bayedsolid Chapter 224 Punishment
Chapter 224 Punishment
Upon seeing that the young lady was truly angry, the stewardess immediately knelt down and said in great fear, "Young lady, I know I was wrong, please punish me."
"Punishment? Then tell me, how should you be punished for these chickens and ducks? Do you know how much silver you'll have to pay out in total?"
"Your Highness, please have mercy. I truly did not embezzle any of those things. Please investigate thoroughly, Your Highness."
"Investigate thoroughly? You tell me, how am I supposed to investigate thoroughly? You're the lady in charge of the kitchen. If you say you didn't do this, do you think anyone will believe you?" Mu Xin Nuan said with a hint of mockery. "Even if I did believe you, do you think Mother and the Old Madam would believe me if I said it like this?"
“Miss, it really wasn’t me. Although I am in charge of the kitchen, the purchasing is always handled by someone else, not by me.”
"So, you're saying someone under you embezzled money without your knowledge? Do you think you can easily escape responsibility for this oversight?"
Upon hearing this, Granny Liu's heart skipped a beat. The person in charge of purchasing food from the kitchen? Wasn't that her own daughter-in-law?
Was this a coincidence, or was it something the young lady did on purpose from the very beginning?
"Alright, I don't want to hear anything else. Since this happened in your kitchen, it's your job to handle it! Not only should you make up for the deficit, but you should also severely punish this treacherous servant! Go and investigate first. Once you've found out, give him twenty strokes of the cane and then report back to me. If it's too lenient, I'll just hand him over to the authorities. If it's too severe, then I'll have to report to Mother and punish him more severely."
"Yes, Miss."
The stewardess hurriedly got up, took the account book, and quickly took her leave, fearing that if she left too late, she would incur another scolding from the young lady.
As Liu Mama watched her leave, her heart clenched even tighter.
Who is in charge of purchasing for the kitchen? Does the young lady know or not? Was today's scene something she stumbled upon by accident, or was it all staged by the young lady for her own benefit?
"Granny Liu, please sit down. Someone, bring Granny Liu some tea."
"Yes, ma'am."
"This servant wouldn't dare. What are your orders, Miss? Please tell me." Granny Liu dared not sit down any longer and quickly smiled apologetically.
"Actually, it's nothing much, just about the banquet. This list lists a few distant relatives. They don't look familiar to me. My mother is currently accompanying my father to examine my two younger brothers, so I don't want to disturb them. But the kitchen should start preparing things. Especially some dried goods, since they won't spoil anyway, it's always good to prepare them in advance."
"Yes, Miss. Do you mean I should write down all these people's preferences?"
"That's not necessary. You just need to know what your father's elders and my elders like. As for the others, my peers, they're not that important. How can you please everyone?"
"Yes, Miss."
Rongyue led Granny Liu to the main room outside to begin copying, while Rongyue had already prepared the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Her pleasant smile made Granny Liu unable to discern anything from her expression.
Outside, Granny Liu was writing with some trepidation, while inside, Mu Xin Nuan smiled faintly and asked Mu Qing to have someone call over the manager of the embroidery workshop.
Listening to the conversation inside, Granny Liu felt a little relieved. She didn't have any relatives in the embroidery shop, so this time it wouldn't involve her again.
Unexpectedly, just as a slight smile of relief appeared on Granny Liu's face, she heard the head maid inside apologize again.
"Reporting to Miss, I have already investigated. Huichun said that the silk thread from last time was taken by Silin, who serves in the study in the front courtyard."
"Si Lin? Who is this? Serving in the study? Is he one of Father's servants?"
"Reporting to Miss, Si Lin is just serving in the study." The head maid's expression was not very good. "I found out that Si Lin lost money gambling outside, and then found Hui Chun. Hui Chun then took the liberty of keeping some of the best materials from the embroidery workshop, and then resold them to pay off Si Lin's gambling debts."
"Oh? This Si Lin is quite capable! Is he related to Hui Chun?"
Rongyue noticed that Liu Mama's pen, which was suspended in mid-air, suddenly froze in place and did not move an inch.
The stewardess's face showed even more embarrassment. "Miss, are Si Lin and Hui Chun not related?"
"Not relatives? Then why would she take such a big risk for an outsider?"
The stewardess hesitated for a moment, but still braced herself and said, "Reporting to Miss, this Huichun was deceived by Silin's sweet talk and fell for his trick."
After a long while, Mu Xin Nuan's voice suddenly came through, "So, Hui Chun can no longer stay in the embroidery workshop?"
"Reporting to Miss, Huichun is still unmarried, but whether she is a virgin or not, this servant does not know."
"Outrageous!" Mu Xin Nuan roared in anger. "If I remember correctly, doesn't this Si Lin already have a family? Why is he still going to seduce other maids? And maids from the back courtyard no less! I think he's had enough of living! In that case, someone, immediately tell the steward to report this to my father as soon as possible. This Si Lin must be beaten to death!"
"Yes, Miss." Mu Qing replied, but did not move. Then she heard the sound of something falling to the ground outside.
"Young Miss, have mercy! Young Miss, please have mercy!" Before the embroidery shop lady could leave, Granny Liu rushed in, knelt on the ground, and began to kowtow repeatedly. "Young Miss, please have mercy!"
Mu Xin Nuan looked slightly puzzled, but her eyes already held a satisfied smile.
"Granny Liu? What are you doing? Rongyue, what's going on? Weren't you writing those things outside?"
Rongyue said, feeling very aggrieved, "Reporting to Miss, this servant doesn't know what happened either. This servant was watching Granny Liu write when Granny Liu suddenly rushed in like a madwoman. It was my fault for disturbing Miss."
Granny Liu's face turned pale. She had rushed in so hastily that she had forgotten that she was just a servant and had no right to barge into her master's inner chamber. Her son's punishment had not yet been mitigated, and she herself had committed the grave mistake of disrespecting her master!
“Reporting to Miss, Si Lin is Liu Mama’s son,” the stewardess said expressionlessly. “That’s why Si Lin dares to act so recklessly in our embroidery workshop, and no one dares to offend him.”