Mo Lingzheng approached her step by step with a cold expression.
Qin Wanxiu could hardly believe that Mo Lingzheng would actually lay hands on her, but as she looked into those icy eyes and recalled the fierce whip from moments before, she instinctively retreated toward the door.
“Madam!” Seeing Mo Lingzheng wielding the whip and frightening Qin Wanxiu out of the room, Dai Hong hurried forward to shield Qin Wanxiu, scolding Mo Lingzheng, “Miss Lingzheng, what are you doing?”
Crack!
“Ah!” Dai Hong clutched his burning arm, staring at her as if he had seen a ghost.
Yet Mo Lingzheng didn’t utter a single word to him. She swung the whip again, aiming straight for his forehead—
Dai Hong let out another agonized scream, staggered half a turn, and then collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Qin Wanxiu shrieked in terror, “That little wretch has gone mad! Seize her at once!”
Over a dozen servants, upon hearing the order, swarmed toward Mo Lingzheng!
“Just try laying a hand on me!” Mo Lingzheng roared.
It must be said that her deafening roar, combined with the murderous aura radiating from her, truly frightened the servants. They stood there, both shocked and stunned, only daring to glare at her.
Qin Wanxiu screeched sharply, “A bunch of useless fools! There are so many of you, and you’re still afraid you can’t catch her?”
Upon hearing this, the servants seemed doused awake by cold water. Immediately, they straightened their backs and closed in on Mo Lingzheng once more—
“Stop!”
Just as Mo Lingzheng was about to reach for her knife, a woman’s commanding voice suddenly rang out from the courtyard entrance.
Peering through the crowd, she saw Er Niu rushing over with a dozen or so people in tow.
“Who… who are you?” Qin Wanxiu grew even more furious at the sight of a group of strangers barging in. “This is the General’s Mansion! Who allowed you to enter? What do you think you’re doing?”
Er Niu, leading the group, didn’t even glance at her. Instead, she called out in Mo Lingzheng’s direction, “Miss Mo, the people you requested are here. These are all from the Yahang!”
Mo Lingzheng used Qinggong to leap over the heads of the servants and landed gracefully beside Er Niu.
She pulled a booklet from her robe and asked, “Who’s in charge?”
A middle-aged man with a mustache smiled and replied, “Miss Mo, I am Liu San. I heard you have a big deal here, so my boss specially sent me to conduct the transaction with you.”
Mo Lingzheng handed him the booklet and deliberately raised her voice, “This is the roster of all the servants purchased for the General’s Mansion—seventy-two people in total. Their indentures are all in my hands. I’m selling them all to you now. Tell me how much silver they’re worth.”
As her words fell, all the servants present wore expressions of horror.
Even Dai Hong, who had been whipped to the ground by Mo Lingzheng, trembled as he struggled to prop himself up, crying out, “Miss Lingzheng… this old servant… this old servant has been with the General’s Mansion for years… how… how could you sell me off…”
Qin Wanxiu was so shocked that her blood surged. She rushed toward Mo Lingzheng in agitation, “What did you say? You’re going to sell everyone in the mansion? Mo Lingzheng, who gave you the nerve!”
Before Mo Lingzheng could act, Er Niu swiftly intercepted her. Though Qin Wanxiu was stout in build, Er Niu was taller and more robust than most servants, blocking Qin Wanxiu so effectively that her eyes nearly bulged out in rage.
Mo Lingzheng swept her gaze across the scene, then sneered at Qin Wanxiu, “My father put you in charge of the household to take care of me. Did you really start thinking of yourself as the mistress of the General’s Mansion?”
She didn’t even glance at Qin Wanxiu’s twisted expression, then turned her mocking gaze toward Dai Hong. “You old rotten stick, how dare you claim to be a veteran of our General’s Manor? You’ve worked here for nearly twenty years, yet you can’t even figure out who your true master is. In that case, what use are you to me?”
“Y-Young Mistress… I…” Dai Hong trembled violently, finally reverting to addressing her properly, just like Nanny Zhang had.
“For the past three years, you’ve colluded with those three generations of their family to bully and torment me. If no one buys you today because of your age, I’ll personally beat you to death!” Mo Lingzheng gritted her teeth with hatred.
Just then, Da Niu emerged from the room carrying a box, weaving through the crowd to reach Mo Lingzheng.
Mo Lingzheng took the box and handed it to Liu San. “These are the indentures for seventy-two people. First, count them by head. If anyone resists, feel free to beat or kill them—consider it one less head fee for me.”
The middle-aged man took the box, blinking as he asked, “Miss Mo, are you really selling all the servants from the manor?”
In his career, he had handled large orders before, but never one involving so many servants from a single household—this was a first since he’d entered the trade!
Seeing her actually hand the indentures over to the broker, Dai Hong was utterly panicked and terrified. Trembling, he approached Mo Lingzheng, fell to his knees with a thud, and kowtowed, shedding old tears as he begged for mercy. “Young Mistress… this old servant knows his wrongs… I shouldn’t have helped Second Madam for petty favors… Please, for the sake of my twenty years of service to the General’s Manor, spare me…”
Mo Lingzheng looked down at him, her eyes filled with nothing but endless coldness, devoid of any ripple of emotion. “Yes, you served the General’s Manor for twenty years, once the most trusted person by my parents. Not to mention anything else, when my mother was alive, she treated you like her own elder, even instructing me to arrange your funeral and erect a tombstone for you when you passed away. But what have you done these past three years? I think no one knows better than you. Good and evil will always meet their retribution—at your age, you should understand the meaning of those words.”
Dai Hong collapsed to the ground as if his soul had been sucked out.
“Mo Lingzheng!” Qin Wanxiu, agitated, rolled up her sleeves and howled like a market shrew. “You disrespectful brat! If you sell everyone off, who will serve us?”
Mo Lingzheng shot her a fierce glare, then pulled Er Niu aside and slapped Qin Wanxiu across the face—
“Fuck off! You sold off the maids by my side and left me with no one to serve me. How dare you still expect people to serve you!” Mo Lingzheng, drawing from the original body’s memories of her vicious temper, immediately spat at her. “Tui! You shameless bastards! Believe me, I’ll stab you all with a knife! If you won’t let me live, I won’t let you have it easy either!”
Did they even know which “mountain” she came from?
Acting tough—who the hell couldn’t do that?
Dealing with this venomous hag, if she still cared about her image, she’d be asking for abuse!
“You… you…” Qin Wanxiu wiped the spit from her face, too disgusted to form a complete sentence.
“You, you, you! You piece of shit!” Mo Lingzheng kicked her in the abdomen. “Get the hell out of my way! Don’t block my business!”
“Ah!” Qin Wanxiu landed hard on her backside, clutching both her stomach and her buttocks in pain.
Watching her being beaten and in such a wretched state, the servants who had always obeyed her every command not only failed to step forward to help, but instead retreated to the corners like startled birds.
Mo Lingzheng swept a cold glance over them, snorted, and said to Da Niu and Er Niu, “I’ll go inside to accompany Young Master A Si. Please help me accompany the Yahang people to take a headcount.”
“Yes,” Da Niu and Er Niu replied in unison.
However, before they could begin, the voice of the elderly lady, Yu Shi, came from the courtyard gate. “Mo Lingzheng, you wicked creature, are you trying to defy the heavens?”
“Oh, who do we have here? It’s my dear grandmother!” Mo Lingzheng turned to look, deliberately putting on an exaggerated expression and raising her voice as she chided, “Grandmother, I have to say, you’re old and your backside is loose, your farts ring loud and clear. I am your own granddaughter. If I’m a wicked creature, then what does that make you? An old wicked creature? To insult me, you’ve even debased yourself to the level of a beast. How kind and respectable you are!”
“You!” Yu Shi never dreamed that her granddaughter, who had always been meek and submissive to her, would dare to openly insult her like this. She was instantly so furious she pounded her chest and stamped her feet. “How could our Mo family produce such an unfilial and rebellious thing? Mo Lingzheng, do you want to die?”
Mo Lingzheng strode up to her, grabbed her collar, and glared at her even more fiercely. “I am my father’s only daughter. He sent you to the General’s Manor to take care of me. If you have the guts, try to kill me! Don’t forget, who is it that you owe your current wealth and status to? I don’t believe you’ll have a good life if I die!”
Yu Shi’s aged face turned ashen and twisted.
Her second son had been spoiled rotten since childhood, so much so that even at nearly forty, he had accomplished nothing. She and her second son’s family relied entirely on the eldest son’s salary and achievements to live. If they truly caused the eldest son to become disillusioned with them because of this wicked creature…
At this thought, her expression instantly changed. Not only did she force a kindly smile, but her tone also became exceedingly gentle. “Lingzheng, my dear, if you have any grievances, just tell your grandmother. I’ll stand up for you. Why take your anger out on the servants? After all, they’ve been in the manor for many years. Even if they haven’t done great deeds, they’ve put in hard work!”
Mo Lingzheng laughed. “Grievances? So Grandmother’s eyes aren’t blind after all? You actually know I’ve been wronged?”
Yu Shi didn’t get angry at her mocking tone. Instead, she took her hand and comforted her, “Your second aunt doesn’t know how to manage things. I’ll definitely teach her a lesson later. Since we’re all family, please don’t be so willful anymore, alright?”
She had no idea what evil had possessed this wicked creature, causing her temperament to change so drastically overnight, as if she were a completely different person!
But no matter what, she had to placate this wicked creature for now. Otherwise, if she really sold off all the servants in the manor, who would serve them in the future?