"The young lady being so affectionate toward you, Madam, is sure to please Commander Xiao."
Mama Luo, the matron by Mi Yao's side, was quite satisfied with Xiao Shan's closeness. "In the future, you will have children of your own. However, the Second Young Master and young lady are the orphaned children of the Commander's elder brother. If you treat them generously and kindly, others will praise you for your magnanimity."
Mi Yao had thought that after sending away the little radish, she could lie down peacefully in a quiet environment.
Little did she know that as soon as the door closed, Mama Luo's mouth would start running nonstop.
After commenting on the little radish, she moved on to the big radish: "Xiao Yi is an adopted son taken in by the Commander. He has no parents, and being older, he has his own ideas. It's enough for you, Madam, to maintain surface courtesy toward him. You should find an opportunity to separate him from the Second Young Master and young lady, so he doesn't say anything to corrupt them and create distance between them and you."
Seeing that she showed no sign of stopping—after teaching her how to ostracize Xiao Yi, she began listing how many servants were in the residence and who needed to be carefully won over—Mi Yao grew weary of listening.
"You've talked about everyone else; it's time to talk about yourself. In your opinion, how should I treat you?"
The original host's courtyard originally had four maids and one nursing matron.
Before the wedding, the original host's stepmother, Li Shi, found an excuse to replace the original matron and inserted Mama Luo into her courtyard.
She then married off the original host's head maid and replaced her with Shi Ya.
Knowing that Li Shi's arrangements were on the orders of the Yu Family Head, Mi Yao didn't care who was sent—she had no intention of obeying or compromising herself anyway.
On the journey, Mama Luo had been relatively quiet, so Mi Yao had acted as if she didn't exist. But now that Mama Luo was being verbose, Mi Yao fixed her gaze on her.
"Who are you to me that I should need you to teach me how to act?"
With Mi Yao's first question, Mama Luo sensed her displeasure. The smile on her face froze, and she immediately heard the ensuing reprimand.
As Mi Yao's displeased voice echoed in the room, Shi Ya pursed her lips and took half a step back.
After joining Mi Yao, Shi Ya had realized that while Mi Yao seemed indifferent to everything, as if she had no temper, in reality, she simply couldn't be bothered with matters unrelated to her comfort and enjoyment.
For instance, when Shi Ya first arrived, she found Mi Yao's daily skincare routine troublesome and, assuming Mi Yao had a gentle disposition, neglected her duties. After Mi Yao noticed, she made Shi Ya hold a basin for an hour every day, claiming it was to train her strength so she wouldn't be too weak to lift her hands when serving her mistress.
Complaining to Li Shi was useless—a mistress punishing a disobedient maid was perfectly justified. Even if Li Shi dropped a few hints in front of Mi Yao, Mi Yao simply pretended not to hear, leaving Li Shi with no recourse.
After that incident, Shi Ya realized that Mi Yao only appeared soft on the surface.
She had even specifically mentioned this to Mama Luo, but Mama Luo refused to believe it, insisting that Mi Yao was bullying Shi Ya for being young and inexperienced, deliberately setting rules to intimidate her.
Now, see for yourself.
Mi Yao clearly spared no one's feelings.
"You have married far from home, Madam. The Second Madam specifically requested me from the First Madam to be by your side, fearing that you are young and unaware of matters, so that this old servant could offer guidance and ensure your well-being."
"How clever of you to know that using the Second Madam alone wouldn't sway me, so you added my aunt-in-law, trying to pressure me with the family."
Mi Yao curled the corner of her lips, "But so what? If my aunt stood before me, I would show some courtesy as she is my elder. No matter how much say you have in my aunt's courtyard, you're merely a house-raised servant. Mama Luo, since your deed of servitude is in my hands, don't think of acting as my master and telling me what to do. If I grow annoyed, what good would that bring you?"
The original host's father still held some paternal affection for her.
The Yu Family Head had originally planned to insert more Yu family members into her wedding procession, thinking they might prove useful later.
But before her marriage, the original host's father went to retrieve the deeds of servitude for Mama Luo's entire family. While he didn't interfere with covert arrangements, at least on the surface, his daughter could completely control the servants around her.
Seeing that Mi Yao truly wasn't afraid of her reporting to the Yu family, Mama Luo gritted her teeth: "Madam's perspective is too narrow and shortsighted. The reason Commander Xiao married you, aside from your beauty, is because of your status as a Yu family daughter. If the Commander and the Madam learn of your conduct, they would surely be disappointed. If your relationship with the Yu family weakens, how can they remain your support? Moreover, every word I speak is for your benefit, not to harm you. Why must you treat me as a villain and enemy?"
After Mama Luo finished, Mi Yao merely glanced at her indifferently: "Leave. The sound of your voice irritates me."
This felt more defeating to Mama Luo than outright anger. She truly couldn't understand Mi Yao's thinking—how could a young woman sever her own influence and disregard her maternal family's elders?
"You'll regret this!"
"If you say another word," Mi Yao interrupted with a frown, cutting off her persistence, "whether I regret it later remains to be seen, but you should first consider what kind of place someone your age could end up in if sold off. This is your only warning. If there's a next time, you can only pray to encounter a kind-hearted buyer."
Frightened by Mi Yao's warning, Mama Luo swallowed her resentment and fell silent.
As soon as Mama Luo left, Shi Ya knelt before Mi Yao.
"This servant is different from Mama Luo. Since coming to your side, I've known that you are my only master from now on. I am utterly loyal to you and would never say things that displease you while claiming it's for your benefit, unlike Mama Luo."
Hearing Shi Ya vigorously disparage Mama Luo to highlight her own difference, Mi Yao couldn't help but laugh.
"Get up. As long as you don't annoy me or cause trouble, loyalty doesn't matter much."
She had no intention of wasting mental energy on strategies for managing subordinates. Even with Mama Luo, if she hadn't nagged and tried to control her, Mi Yao wouldn't have bothered threatening her if she had quietly built influence within Xiao Manor on her own.
As long as she wasn't starved or bothered, as a brainless vase, she was quite easy to get along with.
As Mi Yao spoke, she scanned the remaining people in the room. Shuang Hua understood that Mi Yao was addressing them all and quickly acknowledged.
Yet, the more Mi Yao told them loyalty wasn't necessary, the more they believed she was testing them with reverse psychology.
Mama Luo was the Madam's person and only got one chance—they, as mere maids, couldn't afford to be sold off after a single mistake.
"This Lady Yu is truly peculiar. Her first act was to discipline her own servant, causing the capable mama to become alienated from her."
After Mi Yao arrived in Yi Zhou, Grandma Ma kept a constant watch on the Xiao family's movements. She learned that Mi Yao had brought along a formidable matron who, in less than half a day, had gathered and screened all the manor's servants. Grandma Ma grew concerned that this Lady Yu might be too capable.
But to her surprise, within hours, news came from Xiao Manor that Mi Yao had reprimanded the matron for being meddlesome and had dismissed her from service.
She merely prevented the matron from grasping power, yet Lady Yu showed no further activity. Throughout the entire day, she remained in her chamber, neither going anywhere nor meeting anyone.
"Do you think she's putting on a show of kindness and generosity by punishing her own matron in front of Xiao Manor's servants, just because she hasn't married Xiao Chu yet? How foolish," Grandma Ma mused, unable to comprehend. She turned to her daughter-in-law and asked, "And what about that tight-lipped brat Xiao Shan? I've always smiled and coaxed her, but she wouldn't even let me hold her. Now she's clinging to that Lady Yu like a leech—what an ungrateful little flatterer!"
"Young children are the best at reading adults' expressions. Xiao Erlang is older and knows to pretend respect even when you speak harshly, recognizing you as an elder. Xiao Shan is just too young to fake it," Pan replied.
Having suffered restless nights and poor daytime spirits lately, Pan, who usually comforted her mother-in-law during complaints, spoke bluntly today. "You don't genuinely like Xiao Shan, so naturally she doesn't warm up to you."
"What does a little girl know about genuine feelings? I bet that Lady Yu used some trick to make the brat cling to her!" Grandma Ma fretted, afraid that Lady Yu would win the affection of the Xiao children and earn Xiao Chu's trust and admiration. She grumbled on for a long while but, seeing Pan massaging her temples without responding, felt disgruntled and huffed off to her still-sleeping daughter's room.
Once her mother-in-law left, Pan rubbed her head and began pondering the contents of her dreams.
At first, dreaming that Xiao Chu would conquer the realm and become the supreme ruler felt like an absurd fantasy. But as the dreams recurred nightly with increasing detail, she realized she was witnessing future fate.
She never imagined that Xiao Chu would ultimately rise the highest.
Frowning deeply, Pan couldn't understand why she always backed the wrong horse.
Her father had been a trusted aide to Zhao Tianhe. After her father died in service to the Zhao family, Zhao Tianhe took her in as his foster daughter.
When she reached marriageable age, she evaluated the men around her, narrowing her choices to Ma Songping and Xiao Chu.
In terms of looks, she had initially preferred Xiao Chu. However, Xiao Chu didn't know how to flatter women—he spoke plainly, making every attempt to get close feel like trying to warm up to a cold shoulder. Ma Songping, on the other hand, knew how to joke and make her laugh, even giving gifts to please her.
Moreover, Ma Songping seemed more favored by Zhao Tianhe at the time, so she rejected Xiao Chu and chose Ma Songping. But who could have predicted Ma Songping would die young, leaving her a widow less than a year after their marriage?
With Zhao Tianhe as her backing, remarriage was inevitable.
For a woman, remarrying is like being reborn. Unlike her naive younger self, she deliberated carefully over her options this time.
Xiao Chu remained a candidate, but when she saw that although Zhao Tianhe had adopted him as a foster son, he hadn't granted him the Zhao surname—indicating he wouldn't enter the core of Zhao's power—she shifted her focus to Zhao's blood relatives.
Recalling how the man she had chosen in her dream opposed Xiao Chu, only to have his forces swiftly eradicated in a few clashes, forcing her into a desperate flight that ended with her dying miserably of illness in a thatched shed, Pan bit her lip tightly. Since Heaven had granted her this chance, it was to make her see the situation clearly and choose the most powerful tree to perch on.
She hadn't chosen Xiao Chu before, but it wasn't too late to choose him now.
In her dream, Lady Yu had loved another, and after marrying Xiao Chu, she treated him as an enemy, tormenting the Xiao family's children, ultimately meeting a gruesome death by a thousand cuts.
What was there to fear from such a woman, even if she was of noble birth and outstanding beauty? In the dream, she had merely placed her bets wrongly and failed to focus her heart and mind on Xiao Chu. Now that Pan was willing to fight for him, Yu Shi was simply unworthy of being her rival.
If Lady Yu managed to eliminate those Xiao children, so be it—especially Xiao Yi, whom Xiao Chu had groomed as his successor in the end. At the right moment, Pan would even help Lady Yu fan the flames.
Only when the unnecessary people were thoroughly removed could the children she bore with Xiao Chu have a smooth path ahead, and only then could she become the most esteemed woman in the world.