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

The old woman had a round face, her hair was neatly combed, and her appearance was kind, making it easy for people to feel close to her.

Liu Wenying recognized her. A few days ago, when she first arrived, all the housekeepers and maids echoed Manager Zhang's suppression of her.

This person, however, did not utter a single word from beginning to end.

"Wang Mama?" Liu Wenying called out tentatively.

Granny Wang's eyes lit up, and she smiled even more broadly.

"My wife has a good memory. She still remembers me from our brief encounter three days ago."

Liu Wenying invited her into the house and poured her a cup of tea.

"I never expected that Old Tian, ​​who is so unreasonable, would actually recognize a polite person as his goddaughter."

Liu Wenying asked in surprise, "Does Granny Tian know my godmother?"

Granny Wang raised an eyebrow. "What? She didn't mention me to you?"

Liu Wenying frowned as she recalled the past.

On the day of departure, Aunt Tian, ​​the godmother, did indeed come to see them off with Xiaozhu and the others.

As she was leaving, her godmother held her hand, hesitant to speak, and finally only vaguely said: "You'll know when we get to Zhiyun Manor."

At the time, she was in a state of confusion and did not think deeply about it. Only now did she realize that what her godmother was talking about was probably the old nanny Wang in front of her.

"My godmother only said that I would know when I arrived at Zhiyun Manor," Liu Wenying said truthfully.

Granny Wang snorted, her tone a mixture of reproach and longing.

"She's good at keeping people in suspense."

Granny Wang took a sip of water and said slowly:

"I was originally a member of the Duke's mansion, and I entered the mansion at the same time as Lao Tian."

When we were young, we helped each other out. She was impatient, and I was short-tempered, so we argued a lot, but when something happened, we were always on the same page.

She paused, a hint of melancholy appearing in her eyes.

"It's just that I'm not as cautious and tactful as she is. Later, I made a mistake, so I simply invited myself to the villa."

Decades have passed in the blink of an eye, and due to my laziness, I've only managed to become a lowly housekeeper.

Liu Wenying listened quietly, then suddenly said:

"But that day in the hall, you were the only one who did not agree with Steward Zhang."

Granny Wang raised her eyes, a half-smile on her face.

"My lady has a sharp eye. The waters of Zhiyun Manor are quite murky. Manager Zhang, he..."

Liu Wenying's heart skipped a beat, and she was about to ask for details when Granny Wang waved her hand.

"Forget it, we can talk about these unpleasant things later. But you..."

She looked Liu Wenying up and down, a hint of admiration in her eyes.

"So young, yet calm in the face of adversity, methodical in auditing accounts, and skillful in disciplining people—Old Tian has truly struck gold."

Liu Wenying was a little embarrassed by her praise.

"You flatter me, Granny."

"Would you be willing to... recognize another godmother?"

Liu Wenying was stunned.

Seeing her stunned expression, Granny Wang burst out laughing first.

"Oh, never mind, I'm afraid if Lao Tian finds out, he'll come after me with a rolling pin to settle the score."

Looking at her, Liu Wenying couldn't help but smile.

As the laughter subsided, Granny Wang's gaze fell upon the mountain of account books. She picked one up and frowned.

"Are you really planning to keep reading these books one by one? Have you noticed anything?"

Liu Wenying rubbed her throbbing temples and said with a wry smile:

"The accounts are meticulously prepared, with no major errors that can be found on the surface."

"Isn't that right?"

Granny Wang scoffed and threw the account book back onto the table.

"That Zhang fellow has turned Zhiyun Manor into his personal fiefdom, managing to deceive the master for so many years. How could you possibly see through it in just a couple of days?"

"I arrived at the villa before that Zhang fellow. He was quite well-behaved when he first arrived, but later, seeing that the Duchess was lax in managing affairs, he began to have designs on the property."

"Over the years, he has treated me as a rival and has suppressed me both openly and secretly. Even if I have a good temper, I can't withstand such torment."

Liu Wenying's gaze sharpened slightly. "According to what Granny said, the death of the silkworms is related to him?"

Granny Wang sneered.

"It's not just related. He embezzled 70% of the money for mulberry field's fertilizer, and all of it was used to buy inferior fertilizer."

Silkworms, already weak from the insufficient nutrients provided by mulberry leaves, are further weakened by the stunting disease that plagues the transition from winter to spring, resulting in mass mortality.

Liu Wenying said seriously, "Since you know the truth, why didn't you report it to the Madam?"

"Report this to the First Madam?"

A hint of mockery flashed across Granny Wang's eyes.

"How could I, a mere old woman from a villa, with no evidence, possibly accuse the steward? The Madam would only think I'm a servant trying to frame someone."

But Liu Wenying was different. Although she was also a servant, she was personally sent by the First Madam and held a pair of tokens in her hand.

"Speaking of which, what do you plan to do with the corrupt officials at Zhiyun Manor? It's easy to expose one steward, Zhang, but how do you eradicate the deep-rooted problems within the manor?"

After a moment of silence, Liu Wenying's eyes cleared.

"Don't worry, Granny, leave this to me."

Early in the morning, as soon as Liu Wenying stepped into the main hall of Zhiyun Manor, she saw Steward Zhang leaning back in his chair, legs crossed, slowly sipping a cup of tea.

That posture was clearly meant to give her a hard time.

The old women stood or sat, but none of them got up to serve tea.

She walked directly to the empty chair next to the main seat and sat down, her skirt brushing the ground and stirring up fine dust.

Manager Zhang then slowly put down the toothpick and glanced at her sideways.

"Miss Liu, you're up very early. How are you doing with the things I sent you?"

Without waiting for her reply, he continued talking to himself.

"The accounts of silkworm farming, land ownership, and tenant farmers at the villa have always been quite complicated. If you don't understand them, madam, you'd better rest assured. We'll take care of everything, and there won't be any problems."

He took a sip of hot tea, appearing easy to talk to.

"When the time is right, my lady should return to the manor. This will be better for both of us."

A triangular-eyed old woman immediately chimed in.

"That's right. Steward Zhang has managed the estate for over ten years without a single mistake. Why should you, madam, make things difficult for yourself?"

Some people even laughed out loud, mocking the situation.

"Don't think we don't know. You were a wet nurse by trade. Do you really think you're the master? Business matters aren't as simple as nursing babies and serving people."

A few suppressed chuckles echoed in the hall.

Liu Wenying waited until the laughter subsided before raising her eyes to scan the crowd.

"Have you all finished speaking? Then it's my turn to speak."

Manager Zhang smirked, "Let's see what other tricks you have up your sleeve."

The old women exchanged glances, their eyes filled with contempt.

"I have come here on the orders of the First Madam to reorganize Zhiyun Manor."

Liu Wenying stood up, and the morning light shone in from behind her, stretching her figure straight as a bamboo.

"You have been disrespectful to your master and made sarcastic remarks. It seems that this villa of the Duke of Yu's mansion has long become your private fiefdom for lining your own pockets."

"You're spouting nonsense!"

Manager Zhang slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly, arguing vehemently with his hands on his hips.

"Stop defaming me!"

Liu Wenying said calmly, "How do you explain the large number of mulberry trees that have withered and died on the east side of the mulberry field? Half of the silkworms have starved to death; do you dare say you have nothing to do with it?"

"That was a natural disaster! It was just bad luck! The silkworm disease broke out suddenly; who could have predicted it?"

Liu Wenying retorted, "Natural disaster? I asked the farmers nearby; this year the mulberry trees are lush and the silkworms are plump, but our village alone has no harvest. Do you think everyone else is a fool?"

Manager Zhang froze. "How...how do you know all this?"

He looked around the hall, his gaze landing on the spot where Granny Wang usually sat, which was now empty.

…………