Chapter 24-2: Foul Mouth
The scandal involving Sheng Erguniang quickly spread
throughout Jinsha County, resulting in the members of the Sheng Mansion rarely
venturing outside. Luo Sheng remained indifferent to the impact she brought
upon the Sheng Mansion. Or rather, in her opinion, it was Sheng Jialan who had
caused the problem, and it would be ridiculous if they were to blame the victim
(herself) instead. However, not everyone thinks so.
Hongdou stepped into the laundry courtyard with a pouch in
her sleeve and heard a mouthful of discussion.
"Miss Luo is too inconsiderate to the Sheng family,
making it difficult for us to hold our heads up in public—"
The sound of Hongdou's arrival made several pozi[1]
who were hanging the clothes all turn their heads. Their expressions froze when
they saw Hongdou's fierce face. After a moment of silence, one of the pozi
mustered an awkward smile and said, "Hongdou Dajie, are you here to
deliver dirty laundry?"
Hongdou scanned several pozi with a serious expression and
asked somberly, "Who said that just now?" Several pozi instinctively
looked at a woman with a long face. Realizing her mistake, the pozi quickly
slapped herself and admitted, "Look at my foul mouth. Please don't hold it
against me, Hongdou Dajie. Just ignore the foolish words of an old woman like
me."
Hongdou carefully observed the pozi and slowly uttered,
"It was you." The pozi was terrified upon hearing those words and
continued to slap her mouth, acknowledging her fault, "Yes, it was me.
Please don't remember this lowly servant's mistake. Just treat me like a
fart..."
Several servants had faced the consequences for spreading
rumors about Miss Luo mistreating Sheng Erguniang a few days ago. Although this
incident had made the atmosphere among the servants in the Sheng Mansion tense,
it was difficult to eradicate such private conversations among them entirely.
The long-faced pozi berated herself for her misfortune,
realizing the grave consequences that could have befallen her and her family
had Hongdou caused a scene over her words. She regretted her impulsive remarks
and slapped her mouth even harder.
"Since it's you, I'll let it slide this time,"
Hongdou said coldly, leaving several pozi, including the long-faced pozi,
stunned.
When did Miss Luo's maid become this lenient? They had heard
that this Hongdou dajie even dared to beat the other Misses, let alone the
lowly laundry maids like themselves.
Hongdou pulled a plain pouch from her sleeve and tossed it
into the arms of the long-faced pozi, warning, "This is a reward from my
Miss. Control your tongue from now on!" With that, she glared at each
pozi, turned around, and left.
As the courtyard door closed, the servants' gaze fell on the
pouch in the arms of the long-faced pozi. "Let's look at what Miss Luo has
rewarded you."
The long-faced maid, still bewildered, instinctively opened
the pouch. To their astonishment, it contained a stack of gold leaves that
glistened brightly under the sunlight, dazzling their eyes. They were left
dumbfounded, unable to react until the long-faced pozi swiftly tucked the pouch
into her bosom.
"Gold, gold leaves! Why did Miss Luo reward you with
gold leaves?" they exclaimed in disbelief.
Overwhelmed by the weight of the substantial sum of money in
her arms, the long-faced pozi's legs grew weak, causing her to collapse to the
ground. After being in a daze for some time, she pinched her thigh. The pain
jolted her into thinking faster, and she murmured, "Perhaps... perhaps
it's because I rescued Miss Luo from the lake that day..."
On that day, she happened to be passing by the lake and had
pulled Miss Luo ashore after Luo Gongzi had exhausted himself. But after
receiving a few words of praise from Sheng Dataitai and a modest reward of two
taels of silver, she had assumed the matter had concluded. How could Miss
Luo...
[1]
Pozi: older married maid
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