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

Liu Wenying felt a warmth in her heart and focused her attention on wringing out the silk handkerchief.

A night breeze swept by, bringing a chill; his clothes were still damp.

"Third Master, go back and change your clothes quickly, or you'll catch a cold."

Pei Yaojun leaned down, and his face suddenly loomed large in front of Liu Wenying.

High brow bone, prominent nose bridge, and well-defined lip line.

Those captivating peach blossom eyes, with upturned corners and a constant smile, are truly mesmerizing.

If you look over here, you won't be seductive, but you'll be captivated by your own beauty.

Liu Wenying was startled by what she saw, and her cheeks suddenly went soft.

Pei Yaojun leaned down and touched her cheek.

"Third Master, you..."

Pei Yaojun straightened up, his smile widening: "Forgot? I've come to collect the interest."

Liu Wenying blushed when she thought about the reason for the interest.

"Speak first, this isn't included in the interest from last time."

Liu Wenying frowned. "What does that even mean?"

"You asked me to do something, it's not unreasonable for me to ask for some payment, is it?"

He raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying his usual playful tone.

"Alright..."

Liu Wenying was helpless. She was afraid that if she didn't agree and continued to argue with him, she didn't know how many other "interest fees" would be brought up.

"Having collected the interest, I'm leaving."

He took a few steps, then turned back and winked at her. "I've kept the blueprints safe. Don't worry about the other things. I'll pick them up in three days."

The crimson figure quickly disappeared outside the moon gate.

Liu Wenying stood still, raising her hand to touch the cheek that he had just touched.

She chuckled softly, a genuine smile.

Master Pei always does things unpredictably. He splashed water all over him, but the man said it smelled wonderful.

If you ask him to do something, he'll charge you some kind of "interest."

But for some reason, after his outburst, most of my annoyance and guilt dissipated.

A night breeze caressed my face, carrying the lingering fragrance of osmanthus blossoms.

Liu Wenying turned around and went back into the house, where she lay down with Luo Luo in her arms.

But after lying down and closing my eyes, I could never stop seeing his striking features suddenly appear before me.

She turned over and buried her face in the pillow.

Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore.

I'll be busy tomorrow.

……

Within a few days of taking up her post as a head maid, Liu Wenying had gradually figured out how things worked.

According to the rules, the head maid has her own portion of food and does not have to eat with others.

But she found it troublesome, so she still went to the small kitchen, took a bowl, and sat down with everyone.

Breakfast was as usual, light: a bowl of thin porridge, two steamed buns, and a few dishes of pickled vegetables.

In the past, it wouldn't have been a problem, but with the old lady's birthday approaching, there were many things to do and I was running around. So, the little bit of food I ate was digested in no time.

Ling'er rubbed her stomach and muttered softly, "I'm so hungry..."

Liu Wenying smiled and said, "There will definitely be a big meal today. I saw the ingredient list sent by the main kitchen yesterday. There is pork, chicken, and fresh fish."

Ling'er's eyes lit up, and she nodded expectantly.

At noon, the small kitchen served cabbage and tofu, stir-fried bean sprouts, and a dish of pickled cucumbers; the staple food was still coarse flour steamed buns.

Ling'er was so hungry that her stomach was practically sticking to her back, but she didn't care about anything else. She quickly finished her meal and went back to work.

Liu Wenying frowned; something was wrong.

She clearly saw the ingredient list delivered by the main kitchen yesterday, which clearly listed pork, chicken, fresh fish, and many other meats. Why didn't she see any of them today?

Perhaps it's dinner? Liu Wenying paused for the moment.

As evening approached, dinner was served: radish soup, stir-fried vegetables, salted duck eggs...

What about pork? Chicken? Fish?

Ling'er ate quickly beside her, seemingly already accustomed to the food at Mingxi Hall.

If she hadn't become a head maid and hadn't seen that list, Liu Wenying would have tolerated it.

But she discovered that something was wrong.

The next morning, Liu Wenying went to the main kitchen to check.

When the old woman in charge saw her arrive, she presented her with the list as usual.

Liu Wenying glanced at them and smiled, "Auntie, are you sure all these things can be delivered to Mingxi Hall's small kitchen?"

The question posed from the very first word was not simple, and the old woman, feeling somewhat guilty, replied, "Of course."

Before Liu Wenying arrived, she asked the cooks in the small kitchen, who said that the main kitchen only sent radishes and cabbages, and the dishes they made naturally didn't contain any meat.

The problem lies in the main kitchen. Seeing that the other party does not admit it, she is not in a hurry. She only said that she would check the accounts of the ingredients sent to Mingxi Hall.

The old woman couldn't refuse, so she had to take out the account book.

Liu Wenying turned the pages one by one, her brows furrowing more and more as she read.

The accounts detailed the food portions for each courtyard, including the small kitchen in Mingxi Hall.

But she had hardly seen any meat or fish ingredients since she came to Mingxi Hall.

There were only some rotten vegetable leaves and white radishes, with the occasional thin slice of meat that was so thin it was translucent. I had never seen any chicken or fish.

She remained calm, put the accounts back, and then went to ask a few of the purchasing assistants.

It wouldn't have mattered if I hadn't asked, but once I did, I found out the truth.

It turns out that the ingredients delivered to the small kitchen every day were not purchased through the main kitchen.

Instead, Xi Chun, taking advantage of the old lady's influence, personally went out to buy the items.

The accounts are kept in the main kitchen, but the ingredients are not; the main kitchen records are just the formalities.

Even the head wife, who was in charge of managing the household affairs, wouldn't be able to spot any problems just by looking at the accounts.

Only the servants of Mingxi Hall could sense that something was wrong with the food.

Xi Chun wasn't stupid; she dared not touch the old lady's meals, for if something went wrong, she wouldn't be able to keep it a secret.

After sorting everything out, Liu Wenying returned to Mingxi Hall.

As soon as he entered, he saw Xi Chun ordering the maid around, and his anger flared up.

No wonder Ling'er is always hungry when there's a lot of work to do.

No wonder all the other servants looked pale and sickly.

They work hard, but all they get to eat are the rotten vegetable leaves that others have left over.

Liu Wenying took a deep breath, and Chao Xichun walked over.

Xi Chun was directing people to move the flowerpots to a sunny spot to dry in the sun.

Looking up, I saw Liu Wenying walking over.

"Oh, isn't this our newly appointed head maid?"

"Xi Chun, I have something to tell you."

Xi Chun deliberately spoke loudly so that everyone around could hear him.

"What? You're already acting all high and mighty just because you've become the head maid? Isn't that a bit too much?"

"You'll probably regret it if you don't come."

Liu Wenying left after saying that.

Xi Chun didn't understand what she was up to, but she saw that Xi Chun was extremely confident, as if she had grasped some kind of leverage.

Could it be...?

Feeling guilty, Xi Chun followed after them anyway.

The two went to the side room where miscellaneous items were stored.

"Speak, what do you want?" Xi Chun idly twirled a strand of hair around her finger.

Liu Wenying stared at her intently, without saying a word.

Xi Chun felt a chill run down her spine from being stared at for so long that she simply tossed her hair aside.

"Fine, if you won't tell me, I will."

"In the past, in Mingxi Hall, it was Granny Wu who was in charge of serving the old lady, and I was in charge of managing the others."

"But since you came, you've taken away a lot of my power."

"I've served the old lady for so long, and when I came to the Duke's mansion, you were still planting rice in the countryside. You, who came later, what gives you the right?"

Liu Wenying remained calm and composed as she retorted.

"Is the old lady's trust enough?"

Xi Chun choked.

"For embezzling money from ingredients and using inferior materials, isn't that enough?!"

…………