Chapter 72 Disciplinary Authority
Without waiting for Mu Zhen to speak, he immediately ordered Pei Dong, the head steward behind Mu Zhen, "Head Steward Pei, this is also your job. Why don't you take your men and search?"
Pei Dong looked at Mu Zhen, waiting for instructions.
Mu Zhen did not object.
Pei Dong, limping, led his men there.
They returned shortly afterward and, sure enough, found the account book in Granny Qian's room.
Not only were there account books, but also a lot of property that shouldn't belong to someone of her status.
Mu Zhen didn't even bother to lift his eyelids: "Since the evidence is conclusive, let's deal with it however we see fit."
“Madam…” Granny Qian called out.
Mu Xi sneered, "What, now that something's happened, you're shouting 'Madam'? Do you want to tell everyone that your affairs are related to Madam?"
Gao was just trying to come up with a way to get out of this mess when she didn't expect Mu Xi to try to smear her. She quickly tried to clear herself: "The country has its laws and the family has its rules. I've always been too soft-hearted, which is why I've let you servants run wild. Now that the Lord has made a decision, we should obey."
Mu Xi waved his hand, signaling the guards to arrest Granny Qian as well.
Turning back, she smiled faintly: "Madam is right. Madam is soft-hearted, which is why Third Brother has been spoiled by Madam to this extent. As the saying goes, 'If you raise a child but do not teach him, it is the father's fault.' Shouldn't Father do something?"
Mu Zhen glanced at Mu Chong, who was hiding in the Gao family compound, and narrowed his eyes: "You really forced someone else's perfectly good daughter?"
Mu Chong dared not answer.
Mu Xi answered for him: "Everyone knows who started this mess, so why is Father asking? Now that you know, are you just going to let it go like this?"
Mu Zhen always entrusted his son Mu Chong entirely to the Gao family, in other words, he didn't care about him at all.
Now that Mu Xi had pressed him for answers, and with so many people around, he had no choice but to hesitate and say, "Then I'll confine you for three months."
"A three-month house arrest is all it takes?" Mu Xi made no attempt to hide her dissatisfaction with the verdict.
Mu Zhen just wanted to end this matter as soon as possible: "What exactly do you want?"
Mu Xi bowed and said, "Father is not in good health and is naturally unable to discipline his younger brother personally. As the eldest son, I have the right to discipline my younger brother on his behalf. Therefore, I would like to ask Father to entrust Mu Chong to my discipline."
"I don't..." Mu Chong immediately grabbed Gao Shi's collar, unwilling.
Madam Gao patted her son's hand, still able to respond: "Even if Chong'er is not good enough, we have hired both civil and military instructors. Why should the young master worry about it?"
“I don’t want to worry about this either, but Mu Chong is already sixteen years old by the traditional Chinese age reckoning. Having so many personal maids in the house isn’t enough. She’s eating from the pot while eyeing the bowl. This isn’t good.” Mu Xi looked worried.
Lady Gao looked as if she had been robbed in front of her, no longer caring about her image: "Is it possible that the young master's room is not filled with maids?"
"Alas...who knew I was so unlucky? My mother is no longer by my side, and I'm all grown up now with no one to take care of me." Mu Xi sighed, then beckoned Bao Fan over. "So, I had to wake up myself and find my own servants. Now that I'm an adult, how can it be proper to have only female maids by my side and no male servants?"
"Heh... Is the young master blaming me, his stepmother?" Madam Gao seemed to have abandoned her carefully cultivated image of a virtuous wife and loving mother, but then turned her attention to Jin Fangjun, "Don't say that I, as his stepmother, don't care about the young master. When the young master returned from Xihua Mountain, I mentioned to you, my lord, that I wanted to find suitable attendants for him. It was you who said the young master was always frail and sickly, and that the maids took good care of him. You cherished your eldest son then, don't you cherish your youngest son now?"
"This..." Mu Zhen was already in a dilemma and couldn't make a decision.
Gao turned around and pointed at Mu Xi: "Moreover, the young master is weak and sickly, and he is probably not good at either literature or martial arts. He looks like he could be blown away by a gust of wind as he stands here. How can he possibly worry about his brother's affairs?"
"Alas, I am indeed in poor health, but who is to blame for this? Isn't it because I was ambushed by some heartless bastards who deserve to be struck by lightning a while ago, and almost lost my life?" Mu Xi stared at Gao Shi, and could not see a trace of guilt on Gao Shi's face.
Then she shifted her gaze to her scumbag father's face: "My health is so poor, and I am in danger of being assassinated at any time. If I die, who will bear the responsibility of the Jun family? As the third young master of the Jun family, Mu Chong is getting older and it is time for him to step forward and take responsibility."
The meaning couldn't be clearer: Mu Xi wanted to control Mu Chong so that she could use him to threaten the Gao family into not taking any further action.
If Mu Zhen were not mentally unstable, he should have understood the meaning behind those words.
Before the scumbag father could even express his opinion, Madam Gao was 1.2 million times against it: "The young master's health is so poor, he should worry about himself first. There's no need for the young master to worry about Chong'er."
Mu Xi chuckled: "That's right, my health is indeed not good, but don't forget, isn't there Mu Xun? He's both scholarly and martial, and he's outstanding among the young masters of noble families in Moyang City. He should be qualified, right?"
“Him?” Madam Gao didn’t even bother to look at him properly. “He’s the son of a mistress…”
"Madam, please be careful with your words." Mu Xi's expression turned cold. No matter what, Mu Xun was on her side and she had to protect him. "Only Father can decide Mu Xun's identity."
Mu Zhenyi's expression was clearly displeased: "Xi'er, what exactly do you want after all this talk?"
Mu Xi said with righteous indignation: "Instead of confining Mu Chong for three months, Father, why not move him to live with Mu Xun? In the future, let Mu Xun take him by his side and correct his spoiled brat habits."
"Mu Xun?" The scumbag father looked at Mu Xun standing to the side.
Mu Xun was inexplicably "sold out" by Mu Xi, but since Mu Xi had spoken, he immediately showed his sincerity: "Yes, son is willing to share father's burdens."
Jin Fangjun and Mu Zhen still had many concerns, but their expressions softened: "If that's the case, then it's acceptable..."
“No, no… he’s even worse…” Gao was already jumping up and down.
Mu Xi was on the verge of victory: "Why does Madam object? After this incident in the inner courtyard, Mu Chong can no longer stay there. It was originally me who suggested teaching Mu Chong, and he should indeed be placed in my courtyard. However, as Madam just said, my health is not good, and having too many people around makes it noisy and prevents me from resting. Placing him in Mu Xun's place is fine, since our courtyards are already separated by only a wall. If Mu Chong goes there, it means the three of us brothers can gather together, which can greatly enhance the bond between brothers."
Lady Gao then tried to appeal to Jin Fangjun Muzhen's emotions: "My lord, Chong'er is still young, how can he be separated from his mother?"
Mu Zhen finally made a decision, his face suddenly turning cold: "Xi'er and Xun'er both lost their mothers at a young age, yet they have never done such a despicable thing. Since the young master is willing and Xun'er is willing, then let's do it this way."
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