Scum Consort

chapter 23 - Punishment

Yuzu looks at Meimei with suspicious eyes as he walks towards the meeting room early in the morning. "I asked you to inform everybody."

Meimei pouts "I informed everybody. I shouted out of my lungs in the hall. Concubine Afreen heard it and her chamber is just beside concubine Jia-li. So she must have heard it too."

"Jia-li was in Zixuan's room last night." Yuzu argues. He knows he was angry with Jia-li last night and wanted to take revenge but now when he thinks about it carefully, it will only trouble his life. Nothing more.

"I shouted there too." Meimei retorts. She knows her master very well. People call him scum consort but her master can't even trick a fly without hesitation. So, even if she didn't want too, she made sure that Jia-li heard the news.

Yuzu ignores Meimei's pout as he enters meeting room.

Every concubine and consorts stand up greeting Yuzu.

Yuzu nods, eyeing every concubine and consort. Jia-li is missing "sit.."

Yuzu walks in and sits at the center "I thought I informed every consort and concubine to be present."

Consort Zubina nods "yes, noble consort. We came here early in the morning. Everybody is here, except concubine Jia-li."

"I can see that." Yuzu states eyeing Afreen "can you tell me why she is not here ?"

Afreen who was already angry with Yuzu makes a disgusted face but replies "concubine Jia-li is pregnant. She must be having some complications."

"Is that so ?" Yuzu raises his one eyebrow "anyways, let's start the meeting. You all can have the breakfasts on the table in front of you while I announce some new rules of our harem.

Afreen's eyes shoot up "new rules ?"

"Yes , new rules. Apparently Afreen there are several complaints against you guys were submitted to me." Yuzu informs "and mostly against you Afreen."

All the concubines start whispering among themselves as soon as Yuzu states this.

"Silence." Yuzu interrupts after he lets them do some gossping. "Till these days a concubine and a consort was given a monthly allowance which included every expenses of herself , her maids and her guards.

But I got complaints that some Concubines have decided to cut their maid's salary to a minimum amount. And some even dared to cut salaries for their each and every mistake."

Afreen grits her teeth. "We need to know who complaint this."

"Why ?" Yuzu looks at Afreen "why you need to know ? You have no reason to know."

"That complaints were against us, so we need to know." Afreen almost shouts.

"So that you can throw them out of the palace or beat them senseless ? That wouldn't happen as long as I am the head of this harem." Yuzu feels his anger rising.

"From today onwards every concubine consort will get only their own share of monthly allowance. For their maid's and guards I will credit their salary myself." Yuzu states looking at the pale faces of the concubines and consorts. It was not only Afreen who was stealing the money of their maid's, others were doing it too.

"Noted?" Yuzu asks as nobody has replied to him yet.

"Noted." All of them replies in unison.

Yuzu smiles. "Now the second and the last rule."

Again everybody looks up at him in fear.

"I have complaints of abuse.I heard some of you are abusing and bullying your maids just because they work for you and they are lower than you."