Chapter 671 - 347: The Ignorant are Fearless?

Chapter 671: Chapter 347: The Ignorant are Fearless?

As it turned out, they had truly been living too comfortably for too long. Mrs. Gao was quite doted on in her family home, so naturally, those who served her benefited as well—they had never known hardship. A group long accustomed to getting their way, they had been harboring a great deal of dissatisfaction since arriving in the countryside. When Mrs. Gao asked, they spoke their minds without a second thought, believing they were acting in their lady’s best interest and seeing nothing wrong with it.

A maidservant stepped forward and said, "My Lady, since you’ve asked, I’ll be blunt: It’s not proper for you to be mixing with those country peasant women all the time. If you pity them, just send over some food and other things. Bringing them into our home is truly inappropriate. And lately, you always go out dressed so strangely, without any makeup or proper hairstyling. When you go back to your family home..."

"Jin’er, what nonsense are you spouting?"

Mrs. Gao cut her off in shock and anger before the maid could finish. She had originally thought Li Changyu was making a mountain out of a molehill when he sent Nanny Wang away, but who knew these people would truly overstep their bounds. They had all served her since she was a child and had always been loyal. She had never seen this side of them before.

She took a deep breath, her gaze shifting to the others. In a heavy voice, she asked, "Do you all think this way too? Tell me the truth. I... I’m a little confused myself. I want to hear what you truly think."

The others, who had been too afraid to speak because of Mrs. Gao’s anger, now nodded eagerly at her question. They urged her to return to Qinghui soon and advised her to persuade the Young Master to move to Huzhou and relocate his business there. That way, she would be closer to the Old Master and could receive support from her family.

"My Lady, just think about it. After the Eldest and Second Young Ladies were married, don’t they run back to their family home several times a year? But you pay no mind to this, and it makes us sick with worry," an old woman said, trying earnestly to persuade her.

Mrs. Gao stroked her fingers, silent for a long moment before she spoke. "I had no idea you were all so concerned for me—" Hearing this, the servants were secretly delighted, thinking their lady had finally come around. But her next words stunned them all. "—but this shows a complete lack of respect for your station. It seems my past indulgence has made you all complacent. I will say this only once: if anyone dares to meddle in my affairs with the Second Master again, or judges others based on their status, it won’t be as simple as being sent back to the Gao Family. You will be sold or beaten, with no mercy. I can’t be bothered to explain myself to you, nor do I have to. Do I really need to report to you how the Second Master and I conduct ourselves, or who we associate with? What a ridiculous joke."

Mrs. Gao looked at the dumbstruck group and added, "One more thing. This is the Li Family estate, not the Gao Family’s. From now on, do not call me ’My Lady.’ You are to call me ’Second Madam.’"

After saying her piece with a grim face, she fell silent and simply sat, sipping her tea.

She was, after all, the young lady of a prominent family. Though she had never been one for big tempers, when she truly became stern, her aura was enough to make the servants break out in a cold sweat. ’My Lady is even more ruthless than the Young Master! She’s actually going to sell us! Isn’t this terribly unjust?’

Mrs. Gao’s heart was not at peace, either. ’These servants have some nerve, looking down on people like that. Never mind Juhua—even I wouldn’t dare to underestimate her after spending these days together—but Yun Ying is Master Yun’s daughter! And who is Master Yun? He’s the renowned medical saint of Jing Country. I’ve heard he’s extremely eccentric; someone of my family’s standing wouldn’t even be worth his time. Now that I’ve gotten to know his daughter, my own servants are scorning her as a country bumpkin. They’ve truly lost their minds!’

After warning her servants, she reasserted her authority, determined not to indulge them any longer. But after an incident like this, a knot of resentment remained in her heart. It was difficult for trust to exist between master and servant again. Thus, she eventually dealt with them all, either by marrying them off or sending them back home to retire. But there is no need to detail these matters further.

After the wheat harvest, the Zheng Family provided the land and the Zhang family provided the money to help the martial siblings, Qin Feng and his sister, build a house with a few rooms and a large courtyard. When Li Gengtian heard about it, he hurried over and insisted on contributing a share of the money as well. The rest of the villagers all came to lend a hand, and they built the house in one go.

Zhang Huai was truly grateful to Qin Feng and his sister. He and Qingmu gathered a group of men from the village and dug up several mature willow, peach, and apricot trees, roots and all, transplanting them in front of and behind the house. This made the new house appear to be surrounded by shady green trees, as if they had been growing there for years. He had also wanted to dig up some flowers and plants to plant along the base of the walls, making it just like his own home, but Qin Feng stopped him.

"Medicinal herbs are the most suitable thing to plant in my courtyard. If you bring all those flowers, I won’t have time to take care of them. Planting a few clumps of wild chrysanthemums is enough. You don’t need to bother with anything else."