Chapter 17: Bias

The sound of the wooden board hitting flesh was relentless, echoing from outside the courtyard.

The Second Madam sat there, her hands clenched tightly beneath her cloud sleeves.

But her expression remained unchanged, even tinged with a hint of amusement. “Second Miss, I truly misjudged Nanny Jiang. I never thought she would do such a thing. It’s a shame you had to suffer such humiliation.”

Shen Tang replied, “It’s just that with Nanny Jiang gone, I’m short a managing maid in my courtyard…”

Seeing Shen Tang look at the matriarch, the Second Madam thought she was going to ask for another managing maid. She immediately cut her off, “You just asked the matriarch for Qiu Tong. Don’t try to take any more people from the matriarch’s courtyard. Mother Liu from my courtyard is quite capable. I’ll have her go to your Qingyi Garden to serve you.”

She was truly relentless in her attempts to place someone by Shen Tang’s side.

Would Shen Tang allow the Second Madam to succeed?

Shen Tang said, “Second Madam is busy with managing the household, and all the people around you are capable. You can’t spare them. You wouldn’t let me ask Grandmother for someone, so I wouldn’t dare to add to your workload.”

Then, turning to the matriarch, Shen Tang said, “I remember that Nanny Jiang took care of me after Nanny Zhou left. Back then, Nanny Zhou made a mistake, and Grandmother sent her to an estate. It’s been ten years now. I wonder if she’s still alive. I want to bring Nanny Zhou back…”

Nanny Zhou was a companion of Jiang Shi and had been responsible for taking care of Shen Tang before Jiang Shi’s death.

However, when Shen Tang was five years old, Shen Juan wanted a nine-linked chain, and Shen Tang refused to give it to her. They were tugging at each other in the garden, and Nanny Zhou was supporting Shen Tang, neglecting to support Shen Juan. Shen Juan snatched the chain and sat down on the ground, twisting her arm. The matriarch was heartbroken, and the wet nurse who served Shen Juan, fearing responsibility, accused Nanny Zhou of pushing Shen Tang away, intentionally causing Shen Juan to fall.

Jiang Shi had always been indifferent and even hostile towards Shen Juan. Nanny Zhou was Jiang Shi’s companion, so naturally, she didn’t care about Shen Juan as much as she cared for Shen Tang. The Second Madam believed that such a person staying by Shen Tang’s side would eventually instigate discord between Shen Tang and Shen Juan.

The matriarch had always felt sorry for Shen Juan and was dissatisfied with Nanny Zhou’s favoritism towards Shen Tang. In the past, she had turned a blind eye to it, but now, with Shen Juan injured as a result, how could the matriarch tolerate it?

The matriarch had punished Nanny Zhou by striking her and ordering that she be sold off. The matchmaker had even been called to the manor, but coincidentally, Shen Sui returned. Shen Sui had been deeply in love with Jiang Shi, and Nanny Zhou was the most trusted person by Jiang Shi’s side. Moreover, she had taken good care of Shen Tang, so Shen Sui didn’t allow her to be sold and instead sent her to Jiang Shi’s dowry estate.

Ten years had passed, and Shen Tang didn’t know if Nanny Zhou was alive or dead. She felt guilty for not being able to protect the people her mother had left behind.

The Second Madam looked at Shen Tang. She had already believed Nanny Jiang’s words: Shen Tang had deliberately used the gold hairpin to frame her. But even if she knew, it was useless. If Nanny Jiang hadn’t been greedy, no matter how big a pit Shen Tang dug, she couldn’t bury her.

The Second Madam said, “Nanny Zhou was sent out of the manor for her mistake. How can she be brought back?”

Shen Tang wasn’t afraid of the Second Madam’s objection, because the objection meant that Nanny Zhou was still alive. If Nanny Zhou had died, the Second Madam wouldn’t have bothered to argue with her.

Shen Tang felt relieved but also a little angry. “Although Eldest Sister and I are both born to Mother, Nanny Zhou was only responsible for taking care of me. She should have prioritized me. When Eldest Sister fell and injured herself, the wet nurse who took care of her was also present. When Eldest Sister and I were pulling each other, why could Nanny Zhou support me, but Eldest Sister’s wet nurse couldn’t support Eldest Sister?”

“Since Eldest Sister’s wet nurse saw Nanny Zhou push me away, why didn’t she protect Eldest Sister? Why did she just stand there watching?”

“Eldest Sister’s wet nurse didn’t receive any punishment, but Nanny Zhou was sent to an estate for ten years. Isn’t that punishment enough?”

These questions bombarded the Second Madam, leaving her speechless.

The matriarch also realized something. At the time, Shen Juan had injured her arm and was crying and making a fuss. The matriarch was angry, so she hadn’t thought about it carefully. Now, hearing Shen Tang’s questions, she realized that Eldest Sister’s wet nurse was greatly at fault. Since she had seen Nanny Zhou push Shen Tang away, why didn’t she take precautions? If the wet nurse had taken good care of her, how could Shen Juan have fallen?

Blaming Nanny Zhou for favoring Shen Tang was indeed biased.

Shen Tang said with red eyes, “This time, Mother came to me in my dream, preventing me from having a rift with Eldest Sister. For the first time, I truly felt Mother’s love for me. When Mother passed away, I was only two years old. Father was busy, and I rarely went to the Jiang Family. All the memories I have of Mother were told to me by Nanny Zhou.”

“Nanny Zhou wasn’t sent out of the manor because she didn’t take good care of me. I shouldn’t have ignored her for ten years. I wanted to find an opportunity to plead for her and bring her back to the manor. Even if she didn’t work, I just wanted to hear her talk about Mother’s life in the manor and her maiden days. I didn’t expect that before I could speak, Nanny Jiang would commit a crime and be driven out…”

“I’m currently in need of a managing maid. I believe Mother’s arrangement is for the best. Please, Grandmother, allow me to bring Nanny Zhou back.”

Shen Tang knelt down, and the matriarch didn’t expect Shen Tang to kneel and beg her for a servant. She hurriedly said, “Get up, I agree.”

“Thank you, Grandmother.”

Shen Tang choked back a sob as she stood up, her eyes glistening with tears, making her look pitiable.

Shen Tang sat back down, stayed for a while longer, and then rose to leave. She returned to Qingyi Garden with Yin Xing and Qiu Tong.

On the way back, Yin Xing kept covering her face. She had often been scolded by Nanny Jiang before, but this was the first time she had been slapped. The slap had left a bloody taste in her mouth. But thinking about Nanny Jiang receiving forty strikes and being sold off, unable to bully them in Qingyi Garden anymore, she felt that the slap had been worth it.

The little maids in Qingyi Garden had long suffered under Nanny Jiang’s oppression. They had to pay a portion of their monthly wages to Nanny Jiang, and they were assigned lighter tasks, while those who were clumsy with their hands had to do more work. Knowing that Nanny Jiang wouldn’t be returning, the maids in the courtyard were overjoyed. However, some were unhappy, like Bi Liu. She had spent a lot of money to get Nanny Jiang’s help in getting promoted to senior maid. Now that Nanny Jiang had been sold, her money had been wasted.

Back in the room, Shen Tang applied ointment to Yin Xing’s injury. Yin Xing said, “Miss, this ointment is precious. My skin is tough, and it will heal quickly even without it.”

Shen Tang chided her, “Medicine is for people to use. If I keep it, do you want me to get beaten?”

Yin Xing, “…”

That wasn’t what she meant. She just felt that she, a mere maid, didn’t deserve such a good ointment.

But she didn’t dare to say anything against it. She would rather have the medicine go bad than have the young lady get hurt again.

Shen Tang applied the ointment to Yin Xing’s injury. She knew that Nanny Jiang would resist and wouldn’t easily admit her guilt, but she hadn’t expected Nanny Jiang to hit Yin Xing, causing her to suffer so much. Shen Tang was determined to compensate her. She had a pair of gold bracelets, and she would give one to Yin Xing and one to Qiu Tong.

Yin Xing didn’t expect Shen Tang to give her a gold bracelet, and Qiu Tong was even more surprised.

Shen Tang said to Qiu Tong, “I know you’re reluctant to leave Grandmother. Don’t worry, you’ll be well-taken care of if you follow me.”

“I also hope that you and Yin Xing can become close like sisters.”

Qiu Tong knelt down and said, “Since I’ve followed the young lady, you are my master. I will be loyal to you.”

She was a little reluctant to leave the matriarch, but she also knew that it wouldn’t be easy to become a senior maid in Songhe Hall. If there was a vacancy, it wouldn’t be easy for her to get it. By going to the Second Miss, she would immediately become a senior maid.

The Second Miss had specifically asked the matriarch for her, so she wouldn’t be neglected. But she hadn’t expected that the Second Miss would directly give her a gold bracelet, just like the one she gave Yin Xing, who had followed her for several years.