Chapter 23: Liquidation

Finally, Qiu Yu returned to the Prince Xuan Mansion with all the domestic servants from her dowry.

With red eyes, she said guiltily, "Miss, I failed to complete my duties. I am useless."

Tang Zhao looked at Chun Feng, who was sorting through the servant contracts, and comforted her, "You did very well. Our Qiu Yu was brave enough to directly snap at that old witch of the An clan; that is already quite impressive."

Qiu Yu broke into a smile through her tears. "Miss is coaxing me again."

She then asked worriedly, "What about the people in the courtyard?"

The Miss had just driven them away this morning, and she was sending them back this afternoon; Qiu Yu felt exasperated.

"I'll handle it," Tang Zhao said, turning to ask, "Have they been sorted?"

"They have been distributed according to your instructions," Chun Feng replied.

"Let's go," Tang Zhao said, walking gracefully out the door to greet them. "Everyone, we meet again."

Manager An knew he had been abandoned by the An clan and had no way to survive, yet he was unwilling to humble himself as a lowly servant. "How does the County Mistress intend to punish us?"

"Punish?" Tang Zhao smiled. "You certainly have self-awareness." She added with regret, "You are a talent; it is just a pity you followed the wrong master."

Manager An thought exactly the same. He had worked tirelessly for the An clan for twenty years, giving them his very life; even if one raised a dog, there would be some attachment. He thought that after returning to the Duke's mansion, he would be destitute and bullied, but he never imagined that the An clan would actually send him back into the hands of the County Mistress!

This was a death sentence!

Unwilling to accept it, he kowtowed incessantly. "County Mistress, Eldest Miss, please spare this servant's life. I will surely pledge my loyalty to the Eldest Miss, being as obedient as a dog. Whoever the Eldest Miss tells me to bite, I will bite."

As long as he could survive, he would surely avenge today's humiliation!

Tang Zhao ignored him and said loudly, "This County Mistress knows that as servants, you have no choice in your own fate; life and death are decided by a single thought of your masters. I sympathize with you, and I pity you."

"Rest assured, I will not drive you all to certain death."

Someone below began to sob.

"However, some people have relied on the power of the stepmother and the Duke of Wei's mansion to run rampant outside, bullying men and women and committing every imaginable evil!" Tang Zhao swept her gaze across the crowd in the courtyard. "Such servants, the stepmother dares to use, but I dare not!"

Some people's legs began to tremble, and they swayed unsteadily.

Tang Zhao sat under the corridor. "Read!"

"Qian Zheng, manager of the grain shop. During the snow disaster in Luoyang, he hoarded goods to drive up prices, treating the lives of the victims and the common people as nothing. His crimes are heinous!"

"Sun Yi, manager of the Min County manor. He ran rampant in the village, bullying men and women. During his management of the manor, he insulted and abused as many as eighteen women, leading to eight suicides by hanging or jumping into wells. He coerced farmers into surrendering over a thousand catties of grain. His crimes are heinous!"

"Zheng Qi, manager of the silver shop. Under the guise of the silver shop, he secretly opened a gambling den to lure the people into gambling, and his violent debt collection led to the destruction of as many as a hundred families. His crimes are heinous!"

"Li Qing, manager of the cosmetics shop. She misappropriated the shop's silver to run a private usury business, causing hundreds of people to fall into high-interest debt. Her crimes are heinous!"

...

Every time a name was called, a black-clad guard standing in the courtyard would cover the person's mouth and drag them away.

Those who had committed great evils were terrified to death; those who had committed petty thefts trembled in fear; and the innocent were overjoyed.

By the time Dong Mei finished reading, more than half of the people in the courtyard were gone.

"Do not worry, I do not enjoy using extrajudicial punishment. The aforementioned individuals shall all be sent to the Luoyang Prefectural Office to be judged by the Prefect!" With a wave of Tang Zhao's hand, Chun Feng handed the evidence to the captain of the guards.

"As for the remaining people," Tang Zhao mused, "I grant you your freedom. From this day forward, you are free citizens. Your life, wealth, and fate are in your own hands. But I must warn you all: those who commit injustice will surely bring ruin upon themselves!"

Having said that, she turned and returned to her room without hesitation.

"Everyone, stop kneeling and let's go," Qiu Yu rolled her eyes at these stubborn blocks of wood.

The remaining people followed in a daze, being driven to the prefectural office to have their servant status abolished. It wasn't until they left the Luoyang Prefectural Office that they seemed to regain their souls. "We... we are truly free citizens?"

When they had originally sold themselves into servitude, they had dreamed of regaining their free status, but the Duke's mansion was such a powerful entity that there was only one way for a servant to leave: being thrown into a mass grave after death.

They never imagined that the County Mistress would actually grant them their freedom, and wouldn't even demand they pay back the money used to buy them!

The joy of rebirth and the longing for the future made them weep with excitement. They knelt and kowtowed dozens of times toward the departing carriage of the Prince Xuan Mansion in profound gratitude.

Sitting in the carriage, Qiu Yu watched from afar, and the resentment she had felt toward these people dissipated completely.

They were all pitiable people.

No one could be as lucky as them, to stumble upon such a good master so suddenly.

In the Bidan Courtyard, because there were twenty more mouths to feed, Mother Li and Mother Song worked together to rearrange the staff, not finishing until dark.

"Thank you, elder sister," Mother Song said in thanks.

"What is there to thank? We are all working for the Mistress," Mother Li remarked with emotion. "The County Mistress truly has great methods. Today's tactic of 'killing the chicken to warn the monkey'—combining both mercy and authority—is truly admirable."

Mother Song laughed heartily.

In the study, after hearing the guards' report, Gu Ci was also curious: why had such calculating methods been trapped on a manor for ten long years?

Regardless, it had nothing to do with him. Gu Ci continued to handle the new official business that had arrived today.

【Ding! 'Save the Cannon Fodder Male Supporting Character' System. The host has punished evil and promoted good, spreading positive energy. Reward: 10 Life Points. Current total Life Points: 74】

Tang Zhao was sleeping groggily. She turned over and smacked her lips; it seemed she would have to do more good deeds in the future.

Gu Ci worked until midnight and returned to the inner chamber in the dark.

He walked softly to the floor bedding lined with three thick layers of brocade quilts. He took off his outer garment and prepared to lie down.

"Husband!"

"!" Gu Ci's heart thudded. Looking closely, he saw she was still asleep.

He crawled into the quilt and felt a warm sensation. After fumbling for a moment, he felt three hot hand-warmers.

Aside from Chao Hui and Chao Yi, Gu Ci did not like others entering his room at will, but those two men were not so meticulous as to place hand-warmers to warm his bed.

Gu Ci turned to look at the bed. The woman was sleeping as peacefully as a kitten, showing none of the ferocity she had used to provoke him this morning.

"Husband," the woman mumbled, "on the stove... it's warm... soup."

"Don't forget to drink it."

Gu Ci froze. He turned to look and saw that there was indeed a soup bowl on the stove in the inner chamber, with glowing red charcoal burning beneath it.

She had left soup for him.

Gu Ci's heart skipped a beat. He tossed and turned for an hour before getting up with a dark expression. He walked to the stove, picked up the bowl, and drank it all in one gulp. He lay back down and fell asleep shortly after.

At the crack of dawn the next day, Gu Ci woke up. He folded the quilts neatly and left the inner chamber silently.

At breakfast, Tang Zhao rarely saw Gu Ci, so she glanced at him several times.

Gu Ci cleared his throat. "Was there medicine in the soup?"

"I added some sour jujube seed," Tang Zhao blinked. "Was it not good?"

Sour jujube seed has the effect of calming the mind and soothing the nerves. Gu Ci breathed a sigh of relief; no wonder he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow after drinking the soup. It was because of the medicinal properties.

Seeing her still tilting her head to stare at him, Gu Ci lowered his eyes. "It was acceptable."

Tang Zhao was relieved. She knew it! With Xia Mo's cooking skills combined with her direction, nothing she made could be bad!

(End of Chapter)