The room was unusually quiet. Jiang Ruan stood calmly in place, her face bearing a faint smile, though her gaze seemed to carry a layer of melancholy. Compared to Jiang Susu’s pitiable appearance, her quiet demeanor made people even more curious to understand her.

Xia Yan’s smile had frozen on her face, her hands clenched into fists within her sleeves. Jiang Ruan’s words seemed harmless, but they subtly criticized Jiang Susu’s rudeness. Who could make things difficult for a girl who had just returned home and longed for family affection? As expected, she saw that Madam Jiang’s gaze toward Jiang Ruan had softened somewhat. Jiang Susu hadn’t yet realized what happened when she heard Madam Jiang’s displeased voice: “Su Niang, your big sister has just returned home. It’s only natural for her to come see me, her grandmother. Don’t cause trouble.”

Jiang Susu was momentarily stunned. Indeed, her earlier words had been deliberately aimed at Jiang Ruan, but she had been certain that Madam Jiang wouldn’t blame her. Over all these years, she had been obedient and sensible, and Madam Jiang doted on her. Today was the first time she had gotten angry with her. Being still young, Jiang Susu’s attempt to cover up was somewhat forced as she smiled: “I’m sorry, big sister. Su Su didn’t mean it. Please don’t be angry, all right?”

“We are sisters. How could I be angry?” Jiang Ruan replied gently.

Madam Jiang was even more satisfied and said, “You two sisters must support each other more. You did very well today, eldest girl.”

Xia Yan smiled and stepped forward: “Ruan Niang is naturally good, but Ruan Niang, I heard that Lin Lang made you angry today, seemingly over a servant, and you even want the old madam to make the decision. What’s this about?”

Jiang Susu still nestled beside Madam Jiang, though her posture wasn’t as natural as when she first entered the room. Madam Jiang also looked toward her, clearly waiting for her explanation.

Jiang Ruan then recounted the events that occurred outside Yanhua Courtyard in detail. Her tone was steady, and she repeated even her conversation with Lin Lang word for word without any embellishment, making it more convincing. After speaking, she looked at Madam Jiang: “Madam, when mother passed away, I was bedridden with illness. I only heard that Nanny Zhou had left the residence, but I unexpectedly saw her today. I suppose some bold maid must have misspoken at the time. But I also don’t understand – Nanny Zhou was my wet nurse, so how did she end up in her current state?”

Xia Yan sighed softly: “Ruan Niang, you’re young, and there are some things I didn’t want to tell you. Actually, after your mother passed away, Nanny Zhou… she didn’t leave the residence. She stole your mother’s jewelry and was preparing to leave. The Jiang residence absolutely cannot tolerate servants with unclean hands, and since Nanny Zhou was your wet nurse, I was afraid you would be heartbroken and your illness would worsen from disappointment. So I discussed with the master and had Nanny Zhou punished first without telling you.” Xia Yan looked at her sincerely: “Now that you know, mother apologizes to you here. But this servant truly deserved punishment. Even if you misunderstand me, I don’t regret my decision back then.”

Both Cai Que and Du Juan kept their heads down, listening impassively. They had no place to speak here, but they secretly thought that Madam’s words were truly flawless – with such an explanation, the eldest miss had nothing left to say.

Jiang Ruan shook her head: “Although mother handled the servants of Meiqing Courtyard on her own and never told me a word about it in five years, it was all for my sake. How could I blame mother?”

Xia Yan’s expression looked somewhat unpleasant, but seeing that Jiang Ruan’s face was even more sincere than hers, as if she completely hadn’t noticed the subtle sarcasm in her words, she felt even more stifled. Jiang Ruan continued: “But there’s still one thing I don’t understand – servants who steal their master’s money and jewelry don’t seem to deserve punishment like having their eyes gouged out alive and eating night soil. The Jiang family is also considered a scholarly household. How could we do such bloody things?”

“Eyes gouged out alive, eating night soil?” Madam Jiang frowned: “What’s this about?” She was a Buddhist practitioner with her own principles on certain matters. She had always turned a blind eye to Xia Yan’s methods, knowing that Xia Yan was no easy person to deal with, but she hadn’t expected this usually soft-spoken woman to be so vicious even toward a defenseless wet nurse. This had touched her bottom line.

Xia Yan’s voice remained gentle: “It’s not like that. Precisely because I remembered that Nanny Zhou was Ruan Niang’s wet nurse, I couldn’t bear to punish her too severely, so I assigned her to the laundry house. Who knew that Nanny Zhou still had the habit of stealing in the laundry house and got into disputes with other servants there. Someone gouged out her eyes, and the laundry house couldn’t keep her anymore, so she could only do night soil work.”

“I see,” Jiang Ruan said thoughtfully. “Then where is the person who gouged out Nanny Zhou’s eyes now?”

“Already beaten with boards and expelled from the residence,” Xia Yan said. “As for eating night soil, that was Lin Lang’s own idea. I’ve already severely reprimanded her.”

With this series of actions, she appeared virtuous and considerate of the bigger picture, with no fault anywhere – it was all Jiang Ruan being petty. Jiang Ruan smiled slightly: “Mother is truly kind. If it were me, I wouldn’t have done better. But since Nanny Zhou’s crime doesn’t warrant such treatment, and now that I’ve returned, she still counts as someone from my Meiqing Courtyard… no, Ruan Residence. Could mother make a decision and grant Ruan Niang’s request?”

Before Xia Yan could speak, Jiang Susu had already exclaimed: “Big sister, you want Nanny Zhou to return to your courtyard – aren’t you afraid she’ll steal things?”

“Ruan Niang, I know you’re a kind-hearted child, but Nanny Zhou’s character is truly unsuitable to stay by your side. She’s also blind, and keeping her at Ruan Residence would just be feeding an idle mouth. You can’t possibly want to support a servant for nothing, can you? Wouldn’t the Jiang residence become a laughingstock? Don’t you agree, Madam?”

“Exactly.” Madam Jiang nodded.

Jiang Ruan said: “I’m doing this precisely for the Jiang residence. The Jiang residence has always distinguished right from wrong and acted according to strict rules. Now Nanny Zhou, a perfectly good person, had her eyes gouged out right under everyone’s noses. Next time, will it be someone else? Will it be more than just a pair of eyes? What will people think of our Jiang residence when word gets out? They’ll only say the Jiang residence is in chaos, they’ll only say mother is incompetent at managing the household. If Nanny Zhou truly has unclean hands at Ruan Residence, I’ll be the first to send her to the authorities. If she can reform and start anew, it would fulfill the bond between master and servant. Besides, blind people aren’t incapable of doing anything. Many people in this world are born unable to see, yet they still live well, don’t they?”

Seeing that Madam Jiang’s expression had relaxed somewhat, and hearing the obvious and subtle mockery of her household management skills, Xia Yan frowned: “But this goes against propriety.”

“Mother,” Jiang Ruan interrupted her words, saying indifferently, “Everything has cause and effect. Even for the sake of good karma in the next life, it’s best not to accumulate bad deeds in this life.”