The Empress was somewhat surprised, not expecting that she had come prepared.
The old women looked at each other in bewilderment. Su Wenyuan's diary entry list had this kind of function?
Ye Shan handed over the roster, and also took out the previous records kept by the manor and presented them together.
The Emperor took it with some skepticism, glanced at it briefly, and then showed some appreciation on his face. The entire list was clear, concise, and very detailed.
Looking back at the old roster, it only listed each person's name and monthly allowance, and the monthly allowance was very uniform, with no rewards or punishments.
I flipped through several pages, and it was the same every time. Only Su Wenyuan's record of this month was the clearest.
"You've only been married to Jingyu for a little over ten days, yet you know so much about the servants in the household?" The Emperor smiled slightly.
Su Wenyuan replied, "It is precisely because the time was short that I had the opportunity to understand that some people, relying on their long tenure in the mansion, act arrogantly and are unruly, which I have seen through."
After Su Wenyuan finished speaking, she turned to look at the old women, her intentions quite clear.
The Emperor slammed the register shut, staring coldly at them, wanting to hear their explanations.
The old woman said in a panic, "Your Majesty, I have not said a word of falsehood. This book is evidence of her unfairness. She says that rewards and punishments are fair, but even if it is unfair, no one dares to say it. If they do, they will be kicked out."
"Whether it was a genuine mistake or just the princess's favoritism, only the princess herself knows. Those in the household who were punished had no choice but to sign their names!"
The Queen asked, "Do you mean that none of the people who signed this book acknowledged the mistakes they made?"
Several old women nodded repeatedly, saying, "Yes, yes, that's exactly it."
All eyes turned to Su Wenyuan once again.
She was charged with another crime: mistreating her servants and forcing them to sign documents.
Su Wenyuan pointed to the list in the Emperor's hand and said, "There is a page on the back without names. Father, you can take a look. If I have the ability to force people to sign, why don't I sign them all?"
Granny Gao's expression changed; the only people in the household who hadn't signed off on it were the kitchen staff.
The emperor opened it and saw that it was indeed so.
These people also received their monthly allowance, but it wasn't marked or signed.
"Gao Pozi, Dong Pozi..." The Emperor read out each name one by one.
As a result, the old women in front of us were all kneeling here.
Now the Emperor understood everything: these older women were in conflict with the new Princess Consort.
Faced with the Emperor's cold gaze, the group trembled and hurriedly explained, "The Princess Consort didn't ask us to sign at the time; it wasn't that we deliberately refused to sign."
Su Wenyuan countered, "The monthly wages were all paid on the same day. You were all there at the time. I asked each of you one by one. When I got to the kitchen, what did you say?"
Granny Gao and Granny Dong lowered their heads guiltily; they had been somewhat arrogant that day.
"I...I forgot..." Granny Dong stammered in response.
Su Wenyuan smiled and said, "But I haven't forgotten."
Then she looked up at the Emperor and said, “Father, I want to have a comprehensive understanding of the people in the mansion. When I asked the kitchen, Granny Gao wouldn’t let me ask, saying that I didn’t know them as well as she did.”
"This old woman Dong told me to give all the monthly wages to old woman Gao, so they can distribute them themselves when they return to the kitchen, to save my time. As the Princess Consort of Chen, do I need the approval of these two old women to inquire about the situation of the servants in the mansion?"
The Emperor roared, "Do you even respect your master?!"
The group lay prone on the ground, exchanging glances, and all could see the panic in each other's eyes.
Sheng Jingyu asked softly, "Is the Princess still kneeling?"
This remark reminded the emperor, who immediately ordered someone to offer him a seat.
They accused Su Wenyuan of being unfair and incompetent in management, but this roster alone is enough to prove Su Wenyuan's innocence.
The Emperor also noticed the conflict between the old women and Su Wenyuan.
Just as Su Wenyuan was about to speak, she asked the Emperor to help deal with the old women.
But the Empress spoke first: "How dare you! Even if you want to help the Princess, you can't speak like this."
These words were clearly a reminder to the group, asking them to explain that they were trying to help out of kindness.
Granny Gao reacted quickly, frantically explaining, "Your Highness has misunderstood. We were just worried that Your Highness would be tired. Besides, I know all the people in the kitchen well. If Your Highness wants to know, just ask me."
Granny Dong nodded and said, "Yes, yes, that day the princess was distributing her monthly allowance, which took almost two hours. We only said that because we were afraid the princess would get tired. It was not meant to be disrespectful to the princess."
The Emperor then asked, "So you came here to lodge a complaint because you were afraid that Princess Consort Chen would be implicated?"
Before Sheng Jingyu and Su Wenyuan arrived, these old women spoke with great conviction, listing Su Wenyuan's crimes one by one.
Now that Su Wenyuan has produced evidence, the tone of her words has changed very quickly.
The old women were speechless again. The Emperor looked at them impatiently, his anger evident on his face.
"Even servants in the manor can enter the palace to complain about the Princess Consort. If I don't punish you, will the Prince Chen's manor still have any rules?"
At this moment, the Empress frowned slightly and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Actually, this matter cannot be entirely blamed on them. Princess Consort Chen also bears some responsibility."
Su Wenyuan was stunned; this was a deliberate attempt to smear her!
The Emperor was also puzzled and asked, "What responsibility does the Princess Consort of Chen bear?"
The Empress looked at Su Wenyuan with some helplessness and asked, "I heard that you set up another kitchen in the mansion and hired several cooks at a high price, thus outsourcing their work?"
Su Wenyuan replied, "Yes."
The Empress continued, "That's right. These old women were all sent to Jingyu by Consort Yu's side back then. They came from Consort Yu's palace, and their task is to take good care of Jingyu."
"But you've created a kitchen, taking away their jobs, and the monthly wages aren't even the same. How can they be happy about that?"
Su Wenyuan knew that no matter what, they could not get rid of Consort Yu as a shield.
Originally, Su Wenyuan did not want to drag things out for so long.
Consort Yu is Sheng Jingyu's birth mother, so it's best not to mention her. If we talk about her too much, it might upset Sheng Jingyu.
But the Empress was determined to keep them. Could she not use the readily available reason?
When Consort Yu was mentioned, the Emperor's gaze towards the women changed.
He didn't love Consort Yu much when she was alive, but he began to miss her after she died.
"No wonder they look familiar to me. They are all people from Consort Yu's palace back then. They should have been released from the palace when they got too old, but Consort Yu kept them for a while longer, saying that they would be sent to Prince Chen's residence later."
The emperor also recalled this past event.
When the group heard that the Emperor still remembered them, they were overjoyed.
Granny Gao wept uncontrollably, saying in broken sentences, "Her Majesty passed away early, leaving behind only this prince. We servants have no other wish but to take good care of the prince in Her Majesty's place."
Granny Dong said, "Yes, as long as the prince is healthy and happy, we servants will die without regret! Now that the princess dislikes us and doesn't want to use us, we servants are really heartbroken."
One by one, they suddenly became loyal servants.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
