Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 424: The Girl Delivering Food and the Lame Man_1

Chapter 424: Chapter 424: The Girl Delivering Food and the Lame Man_1

"Husband, Madam..."

The two maids quivered as they called out, their voices trembling endlessly.

Watching the two scared girls kneel on the ground, there was a lack of emotion in Nanzhi’s eyes.

"What are your names?"

As Nanzhi spoke, the two girls trembled. One of them quickly responded, "Madam, this servant is Qing Lian."

The other one, seeing that her companion had responded, braved herself and said, "Madam, this servant is Cheng Yue."

"What do you do here?"

"Madam, we work in the kitchen, usually assisting the cook with chores."

Unable to sense any anger in Nanzhi’s voice, Qing Lian picked up some courage, lowering her head as she replied.

Nanzhi glanced at them without saying a word, just nodded her head and entered the kitchen.

Ma Po, having nothing to say, followed Nanzhi into the kitchen after glancing at the two kneeling figures.

The former city master was a hedonist and always sought the best in food and drinks. Like his liking for exquisite things, even the size of the kitchen in his residence was larger than the average dwelling of an ordinary person.

However, Shen Wenchen didn’t bother about such things. As there were fewer than twenty servants in the Residence, the entire kitchen was left unused.

The cook belonged to the Zhao family and was one of the few people left from before. Most of the servants here referred to her as Aunt Zhao because of this relationship.

Aunt Zhao was only thirty-six years old. With two sons and the privilege of good food in the Residence, and with an innate preference for taking good care of herself, she had put on quite a bit of fat.

At this moment, she was cooking with a disgruntled look. Spotting some shadows moving at the door out of her peripheral vision, she began to complain, "You two lazy girls, always skiving off. Now that Madam has requested a meal, you have the audacity to slack off. You’re really pushing it.

You are not afraid that if the Madam finds out your little schemes, she’ll throw you into the prison to suffer, just like what happened to that Qian Er."

As Aunt Zhao complained, her work didn’t pause for a moment and her fat jiggled with each movement she made. She was so engrossed in her work that beads of sweat had formed on her forehead.

Noticing the figures at the door weren’t moving, Aunt Zhao frowned, about to turn and scold them. However, upon seeing who it was, she was taken aback.

The spatula clanged onto the bluestone floor, causing Qing Lian and Cheng Yue, who were outside the door, to tremble. The cold weather only added to the cold sweat forming on their backs.

"Husband, Madam!"

Aunt Zhao’s earlier domineering attitude suddenly extinguished. Ignoring any pain she might feel, she fell to her knees with a thud.

Her plump body hitting the ground produced a dull sound.

"Madam, it’s my fault, my fault. I thought it was Qing Lian and Cheng Yue, those two lazy girls. I didn’t know it was you, Madam, I’ve wronged you...

Aunt Zhao, seething in pain from her knees, her plump face turned as white as a sheet.

She was afraid of being thrown into the prison by Nanzhi.

"So, it was you who said that I was abusing my power and bullying others?"

Nanzhi watched her, her eyes cool, but there was no clear sign of anger.

"It, it’s a misunderstanding. All a misunderstanding.

I was just repeating the rumors I heard from others. It was not intentional. Please, Madam, be merciful. Spare me the punishment."

For Aunt Zhao, facing Nanzhi was like facing a beast, her head bursting into cold sweat from the terror.

The dull sound of her repeatedly knocking her head against the floor was very chilling.

"Enough. Stop knocking your head."

Nanzhi watched her, displeased with discomfort.

"Aunt Zhao, from what I recall, you are one of the older servants left here."

"Yes, yes."

Upon hearing Nanzhi’s words, Aunt Zhao quickly lifted her head.

Her plump forehead was streaming with blood. The bright red blood trickling down her forehead made her look terrifying.

"Do you know what the punishment for discussing someone behind their back is?"

Nanzhi slightly turned away, unwilling to look at her bleeding forehead.

Only one glance was needed to make her feel nauseous.

"Yes, it is thirty rod beatings followed by three days of no food or water..."

This punishment was not set by Shen Wenchen or Nanzhi, but was one of many rules set by the previous city master.

However, because Shen Wenchen rarely managed the household affairs, many things from the past were still kept the same.

Moreover, since their marriage, Shen Wenchen became increasingly busy, and Nanzhi became immersed in running the three-flavor dwelling, causing the internal matters of the Residence to be delayed.

Remembering how those people looked when they were punished back then, Aunt Zhao almost wetted her pants in fear. Now, she could only regret talking behind others’ backs.

Why the hell was she joining in the gossip?

Even talking about Ergou from next door fooling around with a widow was better than saying bad things about the masters behind their backs!

"I’m asking you, from whom did you hear those words?"

Nanzhi could see Aunt Zhao was scared and based on her being allowed to stay, she likely wasn’t a malicious person. At most, she was a little gossipy and liked to pass on what she heard.

If that was the case, then the only explanation was that someone was deliberately spreading those words.

Like during the time when rumors were flying throughout the city about Shen Wenchen and Su Tao, also saying that he was a grim reaper, a killer.

Rumors don’t come from nowhere.

They will always be beneficial to somebody.

Like how they tried to undermine Shen Wenchen’s reputation among the people to destabilize his position by branding him a grim reaper. Or how rumors were spread about Shen Wenchen’s good relationship with Su Tao so some businessmen could profit.

With my husband’s esteemed reputation, plus my pregnancy, it’s impossible to control what the public says about me since I haven’t been out for so long.

But if those who speak and listen to the rumors increase in number, who could foresee the result?

"I, I heard it from the peddler who delivers vegetables every day."

The mixture of sweat and blood was blurring Aunt Zhao’s vision. She wanted to wipe it but was afraid of offending Nanzhi.

Nanzhi didn’t inquire further, just took a handkerchief and lightly covered her nose.

Overwhelmed by the smell of blood and body odor, she felt a bit sick.

Ma Po, who was standing nearby, saw Nanzhi’s discomfort and stepped half a pace towards Aunt Zhao.

"When did you hear it? What does that person look like? How did he tell you? Besides you, who else did he tell?"

"A, a young girl told me." Aunt Zhao hastily replied.

"Usually, the Mao Family’s boy delivers vegetables to us, but something happened in their family a few days ago, and a different family took over the job. The one who delivered the vegetables was a young girl. At first, she came by herself. But in the last two days, she brought a man with her because the deliveries became larger. The man was thin and had a limp. During the few times they came here, the man didn’t help his wife but always came to chat with me. I thought he was looking for work in the Residence, so I chatted with him a little. Then, then he told me those gossips.

As I’m in charge of the kitchen, they only stayed here for around half an hour, they should, should have only talked to me."

Feeling regretful, Aunt Zhao bemoaned how she could listen and repeat words from an outsider.

Now, she was in deep trouble and risking her life.

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