Chapter 234 – Punishment, A Room Of Maids
The exquisite eight-folded screen with gorgeously embroidered patterns was left there casually. Such a screen would look decent wherever it was placed.
But now, it could be seen that it was half-closed and casually put aside. How could Wei Luowen not recognize the eight-folded screen? This was once his wife’s most beloved item, and he had even joked that he would leave it to their daughter as her dowry in the future.
But now, it was given to Wei Yuejiao, not to Wei Yuewu. The meaning behind this was enough to make Wei Luowen furious.
Without taking a seat, he directly asked, “Where did this screen come from?”
“Fath… father, thi… this was prepared a long time ago. I didn’t know anything about it. It was here when I moved in.” Wei Yuejiao also noticed that something was wrong. She rolled her eyes and hastily denied.
Of course, she would not say that she knew this screen belonged to Wei Yuewu’s mother, and that she once saw it and asked for it from Concubine Dong because she liked the screen. Wei Yuewu’s mother had been dead for so many years. Why did Father still remember a screen in her room? Think of this, she felt indignant and a trace of hatred flashed in her eyes.
Wei Yuewu’s mother blocked her mother’s path and had long deserved to die. Now she had been dead for so many years, but Father still constantly kept her in mind. Although her mother, Concubine Dong, had served him for so many years, he still didn’t elevate her to the position of Marquise Hua Yang. This was all because of Wei Yuewu and her mother.
“Why didn’t I see it before?” Although Wei Luowen rarely came to Wei Yuejiao’s bedroom, he would occasionally visit her.
“I don’t know. The screen was already here when I moved in today. Was there something wrong with the screen, Father?” Wei Yuejiao looked perplexed.
“Someone, take the screen away! Send it to the Sixth Young Lady’s courtyard!” Seeing Wei Yuejiao’s innocent expression, Wei Luowen suppressed the fire in his heart and instructed the lad servant beside him.
Of course, the owner of this screen was Yuewu. This screen was intended by Rui’er as a gift to Yuewu back then. It was also a screen that Rui’er had personally embroidered. The maid of Yuewu also said that embroidering such a large piece would take her a long time. Thinking about this, he felt extremely sad in his heart.
Although Rui’er was dead, he would not allow anyone to blaspheme her!
Seeing that Wei Luowen was actually returning this screen to Wei Yuewu, Wei Yuejiao secretly gritted her teeth in hatred. This was such a shame to her!
Originally, she had intended to use this screen to humiliate Wei Yuewu, but now she was actually ordered to return it to her. However, she had no reason to reject and she dared not disobey Wei Luowen. So, she could only retreat to the side and clench her teeth.
“Yes!” The lad servant answered. He went out and found two old menial maidservants to help move the screen out. The screen was half closed. Now that it was to be moved away, it should be completely closed. The two old maidservants first carefully extended it a little. After that, they planned to close it again.
As they extended the screen, Wei Luowen suddenly saw broken parts of the screen that were previously hidden when the screen was half closed. He immediately shouted, “Stop!”
The two old maidservants retreated, not knowing what was wrong. Wei Luowen hurriedly stepped forward and pulled open the half-closed screen. He immediately saw a few small holes in the screen. It was clear that someone had deliberately stabbed the screen with something sharp. Although the holes weren’t very big, the screen was completely destroyed.
“Now tell me! What happened to the screen?” Wei Luowen turned his head, and even the wound on his face looked bloody.
Unprepared, Wei Yuejiao was so frightened that her feet went limp and she almost fell.
“Fath… father…” She didn’t expect that Wei Luowen would notice this detail, but she was so scared by him that she almost couldn’t say anything.
“Who made these holes?” Wei Luowen asked sternly, unable to conceal his anger.
“Fath…father, I… I don’t know who did it. It was placed here… and it broke just like that… may… maybe the maids accidentally broke it!” Wei Yuejiao hurriedly explained and looked at the maids beside her.
“Did I blame you wrongly?” Wei Luowen’s tone was cold and oppressive like a storm.
Wei Yuejiao’s eyes reddened. She wiped away her tears and sobbed, “Father, didn’t you always say that we should be lenient?” I thought that it was just a screen, and it wasn’t a big deal if it was broken. Therefore, I didn’t ask to find out who did it. ”
How could she dare to say that she had purposely broken the screen to make Wei Yuewu feel uncomfortable?
“Someone, bring down all the maids in this room and find out who did it.” Wei Luowen ignored Wei Yuejiao’s cries and the wound on his face looked more and more ferocious. He ordered the lad servant with a hostile tone. Everyone could sense the killing intent in his words clearly. This was not just a simple inquiry.
“Lord Marquis, please spare our lives!” The maids in the room, including Wei Yuejiao’s two trusted maids, Jinzhu and Yuzhu, couldn’t stand any longer and immediately knelt on the ground.
“Father… Father!” Wei Yuejiao was shocked and almost lost control of her expression. She did not expect Wei Luowen to do this for a Wei Yuewu. She hurriedly pulled Wei Luowen’s sleeve and said, “Father… they didn’t do it on purpose.”
Whether it was done intentionally or not, Wei Luowen had already seen it clearly. Someone had done it intentionally by stabbing the screen with a sharp item and scratching it. The goal was to destroy the screen. He looked at Wei Yuejiao with a sullen face. This daughter whom he had always cherished so much turned out to have such a temperament!
“Someone!” Shaking off Wei Yuejiao’s sleeves, Wei Luowen turned around and was about to leave. Since the maids in this room did not properly advise their mistress, there was no need for them to be alive.
“Father, please spare their lives. This screen…this screen was accidentally scratched by me.” Seeing Wei Luowen’s ruthless and determined expression, Wei Yuejiao knew that it was not good. Needless to say, those maids would definitely confess after receiving a few strokes, especially Jinzhu and Yuzhu, who knew a lot about what she and her mother did. She mustn’t let her father beat them up.
She clearly knew that it was a better option to confess out of her own rather than let these maids tell the truth. She was familiar with her father’s temperament and knew that he appreciated people who took the initiative to admit their mistakes.
“You did it?” Sure enough, after hearing Wei Yuejiao’s words, Wei Luowen stopped and asked coldly.
Wei Yuejiao knelt down and cried as she explained, “Father, I really accidentally broke it. When I entered the door that day, I was a little dizzy and happened to hit the screen. The hairpin on my hair hooked onto the embroidered screen. The maids were eager to remove the hairpin for me and accidentally broke the screen.”
As she finished speaking, she covered her face with a handkerchief and cried.
“Then what about the other scratches?” After all, Wei Yuejiao was his beloved daughter. Moreover, she had also volunteered to admit her mistake instead of shirking her responsibility. Wei Luowen’s expression eased up a bit.
“That… that’s because after I saw the scratch made by my hairpin, I was afraid that Grandmother would punish me. Therefore…I randomly stabbed a few more holes and planned to take the screen away.” Wei Yuejiao knew that her crying had worked, and her expression became even more frightened. “Father, I have been living with you and I am not familiar with Grandmother’s temperament and was afraid of being punished by her.”
“If you were afraid of being punished by your grandmother, why did you stab a few more holes in the screen?” Wei Luowen was still furious.
“Because… because if it was found out, I could… say that it was done by the maids. According to the custom, when many people make the same mistake together, no one will be punished. I thought maybe the maids would not be punished!” Wei Yuejiao stuttered, but this reason did soften Wei Luowen’s grim expression.
But that doesn’t completely dispel Wei Luowen’s anger at seeing the damage to his beloved wife’s old possession.
“Get up!” Wei Luowen said.
“Yes, Father!” Wei Yuejiao thought that she had passed the test smoothly and was overjoyed. She was secretly happy, but when she heard Wei Luowen’s next sentence, her body stiffened.
“Someone, take all these maids down and give each of them ten heavy strokes as a punishment for not preventing the young lady from damaging the screen when she came up with such an idea. Besides, move the screen away and send it to my study first.”
If Yuewu saw her mother’s screen being treated like this, how sad would she be? It was better to have it sent to his study first.
“Father…” Wei Yuejiao cried out as she collapsed on the ground. However, Wei Luowen only gave her an indifferent look before turning around and leaving with his servants.
Seeing Wei Luowen leave so resolutely, Wei Yuejiao’s eyes were almost filled with venom. Wei Yuewu, it was Wei Yuewu again, she would definitely not let Wei Yuewu off!
“Miss, it is a pity that you didn’t see it. The Third Young Lady’s courtyard was full of cries, and some people said that they heard the Third Young Lady crying too! The two maids called Jinzhu and Yuzhu were also beaten. Everybody was scared. It was such a scene! There were many people peeking from outside. Everyone was saying that as soon as you returned, the Third Young Lady fell out of Lord Marquis’ favor. After all, you are the Lord Marquis’ favorite daughter, and the Third Young Lady can’t compare with you at all!”
Jin Ling proudly described the scene she had just seen to Wei Yuewu, feeling especially happy.
It was clear that the Third Young Lady was not comparable to the Sixth Young Lady in terms of status and identity. However, the entire mansion treated the Third Young Lady extremely well as if she was a legitimate daughter. The maids of Wei Yuewu had long felt unconvinced.
“Where’s the screen?” Wei Yuewu put down the teacup in her hand. Her eyes looked ice-cold. Her mother’s screen had been deliberately scratched by Wei Yuejiao. Moreover, she had scratched it more than once to vent her anger. How could she not be angry?
Mother personally embroidered it stitch by stitch. As long as she remembered that Mother had embroidered this screen with joy but it was destroyed by Wei Yuejiao, she would not be able to conceal her anger. Was Wei Yuejiao crying now? This was only the beginning…
“The screen was carried to Lord Marquis’ study!” Jin Ling thought for a moment and answered.
“Huamo, can you fix it?” Wei Yuewu raised her eyes to look at Huamo.
“I… I am not sure. I have to take a look at the damage caused by the Third Young Lady to decide whether the screen can be fixed.” Although Huamo was skilled in embroidery, she did not dare to guarantee.
However, this screen was not here right now, and Huamo was unable to assess how serious the damage was.
“Miss, will Concubine Dong be informed and plead with Lord Marquis?” Shufei suddenly thought of something and reminded Wei Yuewu.
“Yes, of course! Then, I am going to my father’s courtyard and take a look at this screen.” Wei Yuewu stood up. She straightened her back, and a cold mockery appeared on her face. “Concubine Dong should have received the message by now. I will see her in my father’s study! What a coincidence!”
How could she allow Wei Yuejiao to get away so easily? She had already anticipated their reactions when she was planning this…
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