Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 381 - 380: Moving Out

Chapter 381: Chapter 380: Moving Out

Once everyone had gathered in the conference hall and the situation had been thoroughly investigated, the main culprits were dealt with accordingly. Mrs. Wu, the second in charge of the kitchen, was flogged with twenty strokes and sold, while Manager Jiang, the Foreign Affairs Room servant who had disrespected his master, was beaten with ten strokes and banished from the mansion. Manager Luo, from the kitchen, who was also partly responsible, was reassigned to a lesser role. Chen Afu had long disliked these individuals, who were all appointed by the Luos. They appeared more loyal to the Luos - their master’s in-laws - than to her, their mistress, let alone Alu, who was just a country relative.

As Mrs. Wu was being dragged away, she shouted, "I was assigned by your wife to serve you, sir! You can’t treat me like this... "

Chen Afu ordered, "Add twenty more strokes. How dare she instigate discord between mistress and master?"

They were all the trusted confidants of Deputy Manager Liu, who, despite his pale face, did not dare to plead mercy for them.

The two gossiping maids and two kitchen maids each received twenty severe beatings and were banished from the mansion forever. Sanquan and Lan Cao received ten beatings each too before being expelled. Lan Hua would continue serving the master’s uncle.

Alu pleaded for leniency for Sanquan and Lan Cao, so they were only banished without a beating.

The coachman from the incident had his half-year’s salary confiscated, but no other actions were taken. The point of the punishment was to deter others. The problem was also that Alu lacked the assertiveness to properly reward his servants.

In addition, because Chief Steward Yang and Deputy Manager Liu had failed in their management, three months of their salaries were deducted. Chen Afu heavily chastised Deputy Manager Liu, causing him to repeatedly kowtow and beg for mercy.

Midway through the event, both the elderly master and Chu Lingxuan from the lower yamen sent people to support Chen Afu’s authority, stating that her decisions were also their decisions. This deterred those who had thought of pleading with the elderly master or the young master.

By the time everything was done, it was already evening. Chen Afu and Alu walked hand in hand from the conference hall towards the main court.

Alu mumbled, "Sister, I think I want to live with our third uncle or our uncle." Before Chen Afu could dissuade him, he continued, "Sister, didn’t you always tell me that people should have their own opinions? This is my first opinion."

Under the starlight, Alu’s eyes stared determinedly at her, his mouth shut tight.

Chen Afu said sorrowfully, "It’s my fault for not managing the household effectively, and not understanding these intricate power games inherent in large mansions. I apologize for the distress this has caused you. But now that everything is settled, could you please stay? I’ll assign you a capable servant, and no one will dare to treat you that way again."

The dignified servants of this large mansion seemed to have even more privilege than the master himself. Dabao had never been wronged thanks to the strong background and competence of Mrs. Luo, who served him.

Alu shook his head and said, "If the servants look down on me, it means they look down on our mother’s family. I will strive to be better in the future and earn respect, so that everyone will recognise our family as one to be respected, not looked down upon. Then they won’t dare to belittle you, and you’ll be able to live a better life here."

This little brother has always been so understanding that it breaks her heart. And now that he’s grown up, his self-esteem has grown stronger.

The incident had escalated to this point due to arrogant servants disrespecting their masters, because she, as the head of the house, had not managed the household properly and had neglected Alu, she also carried some responsibility. Setting aside those external factors, Alu was also at fault, and it was no small fault. He was too honest, too easy to manipulate, and unwilling to confide in his sister. He was also lacking in self-confidence and did not handle things well, trying to use money to buy respect. This was a classic case of playing a bad hand with good cards - a fatal mistake that needs to be corrected.

Chen Afu felt both regret and guilt as she pulled Alu into her arms and said, "Alu, I am sorry. Because you’re always so understanding, I have overlooked you."

Alu said, "Sister, you’ve been doing a great job, but I must move out tomorrow. I will come to visit your home in future."

Despite Chen Afu’s persuasion, he was determined to move out. Once this introverted and overly self-respecting child had made up his mind, nothing could change it.

Chen Afu nodded in agreement. Considering it would be better for him to move out for a while than to stay reluctantly. In the future, she needed to spend more time communicating with him, to instill confidence in him. Furthermore, she needed to encourage him to interact more with others, especially children his age—his social circle was too limited.

Previously, he had only interacted with the few children much younger than him and the servants in the Lu, Fu, and Tang Gardens. And apart from them, it was only the family member who cared for him. She herself, Chen Ming, and Mrs. Wang were all straightforward, kind people. She planned to let him spend some time with Atang and the other younger children, and later find a way to let him get along well with his peers, Chen Yulan and Qin Mu. A wide circle of contacts broadens one’s horizons.

Upon reaching the crossroads, the two parted ways, agreeing to send him to Chen Shi’s home the next evening. Mrs. Wu was in poor health and the little girl was too young, so it was best for him to live at Chen Shi’s. In the future, a carriage would be sent by the Senator’s Mansion to pick him up every day. He would still come to the main court for lunch, and the siblings could still see each other every day. During his days off, he would be arranged to mingle with children his age.

When Chen Afu returned to the main court, Dabao and Yan’er were waiting for her on the bed in the side room. One was writing a letter on the table and the other was folding something with a handkerchief.

When they saw Chen Afu return, they both stood on the bed.

Chen Afu walked over, and Dabao immediately hugged her and kissed her twice, saying, "Mother, have you eaten? Don’t let mother, brother and sister go hungry, it hurts me."

Chen Afu also kissed him back twice, smiling, "I have eaten."

Yan’er, who had been anxiously waiting, pushed Dabao to one side, hugged and kissed Chen Afu, and pouted, "Mother, why didn’t you come back earlier? I missed you so much that I couldn’t eat well."

The little girl was getting better and better at expressing herself.

Chen Afu pinched her little face and laughed, "Tomorrow, I will make golden prawns for you, eat as much as you like."

She pacified the children with a few words and then sent them away.

Chen Afu then told Chu Lingxuan the details of the matter. After hearing what had happened, Chu Lingxuan was very angry and blamed himself for being too busy to take care of household affairs, resulting in the servants’ reckless behavior. They did not respect his wife and even drove his little brother-in-law away.

He berated, "These damn servants are too outrageous. Afu treated them too lightly. I will find time later to deal with all the people involved in the matter, beat them half to death, and sell them off."

Chen Afu sighed, "Many of them were old servants sent by my mother-in-law. Their relationships with others must be complex. If we deal with only a few who were excessively outrageous, then both sides can save face. If they are unhappy, we have a reason to justify ourselves. In the future, let’s continue to use those who behave properly and don’t blame me for the ones who don’t."

What she didn’t mention was that the Luo family didn’t like her. They didn’t send anyone to congratulate them when they got married. Originally, they wanted to marry off the illegitimate daughter of the second Lord Luo to Chu Lingxuan as his wife, but Chu Lingxuan disagreed and married her, the "illegitimate daughter" who grew up in the countryside. You can imagine how angry the head of the Luo family must have been. Although Chu Lingxuan did not tell her about this, she had heard some rumors from the subtle hints by Mrs. Luo.

Inspector Luo is Liao Chen’s elder brother and has helped Chu Lingxuan greatly in the past. In addition, he is an important official and also manages Chen Shiying’s father. Therefore, neither for personal nor professional reasons should they upset him. Chen Afu also doesn’t want to put Chu Lingxuan in a difficult position, so she follows the principle of "leave some leeway when doing things, so you can face each other in the future."