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

Driven to desperation by Granny Wu, Xi Chun finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"Granny, don't you find that strange?"

"What's strange?"

"How long has she been at Mingxi Hall as a wet nurse, yet she has already gained the old lady's trust? And now, she's even managed to get the old lady to personally appoint her to serve the Second Master."

"A servant cannot serve two masters. She runs to Chenshuang Courtyard every day, isn't that because she has the idea of ​​climbing the social ladder? When she came to Mingxi Hall, she probably planned it all out, just waiting for an opportunity to climb higher."

Xi Chun said bitterly, "The old lady treated her so well, yet she schemed against me like this. I truly feel sorry for the old lady!"

"Keep your voice down!" Granny Wu's expression changed drastically, and she shouted sternly to stop them.

She looked around to make sure no one was watching before scolding, "How dare you say such nonsense? If the old lady hears this, wouldn't it upset her even more?"

When a person is sick, it is best to avoid worrying or getting angry.

Xi Chun was scolded and fell silent in fear, but she was still unconvinced.

Granny Wu sighed, "Don't overthink it. Second Master's hand injury requires someone to take care of him. The Old Madam sent him because she cares about her grandson. Don't make wild guesses."

There's no need for wild speculation, and there's no fear that Liu the wet nurse might become Liu the concubine in the future.

The words lingered in my throat, but I swallowed them back down.

Xi Chun reluctantly agreed, then looked up towards Chen Shuang Courtyard, his eyes filled with resentment and jealousy that grew wildly like weeds.

……

On the other side, Liu Wenying followed Pei Zeyu back to Chenshuang Courtyard, and from then on she worked there every day, no longer needing to travel to and from Mingxi Hall during the day.

Serving the Second Master is much easier than serving the Old Madam.

As for the old lady, she needs her legs and feet massaged at fixed times every day, kept company with conversations to relieve her boredom, and her medication and meals supervised.

Each and every task is a small, tedious affair.

The Second Master was different; he did most things himself, only asking servants for help with delicate tasks or those involving hand injuries.

She didn't need to do any of the rough work like sweeping and cleaning.

The staff at Chenshuang Courtyard is streamlined and has a clear division of labor, with maids in charge of cleaning and sweeping.

Sometimes, she would stand in the house, watching Ah Fu and Ah Jin bustling in and out, and she would feel a little lost, as if she were a door god, only needing to stand there.

Liu Wenying gradually figured out the Second Master's daily routine.

He has a habit of waking up early, and even now that he is on leave to recover from his injury, he has not changed it.

After breakfast, it was his unwavering time to read.

The study in Chenshuang Courtyard has a vast collection of books, with bookshelves stretching from the floor to the ceiling beams, completely crammed with books without leaving any space.

Pei Zeyu reads a wide variety of books, including classics, histories, philosophical works, and collections of literature. He also occasionally reads miscellaneous notes and unofficial histories, and even a few books on agriculture and medicine.

Sometimes when Liu Wenying brought him tea, she would see him with a slightly furrowed brow, deep in thought.

Sometimes you'd see a very faint curve to the corner of his lips, as if he'd read something interesting.

Around 3 PM is the time to change the dressing.

The doctor unwrapped the layers of white cloth, checked the healing progress of the wound, and then reapplied the medicine and bandaged it.

The flesh grows very slowly, and the muscle texture remains bright red.

After changing his dressing, he would lean against the couch and rest for a while, then continue reading or writing a few words.

The writing was slower than usual, but it was still elegant and neat.

He rarely asked anyone for help, and if he could do something himself, he would never ask someone else to do it for him.

Only when it was delicate work requiring the coordination of both hands would he raise his eyes and gently call out, "Wenying."

Liu Wenying then stepped forward and, following his instructions, smoothed out the edges of the map.

Pei Zeyu's fingers were long and clean, and sometimes they would accidentally touch her fingertips.

Liu Wenying also quickly avoided him, afraid of displeasing him.

On this day, the autumn rain pattered against the banana leaves outside the house, the sound filling the air.

The atmosphere in the study was more somber than usual.

The pile of files on the desk, like a small mountain, was delivered early in the morning by clerks from the Ministry of Personnel.

Pei Zeyu sat behind his desk, his gaze fixed on the open files, his brows furrowed, motionless.

Afu served him with pen and ink, barely daring to breathe.

Those files are the performance evaluation forms for officials in Nanhuai this year. Nanhuai was severely flooded, and they were all local officials responsible for the region.

According to the law, anyone who fails to pay taxes properly will be demoted or have their salary reduced.

This is an ironclad rule, and there is no room for argument.

In reality, these officials were focused on disaster relief this year and had no time to urge the collection of grain and taxes.

If punished according to the law, it will chill the hearts of those pragmatic officials.

If the law is not followed, the Performance Evaluation Office will be considered derelict in its duties, and the Censorate will not let it go.

Three sheets of Xuan paper were laid out in front of Pei Zeyu.

The first document, already half-written, essentially stated that according to the law, all forty people were to be demoted.

He crossed it out halfway through writing, crossing it out so hard that the ink seeped through the paper.

The second document contained only a few lines of discretionary exemption, followed by a blank page.

Without a legal basis, discretionary actions become like rootless duckweed, unable to withstand scrutiny.

The third measure was a compromise he devised: some people were demoted, and others had their salaries reduced.

After writing it and reading it himself, he put it aside, clearly dissatisfied.

Pei Zeyu pondered for a long time, his pen hovering motionless on the paper.

A drop of ink gathered at the tip of the pen, but finally could not bear the weight and fell onto the paper with a thud, spreading out in a deep black.

Pei Zeyu did not move.

Afu couldn't help but advise, "Second Master, please take a rest. You've been sitting for two hours..."

Pei Zeyu seemed not to hear, the sound of rain tapping on his heart, causing him great distress.

The study door was pushed open, and Liu Wenying came in carrying a cup of freshly brewed tea.

She set the teacup down on the table and glanced at the files and three sheets of Xuan paper on the shore that had been written on and then crossed out.

Liu Wenying couldn't understand the flowery official jargon on the case file, but she could clearly see the common points on the three sheets of paper.

"Does Second Master want to pardon those people, but can't find a reason?"

Pei Zeyu put down his pen, leaned back, and looked at her calm face. "How did you know?"

Liu Wenying felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze and pointed to the Xuan paper on the table.

"The Second Master wrote so much on the first document and then crossed it out, which suggests he didn't want to be sentenced that way."

The second page was largely empty; it seemed to be looking for a reason, but no one could be found.

The third one was also unsatisfactory, probably because it wasn't good enough.

She said firmly, "So, this servant guesses that Second Master wants to pardon them, but is struggling to find a suitable reason."

Pei Zeyu admitted, "You're right. The law is as immovable as a mountain, but human relationships are as fluid as water and cannot be dried up. I'm really torn."

"Could you please explain to me in detail, Second Master, what exactly is causing you this difficulty?"

Pei Zeyu did not refuse and recounted the predicament of the officials in Nanhuai.

Floods, disaster relief, and insufficient tax revenue should be punished according to the law, but punishing them would discourage people, while not punishing them would also violate the law.

"It's that simple. If the harvest is bad and we can't pay the grain, then we can convert it into something else and use it as merit, right?"

"How will it be calculated?" Pei Zeyu's eyes flickered slightly.

Liu Wenying thought for a moment and tried to put it as bluntly as possible, "For example, one mu of land should yield one shi of grain, but this year there was a disaster and only half a shi was harvested."

The government will calculate it as half a shi (a unit of dry measure), and once half a shi is handed over, the task is considered complete, isn't that settled?

Pei Zeyu chuckled: "Delivering grain is easy; the difficult part is evaluating officials—how do you calculate the conversion rate?"

…………