Do you know? Do you know? It should be Green Fat Red Thin Episode 15

  The old lady's face was extremely unpleasant, and her cold smile swept across the four girls, her eyes suddenly becoming sharp. Her gaze, as cold as a winter's night, scanned over them, causing the four girls to involuntarily shrink back, falling silent and standing obediently aside, their hearts all filled with apprehension.

  For a moment, the only sound in the room was Mo Lan's faint sobbing. She held a handkerchief to her face, tears streaming down like rain, as she glanced stealthily at Kong Yiniang, waiting for her to ask about her grievances. But Kong Yiniang didn't pay any attention to her, not saying a word, and instead sat straight up in the main seat, ordering a young maid to bring over four sets of brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, as well as four copies of "The Female Precepts", which she arranged one by one in front of the four girls.

  The girls nervously twisted the handkerchiefs with their fingers, looking at each other. Kong Yini's face was icy cold, without a hint of a smile, and she said coldly: "Fifty times for each person, if you can't finish copying, then don't come to class anymore."

  As Orchid hesitated, just as she was about to speak up in defense, she was suddenly glared at by Granny Gong's stern and severe gaze, and she shrank back, embarrassed. Hualan bit her lip and picked up her brush to start copying, Minglan sighed silently and followed suit, while Mulan looked at Granny Gong with a mixture of shock and disbelief, her tears drying up as she stood there in a daze. Granny Gong didn't even glance at the four of them, instead focusing on reading a Buddhist scripture, leaving Mulan no choice but to start copying as well.

  This copying went on until the sun set in the west, and it was almost time for dinner. Granny Kong still didn't move, and she ordered the maids to light the lamps. Without a word, she let the girls continue copying. Minglan's arm had gone numb from writing, her head spinning, and when she looked up at her fellow students, they all had gloomy faces, especially Rulan, who kept stretching her neck to look outside.

  Outside, several maidservants had been waiting for a while, sent from various places to pick up the young ladies for dinner. They had already asked quietly several times, and the girls were both hungry and tired, all looking forward to it with their heads raised, but unexpectedly, Granny Kong seemed not to have heard, only letting a small maidservant go out to say "class hasn't ended yet". The four girls simultaneously lowered their heads in disappointment. Minglan secretly grumbled to herself - she was innocent! After a while, Granny Kong glanced at the copper hourglass and instructed another maidservant: "Go invite Old Master, Madame, and Aunt Lin over."

  At this, all four girls were frightened, knowing that things would get out of hand. Hualan was especially uneasy, and Molan stole a glance at Kong Yiniang. Julan was most afraid of Sheng Hui, and the brush in her hand began to tremble. Minglan's hand did not stop, continuing to write, but she too secretly panicked. This scene was somewhat like when she was young and made mistakes in class, left behind after school, with a fierce-looking teacher waiting for her parents to come and bail her out. She didn't think that having been reborn, Minglan would again receive such treatment, and it gave her a rather familiar feeling of meeting an old friend in a foreign land.

  Before long, Mr. and Mrs. Shi arrived, and the four girls were scanned by their father's severe gaze, all shrinking their necks. Granny Kong got up and yielded the seat of honor to Mr. Shi and Wang Shi. Mr. Shi declined first before sitting down with Wang Shi. Granny Kong sat down on a gray mouse-back armchair beside them and brought over a low stool for Mrs. Lin at the lower end. Mrs. Lin slightly bowed but didn't sit down, standing aside instead. Since leaving Wang Shi's place, Minglan hadn't seen Mrs. Lin in a long time. She saw that Mrs. Lin had a slender figure, gentle and elegant, wearing a blue silk jacket with plum blossom patterns outside, looking clear and beautiful. A white jade hairpin with a tinkling bell was inserted into her hair, making a soft ringing sound as she moved, which was very pleasant to hear and see. She outshone Wang Shi, who was surrounded by pearls and jewels beside her.

  "What have you done now, you naughty girls?!" Sheng Hong's face fell as he knew his daughters were in trouble. He scolded them in a low tone while apologetically glancing at Kong Yiniang. Wang Shi anxiously looked at her two daughters but didn't dare say more. Lin Niang managed to keep her composure, standing still with her head down. The four girls didn't dare make a sound.

  Auntie Kong saw that everyone was seated, and with a wave of her hand, the four little maids by her side moved in unison, their actions neat and efficient. Two of them went out to keep the other maids at a distance of several meters, while the other two closed all the doors and windows of the main house of Yihong Hall, leaving only a few trusted personal attendants inside.

  Everything was arranged properly, and then Kong Yiniang smiled at Sheng Hong and said warmly: "Today I have disturbed everyone, originally this matter did not need to disturb so many people, but since the old lady entrusted me with it, I didn't dare to delay or neglect it. That's why I disturbed you, sir and madam, and also Lin Yiniang, as Mo'er is being raised in her house."

  Sheng Hong immediately raised his hands and said, "Mother has something to say, it must be these few naughty ones who didn't behave and made Mother angry." As he spoke, he glared at his daughters again, the four girls shrinking back in fear, not daring to speak.

  Kong Yiniang and Xu nodded, saying in a low voice: "It's not that I'm angry, it's just that the girls have grown up and need to distinguish between right and wrong; Yan'er, come over and recount what happened this afternoon clearly." As she spoke, a small maid walked out from behind Kong Yiniang, bowed, and then clearly recounted the quarrel that had occurred that afternoon. Although the maid was young, she was articulate and had a bright voice, repeating every word that the four girls had said during their argument without adding or subtracting a single word. The several Lan heard this and all turned red with shame, not daring to speak.

  After listening, Wang felt that it was a bit of an overreaction, but just a quarrel between sisters. However, Sheng Xuan became angrier as he listened, and when he finished, he slammed his hand on the table and shouted: "You bastards, don't you dare kneel down!"

  The girls were about to kneel down in a hurry, but were stopped by Kong Yiniang, who said: "It's cold and chilly, don't let the young ladies' knees get frostbitten." Unexpectedly, Kong Yiniang ordered the maid to bring out four thick velvet cushions and place them on the ground in a row. She nodded her chin, indicating that they could kneel now; The girls knelt down in a row; Minglan was a novice at kneeling, and she knelt down awkwardly, Kong Yiniang kindly helped her correct her posture.

  Sheng Hong slammed his hand on the table, making a loud noise that almost shook the roof. He pointed at the kneeling girl and shouted: "You wicked child! You are so rude and ignorant, speaking nonsense like that country bumpkin. What face do you have to be a member of the Sheng family? If you were a son, you would inevitably fight over property and cause brotherly strife in the future. Alas, it's better to kill you now and be done with it!"

  As she spoke, she was about to go and fetch the family rules. Minglan had never seen the family rules before, but as for Lan, she was fearless like an ignorant person, while Hualan and Molan were scared to tears. Wangshi originally wanted to plead for mercy, but seeing Sheng Hong's extreme anger, she twisted her handkerchief and didn't dare speak, using her eyes to beg Kong Yiniang. Kong Yiniang smiled and waved her hand, saying: "Master doesn't need to get angry, it's not good to just punish them, we have to let them know where they went wrong; I'm the nanny who raised several girls, I'll take the liberty of speaking as a half-teacher, why don't you let me ask them?"

  Sheng Hong hastily and apologetically said to Granny Gong, "Granny, your upbringing and education are all top-notch. In the past, you were also a noble person in the palace who was asked for guidance and discipline. What's more, these few wretched people, Granny can ask without any worries."

  The old lady's gaze swept over the four kneeling girls and asked, "Do you know what was wrong?" The girls immediately replied that they knew their mistake. The old lady then asked, "Where did you go wrong?" The girls' faces changed, some gritted their teeth, others wiped away tears, some pouted, and others looked foolish. Hua Lan bit her lip and spoke up first, saying, "I was wrong, I shouldn't have scolded my sister, it was unnecessary and caused trouble, making Father and Mother angry and worried."

  Wang didn't know what to do, so she went to see Sheng Hong. Sheng Hong's face was expressionless, but Kong Yiniang slightly smiled and went to see Mo Lan. Mo Lan trembled like a willow in the wind, clearly both afraid and heartbroken. She choked back tears and said, "I was wrong too, I shouldn't have argued with my sister."

  Auntie Kong's mouth slightly curled up, followed by Rulan. She felt resentful in her heart and only said: "I shouldn't have quarreled with my sister."

  It was Minglan's turn, and she was truly at a loss for words. She racked her brains but couldn't think of anything, and after being stuck for half a day, her small face turned bright red as she stammered: "I... I... I really don't know."

  Sheng Hong's anger slightly subsided, having just heard the little maid recount the events. It seemed that Minglan was not at fault, she didn't quarrel or provoke anyone, but instead tried to mediate and got dragged down to kneel on the ground. Looking at her pitiful appearance, Sheng Hong felt sympathetic towards her. Then, thinking of Hualan's cold words, his anger flared up again. He pointed at Hualan and scolded: "You're the elder sister, older than them by many years, I expected you to take care of your younger sisters and set a good example. But instead, you're so heartless and don't even treat your own sisters well. When you get married and leave, it will be a shame on our Sheng family!"

  Hua Lan's heart was burning with indignation, her fingernails deeply embedded in her palm, stubbornly lowering her head, not uttering a word. Sheng Xiang pointed at Ruolan and scolded: "You're still young and don't study well, daring to say such nonsense! What do you mean by 'who taught you such despicable tricks, liking to snatch things from others'? Mo Jie is your sister, can a younger sister speak to her older sister like that? Seeing your sister cry so hard, don't you know how to give in? Haven't I told you about 'Kong Rong letting go of the pear'?"

  "What's the point of always giving her all the good things? Last year, Uncle asked someone to bring me a piece of top-quality seed jade to make a jade lock, but Fourth Sister saw it and cried for a whole day, saying that she didn't have an uncle, so Father gave it to her! And that time when Father specially brought back a piece of Fang Tian Huang stone for Eldest Brother's seal, it was also snatched away by Third Brother halfway! Why does Father always want us to give in to her? I don't agree, and I won't agree!"

  Sheng Hong's arm was trembling with rage, and he was about to hit Ruolan when Wang Shi stopped him. She clutched his arm and wept, begging: "Master, why are you being so biased? This time the children made a mistake, but Kong Yiniang treated them all equally. You only scolded my two, Master, have you grown tired of me? I might as well leave now!"

  At this time, the house was in an uproar. Lin Yiniang lowered her head and gently wiped away tears, while Mo Lan also cried sorrowfully. Kong Yiniang glanced at the two women, her gaze seeming to mock them. Then she put down her tea cup, stood up, and smiled as she said to Sheng Hong: "Master, please don't be angry for now. This is not a serious mistake after all. I was just doing my duty in teaching and discipline, and it's only right that I should take responsibility. Today, allowing Master and Mistress to become so angry, is indeed my fault."

  "Ah, auntie, don't say that, it's all because I'm not strict enough in managing the household, and you're laughing at me. Fortunately, you and my mother are old friends, so to us, you're like a senior... Alright, please go on, auntie."

  Kong Yiniang stood at the front, facing the four girls and said loudly: "Most things in this world can't escape the word 'reason'. I've never liked saying one thing to your face and another behind your back, lest the words get misinterpreted. Today, in front of several sisters and your parents, I'll make it clear once and for all; just now you all said you knew your mistakes, but I don't think so. Now I'll ask you."

  The girls all remained silent, and then Madam Kong said: "Alright, let's start from the beginning. Fourth sister, lift up your head, I'm asking you, Fifth sister said that you always tried to outdo First sister, and even dragged down First sister, do you admit it?"

  Mo Lan's eyes were filled with tears, and she sobbed: "It's all my fault, I didn't understand things. I originally thought that Kong Yiniang rarely came, and I wanted to learn more things to make Father proud and bring honor to our family, but I didn't expect to offend my sisters... it's all my mistake..."

  Sheng Hong's face showed a hint of unbearable emotion as he thought back to Wang Shi's past complaints, his heart still harboring dissatisfaction, and he glanced at Hua Lan once more.

  Hua Lan was so angry that she almost couldn't bear to pounce on her clever sister and pinch her, Wang Shi nearly bit through a silver tooth, Kong Yiniang lightly laughed a few times, and said: "Fourth Miss, you are intelligent and eloquent, your words and actions are thorough, but today I still want to advise you that don't rely on your intelligence to treat others as fools; you should know that being too clever can lead to self-destruction."