Chapter 6: Family Rules and Servants

  Liu's heart skipped a beat, her hands clenched tightly on the handkerchief to prevent herself from revealing an overly resentful expression. She coldly glanced at Su Mu Jin with the corner of her eye, just in time to see Su Mu Jin flash a cold and mocking smile at her, which vanished instantly!

  If Ms. Liu still doesn't know that Su Mu Jin is doing it on purpose, then she isn't the kind of woman who would use every trick in the book to take the position of Madame Taifu!

  With a thud, she fell to her knees and tears streamed down her face. "My lord, you wrong me! I've been in the manor for ten whole years, always diligent and never daring to be lazy. When my sister was still alive, I would go to the main house every day to set an example. After she passed away, my lord was heartbroken, and I could see the pain in his eyes. Seeing the young ladies and master without their mother, I took extra care of them. In recent years, after taking charge of the household's food supplies, I've been even more cautious, afraid that someone would harbor resentment towards me. I ask myself and my conscience is clear, so what evil intentions is my lord talking about? Please investigate clearly!"

  Liu knelt down, and all the maidservants behind her also dared not to breathe loudly, kneeling down with their heads bowed.

  "How dare you still speak nonsense with your eyes open!" Su Qingyun was furious and laughed, pointing at the scattered food on the ground, her anger surging up. "Jin'er is the eldest daughter of the Taifu Mansion, and yet she eats such meals every day! Liu Shi, how dare you say you didn't know anything about it! My own eldest daughter is also treated with such neglect by your servant!"

  Cheap servant?!!

  Liu's eyes flashed with resentment, she had been diligent and careful in her plans for ten years as his wife, but in his heart she was still a lowly servant girl!

  "If the master thinks of me in this way, then I have nothing to say!" She said, and suddenly knocked her head on the ground, feeling a bit disheartened. "If the master really thinks so, then divorce me! As long as the master writes the divorce papers, I will pack my bags and return to my hometown in Yunzhou immediately!"

  Su Qing's eyes changed unpredictably, narrowing as she gazed at her straight back, and for a long time, there was no speech.

  Su Mo Jin saw this and a cold smile played on her lips, a clever move of retreating in order to advance.

  Father is very filial, and he is very grateful for the old lady's actions of spending all her family's wealth on his education. Moreover, the current emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty is also a filial person, and among all virtues, filial piety comes first. Liu is the old lady's most beloved child, so how could she agree to father divorcing Liu?

  This Liu is indeed fearless and unscrupulous!

  It's impossible to dismiss the mistress just because of her food and drink expenses. At most, Liu would push all the responsibility onto the servant in charge of the kitchen, which wouldn't hurt Liu at all! Therefore, what Father said was just a threat to scare Liu and teach her a lesson, he couldn't really dismiss her!

  Su Mojin understood this truth.

  But lessons also vary in severity! Since she wants to teach her a lesson, she must have received enough of a lesson to be satisfied!

  So she bit her lip and pulled at her father's sleeve.

  "Father, don't blame Auntie. She has been in charge of the household for many years and may have made some mistakes due to her limitations. I'm not feeling resentful. When Mother gave birth to my younger brother, she was already weak and knew that she might not be able to make it. At that time, Mother told me that if Father were to take a new wife, I should listen to her and behave well, and forget about being the eldest daughter. She said that as long as I got married into the Ning Wang's household after turning 15, everything would be fine... She also said that the young master of Ning was elegant and refined, and his mother, the Ning Wangfei, was a kind person who wouldn't make things difficult for me...

  As she spoke, she smiled through tears and walked over to Liu Shi to help her up. "Compared to Mother's expectations, my situation has turned out much better than expected. Auntie has taken care of me since I was young, and treats my younger sister like her own daughter. I'm grateful to her, but I think she might have been too careless and let the servants take advantage of their power. Father, please don't blame Auntie."

  She called her "aunt" with every word, and when she walked to Liu's side to support her, she looked at her with a sarcastic expression that only she could see, almost making Liu so angry that she spat blood three feet!

  But Su Qingyun, listening to Su Mu's words, felt increasingly ashamed and humiliated. He thought of his beloved wife and daughter, and their tearful pleas, his heart feeling as if it was being cut by a dull knife with a dull ache.

  Calling a daughter obedient and forgetful of her status as the eldest legitimate daughter is clearly because she's afraid that her stepmother will treat her harshly!

  Telling a daughter to endure until she is fifteen and married is clearly telling her to jump out of the tiger's mouth!

  The Empress Dowager Ning was worried that her husband's future concubine would not get along with her. Moreover, there were evil slaves who deceived their masters. If they didn't have the tacit consent of their masters, where did they get the audacity to deceive them? Su Qingyun felt heartbroken and couldn't bear it, he had no idea that his wife had so many worries all this time.

  She thought that she, as the eldest daughter of the Minister of War, had married him when he was just a scholar, and for his sake, she had severed her relationship with her parents. But what did he give her in return? Not only did he make her sacrifice her family ties, but also let her die in childbirth!

  At first when she gave birth to Yun Jin, the imperial physician had warned them that if she were to become pregnant again in the future, there would be great danger.

  She gave birth to a clever son in order to leave him with an heir, but ended up dying from severe bleeding! In the end, it was all his fault!

  I have wronged my wife, but I will not let my daughter suffer the same injustice!

  "Auntie, quickly get up, kneeling like this without regard for your status, if others were to see it they would think that Jin'er is bullying you, her elder."

  "Let her kneel if she wants to!" Su Qingyun stormed over, casting a disdainful glance at Liu Shi, and grasped Jin'er's hand to pull Liu Shi up. The disdain in his eyes made Liu Shi feel a twinge of unease in her heart. Then he heard him say sternly, "If I don't teach you a lesson today, you'll think that there's no one in this household who can control you! Liu Shi, whether it was negligence or intentional cruelty to the eldest daughter, I won't tolerate it today. If I don't teach you a lesson, others will think our family is so lax!"

  Liu's heart skipped a beat as he suddenly raised his head and stared at Su Qingyun.

  Su Qingyun didn't even give her a glance, instead turning to face Liu Mama and ordering, "Liu Mama, immediately go to the ancestral hall and summon the family law!" He paused for a moment, his eyes flashing with severity, "Also, have the steward of the manor gather all the maidservants in the manor and bring them to Jin Garden to witness the punishment!"