Chapter 42: Repudiation of the Wife
Pear Moon’s fingers loosened, her face streaked with tears from the pain.
Fortunately, the finger-pressing torture had not lasted long, so she had not suffered serious injury.
As for the beatings she had endured, there was no need to mention them—by tomorrow, bruises were sure to appear all over her body.
The gates of Phoenix Ripple Courtyard were wide open, and the one shouting was Steward Sun Cai’s wife from Brocade Prosperity Hall.
Behind her was a crowd of maids and matrons, surrounding Madam Ning, whose face was filled with fury.
“Madam, save us! The young mistress wants to beat us to death! We are wronged!”
Fearing further beatings, they scrambled and crawled toward the main gate.
Shen Shi hurriedly rose to greet them, bowing to Madam Ning.
“Mother, what brings you here in person? You should have let your daughter-in-law come to Brocade Prosperity Hall to serve you.”
Madam Ning did not even glance at her. Leaning on Hong Rong’s hand, she strode directly into Phoenix Ripple Courtyard.
On the ground lay over a dozen bamboo paddles, a pile of finger-pressers, and a pool of fresh blood.
It looked less like the inner quarters of a noble mansion and more like a scene from the underworld’s slaughterhouse. Madam Ning’s face turned ashen.
Shen Shi offered Madam Ning a seat on the veranda’s armchair, but she ignored her with a cold expression.
“Have you recovered from your illness?”
“Thank you for your concern, Mother. I am feeling better today. Mother may not know, but the servants in Phoenix Ripple Courtyard have been unruly, and I was just about to discipline them. I didn’t expect you to come. If you plead for them, I will spare them the beatings.”
Shen Shi was flustered, her words coming out incoherently.
Her words sounded as if she were trying to manipulate her mother-in-law.
“The young mistress is the master of Phoenix Ripple Courtyard. I can only watch and dare not plead for anyone.”
Madam Ning sneered mockingly, and Shen Shi lowered her head, not daring to speak further.
When Shen Shi first married into Ningguo Mansion, the Ning family allowed her to manage the affairs of Phoenix Ripple Courtyard independently.
Although Madam Ning oversaw the household management, she never interfered or commented on matters within her daughter-in-law’s courtyard.
The steward’s office distributed monthly allowances on schedule, and she never meddled in the affairs of Phoenix Ripple Courtyard.
It was precisely because of this that Shen Shi was able to act like a tyrant in Phoenix Ripple Courtyard.
This was Madam Ning’s well-intentioned effort to nurture her daughter-in-law.
In such a vast ducal mansion, with a thousand or two relatives, masters, and servants, and countless estates, farmlands, and shops outside, even the most capable mistress of the inner quarters could not directly manage major household affairs.
Every legitimate eldest daughter-in-law of Ningguo Mansion started by managing her own small courtyard, gradually gaining experience through practice.
Madam Ning had done the same in her time, and she held the same hope for Shen Shi.
Shen Shi had been married for three years, coinciding with the mourning period of Ningguo Mansion, during which no major incidents occurred.
Although she was harsh and demanding, she had managed to avoid any major mistakes or achievements.
But in the month since Heir Ning returned to the mansion, with slightly more household and external affairs, Shen Shi’s shortcomings were immediately exposed.
Just in managing the servants, her actions could be described as utterly heartless.
Which prominent family in the capital would use bamboo paddles and finger-pressers to discipline maids within the inner quarters?
If this matter were to spread, the reputation of the women of Ningguo Mansion would be utterly ruined.
Madam Ning was so angry that her temples throbbed, wishing she could drive Shen Shi back to her natal family on the spot.
In front of her mother-in-law, Shen Shi blushed with embarrassment, blaming the gatekeeper matrons for not reporting Madam Ning’s arrival earlier.
Madam Ning’s timely arrival was thanks to Pear Moon’s caution.
After Miss Ning returned, she first went to her mother’s Brocade Prosperity Hall to report, as etiquette dictated.
Miaotong then sent two matrons to deliver food and rewards to Pear Moon.
When the two matrons arrived at the small kitchen, they found it eerily empty, as if deserted. They then made their way to the main courtyard of Phoenix Ripple.
By chance, they overheard Shen Shi summoning a slave trader to sell Chun Tang. Terrified, they dropped the items and rushed back to Brocade Prosperity Hall.
Without waiting for Miaotong’s questions, they immediately reported the matter to Steward Sun Cai’s wife.
Steward Sun Cai’s wife did not dare to make a decision on her own and had no choice but to enter the room to report to Madam Ning.
Madam Ning was chatting idly with her daughter, sighing that although the Qin family had few members, their inner household was harmonious.
Suddenly, she heard that her daughter-in-law actually wanted to sell maidservants. Furious, her brow furrowed tightly, and she smashed a teacup on the spot.
Miss Ning quickly tried to comfort her mother and offered to accompany Madam Ning.
Not wanting her daughter to be associated with Shen Shi, Madam Ning told Miss Ning to return to her room first. She then brought Steward Sun Cai’s wife along with maids and matrons to Phoenix Ripple Courtyard.
As they arrived at the entrance, they saw a bloodied person being carried out.
Chun Tang was barely breathing, and Shen Shi had even ordered the beating of Ningguo Mansion’s coarse maids.
Madam Ning hurriedly ordered the door to be broken down, barely saving the lives of Pear Moon and the others.
Shen Shi beating a maid to death in front of others was something that could not be concealed.
By tomorrow, Ningguo Mansion’s reputation for harshness and cruelty would spread throughout the capital.
Madam Ning only regretted that in her haste back then, she had married off her son to Shen Shi, this harbinger of misfortune.
Steward Sun Cai’s wife pulled Pear Moon and the others forward, asking Madam Ning to examine their injuries.
Their small hands, already rough, had been crushed by the finger press, looking like five little red radishes.
She was relatively lightly injured. Honest ones like Huan Huan not only had severe hand injuries but also had their buttocks beaten swollen.
They were not foolish; one or two cried breathlessly, hiding behind Madam Ning like timid cats huddled by the stove.
After examining several of them, Madam Ning’s face grew increasingly dark, her brow tightly knitted.
A matron picked up a finger press and had just presented it before her eyes when Steward Sun Cai’s wife scolded her.
“This filthy thing—instead of destroying it immediately, you bring it to dirty Madam’s eyes?”
The finger press was an official torture instrument, considered a vile object in the eyes of noble families, and should never appear in the inner household.
It was only because the Shen family had a harsh tradition, and Shen Shi’s maternal grandfather came from a judicial background, that she brought this with her when she married.
Even among the cruel families in the capital, if they had such things, they dared only use them in secret. Which family’s women would dare to employ this?
Shen Shi felt both shame and remorse, her face flushed with grievance as tears began to fall.
“Those coarse little maids spoke lightly and gossiped about me, so I taught them a lesson!”
Madam Ning now felt only disgust, thinking even one more word would dirty her tongue.
Steward Sun Cai’s wife said with an apologetic smile, “I wonder what they said to anger the young madam so? Who was the source of the gossip, who spread the words, who confessed—did the young madam investigate clearly? Since ancient times, even officials judging cases must examine witnesses and evidence, not allowing confessions extracted under torture!”
Shen Shi, considering herself a refined lady, could bear her mother-in-law’s scolding, but being questioned by a servant woman made her lose face. Biting her lip and shedding tears, she dared not utter a word.
Seeing her young mistress wronged, Granny He thought it was time to make herself useful and quickly stepped forward, flaunting her seniority.
“My young mistress came to your family, serving her parents-in-law above and caring for her husband below, never enjoying a single day of happiness. Yet some people spread rumors in secret, causing an uproar in the mansion. These coarse little maids, relying on being born into the household, collude with dowry maids inside and servants outside, specializing in stirring up trouble. Ultimately, it’s because Madam has been too lenient, allowing them to become so insolent…”
Before she could finish, Madam Ning’s expression instantly darkened, and she ordered Steward Sun Cai’s wife, “Where did this wild matron come from? Must I drive her out myself?”
Steward Sun Cai’s wife had been waiting for these words. She glanced left and right, signaling with her eyes.
Several matrons rushed forward, kicked away the walking stick, and bound Granny He tightly.
The old wretch still wanted to call for Shen Shi to save her, but someone immediately grabbed two handfuls of dirt and stuffed her mouth shut.
Steward Sun Cai’s wife then ordered, “In Phoenix Ripple Courtyard, Madam only recognizes Granny Zhao. Summon her here to report!”
Granny Zhao had been feigning illness for several days, holed up in the servants’ quarters without stepping out. Now she hurried over and knelt down, pretending ignorance.
“What does Madam Ning require of this old servant?”
Madam Ning sneered coldly. “Your young lady has been ill for so long, yet you never thought to report it back to the Shen family?”
Granny Zhao was at a loss for words.
Shen Shi shook her head. “The household affairs have been chaotic, and I didn’t wish to worry my mother!”
Madam Ning gave a scornful laugh and ordered someone to bring over a chest. She added the bamboo boards, finger-press torture tools, and the teeth knocked out from the maid Chun Tang, filling half the chest before sealing it.
She then commanded the servants, “Carry this chest out, hire a carriage from outside, load the injured Chun Tang and this Granny He into the carriage, and send them back to the Shen family!”
Turning back to Granny Zhao, she said, “Go back and tell Madam Shen that our Ning family cannot endure her daughter. Send a carriage early to fetch your young lady back!”