Dad, open the door. I'll bring your mistress back for you.

After Shen Chuning and her grandparents left.

The Queen Mother asked Nanny Jian beside her: "What's in that box? Bring it out to me and let me see it."

"These are just little girls' tricks. Your Majesty, please don't look at them. Don't pollute your eyes."

"Oh, you've been with me in this palace for decades, you've seen all sorts of dirty things. If it was really just some little girl's prank, how could you have been so nervous just now?"

"It's not that I'm nervous, but this isn't something that a Sixth Princess of her age would use."

"Do you know what's going on with this lawsuit between Jinhua and Ningyatou?"

"This...it happened last time when Miss Chu Ning came to the palace and you gave her a cat as a reward. On her way out, she met the Sixth Princess. The Sixth Princess was curious about the cat's one blue and one green eyes and wanted to ask for it. Miss Shen Jiu refused, so she ordered someone to snatch it away, but she failed in the end."

"How could she not have snatched it before? Jinhua is always surrounded by a crowd of people."

"That day, the Sixth Princess was trying to sneak out of the palace, taking only a personal maid with her. The Fifth Prince happened to be passing by and tried to stop her, which allowed Miss Chu Ning to escape. The Fifth Prince was also quite pitiful; the Sixth Princess and her men came to her house and beat her so badly that she couldn't get out of bed for several days."

"Which child in the palace wouldn't be pitiful if they lost their mother? Especially since they're not favored by the emperor. Ultimately, it's because they can't stand up for themselves. Anyway, he helped Ning Xiaoya avoid disaster. Ning Xiaoya also specifically asked you to send some medicine over later."

"Yes, I'll go there after dark. We don't want to attract too much attention."

"Jinhua was wrong in this matter. When she couldn't get it openly, she secretly pressured others to take it. She's so young and bullies others like this. What will she be like when she grows up? It's time to control her temper. Let her return the cat to Aning and come to my little Buddhist temple every morning to listen to the sutras."

"This... Your Majesty, I'm afraid... I'm afraid this cat can't be changed back."

"Why are you hesitating so much? Why don't you go back?" At this point, the empress dowager suddenly remembered the ebony box that Madam Shen had ordered to be sent back just now.

Nanny Jian suddenly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. After the Sixth Princess got the cat, she ordered someone to gouge out its eyes and gave them to Miss Shen Jiu as a return gift. It was the sight of those eyes that frightened Miss Shen Jiu and she had a high fever for three days."

The Queen Mother slammed the table with her palm.

"Such a cruel and ruthless person, yet you can actually call it a little girl's prank? Jian Xin, are you still helping her hide it from me?"

"I didn't tell you this because I was afraid of disturbing the Empress Dowager's ears."

"How many dirty things are there in the harem that you are hiding from me, an old woman?"

"I dare not!" Nanny Jian knelt down quickly.

"Well, since Concubine Qin can't manage her own daughter, let's send her to Concubine Hui. I've seen Jinyu being taught very well by her."

"Your Highness, this arrangement may bring disaster to Miss Shen Jiu. Furthermore, Concubine Hui doesn't even have a child of her own, and all she does all day is help raise other people's children. I'm afraid Concubine Hui will feel resentful."

"Never mind, Jin Huan likes to run out of the palace, right? Let's see when she sneaks out again. She'll be punished with three months of confinement. Concubine Qin, I'll just deduct half a year's salary."

"Yes." Nanny Jian knew that although Concubine Qin was fined for half a year's salary, her dream of competing for the position of empress would probably be in vain.

……

The bluestone road that had rained in the early morning was now half dry under the sun.

A carriage with the words "Shen Mansion" on its head drove past, leaving behind the crisp sound of wind chimes.

"Didn't you always hate these royal princesses and call them fake?"

"Grandma, I know I was wrong and will never talk nonsense about the royal princess again. I just don't like my cousin Jinhuan, but the Empress Dowager asked me to follow Princess Jiahe. From now on, my cousin Jinhuan will never dare to bully me again." Shen Chuning hid in Madam Shen's arms and acted coquettishly.

Madam Shen extended her index finger and gently poked Shen Chuning's forehead, asking, "Have you thought it through? Entering the palace is different from being at home. No one can tolerate your willfulness."

"Grandma, you're just talking nonsense. How could Aning be so willful? It's not like she can't come back. The princess has less schoolwork, so she can go home for three days every seven days. Princess Jiahe is now fourteen and almost fifteen. In less than two years, she will have to leave the palace to build her own residence. Aning can only stay in the palace for two years at most. Besides, Princess Jiahe may not even like her granddaughter."

"My daughter of the Shen family must never be so self-deprecating. Even though she is a royal princess, you should just keep a distance and show respect to her. Grandmother really doesn't want you to wade into the muddy waters of the palace."

"Grandma, your granddaughter has to grow up and face some things on her own."

"Okay, if you've been wronged in the palace, go directly to the Empress Dowager's side. She's an old lady from the Shen family. Grandma helped her in her early years, so she should be able to give Grandma some face."

"Yes, granddaughter remembers it."

……

Inside Ningfengzhai.

Several maids were dusting the walls with dusters. Bi Rui, who was standing at the window, was the first to see Shen Chuning and called out in surprise, "Miss, you're back!"

Shen Chuning walked back into the house, picked up the teapot on the Eight Immortals Table, poured herself a glass of water, and drank it all in one gulp.

"The water in the kettle is a little cold. Miss, be careful not to hurt your spleen and stomach." The maid Cuiwei was holding a black lacquered carved tray with a small white jade bowl on it, and she spoke as she walked.

Not to mention that the water in the pot was still warm, she had even drunk ice-cold tea in the Third Prince's Mansion in winter.

"That's not so exaggerated. Sister Cuiwei has made something delicious again. It has aroused my appetite."

"The sweet osmanthus almond cheese, freshly brewed this morning, has been warming on the fire. Just now, the maid at the second gate came to announce that the young lady had returned, so I hurried over to bring it here."

"It's great to be able to eat the food made by Sister Cuiwei."

Shen Chuning picked up the small white porcelain bowl, scooped it with a spoon, and blew on it gently. She smelled the fragrant sweet cheese, and her eyes turned slightly red again.

Cuiwei was a maid carefully selected by Old Madam Shen for Shen Chuning. She was quite talented in cooking and was trained as a dowry maid since childhood. However, she would have thought that just a few days after she followed Shen Chuning into the Third Prince's Mansion, she was sent to the palace by Xiao Yuanlang to Concubine Qin.

In this life, Shen Chuning must protect the people around her.

After sending the maids away, Shen Chuning placed the small white porcelain bowl on the table and asked Birui, "I remember you had a brother?"

Bi Rui answered while clearing away the bowls and spoons that Shen Chuning had used to finish her meal, "My dear Miss, my brother is three years older than me and also works in the mansion. He is currently in the Relations Office, doing odd jobs for Housekeeper Shen."

"Well, then ask your brother to go to Xinglin Hutong when he's free these two days and find out what kind of people live there."

"Yes, Miss, I will go find my brother after I finish cleaning up."