Chapter 7: Punishment

"As long as you, Miss, just follow the General..." Huazhi was just about to finish her sentence when Su Jingyao interrupted her, her gaze instantly filled with murderous intent.

"Get out!" Su Jingyao slammed her hand heavily onto the desk.

The two maids, Huazhi and Huaxiang, were instantly stunned. They had never expected their young mistress to act in such a way; they had never seen her behave like this before. When had Su Jingyao become so bold?

"Are you deaf, or do you just not understand human speech?"

"How can you treat us like this, Miss? Even though we are only servants, we have served you since we were young. If we haven't earned any merit, we have at least put in the hard work..." Huazhi was sharp-tongued. Since she had already made her move this time, she had to succeed. She had thought this fat young lady would be easy to fool, but she never expected that in just two years, she would have changed so much. It truly shocked her.

Su Jingyao let out a cold snort. "What merit? What hard work? Is the 'merit' that you ate my meals, and the 'hard work' that you used my monthly allowance for yourselves?" She had no idea such things counted as merit and hard work.

Huaxiang blushed upon hearing this, perhaps realizing they had gone too far. She tugged gently on Huazhi’s sleeve, seemingly wanting to retreat, but Huazhi was the type to push her luck. "Miss, those words are a bit harsh. If we hadn't helped you since you were small, you wouldn't even know how many times you'd been mocked by others."

Su Jingyao clenched her fists, staring daggers at Huazhi. She hadn't expected this maid to be so audacious. For this act of backtalk alone, Su Jingyao could punish her!

"Say that again!" Su Jingyao stepped forward and grabbed her wrist, squeezing it tightly until Huazhi felt a dull ache.

As a maid, being bought by the General’s mansion to serve her was already a massive favor. To think she would dare speak such words with such self-righteousness—Su Jingyao found it laughable!

"Are you angry and ashamed because I spoke the truth, Miss?" Huazhi had disliked this young mistress since she was a child. Not only was she ugly and fat, but she was also useless. To think that someone like this was the daughter of the General’s mansion! If she were the daughter of the General’s mansion, she would certainly do a better job than her!

Who was Su Jingyao? How could she not see the thoughts hidden in the girl's heart?

"Good, good, good. Truly a maid who has served me for many years... Leng Shuang, Han Lu, come out!" Su Jingyao flung Huazhi’s wrist away, turned around, and shouted coldly.

In a moment, Leng Shuang and Han Lu appeared before Su Jingyao. "Miss."

The two bowed slightly.

"According to the rules of the General’s mansion, how should these two maids be dealt with?"

Leng Shuang and Han Lu exchanged a glance, and Leng Shuang replied, "Thirty lashes, then expelled from the General’s mansion."

Upon hearing this, Huazhi and Huaxiang began to tremble.

"Is that so?" Su Jingyao sneered.

"In that case, these two maids are to be dealt with by you."

"Yes," Leng Shuang and Han Lu responded. As for the eldest young lady's orders, they only needed to obey; besides, this was a trivial matter.

"Miss, Miss, this servant knows she was wrong! This servant will never dare do it again! Please spare us, Miss, please spare us..." Huaxiang began kowtowing desperately; it seemed she was terrified of being punished in such a way.

Huazhi, however, was already frozen. She had never imagined the outcome would be like this. It was completely different from what she had anticipated—how could it have turned out this way?

This young mistress seemed like a completely different person. Huazhi raised her head to look at Su Jingyao, wanting to confirm if the person before her was truly the same mistress as before.

"Why haven't you dragged them away yet?" Su Jingyao frowned, looking as if she didn't want to see these two maids for even a second longer.

Upon hearing the command, Leng Shuang and Han Lu immediately dragged Huazhi and Huaxiang away.

She could not be blamed for this; if they wanted to blame someone, they should blame themselves!