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

Pei Zeyu didn't actually have any instructions.

Not long ago, I had a fight with Lin Zhiyao at Chenshuang Courtyard, and I still felt uneasy, so I went out for a walk.

After his grandmother returned, he went to Mingxi Hall more often than he went back to Chenshuang Courtyard; he could walk the way there with his eyes closed.

As he stepped into the courtyard, he noticed a figure crouching in a corner in the distance.

I thought it was one of the night watch maids slacking off and dozing off, and I was about to go up and scold her, but I never expected... it was her.

That bit of anger that wanted to teach someone a lesson vanished inexplicably when he saw her enjoying the rice dumpling so much.

Not only that, but he also had the urge to tease them, which led to the later episodes of tricking people into eating zongzi and tasting ash zongzi.

He naturally wouldn't voice the complexities in his heart.

He cleared his throat. "There's more to the story behind the sachet you embroidered this morning."

It's not a question, it's a statement.

Liu Wenying didn't expect him to ask about the sachet.

Little did she know that Pei Zeyu had already noticed something amiss during the sachet selection process earlier that day.

The embroidery material of that calamus sachet was old, but the stitches were meticulous, and the shading technique was ingenious, clearly not a perfunctory work.

Furthermore, the roughness of the embroidery material was completely different from that of the others in the mansion.

He had doubts at that time, but the old lady was particularly moved, and it was also a festive occasion.

Not wanting those dirty schemes to spoil the old lady's mood, he suppressed his doubts and didn't point them out on the spot.

Seeing Liu Wenying hesitate, his expression turned serious.

"This matter concerns my grandmother, and I cannot tolerate any wrongdoing. Tell me the truth, there's no need to hide anything."

Liu Wenying had no choice but to tell the truth: "Second Master, it was when the embroidery materials were being distributed that someone deliberately tricked me."

"That person specifically instructed that the embroidery materials could only be the ones distributed, and that we were not allowed to buy them ourselves. I had no choice but to use those old embroidery materials to embroider the sachets."

Until the very end, she never imagined that the old embroidery material, bearing the marks of time, would just happen to suit the old lady's taste.

Who distributed the materials?

Without the slightest hesitation, Liu Wenying replied, "It's Xi Chun."

Pei Zeyu's eyes were cold. "It's her again."

Not long after the tray incident, only a few days later at the Duke's residence, she dared to tamper with the embroidery materials again.

Pei Zeyu is insightful; how could he not understand?

There was factional infighting and life-or-death struggle in the imperial court.

Even within the inner courtyards of a mansion, the servants were constantly currying favor with the powerful and bullying the weak, scheming and plotting against each other.

It's just a change of battlefield and methods.

Today Xi Chun withholds materials, tomorrow he may have other methods.

The tray and sachet were only a small part of what he saw; who knows how many other sordid things were hidden behind the scenes.

My grandmother loved the willow oriole.

Knowing that she had been wronged, he should comfort her and make her even more loyal and take good care of her grandmother.

Having made up his mind, he wanted to say something comforting.

But just as he was about to speak, he suddenly remembered that he had left in a hurry during the night and had not brought any reward with him.

With his personal servants not around, he had the heart to comfort her but no tangible gift to give, inevitably leaving him in an awkward situation.

Pei Zeyu coughed a few times to cover it up.

Master Pei was a man of deep thoughts, which Liu Wenying could not fathom, but she noticed that his expression suddenly became strange.

He was just a moment ago cold and aloof, but now he's suddenly coughing frequently, and there's a hint of unnaturalness in his expression, but I didn't think much of it.

"That's all. If you have no further instructions, Second Master, I'll take my leave now."

It's probably almost time for the old lady to arrive; she needs to go back and make preparations.

"Wait, where are you going?"

Liu Wenying tilted her head and said naturally, "This servant is going to keep watch at night, and while I'm at it, I'll take care of... the zongzi."

She spoke so naturally that Pei Zeyu felt a strange tightness in his chest.

deal with?

It was like dealing with something dirty.

An inexplicable unease welled up in his chest. Pei Zeyu hummed in agreement and let her leave.

Liu Wenying walked away quickly, without the slightest hesitation.

Pei Zeyu prepared to walk towards the study.

Stepping out of the shadows untouched by the lanterns, a speck of ash clung to his pale index finger and thumb.

I accidentally got it on my skin while eating a gray rice dumpling.

He tugged at the corners of his lips, his moon-white robes fluttering in the wind like a lone crane searching for a place to rest.

The night was deep.

After finishing her day's work, Xi Chun returned to her private room to rest.

It was supposed to be her turn to be on night duty today, but she was quick-witted and used the excuse that Liu Wenying was more efficient and served the old lady better to persuade Granny Wu to replace her.

Not only did she avoid the drudgery of keeping watch at night, but she also secretly retaliated against Liu Wenying's mild but firm retort when she fetched a light blanket for the old lady during the day. She felt incredibly satisfied.

Xi Chun lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep in no time.

No sooner had I drifted off to sleep than the door was pounded on loudly.

Startled, she sat bolt upright in bed, her heart pounding.

"Here it is, who is it?"

She hastily threw on a coat and slipped on her shoes to open the door.

Moonlight shone through the crack in the door, illuminating a tall, thin figure standing outside, dressed in a blue robe and a small hat—it was Ah Jin, the servant of the Second Master.

In the dead of night, someone from the Second Master's side came looking for him?

Xi Chun hurriedly tidied his sideburns and forced a smile.

"Young Master Jin, you've come so late at night, is there anything you need from Second Master?"

Without exchanging any pleasantries, Ah Jin took out a box.

"The Second Master has ordered you to take this box of needlework materials and make thirty sachets within three days. The stitches must be neat and the designs must be uniform, without the slightest error."

"Three days? Thirty? This... how is this possible? Even if I didn't eat or sleep, I couldn't do it!"

She couldn't believe her ears and thought she had misheard.

Ah Jin didn't care. "Second Master said that your embroidery skills are superb, and no one in the manor can match them. With such good skills, making thirty pieces in three days shouldn't be difficult."

"I really can't do it..."

"Oh, by the way, if you hadn't won first place in the sachet competition, the Second Master wouldn't have entrusted you with this task. He even specifically instructed that all thirty sachets must be embroidered by you, stitch by stitch."

This completely cut off her options of finding someone else to help her.

Even the last shred of hope vanished, and Xi Chun grabbed A Jin's sleeve, trying to bargain.

"Young Master Jin, please be lenient. Please inform the Second Master that thirty is far too many. Could you perhaps grant us a few more days?"

But Ah Jin didn't respond to her at all, and with a quick movement of his arm, he avoided her hand.

"I'm only responsible for relaying the message. The message has been delivered. I'll come to collect it in three days. If you can't hand it over, go and talk to the Second Master yourself."

Xi Chun wanted nothing more than to smash the box in his arms!

Thirty sachets, to be made in three days, with no one else allowed to help.

It's not that they value her skills; it's clearly that the Second Master is deliberately making things difficult for her!

It must be that bitch Liu Wenying who complained behind my back, making the Second Master hold a grudge against me, so he came up with a way to torment her!

Xi Chun gritted his teeth so hard they made a grinding sound, wishing he could bite Liu Wenying's flesh instead.

She was destined not to sleep for the next few nights.

Xi Chun spent a sleepless night.

Meanwhile, Liu Wenying, after finishing her night watch, returned to her lodgings and slept until the sun was high in the sky. The chirping of birds outside the window woke her up with the rumbling of her stomach.

Xiao Zhu took Luo Luo to play in the yard.

Liu Wenying got up to wash and dress, and had just picked up her bowl and taken a few bites of rice when she heard someone knocking on the door.

Upon opening the door, they found it was Ah Fu, the servant of the Second Master.

…………