The eldest daughter's scheming, the crown prince's exclusive favor to the venomous concubi

Jian Yue ignored it and quietly read the storybook in the house. After that, the courtyard became quiet. It was unclear whether everyone had run away or were quietly waiting for the story to continue.

After a while, just as it was getting dark, Xiao Cui came in carrying a food box. As she placed the dishes on the table, she said, "Miss, the food is ready. Eat it while it's hot. The name of the eldest young lady in this mansion is really useful. I just said that the eldest young lady ordered it, and the kitchen obediently gave me the best wine and food."

Jian Yue smiled upon hearing this, stood up, and said, "You actually dared to forge an imperial edict? You've certainly grown bolder. By the way, who was the one who was beaten in the courtyard just now?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Cui immediately said, "The maid I hit is called Xiao Rou. She claims to be a second-class maidservant by the young lady's side. I told her to do rough work, so she was naturally unwilling to accept it. After I hit her, she ran to complain to the young lady. However, she came back with a pout not long after."

"I saw it; her other lip is swollen too. It must have been the young lady who hit her. Oh, and there was a woman who looked like an aunt who came back with her. That aunt said the girl has been given to the young lady; she's now one of the young lady's servants. If a servant disobeys, just hit her; don't hold back."

Jian Yue picked up her bowl, nodded, and said, "That Qiu Lingfeng is ruthless. She killed two birds with one stone. She wanted me to bully the servants even more, and then someone would report to Qiu Zhenzhou that I would become arrogant after returning. If I didn't win Qiu Zhenzhou's favor, I wouldn't steal her thunder."

Xiao Cui was taken aback upon hearing this, and then said worriedly, "Miss, is this something I did wrong? What should I do? If I ruin your plans, I deserve to die."

Upon hearing this, Jian Yue chuckled: "Are you scaring yourself? I haven't said anything, and you already think you're wrong?"

Xiao Cui hesitated, "But didn't Miss say that this was done intentionally by the Eldest Miss? That her purpose was to harm Miss?"

Jian Yue shook her head and said, "That's not entirely true. She does have this idea, but the result may not be what she wants. Being self-righteous is ultimately just utter foolishness."

I came from the estate with nothing but my own pockets, and besides you, I have no confidants. Now that she has brought in so many people from her original courtyard in such a grand manner, her purpose is obvious.

But it wouldn't do for those people to swagger around here, act arrogantly, and bully me. Although Qiu Zhenzhou is protective of his own, he still has his pride. If word gets out that I, the Sixth Miss, am being treated worse than a pig or a dog in the mansion, where will he put his face then?

Xiao Cui pondered upon hearing this and said, "In other words, no matter how Miss treats these people, the eldest young lady will not care. Sending someone to inform her is just a way to clear herself of any trouble once it reaches the master's ears."

Jian Yue nodded and said approvingly, "She's teachable. She wants to use this incident to embolden me. In the end, no matter what, it's a good outcome."

Xiao Cui nodded, understanding at the same time, and sighed, "Indeed, in deep mansions, there are many who are kind on the outside but evil on the inside. If you are not careful and do something wrong, you will lose your head without even knowing how."

Jian Yue smiled and said, "Of course, you should learn from them and see how they survive. Otherwise, if you lose your head, your young lady's head will be just around the corner."

"Don't worry, Miss, Xiao Cui is awake."

Jian Yue nodded, thought for a moment, and continued, "You did the right thing today. This courtyard is ours, so we are the masters. And you are my personal maid. According to the rules of the manor, you are my head maid. They are just servants who come here to do chores. What right do they have to tell you what to do? If you really back down and are bullied by them, wouldn't that be a loss of face for me?"

Xiao Cui tilted her head, seemingly puzzled: "But isn't Miss pretending to be weak and easily bullied? If I do this, will it really not cause Miss any trouble?"

Jian Yue smiled slyly: "Even a weak master has a fierce maid by his side. Before you entered the manor, didn't you almost get into a fight with that gatekeeper? Qiu Lingrong was also pushed to the ground by you, which has already confirmed your fierce reputation. Why not continue like this, so that they can know that I rely on you wholeheartedly, and that you are taking advantage of my favor."

At this point, Jian Yue put down her chopsticks, stood up, and teased Xiao Cui, "From now on, there will be no shortage of people trying to bribe you. Just wait until you're so full of gifts that your hands and feet are sore!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Cui chuckled and put the food back into the food box, saying, "Miss has dismissed me again. Am I the kind of person who would be fickle? Would I betray you for a little something? Dream on."

Jian Yue suddenly turned around, shook her finger at her and said, "Wrong. You should accept those things, and you should also look greedy, so that they know that you can be bribed, but the price will be very high."

Xiao Cui was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized and hurriedly said, "I understand what you mean, Miss. You want to extort more money from them."

"Hmm, good that you understand. By the way, what happened to the girl who was beaten today? And what about the others? Are they all behaving themselves?"

Xiao Cui thought for a moment and said, "When they came, those people were all arrogant. Only two of them were very well-behaved. Whatever I told them to do, they obeyed and worked diligently."

As for the others, they only went to work obediently after I beat Xiaorou, but they were all lazy and sluggish. Once Xiaorou was brought back crying, they all calmed down and became more efficient.

Upon hearing this, Jian Yue continued, "In that case, keep a close eye on Xiao Rou. What arrangements have you made for her?"

“That girl is nothing but a dead pigeon that has been abandoned. I will not be polite to her. Since she is unwilling to do any work, then she should not be made to do any work. She should just stand in the yard and watch the others do their work. If anyone makes a mistake, it will be blamed on her. At this time, the night dew is heavy and she is dressed lightly. She will suffer a lot.”

"And those two I mentioned who are quite capable, one named Taozi and the other Xiaoshan, both from the young lady's courtyard. I think they're probably cunning, just shrewd and don't want to suffer losses, so I've been keeping a close eye on them too."

Upon hearing this, Jian Yue nodded approvingly: "That's right, well done. No matter who comes into this courtyard, we must be careful. We are isolated and helpless here. They are all from the Qiu family. No matter whose people they are, they are all enemies. Therefore, caution is necessary. You know what to do."

On this day, Jian Yue learned about Qiu Zhenzhou's two daughters. Qiu Lingrong was foolish and not to be feared. With a little effort, she could be ruined. As for Qiu Lingfeng, as long as she was careful, she was not to be feared either.

Was this impatient person who came to trample on her to show off her title as the most beautiful and virtuous woman in the capital, or to establish his authority in front of her? In any case, he didn't accomplish either of these things, but instead lost his bracelet. He wasn't very clever.

As dusk approached, the entire courtyard finally transformed, and the servants who had been sent over were all exhausted and had no energy left to eavesdrop. They all went back to their rooms to sleep.

Especially Xiao Rou, the second-class maid. Although it was autumn and the weather was fine, as a second-class maid, she usually dressed very lightly. She didn't look like a servant who did rough work outside and was dressed in many layers.

After an afternoon and half the night, my face was already purple from the cold, especially the two cheeks that had been slapped. Because there was no time to apply medicine, they were now so swollen that they were unrecognizable.

When she returned to the room Xiao Cui had arranged for her, she saw that the bed was empty and was immediately furious.

But she dared not speak, dared not utter a sound. Now, she was no longer a member of the young lady's household, and the young lady would not protect her. The slap mark on the other side of her face was proof of that.

That Xiao Cui is also incredibly unruly; if you displease her again, you'll definitely get beaten up.

But how can I fall asleep like this?

Just then, she heard a knock on the door. She opened it and saw a sturdy maid who had come with her that day. It was Xiao Tao, who was the same age as her in her courtyard.

But today, I don't know what's wrong with Xiao Tao. She changed into a set of coarse clothes and blended in inconspicuously into the lower-class crowd. Now that I think about it, she must have been hiding something beforehand.

Xiao Rou gritted her teeth and said, "What are you doing here?"

Xiao Tao smiled and said, "Sixth Miss just returned. There wasn't much in the courtyard to begin with. Sister Xiao Cui told us to look around the courtyard and found a few quilts. She said to make do with them for now. Tomorrow, when Eldest Miss thinks of us, she will send us some daily necessities. Here, these are yours."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Rou noticed that Xiao Tao was holding a quilt in her arms. However, the quilt was tattered and patched, and it had a strange smell when you got close. Xiao Rou's face immediately darkened, and she said, "I don't want this. It's too dirty and smells musty. I'm going back to my place."

She had been holding her anger in all afternoon, but she just couldn't take it anymore.

Xiao Tao smiled and said, "Sister Xiao Rou, it's late and the dew is heavy. The eldest young lady has already retired for the night. If you go back like this, you will disturb her rest and make things difficult for the sixth young lady."

The sixth young lady felt sorry for the eldest young lady and said, "You must make do with this for one night, sleep here, and go back tomorrow."

After saying that, without paying attention to the anger in Xiao Rou's eyes, he threw the tattered quilt on the table, turned around and left. Then, Xiao Rou heard the sound of the door being locked, and she was immediately startled.

"Xiao Tao, what do you mean by this? What are you trying to do?"

Peach, standing outside the door, smiled and said, "Sister Xiao Cui instructed that to prevent you from sneaking back and disturbing the eldest young lady, and making the sixth young lady worry, she locked your room. This is to prevent you from ignoring her advice and sneaking back on your own."