Chapter 381 - 380: Moving Out
Once everyone had gathered in the conference hall and the situation had been thoroughly investigated, the main culprits were dealt with accordingly. Mrs. Wu, the second in charge of the kitchen, was flogged with twenty strokes and sold, while Manager Jiang, the Foreign Affairs Room servant who had disrespected his master, was beaten with ten strokes and banished from the mansion. Manager Luo, from the kitchen, who was also partly responsible, was reassigned to a lesser role. Chen Afu had long disliked these individuals, who were all appointed by the Luos. They appeared more loyal to the Luos - their master’s in-laws - than to her, their mistress, let alone Alu, who was just a country relative.
As Mrs. Wu was being dragged away, she shouted, "I was assigned by your wife to serve you, sir! You can’t treat me like this... "
Chen Afu ordered, "Add twenty more strokes. How dare she instigate discord between mistress and master?"
They were all the trusted confidants of Deputy Manager Liu, who, despite his pale face, did not dare to plead mercy for them.
The two gossiping maids and two kitchen maids each received twenty severe beatings and were banished from the mansion forever. Sanquan and Lan Cao received ten beatings each too before being expelled. Lan Hua would continue serving the master’s uncle.
Alu pleaded for leniency for Sanquan and Lan Cao, so they were only banished without a beating.
The coachman from the incident had his half-year’s salary confiscated, but no other actions were taken. The point of the punishment was to deter others. The problem was also that Alu lacked the assertiveness to properly reward his servants.
In addition, because Chief Steward Yang and Deputy Manager Liu had failed in their management, three months of their salaries were deducted. Chen Afu heavily chastised Deputy Manager Liu, causing him to repeatedly kowtow and beg for mercy.