoyan thinks that her sister-in-law's words are not without reason."
The Marquis's mansion was heavily guarded, so Gu Qianluo's ability to elope with the secret guards so smoothly must have been due to the servants' indulgence.
Thus, the servants of Luoying Palace are disloyal to the Marquis's household. There's a saying: "One day of disloyalty, a hundred days of unemployment."
Why not just send all the servants of Luoying Palace away?
Such a useless person no longer needs to serve the Marquis's mansion.
Gu Qianluo's feet are her own feet, and even if the servants wanted to stop her, they couldn't!
Therefore, Ruoyan thought that perhaps it would be better to waive the punishment.
Most of the servants in Luoying Palace are old retainers of the Marquis's household. If they are beaten too severely, I'm afraid they won't survive, and then our Marquis's household's reputation will be even worse.”
When Zhang heard Lin Ruoyan say this, her heart skipped a beat. It seemed that she had underestimated Lin Ruoyan.
Send them away? You know, these old servants are all hoping to live out their lives in the Marquis's mansion.
Losing this job would be worse than taking someone's life, wouldn't it?
Zhang couldn't help but think to herself that she could never learn Lin Ruoyan's subtle and ruthless methods.
However, the First Madam preferred to bully people through subtle means.
Hearing Lin Ruoyan's hypocritical words, a soft light appeared in his eyes, and with a faint smile, he praised her.
"Oh dear, look how senile I am. Our little sister Ruoyan is so kind-hearted."
Mother, I think we should do as Sister Ruoyan suggests.
The second and third matriarchs' families have always relied on the Marquis for their livelihood, so naturally they don't want the Marquis's reputation to be damaged. Following Lin Ruoyan's suggestion did save them a lot of trouble.
The two old ladies exchanged glances and said, "Madam Hou, why don't we do as Miss Lin says?"
The Lady of the Marquis had reservations about severely punishing Gu Qianluo.
As everyone knows, she was not only favored by the old lady, but even her son, Chen Jinheng, clearly liked her very much.
But the rumor had already spread, and Lady Hou couldn't withstand the gossip. After much deliberation, she could only compromise.
"In that case, Qinhe, I'll leave this matter to you."
Upon hearing the Lady Hou's order, Zhang Qinhe's eyebrows danced with delight.
"Very well! I will certainly not disappoint Lady Hou. The sooner this matter is resolved, the better. I will take my leave now."
After saying this, Madam Zhang Qin left in a hurry with a strange smile on her face.
The second and third matriarchs, supported by the women of the household, prepared to return to their respective courtyards.
Suddenly, a maid rushed over in a panic to report.
"Lady Hou! Lady Hou! Something terrible has happened! The Fifth Young Master and An'er are fighting!"
"What?! That brat has caused trouble again?" The old lady looked at the door in shock, her eyes blazing with anger.
Fifth Young Master Chen Jinlin is the second son of Concubine Jiang, who lives in the Third Master's household. He is the most domineering young master in the Marquis's mansion.
But he looked most like the old Marquis and was favored by the old lady, so none of the children wanted to mess with him.
Upon hearing this, Madam Hou quickly tugged at Lin Ruoyan beside her and said gently, "Ruoyan, go out and see what's going on?"
Lin Ruoyan's head suddenly exploded with a "buzz," her pupils contracted slightly, and her legs went weak. She instinctively felt that An Ge'er had caused her some bad trouble.
Lin Ruoyan quickly ran to An Ge'er and saw that his face was flushed, his eyes were flashing with anger, his thick eyebrows were furrowed into an inverted V shape, and his eyes were fixed on the person on the ground.
Lin Ruoyan's gaze shifted, and she saw Chen Jinlin lying on the ground, his face covered in blood and panting heavily. She asked in a reproachful tone,
"An'er, what happened? Why did you fight with the Fifth Young Master?"
"He called me a bastard first! I'm going to beat his mouth to a pulp today."
Upon hearing this, Lin Ruoyan was taken aback, her eyes suddenly darkening. Just as she was about to say something, the Third Old Madam rushed over in a flurry, anxiously saying...
"Oh my goodness! Lin-ge'er, how did you get hurt like this? If the old lady sees this, she'll be heartbroken!"
Lin Ruoyan's eyes narrowed slightly. Everyone knew that the Third Old Madam disliked Aunt Jiang.
Yet she protects her like this, acting very much like a mistress of the house. Isn't this just making things difficult for her?
Fearing reprimand, Lin Ruoyan quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe Chen Jinlin's face, gently comforting her.
"Brother Lin, our Brother An is just being childish, don't take it to heart."
Seeing Lin Ruoyan's humble appearance, Chen Jinlin despised her even more. He pushed her away and said mockingly,
"Get out of my way! You, a concubine's daughter, dare to wipe my face?"
Seeing Lin Ruoyan being pushed to the ground, Ange'er's anger suddenly surged to his head.
Suddenly, he stood up and bumped into Chen Jinlin.
Although Ange'er was only five years old, he was chubby and strong. Chen Jinlin, who was two years older than him, was lean and wiry. When Ange'er bumped into Chen Jinlin, he was knocked into the lotus pond.
With a "plop," Ange'er also tumbled into the lotus pond.
Chen Jinlin was pampered by his third grandfather from birth, and he was never allowed to touch water or fire.
He couldn't swim and swallowed several mouthfuls of water as soon as he entered the water, flailing his arms and crying for help, "Help! Help!"
Seeing the two young masters fall into the water, the servants by the pool were extremely anxious.
As Chen Jinlin sank lower and lower, the third old lady kept muttering, "It's over! It's over!"
Lin Ruoyan broke out in a cold sweat. She found a bamboo pole by the pool and dragged it into the pool.
"Quick! An'er, grab the bamboo pole, Mother will save you!"
Lady Hou arrived from the rear, and seeing the servants standing there in a daze, she instructed the guards beside her.
"What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and go down to save them!"
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