Chapter 25: The Cleansing

“Brother Sui’an, I was on duty just now, and I didn’t see Steward Hou go to Huguai Garden.”

Hu Jiangjiu scratched his scalp, seemingly guilty and confused about the theft at Huguai Garden.

The Soldiers of the An Squad residing in Diying Garden had long since noticed the commotion in the front compound.

However, since the Princess did not call them to assist this time, the Soldiers, who were already unskilled in the private conflicts within the residence, were naturally happy to enjoy the peace.

But the opportunity to watch the excitement could not be missed.

Ding Suian, Wang Xigui, Hu Jiangjiu, and others sat atop a ten-foot-tall Taihu Stone, watching Lin Hansu manage the household from afar.

Ding Suian smiled without speaking. Wang Xigui naturally saw the clue and comforted him, saying, “Don’t worry, no one will punish you for dereliction of duty.”

“But I really didn’t see him,” Hu Jiangjiu mumbled innocently again.

Understanding that Lin Hansu was using this excuse to eliminate Steward Hou was one thing, but Wang Xigui still didn’t understand her reason for doing so. Just as Lin Hansu had said, to punish a house slave, there was no need to go to such great lengths and make it so complicated.

Even if she had beaten Steward Hou to death without cause, it would not violate the Laws of Great Wu.

“Boss, when the Princess was in trouble, Steward Hou was the most gleeful! Even if the Princess had beaten this old villain to death directly, others wouldn’t have said anything. Why go to all this trouble?” Unable to figure it out, Wang Xigui asked Ding Suian.

“It’s for the sake of ‘righteousness and morality.’ If the Princess had killed Steward Hou directly, she would inevitably be criticized for purging the old staff while the Prince of Lanyang’s bones were not yet cold. Now that Steward Hou is caught stealing, with both human and physical evidence, the Princess holds the moral high ground. Even if the two Young Masters of the Du Family find out later, they won’t be able to say anything.”

“So that’s it.” Wang Xigui sighed, “None of the women from noble families are simple. Madam Wu seems benevolent, and the Princess seems frail, but when they start killing, they are fiercer than the last. We are all straightforward soldiers; we must be careful when dealing with them.”

As if hinting at something, Ding Suian smiled and remained silent.

In the courtyard ahead, Steward Hou had his mouth stuffed with rags and his hands and feet bound, while The Second Steward, Wang Jiu, had already prepared the beating rods with two servants.

It looked like Steward Hou would be beaten to death on the spot, needing only a command from Lin Hansu.

However, Lin Hansu was clearly not only targeting Steward Hou today. She was seen turning her head and saying something to Granny Zhang, who then took more than ten strong maids back to the rear compound.

Before long, the maids and elderly servants from Mianze Pavilion, who still didn’t know what had happened, were driven to the front compound.

Ding Suian and the others sat high up, giving them a clear view of the situation inside the manor.

Just when he thought Lin Hansu was going to use Steward Hou’s death to intimidate Madam Wu’s former staff, he saw Granny Xu taking several maids to the six-courtyard rear wing.

This was where the servant women lived.

Without needing to think, Granny Xu would definitely be able to search their residences and find things that shouldn’t belong to them.

Perhaps some servant women really had stolen things, or perhaps Granny Xu was directly framing them. In any case, after today, the Du Family’s influence in the Prince’s Manor would be completely uprooted.

*Puff~ Puff~*

The dull thud of the beating rods striking the back was incessant. To show loyalty to the Princess, Wang Jiu, who personally carried out the execution, worked exceptionally hard, using all his strength with every swing, even while covered in sweat.

The servant women from Mianze Pavilion, who were called to witness the execution, trembled endlessly. Someone led the way in kneeling down, and soon a whole area was kneeling.

Only Granny Liu, Madam Wu’s most trusted confidante, remained standing with her head lowered.

Steward Hou, who was lying prostrate on the ground, had gone from struggling and whimpering half an hour ago to being a broken sack with no reaction. Blood continuously seeped out from his brocade clothes, staining the blue bricks paved on the Prince’s Manor floor, which were carved with cloud patterns.

He seemed somewhat dead.

Lin Hansu seemed to find the smell of blood unpleasant, sitting in her chair and pinching a handkerchief to cover her mouth and nose.

“Your Highness, he has no Qi left~”

The breathless Wang Jiu bent down to check in front of Steward Hou’s nose, his face full of fawning smiles as if seeking credit.

Lin Hansu waved her handkerchief. Wang Jiu understood and immediately ordered people to drag Steward Hou’s corpse away.

The courtyard became quiet for a brief moment. Lin Hansu’s Phoenix eyes narrowed slightly as she scanned Granny Liu and the others one by one.

Yi Huan, standing by, had been secretly observing the Princess. Even though the Princess had just beaten a living person to death, Yi Huan still believed the Princess was a good person.

It was just that the Princess’s expression was a little frightening right now.

“Yi Huan~”

“Yi Huan!”

“Ah, Your Highness, Yi Huan is here.”

“Last month, Granny Liu was the one who hit you, right?”

“Uh…” Yi Huan secretly glanced at Granny Liu and responded with a sound like a mosquito’s buzz, “Mm~”

“Go, hit her back.”

“Ah,” Yi Huan twisted her hands in front of her abdomen, secretly looked at Granny Liu again, and stammered, “Your Highness~ Yi Huan doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Lin Hansu glared with her Phoenix eyes, angrily scolding her for not fighting back, “You were hit and you dare not strike back? You’ve hoarded all the cowardice in the Prince’s Manor! Granny Zhang, you do it!”

Hearing the command, Granny Zhang didn’t hesitate in the slightest, stepping forward two paces, raising her arm, and delivering a slap right to the head.

*Pa~*

A sharp sound.

Granny Liu subconsciously raised her head and glared angrily at Granny Zhang, but immediately realizing that the situation was overwhelming, she lowered her head again.

*Pa~*

Another slap came.

Granny Zhang was like a machine precisely executing orders; if Lin Hansu didn’t call stop, she could become a perpetual motion machine.

At first, Granny Liu could stand still, but after a short while, she saw stars and couldn’t stand steadily, swaying left and right with every slap Granny Zhang delivered.

Blood spurted from her mouth and nose.

“Stop now.” Lin Hansu slowly took a sip of tea. “Granny Liu, if you can tell this Princess what I want to hear, I might spare your life.”

Granny Liu was Madam Wu’s most trusted person, and Lin Hansu was certain that she knew many things the Princess had yet to grasp.

“Pah~”

Granny Liu spat out a mouthful of bloody foam, her eyes full of hatred. “If the Princess wants to kill me, then kill me. There’s no need for unnecessary fuss.”

Having likely seen Steward Hou’s fate, Granny Liu knew she had no chance of survival and simply decided to throw caution to the wind, saying, “The Old Ancestor spent a lifetime judging people, yet she misjudged the Princess. We thought the Princess was gentle and virtuous, but who knew that after enduring for six years and gaining power, the Princess would regard the manor’s old staff as mere weeds, humiliating and killing them at will.”

“The ‘virtue’ you speak of, is it for this Princess to obediently follow the Prince into death?” Lin Hansu wasn’t angry; instead, she gazed at Granny Liu with a smile. “I originally planned to kill you, but now I’ve changed my mind. Since Granny Liu values virtue so much, I will wait until I receive my mother’s corpse, and then bury you alive in my mother’s underground palace. Don’t worry, you will have all the necessary rites: golden thread sewing your mouth, jade stones plugging your orifices, nothing will be missing. This will complete your loyalty.”

…

A look of terror first appeared on Granny Liu’s bruised and swollen face.

Being beaten to death was only temporary pain, but being buried alive as a sacrifice meant enduring several days in a sunless underground palace, accompanying a corpse as it slowly rotted.

The mere thought of it made people feel as if they had fallen into an ice cave.

As expected, however others treated Lin Hansu, she would return the favor in exactly the same way.

Even her revenge was so ritualistic.

Granny Liu, with a sudden surge of determination, turned and tried to smash herself against a corridor pillar to commit suicide, but was grabbed by the already prepared Granny Zhang.

“Bind her, throw her into the woodshed, and ensure she is provided with three meals a day. Don’t let her die.”

Lin Hansu finished giving her calm instructions, and her gaze once again swept over the rest of the people from Mianze Pavilion, seemingly contemplating how to deal with the remainder.

The servant women of Mianze Pavilion were already Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering from fright, kneeling on the ground and trembling, even softening their breathing for fear that a loud breath would draw the Princess’s attention.

Granny Xu knew that Lin Hansu had suffered many grievances over the years, but she was also worried that the Princess might impulsively kill all of Madam Wu’s old staff.

After all, she had only recently gained control of the Prince’s Manor, and doing so would attract criticism.

But Granny Xu also knew Lin Hansu’s stubbornness—she wouldn’t easily change her mind once she decided on something. Just as she was in a difficult spot, her peripheral vision caught the figures watching the excitement on the Taihu Stone fifty or sixty paces away. She quickly leaned closer and whispered, “Your Highness, let’s stop here.”

Lin Hansu turned her head to look, seeming displeased.

Granny Xu whispered, “Look, Squad Leader Ding is watching over there. What if he thinks Your Highness is being too…”

The underlying words like ‘ruthless’ and’severe’ were left unsaid.

The subtext was, “Don’t scare that Young Master, lest he dare not get close to you in the future.”

Lin Hansu, having been reminded, glanced into the distance, pondered for a moment, and actually changed her mind. “Alright, let’s do this: all the servant women from Mianze Pavilion and the houseboys and servants from the front compound shall be sold off.”