Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 712 - 665: There’s Something Even More Ruthless (1)

Chapter 712: Chapter 665: There’s Something Even More Ruthless (1)

"They are bad people!" Guoguo grumbled.

Li Yuzhu patted the two children’s heads, "We won’t learn from them, we will be good people."

"Yes, we won’t learn from them." Guoguo smiled sweetly.

Baili Rui looked at Guoguo and nodded along, "Not learn."

.

Actually, the situation was far more complicated than Baili Rui had described.

Li Yuzhu learned from the servants’ gossip in the mansion that even though the First Madam sent these two maids to the village, she hadn’t mentioned any intention of executing them.

However, that night, the room of these two maids suddenly caught fire.

Both of them slept so deeply that neither escaped.

The people in the village hurriedly put out the fire, and when they cleaned up the room, they found them burned beyond recognition.

The First Madam, upon hearing about this, sighed and said it was a pity about the good room.

The Old Madam, being more compassionate, ordered someone to find the families of these two maids and gave each family twenty taels of consolatory silver, and also provided two new sets of clothes for the burial.

Being expelled from the household for harming the family’s young miss was a shameful act; the families of the two maids didn’t want to publicize it and found a random plot of wasteland outside the city to bury them together.

Li Yuzhu mentioned these two maids while chatting with Mu Yuanxiu.

Mu Yuanxiu frowned slightly, "Yu Zhu, things can’t be that simple, there must be more to follow."

Li Yuzhu was adding firewood to the stove, stirring some ashes with the fire tongs, and placed two sweet potatoes inside to roast.

She smiled, "Exactly, that’s what I thought too. The Baili Mansion is big, with a complex situation; things can’t be that simple. Let’s see how it unfolds."

If she’s not mistaken, the Second Madam Baili must have begun her counterattack.

Targeting the maids around her was just the first step of Second Madam Baili’s action.

Fighting internal power struggles and eliminating villains in the house must be done discreetly. When punishing servants, a perfect excuse is needed to prevent outsiders from spreading gossip about the Baili Mansion.

As the Consolation Lady, how Second Madam Baili handles dissenters around her is a delicate matter.

Li Yuzhu waited to see the next move by Second Madam Baili.

Just as Li Yuzhu guessed, two days later, there was a problem with the servants around Baili Huang.

A servant reported that the two Chang Sui were stealing.

During Baili Huang’s illness, the two Chang Sui secretly took some of his best herbal medicine.

Moreover, their homes contained a large amount of fine brocade of unknown origin.

The Old Madam was furious when she heard this and ordered the First Madam to thoroughly investigate the two Chang Sui.

The First Madam, who was at her mother’s home for the New Year feast, rushed back home without even finishing her meal as soon as she heard the news to deal with the household matters.

She instructed to lock the two servants in the stables.

That very night, the two servants secretly fled the mansion.

A heavy snowstorm caught them, and wearing only thin clothes, they froze to death under a bridge three miles outside the mansion.

These two were born in the household, and their families were also working in the mansion.

This time, the Old Madam showed no mercy, ordering their families to bury them hastily outside the city.

The servants in the mansion had caused trouble twice in a row, prompting the sixty-year-old Old Madam to lose her temper and summon the First Madam for a stern scolding.

She announced that with only three days until the New Year, she didn’t want to hear about servants causing trouble during the celebrations. She ordered a thorough investigation of all the mansion’s servants in the remaining three days before the New Year. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Any who were dishonest, lazy, or gambled would be severely punished.

In the Baili Mansion, the guards, nannies, maids, young servants, and gatekeepers, totaling a hundred and ten people.

With such a large population, conducting the investigation was not an easy task.

The Old Madam said the First Madam might be overwhelmed handling this alone, so she arranged for the Second Madam, who had just recovered from a serious illness, to assist in overseeing the task.

The First Madam initially disagreed, fearing the Second Madam’s health wouldn’t withstand the workload, but the Old Madam insisted that the First Madam would arrange the investigation, while the Second Madam would only need to supervise.

After all, at the beginning of the year, it was the Second Madam who really managed the household, being more familiar with the mansion’s affairs than the First Madam.

With the Old Madam’s decision made, the First Madam said nothing more.

The two sisters-in-law sat solemnly in the main hall of the Baili Mansion, with all the servants gathered in the front courtyard.

After the First Madam called out names from the register, she was about to give orders when the Second Madam spoke.

"Because of the recent series of thefts in the mansion, the Old Madam is very upset. She doesn’t want such things happening during the festive season, so she instructed us sisters-in-law to check up on you all."

"..."

"I am an easy-going person. I don’t like to search others’ bodies or rooms, so it’s best if you come forward yourselves, or you can report each other."

"..."

"The deadline is noon tomorrow. After noon, if I find anyone concealing or not reporting, don’t blame us for being harsh. You should remember the fates of Qiao Lan Xianglan and Ning An Chang’an."

The First Madam glanced at her, angry but not daring to speak out.

The servants looked at each other, but it had only been two days since, who could forget?

The two maids got burned to death, and the two Chang Sui froze to death.

Although their deaths were their own making, if they hadn’t done bad deeds, would they have been expelled, burned, or frozen?

The servants exchanged glances, all acknowledging the Second Madam’s words.

Second Madam didn’t have anyone reveal on the spot; instead, she let everyone disperse.

After everyone had left, the Second Madam gave the First Madam a faint smile, "Elder sister-in-law, what do you think of this arrangement?"

The First Madam sneered inwardly: you’ve set everything up, sent everyone away, so what’s left for me to say?

She smiled on the surface, "Sister-in-law, your arrangement is excellent."

With arrangements made, the two ladies returned to their respective rooms to rest.

The Second Madam no longer managed affairs, spending her days enjoying her health tea, taking the medicine prescribed by Li Yuzhu to nourish her body, playing with her son, daughter, and Guoguo, or playing chess with her husband. Her days were leisurely.

The First Madam, however, was constantly busy, almost beside herself.

After dealing with the maid and Chang Sui incidents, she thought everything was settled, only to be met with an even harsher tactic.

A thorough investigation of all servants in the mansion!

Most of the servants were her arrangements, and if anything was uncovered, she would lose her authority in the mansion.

"Reporting each other, that’s a vicious move!" The First Madam was so angry she smashed a cup.

The nanny and maid beside her exchanged glances, not daring to make a sound.

Because they were also within the scope of being investigated.

They claimed they hadn’t done anything wrong, yet worried about others secretly reporting them.

"First Madam, what should we do? If someone holds a grudge against us and falsely reports us, you will lose trusted people around you."

The nanny and maid complained to the First Madam together.