The Big Landlord

Chapter 79.2 - Punishment

An Zi Ran's gaze shifted to Steward Li, who was sweating profusely at the moment, and said coldly, "Since Steward Li thinks that my words alone are not enough, then let us go to the wang ye right now and have him make a decision."

When Steward Li heard this, his face abruptly turned white.

An Zi Ran came back to see the little bun that afternoon. It turned out that the lao wang ye was in the little bun's room, and he was carrying An Zi Ran's little brother in his arms. Later, he learned from the servants that the lao wang ye would go play with the little bun when the head steward was not around. And the so-called play*, was him amusing himself with the little bun.

[*T/N: Implies that he was playing with the baby as if the baby were a toy, as opposed to playing with the baby to amuse the baby.]

The head butler discovered this incident and ordered the servants in the palace not to let the lao wang ye approach the little bun again.

The lao wang ye was obedient for a time, but on the day that they returned, he reverted back to his old ways. It just so happened that An Zi Ran caught him when he decided to visit his brother that day.

An Zi Ran didn't care that the lao wang ye was an elderly and directly prohibited him from approaching the little bun. At the same time, he also warned the servants about this, but Steward Li still disregarded his words in order to please Fu lao wang ye. In that case, he would not be merciful.

This matter was soon reported to Fu Wu Tian.

In the lobby of the Imperial Fu Palace

Fu lao wang ye knew that he made a mistake and stood in the middle of the lobby without a word of protest.

Steward Li stood next to him. His back was drenched with nervous sweat. He did not dare look up at the imposing wang ye and the displeased wang fei. Originally he wanted to ask the lao wang ye for help, but looking at the lao wang ye's behavior made him feel like his future was bleaker than ever.

Fu Wu Tian looked at the lao wang ye who had his head hanging down, and then his eyes moved to Steward Li. In a deep voice, he said, "Steward Li, do you know your error!"

"This servants knows he is wrong. Begging wang ye to be merciful. This servant does not dare again." Steward Li hurriedly admitted his mistake.

"Where did you go wrong?"

Steward Li was stunned for a moment. Didn't the wang ye already know? Why was he asking? With suspicious doubts, he replied, "This servant shouldn't have brought the lao wang ye to go look for the little gong zi, and shouldn't have helped the lao wang ye hide."

"And?"

Steward Li couldn't answer this time. He didn't know what he had done and he couldn't think of it. He hesitated and raised his head. His eyes immediately clashed upon the wang fei's cold and indifferent gaze. It was like an explosion went 'bang' in his head, his face turned white, and he remembered.

Fu Wu Tian said slowly, "This prince once said that since wang fei has married into the Imperial Fu Palace, he is now a master of this palace. However, you seem to regard this prince's words as passing wind…"

Steward Li's body shook.

The people around him have also bowed their heads.

Not everyone in the wang ye's palace recognizes An Zi Ran's status as the wang fei. Some people thought of An Zi Ran with contempt, thinking that he wouldn't be favored for too long. Steward Li was also one of those people. So that day, he hadn't placed any importance on An Zi Ran's words at all. In his head he thought that as long as he could please the lao wang ye he would not have to fear the wang fei.

"Wang ye, spare me. This servant knows his wrongs."

Steward Li's fearful voice broke through the suffocating atmosphere in the lobby. He slammed his head against the floor in supplication. The floor creaked and there was a trace of blood after a while.

"Head Steward."

When he heard himself being called, Fu Yi came into the lobby from outside. His gaze held an expression like a smile yet not a smile as he glanced at the lao wang ye, who was trying to shrink into himself as much as possible, but was unsuccessful due to his body's girth.

"Investigate for this prince and see how many people in the palace are talking bad behind wang fei's back. Once they are identified, expel all of them from the palace."

"Understood, wang ye."

Steward Li's face was ashen as he was dragged out.

He was finished. Being expelled from the palace was equivalent to being branded with a bad reputation forever.

After resolving the matter of Steward Li, it was finally the turn of the lao wang ye.

The lao wang ye was keenly aware of the many eyes that fell upon him. His fat body started crawling towards the direction of the door in search of escape. He only managed two steps when he suddenly hit a meat wall. He turned around to look and saw that it was the head steward.

Fu Yi was different from Fu Wu Tian. He was like a smiling fox. Even if he were angry he would not reveal it. He would simply look at that person until that person started to panic.

The lao wang ye was in that very predicament.

"I'm wrong…"

Fu lao wang ye could not withstand the gazes of his grandson and the head butler. They were so chilling that it was scary and he couldn't help but admit his mistake.

Fu Yi smiled. "How can lao wang ye be wrong? Actually you're not wrong at all. I am the one in the wrong. We can only blame me for being too lax with you. I will definitely self-reflect in the future."

Hearing these words, Fu lao wang ye's hairs stood up on end. "Ah Yi*, I really do know that I am in the wrong. I won't dare anymore in the future. I swear."

[*T/N: Ah Yi is nickname for Fu Yi]

Fu Yi spoke with a smile. "Lao wang ye also swore like this to me last time."

He promised wang ye and wang fei that he would take good care of the little gong zi. Instead, the little gong zi was scared twice. In the span of his housekeeping career, this was an indelible shame!

Fu lao wang ye knew that he had really angered his head steward and quickly ran in front of An Zi Ran. He revealed an expression as if he was pondering on a painful experience: "My dear grandson's wife, grandfather won't dare again, forgive me, okay? I promise that I will never touch your little bun again in the future. Please tell Ah Yi not to be angry anymore, all right?"

Whether it was before the illness or after, the person that he feared the most in the entire prince's palace was the head steward, Fu Yi. When Fu Yi was angry, Fu lao wang ye would definitely suffer a calamity.

An Zi Ran found that the lao wang ye was still very clever.

It was a pity that he was looking to the wrong person for help. If An Zi Ran did not give him a profound lesson, he will still commit the same blunder in the future. An Zi Ran did not want to see the little bun being tossed around again.

An Zi Ran gave the old man a deep look, and then he shifted his gaze to the little bun in his arms, who was playing with his fingers. The little bun was completely unaffected by the atmosphere of the lobby. His cheeks were rosy and looked like delicious fruits.

At this moment, the lao wang ye did something unexpected.

He took up the little bun's small paws in his hands and said sincerely, "Little Bun, grandfather knows he is wrong. Forgive me, okay? I will not play with you again."

Little Bun: "…ah?"

Everyone: "…"

What a good application of the move 'retreating one step in order to advance.' It would seem that the IQ of the amnesiac lao wang ye was still very high.