"Ridiculous!"
Nanny Xia's face darkened a bit.
Granny Guo from the kitchen was in Madam Wen's camp. As one of the stewards in the kitchen, she often embezzled the silver for purchases.
So Granny Guo and her family were all to be sold off.
Nanny Xia just didn't expect that before they could be sold, Granny Guo actually ran out of the mansion and came to the Yamen of the Magistrate of the Capital to commit suicide.
Wasn't this trampling on her face in front of the whole capital?
She looked at Song Zhaoyang anxiously and said, "Madam, what should we do?"
Song Zhaoyang sneered, with a look of hostility in her eyes.
"Do you think Granny Guo had the guts to commit suicide in front of the Yamen of the Magistrate of the Capital?"
Nanny Xia and Magpie shook their heads.
Nanny Xia said, "Do you mean it was the old madam's instruction?"
Song Zhaoyang looked in the direction of Madam Wen's courtyard. She stood up and said coldly, "The old madam wants to ruin my reputation with this. Well! It's still uncertain who will win! Take the account books. Let's go to the Yamen of the Magistrate of the Capital."
---
When Madam Wen heard that Song Zhaoyang had left the mansion in a hurry, she hooked her lips smugly.
"Does Song think she can control me? She's still too inexperienced!"
"Tell Granny Guo's family to go to the Yamen of the Magistrate of the Capital to cry out for justice and make a bigger fuss!"
Mingyao heard Madam Wen's words and left after taking the order.
---
On the way, Song Zhaoyang suddenly thought of something.
"Stop the carriage!"
The coachman immediately reined in the carriage upon hearing Song Zhaoyang's order.
Song Zhaoyang said to Nanny Xia, "Nanny Xia, you go to the palace to see the Empress Dowager. Ask the Empress Dowager to send an official from the Ministry of Revenue to the Yamen of the Magistrate of the Capital as soon as possible!"
Song Zhaoyang got off the carriage and walked towards the Yamen of the Magistrate of the Capital with Magpie and the servants.
Nanny Xia took the carriage and rushed to the palace at full speed.
At this time, Granny Guo's family, following Madam Wen's instructions, also rushed to the Yamen of the Magistrate of the Capital to cry out for justice.
Lord Luo of the Yamen of the Magistrate of the Capital looked at the dead Granny Guo with a headache. He didn't expect a servant from the Xue Mansion to come to the yamen to cry out for justice and make such a big fuss.
Was the Xue Mansion under some bad luck recently?
Why did so many things keep happening one after another?
Lord Luo looked at the on - looking commoners outside and felt that it was impossible to make a big issue small and a small issue disappear. After all, there were so many pairs of eyes watching. Maybe the censors would impeach the Xue family in the court tomorrow.
Just as he was racking his brains on how to handle this, his subordinate walked over.
"My lord, Madam Xue is here!"
Lord Luo asked in confusion, "Madam Xue? Which madam of the Xue Mansion?"
The subordinate replied clearly, "It's the wife of the Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness."
Lord Luo suddenly realized and quickly said, "Quickly invite her in!"
As soon as Song Zhaoyang walked into the yamen, she saw Lord Luo coming up to greet her.
"Your subordinate pays respects to Madam Xue."
Song Zhaoyang pretended to help him up and said, "Lord Luo, please get up quickly!"
After Lord Luo got up, Song Zhaoyang didn't beat around the bush. She said straightforwardly, "I didn't expect the family affairs of the Xue Mansion to end up in the Yamen of the Magistrate of the Capital. I originally planned to sell off a few disobedient servants. I didn't expect her to be so bold as to come to the front of the yamen and smash her head to death!"
Lord Luo saw Song Zhaoyang's angry face and then asked, "Madam, is the dead old woman a servant of your mansion?"
Song Zhaoyang nodded. "Yes. Here's her indenture."
Lord Luo took a look and then handed the indenture back to Song Zhaoyang.
"Madam Xue, there's something I don't know if I should say. It may make you angry if I do."
Seeing this, Song Zhaoyang immediately said, "Lord Luo, please just say it. I won't be angry."
Lord Luo nodded and said, "Normally, your subordinate shouldn't interfere. But now that the old woman committed suicide in the yamen and said you were heartless before she died, and many commoners are watching outside. If this matter is not handled properly, it will be bad for your reputation and that of the Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness."
As for the reputation of the Xue Mansion, it was better not to mention it.
Ever since Xue Chuzhong distributed moldy rice as porridge, the Xue Mansion's reputation among the commoners in the city had been mixed.
All the good reputation was brought by Xue Chucheng.
But if this matter couldn't be handled properly, the Xue family would become the topic of the commoners' after - dinner chats again.
Song Zhaoyang understood Lord Luo's good intentions. She nodded and said, "I understand. That's why I came here in person to handle this matter."
Just as she finished speaking, a yamen runner walked in quickly.
"My lord, there are several people claiming to be the family members of the dead old woman kneeling at the door crying out for justice. They ask you to go out and uphold justice for them."
Hearing this, Song Zhaoyang's face turned cold.
Lord Luo twitched the corner of his mouth.
Were the servants of the Xue Mansion out of their minds?
The indentures were in the hands of their masters, and they still wanted to ruin their masters' reputations. Weren't they afraid of losing their lives?
He hesitated and looked at Song Zhaoyang, asking, "Madam Xue, what do you think..."
Song Zhaoyang said coldly, "In that case, please trouble Lord Luo to go out with me to meet these people!"
---
The Guo family members were kneeling on the ground crying one by one, shouting, "Your Honor, please uphold justice for us."
The area around the Yamen of the Magistrate of the Capital was surrounded by commoners, all of them watching the show.
When Song Zhaoyang and Lord Luo walked out, the Guo family members saw Song Zhaoyang and were as scared as mice seeing a cat.
The Guo family members looked at each other. Finally, Spring Grass, Granny Guo's daughter, stepped forward to salute Song Zhaoyang.
"Madam, if you don't like me and want to sell me off, I'll accept it. But the crime shouldn't extend to my family. You forced my mother to death. I'm heart - broken and wish I could go down with her."
Saying this, she started to cry.
Song Zhaoyang said in a cold voice, "I forced her to death? I remember your whole family are the domestic slaves of the Xue family. You actually dared to slander your master outside. Such behavior should have been punished by beating with sticks long ago!"
Spring Grass stopped crying for a moment. Then she complained indignantly, "Madam, yes, I'm a slave, but slaves are also human beings and have dignity! You humiliated me and my family without distinguishing right from wrong. I'll die with regret!"
Song Zhaoyang snorted. "If your whole family were really loyal to the Xue family and didn't embezzle a single cent, would I sell your whole family?"
Spring Grass panicked. But thinking of Madam Wen's promise, she suppressed her uneasiness and said, "Madam, if you want to frame someone, you'll never be short of excuses. My family is upright and not afraid of shadows."
Song Zhaoyang was almost laughed out of anger.
She said coldly, "As the purchaser in the kitchen, Granny Guo has embezzled quite a lot of silver in these years! Spring Grass, you're a third - rank maid in my courtyard. Judging from your dressing, you look more gorgeous than the first - rank maids beside me!"
"Don't tell me you bought your jewelry with your monthly allowance. Your annual allowance can't even buy the jade bracelet on your wrist!"
Spring Grass quickly covered the jade bracelet with her sleeve.
This flustered action was seen by everyone around.
But she still argued stubbornly, "This was given to me by my mother!"
"Oh? Did Granny Guo have such great ability to buy such a delicate jade bracelet?" Song Zhaoyang raised her eyebrows.
Spring Grass blurted out, "This was bestowed on my mother by the old madam, not bought by my mother."
Song Zhaoyang suddenly realized. "So Granny Guo was the old madam's confidant!"
Spring Grass showed off proudly.
"Of course! My mother was loyal to the old madam and always favored by her."
Song Zhaoyang raised her eyebrows and said half - smilingly, "Since Granny Guo was favored by the old madam, why didn't she go to the old madam to appeal but came to the Yamen of the Magistrate of the Capital to cry out for justice? Could it be that all this was the old madam's instruction?"
The pride on Spring Grass's face froze instantly.