Jirong was startled by his sudden movement, her face turning pale with fright. She steadied herself and said, “If the First Young Master insists on thinking this way, this servant has no recourse, but everything this servant has said is the truth.”

Li Jiancheng said nothing, only staring at her intently. Jirong dared not look away, gritting her teeth to meet his gaze. After what felt like an eternity, Li Jiancheng finally released his grip. Before Jirong could breathe a sigh of relief, his voice fell upon her ears: “What is her name?”

Jirong’s heart leaped with joy, and she hurriedly replied, “In response to the First Young Master, her name is Feng Chunxiu.”

Li Jiancheng called to Wang Fu, who stood nearby: “Go to Yuxiu Pavilion and tell them that although Feng Chunxiu has erred, her crime does not warrant this punishment. Please ask Second Madam to consider my modest request and allow her to continue serving in the residence.”

Wang Fu memorized Li Jiancheng’s words and bowed, saying, “This humble one will go immediately.”

After Wang Fu departed, Jirong said gratefully, “Thank you, First Young Master!”

Li Jiancheng looked at her coldly and said, “Remember, from now on, both your life and Feng Chunxiu’s belong to me. Even if I order you to die, you must not disobey!”

Jirong wisely replied, “This servant understands. This servant and Chunxiu will follow only the First Young Master’s commands for the rest of our lives!”

Li Jiancheng nodded and waved his hand, saying, “Go now. If I don’t see the medicine in half a month, you know what the consequences will be.”

Jirong’s body trembled, and she lowered her head, saying, “This servant understands!”

After Jirong departed, Li Jiancheng looked down and rubbed his foot, hoping… that half a month would truly be enough to cure the foot ailment that had troubled him for so long!

Chunxiu was anxiously waiting in the room. When she saw Jirong enter, she hurried forward and said, “Sister, how did it go? Did the First Young Master agree? Can I continue staying in the residence?”

Seeing that she only cared about staying in the residence and showed no concern for what had happened to her at Qingchun Garden, Jirong felt quite disgusted. However, she had always been deep in thought, and no matter how unhappy she was, she would not show her feelings on her face. She said gently, “The First Young Master has already ordered Steward Wang to go to Yuxiu Garden to deliver the message. I believe Second Madam will consider the First Young Master’s face and let you continue staying in the residence.”

Hearing this, Chunxiu finally felt a weight lifted from her heart. Only then did she remember to thank Jirong: “Thank you, sister, for helping me so much. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t know what to do.”

“Since you call me sister, don’t say such distant words again. However, after this incident, you really need to change your temperament. I can save you the first time, but I may not be able to save you a second time. The First Young Master is no benevolent man. Just now, if I hadn’t insisted that preparing the Tendon-Mending Muscle-Growing Powder required your help to succeed, he wouldn’t have agreed to help at all. But I can tell there won’t be a second time.”

Chunxiu nodded repeatedly, “I know. I’ll be cautious and careful from now on, and won’t cause trouble for you again, sister. It’s just…”

Seeing her hesitate, Jirong asked, “What’s wrong?”

Chunxiu gritted her teeth and said, “When I think of how Nanny Yang humiliated me like that, I just can’t swallow this anger. Without question, she must have received benefits from Wu Meixue and conspired with her.”

Jirong said meaningfully, “The future is long. As long as you can stay in the residence, there will be a time to vent this anger.” After a pause, she said, “Alright, wait patiently. News should come before dark.”

They waited like this for about an hour when Nanny Yang sent someone to summon them to Lefang. When they arrived at Lefang, besides Nanny Yang, there was also an unfamiliar maid whose origin was unknown.

After they paid their respects to Nanny Yang, the maid walked up to Jirong, looked her up and down, and said, “Are you Jirong?”

Jirong curtsied and said, “Yes, Jirong greets Miss Zhaixing.”

Her words surprised Zhaixing, who asked, “You recognize me?” Although both Lefang and Yuxiu Pavilion were within the Governor’s residence, they had no contact with each other. Any business from Lefang was conveyed through Nanny Yang. Not to mention Wan Shi, even Zhaixing was setting foot in Lefang for the first time.

Jirong respectfully said, “Miss Zhaixing is a favored person by Second Madam’s side. How could Jirong not recognize you?”

These words made Zhaixing’s lips curve slightly, with a hint of pride in her eyes. “You do have some perception. Come with me. Second Madam wants to see you.”

Jirong didn’t ask more questions and lowered her head submissively, saying, “Yes.” Seeing them about to leave, Chunxiu hurriedly asked, “What about me? Did Second Madam say she wanted to see me?”

Zhaixing looked back at her and said coolly, “Second Madam didn’t say anything. You wait here properly.”

Under Chunxiu’s anxious gaze, Zhaixing led Jirong away from Lefang and all the way to Yuxiu Pavilion. Although it was winter, Yuxiu Pavilion was still filled with endless flowers: crab claw orchids, camellias, wintersweet, cineraria, and many other exotic flowers that Jirong didn’t recognize, all emitting waves of fragrance. From this corner alone, one could see the luxurious splendor of Yuxiu Pavilion.

A maid was picking flowers with a basket. Zhaixing walked over, took several freshly picked cineraria branches from her basket and threw them on the ground, frowning as she said, “Didn’t Madam already tell you last time when she had you pick flowers that cineraria has no nectar and butterflies don’t like it? Why did you still pick so many? If Madam sees this, she’ll be unhappy again.”

The maid lowered her head somewhat fearfully and said, “I… I forgot for a moment. Please forgive me, sister.”

“If you want to stay well in this Yuxiu Pavilion, use your memory more. Madam doesn’t like people who don’t listen to instruction.” Faced with Zhaixing’s scolding, the maid agreed repeatedly.

Although they were all servants, they were also ranked in different tiers. Those newly arrived at Yuxiu Pavilion could at most be considered middle-to-lower rank, while those like Steward Lin or Zhaixing who were deeply trusted by their masters could be considered upper rank. Their words sometimes carried as much weight as some of the masters.

Taking advantage of Zhaixing directing the maid to pick flowers, Jirong couldn’t help but ask, “Miss Zhaixing, in this season, how… can there still be butterflies?”

Zhaixing looked up and smiled, “Very surprising, isn’t it? You’ll know in a moment.”

After picking a few more camellia branches, Zhaixing led them to push open the door and enter. As soon as they stepped inside, Jirong felt a wave of heat hit her face. For that instant, she almost thought she had returned to spring.

After steadying herself, she saw that charcoal braziers were burning on both sides of the room. The charcoal in the braziers was different from what she usually saw—it was white as frost and produced no smoke at all. The furnishings in the room were all luxurious and exquisite, dazzling to the eyes. What surprised Jirong most was a white cloud-patterned glass jar placed beside the charcoal brazier on the left side. Through the translucent jar, she could see something fluttering its wings inside—it must be those butterflies. No wonder the butterflies could survive in such a warm room.

“Madam, Jirong has been brought here.” Zhaixing’s words brought Jirong back to her senses. She hurriedly bowed to the richly dressed woman seated in the place of honor, saying, “Servant Jirong greets Madam.”

During the earlier conversation between Zhaixing and the maid, they had consistently referred to Wan Shi as “Madam,” so she wisely didn’t add the character “Second” before “Madam.”