Jiang Caiping thought Yunyi didn’t want to cause trouble and said urgently, “Sister, Feng Chunxiu is deliberately targeting us. No matter how much you tolerate her, it won’t bring peace. On the contrary, it will only make her push further, step by step encroaching on our position. In the end, you and I won’t have even a foothold left.”
Yunyi took her tea and sat beside her, saying, “I understand everything you’re saying. Similarly, do you think what we can see, Nanny Yang cannot see?”
Jiang Caiping was stunned by her question. As she pondered how to respond, Yunyi continued, “Nanny Yang not only sees it, she sees it crystal clear. So whether we speak up or not, it’s all the same.”
Jiang Caiping bit her lip and said, “If that’s the case, Nanny Yang should properly manage her instead of only giving her a few light reprimands each time, knowing full well that Feng Chunxiu is wrong.”
Yunyi smiled slightly, “As long as the conflicts between dancers don’t escalate into major incidents, they’re nothing significant to Nanny Yang. She naturally doesn’t want to interfere much. Feng Chunxiu counted on exactly this point, which is why she dares to be so arrogant.”
Jiang Caiping tightly furrowed her delicate willow-shaped brows, “Then according to what sister says, we can’t do anything?”
“Although Feng Chunxiu counted on Nanny Yang’s attitude, she forgot one thing…” Yunyi gazed at the calm tea and said indifferently, “Everyone has a tolerance limit, and Nanny Yang is no exception. When Feng Chunxiu repeatedly ignores her warnings, stirring up trouble in the music hall and disrupting everyone’s peace, what do you think… Nanny Yang will do?”
Her words brought a glimmer of joy to Jiang Caiping’s eyes as she quickly answered, “Nanny Yang will surely give her a harsh lesson so she won’t dare to be so presumptuous again!”
Yunyi took a sip of the slightly bitter tea, “So what if she gives Feng Chunxiu a lesson? Will she then behave herself and never trouble us again?”
Jiang Caiping hesitated without responding. Based on her understanding of Feng Chunxiu, Nanny Yang’s scolding might make her restrain herself, but it definitely wouldn’t change her nature. At most, she’d quiet down for a while before reverting to her old ways. But to say that Nanny Yang would strip Chunxiu of her lead dancer qualification or expel her from the residence—Nanny Yang didn’t have that authority.
Yunyi saw through her thoughts and said, “Nanny Yang sees this just as clearly, so… she won’t do that.”
Jiang Caiping looked completely confused, “Then… then what will she actually do? Sister, you’ve got me all muddled up.”
Yunyi smiled without answering, only asking, “Caiping, tell me, who truly controls our fate in this Governor’s residence?”
Jiang Caiping tilted her head and thought for a moment, “This… should be Steward Lin.” Before Yunyi could speak, she shook her head repeatedly, “No, no, although Steward Lin has considerable power, he’s still just a servant, like Nanny Yang. So it should be… Second Madam!”
Yunyi nodded, “Correct. The one with the most power is naturally the Governor, but first, he doesn’t concern himself with household affairs, and second, he’s currently recovering from injuries. So the one who truly controls all matters in the residence and holds our fate in her hands is Second Madam. From what I’ve learned, Nanny Yang used to serve Second Madam.”
Jiang Caiping thought while speaking, “Sister means… Nanny Yang will tell Second Madam about this, asking Second Madam to strip Chunxiu of her lead dancer qualification, or even… expel her from the residence.”
Yunyi leisurely brushed her sleeves and said coolly, “Exactly. Now it’s just a matter of seeing how long Nanny Yang can tolerate her.”
Jiang Caiping said joyfully, “If it’s really as sister says, that would be wonderful! It would be best if she’s expelled from Honghua Commandery so we never have to see her face again.”
Looking at her face that couldn’t hide her emotions, Yunyi shook her head with a light laugh, “You really let your imagination run wild—expelled from Honghua Commandery, indeed.”
After their playful banter, Yunyi cautioned, “This is just my speculation—whether it’s accurate remains to be seen. Don’t go around talking about it carelessly. If you upset Nanny Yang, we’ll both be in trouble.”
“I know, sister. Do you really think I’m so lacking in discretion?” she said, taking Yunyi’s arm and laughing, “Sister is so clever, you can even guess Nanny Yang’s thoughts, unlike me who can’t see anything.”
Yunyi pinched her round chin, “Yes, you only think about eating. That bowl of red date soup Li Niang gave you yesterday—you finished it all by yourself. Be careful not to get so fat you can’t fit into your clothes.”
Jiang Caiping wrinkled her small nose, “I won’t! I’m so slender, I won’t get fat no matter how much I eat.” Speaking of this, she patted her stomach, “Now that sister mentions it, I am getting a bit hungry. I’ll go find Li Niang to see if there’s anything good to eat, and bring some back for sister too.”
Watching Jiang Caiping’s bouncing figure as she left, Yunyi slowly composed her smile, rose, and walked outside until she reached a certain house. Only then did she stop and knock on the door. Soon someone came to answer—it was Nanny Yang, who looked at Yunyi with some surprise, “Meixue, how did you come here?”
Yunyi said softly, “I… have some words I’d like to speak with Nanny, if it’s convenient?”
Nanny Yang looked at her and stepped aside slightly, “Come in.”
“Thank you, Nanny.” After the door was closed, she curtsied deeply to Nanny Yang, surprising the latter greatly. She stepped forward to help her up, “What are you doing? Get up quickly.”
Yunyi shook her head, refusing to rise, “Meixue has come specifically to apologize to Nanny.”
“Apologize? What’s there to apologize for out of the blue?” Under Nanny Yang’s puzzled gaze, Yunyi said quietly, “Meixue knows that these past days, because of the conflict between Chunxiu and me, I’ve caused Nanny much trouble and put you in a difficult position. Actually, I don’t want it to be this way either, but I really don’t know what to do to resolve Chunxiu’s prejudice against me, so I can only come here to ask for Nanny’s understanding.”
Hearing it was about this matter, Nanny Yang sighed and pulled her up, “I thought it was something else—so it’s about this. All those incidents were stirred up by Chunxiu, not your fault. You’ve been tolerating her at every turn, which is already admirable. There’s no need for any apology. If anyone should apologize, it should be her.” When mentioning Chunxiu, there was a trace of obvious anger in Nanny Yang’s voice, clearly showing her patience with Chunxiu had reached its limit.
Yunyi said guiltily, “If Meixue hadn’t offended Chunxiu before, how would all these incidents have occurred today?” After a pause, she continued, “Looking back, ever since entering this music hall, Meixue has caused Nanny no small amount of trouble, especially that incident with Shen Yunyi. Fortunately, it didn’t implicate Nanny, otherwise Meixue truly wouldn’t know what to do.”
Nanny Yang said with pity, “Others are eager to push blame away, but you alone take everything upon yourself. If Chunxiu had even half your understanding, there wouldn’t be so many problems.”