Sheng Sanlang was dragged out the door by Luo Sheng in a daze. When he looked up and saw a row of women standing in the corridor, he jolted awake with a start.

“Cousin—”

Luo Sheng gave Sheng Sanlang a reassuring smile, then turned to the group of women. “Elder Yiniang—”

The oldest woman among them quickly stepped forward. “What does the young miss need?”

Only then did Luo Sheng take the leisure to examine Elder Yiniang carefully.

The woman was well-maintained, appearing to be only in her early thirties, though her actual age was likely somewhat greater. Her hair was neatly combed into a smooth bun.

She didn’t seem like someone who would cause trouble.

“Arrange lodgings for my cousin and the guards he brought with him.” At this point, Luo Sheng called Xiu Yue forward. “This is Xiu Gu. I brought her back from the south. From now on, she’ll serve in my courtyard. Her monthly salary will be the same as Hong Dou’s.”

Hong Dou felt as if an arrow had struck her chest.

To actually be on equal footing with Xiu Gu—how humiliating!

However, this was the young miss’s arrangement, so even if she was unhappy, she had to endure it.

The little maid secretly glared at Xiu Yue, thinking to herself that she’d been too careless. Back then, she’d been so pleased about having delicious tofu pudding available at any time, never realizing she was inviting a wolf into the house.

“Young miss, rest assured. I’ll make the arrangements right away.” Elder Yiniang quickly agreed.

Years of experience had taught her that whatever the young miss said was final, and whatever the young miss wanted should be provided. Only then could one have peaceful days.

Luo Sheng gave a slight nod in response to Elder Yiniang and stepped forward to leave.

A figure came flying over. “Young miss, you’ve finally returned!”

Luo Sheng instinctively dodged, watching as the person crashed into Hong Dou instead.

Hong Dou wore a disgusted expression as she pushed the person away, rubbing her arm and chiding, “Kou’er, are you trying to kill me with that collision!”

So this was Luo young miss’s other senior maid, Kou’er.

Kou’er appeared to be about the same age as Hong Dou. She had a fair, oval face and was currently gazing at Luo Sheng with tearful eyes, presenting quite a delicate and vulnerable beauty.

Luo Sheng recalled how every time Hong Dou mentioned Kou’er, she would purse her lips and say, “Young miss, don’t worry about that annoying pest. Isn’t this servant enough for you?”

Now she’d finally met the person in question, though she didn’t yet know what her character was like.

For people she couldn’t approve of, Luo Sheng had no intention of keeping them nearby to cause trouble—at the very least, they couldn’t serve in close attendance.

“Let’s return to my quarters first.” Luo Sheng didn’t know the way, but with Hong Dou and Kou’er present, there was naturally no need to worry about that.

On the way back to the courtyard, Kou’er’s mouth never stopped.

“Young miss, why didn’t you send someone ahead with word of your return? This servant could have gone outside the city to welcome you! This won’t do at all—what if some blind fool had offended you?”

“Yes, this servant knows that none of those blind fools could defeat you in a fight, but you can’t always handle things personally! No young lady of a great household would handle things personally! Aren’t Hong Dou and this servant here for that…”

“Sob sob sob, young miss has gotten thinner. This servant said it wouldn’t do to go to Jinsha without bringing me along. What use is Hong Dou anyway—”

Hong Dou finally exploded, unable to bear it any longer. “Kou’er, shut your mouth!”

Having Xiu Gu suddenly appear halfway through had already made her position as senior maid precarious, yet this little hussy Kou’er was actually kicking her while she was down.

Kou’er blinked, clearly unafraid of Hong Dou’s fury. “Hong Dou, I already reminded you before you left—when you reach the young miss’s maternal grandmother’s household, you must restrain your temper. The Sheng family is a scholarly household. The way you act won’t do at all—you’ll embarrass the young miss…”

“Won’t do, won’t do—I think what won’t do is me not giving you a beating today!” Hong Dou raised her fists and charged forward.

Watching the two maids scuffle together, Xiu Yue, who had been silently following behind Luo Sheng, was already dumbstruck.

She’d thought a maid like Hong Dou was already quite rare, never expecting there would also be a Kou’er…

Xiu Yue quietly glanced at Luo Sheng, her feelings complex. From this perspective, Miss Luo was nothing like their princess.

Thinking of Shufeng, Zhaohua, and Jiangxue—each one an exceptional person of great ability. Even someone as simple as herself had passable cooking skills.

Looking again at Miss Luo’s senior maids—gazing at the two young maids’ lively, spirited faces, Xiu Yue’s eyes dimmed slightly.

So what if they were ordinary? Being able to live happily was good enough. Jiangxue and the others were no longer here.

The Luo estate’s gardens in the third month were at the height of spring’s floral abundance. The two little maids’ chatter made things even livelier. Walking through this liveliness, Luo Sheng’s lips unconsciously curved upward.

To have such a situation was already very good. She believed everything would only get better.

The sunlight was excellent. By the roadside, a cluster of peonies was blooming vigorously like fire. Luo Sheng lifted her skirts and slowly walked toward a courtyard nestled among flowers and trees.

The other three sworn sons of Grand Marshal Luo rushed over one after another upon hearing news of Luo Sheng’s return. Without exception, they were turned away at Luo Sheng’s door.

The sworn father’s treasured daughter had never regarded these sworn brothers of hers with any importance anyway.

“Elder brother, did third younger sister truly say she would go request Divine Physician Li tomorrow?” A young man in a blue long robe walking beside Pingli asked.

Pingli glanced at the young man and kindly reminded him, “Fourth brother, in the future you’d best not call her third younger sister. Call her third young miss instead.”

The young man couldn’t help but frown. “What kind of reasoning is this?”

“She doesn’t like it.”

The young man’s lips moved as if to say something, but in the end he swallowed his words and smiled. “Thank you for the reminder, elder brother. However, if third young miss is going to seek Divine Physician Li, why didn’t elder brother stop her?”

“Stop her?” Pingli seemed to have heard something quite amusing. “Fourth brother, have you forgotten who third young miss is? She’s sworn father’s treasured daughter. How could I stop her?”

“But sworn father’s life hangs by a thread—”

Pingli calmly interrupted the young man’s words. “Precisely because of this, we should take even better care of third young miss.”

The young man fell silent for a moment, then gave a slight nod. “Elder brother is right. Let third young miss do whatever she wishes.”

She was just a young girl who caused more problems than she solved anyway. If they tried to stop her, it might only create more trouble.

Elder brother’s thinking was more thorough after all.

The upheaval brought by Luo Sheng’s return to the capital didn’t only affect the Grand Marshal’s estate.

Imperial Physician Wang, who had examined Grand Marshal Luo, returned to the Imperial Medical Bureau and slammed his medicine box on the table, his beard trembling with rage. “Outrageous! Truly arrogant and ignorant!”

“Brother Wang, what has made you so angry?” A colleague asked.

Imperial Physician Wang puffed his beard but said nothing.

The assembled colleagues grew even more curious.

“Brother Wang just returned from the Grand Marshal’s estate, didn’t he? Could it be that someone from the Grand Marshal’s estate made things difficult for you?”

Grand Marshal Luo’s severe injuries and unconscious state had drawn attention from all levels of the capital, and were even more closely watched by the imperial physicians.

None of the physicians present hadn’t visited the Grand Marshal’s estate.

Considering that Grand Marshal Luo’s condition showed no improvement, it wouldn’t be strange if Imperial Physician Wang had suffered some humiliation at the Grand Marshal’s estate due to bad luck.

“Grand Marshal Luo’s legitimate daughter has returned to the capital.”

The assembled physicians were shocked. “What? The very Miss Luo who dared to flirt with Prince Kaiyang in the street?”

Most of them had never met this Miss Luo, but there wasn’t a single one who hadn’t heard of her.

Imperial Physician Wang nodded angrily. “That very Miss Luo! This woman actually declared she would go request Divine Physician Li, intending to use her power and influence to pressure him!”

“Using power and influence to coerce Divine Physician Li? Absurd!” One physician flew into a rage.

Another physician was equally furious. “Laughable!”

“Shameless!” All the physicians were incensed.

As the physicians left their offices for the day, the joke about Miss Luo intending to use power and influence to coerce Divine Physician Li into treating her father quickly spread throughout the capital.