Chapter 16
First look at Rui Wang and Rui Wang Fei. He Yuan and Qin Bai Lu will be frequently appearing from now on.
per dan[5], eggs are two wen each, normal satin is five taels per bolt … …" As the people that came in recited the prices of good, the kneeling stewards' faces grew pale and the only reason they didn't collapse was that they were holding their breath."Look at how this has exhausted these stewards," Qu Qing Ju held a newly changed tea cup and said calmly, "Somebody come, bestow these stewards each a big bow of iced pickled plum soup."
The season was already winter. Each bowl of pickled plum soup had more ice than water. After the stewards drank it down, their teeth started to chatter. The rebellious steward of before looked at Qu Qing Ju and said stutteringly: "Wang fei has such schemes, wang ye should really look at your might."
This was telling her, if she was harsh, she would be disliked by wang ye?!
Qu Qing Ju didn't get angry but smiled instead. She blew on the tea in the cup and slowly announced: "This person disrespected ben wang fei, beat twenty times and then send the person to the Department of Household Affairs. Just say that he hasn't learned etiquette well-enough, that Duan Wang Fei can't retain such a servant." Since he said her schemes were good, how could she disappoint him?
When she finished, there were people who dragged this steward down. The remaining few instantly became respectful, only begging wang fei to not sent them back to the Department of Household Affairs. Servants that had been sent out from Household Affairs that were sent back, even if they didn't die in strange circumstances, their fates would be worse than death. They would rather get beaten than go back to that place.
Seeing the stewards quiet in fear, Qu Qing Ju set down the teacup: "Do you know your mistake?"
The stewards heard the tone of wang fei's voice and it seemed that this matter could still be negotiated so they instantly started to kowtow and admit their wrongs.
Qu Qing Ju said out of the corner of her mouth: "Since you are sincere and you know your wrongs, I have a soft heart, so you are only sentence to ten strokes, and half a year's salary, the position … … just vice steward, and these people are now the main stewards. Any opinions?" She pointed at the people who had copied the prices.
The stewards didn't think that they wouldn't be sent back to Household Affairs and could keep a position of vice steward. All were brimming with gratitude and said that wang fei was benevolent and would work hard for the wang fu etc etc.
"In the future, you should all do good work. Who really did work, who slacked off, I will know. If people will do this again in the future, I won't take your life, just compliantly go back to Household Affairs." Qu Qing Ju sighed and held Mu Jin's hand as she stood, "Go back to work if you have work, punishment if you have punishment, you can all leave."
Standing at the doorway, Qian Chang Xin and Ming He looked at the people that came out. Each looked as though they were lucky. They sighed again, wang fei had good schemes.
[1]皇弟:imperial younger brother
[2]二皇兄、二皇嫂: second imperial brother, sister-in-law
[3] 为兄: wei(为) means as or is, xiong(兄) is older brother so weixiong is this older brother or I, your brother
[4] 文: denomination of money. 1000 wen is one tael of silver
[5] 石: one dan is 103.55 liters, it is a volume measurement