“Everything in the young lady’s room is kept by Nanny Bai,” Chunlan said, lowering her head.
The Marchioness turned her questioning gaze toward Nanny Bai, who stood behind Shen Qingluo: “You’re from Shanyang County, so you don’t know the rules of the Marquis’ household. Here, if a servant damages the young lady’s belongings, they are punished with the board and sent to do menial labor.”
Nanny Bai stood upright. “The clothes were not soiled by this old servant.”
“Still arguing?” The Marchioness seated herself at the head position. “You manage the young lady’s private stores. If anything is damaged or lost, you must bear the responsibility.”
She signaled to Nanny Qian: “Search the young lady’s courtyard. Some people won’t shed tears until they see the coffin.”
“Mother, I am your daughter. Do you truly mean to have my courtyard searched?” Shen Qingluo stepped in front of Nanny Qian, her tone calm.
Is there any mother in the world who would order her daughter’s quarters to be searched? None. Only her own mother. No—she was only Shen Qingyi’s mother.
Meeting Shen Qingluo’s cool gaze, the Marchioness turned her head aside and said coldly: “Ah Luo, your mother is disciplining the servants on your behalf.”
With the order given, Nanny Qian bypassed Shen Qingluo and led Feicui and Liuli to begin searching, starting with Nanny Bai’s side room.
When they reached the main room, Nanny Qian opened Shen Qingluo’s dressing box. A jade pendant of pine-green stone was revealed, and Shen Qingyi’s eyes nearly glazed over at the sight. Such a fine piece—there wasn’t even one like it in the Marquis’ household. To leave it with her elder sister was truly a waste.
“Madam, we’ve found it,” Nanny Qian announced, holding up a garment.
It was a cloud-brocade robe in rouge-red, but the sleeve bore a large stain, and the pearls once dangling from the golden threads were missing.
The Marchioness’ face tightened. “Ah Luo, it seems the people in your quarters are not only careless in their duties, but also dishonest with their hands.”
Another charge added.
Shen Qingluo understood well—her mother meant to strip away her trusted attendants so that her own people could take their place. The jewelry and dowry left by Grandmother had stirred her mother’s envy. How impatient she was!
“Ah Luo, today your mother will deal with your servants on your behalf. From now on, Nanny Zhou will be the stewardess of your courtyard. She has served me for many years, steady and reliable.”
The Marchioness spoke with solemn affection: “Ah Luo, your mother would never harm you.”
Putting on the guise of a loving mother. Yet whatever shred of maternal feeling remained had been erased again and again.
Shen Qingluo’s gaze grew still as she looked at her mother. “Mother, the robe was not soiled by Nanny Bai…”
“Ah Luo!” The Marchioness lost her patience. “You are ignorant, not clever. Master Yuandu the Immortal said it himself—you were born under a curse.” She said: “Someone as inauspicious as you ought to behave, obey, and live with the utmost caution!”
The words pierced like a blade.
In the past, Nanny Bai had only heard the old matriarch mention a few times that the young lady’s mother treated her poorly. Never had she imagined a mother could speak such venom. Unable to hold back, she retorted: “The old madam once had the young lady’s fortune read. The young lady is richly blessed, not inauspicious.”
The fortune-teller’s exact words were: *This girl’s destiny is noble—she bears the fate of a phoenix.* But those words were dangerous. The old madam had warned never to let them be spoken aloud.
“Too much talk!” The Marchioness glared at Nanny Bai, unable to wait another moment. “Nanny Qian, drive her out at once—and that child in the front courtyard as well.”
Nanny Qian was just about to act when Shen Qingluo’s cold gaze swept across her. “Hold.”
No one in the room dared move. The young lady carried an innate air of authority.
All eyes fixed on Shen Qingluo. Her face hardened completely as she called toward the doorway: “Xiao Ya, bring her in.”
“Coming.” At the door unfolded a comical scene: Xiao Ya’s slender frame pressed down on Nanny Zhou, who was taller by a head. With her arms twisted behind her back, Nanny Zhou was subdued with ease.
Xiao Ya was not only sharp-nosed but strong as well.
“Kneel!” Xiao Ya lifted her leg and kicked Nanny Zhou’s knee, forcing her down.
Nanny Zhou collapsed to her knees, head bowed low.
“What is the meaning of this?” The Marchioness sensed something was wrong, her voice faltering.
“Mother, weren’t you looking for the culprit who dirtied the brocade robe?” Shen Qingluo pointed at Nanny Zhou. “Here she is.”
The orders had been given clearly—how could they be so easily exposed?
Nanny Qian tried to twist the situation: “Miss, even if you dislike the person Madam has arranged for you, you cannot frame her like this.”
“Well said. Nanny Zhou has served in the Marquis’ household for many years. How could she do such a thing?” the Marchioness added.
Shen Qingyi urged her elder sister: “Elder Sister, don’t oppose Mother over a mere servant. It will wound her heart.”
Shen Qingluo ignored them. “Xiao Ya, search her.”
Xiao Ya had been waiting. She pinched Nanny Zhou’s wrist joint, and after a few cries, the woman lost all strength to resist. From her collar, several smooth, translucent Eastern pearls were pulled out. The evidence lay plain before them.
The Marchioness’ face turned ashen. The words she had just spoken now struck her like slaps across her own cheeks. She did not even dare interrogate Nanny Zhou, afraid she might confess the truth.
At that moment, Suyue stepped across the threshold, followed by Shen Zheng, who had just returned from duty. That very day at the Privy Council, he had encountered Ye Huaijin. Unprecedentedly, the lofty Lord Ye paused slightly in front of him and gave a faint greeting. He won the envy of his colleagues. They asked him: “What method did you use to gain Lord Ye’s favor?”
Shen Zheng, rarely so proud, lifted his head and chest with confidence:
“There was no method—only that I performed my duties well.”
But in his heart, he calculated that Ye Huaijin’s regard was most likely because of Shen Qingluo. He had thought that the incident at Baique Temple was merely Lord Ye passing by. He never imagined that the daughter he had always dismissed could catch Ye Huaijin’s eye.
It was as if smoke were rising from the ancestral tombs—an omen of great fortune. Shen Zheng was already thinking of cultivating some father-daughter affection, so that it might prove useful in the future.
Just as he stepped through the courtyard gate, he heard the commotion inside. After asking Suyue, the answer made him frown.
He entered with a stern face. The Marchioness, fearful of this side of Shen Zheng, rose and said: “My Lord, why have you come?” Then added: “Matters of the inner quarters are for me to handle.”
His wife had always been gentle and virtuous, but the way she had managed this affair disappointed him. His expression did not change as he said: “What sort of people have you given to Ah Luo?”
Shen Zheng glanced at Madam Zhou, his face unreadable.
The Marchioness admitted fault: “It was my negligence, allowing Ah Luo to suffer grievance.”
“You call it negligence?” Shen Zheng looked at his wife. “Ah Luo is your daughter. When those serving her have been with her for long, to wrong them is not only to wound her heart.”
Shen Qingluo lowered her gaze at just the right moment.
Silent grievance was even more moving. Shen Zheng felt a stir of fatherly affection and, hardening his heart against his wife, said: “From now on, the maids in Ah Luo’s courtyard will be chosen by her alone.”
“Yes.” The Marchioness could only agree.
Nanny Zhou was punished and expelled from the household.
Chunlan and Dongxue were sent off to work in the kitchen.
As Nanny Qian led her people away, she muttered resentfully: “Madam instructed that the young lady’s courtyard is too short of attendants. You may choose two clever ones from the household to serve you.”
“Thank you.” Shen Qingluo’s tone was cool, neither warm nor cold.
With no more ears pressed against the walls, life in Banyue Pavilion became freer for mistress and servants alike. The happiest of all was Xiao Ya. Shen Qingluo converted the side room that had once been occupied by Nanny Zhou into a pharmacy for her.