Chapter 117

After Jia Jing had thought it over in his mind, he said to Jia Mu:

"Grandmother, my personal troops have already gone to seize the people; I will return to the courtyard to handle this matter."

"The upcoming scene might be somewhat unsightly; Grandmother has always been kind-hearted and cannot bear to see such cruel scenes."

"Or you could rest in Rong Qing Tang; it would be just right for Second Sister-in-law and the others to keep you company, and when I have settled things over there I will send someone to let you know the result—what do you think?"

Jia Jing's reason for going to Jingwu Yuan to handle this matter is first, Rong Qing Tang is inside the inner quarters, and it would be improper to gather all the mansion's servants and lackeys there.

Second, he intends to make Jingwu Yuan the key location for the Jia Mansion to handle major affairs, rather than Rong Qing Tang and Rong Xi Tang.

Upon hearing this, Jia Mu was somewhat displeased.

Although she had already mentally prepared herself to not interfere.

But at this moment, the mansion is about to undergo such a great change; having her sit in Rong Qing Tang waiting for the result, how could she possibly stay seated?

Jia Mu furrowed her brows and said lightly:

"How could I possibly stay seated? With nothing else to do, I'll just go over there to have a look."

Feng Jie beside her smiled, her phoenix eyes flickering, and said:

"Third Brother! Sister-in-law, I also want to go see how you gentlemen out there handle affairs; learning a bit from you would be good—don't worry, I'll just watch and not interject."

Lady Wang and Mrs. Xing certainly could not miss it; this matter concerns the servants around them and their own vital interests—how could they rest easy if they didn't go see it?

Xue Yima, Lady You, and Qin Keqing standing to the side wore hesitant expressions; they also wanted to see how Jia Jing would straighten out the mansion's servants.

With such a huge commotion, how could they not be curious about how things will develop next?

But after all, this is a family affair of the Rong Guo Mansion, and it involves many male servants and stewards; as ladies, it would be improper for them to show themselves to watch the spectacle.

Jia Mu said to Xue Yima:

"Aunt, today I've let you see a joke; these servants of the mansion have behaved outrageously, and it's also because I've indulged them these past years!"

Xue Yima piled on a smile and replied:

"What are you saying, Old Lady! Every family has its own difficult sutra to recite!"

"The Old Lady treats people with kindness and remembers old ties—that's absolutely right! The blame lies with those servants who don't know their place."

"To be frank, my family actually has the same kind of thing!"

"Over these years, the managers and stewards of our family's shops, relying on our being widows and orphans, have often looked down on us and deceived us."

"The profit silver sent from the various shops keeps dwindling, year after year worse than before, the accounts are in chaos, and who knows how much has been embezzled."

"This time I came to the capital also to investigate this bunch of parasites, to properly sort out these old accounts and straighten out the shortfall."

"It's just a pity that my family lacks someone like Jing'er; I've been in the capital for so long and still haven't gotten to the bottom of it!"

Xue Yima's words exposed her own shortcomings, comforting Jia Mu's heart while secretly praising Jia Jing a few times.

Jia Mu's complexion improved somewhat; the earlier sense of unease caused by Jia Jing's domineering pressure also faded a bit, and with a silent face she showed a hint of a smile and said:

"You, Aunt, are reasonable and understanding! Every household has its share of servants who bully superiors and deceive inferiors; it's not just my family."

"In the past, as long as it wasn't excessive, I would turn a blind eye and let them be."

"Who would have thought they'd be so outrageous, and now they're even implicated in court affairs; I can only let Jing'er go and punish them thoroughly!"

Xue Yima sighed and said:

"Who would say otherwise! If it were just a little embezzlement, that would be fine; but I fear they'll cause disaster, bringing misfortune upon our household—that would be a calamity from heaven!"

"Many of our things are meant to be presented to the palace; if these people pass off inferior goods as good and anger the nobles there, we'd truly have nowhere to seek redress!"

"Whenever I think of these vexing matters, I worry so much I can't sleep!"

Jia Mu felt much better after hearing Xue Yima's words; learning that other families also had troubles and many worries, her heart instantly felt relieved.

But she had no time to attend to Xue Yima's worries at the moment—her own affairs were still unresolved!

Immediately, Jia Mu, accompanied by Mrs. Xing, Lady Wang, Feng Jie, and a retinue of serving maids and grannies, followed Jia Jing toward the Jingwu Yuan.

In the Rong Qing Tang, only Xue Yima, Lady You, and Qin Keqing remained for a moment.

Meanwhile, Li Wan, San Chun, Shi Xiangyun, Baichai, and others in the side rooms also began to discuss.

"I never expected today's affair to blow up this big! Not only did Second Brother get beaten, but even the mistress and the old lady……"

In Tan Chun's almond eyes, a hint of shock flickered, and her beautiful face was full of surprise.

She couldn't directly say Lady Wang and Jia Mu, for she was a junior and had to observe the proper reserve toward her elders.

Shi Xiangyun, being straightforward, likewise showed a hint of surprise in her brows and eyes, and said:

"It serves Brother Ai right to get beaten! He truly behaved outrageously today—he made Elder Sister Lin vomit blood from anger, and even made Grandfather vomit blood and faint."

"In my opinion, Third Brother did nothing wrong; I only hope that Brother Ai, after this lesson, can make even a little progress."

"But are the servants in your household really that bad? The Lai family embezzled over a hundred thousand taels of silver? How much money is that? Wouldn't it pile up into a small mountain in your home?"

"And Second Sister, did the wet nurse in your quarters really steal your jewelry?"

Yingchun, wearing an orange‑lined jacket and possessing a gentle, quiet demeanor, heard this, hesitated a moment, and said nothing.

Behind her, the maid Si Qi raised her eyebrows and spoke angrily:

"It's not just taking jewelry—that wicked old woman, relying on having nursed our young lady, has always been barbaric and rude in the ladies' quarters!"

"Whenever there's anything nice in the young lady's room, she demands a share; each time she loses at gambling, she sneaks off to steal our young lady's jewelry to exchange for cash."

"She also often badmouths our young lady behind her back, saying she's unlucky to have married a 'blockhead' with no profit, calling her utterly depraved!"

"It's only because our young lady is good‑natured and unwilling to argue with her, letting her be rude to this day. I've long wanted to tell the Marquis about this, but the Second Young Lady has always stopped me."

Shi Xiangyun, fuming, gritted her teeth and said:

"There's actually such a thing! It's practically the servants acting like masters—don't they know the hierarchy?"

"If such a thing happened in my household, those servants would have been beaten to death and sold off long ago!"

"Sister Ai, you're being overly lenient; you should have told Third Brother about this long ago—given his temperament, he would never allow the granny to run wild!"

Yingchun's face showed a hint of a smile as she said:

"Third Brother is always busy with state affairs on ordinary days; why should I bother him over such a trifle?"

"Besides, since Third Brother returned, Grandma Zhao has also restrained herself a lot; she must have realized her mistake!"

Tan Chun's handsome and beautiful brows and eyes flashed a hint of sharpness, and she said coldly:

"I think she doesn't know she was wrong; she knows she's afraid!"