Farm Tough Girl

Chapter 96 - 96 097 Reward and Punishment _1

?Chapter 96: Chapter 097 Reward and Punishment _1 Chapter 96: Chapter 097 Reward and Punishment _1 This remark was clearly directed at Hong Luo. A warmth filled her heart, and her eyes brimmed with moisture.

Mrs. Ji shrieked and lunged at Muniang, but Muniang was no longer the frail girl she had once been. Feasting on meat and fish these days, her strength was now on par with her past self, and she easily twisted Mrs. Ji’s arm, causing her to howl in pain.

The laborers who had just come down from the mountains for lunch passed by Muniang’s door and, seeing the commotion, rushed to help without a second thought. Several rough men restrained Mrs. Ji.

Shitou said, “Lady, has she offended you? You shouldn’t have to lift a finger yourself, leave it to us brothers.”

Mrs. Ji, face red and neck bulging with rage, struggled fiercely, spitting viciously, “You lowly slaves sold into servitude dare to lay hands on me! Be smart and let go at once, or I’ll make you regret it!”

Mrs. Ji could never say a kind word, and her remarks hit the laborers right where it hurt, with a few even wanting to punch her directly, luckily being held back by Shitou, “The Lady is right here, don’t make a scene.”

Though that’s what he said, it was no less painful, for what did ‘lowly slaves’ mean? They had each sold themselves into servitude out of their own hardships, and these wounds were scars for life. Mrs. Ji’s words were like ruthlessly tearing those scars open and pouring salt on them.

Muniang frowned and said in a deep voice, “This woman has gone mad with rage over her husband keeping a concubine; she snaps at anyone she sees. Throw her out and don’t let her in again.”

Shitou immediately laughed, “Oh, I wondered who it was. The whole village has been buzzing with her affairs; I’ve heard about it. No wonder she can’t utter a single kind word, must be all the pent-up frustrations with nowhere to vent, eh?”

At these words, the laborers erupted into roaring laughter, and Mrs. Ji’s expression became unspeakably sour. Trembling with rage, she was left speechless.

The laborers did not dawdle, promptly and unceremoniously tossing Mrs. Ji out.

Mrs. Ji, nearly breaking her behind into four pieces, clutched at her backside and struggled to her feet, contemplating making more of a scene. But then she saw the laborers, eyes fierce as if they wanted to devour her, guarding the courtyard gate. Her words earlier had offended this entire group.

Mrs. Ji eyed the row of burly men, swallowed hard, and in the end, didn’t dare to truly stand her ground. Instead, she yelled with insufficient conviction, “You – you all wait and see!”

Having said that, she took to her heels and ran as if she feared the men might chase her down and beat her.

Muniang looked over the messy scene, her own expression not so pleasant. She said to the group of laborers, “You all disperse for now, go rest at your quarters.”

Then turning to Hong Luo and Mrs. Fang, she said, “You two, come with me.”

With that, she headed toward the west room. Dayue looked worriedly at Mrs. Fang, his wife, obviously concerned for her safety.

But Shitou quickly tugged at him to prevent any rash actions, signaling that he shouldn’t interfere, “The Lady knows what she’s doing; she has her reasons for handling things this way. Let’s not get involved and just head back to our quarters.”

Dayue had no choice but to nod and follow his brothers away.

Madam Liu had remained silent throughout the entire discussion. First, she felt that with Muniang’s capabilities, dealing with the matter was more than sufficient, and second, her own status was awkward. Besides, she was not involved, and stepping in might have made things worse.

Watching Muniang take Mrs. Fang and Hong Luo to the western room, it was clear that they had matters to discuss. Without saying anything more, Madam Liu led her children inside their room and returned to the kitchen to continue her work.

Inside the western room.

“What exactly happened today? How did Mrs. Ji suddenly appear at our Qiao family’s residence?” Muniang went straight to the point, asking in a serious tone.

Mrs. Fang’s heart tightened, and she became somewhat flustered, “It was, it was this servant… I went to the Qiao family to invite the young masters over for a meal when I happened to run into her. She was relentless and insisted that I bring her along with me.”

“So you brought her here?” Muniang’s tone became more severe. In this feudal society, a master could treat their servants well, but they could never allow them to lose their sense of discipline. Muniang would not relent where strictness was due. Such leniency would only lead servants to become even more presumptuous, eventually losing all respect for their master.

Mrs. Fang knelt on the ground with a “thump,” pleading continuously, “She threatened me, saying that if I did not bring her, the Lady would sell me to a brothel. She also said that with my social status, I was not in a position to refuse her.”

Muniang curved her lips slightly, “So you believed her? Because you were afraid I would sell you to a brothel, you brought someone home carelessly? If she threatens you with something even more serious next time, will you also comply immediately?”

Mrs. Fang shivered in fear, not daring to say another word.

“In your eyes, am I someone who cannot distinguish right from wrong, who believes whatever others say?”

“This servant knows her mistake!” Mrs. Fang had nothing to say, her eyes reddening.

Hong Luo quickly knelt down, pleading on behalf of Mrs. Fang, “Lady, Mrs. Fang is a bit soft-hearted, naturally she will be frightened, and that place, the brothel, is indeed terrifying. She was just confused and lost her judgement for a moment. Please, Lady, be lenient in your punishment!”

Muniang snorted lightly, “Mrs. Fang will be fined half a month’s wages as punishment. You’ve all heard what I said today. Keep your eyes open. In Tupo Village, only the Qiao family is your master. No one else deserves to have you as servants! If there is a next time, I won’t let you off so easily!”

Mrs. Fang expressed her gratitude repeatedly, aware that such a punishment was already quite lenient.

“As for you, Hong Luo,” Muniang’s gaze shifted and settled on Hong Luo, “the slap you received today was indeed unfair to you. Later, take two taels of silver as compensation.”

Hong Luo thanked her, knowing full well that it wasn’t just compensation, but a reward. Today’s slap might have seemed unjust, but it was, in fact, worth it.

After Muniang finished speaking, she allowed them to leave. All the way, Mrs. Fang was full of regret, “It’s all because of my timid nature. It’s only right that I was scolded by the Lady, and I almost got you into trouble too. If you had really let Mrs. Ji in just now, following the signal I gave you, you probably wouldn’t have escaped punishment either.”

Once they were in a secluded place, Hong Luo spoke earnestly, “Aunt, not to criticize you, but after serving the Lady for so long, how can you still not see her true character? Being servants, it’s not enough to be loyal to our master; we also need to be sharp-witted when necessary. The Lady is fair and has powerful methods of dealing with issues. Who can manipulate her? Even if Mrs. Ji speaks ill of you to the Lady, the Lady has her own balance and sees everything clearly.”