Huangfu Yue also noticed her sisters-in-law, as well as Feng Maoyuan and his men, wanting sandwiches and milk. She calculated that the freshly baked sandwiches from the supermarket were just enough to give each of them one, and decided to grant their wish.
"Grandmother, sisters-in-law, you should also try the sandwiches and milk," Huangfu Yue said, instructing the supermarket to first send a sandwich and a box of milk to Madam Zheng.
Madam Zheng was surprised that her granddaughter would give her a sandwich and milk. After a moment of mild astonishment, she accepted the sandwich and milk and smiled, "My Yue'er is truly filial. Grandmother thanks you, my good granddaughter."
While she wasn't as eager for the sandwiches and milk as her daughters-in-law, it was her first time seeing a sandwich, and she couldn't help but be a little curious. Now that her granddaughter was offering her one, there was no reason to refuse; she had to taste it.
Huangfu Yue stood up and walked towards her sisters-in-law. She first gave a sandwich and milk to her eldest sister-in-law, then to her second sister-in-law, and after that to her third sister-in-law. Finally, she went to her fourth sister-in-law, who was still resting in a chair, and gave her a sandwich and milk.
Zhu Jiayi, Xu Yuqing, Zhong Liangshu, and Yang Wanqian were naturally very happy and thanked Huangfu Yue repeatedly.
Huangfu Yue then had the supermarket send out seven sandwiches and seven boxes of milk to Feng Maoyuan and his subordinates, distributing them one by one into their hands...
"Master Feng, you should also try the sandwiches and milk. See if you like them," Huangfu Yue said with a friendly smile.
Not only Feng Maoyuan and his men were extremely surprised, but everyone in the Prince Dai's mansion was astonished. They were all shocked that Huangfu Yue would give sandwiches and milk to Feng Maoyuan and his men, and couldn't understand why she would do so.
However, Madam Zheng quickly understood and cast an appreciative glance at her granddaughter.
"Master Feng, are you afraid to eat them? You don't think I'd poison the sandwiches and milk, do you?" Huangfu Yue chuckled as she saw Feng Maoyuan and his men staring at her with confusion, completely still.
Feng Maoyuan and his men snapped back to reality and hurriedly shook their heads.
How could they dare to nod? Besides, if Huangfu Yue wanted to kill them, she wouldn't need to go to such lengths as poisoning them.
"Your Highness has misunderstood. How could you poison us? You have no reason to... We are just surprised that you would be so kind to us. Previously, we were blind and did not recognize your status, and we were not good to you. We have offended and presumed upon you greatly," Feng Maoyuan spoke his mind.
Huangfu Yue curved her lips into a slight smile. "You said yourselves that you were blind and did not recognize my status before, which is why you were not good to us and offended and presumed upon us greatly...
Now that you have eyes to recognize my status, you should be good to us, respectful, and courteous, and dare not offend or presume upon us again. Naturally, I will have no need to dwell on past matters."
"Indeed, indeed. From now on, we will be extremely respectful to you and will never dare to offend or presume upon you again," Feng Maoyuan said hurriedly, nodding.
His subordinates also quickly nodded in agreement.
Huangfu Yue showed a satisfied expression and pointed to the sandwiches in Feng Maoyuan's hands, saying, "Eat them. From now on, whatever we eat, you will also eat...
Lingping is still far away, and it will take a long time to reach Lingping. We will need your escort along the way. Escort us well, and the Prince Dai's mansion will never treat you unfairly."
Her words were rather telling. They were clearly prisoners, being exiled to Lingping, and Feng Maoyuan and his men were their escorts. Yet, she used the word "escort."
Feng Maoyuan and his men were not foolish; they understood the implication of her words. It meant that they were no longer prisoners, and should not be treated as such.
"Here is five hundred taels, a reward from the Prince Dai's mansion. Master Feng, take it and divide it among your men. We hope you will escort us well and serve the Prince Dai's mansion well... If you serve us well, there will be further rewards."
Huangfu Yue had the space send out five hundred taels of silver to her and tossed it in front of Feng Maoyuan.
Everyone was stunned again, their faces filled with shock and disbelief, especially Feng Maoyuan and his men. They had never dreamed that Huangfu Yue would reward them with five hundred taels.
Five hundred taels! Their annual salary was only a few dozen taels.
Feng Maoyuan and his subordinates stared at the five hundred taels, their eyes sparkling, almost fixed on it.
To be a fool and not take money, and even more so, to be an idiot and not take so much money, Feng Maoyuan's subordinates signaled him to quickly reach out and take the money.
Feng Maoyuan did not hesitate. He reached out, grabbed the money, stood up, cupped his fist, bowed to Huangfu Yue, and said, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your reward. From now on, if Your Highness or any esteemed members of your household have any matters, please do not hesitate to command us. We will do our utmost to handle them well."
Huangfu Yue's intentions were clear. Even the less astute could understand that she wanted them to become subordinates of the Prince Dai's mansion, to serve them.
Originally, she and the people of the Prince Dai's mansion were prisoners, and they were the officials escorting them. It was only natural for them to have the prisoners serve them, not the other way around. But Huangfu Yue was so powerful that she made this impossible situation happen.
They could only become their servants; they had no other choice.
If they didn't obediently drink the wine she offered, take her money, pledge loyalty to the Prince Dai's mansion, and become their servants, she would surely serve them the punishment wine. And if she served them punishment wine, they feared there would only be one word for them: "death"!
However, he couldn't understand why she, who was so strong, so capable, and so wealthy, could casually reward them with five hundred taels, yet she didn't kill them and escape with the people of the Prince Dai's mansion. Instead, she was obediently going to a desolate place like Lingping to suffer.
He wanted to ask, but dared not.
Feng Maoyuan's subordinates all thought the same as him, and they all thanked Huangfu Yue and pledged their loyalty to her.
Meanwhile, Huangfu Yue's sisters-in-law frowned, their faces filled with confusion and displeasure.
"Has Yue'er gone mad! Those constables treated us so badly before, and not only is she not punishing them, but she's being so kind to them, letting them sit, letting them eat, and now rewarding them with money, and five hundred taels at that! What is she thinking?" Xu Yuqing muttered softly.
Although she was unhappy with her sister-in-law, she dared not scold her loudly, so she kept her voice very low.
"Yue'er must be crazy to do this!" Zhong Liangshu also cursed softly, then hurried to Madam Zheng and exclaimed, "Grandmother, quickly stop her! Make her take back the money. We can't give it to that Feng fellow. With so much money, we should keep it for ourselves to enjoy, not give it to that Feng fellow and let them enjoy it."
Even Yang Wanqian anxiously stood up, holding her stomach, and with the help of a maidservant, quickly went to Madam Zheng and said, "Yes! Grandmother, quickly stop Yue'er and make her take back the money! Think about our current situation. How important money is to us! Every coin must not be spent carelessly. We must save the money for self-defense, for future use."
Madam Zheng frowned and looked at them. Just as she was about to speak, she saw her eldest daughter-in-law nod and speak first. "Exactly!
Yue'er is too generous, she's practically brainless. Not punishing or taking revenge on those constables is one thing, letting them sit and eat is also acceptable, but how could she give them money, and five hundred taels at that? I don't even have that much money hidden on me.
Grandmother, let me help you up to stop Yue'er and tell her to get the five hundred taels back from that Feng fellow."
Madam Zheng's frown deepened. She looked at Zhu Jiayi, and a look of intense disappointment flashed in her eyes.
It was understandable that the second, third, and fourth daughters-in-law thought this way, but she never expected the eldest one to think the same.
She had always thought of her as intelligent, steady, and far-sighted, someone reliable in critical moments. But now, she realized she had been mistaken. She was far inferior to her granddaughter!
In the entire mansion, only her granddaughter was reliable and could be counted on.