Chapter 141

Chapter 141

Nanny Huang, who was attending to her, looked at her mistress with eyes full of concern.

Once the imperial physician left, she cursed, "That scheming vixen Xie, relying on the prince's favor, thinks she can do anything!"

"When the prince returns, he will surely get justice for you, mistress."

"This prince's manor is seriously lacking in discipline—a lowly Shu Fei dares to bully a Ce Fei!"

In her heart, she wished nothing less than to tear Xie Run limb from limb.

But Nanny Huang did not dare curse too harshly.

After today's mess, she knew one thing for sure.

Not one maid or matron in Songya Court was loyal!

If she cursed too harshly, who knows whose ears it would reach by tomorrow?

Nanny Huang hugged Cefei Jiang, her heart aching: "My poor young lady."

"At home, the master and mistress spoiled you rotten—they wouldn't even let a scratch touch your skin. Now that you're in the prince's manor, you're being bullied like this!"

Cefei Jiang's eyes brightened. "Right! I'll write to my father and mother!"

"I'll have Father write to the prince and demand he severely punish that bitch Xie!"

At the mention of Xie's name, Cefei Jiang's heart skipped a beat.

Nanny Huang had a vague feeling it was a bad idea, but her concern for her mistress won out, and she quickly said, "I'll go get the paper and pen right away."

Xing'er, standing nearby, couldn't hold it in any longer: "Mistress, please stop listening to Nanny Huang's egging you on!"

"If the master really writes to the prince, the first person the prince will punish when he returns will be you!"

Xing'er knelt before Cefei Jiang, tears streaming down her face, and kowtowed: "I beg you, mistress, just listen to me for once!"

"Today's mess has already gotten the whole Songya Court punished. The maids and matrons in this courtyard never listened to orders to begin with—from now on, they'll probably treat you like an enemy!"

"Then whenever other Shu Fei or concubines want to come barging in, these people will only add fuel to the fire."

"We won't have a moment's peace in this household from now on!"

Nanny Huang snapped angrily, "That's enough!"

"Xing'er, you grew up alongside our mistress!"

"What have the master and mistress been teaching you all these years? Your mistress has been wronged, and you tell her to just swallow it?!"

Xing'er clenched her teeth and said, "I care about you, mistress, but I also want to stay alive!"

"Stupid as I am, I can still see what's going on! If you keep egging her on, you'll be the real ruin of our mistress!"

Xing'er had indeed helped Cefei Jiang do wrong many times before.

But she wasn't stupid.

Lychee and Cherry had been whipped dozens of times in public that day and sent back to Mizhou—they were long dead by now.

Today the princess consort had already made it clear: if Cefei Jiang kept causing trouble, the next to be punished would be her and Dong'er.

It was obvious they had it out for the bridal maids.

Xing'er knelt at Cefei Jiang's feet and pleaded, "Mistress, I would never harm you. Please, just listen to my advice!"

"Today's matter was clearly a trap set by the princess consort and Shufei Xie together!"

"How could such a coincidence happen in this world? First the princess consort uses the excuse of distributing fabric to pull four people away, and then right behind her, Shufei Xie comes barging in with her people?"

"You smashed the kitchen two days in a row, and the princess consort didn't care—she only scolded you with words. But today she skipped you entirely and directly punished all the servants of Songya Court. She's clearly playing the game of praising you to death, while turning everyone in this courtyard against you!"

"In this inner household, if you don't have your own people, you'll be at the princess consort's mercy forever!"

In the past, Cefei Jiang never liked hearing this kind of talk.

Any maid who so much as offered a word of advice would be sent packing on the spot.

So the maids around Cefei Jiang only ever said what made her happy, egging her on to be even more arrogant and domineering.

Xing'er had had enough and risked being pushed away to say these words.

Maybe it was the scare Xie Run had given her—Cefei Jiang was silent for a long time, and actually seemed to take Xing'er's words seriously.

Swallowing her disgust, she asked, "Then tell me, what should I do?"

Xing'er wiped her tears, her eyes lighting up with surprise, and quickly said, "Mistress, the princess consort docked three months' allowance from all the servants of Songya Court. The first thing to do is make up their allowance!"

"You need to let them know that you are the mistress. Once you have Songya Court completely under your control, today's events won't happen again."

At the words "happen again," Cefei Jiang's stomach began to ache dully again.

She nodded immediately. "Go take care of this right away!"

Today, the maids and matrons of Songya Court had huddled in the corners watching her be humiliated. Jiang Baobao had wished she could kill every single one of them.

But she also knew she should listen to Xing'er's advice.

She would keep these people for now—when it came time to settle the score, there would be a later day!

Cefei Jiang hid the murderous look in her eyes and said to Xing'er, "And what about that Xie woman? Am I just supposed to let her run wild?!"

Xing'er's original intention was naturally for Cefei Jiang to take the initiative and go apologize to Shufei Xie.

But she knew all too well that a leopard can't change its spots.

Jiang Baobao would always be Jiang Baobao. She might stay quiet for a while after being wronged, but she would never truly change her nature.

She had to find another way to convince her. "Mistress, what you should be worried about now is the prince!"

Jiang Baobao froze and said with displeasure, "I've suffered such a great wrong. When the prince returns, if he doesn't get justice for me, is he going to let that bitch Xie get away with it instead?!"

What else could he do?!

Xing'er nearly choked on her own words, but she had to patiently explain things to Jiang Baobao.

"That's exactly why I say the princess consort and Shufei Xie are scheming and utterly vicious!"

Cefei Jiang liked hearing that, so she didn't argue back.

"Master, you caused a ruckus in the main kitchen for two days straight, and that alone puts you in the wrong. This is the Princess Consort's scheme to butter you up just to knock you down."

"Now that the Princess Consort holds the moral high ground, even if you go to the Prince with your grievances later, she'll say you broke the rules first, and Shufei Xie will say you seized her meals first. Even if the Prince wants to side with you, he can't disregard the household's regulations, can he?"

Xing'er also sneaked in her own two cents, whispering, "That's why I say those who egged you on to make a fuss are all trying to ruin you."

She shot a dirty look at Nanny Huang.

Jiang Cefei was starting to come around.

Xing'er continued, "You are a Cefei, while Shufei Xie is only a Shufei."

"If you want to get back at Shufei Xie, you won't lack for chances. Just use the rules to keep her in line—if she breaks them, you can punish her, and neither the Prince nor the Princess Consort will have a word to say!"

At the mere mention of Shufei Xie, Jiang Cefei's stomach began to ache again.

She wanted to retaliate against Xie Run but was truly afraid.

"Xie is scheming and vicious. As for revenge, that's a problem for another day."

Xing'er quietly breathed a sigh of relief: "Exactly. For now, Master should focus on winning over and controlling the people of Songya Court."

"Once the Prince returns, the dust will have settled. You can first offer your apologies, then lodge a complaint against Shufei Xie, so the Prince will seek justice for you."

"As for Shiqie Lian, you should stop disciplining her for now. Instead, treat her well and use her as a showpiece to restore your reputation in the household—that will also foil the Princess Consort's plans."