Hearing this, Jiang Caiping’s lips moved several times, but no sound came out. Over there, Nanny Yang’s eyes showed delight, but she said, “No, no, these were rewarded to you by the two Young Masters. How can I accept them? Please take them back quickly.”

“If Nanny doesn’t accept them, it means you’re still blaming me for bringing Shen Yunyi to Songtao Residence and causing such a great disaster.” Seeing her say this, Nanny Yang couldn’t decline further, and she indeed liked this pair of ruyi scepters, so she said, “Very well then, I’ll shamelessly accept them.”

After Nanny Yang left holding the ruyi scepters, Jiang Caiping, who had been holding back for so long, couldn’t contain herself any longer and immediately said, “Sister, why did you give the ruyi scepters to her? Have you forgotten about the ginseng incident?”

“Of course I remember, but we’ll still need to learn dancing under her in the future. Pleasing her benefits us in every way with no harm. Or would you rather offend her completely and have her target us every day?”

Jiang Caiping was left speechless by her words, wringing her fingers as she said, “Actually, I understand too, but seeing her get a pair of ruyi scepters so easily makes me feel uncomfortable. But since they’re already given, saying more won’t help—let’s not talk about it anymore.”

Yunyi smiled and picked up the pair of jade pendants, “Here, these are for you.”

Jiang Caiping waved her hands repeatedly, “No, these were rewarded to sister by the two Young Masters. I can’t accept them.”

“What’s mine is yours, isn’t it? Or have you forgotten what you said yesterday?” Seeing Jiang Caiping remain silent, she deliberately put on a stern face, “If you don’t accept them, I’ll be angry.”

Seeing her like this, Jiang Caiping had no choice but to say, “Alright, I’ll accept them. Thank you, sister.” After putting away the jade pendants, she touched the two embroidered lanterns in amazement, “Sister, look how beautiful these lanterns are. The flowers and birds on them look alive. This is the first time I’ve seen such exquisite lanterns.”

While putting things away, Yunyi said, “These lanterns were embroidered stitch by stitch by skilled embroiderers, so naturally they look lifelike.”

Jiang Caiping reached out to touch them and indeed felt the traces of stitching. She asked in surprise, “How does sister know this? Have you seen such lanterns before?”

Yunyi’s expression froze for a moment, then she said, “I once saw them in a lantern shop. Because I thought they were beautiful, I asked the shopkeeper a few questions and learned something about them.”

“Oh.” Jiang Caiping didn’t think much of it, casually responding before turning her attention back to the two lanterns, playing with them happily.

Speaking of Nanny Yang’s side, when she was leaving, she happened to encounter Jirong returning with water. The latter saw her and quickly stepped forward, “Greetings to Nanny.”

Nanny Yang smiled, “Miss, no need for formalities.”

Jirong stood up and looked at her, “Nanny seems to be in a very good mood. Is there something worth celebrating, or… has the assassin been caught?”

Nanny Yang said with a beaming smile, “The assassin hasn’t been caught yet, but Meixue has rendered great service.”

Jirong raised an eyebrow in surprise, “Oh? What great service did Meixue render?”

“I didn’t see it myself, but I heard that yesterday the Eldest Young Master was ambushed by Shen Moping’s scheme and nearly had his leg bone bitten through. Fortunately, Meixue killed Shen Moping in time, making her the Eldest Young Master’s savior. So just now, the Eldest and Second Young Masters together rewarded Meixue with many things. Look, this pair of ruyi scepters was given to me by Meixue.”

Jirong had noticed the ruyi scepters in Nanny Yang’s hands early on but never imagined they would be gifts from Meixue. What surprised her even more was Nanny Yang’s words “fortunately Meixue killed Shen Moping in time.”

She and Meixue were from the same village and could be said to have grown up together. She knew Meixue’s character well—gentle with a soft heart, usually not even daring to kill a chicken. She couldn’t imagine her killing a person at all. If these words hadn’t come from Nanny Yang’s mouth, she would have thought it was a joke.

She suppressed her wild thoughts and tentatively asked, “Nanny, was the person… really killed by Meixue?”

“Of course! The rewards have already been given—how could it be false?” After saying a few more words, Nanny Yang left holding the ruyi scepters. After she left, Jirong also returned to her own room.

Chunxiu had already gotten up and was sitting in front of the bronze mirror combing her hair. Seeing Jirong enter, she casually said, “Sister Jirong, what hairstyle do you think would look good on me today?”

After waiting a while without hearing Jirong’s response, she turned around puzzled and saw Jirong standing in place holding the bronze basin, lost in thought. Only after she called several times did Jirong come back to her senses and ask confusedly, “What’s wrong?”

Chunxiu walked over and took the water-filled bronze basin from her hands, “Nothing. I’m wondering what sister is thinking about—you look absent-minded.”

Jirong recounted what had just happened with a complex expression. The next moment, Chunxiu was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, shrieking, “Savior? As if she’s worthy!”

Jirong said somewhat helplessly, “Even if we think she’s unworthy, this is an undeniable fact. Because of this matter, the two Young Masters rewarded her with many precious things. Just that pair of ruyi scepters she gave to Nanny Yang would cost more than our combined salaries for several years. Nanny Yang was smiling so widely her mouth nearly split open.”

Chunxiu bit her lips tightly, her eyes filled with intense jealousy, “What do we do now? Just watch her become more and more pleased with herself?”

Jirong was silent for a moment, then said, “Chunxiu, don’t you feel that… ever since you injured Meixue last time, she’s become somewhat… not quite right?”

Chunxiu nodded urgently, “More than somewhat! Sister, have you forgotten how sinister she looked when we went to her room before? I still feel creeped out thinking about it even now. And this time, she actually went and killed someone.” She hugged her arms somewhat fearfully, “I said before that she was transformed by a demon, and sister said it was impossible. Now I think more and more that it’s true.”

“A demon isn’t possible, but…” Jirong pondered, “I do remember when I was young, my grandfather once said that some people, after hitting their heads, would lose their memory or even undergo dramatic personality changes. Meixue very likely belongs to the latter category.”

Hearing this, Chunxiu breathed a slight sigh of relief, then said, “So what do we do now? Just let her continue pleasing the Eldest Young Master and the others?” Speaking of this, she was so angry her teeth itched with hatred, saying resentfully, “I never noticed before that this Wu Meixue was so seductive. First, she somehow hooked up with the Second Young Master, and now she’s become the Eldest Young Master’s savior. If this continues, who knows when we’ll have to call her Young Madam!”

Jirong’s eyes narrowed slightly as she said coldly, “She’s not the only one who knows how to please people.” With that, she took out a small box from under the bed and carefully retrieved a small porcelain bottle from a hidden compartment.

“What is this?” Chunxiu said while reaching for it, but came up empty. Jirong avoided her hand and carefully held the porcelain bottle, “Don’t touch it carelessly. What’s inside is a treasure. If it breaks, there won’t be any more.”