Inside the Wutong Courtyard, the servants bowed their heads, their bodies trembling uncontrollably, fearing that the battle between their masters would spread and drag them, the innocent ones, into it.
“Zeng Feizi.” Jian Piaoyi was both ashamed and angry. In front of a group of servants, she, the legitimate daughter of a marquis’s family, had actually been humiliated by the daughter of a merchant.
Ji Xiaoxiao's eyes turned cold as she said, "Is this the kind of upbringing a lady from a respectable family would have? To order someone to smash up Mother's courtyard gate and to call Mother by her name directly, if that's really the case, Mother will be utterly disappointed."
After saying that, Ji Xiaoxiao shook her head slightly.
Jian Piaoyi paused in her upward movement, then hurriedly put her hand behind her back.
“Mother, I know I was wrong. In broad daylight, the Wutong Garden was locked. I was very worried about you, so I had no choice but to do it. I hope you can understand. My actions were all out of love for you.”
Ji Xiaoxiao smiled warmly. As expected of a young lady who has grown up in a prestigious family, she's impressive!
"In that case, why should your mother blame you?"
Ji Xiaoxiao waved her hand, "Granny Zhang."
"This servant understands."
Granny Zhang led some people away from Wutong Garden.
"Come in and have a seat." Ji Xiaoxiao was the first to enter the house.
Jian Piaoyi took a step forward and followed closely behind.
The two entered the room and had just sat down when a maid brought them hot tea.
Jian Piaoyi picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and said, "Sweet on the palate, with a mellow aftertaste, a fine tea."
"If you like it, drink more."
After Ji Xiaoxiao finished speaking, the room fell into a deathly silence.
The two were clearly blood relatives, so close yet so far apart.
Jian Piaoyi put down her teacup, coughed lightly, and said, "Mother, I heard from the servants that you banished and sold off the servants of Wutong Garden at a low price. Is this true?"
Ji Xiaoxiao gave a soft "hmm".
“Mother, our Marquis of Weiguo’s mansion is a respectable noble family in the capital. If you punish the servants without asking questions, it will ruin the reputation of our Marquis of Weiguo’s mansion and implicate Father and Brother.” Jian Piaoyi’s tone was gentle and sweet, like a spring breeze in February, carrying the fragrance of earth and flowers, with the charm of nature.
Ji Xiaoxiao curled her lips and said, "Criticize the servants? When have I ever criticized the servants? Piaoyi, did you hear this from that gossipy woman?"
Birds of a feather flock together, and people are grouped by kind; gossipy women and gossipy women belong to the same lineage.
Jian Piaoyi's face darkened, and her breathing became heavy.
“Mother, the servants in Wutong Garden are diligent and have done nothing wrong, yet you ordered them to be sold off cheaply to remote and impoverished mountain villages. Isn’t that harsh?” Jian Piaoyi earnestly argued with Ji Xiaoxiao about various reasons.
“Piaoyi, your mother finds this strange. How do you know that the servants in your Wutong Garden are diligent and have not done anything wrong, given that you are in the Zizhu Garden?”
Ji Xiaoxiao looked at Jian Piaoyi with a smile.
Jian Piaoyi looked flustered and realized she had said the wrong thing. She quickly corrected herself, "Mother, you are very good at disciplining servants. Everyone in the Marquis's mansion knows this. Everyone who works under you is quick-witted and clever."
“Oh, I didn’t know that.” Ji Xiaoxiao leaned forward slightly. “All I know is that those people are traitors. If murder weren’t a crime, I would really like to skin them alive, cut open their chests, and see if their hearts are black.”
"Mother, please don't joke," Jian Piaoyi said with a dry laugh.
Ji Xiaoxiao said coldly, "I'm not joking. Every word I said before came from the bottom of my heart. Their worthless lives were prolonged by my existence, Zeng Feizi, and in the end, they still want to harm me. Do they think I'm some kind of savior? It's utterly ridiculous. Father and son, ruler and subject, the basic principles of morality and ethics. Servants should behave like servants. They have defied their superiors, and it's only right that I punish them. Daughter, is what your mother says reasonable?"
Even in the homes of ordinary people, it is a serious crime for a servant to disobey their superior. The Marquis of Wei's household is strict in its management and would never tolerate such audacious individuals.
That made sense, but among the servants that Ji Xiaoxiao had driven away and sold off cheaply were spies she had painstakingly planted in Wutong Garden. All her efforts had been in vain. No matter how unwilling Jian Piaoyi was, the situation was beyond her control, and she could only grit her teeth and agree.
"Mother, no one is perfect. In my humble opinion, please forgive them this time! A wise person doesn't hold grudges against a child. I think they know they were wrong and will never dare to disobey in the future." Jian Piaoyi tried her best to persuade Ji Xiaoxiao to retract her order.
"Dream on." Ji Xiaoxiao replied lightly to Jian Piaoyi.
Jian Piaoyi gritted her teeth secretly, her slender fingers tightly gripping the handkerchief.
“Mother, you have really disappointed your daughter. You are the mistress of the Marquis of Wei’s mansion, how can you be so narrow-minded and petty?” Jian Piaoyi couldn’t help but scold.
Ji Xiaoxiao sat up straight and slammed her hand on the table.
With a sharp, loud crack.
Jian Piaoyi was taken aback, and her body trembled.
"Hehe." Ji Xiaoxiao laughed brightly and dazzlingly in front of Jian Piaoyi.
Realizing she had lost face, and fueled by both old and new grudges, Jian Piaoyi was furious and roared, "Zeng Feizi, do you only feel happy when you're going against me? Considering you gave birth to me, I'll give you one last chance: find all the servants you drove away and sold off, or else, Zeng Feizi, you can expect to be kicked out of the Marquis's mansion."
Jian Piaoyi had had enough. She didn't want to hear the words "get rid of Zeng Feizi, get rid of Zeng Feizi, daughter of a businessman" a second time.
Ji Xiaoxiao placed her hands on her legs, turned her head, and looked up at the bright blue sky.
"Zeng Feizi," Jian Piaoyi called out.
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