inspire-indiana Chapter 25 was provoked
Chapter 25 was provoked
Wei Dongning rarely displays such assertiveness.
Therefore, seeing that she insisted, Xiao Fu still did as she was told and went to the kitchen to ask Aunt Zhou to make another batch of pancakes for Wei Dongning.
Aunt Zhou was a slightly plump woman with a pair of dimples on her cheeks when she smiled.
Every time Xiao Fu saw her, he felt the same way he did when he saw his mother.
Talking to her is always more relaxed than talking to others.
When Xiao Fu pushed open the kitchen door, Aunt Zhou was putting the stir-fried dishes onto plates.
Aunt Zhou thought she had come to urge her to finish cooking, so she wiped her hands and handed her a piece of osmanthus cake with a smile: "Young mistress, are you hungry? Please wait a moment, it will be ready soon."
"Aunt Zhou, my young lady wants to eat pancakes and fried eggs."
"Ah, it's nothing, wait a minute, I'll pack up the last dish and then make it for the young mistress."
On the other side, Aunt Sun, who was in charge of the cold dishes, immediately became unhappy. She poked her head out from behind the counter, rolled her eyes, and said, "Why didn't the young mistress say so earlier or later? We've already prepared everything, and now she doesn't want to eat it anymore. What, are you deliberately picking on old women like us?"
“Oh! Aunt Sun, what do you mean by that? The young mistress is the master of the house, and we are just here to work. Naturally, we will do whatever the young mistress tells us to do.”
Aunt Zhou also furrowed her brows.
However, because of his overly kind appearance, he lacked any intimidating power.
Xiao Fu, upon hearing someone speak ill of Wei Dongning, instantly flew into a rage. Pointing her finger at Granny Sun's nose, she began to berate her: "Granny Sun, we usually give you preferential treatment because you're an elder of the Gu family. But don't push your luck! Master Gu has already said that this household is now entirely in charge of our young lady. How dare you think you can ride roughshod over our young lady just because you're a little older?"
After hearing Xiao Fu's accusations, Aunt Sun slapped her thigh and started to throw a tantrum: "How dare you talk to your elders like that, you little brat? We're all servants, how are you any better than me? Just because you're a maid brought by the young mistress doesn't mean you think you're superior to us, do you?"
In the kitchen, Xiao Fu and Aunt Sun were locked in a tense standoff, neither willing to back down.
As the situation escalated and a fight was about to break out, Aunt Zhou and Bao Xing each grabbed one of them and pulled them to either side.
He even offered words of comfort: "Don't be angry, don't be angry."
They were terrified that their tiny kitchen would be smashed to pieces at any moment.
Wei Dongning waited and waited in the room, but Xiao Fu never came back with the cakes she had been longing for.
After thinking for a moment, she decided to go to the kitchen herself to see what was holding her back.
To her surprise, as she stood at the kitchen doorway, she heard a voice from inside: "So what if the young mistress is in charge now? Am I not allowed to complain a bit? Oh my, people from your Marquis's mansion are indeed very strict with their rules!"
Wei Dongning felt a surge of fire rush to the top of her head.
She can tolerate being insulted.
Insulting the Marquis's Mansion?
This is intolerable! This uncle can tolerate it, but she can't!
Wei Dongning straightened her clothes at the kitchen doorway and pushed open the door, which wasn't closed properly to begin with.
“The rules of my Marquis’s mansion are naturally a bit strict.”
The sudden sound startled everyone in the kitchen, and they all turned to look in the direction of the sound.
After recognizing Wei Dongning, everyone stood respectfully in a row.
Xiao Fu, being very perceptive, moved a chair over and stood next to Wei Dongning.
Wei Dongning sat in the chair without saying a word.
Calmly looking down, she picked at the non-existent dead skin on her hands, occasionally raising her hands to admire her slender fingers.
After a while, he raised his head and said gently to Aunt Zhou, who seemed a little lost, "Could you please make me a pancake first, Aunt Zhou? I'm hungry."
"Yes, young mistress."
Aunt Zhou breathed a sigh of relief and walked to the place where the rice and flour were kept with her head down.
He kept glancing at their situation out of the corner of his eye.
"Young..." Unable to contain herself any longer, Aunt Sun tried to speak up and defend herself.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, Wei Dongning interrupted him: "Xiao Fu, go and inform all the servants in the courtyard to gather at Panyue Pavilion in a quarter of an hour."
"Yes, ma'am."
Xiao Fu accepted the order and left, not forgetting to glare at Granny Sun.
Wei Dongning was almost amused by her childish behavior, and she tried her best to maintain her cold expression.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Aunt Zhou respectfully presented a steaming hot cake to Wei Dongning, saying, "Young Madam."
"Thank you."
Wei Dongning took the still-steaming pancake, blew on it gently twice, took a bite, and showed a slightly satisfied expression.
Although it had nothing to do with the scallion pancakes she wanted, it still tasted pretty good.
When Xiao Fu returned, Wei Dongning had just finished eating the pancake.
She gracefully wiped her mouth, stood up, and said, "Let's go."
The servants of the Gu family gathered in Panyue Pavilion, chattering amongst themselves, all asking each other what was going on. They all knew the reason why the young mistress wanted to gather everyone together.
But no matter how many times they asked, no one got a definite answer.
When Wei Dongning arrived, everyone's eyes were on her: "Young Madam."
"Is everyone here?" Wei Dongning sat down and took a sip of the tea that Xiao Fu had poured for her. "You must all be wondering why I suddenly called everyone here, right?"
Everyone looked at each other, then nodded.
Wei Dongning smiled slightly and began to address the issue directly: "Aunt Sun, it seems you have many complaints about me as the young mistress. Then I would like to ask you for advice on how I should act as the young mistress."
"That's not what I meant."
Grandma Sun looked embarrassed, showing no trace of the sharp tongue she had displayed when confronting Xiao Fu earlier.
"So you have a problem with my Marquis's mansion? You think I'm too vulgar, the daughter of a military family, and unworthy to be your master?"
"Young Madam, this...this old servant really didn't..."
"If you have no problem with me or my manor, then why did you say things like 'So what if the young mistress is in charge' and 'The rules of the manor are so strict' to my maid just now? Is it because I'm young and you think I'm easy to bully?"
Grandma Sun waved her hands rapidly: "No, no, I..."
"I just asked Aunt Zhou to make me a pancake, why are you scolding my maid?"
At this point, the others realized what was going on and began to criticize Granny Sun.
“Aunt Sun, the young mistress is a very good mistress, you really shouldn’t speak like that.”
"Yes, yes, Aunt Sun, how could you say that?"
“We’re just here to work. We’ll do whatever the employers tell us to do. A pancake isn’t that hard to make.”
“Miss Xiao Fu is a kind-hearted girl, she certainly wouldn’t have started the trouble first.”
Grandma Sun was scolded and speechless, her face turning red and then pale.
As the murmurs subsided, Wei Dongning spoke up at the opportune moment: "Xiao Fu, go find a matchmaker. My Gu family can no longer tolerate such a big shot as Granny Sun."
"Young Madam!" Granny Sun knelt down excitedly, "I've worked for the Gu family for over ten years. Even if I haven't made any great contributions, I've certainly put in a lot of hard work."