The servants in the mansion all said that the two had a good relationship.
"What's the use of being good? They've been married for so many years and still don't have a child."
“That’s true. I’ve heard that both of you have impressive backgrounds. How can you not want children?”
There are plenty of women who want to have children for the master; sooner or later, one of them will be able to replace the wife.
"How can you say that? The Madam has always treated you well, and this is how you gossip behind her back."
"Is this what you call treating us well? Just because I'm somewhat pretty, she won't let me serve in the inner courtyard and make me do all the rough work."
“The lady doesn’t have anyone to serve her anyway. I’m telling you, you really don’t know what’s good for you. Last month, when your family had a problem, wasn’t it the lady who gave you money to treat your brother’s illness? You’ve already forgotten about it. You’re a heartless wretch.”
"She has plenty of money. Raising those children is one thing, but what's wrong with paying for my brother's medical treatment?"
"You're shameless!"
The two maids started arguing, which escalated into a fight.
After washing up, Fang Qing and Zhao Shi'an lay in bed talking and fell asleep.
They only found out about it the next morning.
"Madam, what do you think we should do?"
The butler stood in front of the dining table.
Fang Qing looked at Zhao Shi'an and saw that his eyes and brows were filled with a fierce aura.
"This is your responsibility as the steward. You haven't managed your subordinates properly, and you still have the nerve to question the madam?"
The butler was so frightened that he immediately knelt down.
"Your subordinate knows his guilt, but there are already few maids in the manor. If we sell them off, we might not have enough manpower. Also, the maid who stirred up trouble had received favors from the madam..."
"Does the mansion not function properly if it loses one or two maids? We can just buy new ones. As for that one who received favors from the madam and then stirred up trouble, beat him to death with sticks."
The room fell silent instantly, and the servants didn't dare to breathe.
The housekeeper looked to Fang Qing for help.
Fang Qing didn't concern herself with the trivial matters within the household, so she was unaware of the complex relationships within it.
She knew she was soft-hearted, and she had done countless things like what happened today with this little maid and Chen Pinming.
Perhaps her sincere efforts will only be met with greed or even disgust from the other party, in which case she should simply withdraw her kindness.
Sometimes, showing your strength can be a way to protect yourself.
Just like before, there were always people trying to send women to Zhao Shi'an. Fang Qing politely returned them at first, but this only made them more arrogant, and they bypassed her and sent the women to Zhao Shi'an through Xiao Liu.
The main reason is that the person who sent Zhao Shi'an was not a simple individual; he was a prince who insisted on getting to know Zhao Shi'an while passing through the area.
Xiao Liu didn't know how to refuse, so he arranged for the person to come to the mansion.
Fang Qing didn't know that later, the woman thought she was a coward and insisted on coming to her door to serve her tea, saying some very unpleasant things.
That was the first time Xiao Liu saw Fang Qing angry.
The woman's face was smashed and she was given to the prince.
When Zhao Shi'an returned home and heard about this, he punished Xiao Liu.
No one knows what Zhao Shi'an said to the prince, but the prince heard the news and left Yongzhou overnight.
After that, no one dared to send anyone to Zhao Shi'an's side again.
The housekeeper noticed that Fang Qing didn't say anything and felt troubled.
“My lord, it’s not good to beat him to death. If someone finds out about this and uses it against you, it will damage your reputation. In my opinion, you should be punished with a cane and then thrown out of the mansion to fend for yourself.”
Zhao Shi'an had almost lost his appetite for breakfast and waved his hand impatiently at him.
"You handle it, just make sure she never shows her face in front of me again."
"yes."
Zhao Shi'an then dismissed the servants in the dining room.
He looked at Fang Qing.
"What, do you have something to say?"
"You're not angry, are you?"
"I'm angry, but I can't help but sigh at the complexity of human nature."
"So you shouldn't be so nice to them. Some people don't deserve other people's kindness."
"Let's not talk about them anymore, let's eat."
Fang Qing changed the subject.
She can't just give up on helping so many people in need because of one or two such people.
Fang Qing also felt that she was too concerned about the affairs of the charity hall, so she gradually shifted the focus of her life away from it. There were managers there, and she only needed to report the matters to her or the Yongzhou government every quarter.
It was impossible to plant crops all over Yongzhou, so in the late summer of Fang Qing and Zhao Shi'an's third year in Yongzhou, an imperial edict arrived from the capital.
Zhao Shi'an and Fang Qing are going back to Beijing to report on their work.
Fang Qing was somewhat reluctant when she received the imperial edict.
Nobody likes a life of constant travel. After marrying Zhao Shi'an, the longest she stayed was in Yongzhou. She had already prepared to live there permanently. But then, the Emperor issued an imperial edict ordering them to return.
That's really exhausting.
They packed their things slowly and deliberately.
Large pieces of furniture couldn't be taken, but there were still quite a few valuables, enough to fill five carriages.
The only thing that made Fang Qing feel gratified was that Fang Zhu had returned to Beijing with them to report on his work.
On the day they left Yongzhou, not only Li Yuan, but also the children of the charitable hall and the common people came out of the city to see them off.
The villagers warmly welcomed them, bringing food, drinks, and even live animals.
Fang Qing left behind what she could take on the road, and then another carriage was set aside to transport these things.
Along the way, Fang Qing sometimes rode in a carriage, and sometimes rode a horse with Zhao Shi'an and Fang Zhu.
Fang Qing could also tell that Fang Qing was unhappy about this trip back to Beijing.
The Grand Marshal only returned to Beijing to report on his duties two years ago, so Fang Zhu, the second-in-command, shouldn't have returned to Beijing to report on his duties so soon.
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