All Hail Cousin Brother

112 Oh No, I’ve Hit Someone

On the surface of a red silk shoe, a gem had been polished into a bead that was smaller than a green bean. It was sewn into the shape of a lotus pattern on the shoe. There was also a large pearl on the top of the shoe. The pearl was the size of a peanut and had a glossy color. He wondered if it was an eastern pearl or a southern pearl?

Zhou Yongchang couldn’t help but gasp. Eldest Miss’s shoes were the harvest of a year and a half.

Unexpectedly, Yu Youyao did not ask about the matter which was the most crucial. Instead, she took the initiative to say, “The weather is cold this year. I’m afraid it won’t be easy to manage the crops in the village. The subsequent harvests will probably be affected as well. If the crops aren’t good, the farmers won’t have a good life either. How about this? The rent for this season will be reduced by 50 copper coins per mu.”

Zhou Yongchang was stunned. He had thought that Eldest Miss was going to ask about the crops that had not grown well this year. He had already found an excuse to fool her. However, he had never expected that she would ask about it without even asking. Instead, she wanted to reduce the rent of the farmers?

In Zhouzhuang, each household rented at least five acres of land. Every acre cost 50 copper coins, which was 250 copper coins. This was enough for an ordinary family of five to eat for two to three months. If the harvest was indeed not good, this would be life-saving money. Eldest Miss’s actions were indeed very benevolent.

Zhou Yongchang was filled with excitement and was about to thank Eldest Miss.

Xia Tao ran in with her hands covering her face. She knelt on the ground with a thud and cried until her eyes were red. “Young Miss, you have to help me!”

Yu Youyao frowned. “You’re my maidservant. If you have anything to say, stand up and speak slowly. I’ll make the decision for you.”

Zhou Yongchang couldn’t help but glance at Xia Tao. This maidservant was wearing silk and jewelry. She was no different from the eldest maidservant, Dong Mei, who was standing beside Eldest Miss. He couldn’t help but wonder who in the residence was so bold to dare to bully someone who looked good in front of Eldest Miss.

As the saying went, if you don’t look at the monk’s face, look at the Buddha’s face. Even if you hit a dog, look at its owner!

To put it simply, he was blind.

To put it simply, it was a slap to Eldest Miss’s face. He was someone who did not take Eldest Miss seriously.

Upon hearing her young miss’s words, Xia Tao wiped her tears. “It’s, it’s the few men who came with Steward Zhou. Young Miss understands their difficulties and instructed me to bring them to the Ting Lan Residence to rest. I’ve ordered someone to prepare some food and wine for them, so I asked them about the matters in the village.”

Zhou Yongchang’s body trembled, and his expression changed drastically. This stupid person was actually one of his own?

Today was Eldest Miss’s first day of managing the household, and it was time to establish her authority. Yet, Zhou Yongtian had already scolded his maidservant. Wasn’t this a slap to Eldest Miss’s face?

He opened his mouth and was about to say something to defend himself when he saw Eldest Miss’s expression darken. The teacup that she had been holding in her hand was placed on the table. The bottom of the cup clinked against the table with a soft sound.

Zhou Yongchang felt a lump in his throat. He swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth and kept quiet out of fear.

Seeing that Xia Tao had stopped talking, Yu Youyao said coldly, “Continue!”

As Xia Tao cried, she said, “Who knew that Zhou Yongtian would scold me and call me a b*tch, saying that I was a slut who had sold myself. He even clenched his fists and wanted to rush up and hit me. Fortunately, I ran away quickly, or else…” After explaining what had happened clearly, Xia Tao cried aggrievedly. “Young Mistress, you have to take responsibility for me.”

“Eldest Miss…” Upon hearing this, cold sweat broke out on Zhou Yongchang’s forehead. Da Tian was a bold and cautious person. He was the most useful person around him.

Could it be that Xia Tao had asked something that had something to do with him and had angered Da Tian?

Before he could finish speaking, he heard another commotion outside. Everyone in the courtyard looked out.

An old servant scrambled into the courtyard. When she saw Eldest Miss, she fell to her knees and said in a panic, “Eldest Miss, bad news, someone’s being hit…”

Dong Mei was shocked and quickly asked, “What do you mean? Tell me!”

The old woman seemed to be frightened. She trembled for a long time before calming down. “The four men who entered the residence with Steward Zhou beat Old Madam Zhang up for some reason…”

When Zhou Yongchang heard this, his eyes darkened.

They had just scolded Eldest Miss’s maidservant, and now they were causing trouble in the residence. Not only were they slapping Eldest Miss’s face, but they were also ignoring the dignity and face of the Yu Residence?

Yu Youyao’s face darkened. She glanced at Zhou Yongchang and stood up from her chair. “Let’s go and take a look.”

Zhou Yongchang felt like dying when he saw this.

The group made their way to Ting Lan Court.

From afar, they could hear the sound of an old woman crying. When they got closer, they saw Old Madam Zhang sitting on the ground with her hair disheveled, hugging her feet and crying. Her face was scraped and bleeding, looking a little scary.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yongtian and the other three were pressed to the ground by the guards stationed in the outer courtyard, still struggling desperately.

Upon seeing Yu Youyao, Old Madam Zhang hurriedly stood up and limped over to greet her. However, she had only taken two steps when she fell to the ground with a thud. She crawled over to Yu Youyao and cried out for justice—

“Eldest Miss, I’m a maidservant from the outer courtyard’s Tinglan Courtyard. Just now, Miss Xia Tao had brought a few men into the residence with Steward Zhou of the Little Zhouzhuang and asked me to take care of them. Who knew that after eating a table of food and wine, those men were about to go out to look for Steward Zhou. I didn’t let them go out and said that they couldn’t walk around the residence lest they offended Master. Who knew that they would actually attack me? I’ve lived for most of my life, but I’ve really never seen anyone so barbaric as to bully the main family…”

After hearing what had happened, Yu Youyao looked at the four men. “Let them go first.”

The guards released Zhou Yongtian and the others.

Zhou Yongtian and the others collapsed to the ground, looking dazed.

Although they had often followed Steward Zhou into the Yu Residence and had seen some of the world, they were still farmers after all. Seeing how grand the Yu Residence was and hearing that the two old masters of the Yu Residence were both high-ranking officials in the Imperial Court, they were also terrified. They had never seen such a scene before.

Zhou Yongtian went to the toilet. When he heard the old maids’ words, he returned to the side courtyard and discussed with his companions about finding Manager Zhou.

Old Madam Zhang stopped them. When they first entered the residence, this old woman had been polite to them, but now, she was looking down on them and was very arrogant. She even scolded them for being useless.

Zhou Yongtian thought that something had really happened to Steward Zhou, which was why this old woman was so arrogant. He panicked.

They had come here together with Steward Zhou. Now that something had happened to him, they were afraid that they wouldn’t be able to escape. Hence, they were anxious. Seeing that Old Madam Zhang had come up to pull them back, how could they just stand there and let her pull them back? Before they could do anything, they heard Old Madam Zhang let out a scream and fall to the ground, injuring her foot…