All Hail Cousin Brother

117 Grace and Power

When the servants heard this, they thought about it carefully and realized that it made sense. For a moment, they looked at Yu Youyao differently.

It was said that the Third Miss in the residence was kind-hearted.

However, they felt that Eldest Miss was even more generous and proper. She was kind and filial.

Yu Zongzheng sneered. “Yao Yao has good intentions, but you actually suspect that she deliberately brought Steward Zhou and Mother Yang over to criticize you. Do you still need to criticize her? If they make a mistake, it means that you didn’t manage the house well. It’s your fault in the first place. You can’t deny it even if you want to.”

Yang Shuwan’s mouth trembled as she suppressed her headache. She quickly said, “I-I didn’t know the truth and misunderstood Yao Yao.” With that, she held Yu Youyao’s hand and forced a smile. She said gently, “Yao Yao, I apologize. Don’t be angry with me.”

Yu Youyao only felt that Madam Yang’s hand was wet and cold. It was sweaty and uncomfortable to hold. Hence, she lowered her head and lowered her eyes, saying softly, “Mother, you’re being too serious. You’re not feeling well and should be recuperating well, but I’m the one who’s being insensible and causing you trouble.”

After the two of them said a few words of “filial piety”, Yu Zongzheng’s anger subsided a little.

Yu Youyao quietly removed her hand from Yang Shuwan’s grip and asked, “Mother, Mother Yang and Steward Zhou are both here. How should we deal with them?”

At the mention of this, Yang Shuwan gritted her teeth and said angrily, “These dog slaves are deceiving their superiors and subordinates. How dare they covet the money in the residence? They must be bold. We can’t let them off easily.”

Yu Youyao listened carefully and said nothing.

Mother Yang and Steward Zhou, who were kneeling on the ground, were so frightened that they almost fainted. They quickly broke free from the old maids’ grip and crawled to Yang Shuwan’s feet, crying and begging for mercy.

“First Madam, please spare me. I know my mistake. I won’t dare to do it again. First Madam, please spare me on account of how I’ve always done my best for you…”

“First Madam, I’m loyal to you and have always done as you instructed. Please spare me this time, First Madam…”

When Yang Shuwan heard the cries of Mother Yang and Steward Zhou, her heart skipped a beat.

These two old fellows were clearly threatening her openly. If she did not let them off, they would really bite her in front of Master.

Previously, they had deliberately gone to Yu Youyao for a way out by not calling her out in front of her.

Yang Shuwan panicked, but at this moment, the Old Master and all the servants in the residence were watching. If they were to be punished lightly, it would seem like she was really guilty. Hence, she made up her mind and said, “Each of you will be punished with 50 strokes of the paddle and sent to the authorities to be convicted.”

Mother Yang and Steward Zhou were so frightened that they cried on the spot.

When the servants of the Great Zhou Dynasty arrived at the government, they would be punished with 30 strokes of the paddle. Then, they would be locked up for half a month. If they were still alive, they would be exiled to do manual labor. Most of them were injured and would never be treated by a doctor. Furthermore, they would travel a long way. On the way, they could not take it anymore and their corpses were exposed in the wilderness.

Even if they could reach the place of exile, there were very few who could endure the endless hard work every day.

Even a person would not be able to withstand 80 strokes of the paddle. First Madam was asking for their lives!

Looking at the miserable state of the two of them, the others in the residence also felt that First Madam was too ruthless.

Everyone was working in the residence, so how could they not know who had instructed Mother Yang and Steward Zhou to be so blatantly greedy for money?

How could they not know whose pocket the money had entered?

First Madam had taken all the benefits, but in the end, she burned the bridge after crossing it. She didn’t even want to give them a way out.

With First Madam’s personality, they wouldn’t dare to work for her in the future.

Yu Zongzheng couldn’t care less. He frowned and turned to look at Yu Youyao. “Yao Yao, what do you think of this?”

Yang Shuwan clenched her handkerchief tightly in anger.

What did Master mean? She was the head of the household, yet he had to ask Yu Youyao about how she was handling the servants? Did he think that she was inferior to a half-grown child like Yu Youyao?

Yu Youyao glanced at Steward Zhou and Mother Yang. She couldn’t bear to see them like this. She hesitated for a moment, not knowing what to say.

Seeing her troubled expression, Yu Zongzheng guessed that she was concerned about Madam Yang, so he said, “Just tell me!”

When Steward Zhou and Mother Yang heard this, they hurriedly crawled to Eldest Miss and cried for mercy. “Eldest Miss, we’re all servants. Even if we had the guts of a bear or a leopard, we wouldn’t dare to be greedy for the money in the residence. I did do something wrong, but we weren’t the ones who were greedy for the money. It was…”

Yu Zongzheng’s gaze focused on Yang Shuwan.

Yang Shuwan was shocked. Just as she was about to shout at them to stop talking, she heard Yu Youyao say in a gentle voice, “Father, Mother was angry that Steward Zhou and Mother Yang had fooled her. In a moment of anger, she wanted to punish them severely. This is only human nature. However, I feel that Mother Yang is a member of the family and has served the family for generations. Even if she loses all her assets and is sent to the village to continue working for the residence, it can still be considered a master-servant relationship.”

However, she could not let Mother Yang and Steward Zhou really accuse Madam Yang. Otherwise, Madam Yang’s reputation would be tarnished and it would also affect the Yu family’s reputation.

On the first day of managing the household, she had already been involved in matters of the residence, and now, she had even implicated Yang Shuwan. It was inevitable that people would think that she had done it on purpose, and it would not be good for her reputation.

It was too late.

Now that her father was dissatisfied with Yang Shuwan and had doubts, it was time to stop.

When Mother Yang heard this, she stopped blaming Yang Shuwan. She was instantly filled with gratitude and kept kowtowing to Eldest Miss. Every kowtow was sincere. In just a few moments, her forehead was bruised. “I thank Eldest Miss for her kindness. Eldest Miss is as kind and benevolent as Old Madam. You will definitely be rewarded in the future. When I go to the village, I will definitely do my best and not let down Eldest Miss’s friendship. In the future, I will eat vegetarian meals, pay respects to Buddha with Old Madam, and pray for Eldest Miss every day.”

First Madam wanted her dead.

But Eldest Miss was willing to help her. This was a life-saving favor, a huge favor.

Butler Zhou also looked at Eldest Miss expectantly.

Yu Youyao did not let him down. “As for Steward Zhou, although he’s not a servant in the residence, I heard that his father used to help out with the matters in the residence. All these years, there have been no major mistakes in Little Zhouzhuang. We can confiscate his money and release him from his contract..” At this point, she paused for a moment and thought for a moment. Then, she continued, “I heard that there was a large forest in Little Zhouzhuang. As the soil was too shallow, people didn’t spend much effort on it. I asked Steward Zhou to plant pine wood there. Pine wood is easy to grow, and it can grow everywhere. Pine nuts and pine flowers are extremely good things. Pine oil can be used to make wax, pine wood can be used to make furniture, smoke meat, and used as firewood. It also has many other uses.”