A Clash of Gods - Chapter 115
Chapter 115 Expel Them
Qi Yu roared, “Shut up! The mansion of the Marquis of Honor doesn’t belong to you alone, and you don’t have the right to speak to my mother in this way.”
“If he doesn’t have the right, who does?” A cold voice came, and Gu Qinghan walked in slowly, with frost on her pretty face. “Qi Ning is the heir of the Marquis of Honor, and General has passed away, so everything in the mansion should be under his control. Is there any doubts?” She stared at Lady Qiong coldly with her beautiful eyes and sneered. “Qiong, can you take that seat?”
Seeing that Gu Qinghan also showed up, Steward Qiu hurriedly smiled. “My Lady, you suffered a lot on the trip. You finally come back. In fact, there is nothing serious. These days, you and His Excellency were not in the mansion, so these servants were lazy. Young Master and Lady Qiong just came to help manage the domestic affairs.”
“Oh?” Yang Ning looked back. “Steward Qiu, didn’t you say that there are no Young Master and Lady Qiong in this mansion and only Master and Lady are here?”
Steward Qiu looked awkward but still forced a smile. “It’s just…the temporary plan. In the final analysis, we just wanted to manage the mansion well.”
Gu Qinghan expressed indifferently, “Steward Qiu, if the servants in the mansion misbehave, you are the one who will discipline them, and others don’t need to do it. And the maids and servants in the mansion have been trained for many years, so they are well-behaved. I have been in the mansion for so many years and have never seen them do something wrong. Did they change in the past few days?”
Suddenly one man stepped forward. “My Lady, we didn’t do anything wrong but did everything dutifully as before when you were here. After you left, Lady Qiong said she would manage the mansion, and she expelled anybody who didn’t listen to her from the mansion.” He pointed to the person who was beaten outside. “He just called her Lady Qiong, so he was beaten severely.”
“Right, My Lady. We didn’t make any mistake, and even Duan was driven away by them.”
After one of them dared to speak, the others complained to Gu Qinghan. Although Gu Qinghan was strict when she managed the mansion, she was tolerant to the servants. All people both feared and respected her. These days, Lady Qiong and her son were lawless in the mansion, and all the servants were angry and suffered from injustice. Now the heir of the Marquis of Honor and the third lady had come back, so all people weren’t afraid of Lady Qiong anymore.
Lady Qiong didn’t have prestige in the mansion and her position and authority were greatly different from Gu Qinghan’s. These days, when Gu Qinghan and Yang Ning were not in the capital, she flaunted in the mansion. Hearing all people complain to Gu Qinghan, she felt guiltier, but she still tried to look dignified and showed a cold face, as if she feared nothing.
Suddenly Yang Ning asked, “Won’t you get up?”
Lady Qiong was diffident but still insisted. “I won’t get up. What…can you do to me?” She feared Yang Ning but added, “I am your father’s concubine, and you…can’t show no respect to me.” In the end, she had lost her confidence.
Steward Qiu winked at Lady Qiong repeatedly, but she pretended not to see it.
Yang Ning smiled and suddenly his face darkened. “Servants!”
Several tall and big manservants came up and asked in unison, “Your Excellency, what can we do for you?”
“Drag her out,” Yang Ning ordered impassively.
These people hated Lady Qiong to the bone, and even the master had ordered, so how would they refuse? Six or seven men even competed with one another and ran quickly. Seeing that, Qi Yu stood in front of Lady Qiong and howled, “Who dares to come?”
His loud voice made the hall fall into silence.
Although Qi Yu was a concubine’s son, he was a descendant of the Marquis of Honor and different from Lady Qiong. Nobody liked the vicious Lady Qiong with a sharp tongue, but they feared Qi Yu, so the manservants didn’t dare to come forward.
Qi Yu saw that and sneered, looking complacent, but he didn’t expect Yang Ning to raise a leg to kick him, and he was caught off guard. Yang Ning kicked Qi Yu forcefully and quickly and hit his waist. Qi Yu screamed and was kicked to fall on the floor.
It appeared that Yang Ning kicked all of a sudden, but he had been prepared earlier. He just aimed at the part and kicked him. Although he wouldn’t take Qi Yu’s life, it was enough to make Qi Yu unable to get up after a long time.
Seeing that Qi Yu fell on the floor, Lady Qiong got up before anybody dragged her. She hurriedly walked over to support Qi Yu and asked worriedly, “Yu, Are you alright?”
Qi Yu had cold sweat all over his head and looked miserable.
Yang Ning didn’t hesitate to sit down. He looked at Qi Yu and stated, “Qi Yu, I remember that I have warned you not to show off your wisdom or play any tricks behind my back. Otherwise, you will live a terrible life, but now I find that you don’t have a good memory. I told you not to do that, but you just did that. Are you showing your backbone?”
Qi Yu endured the pain and looked at Yang Ning resentfully.
Yang Ning declared unhurriedly, “All of you are here today. As the heir of the Marquis of Honor, I made a decision carefully. Everybody, listen to me. The servants who were expelled by the mother and son would return to the mansion and get their former jobs back.” Then he asked, “Can you find them?”
Somebody replied in an instant, “Your Excellency, all of us knew that you and the third lady would dispense justice after coming back, so they still stay in the capital and can be found easily.”
“That’s great.” Yang Ning laughed. “All of you, you know that I am kind-hearted and will seek justice for you, right?”
All people burst into laughter. The atmosphere in the mansion was tense not long ago, but now it was relaxed. Many people thought, “His Excellency was ignorant like an idiot before he was kidnapped, but after the disaster, he is smart and capable and even tolerant to the servants. Of course it’s a great fortune for the marquis’ mansion.”
All of them laughed, which made Lady Qiong and her son look lonely.
Yang Ning stared at Qi Yu and asked, “You acted absurdly in the mansion and should have thought that your plan would be in vain after we came back. But why did you do that when you knew it?” He sneered and leaned forward slightly. “Did you think that the third lady and I couldn’t come back?”
Both Lady Qiong and Qi Yu turned pale.
Yang Ning noticed that and understood, saying indifferently, “You know why I said that. Today I won’t talk about the process but will only mention the result…” He raised his hand and pointed to the gate. “From today on, I will expel you and your son from the marquis’ mansion and you will have nothing to do with this mansion.”
Lady Qiong and Qi Yu got angry suddenly, and Lady Qiong asked involuntarily, “Are you…going to expel us from the mansion?”
Not only Lady Qiong and her son but Gu Qinghan and the others were also astonished.
Yang Ning stated, “It’s great that you heard it. If you have something to take away, you can go to pack up now, and I will tell some people to watch you. You can take away anything belonging to you, but it’s impossible if you want to take away one thing from the mansion.”
“Why do you expel us?” Qi Yu endured the pain on his waist and shouted, “Even though you are the heir, you…don’t qualify to drive us away.”
Yang Ning shrugged and chuckled. “I have said before. Perhaps I can’t do anything else, but I have the right to expel you from the mansion. I have warned you last time, but you don’t keep it in mind. I gave you chances, but you didn’t cherish them. You can’t blame us.”
Lady Qiong stood up and sneered. “The Dowager is still alive and won’t allow you and Gu Qinghan to make trouble in the mansion. I am going to see her.” She walked immediately, but after she took two steps, Yang Ning responded slowly, “Tell the Dowager what you have done in secret. Don’t say that what happened in Jiangling has nothing to do with you. I have brought those people to the capital. If you need to ask them, I will send somebody to bring them here right away.”
Gu Qinghan was stunned and glanced at Yang Ning. Seeing that he winked at her, she understood.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Lady Qiong hesitated for a while and then continued cruelly, “But it’s not so easy for you to expel us from the mansion.” She walked over to support Qi Yu. “Let’s go.”
Qi Yu didn’t say more and followed Lady Qiong out. When they reached the door, Yang Ning warned, “I remind you again. It’s almost getting dark. If you can’t finish packing up before midnight, you don’t need to take anything away.” He pointed to several servants. “You go to their residences now and watch them carefully. If they take away one thing from the mansion without permission, I will punish you.”
Seeing that Yang Ning would expel Lady Qiong and her son from the mansion, all people were shocked, but they were happy inwardly. The mother and son spoke with sarcasm in the mansion, and the servants disliked them for a long time, so they were excited. Those servants responded at the same time, “Your Excellency, please rest assured. We are going to watch them now.”
Yang Ning raised his hand. “All of you can leave now. By the way, send people to find those who were expelled and tell them to come back.” Then he pointed to the door. “Find a doctor at once to check the one who was beaten. And drive away that Tian Rong.” He sneered. “He borrowed power to do evil. I disdain this kind of people most.”
Then all people left one after another. Steward Qiu planned to walk out, but Yang Ning stopped him. “Steward Qiu, wait a moment first. I need to discuss something with you.”
Steward Qiu turned to get back and bowed with a smile. “Your Excellency, what else can I do for you?” Then he said to Gu Qinghan with guilt, “My Lady, you told me to manage the mansion, but I…didn’t manage it well. Please punish me. And Duan Canghai, Young Master…”
Yang Ning said indifferently, “Don’t mention Young Master anymore. Didn’t you hear that I have kicked him and his mother out? There is no Young Master in the mansion in the future.”
Steward Qiu responded hurriedly, “Yes, yes… It’s my negligence. Qi Yu had conflicts with Duan Canghai in the past, and this time he found an excuse to drive him away from the mansion. I tried to persuade him not to, but…after all, Qi Yu is a son of the Marquis of Honor, and he insisted, so I could do nothing. It’s great that you and the third lady have come back. I will look for Duan Canghai in person and ask him to return to work.”
Gu Qinghan ignored him and just sat aside in silence.
Yang Ning stared at Steward Qiu and asked after the latter finished his words, “Steward Qiu, did you think that the third lady and I couldn’t come back?”