Thrown out of the house, the wet nurse enters the noble household and becomes a person of high statu

After finishing my errands at Mingxi Hall, it was already dusk.

Not long after Liu Wenying returned to her small residence to rest, someone brought her some things.

The maid's face was somewhat unfamiliar; she usually followed Xi Chun around.

"Sister Xi asked me to bring you something. Please accept it."

She shoved the things into Liu Wenying's hands and turned to leave.

Hearing the noise, Xiao Zhu came out from inside and asked curiously, "Sister Liu, has someone delivered something?"

"Yes, the old lady wants all the servants in Mingxi Hall to do some embroidery, and she will give them feedback and rewards on the Dragon Boat Festival. However, she forgot my share of the materials that were distributed during the day, but someone has delivered it to me now."

As Liu Wenying spoke, she took the cloth bag into the house, untied the opening, and poured out the contents.

The plain silk fabric has frayed edges, faded threads, and a very pale color. Some of the darker colors haven't faded much, but they're still not pretty or eye-catching.

The only thing that was worthy of being used was an embroidery needle.

"Is this the embroidery material that Mingxi Hall distributed to the servants?"

Xiao Zhu was terrified.

"Sister Liu, look at the color, it's all grayish and dull, and the silk feels rough. It's just some old stuff."

Liu Wenying realized that Xi Chun had set a trap for her.

First, in front of everyone at Mingxitang, she deliberately said that the materials had been prepared in advance and that her share had been omitted.

Then they brought up the old lady's rules again, saying that the materials used in the mansion had to be standardized, thus cutting off her way of finding other silk threads.

Finally, feigning generosity, he agreed to send more, but then had someone bring over some tattered old silk.

He planned every step carefully, hoping she wouldn't be able to embroider a decent sachet.

Ultimately, they just wanted to use this as an excuse to suppress her.

Liu Wenying just couldn't understand why people would take a sachet competition so seriously. They were scheming one scheme after another.

If only we could put all that effort into the old lady's health.

Even though Xiaozhu was still clueless and slow to react, she eventually realized that Liu Wenying had been tricked.

She was filled with righteous indignation. "It must be the people from Mingxi Hall who bullied Sister Liu. Let's go and tell Granny Tian right now."

Granny Tian is an old servant in the mansion and has some influence. If she were to speak up for her, Xi Chun would certainly not get the better of her.

"Don't go. Why bother your godmother with such a small commotion?"

Liu Wenying pulled her aside to stop her.

"But this is just too much!"

Liu Wenying pulled Xiaozhu back to sit down. "She thought she could stump me with some junk, but old silk thread isn't unusable. Apart from the bad color, it's still strong, so I'll use it."

Seeing her composure, Xiaozhu's anger subsided, but she was still unwilling to give up.

"Old silk is faded and rough, so the embroidery will always look worse. It can't compare to other people's new silk threads."

"Whether it's good or bad, we'll only know on Dragon Boat Festival."

Liu Wenying sorted out the old silk threads, picked out a few colors that were still usable, and had already vaguely figured out a method in her mind.

With her defiant words leading the way, Xiaozhu felt reassured.

"Alright, I'll help my sister sort the threads. I definitely won't let that scoundrel get away with it!"

The next day, Liu Wenying dressed up as usual and went to Mingxi Hall to work.

The courtyard was bustling with activity, like a dye house in full bloom.

A dozen or so maids gathered in twos and threes, each holding a plain silk sachet, embroidering and chatting happily.

Xi Chun was surrounded on the stone bench in the center, clearly the focus of everyone's attention.

However, just one night later, a pomegranate-shaped sachet that was almost finished being embroidered was placed in front of her, with fine and even stitches and bright colors.

The surrounding maids kept praising him.

"Sister Xi's cooking is so good, the old lady will definitely like it."

"That's right! The Dragon Boat Festival reward will definitely go to Sister Xi, we're just joining in the fun!"

Xi Chun smiled, her hands never stopping as she sewed.

"Don't say that. I just have more experience with needle and thread since I was little because my mother is an embroiderer."

The smugness in his voice was undisguised.

Her mother was an embroiderer in an embroidery shop, so this kind of needlework was a piece of cake for her.

If it weren't for the burn on her hand, she could have finished embroidering the sachet in one night.

Xi Chun's eyes darkened when he saw the scar on his palm.

Just as they were chatting and laughing, a sharp-eyed maid saw Liu Wenying walk by and quickly called out to her.

"Nanny Liu is here! Come and sit down. The courtyard is bustling today; everyone's embroidering sachets. You must have some free time now, right? Come and embroider some too!"

Serving the old lady required meticulous care, and they could only steal moments of leisure from their busy schedules.

After all, the master's reward must be something good, and who wouldn't want to compete for it? You can always squeeze in some time to finish the embroidery.

Liu Wenying shook her head, "I didn't bring any embroidery materials, so I won't go yet."

"Okay then, I'll come back when you bring it."

Just as Liu Wenying was about to take a step, Xi Chun called her back.

"Nanny Liu is always meticulous and skillful. Could it be that she has a clever idea hidden in her hands this time as well? This time, her embroidered sachet must be absolutely stunning. Let us all see it."

Xi Chun deliberately built up everyone's expectations, waiting to watch her embarrass herself on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival selection.

What good things could be embroidered from old, worn-out silk thread and fabric? She didn't believe it.

Liu Wenying smiled in response, and then went into the main house.

The courtyard fell silent for a moment.

Someone scoffed quietly, "Tch, what's with the pretentious act?"

That person was the maid who had run errands for Xi Chun last night, delivering silk threads. She approached Xi Chun and spoke up for him.

"Sister Xi kindly praised her, but she didn't even respond. She's only been at Mingxi Hall for a few days, and she's already so arrogant, not taking Sister Xi seriously at all?"

The words struck a chord with Xi Chun, who held the embroidery needle, raised an eyebrow, and smiled lightly.

"It's alright, some people just have it too easy and forget the rules."

Since Liu Wenying is so ungrateful, she has plenty of ways to deal with her.

Inside the main house, as soon as Liu Wenying entered, she heard Pei Zeyu's voice coming from the inner room, warm and gentle like jade knocking.

"Grandmother, is the noise in the courtyard disturbing your peace and quiet?"

"It's alright. I'm in good spirits lately. Everyone in the house is so strict and proper, it's actually quite stuffy."

The old lady looked out the window at the bright scenery and said, "The festival is coming soon. Let them relax. As long as they don't overstep the bounds or cause any problems, it's fine."

"Grandson understands."

They were talking without keeping it to themselves, and Liu Wenying overheard them. She intended to stand outside the screen and wait for orders, but the people inside the room asked her to come in.

"Since you're here, why are you just standing outside? Come in."

Liu Wenying followed his instructions and went around the screen to enter the inner room.

Pei Zeyu had a faint smile on his lips.

"Grandma enjoys listening to your stories, so please continue. Or are you itching to go to the yard and do some needlework?"

He had witnessed her embroidery skills, and he still kept that snow-white satin handkerchief close to his body.

Liu Wenying curtsied and said, "Second Master is joking. I didn't come in because I was afraid of disturbing your conversation."

"That's not a bother, let's continue."

After Pei Zeyu finished speaking, he picked up a book that was lying beside him and sat down in the pear wood armchair by the bed.

Liu Wenying stopped refusing, cleared her throat, and began to continue the story from where she left off.

Pei Zeyu casually flipped through the book, enjoying listening to Liu Wenying's explanations. Whenever Liu Wenying got to an exciting part, he would slow down the frequency of his flipping.

The book remained frozen in place for a long time, the reader captivated by the story she was telling.

The sunlight outside the window shifted its shadow, and the branches and leaves of the locust tree in the yard swayed.

A few days later, it was the Dragon Boat Festival.

Bundles of tied mugwort and calamus were hung on the pillars and lintels of the mansion, their lush green leaves adding a touch of freshness to the vermilion wooden pillars.

…………