Besides, at this critical juncture, who can care about our indenture?
"Even a living contract requires a contract. Without one, do you think you can go out and become a runaway slave?!"
The servant thought about it and agreed, so he had no choice but to turn back and bump into several other servants who were also heading out.
After the explanation, a group of servants headed towards the main courtyard.
Inside the main courtyard's flower hall.
Lady Zhou, the wife of Marquis Yun, sat upright at the head of the table. Compared to the panicked expressions of the dozen or so servants and maids gathered before her, Lady Zhou's demeanor was relatively calm.
When the servants entered, they heard the mistress of the house calmly say, "...This calamity is a misfortune for the Yun family. But the Yun family will never implicate any innocent person. Your indentures and all the other contracts you signed are in this box. Fortunately, this month's wages were just paid three days ago. Originally, we should have given you some reward money, but as you all probably know, the Marquis's mansion has been confiscated, and we are penniless, so we can't make that decision. You are not within the scope of the government's confiscation. Thank you for the Emperor's great grace. You should take your indentures and leave now."
An old woman knelt down, weeping, and said, "Madam, we will repay your great kindness in our next life. You said you couldn't give us a reward, but our indentures were worth a lot of money. How could we be ungrateful? We thank you for your great kindness, Madam!"
Normally, redeeming oneself from servitude would cost a fortune. Now, to have the contract of indenture taken away for free is tantamount to gaining freedom. Having been servants their entire lives, how could they not understand this?
Many people immediately stepped forward to kneel and express their gratitude. Then, Hongyu, Zhou's personal maid, began to distribute the gifts, calling out a name and bringing up a person.
Some were reluctant to leave. Although they had gained their freedom, where could they find such a generous and kind family as the Yun family again? But no matter how reluctant they were, they couldn't leave them here to starve to death.
In no time, all the servants and maids had left, leaving only Hongyu.
Zhou rubbed her temples wearily, "Hongyu, you too..."
Hongyu knelt down. "Madam, I'm used to serving you. I won't leave you."
Zhou smiled wryly, "Why are you doing this to yourself?"
With tears welling up in her eyes, Hongyu said, "Even if we have to eat chaff and wild vegetables, I will follow you!"
Zhou sighed, "You've suffered. Get up quickly."
Hongyu then got up and took the box.
Zhou looked through the items and asked in surprise, "A few people are still here?"
Hongyu nodded, "Ziyu serves the eldest daughter, and there are two others by the old lady's side, and about four or five from the second, third, and fourth households."
Zhou sighed, "Go and explain things clearly to them. We only have three hours left. When we leave, we can only take our clothes with us; nothing else. Even if they come with us, they'll only suffer hunger and hardship. We might not even be able to support ourselves, so how can we take them with us?"
Hongyu's eyes reddened again, "Madam..."
Zhou raised her head resolutely. "Don't cry. Go to the second, third, and fourth branches of the household. If there are any loyal servants who want to stay, each branch can keep at most one person."
Hongyu nodded, "What about the old lady..."
"The old lady is only left with Granny Wang and Granny Li, right?" She closed her eyes again. "Let's keep them for now."
"Yes." She turned and left, bumping into Miss Jiang Youran as she went out. With a single stride, her short legs crossed the threshold that was still quite high for her.
A hint of disgust flashed in Zhou's eyes. Why was this niece, who was always causing trouble and squandering countless Yun family artifacts in the past month, here at this moment?
Although the Su family, mother and her two children, had only stayed at the Marquis's residence for a month, they had already broken no fewer than a hundred pieces of official kiln porcelain by Jiang Youran alone.
Every girl and boy in the Yun family would avoid her when they saw her.
She's a complete spendthrift daughter.
If it were her own child, she would love to lock herself in a room, give it a good beating, and teach it a lesson.
But Madam Su, whether she was too busy recuperating to attend to the child or simply spoiled him, didn't seem to care about anything.
She was utterly exhausted, but she still had to muster her spirits and force a smile as she asked, "Little Youran, have you packed all your things? If you have, I'll have Hongyu escort you out of the manor."
Jiang Youran was panting and shook her head repeatedly.
Zhou smiled wryly again, "Take your time. It's okay if you're not done yet, there are still two hours."
In fact, she knew that when the imperial edict came down, it said that they would have three hours to tidy up, but it was really just to give her time to deal with the miscellaneous matters in the mansion.
As for themselves, they could only leave the mansion in plain clothes, and could not even take a jade pendant or hairpin with them. Why would they need so much time to pack?
Jiang Youran caught her breath before climbing into the armchair next to Zhou Shi and plopping down. She then slowly said, "Aunt, we...we're packing...but we don't want to leave..."
For no apparent reason, Zhou felt that the little girl, who usually spoke like a firecracker, was speaking softly and gently today.
With his disgust lessened, he asked in surprise, "If you don't want to leave, what do you want? You can't stay in this Marquis's mansion any longer."
Xiao Youran nodded, leaned on the armrest closest to Zhou Shi, and whispered, "Aunt, Mother said that the three of us can take our bags when we go out now. She asked me to come and ask you quietly if there's anything we should take with us?"
Zhou was taken aback.
Xiao Youran's voice became even softer, "Aunt, Mother said that we are officially going back to Dingzhou, but after we leave the Marquis's residence, we will find an inn to stay in first. We will come to find you after you leave the residence. The things you asked us to take... we will also return to you."
Zhou's expression immediately turned to shock.
The imperial edict stated that all family property would be confiscated, and if anyone else were to sneak away with them, that would be a serious crime.
Not to mention that if they were to smuggle them in and then return them, that would be a clear case of deceiving the emperor.
If it's discovered, the Yun family and the three women and their children will all be implicated.
The crime of deceiving the emperor is punishable by beheading at the very least, and the execution of the entire family at the very least.
She couldn't believe that Su Shi, who had stayed at the mansion for a month to recuperate and had only met him less than three times in total, actually had such audacity.
To conceal the Yun family's secrets and then provide them with relief?
A hint of doubt surfaced in her eyes. The three of them, mother and sons, were only cousins of the Marquis's family, which was a step further away than the maternal families of her sisters-in-law. They could easily pack up and leave, so why take such a risk?
Could it be...?
No, the fact that there was no bloodshed at the Marquis's residence is already a great favor from above. I cannot gamble with the lives of dozens of people.
She was prepared to refuse.
Xiao Youran saw the rejection in her eyes and said softly, "Great-aunt, Mother said that the gift my great-aunt gave me last time was too expensive, and Mother was worried that I would break it, so she declined it, which was really wrong of her. It is said that one should not refuse a gift from an elder, and Mother has also understood this principle, so she asked me to ask if I can still take it with me?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com