Four Seasons Brocade – CH 130

Chapter 130 ☆、

Upon hearing this, He Peizhen went berserk and lunged forward to attack Ah Wu, shouting, “Rong Xuan, you harlot!”

Chi-Jin, having already received Ah Wu’s signal, immediately pushed He Peizhen aside, and in the shove, seized the opportunity to slap her across the face.

“You lowly servant, how dare you hit me!” He Peizhen covered her face, utterly incredulous at being struck.

Ah Wu coldly said from the side, “You deserve to be beaten. How dare you disrespect your mistress and hurl insults? If it were only three days after you entered the mansion, you should have been sent back to Madam He for re-education.” She was criticizing He Peizhen’s upbringing. “But you’ve been in the mansion for almost two years now. If word gets out, it’s because I, as the mistress, have not disciplined you properly. Fine, Zi-Zhui, go to Hongyao Villa and fetch Nanny Hao. If she has difficulty walking, have someone carry her here in my bamboo palanquin.”

Zi-Zhui was the most soft-hearted and kind-hearted. Ah Wu knew she would not like to see this, so she instructed her to fetch Nanny Hao.

Zhu-Yun and Zhu-Yi, seeing Ah Wu humiliating their mistress like this, stepped forward to protect He Peizhen, fighting and grabbing her red silk robe.

Ah Wu gave Zi-Shan a look, and the four old matrons immediately took Zhu-Yun and Zhu-Yi away. The others in He Peizhen’s courtyard dared not approach. These were all intelligent women; the choice of which side to take when the favored principal wife was dealing with an unfavored concubine was incredibly simple. Their current silence in not helping Yulan Hall was already an act of loyalty to He Peizhen.

Ah Wu sat down again. “Zi-Shan, go and make me another cup of tea.”

Zi-Shan obeyed and soon returned with the tea. Ah Wu slowly traced the teacup lid, then turned to He Peizhen, who had been completely subdued by Chi-Jin, and said, “See? Is this not much better? Before, you were like a madwoman biting everyone, sigh…”

Zi-Shan rubbed her forehead, thinking, “My Lady, are you trying to drive Lady He to her death?” Ah Wu really wanted to infuriate He Peizhen. She’d already provoked enough by not offending her; did she really expect them to reconcile? Ah Wu figured she might as well do whatever pleased her. Was she afraid of her?

When Nanny Hao entered, the worried-looking Xiangsi was beside her. Both of them were shocked by the scene at Yaobi Courtyard. They had not expected the usually quiet Princess Consort to suddenly become so audacious.

Look at Lady He, she was truly being bullied terribly. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes bloodshot, and even her clothes were askew. The maids of Yaobi Courtyard were forced to kneel and gagged. Meanwhile, the Princess Consort sat calmly at the head of the table, sipping tea.

“Nanny Hao is here.” Ah Wu stood up, took Nanny Hao’s other arm, and led her to sit opposite her.

“The Princess Consort summoned me here. What brings you here?” Nanny Hao glanced around the hall.

“I invited you here today, Nanny Hao, because of the maids in Yaobi Courtyard. Now that you are in charge of the inner courtyard, I should speak to you to avoid putting you in a difficult position,” Ah Wu said with a smile. “Lady He just insulted and abused me. I do not want to repeat those words to you, lest they offend your ears. But I thought that Lady He, personally chosen by the Emperor to be the Prince’s concubine, must have been a virtuous and gentle woman before her marriage. I never expected that she would lose all sense of hierarchy. It’s my fault as the Princess Consort for not disciplining her properly. I am willing to punish myself with half a year’s salary. However, while I bear responsibility for my lax discipline, the maids in Yaobi Courtyard are also suspected of instigating their mistress. Therefore, I am thinking of replacing all the maids and servants in Yaobi Courtyard. What do you think?”

“Of course, it’s all up to Your Highness to decide,” Nanny Hao replied. She did not want to be the bad guy, and besides, she wanted what was best for Chu Mao and did not want to offend Lady He.

“Alright, then I will make the decision. Sell off the two head maids serving Lady He. Oh, I mean, Zhu-Yun and Zhu-Yi. They serve Lady He closely, yet instead of admonishing their mistress, they only instigate trouble. Such treacherous servants cannot be tolerated in our Prince’s Mansion. The others will be fined a month’s wages and reassigned for other purposes, to see how they behave.” Ah Wu was very confident in making decisions.

“Rong Xuan, you dare! You dare sell Zhu-Yun and Zhu-Yi? I will make sure you suffer a terrible death!” He Peizhen was furious.

Ah Wu smiled helplessly at Nanny Hao and Xiangsi. “I’ve made a fool of myself in front of Lady Xiangsi. It’s all my fault. I’ve been too lenient with them, and they’ve become increasingly arrogant and domineering.”

Xiangsi, not knowing why Ah Wu had specifically mentioned her name, quickly lowered her head and remained silent.

Ah Wu spoke to her for her ungratefulness. Although she was Nanny Hao’s adopted daughter, she was still an outsider. What was she doing getting involved in the scandalous affairs within the Prince Qi’s mansion?

“Oh, by the way, I’ve already had someone pack Lady He’s belongings and send her to her estate in Shandong. We will bring her back when she has repented,” Ah Wu said decisively. “As for today’s matter, please, Nanny, select two more maids to send to the estate to serve Lady He.”

What could Nanny Hao say? This Princess, once she made a decision, it was a huge one.

“Alright, I still need to go see Lady Tao; she’s also ill in bed.” Ah Wu smiled and led her entourage away.

Upon hearing the news that Ah Wu, the beautiful but ruthless beauty, was coming to their courtyard, the maids of Qiongzhi Courtyard abandoned their eavesdropping and rushed back, panting, to tell Tao Siyao everything that had happened. Tao Siyao, who was naturally prone to illness and skilled at feigning sickness, quickly lay down on the bed.

When Ah Wu entered, she saw Tao Siyao, pale-faced and drooping her head, struggling to get up to pay her respects. She thought Tao Siyao was about to be buried.

“Lady Tao, there’s no need to get up. I just came to see you. I know you’ve always been in poor health. I have a hundred-year-old ginseng here; let the maid make you some soup,” Ah Wu comforted Tao Siyao with tenderness.

Tao Siyao thanked Ah Wu gratefully.

The two got along very well. As Ah Wu was leaving, she said, “If Lady Tao recovers, please come to my Yulan Hall often to chat.” The chat was just a pretense; the real purpose was to pay her respects morning and evening. Of course, it did not need to be said so explicitly. Ah Wu believed that the monkey would understand the meaning of today’s charade.

After dealing with the five women, Ah Wu was exhausted. She had gone all out to play the “bad guy,” and she thought Prince Qi would be satisfied.

At three-quarters past dusk, around dinnertime, Chu Mao indeed stepped into the gates of Yulan Hall.

Ah Wu glanced at Chu Mao’s face; as always, she could not tell if he was in a good or bad mood. The only exception was that Mei-Ying and Mei-Meng had not followed him in to serve.

Ah Wu stepped forward, hesitating as she looked at the sable cloak draped over Chu Mao’s shoulders. Chu Mao stood motionless by the door, so Ah Wu had no choice but to steel herself and approach, feigning composure, saying, “Is it snowing again outside?”

“Yes,” Chu Mao replied.

Ah Wu struggled to keep her fingers from trembling as she tiptoed to untie the cloak around Chu Mao’s neck. Standing so close, Ah Wu suddenly realized how tall Chu Mao was. Even though she was already considered tall for a woman, she still felt considerable pressure from his height difference.

Ah Wu had never been this close to a man before. Chu Mao’s breath brushed against her forehead, causing her face to flush uncontrollably.

Chu Mao looked down at Ah Wu. Her fingers were long and slender, flawless, and her eyes were slightly lowered; her voice held, but a hint of unconcealed bewilderment lingered in her expression. A faint fragrance wafted from her, neither flowery nor fruity, but undeniably pleasant.

After untying the sash, Ah Wu’s nerves relaxed, and she let out a long breath. Looking up, she saw Chu Mao smiling at her. She realized she had been careless and given herself away. She could not help but laugh at herself; she often complained that Zi-Shan and the others were inexplicably afraid of Chu Mao, but had she herself not just succumbed to his pressure?

“Your Highness, please have Mei-Ying and Mei-Meng come in to serve you,” Ah Wu said, slightly embarrassed and annoyed.

“They dare not come in. The Princess Consort was truly impressive today, sending my concubine to the estate with a single move,” Chu Mao said seriously, his words slightly teasing, but he did not seem happy at all.

Now that Ah Wu was three feet away from Chu Mao, she was no longer afraid of him. She turned and handed Chu Mao’s cloak to Zi-Shan, who, with trepidation, hung it up carefully, as if it were a fragile glass vase, mimicking Mei-Ying’s previous actions.

“Was this not also with the Prince’s tacit approval?” Ah Wu asked with a smile. How could Nanny Hao possibly agree to Ah Wu’s request to send He Peizhen to the estate without Chu Mao’s permission?

“You are quite bold,” Chu Mao said, a slight smile playing on his lips.

“It’s not that I am bold, but Lady He’s temper is too much. If we do not establish this rule today, it will be even more difficult to manage when new concubines come in,” Ah Wu chatted with Chu Mao while wringing out a white handkerchief from the celadon-glazed basin with a pomegranate and floral design that Zi-Shan had brought over and handing it to Chu Mao. “Your Highness, wipe your hands. I will call them to start the meal.”

In the room, even the maids’ footsteps were much quieter. While serving, Zi-Shan and Zi-Zhui were so timid that they barely dared to breathe.

After Chu Mao left at dawn, Zi-Shan dared to ask Ah Wu behind her back, “Your Highness, will we have to serve the Prince every time he comes into the room?”

Ah Wu was applying perfume to her hands when Zi-Shan asked this. She looked up at her. “What’s wrong?”

Zi-Shan said somewhat aggrievedly, “Last night, I did not sleep a wink. I was thinking about this all night. It’s a good thing Mei-Ying and Mei-Meng are not afraid of the Prince and dared to go near him.”

“That’s right. Even though I was not serving him directly, my legs were trembling standing outside,” Tong-Guan chimed in.

“Is this how I taught you to always gossip about your master behind his back?” Ah Wu scolded.

However, she knew she could not blame Zi-Shan and Tong-Guan; she herself had not fared much better last night. She understood Chu Mao’s meaning. His tolerance of her and the maids serving him was a favor he was bestowing upon her, but whether they could truly accept such a favor was another matter. Zi-Shan and Tong-Guan hurriedly tried to kneel, but Ah Wu’s expression softened.

“Alright, alright,” she said, “the Prince does not eat people. You are just serving tea and water. The important things are handled by Mei-Ying and the others. You will get used to it. But remember to keep your fingernails clean, and do not wear nail polish anymore.”

Just then, a maid who had been holding up the curtain came to deliver a message: Tao Siyao and her three chambermaids had come to pay their respects.