SGEIRS -Chapter 12 Punishing the Maidservants

The two maidservants shook their heads like rattles, repeatedly saying, “We didn’t mean it, really! We’ll never gossip about Madam again. Please calm your anger, Madam!”

Meng Jinyao’s expression turned cold as she said sternly, “No matter how I married the Marquis, I am now the mistress, and you are servants. Maidservants who gossip about their master and disregard hierarchy have no place in Weirui Pavilion.”

She turned to Qingqiu and Ningdong and said, “Qingqiu, Ningdong, each of you give them twenty slaps, then hand them over to the steward and send them off to the countryside estate.”

Qingqiu and Ningdong replied, “Yes, Madam.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the other three maidservants who had not joined in the gossip were stunned. These two were second-rank maids in the courtyard—yet Madam could dismiss them just like that? They suddenly felt extremely grateful that they had never liked gossiping, or they would have suffered as well.

The two guilty maidservants turned pale as paper. Their bodies trembled like sieves as they kowtowed and begged for mercy.

“Madam, we know we were wrong. It was all our loose tongues. We deserve punishment. Please spare us this once. We’ve served in the Marquis’s residence since childhood and have always worked diligently. Even if we have no merit, we’ve suffered plenty…”

Meng Jinyao ignored them completely and said coldly, “Qingqiu, Ningdong, what are you standing around for? Do it.”

Qingqiu and Ningdong raised their hands and brought them down mercilessly. Each slap landed squarely on the maidservants’ faces. They used just enough force to cause intense pain, making the two cry out.

“Ah… Madam, please spare us…”

Just as Gu Jingxi returned, he heard ghostly wails coming from inside the room. His brow twitched. She had asked for his opinion in the morning, and in the afternoon she was already taking action—quite efficient. Seeing the maidservants begging for mercy, he couldn’t help thinking that this delicate-looking young woman was surprisingly fierce. He only hoped no one would be beaten to death.

He strode inside and saw his newlywed wife calmly sipping tea, while her two personal maids were slapping the two kneeling maidservants. The other three stood nearby, pale with fright.

Gu Jingxi’s expression darkened slightly. He did not approve of beating servants. Even if they had done wrong, there were other ways to punish them. But he could not embarrass his wife in front of the servants, so he asked, “Madam, what happened here?”

Hearing his voice, the two guilty maidservants looked up as if they had seen a savior. They scrambled toward him and begged, “Marquis, please save us! Madam is too cruel. She wants to send us away. Please, for the sake of our years of service in Weirui Pavilion, save us…”

Gu Jingxi ignored them and asked Meng Jinyao again, “Madam, what did they do wrong?”

Meng Jinyao answered honestly, “They gossiped behind my back, saying, ‘She really thinks marrying in makes her a proper Marchioness? She doesn’t even think about how she married him. On her second day here, she already interfered in the Marquis’s courtyard.’ They also said I ‘lacked confidence but put on airs.’”

After speaking, she saw his brows knit together and continued, “Husband, I thought that once I married you, I became your rightful wife. I didn’t expect that I’m apparently not. Then who, in your heart, is your proper wife? If you’re dissatisfied with me, we can divorce, and I’ll step aside.”

Gu Jingxi frowned even more. He had not expected the usually well-behaved maidservants to dare speak so disrespectfully. He said, “Madam, don’t listen to their nonsense. Since you married me, you are my wife. I have only one wife, and that is you.”

He paused, then cast a cold glance at the two maidservants and asked, “How does Madam intend to deal with these insubordinate servants?”

Meng Jinyao replied, “They maliciously slandered their mistress and ignored proper hierarchy. Twenty slaps, then they’ll be sent to the estate. If Husband can’t bear to part with them, they may stay—but they must never appear before me again.”

Gu Jingxi asked again, “How many slaps have they received so far?”

Ningdong answered, “Replying to the Marquis, they’ve received ten so far.”

Gu Jingxi and Meng Jinyao were in agreement. He made the final decision: “Finish the remaining ten slaps. Then, according to Madam’s wishes, hand them over to the steward and send them to the estate. They are never to return to work in the residence.”