CHAPTER 318: CHAPTER 160: A SOFTHEARTED FARCE

Hong Ye quickly reported back: "Mrs. Zhang, who is in charge of laying the felt carpets, has been summoned and is waiting to be questioned by Lady Sang Wan! Also, those three servants who bumped into the Master are here! Does Lady Sang Wan want to question them now?"

Sang Wan pondered briefly before saying, "Bring Mrs. Zhang up here; I will interrogate her myself. As for those three girls, I can’t be bothered to see them! Tell the housekeeper in charge of this matter, those three girls have no regard for their Master. Give them thirty strokes of the cane, forfeit their wage for three months, and then send them out to be at the Tian family’s disposal in gardening. Tell them, if they don’t wish to be sold, they better keep their mouths shut about the affairs of the inner courtyard; otherwise, serving them a mute’s medicine is nothing difficult!"

Third Madam Shi’s stance was clear; she intended to severely punish these three girls. Otherwise, how could her anger be appeased? She was injured, her own servant was gravely injured, and yet, these three not only watched the scene with interest but also talked back to Mrs. Gui. They had brought the misfortune upon themselves!

This was the first time that Sang Wan had dealt with the servants so harshly since she became the housekeeper. Hong Ye couldn’t help but shiver and hastily agreed before going to pass on the message. After warning those three girls, she commanded two older servants to escort them out.

The three girls had never imagined that merely watching a spectacle could bring upon them such a grave misfortune. They were immediately scared white as a sheet, all kneeling down, clutching at Hong Ye’s skirt, and pleading desperately, swearing they "would never dare again!"

Hong Ye snorted coldly, "You should be satisfied! You laughed at your Master’s misfortune and talked back to an elder by her side; it is already merciful not to sell you off! Lady Sang Wan has been busy these past few days, and you still make trouble; you’re practically digging your own graves!"

One girl crawled forward on her knees for two steps, hugging Hong Ye’s legs, and begged pitifully, "Sister, please let us see Lady Sang Wan! Lady Sang Wan has always been kind; she will surely forgive us! We know we were wrong, please sister, give us another chance!"

"Yes, Lady Sang Wan would never be so cruel, we beg you, sister!"

"Even if we are sent away, we should at least kowtow to Lady Sang Wan in person! Sister, please allow us this!"

The three girls clung to Hong Ye, pleading non-stop, crying with tear-streaked faces, looking truly pitiful!

Hong Ye had never seen such a scene before; although their status was lower than hers, they were all servants at heart, and she couldn’t help feeling a degree of pity. Seeing a glimmer of hope, the three girls clung to it desperately like it was their last straw, pleading even more earnestly.

Finally overwhelmed, Hong Ye sighed, "Enough, enough, just follow me in to kowtow to Lady Sang Wan! Remember, don’t talk nonsense!"

The three girls were overjoyed and quickly thanked her with kowtows before clambering up from the ground.

Hong Ye glanced at them with a slight frown, "Tidy up your clothes, and wipe your faces clean! How can you meet Lady Sang Wan looking like this?"

"Yes, sister!" "Thank you for the reminder, sister!" The three of them hurried to straighten themselves out, looking at Hong Ye with hopeful and fearful eyes. They all knew that this was their only chance and felt extremely anxious about it.

"Let’s go!" Hong Ye’s eyes dimmed as she led them inside.

Upon entering the room, before Hong Ye could speak, the three girls, unable to restrain themselves, "thumped" to their knees and began to beg for mercy, each cry of "Lady Sang Wan, forgive us!" and "Lady Sang Wan, spare our lives!" startling Sang Wan considerably!

"Silence!" Sang Wan, taken aback, shouted sternly with a cold glare, then turned to Hong Ye, "What is the meaning of this?"

"Lady Sang Wan!" Hong Ye hurriedly came forward and briefly explained the situation.

"We beg Lady Sang Wan to forgive us, we will never dare again! We will go and apologize to Third Madam Shi right away!" the three girls continued to plead tearfully.

Sang Wan was already annoyed, how could she bear this disturbance? Her expression instantly turned very ugly, and she gave Hong Ye a hard glare, "Didn’t you understand my orders?"

In fact, Hong Ye had dared to take matters into her own hands by bringing these three girls inside out of a sense of compassion and reliance on Sang Wan’s good temper. However, she did not expect this time to hit a wall so hard.

Her face turned red all of sudden, filled with awkwardness, she moved her lips but dared not speak.

"Someone!" Sang Wan shouted sternly, "Take these people away at once!"

The three girls, who were usually only responsible for sweeping and had never served close to their Master, were completely ignorant of the rules and did not realize that this was their last chance and that their fate was in Lady Sang Wan’s hands. In a burst of desperation, they swiftly crawled forward on their knees, hugging Sang Wan’s legs, and clutching at her skirt, imploring for mercy just as they had previously done with Hong Ye!