My elder sister is so noble, this time it's my turn to strike back

Qiu Ning was shocked when she heard this and looked up at Nanny Li. She knew that Nanny Li was rejecting her in disguise.

At this point, Qiu Ning didn't plan to beat around the bush anymore.

She took two steps back, lifted her skirt, and knelt straight down on the ground. She said sincerely, "Qiu Ning is guilty. Actually, I have something I want to ask Madam for help."

As she finished speaking, Nanny Li's originally gentle gaze suddenly turned cold.

Qiu Ning had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "I knew that if I asked Madam for help at the beginning, you would definitely refuse, so I resorted to this roundabout method."

After saying that, she took out a purse and some jewelry from one of her sleeves and placed them on the table one by one.

"Here is all the wealth that my two sisters and I have. I just want to ask Mammy for a favor. One hundred taels of this will be given to you as a filial gift. Mammy can use the rest to bribe the higher-ups and go out of the palace to make purchases. I will definitely get it."

Nanny Li looked at the heavy purse and the jewelry that were obviously worth a lot of money on the table, and her eyes darkened.

One hundred taels was not a small amount for a housekeeper like Madam Li. Her own monthly allowance was less than ten taels. If she could help Qiu Ning this time, it would only mean saying a few good words to her superiors.

There was no reason for Nanny Li to refuse such a thing.

As long as she can hold on for a few more years, she will be able to leave the palace. By then, she will have money on her side and her life will not be too difficult.

Her gaze fell on Qiu Ning again, and she sneered, "You have a good plan."

"But you don't know that everyone is watching this job. If I give it to you, how many people will I offend?"

Qiu Ning gritted her teeth and said, "I know this will embarrass Madam, so I just showed my utmost sincerity. This is really all I have right now."

"Please be lenient, Madam. I will never forget your kindness!"

In fact, Nanny Li was already tempted from the beginning, but she didn't want to agree too easily and make Qiu Ning feel that the money was not worth it.

She pretended to be troubled for a moment, then finally sighed and said, "Never mind. Just consider it as a kind gesture from me. I'll help you sort things out with the higher-ups. As for whether it will succeed, that's up to fate."

Qiu Ning immediately smiled happily and said quickly, "Thank you, Madam. I'll be waiting for your good news!"

……

After a few days, somehow, the news that Qiu Ning went into Nanny Li's room every night to show her affection spread to someone with ulterior motives, and soon reached Qiu Yao's ears.

For this reason, Qiu Yao specially ran to Zhang and gave a long speech, saying that Qiu Ning's behavior was simply bringing shame to the Prime Minister's Mansion. If her father and brother had the opportunity to return to Beijing in the future, they would be talked about behind their backs. She suggested that Zhang directly cut off contact with Qiu Ning and not acknowledge Qiu Ning as her shameful daughter.

When Zhang heard this, she was also in a dilemma for a moment.

Although she knew that Qiuyao's words made some sense, she didn't want to sever her relationship with Qiu Ning right away. After all, she was her biological daughter, and she would feel sad if she gave up on anyone else.

So, Zhang took some time to go to where Qiu Ning was. She saw Qiu Ning and her two sisters eating cold noodle buns. She thought Qiu Ning and her sisters were in trouble, and her eyes became red on the spot.

"Aning, if you have any problems, just tell your mother. Why eat this kind of food just to save money? It's your mother's fault for being useless and causing trouble for you..."

As Zhang spoke, her mood became a little depressed, and her voice was choked with sobs.

"I heard that you serve the steward every day to please her, but Aning, your elder sister is right. Although we are in adversity, we should always remember our status and not make things difficult for your father and brother in the future."

"Mother has some small change here. Take it first. If it's not enough, I'll embroider some more things when I get back. Don't try to please the manager anymore."

As Zhang spoke, she took out a handkerchief from her bosom and handed the few remaining pieces of silver in it to Qiu Ning.

Qiu Ning was stunned, looking at Zhang's distressed face, feeling a little complicated.

"No, mother, my third and fourth sisters and I usually have good meals, but today..."

"You don't have to explain. Mother knows that you've been a strong-willed child since childhood. Take it and buy some food for yourself, Qiuchan, and Qiuxue. I'll come visit you another day."

After Zhang finished speaking, she left in a hurry without waiting for Qiu Ning and the others to react.

Qiu Ning: “…”

She had heard that Qiuyao wanted her mother to sever ties with her. She was still struggling with whether to agree if Zhang really proposed to sever ties with her.

Unexpectedly, not only did Zhang not mention breaking off the engagement, but she also gave him the only silver she had left.

At this moment, Qiu Ning made a decision, that is, no matter what happened, she must protect Zhang.

I’m curious about what Qiuyao would think if she knew this.

After a few days, Qiuyao had spent all her money and could no longer ask others to help her wash clothes, so she had to do it herself again.

But no matter how hard you try, you can never finish washing all the clothes here.

Seeing that Qiuyao and her servant were always slow and dragging their feet, the people in the yard also began to look unhappy, and everything seemed to have returned to the way it was before.

When Qiuyao asked Zhang for money again, she was told that Zhang was also penniless. When questioned, Zhang spoke without thinking and admitted that she had given the remaining silver to Qiuning.

Qiuyao was immediately furious and started lecturing Zhang: "Is mother confused? If you give the money to my second sister, how will our whole family eat and drink in the future? What if anyone gets a headache or a fever again?"

"She took the silver and grovelled to please a servant, just to make her life more comfortable. But we came here to do hard labor. Mother is so indulgent and is harming my second sister!"

Zhang was not good at speaking. When she was in the mansion in the past, Qiuyao often relied on her education and literacy to talk about profound principles, and Zhang had no way to refute her. Over time, it became a habit that whenever Qiuyao opened her mouth, Zhang would be lectured obediently.

Even the servants in the mansion were extremely respectful to Qiuyao, and when they met her they bowed even more respectfully than they did in front of the mistress Zhang.

Just when Zhang was at a loss, a voice suddenly came in from the door, breaking the silence.

"Eldest sister, what you said is so unreasonable. You can use the money to please the palace servants and make your life more comfortable, but why can't I do that?"

Qiuyao looked back and saw that it was Qiu Ning without a doubt.

Her face immediately fell, and for a moment she couldn't find a reason to refute.

After a long while, he said quietly, "Look at what you said, second sister. I understand that you are not only very popular there, but you also invented a set of cleaning tools. Even the manager praised you in public."

"But ever since I entered the laundry, I've been repeatedly harassed by the manager, so I had to borrow some money from my mother to run the business. I had no other choice."

"If you think it's unfair, why not swap the jobs? Originally, Xiang He and I were assigned to clean the toilets, and you, the third and fourth sisters were assigned to do the laundry, right?"