Inheriting the Spirit of Marquis Gu’s Manor (Part One)
Yu Fu walked toward the chef with a smile that did not look like a smile.
“Did you know that the manor does not always receive polished rice, and part of what is received belongs to me. His Majesty said that anything that the princesses residing in the palace should have, I too must have.”
The chef’s expression froze. Turning to look at the golden tag on the basket, he could not tell if this was Yu Fu’s portion or the reward for Marquis Gu’s Manor.
Yu Fu knew that he could not tell.
“Even if the manor’s affairs are none of my business, once you have touched my rice, is it still none of my business?”
The chefs with less courage standing to the side felt their knees become weak, and they were about to drop to their knees to beg for forgiveness, but they were stopped by the chef standing at the front.
All of these chefs had been brought in from the outside. It was likely that they were already a group before they came to the manor, thus they had the courage to steal rice after coming to the manor.
“You worthless shit!”
The lead chef gave him a look, as his expression quickly changed, sitting on the ground and wiping away tears.
“Young miss, show some mercy. I have old folks and children to take care of at home. In any case, I have cooked in the manor for over a year. You can’t bully me, a lowly chef, like this! Marquis Gu’s Manor has always shown compassion for the old and poor. You can’t just take advantage of when the master is out to bully the servants!”
He was clearly the one who had stolen the rice, but he turned it around to say that Yu Fu was bullying him and used Marquis Gu’s Manor’s reputation to pressure her.
He thought that by using Marquis Gu’s Manor’s reputation, he would be able to leave Yu Fu unable to do anything. This was the first time that Yu Fu had ever seen such shamelessness. She did not get annoyed. She just found it strange.
“Marquis Gu’s Manor has always shown compassion for the old and poor, and the servants of the manor have worked here for multiple generations. That is why they show such loyalty to Marquis Gu’s Manor. For example, Steward Qi, father and son have served in the manor and are shown respect by everyone in the manor. Then, for example, Qi Ting…”
The chef sitting on the ground froze. Who was Qi Ting?
He had never heard of her.
An old servant reminded him: “Qi Ting was Steward Qi’s daughter. Previously, she was the head servant in the young miss’ room. After that, she made mistakes and died.”
Died?
The chef shuddered in fear, believing that it was Yu Fu who had killed Qi Ting. His eyes were suddenly filled with dread.
Yu Fu said: “In Marquis Gu’s Manor, the servants who have served for a long time are shown more face than the younger masters. Have you ever seen us treat the members of Steward Qi’s family unfairly? But this isn’t an excuse that you can use to pressure your masters. When have you ever seen Steward Qi dare to try and pressure us? People must have humility, or they will be humiliated!”
Her words intelligently protected the reputation of Marquis Gu’s Manor and refuted what these chefs were saying. This thoroughly convinced everyone.
“Young miss, please spare us!”
These chefs who were acting domineering just a moment earlier all dropped to their knees and begged for forgiveness. They no longer dared to act stubborn.
“Young miss, we did indeed steal that polished rice, but we still haven’t had a chance to sell it before we were caught by the two young sirs! We will bring it back immediately and beg young miss for mercy!”
If other families were granted imperial rewards, they would carefully hide them in the warehouse and cover them with red cloth, but Marquis Gu’s Manor received all manners of imperial rewards, thus things like polished rice from the imperial farms were placed directly in the kitchen.
They thought that with the masters of the manor gone, they could take advantage of this time to steal some to sell on the outside without anyone noticing. Even if it was discovered, nothing could happen to them. They never thought that Yu Fu would be so fearsome.
Gu Yi pointed at them and said: “Hmph, you’re lucky that you still haven’t sold it. Did you know that once you sold it, it would become a problem for the Imperial Censorate? Once that happened, no amount of begging would save you!”
The chefs kowtowed repeatedly and begged endlessly.
Gu Xiang moved over to Yu Fu’s side and whispered: “Little Yu Fu, how do you plan on dealing with them?”
She would deal with them?
Yu Fu thought for a moment, “First, take them to the firewood storage shed and lock them up. We can wait until fourth brother returns to deal with them. Presently, it’s fourth brother who is managing the manor’s affairs. When it comes to dealing with servants, we must follow past examples, so we can’t just deal with them so carelessly.”
“No need.”
The sound of footsteps suddenly came from behind, as Gu WenQing led Qi An and Qi Zhou over with a radiant smile.
“Fourth brother? Why have you come back so soon?”
Gu WenQing said: “The hamlet’s stewards kept very clear records, so the day-long trip was concluded in half a day.”
With him returning, three had a pillar of support, “Fourth brother, this is perfect timing. You come and deal with these chefs who have stolen rice! I’ll tell you, they…”
Gu WenQing waved his hand and interrupted Gu Yi, “There’s no need to say anything. We already heard everything from back there.”
Qi An and Qi Zhou looked at Yu Fu, the looks in their eyes were different from before.
It seemed to be even more respectful than before.
Gu WenQing swept a glance at the chefs, “I have an impression of these people. They’re chefs that father ordered Steward Qi to find when you just arrived at the manor. Father said that we martial artists are not very particular about our food, but you, as a girl, are different. We must provide you with food that is appetizing and delicious.”
It turned out that she was the root cause of this.
Yu Fu said: “I was thinking that the servants of the manor have always followed the rules, but these sly people do not seem to have been servants for a long time. It turns out that they were brought into the manor for my sake. It turns out to be my fault.”
Gu WenQing said: “Father was doting on you. If I dealt with them, it’s inevitable that father will blame me when he returns. Since they’re people who were brought in for your sake, it would be better if you dealt with them!”
The chefs listened to their conversation and started kowtowing in fear upon hearing what was said.
“Young miss, have mercy! Young miss, have mercy!”
They would rather fall into the hands of the gentle Gu WenQing than fall into the hands of this Princess ZhenJiang!
Yu Fu glanced at Steward Qi then let out a sigh, “Very well, then punish them by having them return as much of the rice as possible. Then return them to where they came from. They may bring back their own things and the things awarded to them by their masters. Each person will also be given 20 taels of silver as severance. This shall show that Marquis Gu’s Manor did not mistreat them.”
The chefs raised their heads in confusion. They could not understand. Why were servants who had stolen from their masters being given severance when being chased out?
This was Marquis Gu’s Manor being the embodiment of kindness. Through Yu Fu’s words and actions, she had inherited the spirit of Marquis Gu’s Manor.
A glimmer of relief flashed through Steward Qi’s murky gaze.
Inheriting the Spirit of Marquis Gu’s Manor (Part One)
Yu Fu walked toward the chef with a smile that did not look like a smile.
“Did you know that the manor does not always receive polished rice, and part of what is received belongs to me. His Majesty said that anything that the princesses residing in the palace should have, I too must have.”
The chef’s expression froze. Turning to look at the golden tag on the basket, he could not tell if this was Yu Fu’s portion or the reward for Marquis Gu’s Manor.
Yu Fu knew that he could not tell.
“Even if the manor’s affairs are none of my business, once you have touched my rice, is it still none of my business?”
The chefs with less courage standing to the side felt their knees become weak, and they were about to drop to their knees to beg for forgiveness, but they were stopped by the chef standing at the front.
All of these chefs had been brought in from the outside. It was likely that they were already a group before they came to the manor, thus they had the courage to steal rice after coming to the manor.
“You worthless shit!”
The lead chef gave him a look, as his expression quickly changed, sitting on the ground and wiping away tears.
“Young miss, show some mercy. I have old folks and children to take care of at home. In any case, I have cooked in the manor for over a year. You can’t bully me, a lowly chef, like this! Marquis Gu’s Manor has always shown compassion for the old and poor. You can’t just take advantage of when the master is out to bully the servants!”
He was clearly the one who had stolen the rice, but he turned it around to say that Yu Fu was bullying him and used Marquis Gu’s Manor’s reputation to pressure her.
He thought that by using Marquis Gu’s Manor’s reputation, he would be able to leave Yu Fu unable to do anything. This was the first time that Yu Fu had ever seen such shamelessness. She did not get annoyed. She just found it strange.
“Marquis Gu’s Manor has always shown compassion for the old and poor, and the servants of the manor have worked here for multiple generations. That is why they show such loyalty to Marquis Gu’s Manor. For example, Steward Qi, father and son have served in the manor and are shown respect by everyone in the manor. Then, for example, Qi Ting…”
The chef sitting on the ground froze. Who was Qi Ting?
He had never heard of her.
An old servant reminded him: “Qi Ting was Steward Qi’s daughter. Previously, she was the head servant in the young miss’ room. After that, she made mistakes and died.”
Died?
The chef shuddered in fear, believing that it was Yu Fu who had killed Qi Ting. His eyes were suddenly filled with dread.
Yu Fu said: “In Marquis Gu’s Manor, the servants who have served for a long time are shown more face than the younger masters. Have you ever seen us treat the members of Steward Qi’s family unfairly? But this isn’t an excuse that you can use to pressure your masters. When have you ever seen Steward Qi dare to try and pressure us? People must have humility, or they will be humiliated!”
Her words intelligently protected the reputation of Marquis Gu’s Manor and refuted what these chefs were saying. This thoroughly convinced everyone.
“Young miss, please spare us!”
These chefs who were acting domineering just a moment earlier all dropped to their knees and begged for forgiveness. They no longer dared to act stubborn.
“Young miss, we did indeed steal that polished rice, but we still haven’t had a chance to sell it before we were caught by the two young sirs! We will bring it back immediately and beg young miss for mercy!”
If other families were granted imperial rewards, they would carefully hide them in the warehouse and cover them with red cloth, but Marquis Gu’s Manor received all manners of imperial rewards, thus things like polished rice from the imperial farms were placed directly in the kitchen.
They thought that with the masters of the manor gone, they could take advantage of this time to steal some to sell on the outside without anyone noticing. Even if it was discovered, nothing could happen to them. They never thought that Yu Fu would be so fearsome.
Gu Yi pointed at them and said: “Hmph, you’re lucky that you still haven’t sold it. Did you know that once you sold it, it would become a problem for the Imperial Censorate? Once that happened, no amount of begging would save you!”
The chefs kowtowed repeatedly and begged endlessly.
Gu Xiang moved over to Yu Fu’s side and whispered: “Little Yu Fu, how do you plan on dealing with them?”
She would deal with them?
Yu Fu thought for a moment, “First, take them to the firewood storage shed and lock them up. We can wait until fourth brother returns to deal with them. Presently, it’s fourth brother who is managing the manor’s affairs. When it comes to dealing with servants, we must follow past examples, so we can’t just deal with them so carelessly.”
“No need.”
The sound of footsteps suddenly came from behind, as Gu WenQing led Qi An and Qi Zhou over with a radiant smile.
“Fourth brother? Why have you come back so soon?”
Gu WenQing said: “The hamlet’s stewards kept very clear records, so the day-long trip was concluded in half a day.”
With him returning, three had a pillar of support, “Fourth brother, this is perfect timing. You come and deal with these chefs who have stolen rice! I’ll tell you, they…”
Gu WenQing waved his hand and interrupted Gu Yi, “There’s no need to say anything. We already heard everything from back there.”
Qi An and Qi Zhou looked at Yu Fu, the looks in their eyes were different from before.
It seemed to be even more respectful than before.
Gu WenQing swept a glance at the chefs, “I have an impression of these people. They’re chefs that father ordered Steward Qi to find when you just arrived at the manor. Father said that we martial artists are not very particular about our food, but you, as a girl, are different. We must provide you with food that is appetizing and delicious.”
It turned out that she was the root cause of this.
Yu Fu said: “I was thinking that the servants of the manor have always followed the rules, but these sly people do not seem to have been servants for a long time. It turns out that they were brought into the manor for my sake. It turns out to be my fault.”
Gu WenQing said: “Father was doting on you. If I dealt with them, it’s inevitable that father will blame me when he returns. Since they’re people who were brought in for your sake, it would be better if you dealt with them!”
The chefs listened to their conversation and started kowtowing in fear upon hearing what was said.
“Young miss, have mercy! Young miss, have mercy!”
They would rather fall into the hands of the gentle Gu WenQing than fall into the hands of this Princess ZhenJiang!
Yu Fu glanced at Steward Qi then let out a sigh, “Very well, then punish them by having them return as much of the rice as possible. Then return them to where they came from. They may bring back their own things and the things awarded to them by their masters. Each person will also be given 20 taels of silver as severance. This shall show that Marquis Gu’s Manor did not mistreat them.”
The chefs raised their heads in confusion. They could not understand. Why were servants who had stolen from their masters being given severance when being chased out?
This was Marquis Gu’s Manor being the embodiment of kindness. Through Yu Fu’s words and actions, she had inherited the spirit of Marquis Gu’s Manor.
A glimmer of relief flashed through Steward Qi’s murky gaze.
