Chapter 47 A Servant Should Act Like a Servant

The servants in Shen Xuanlin’s courtyard were escorted over. There was no need to interrogate them, because Shen Dong was already furious when he saw them. They looked very drunk and kept breathing with a smell of alcohol. They were clearly in the state of drunkenness.

Old Lady Xiao sneered. “I have never seen such bold servants before. They are even having a more comfortable life than their master.”

Shen Dong pounded on the table. The teacups on the table even jumped up because of the impact and made a loud sound. “Well, well, you bold servants, you really have the guts! Someone…” He wanted to have all these people dragged out and beaten to death.

“Father,” Shen Ninghua interrupted. “Grandmother is in bad health. It’s better not to let the blood stain her yard so as to harm her health.”

Shen Dong frowned and thought for a moment. Then he turned to look at Old Lady Xiao. “Mother, how do you think we should handle these people?”

Old Lady Xiao glanced over Shen Ninghua. “You gave the backyard to me to take care of years ago. But you see, my health is getting worse these days. It’s better for me not to hold on to power. I’m thinking about handing over the power of managing the whole family to Madam Su. She is flexible in mind but she doesn’t have ill intentions. As for these servants, let Ninghua handle them. Ninghua is the most kind-hearted. She must be very angry to see her younger brother being treated harshly this time.”

Shen Dong had handed over the power of managing the family to Old Lady Xiao because he didn’t want the people from the second and third branches to interfere. But now that Old Lady Xiao had asked to promote Madam Su, he couldn’t openly refute her. He could only grit his teeth and agree. “Mother, everything will be done as you ordered.”

Old Lady Xiao nodded in satisfaction. “Ninghua, bring these servants down and deal with them.”

A trace of coldness flashed across Shen Ninghua’s heart as she nodded respectfully. “Father, these servants are very presumptuous. Perhaps some other servants will go even further than them in the future. Since we are going to punish them, why not use them as an example and call all the servants over to observe how they are punished?”

“Yes, that’s good. Do as you wish.” Shen Dong didn’t feel anything improper, so he nodded his head without thinking too much.

“In that case, father, could you please order the servants in your courtyard to come as well?”

Shen Dong hesitated for a while and thought that Shen Ninghua wanted to increase her deterrence to the servants with the aid of his authority. Therefore, he didn’t object to her request. “Alright, don’t go too far.”

“Yes, father. Ninghua is leaving now.” Shen Ninghua stood up, turned around and ordered Qing Que, “Call all the servants of the Shen family to the pond in the garden. Remember, all of them. Even if their legs are broken, so long as they still have a breath, carry them over.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Shen Ninghua curled her lips. She saw from the corner of her eyes that Old Lady Xiao’s expression suddenly stiffened. She sneered in her heart. Old Lady Xiao must have guessed that she was behind all this and therefore let her deal with the servants, just to place her in a difficult situation.

If she punished the servants too severely, then the kind image she had made efforts to create would be gone. It was a natural logic that people who were ruthless and good at disguising themselves would not be really filial. As a result, all her previous efforts would be in vain. If she punished the servants too leniently, not to mention whether Shen Xuanlin would hate her or not, those servants would probably think that she was weak enough to be bullied by them. In the future, she would not be able to have her thought respected by anyone in the Shen family.

Old Lady Xiao’s plan was very good, but she was wrong about one thing. In her current situation, she simply lost the ability to carry out any scheme. If she were still in good health, after Shen Ninghua punished those servants, it was quite possible for her to succeed in spreading rumors against Shen Ninghua. But now, she couldn’t even take care of herself. How many of those people would care about her order?

Shen Ninghua’s order was delivered, and every servant in the Shen family began to move. After learning that the matter started from Shen Xuanlin’s Yecui Courtyard, these people were instantly enraged. They clearly knew how those servants behaved themselves, but they didn’t expect them to be punished by their master. They were afraid that they would be implicated. However, they didn’t dare to waste too much time and ran towards the pond in the garden.

A cushion was placed in the pavilion beside the pond. Shen Ninghua sat on it while drinking tea. Bai Ruo and the other maids stood behind her, and their eyes were filled with solemnity. No servants dared to make any noise when they arrived, and they all stood there holding their breath.

Shen Ninghua drank half a cup of tea before turning to look at the people standing neatly below the stairs.

“Greetings, eldest young lady.” These servants knelt down and saluted.

Shen Ninghua did not ask them to stand up. Instead, she looked around and asked Bai Ruo. “Is everyone here?”

“Miss, the First Lady and the second young lady’s servants haven’t come yet.”

“My mother’s servants haven’t come?” Shen Ninghua frowned slightly and pondered for a while before saying, “Then let’s wait a little longer.”

Shen Ninghua picked up the teacup and continued to drink tea, but the people below were dissatisfied. They were still on their kneels! Many of these people were decent servants in front of their own masters. It had been a long time since they had to kneel down without being allowed to stand up. How could they allow Shen Ninghua to humiliate them like this?

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, Shen Ninghua frowned and put down the teacup in her hand. “Hong Ling, send someone over to ask. Everyone in my father’s courtyard has arrived. Why did those in my mother and second younger sister’s courtyard take so long?”

“Yes, Miss.”

Shen Ninghua stood up and walked to the front of the stairs. Looking at those people on the ground whose face began to turn pale, she said. “I know that many of you are much respected, even more respected than me.”

Someone couldn’t hold her anger. “Master is master. We servants don’t dare to be compared to the eldest young lady.”

Shen Ninghua turned around to look at the speaker. “You are the maid in my third sister’s courtyard, right? You look familiar.” The speaker was Shen Yulan’s chief maid.

The maid raised her face, and her eyes were filled with rebelliousness.

Shen Ninghua walked up to her and looked down at her. “Since you know that you can’t be compared to me, you shouldn’t have retorted.”

“Eldest young lady, you won’t even let me say a word. Then how do we have a way to survive?”

Shen Ninghua sneered. She casually tossed her hairpin into the pond. “Qing Que, let her go down and help me find the hairpin. If she can’t find the hairpin, then she really has no way to survive.”

“Yes, Miss.” Qing Que immediately stepped forward and expressionlessly threw the maid into the pond.

The maid widened her eyes in fear. She did not expect Shen Ninghua to do this. “Ah, help, ah…”

Everyone was stunned by Shen Ninghua’s order. They did not expect Shen Ninghua to be so bold. The anger and contempt in their hearts slowly dissipated and they knelt on the ground trembling. These servants were always like this. If their master was weak, they would be arrogant. If their master was strong-willed, they would immediately start to worry about their lives.

Shen Ninghua turned around to look at the maid struggling in the water. Her eyes were filled with indifference. “Since the servants in mother and second younger sister’s courtyards haven’t come, then we won’t wait anymore. Qing Que, throw those servants in Xuanlin’s courtyard down and help them sober up.”

“Yes, Miss.” Qing Que’s movements were extremely fast. Those servants who had drunk wine didn’t get to react before they were kicked into the pond.

Shen Xuanlin stood close to Shen Ninghua, and his face was tense.

Shen Ninghua lowered her head and asked him. “Xuanlin, are you afraid?”

Shen Xuanlin shook his head. “I’m not afraid.”

Shen Ninghua smiled. “This is more like it. You are the master, and those people are all servants. If they serve you well, don’t be stingy, give them some dignity. For those who don’t serve you well or even bully you, just beat them to death to vent your anger. They all signed the contract to sell themselves to our family. With the contract, they can’t cause trouble for us however they try.”

“Eldest sister, I remember.” Shen Xuanlin’s eyes shined brightly. His dark eyes stared coldly and eagerly at the servants in the pond.

Shen Ninghua nodded. “Alright, since you understand, I will let these servants live for now. You can give whatever punishment to them as you like.”

“Alright, thank you, eldest sister.”

“No need, we are a family.” Shen Ninghua smiled at him. When she turned again to look at the servants who were kneeling on the ground, her face darkened. “Xuanlin wants to personally punish the servants who bullied him. Send a few people down to pull them up.”

Some of the servants who were kneeling in the middle looked at each other. Ignoring the pain in their knees, they got up and jumped into the pond to save those servants.

Those servants had drunk a lot of wine. When they woke up in the water, they felt weak all over. When they finally saw people coming to save them, they immediately grabbed their savors and refused to let go. Therefore, it took about fifteen minutes to drag everyone ashore.

The servants who went into the pond to save them were so tired that they lay on the ground and gasped for breath for quite a while.

Shen Ninghua scanned the servants who had different expressions and said, “Qing Que, bring the silver. Those who jumped into the water each shall be rewarded a hundred taels of silver. Take the silver and go back to rest.”

A hundred taels?

“Thank you, eldest young lady.”

Many servants regretted in their hearts. Why didn’t they take the young lady’s order and go to the pond to save those servants? If they had also jumped into the water, they could now take the silver and rest. It took them several years to save up a hundred taels of silver.

The servants who went into the water to save people left happily. They were no longer dissatisfied with Shen Ninghua. Instead, they secretly mocked Shen Xuanlin’s servants. A servant should act like a servant. Why did they ignore their identity and upset the eldest young lady? They were too stupid!

Hong Ling walked over. “Miss, the servants of Chunhua Courtyard and Qinxue Courtyard have arrived.”

Shen Ninghua looked at Nurse Qin who obviously took the lead of those servants. “Nurse Qin, you are a little late. The servants in my father’s courtyard have been waiting for a long time.”

At the first glance of the situation here, Nurse Qin’s heart skipped a beat. When she realized that the people kneeling on the ground were actually servants from Shen Dong’s courtyard, she knew the situation was even worse than she expected. Now that she heard Shen Ninghua’s words, she quickly knelt down and apologized. “Eldest young lady, we are late. Please punish us.”

Shen Ninghua didn’t care about her stiff attitude, and she didn’t make things difficult for Nurse Qin after she admitted her mistakes. “Get up, it’s good that you’re here. The matter has been settled. I hope everyone will learn a lesson from this. I don’t want to punish servants in front of so many people. You can all go back.”

Nurse Qin suddenly raised her head and said. “Miss, we feel very guilty. Please…”

Bai Ruo interrupted her. “Nurse Qin, you have already admitted your mistake and the young lady didn’t pursue any more. You just need to thank her and there is no need to mention anything else. You have worked hard to serve her ladyship, so you are different from others.”

Nurse Qin was choked in her heart. If Shen Ninghua punished them, things would be easy for them. However, Shen Ninghua let them off the hook after punishing the other servants. This really made them the target of hatred.

Shen Ninghua didn’t even turn around. She directly went back to Yingyue Courtyard with Qing Que.

Just as she was changing her clothes, Hong Ling rushed in. “Miss, news came from the youngest master’s Yecui Courtyard that those servants were beaten to death by sticks.”

Shen Ninghua raised her eyes and asked, “Is it Xuanlin’s order?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, I see.” Shen Xuanlin was indeed a wolf cub.