Chapter 9: The Unlucky Warm Mom

  Old Master Yao's eyes narrowed, pointing at the radiant and beautiful Yao Cunmei with a cold smile: "Negligent? How come you're not negligent towards your own daughter?! Do you think I'm an idiot?!"

  Ma's face stiffened and this time it really turned pale.

  She muttered her lips and couldn't say a word, her face suddenly turned bright red with embarrassment. She didn't understand why her husband suddenly got so angry.

  "Father..." Yao Cun Mei also felt a chill run down her spine, and she stood up uncomfortably. For the first time, she felt that wearing this luxurious dress made her feel so terrible.

  "Sir, you've misunderstood the mistress," said Jo Mama with a smile, taking a step forward and speaking carefully and solemnly: "Every season when new clothes are made for the household, the mistress has never left out the second miss. It must be that the housekeeper in charge of clothing provisions is playing tricks and embezzling money! The second miss rarely goes out or sees people, so those wicked servants must have taken advantage of this and had evil intentions, thinking the mistress wouldn't find out. They must have deducted from her allowance, wronging the second miss! And the second miss has a very good temper, even when she's been wronged, she doesn't tell the mistress, no wonder sir is angry!"

  With just a few light and clever words, Ma was completely cleared of blame, and more than half the responsibility was shifted onto Yao Cunhui's shoulders.

  Madam Ma suddenly came back to her senses, her eyes reddened, and she looked at Old Master Yao with a hint of grievance, softly sighing: "Aunt Qiao, don't say anymore! To sum it up, it's all my fault. If I had taken better care of Hui'er, things wouldn't have ended up like this! I'm incompetent in managing the household, please punish me, sir!"

  Ma said, stepping forward and making a gesture of kneeling down to Old Master Yao.

  Mr. Yao subconsciously reached out to support her, his face also eased a bit, and frowned: "Sit down and talk!"

  Mr. Yao just wanted Madam Ma's attitude, now that Madam Ma has admitted her mistake, he doesn't bother to hold on to it anymore. After all, Madam Ma's father is the Minister of Revenue, and this family still needs her to manage it. Hurting her dignity as the mistress of the house would not do him any good either.

  Mr. Yao couldn't help but glance at Yaocun Hui, thinking that Old Mother Qiao's words also made sense. This daughter had always been weak and never spoke out, even to him as her father, she would avoid him if possible, cold and distant. She herself endured grievances without speaking out, who would revolve around her every day?

  However, although she didn't say it, she was being disobedient and deceitful to her master, which was also something he couldn't tolerate!

  "Thank you, sir!" Mrs. Ma felt pleased with herself, stood up in response, and then sat back down again.

  "Father," Yao Lao Ye was about to speak, but unexpectedly Yao Cun Hui spoke up in a soft and gentle voice: "Auntie Qiao is right, Mother has never neglected me, it's just that the servants are too arrogant. Mother is busy managing the household, I'm already ashamed that I can't do much to help, how could I dare to cause more trouble for her? Enduring a bit of hardship is nothing! Besides, these clothes aren't bad either! Please don't blame Mother, Father, or else I'll feel even more uneasy in my heart!"

  Ma and Qiao's mother exchanged a glance, both of them were shocked in their hearts, raised an eyebrow in surprise, was Yao Cunhui the kind of person who would say such things? If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn't have dared to believe it!

  "Alas!" Old Master Qiao couldn't help but sigh, looking at his cautious daughter with a hint of heartache. Without her mother's care, it was indeed different. He had always thought she was a dull girl, but thinking carefully, what qualifications did she have to be as free and easy-going as Mei'er?

  "Hui'er is indeed sensible! Alright, I won't blame your mother anymore. However, you're also too cautious! You're the second miss of the Yao family, a mistress, how can you let a servant bully you? If this gets out, what will it look like!" Mr. Yao scolded his daughter, then turned to his wife in a cold tone: "Which servant is in charge of purchasing clothes and fabrics? Summon them here, I want to see for myself. When did our household have such an audacious and reckless servant?"

  Ma's face turned pale, her body stiffened for a moment, and she responded in a low voice "Yes", then nodded to Qiao's mother: "Go invite Wen's mother."

  "Yes, ma'am." Jo's mom hastily replied and turned to leave.

  She and Wen Mama are both the left and right arms of the Ma family, and they have been openly and secretly fighting for many years, alternating between being in power and out of favor. In the past year or two, Qiao Mama has slightly surpassed Wen Mama, becoming an indispensable confidant who serves the Ma family closely. However, Wen Mama has actually gained more benefits, managing procurement and storage, which is a huge profit!

  She didn't dare to look up, her head hung low as she followed Jo's mother in. When she met Old Master Yao's icy gaze, her legs turned weak and she "thudded" to the ground, trembling all over.

  Before that, Qiao's mother had already told her the whole story in simple terms. Wen's mother was shocked, angry, fearful and hateful! She thought to herself that there must be some credit to Qiao's mother for this outcome! However, apart from swallowing her pride and admitting defeat, she had no other choice.

  If she doesn't stand up for Ma this time and take all the blame, how can Ma let her off? As for reusing her, it's not even worth thinking about!

  "Are you deceiving your superiors and subordinates, stuffing your own pockets, you dog slave?" Old Master Yao asked coldly.

  "Spare my life, spare my life! I'll never dare again!" Madam Wen was so indignant that she wanted to vomit blood, but she took all the blame on herself.

  "Shameless hussy! You're absolutely lawless!" Old Master Yao snorted coldly.

  "Old master, why get angry over a useless servant, it's not worth damaging your body! " Madam Ma's heart skipped a beat, feeling that the word "cheap woman" was particularly piercing to her ears, as if she were the one being scolded.

  Mr. Yao glared at Mrs. Wen, his face dark and cold, saying: "Is this kind of person worthy of being in charge? From now on, you're fired! Take him away and give him ten lashes, deduct half a year's salary! And since he embezzled the silver for the second miss's new clothes, spit it all out and use it to buy her new clothes! If I find out next time that this happens again, don't blame me for not showing mercy!"

  Mrs. Wen felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, her whole body was icy cold, and her light and airy eyes gazed at Madam Ma, who glared back at her before quickly looking away again, unable to speak for a moment!

  "Dad, it's hard to investigate past events, and one more thing is not as good as one less thing. In my opinion, let Warm Mom make up for the two years of clothes for her daughter, I don't know what you think, Dad?" Yao Cun Hui said softly, seemingly to excuse Warm Mom, but actually a gentle stab.

  According to Miss Yao's specifications, making a year's worth of seasonal clothes is a large sum of money!

  "Let it be, Hui'er!" Old Master Yao nodded and glared at Warm Mama with disgust, shouting: "What are you still doing here? Get out of my sight!"

  "Yes, yes, sir!" Mother Wen secretly lamented that this silver was not something she had embezzled. She had essentially given it away for nothing!

  "Madam, you should be more careful in the future. If you're really busy, let your younger brother and sister help out. A woman's heart can't be too narrow, after all, they are still your younger siblings, no matter what! Look at the kind of people you're using, doing such shameless things, making a laughing stock of yourself! Who knows if there are more like this in the household, when you have time, sort them out and punish those who deserve it!" Mr. Yao scolded harshly.

  In front of Yao Cunhui and Yao Cunmei, Ma's face turned bright red, and she replied in a low voice with shame and embarrassment, her heart resentful to the point of wanting to slap Yao Cunhui twice: If it weren't for her, where would all these troubles come from!

  "Alright, you all go back and rest now, don't stay up too late! I'll go take a look at Zan!" As he mentioned his son, Mr. Yao's gaze softened by two degrees, but deep in his eyes, he couldn't hide his deep worries.

  His son's illness has always been a thorn in his heart. Every time he is out making a living, as soon as he thinks of his sick son, his enthusiasm will be reduced by half!

  No son to inherit, what's the use of creating a family business worth ten thousand pieces? Unfortunately, I only have this one rootless sprout under my knees!

  "Yes, I'll see you off, Master!" Madam Ma's palms tightened, her face turned slightly pale under the dim lamp light, and she gritted her teeth heavily.

  "Dad, Hui'er also wants to take a look at her little brother." Yao Cun's heart tightened, and he looked pleadingly at Old Master Yao.

  Ma's wife disliked Yao Cunhui and her sister coming into contact with him, using the excuse that their son was unwell and needed to rest. Yesterday, Yao Cunhui wanted to go see her younger brother, but thinking of Ma's behavior, she endured it again. Now following Old Man Yao together, even if Ma's wife is unhappy, she probably won't do anything about it.

  Mr. Yao glanced at his daughter, who was staring at him with big, shining eyes full of expectation. Her plain face looked pitifully innocent, and Mr. Yao's heart softened. He nodded: "Alright, let's go together!"

  The father and daughter arrived at the Mingfeng Pavilion, where Yao Shizan had just taken his medicine. Li Xiang and Qing Xiang were attending to him as he reclined on a soft couch, using a sweet white ceramic tea cup to rinse his mouth with tea water.

  Yao Shizan was the darling of Old Master Yao, and no matter how busy he was with business, he would not forget to come and visit every one or two days. When he went out on a long trip to discuss business, as soon as he returned home, he would first come to Mingfeng Hall. Therefore, Madam Ma did not dare to neglect Yao Shizan. All the furniture and decorations in Mingfeng Hall were the best, and Yao Shizan had never been at a disadvantage in terms of food, clothing, and expenses.

  Unfortunately, since his biological mother passed away when he was six years old, his body has been getting worse day by day. The doctor said it was due to excessive grief, and also because of the lingering illness from falling into the water in the twelfth lunar month, which can only be slowly nursed back to health.

  "Dad!" Yao Shizan raised his eyes and saw his father, struggling to get up, a faint pale face with two strands of smile.

  "Good boy, lie down quietly!" Mr. Yao's heart tightened, and he hurriedly sat down on the edge of the bed, holding his son's shoulders with both hands, smelling the medicinal smell in the room, his eyes dimmed, and he sighed softly: "Have you taken your medicine? How do you feel? What did you have for dinner?"

  "Li Xiang has finished taking her medicine, has Father had dinner yet?"

  Yao Shizan replied to Old Man Yao's words, his eyes fell on Yao Cunhui, and he hesitated for a moment before saying: "Second sister?"

  Yao Cun Hui smiled and stepped forward, softly saying: "Zan Er!" Yao Cun Hui's nose suddenly felt sour, and her eyes unknowingly welled up with a layer of mist, everything in front of her becoming disjointed and fragmented. Although she was not the real Yao Cun Hui, for some reason, when she saw Yao Shi Zan, she couldn't control the urge to cry.

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