Delicate Beauty Steals the Spring [Transmigration into a Book] - Chapter 12

Yu Luo didn’t have Miss Yu’s memories, so she wasn’t sure about the identities of the old servant women following her.

However, judging from the way Ziming, Bitong, and the others spoke, Yu Luo had already guessed about seventy to eighty percent of it.

The head of the servant women was Fang Nanny. She had been Madam Yu’s maid when she got married and now managed the household servants effectively a stewardess in charge of the inner residence.

Fang Nanny had watched Miss Yu grow up. Although she had disapproved of Miss Yu’s temper, Miss Yu was still one of their own. Liu Yanran, on the other hand, was an outsider. So naturally, Fang Nanny was more inclined to side with Miss Yu.

Today’s situation made Fang Nanny feel like Miss Yu had matured a lot at least she wasn’t acting out like before, raising chaos and screaming all over the place.

The group quickly made their way to the kitchen. Before they even entered, they could already hear voices inside Aunt Zheng and the others gossiping.

“…What’s the big deal about the young miss? The cousin miss looks more like a proper noble lady. Our young miss is always waving a whip around, beating people.”

“You’re right. Last time, she beat a guard so badly he was covered in wounds. He almost died!”

“She’s worse than a shrew!”

Yu Luo: “…”

To be fair, everything they were saying was true.

But weren’t these women servants of the Yu family? They had sold themselves into the household, got food, clothing, and shelter from the family  and yet here they were, bad-mouthing their own young lady behind her back and siding with an outsider. Even a white-eyed wolf wasn’t this shameless.

Before Yu Luo could say anything, Fang Nanny had already stormed in, furious:
“I’ll tear your foul mouths off! You worthless old hags  not doing your jobs properly, and gossiping about your masters behind their backs!”

Aunt Zheng and the others jumped up in fright, almost knocking over a basket of freshly shelled soybeans.

They quickly put on fake smiles:
“It’s because the young miss upset us this morning, we”

Before they could finish, they saw Yu Luo walking in through the door, flanked by a few maids.

Aunt Zheng’s face went pale.

Ziming held onto Yu Luo’s arm:
“Be careful, young miss. This greasy place like the kitchen might stain your clothes.”

Yu Luo swept her gaze across the room, eyes calm and amused:
“And when did I upset you, exactly?”

The kitchen staff knew Fang Nanny was Madam Yu’s person.

No matter what happened, even if the young masters married and brought their own wives home, Madam Yu would remain the highest ranking woman in the residence. Everything important or trivial in the household had to go through her hands.

Now that Yu Luo had come with Fang Nanny Madam Yu’s trusted aide it was clear that Madam Yu was backing up her daughter.

Aunt Zheng quickly begged for mercy:
“Young miss, we were blind and offended you. You can punish us however you want.”

Fang Nanny looked at them with disgust.

At first, she’d thought Yu Luo might have done something wrong too. But after coming here, she saw these vulgar women’s true faces gossiping behind their master’s back, spewing such nasty words.

Yu Luo turned to Fang Nanny:
“Nanny, how do you think we should deal with them?”

Fang Nanny hadn’t expected Yu Luo to show her this kind of respect by asking her opinion.

She thought for a moment:
“Strictly speaking, they should be thrown out. But… they’ve been here for years. Even if they’ve done no great service, they’ve put in their time. Driving them out might make us look heartless. Besides, their family members work in the kitchen procurement if they’re gone, who will do the work?”

A glint of smugness flashed through Aunt Zheng’s eyes.

She knew it would come to this.

She’d worked in the kitchen for years. Her whole family was tied to it it wasn’t like they could throw all of them out. So what if Yu Luo embarrassed her today? Tomorrow, Yu Luo would still have to eat the food her family cooked.

Yu Luo smiled slightly, her eyes gleaming with mischief:
“Nanny, I want to whisper something to you.”

Yu Luo was truly beautiful. When she smiled like that, even someone like Fang Nanny, who had lived for decades, couldn’t help but be taken in.

Fang Nanny thought to herself how her young miss was truly stunning that smile was enough to soften any heart. She leaned in:
“Whatever the young miss wants to say, just say it.”

Yu Luo whispered:
“We’ve had a falling out with them today. Tomorrow, they’ll still be making our food. I can manage my courtyard has its own kitchen. But aren’t you afraid of retaliation? What if they put something untraceable in the food?”

Just the suggestion made Fang Nanny’s hair stand on end.

She said seriously:
“What does the young miss want to do?”

Yu Luo looked at the women in the room, her beautiful eyes sweeping over them one by one:
“Kick them all out. Their family members working in the kitchen too. This estate is huge are we saying we can’t find anyone else to work? There are plenty of people lining up for this kind of job.”

Working in the kitchen was a highly lucrative position.

If a few women and their relatives lost those posts, there would be no shortage of people scrambling to take over.

Fang Nanny nodded:
“The young miss is absolutely right. I’ll report this to Madam right away. These gossiping dogs will be thrown out.”

Now Aunt Zheng and the others really panicked, cold sweat running down their backs.

If their whole family was expelled from the Yu household kitchen, how would they make a living? Procurement and kitchen work were all rich with kickbacks and extra income once lost, they’d never find anything better in this lifetime.

With a face full of tears, Aunt Zheng rushed over to try and cling to Yu Luo’s leg, begging for mercy.

Ziming pushed her away:
“Get back! Don’t touch our young miss. Her clothes are spotless you think someone like you can soil them?”

Having spent years living under her stepmother, Yu Luo had dealt with her share of women like Aunt Zheng.

She didn’t believe in repaying evil with kindness.

In her experience, if you let a snake that’s bitten you go once, it’ll come back to bite you again.

Yu Luo smiled:
“Bring me my whip.”

At key moments, she had to stay in character. All the smart things she’d done today might raise suspicion so it was important to bring out a weapon that matched her “crazy young miss” persona.

Bitong quickly pulled a red whip from her sleeve and handed it over.

Yu Luo didn’t really know how to use it, but she swung it once and smacked Aunt Zheng with it.

“It’s too late to beg now.” Yu Luo returned the whip to Bitong.
“Keep your mouth shut in the future. If I see you again and hear anything, I’ll whip you every time.”

Just then, from the corner of her eye, she saw a figure both familiar and foreign.

Yu Luo: “…”

Why is Xiao-ge here again?!

Was this man a ghost or something? How could he appear out of nowhere all the time?

He saw me whipping someone… does he remember how the original Miss Yu used to whip him too? Will this make him hate me even more?