Chapter 49 Chapter 49 Why do I suddenly want to stay in Jingyuan
Her feeling couldn't be wrong, someone must have been watching her from outside the window just now.
Is it Duan Wenpei? Or Yu Rong beside him? Or perhaps those people hiding in the shadows with ulterior motives?
Nan Xu didn’t know and didn’t want to guess.
The farce in the corridor had not yet ended, but Nan Xu was a little fed up. Just as she was about to get up and go into the house, a figure suddenly came and knelt at her feet.
Mrs. Li pointed at Liu Zhi, who was still being beaten, her eyes filled with pleading. "Madam, please forgive them this time. If Liu Zhi makes another mistake, it doesn't deserve the death penalty!"
In the yard, the sound of a wooden stick hitting flesh was dull and oppressive. Mrs. Xiao couldn't bear to let her daughter suffer, so she used her body to protect the willow branch; Xiao Xiong had his stick taken away, and perhaps he was persuaded by Mrs. Li's words, he no longer rushed towards Nan Xu, but only tried to snatch the wooden stick from the servant's hand. Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Yuan also stared blankly... All these things, coming from Mrs. Li's mouth, made people feel that she was the evil person who arbitrarily abused the servants.
Nan Xu curled her lips and smiled sarcastically, "Let you go this time? Then who will guarantee that you won't do it again next time?"
Mrs. Li opened her mouth, but was hesitant to make a promise.
She knew what kind of people there were, and she also knew what they were looking for.
They didn't have the courage to think about the piece of fat meat called Wei Yangbo before, but now that they have been given the order, they naturally have to make plans for their maids.
After all, who wants to be a slave for the rest of their life?
"Don't worry, madam. I promise you that if anyone has such second thoughts in the future, I will be the first one to not forgive her." She patted her chest and expressed her position to Nan Xu. People who didn't know her would really think she was a loyal old servant.
"You promise? Who will promise you?" Nan Xu was too lazy to watch her acting, so she tugged at her skirt and turned away.
Mrs. Li was anxious and stood up to block Nan Xu's way. Nan Xu squinted at her, and the cold light in her eyes could scrape flesh and bones.
"You want to stop me?"
Mrs. Li shook her head and swallowed hard, "No, I dare not."
"Then get out of the way."
Nanny Jiang wanted to pull her away, but she was no match for Li Pozi, who had been doing errands for years.
"Madam," said Li Pozi, standing before Nanxu like a heavy pillar, "as long as you spare Liuzhi and her daughter, I and the others will be at your disposal from now on." Pointing at Wang Pozi and the others below, she swore a solemn oath, "If I break this oath, heaven will thunder and lightning."
Nan Xu didn't look at her, but only at Wang Po and Yuan Po at the table below. When the two women saw her looking at them, they also swore like Li Po.
"I didn't expect you to be so righteous," Nan Xu said calmly. Then, as if suddenly realizing something, she said, "I remember now. Liuzhi and her daughter are your relatives. You're not being righteous, you're just having to help. I wonder what your relationship is with Liuzhi and her daughter?"
Pooh.
They had nothing to do with Liuzhi and her daughter. It was all because of Mrs. Li that they were being manipulated. Mrs. Wang and the other two felt a little unhappy, but they didn't dare to say anything.
Nan Xu smiled and sat back down. "Now that you've said what you want to say, if I continue to cling to the willow branch, it would seem unreasonable."
She handed the golden ball to Yuxiang and brushed off the cat hair on her knees. "It's just that I don't believe in oaths. I still feel more at ease with real evidence."
Under the surprised gazes of Mrs. Li and others, Nan Xu gave an order to an inconspicuous maid, and the maid soon took out a booklet.
After a closer look, it was the list I had made for them before.
Songguo turned to the last few pages, and when Mrs. Li took a closer look, she found that the living contract she had signed had been changed into a death contract with just a few strokes.
If you sign this, your life and death will be in the hands of others.
That was the original idea!
Madam Li's throat rolled over and she hesitated, "Madam, isn't this against the rules..."
Nan Xu wasn't surprised by her reaction at all. She spread her hands and said, "If you don't want to sign, that's fine too."
"Keep fighting."
Mrs. Xiao had never been subjected to such punishment before. She didn't want to stop it but she felt sorry for her daughter. She was howling incessantly from being beaten. She didn't care what was written on the booklet and kept yelling at Mrs. Li to sign and seal it quickly.
Mrs. Li didn't want to be implicated by her, and she spoke up for her out of consideration for the relationship between the sisters-in-law. But if she signed the document, wouldn't she be at the mercy of others in the future?
Not to mention that if the people above knew about this, they would be so angry that no one would know.
Mrs. Xiao was urging her to do something, and Xiao Xiong on the other end was also shouting. Mrs. Li couldn't make up her mind, and cold sweat broke out on her forehead.
Nan Xu looked at her leisurely. She was patient and not in a hurry.
Chunya served the tea, and Nanxu picked up the tea lid and scraped off the tea leaves floating on the surface.
Mrs. Li was so absorbed in watching that it seemed as if she was not scraping the tea leaves, but rather scraping them on her own body. She clenched her fists and had an idea in her mind.
"As long as Madam spares the lives of Liuzhi and her daughter, I will agree to whatever you say, except this." She pointed to the signed booklet, her face full of reluctance.
Nan Xu was about to drink tea when she looked up at her and asked, "Agree to everything?"
"What if I said I wanted to kill you?"
Mrs. Li's expression changed instantly, and she said reluctantly, "Madam, you're joking."
Nan Xu smiled and sipped her tea, then turned to look at Wang Po and the other woman beside her, "Or, let's take their lives."
Seeing how easily she spoke, Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Yuan felt a pang in their hearts. They quickly knelt down, shaking their heads and waving their hands.
"My lady, I have done nothing wrong!"
"That's right, Madam, you always give clear rewards and punishments. You can't, you can't punish this old slave for this."
As they spoke, the two of them went to pull at Mrs. Li's clothes.
"If someone in your family makes a mistake, we can't be punished for it."
"That's right! If you want to punish them, just punish Mrs. Xiao and Liu Zhi. Sister Li, we have followed your lead for so many years. You can't ignore our friendship for your sister-in-law!"
They were so excited that they almost tore off Mrs. Li's clothes.
Mrs. Li had to find a way to save her clothes and persuade them to stop making trouble. She was exhausted.
If it wasn't the wrong timing, she really wanted to slap him in the face.
They are all old people who have been doing the work for many years, so how could they be frightened by Nan Xu's few words? Any noble lady who says to beat or kill a servant will do so, isn't it just a way for them to scare people?
Nan Xu saw her cloudy eyes rolling around and her complexion returning to normal, and she knew that she had figured it out.
She couldn't help but look at Mrs. Li a few more times.
"Madam," Mrs. Li called out, "why not kick them out of the house?"
It's hard for her to make a choice so quickly.
Nan Xu wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief and looked at the wind chimes under the eaves with a long gaze. "Oh? Are you referring to them?"
The corners of Mrs. Li's mouth twitched, and after a long while she said, "Liuzhi and her mother."
Nan Xu pointed at Xiao Xiong, who was jumping up and down, with some dissatisfaction, "Have you forgotten someone?"
Mrs. Li gritted her teeth, her voice forced out from her throat, "He's in charge of swill and sweeping. Without him, there's no one to take his place."
Nan Xu covered her mouth and smiled, "What's so difficult about this? I have plenty of people here."
Mrs. Li still wanted to fight for Xiao Xiong, "They have worked hard, even if they have not made any contributions. It's not good to kick them all out. How will others view our Bo's Mansion..."
Facing Nan Xu's gaze, she felt her throat tighten as she spoke.
Nan Xu asked with amusement, "What do others think of our Bo Mansion? Otherwise, Manager Li will tell us."
Her eyes were sharp and cold. She was clearly smiling, but one couldn't feel that she was smiling at all. Mrs. Li didn't understand why a young noble lady would have such a look.
"Old slave, that's not what I meant..."
"What do you mean?" Nan Xu slammed her hand on the armrest of the armchair. "Since I'm the Earl's wife, I have the final say on matters in the backyard. When I said I'd kick the three Xiao family members out, I wasn't negotiating with you, nor was I giving you bargaining chips. What's going on? Manager Li wants to be my boss?"
Mrs. Li's eyes narrowed, knowing that this was a final statement.
Looking at the incredulous Mrs. Xiao and Xiao Xiong below, Mrs. Li leaned over and closed her eyes weakly. She nodded helplessly, "All, all is up to Madam."
Mrs. Xiao had been beaten so hard that she lost consciousness in her lower body. She looked at Mrs. Li's back as she fell to the ground in disbelief. She couldn't understand why her family was abandoned so easily.
It's something that can be solved by just signing and stamping on it, so why does Li Pozi, the sister-in-law, refuse to do it?
Nan Xu smiled, turned around and went into the house with satisfaction, leaving only the heart-wrenching screams in the corridor.
Nanny Jiang quickly had someone cover their mouths, and then ordered someone to drag Xiao Pozi, her daughter, and Xiao Xiong out through the back door.
After this shock, all the servants in the mansion felt insecure.
Fang Ruo and the others knew they could not stay, so they packed up their things early and waited for the broker to come, but they were told that they did not need to be kicked out of the house, and the lady asked them to go to the farm to work.
Taking advantage of a foggy morning, Fang Ruo and a few others boarded an ox cart heading to the farm in the suburbs.
*
"Madam, try this. It's freshly made by the kitchen." Chunya served Nanxu breakfast. The table was full of Nanxu's favorite dishes, which were much more sumptuous than before.
Nanxu took two bites and found it delicious, so she asked Chunya to pick up some more.
When Nanny Jiang saw the incense Nan Xu was using, she smiled so much that the wrinkles on her face deepened.
"Madam is really capable. She dealt with them and saved us the trouble of urging them over and over again."
In the past, if Duan Wenpei didn't come to Jingyuan, the dishes were always not to his liking. Sometimes when he went to the kitchen to give a few instructions, these people would secretly make up stories about Nan Xu being difficult to serve.
Yuxiang, standing nearby, added, "That's right. I used to ask them to boil more water to clean the golden ball, but the maids all hated me. They said in a sarcastic way that they hadn't even cleaned it yet, so how could a beast use it first? Now, when I go there again, they see me coming from afar and call me 'Sister Yuxiang' in their hearts. It's so affectionate."
Nan Xu listened quietly, and knowing that they had been wronged, she let them talk.
After finishing his meal and clearing the food from the table, he was about to go out for a walk in the corridor when the maid came in and said that Manager Liu was here.
This was Liu Hui's first time to Jingyuan since he drove out the three people from the Xiao family. Nan Xu didn't know why he came, so she asked someone to call him in to answer the question.
Liu Hui came in with a smile and said that there was nothing important. He was just helping Duan Wenpei move some toiletries and bedtime items to Jingyuan. He also came to tell Nan Xu that Duan Wenpei would come to Jingyuan for dinner tonight.
When Nanny Jiang heard this, she was overjoyed and hurriedly said she would go out to help put things in order.
Nan Xu was still a little dazed, and when she came to her senses, she looked a little uncomfortable.
Why did Duan Wenpei suddenly want to stay in Jingyuan? Nan Xu was a little confused, but in front of Liu Hui and the servants, she didn't dare to ask too much.
After seeing Liu Hui off, Nan Xu leaned on the couch in a daze. As she thought about it, a blush gradually appeared on her face.
She fanned herself with her hands, patted her face, and told herself to calm down.
Even if Duan Wenpei wanted to stay overnight, he didn't say he had to sleep with her. Besides, they had an appointment beforehand. Even though he kissed her in Hou Mansion before, it...wasn't a big deal. After all, she was the one who teased him first.
Besides, there was no reason for this. Why did she suddenly come to Jingyuan to stay overnight? Could it be that she was going to deal with Xiao Po and the others? Thinking of how she had been blamed for punishing Li Qi without any reason, Nan Xu became unhappy again.
If it really came to these things, she might as well talk to him about it. He could let anyone else take care of these thankless tasks. She didn't want to worry about them!
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