“This servant will leave right away! This servant will leave immediately!”
One of the old maids from the medicine room was the first to break down. She scrambled to her feet and fled out of the courtyard in a panic.
With someone taking the lead, the remaining few no longer dared to delay. They fled the main courtyard in a complete panic.
The servants who remained in the courtyard now looked at the new Princess Consort with fear in their eyes.
Was this woman really here for a luck-changing marriage?
She was clearly a fierce guardian spirit who had come to suppress the entire manor!
“Nanny.”
Jiang Zhaoxue rubbed her face and adjusted her sleeves.
“This old servant is here.”
At this moment, Granny Cui’s attitude toward her was even three times more respectful than it had been toward the prince.
“The kitchen and medicine room cannot be left empty. Go personally to the outer courtyard, or to the servant brokers, and select a new group of people for me.”
Jiang Zhaoxue gave her instructions.
Granny Cui agreed, but hesitated slightly.
“Princess Consort, if we replace everyone with unfamiliar faces, what if they are clumsy and cannot serve properly\…”
“Being clumsy isn’t a problem. The problem is being too clever.”
Jiang Zhaoxue looked at her and smiled.
“Your prince is currently like a sieve full of holes. If I want to keep him alive, then the main courtyard must be clean from the inside out.”
“This old servant understands! This old servant will handle it as soon as dawn arrives!”
Jiang Zhaoxue yawned and waved her hand.
“I can’t do this anymore. I’m going to sleep. Don’t call me for breakfast tomorrow morning. I won’t be able to get up.”
After saying that, she yawned as she walked toward her room. Then she turned back and added a reminder.
“Oh, right. If your prince wakes up again in the middle of the night, give him another dose of the medicinal soup.”
Granny Cui repeatedly agreed.
Late at night, the room was dimly lit.
The effects of Xiao Chenghuai’s medicine had long worn off. He slowly woke up, but this time he did not see the young woman dressed all in red.
Not long after, Granny Cui quietly walked in carrying freshly cooked porridge and medicine.
Seeing that the prince was awake, Granny Cui’s eyes reddened again. She hurried forward.
“Your Highness, do you feel a little better?”
Xiao Chenghuai nodded. He had practically been raised by Granny Cui, and had long regarded her as half an elder. He had always treated her with great respect.
In this Jing Prince’s residence, Granny Cui was the only person he truly trusted.
“Where is she? Why did it feel like there was so much commotion outside earlier?” Xiao Chenghuai asked in a low voice.
Granny Cui put down the medicine. Thinking that the prince disliked the Princess Consort’s rough and unruly behavior, she hesitated before speaking softly.
“Please forgive this old servant, Your Highness. The Princess Consort earlier\… took back the treasury keys from the Dowager Consort’s hands, moved three boxes of gold and medicinal materials, and then decisively dismissed everyone working in the courtyard’s kitchen and medicine room.”
“She made such a huge disturbance and even completely offended the Dowager Consort. I fear the Dowager Consort will come looking for trouble tomorrow. This old servant failed to stop her.”
In truth, Granny Cui also cared for the prince deeply and had long been angry but unable to speak against the Dowager Consort’s actions.
At this moment, she thought Xiao Chenghuai would frown after hearing this. After all, over the years, in order to maintain a surface-level balance, Xiao Chenghuai had always secretly guarded against the Dowager Consort’s actions and rarely confronted her so openly.
Unexpectedly, after listening, Xiao Chenghuai merely nodded. He was not angry at all.
His body had been worn down for too long. The dark and filthy things happening in the courtyard were not something he was unaware of.
It was just that even when he was awake, he had no strength to deal with them.
Now, the appearance of Jiang Zhaoxue was like an extremely sharp blade, cutting through all the worries and restraints he had been carrying.
“It’s fine.”
Xiao Chenghuai’s voice remained deep, but there was a hint of indulgence in his tone.
“Let her do as she pleases.”
He actually wanted to see whether this little bride who came for the luck-changing marriage could become the blade that helped him break through his predicament!
Or rather, he wanted to see what exactly she intended to do and how far she could go.
The next day.
The sun was already high in the sky when Jiang Zhaoxue slowly got out of bed. She yawned and pushed open the door.
A long line of unfamiliar faces had already been standing in the courtyard.
Granny Cui had not slept all night. Before dawn, she personally went to the outer courtyard and to a familiar servant broker, carefully selecting a group of servants with clean backgrounds.
Now that she saw the Princess Consort had woken up, she hurried forward.
“Princess Consort, everyone is here. Following your instructions, this old servant selected all of them from outside. Would you like to question them one by one?”
“No need for such trouble.”
Jiang Zhaoxue waved her hand.
She did not even take the roster. With her hands behind her back, she slowly walked past the dozen or so people in front of her like an old man taking a leisurely stroll.
In the eyes of ordinary people, these were merely a group of ordinary servants wearing coarse cloth clothing.
But in Jiang Zhaoxue’s eyes, each person’s head carried a certain aura.
White represented purity and kindness, gray represented weakness and gloom, yellow represented greed, and black carried a murderous presence.
People could lie, but one’s fortune and appearance would never deceive.
Jiang Zhaoxue stopped in front of a chubby little maid.
The little girl had a round face with a few freckles on it. She looked simple and a little silly. When she noticed Jiang Zhaoxue staring at her, she nervously twisted her fingers together.
“What is your name?” Jiang Zhaoxue asked gently.
The little girl timidly replied, “Reporting to the Princess Consort, this servant is called Yucao.”
Jiang Zhaoxue nodded.
“Not bad. From now on, you will be responsible for the tea and snacks in my room.”
Jiang Zhaoxue pointed at her.
The chubby maid Yucao’s eyes lit up. She immediately knelt down with a thump.
“This servant will definitely serve the Princess Consort well!”
Next, Jiang Zhaoxue pointed at an old maid with a haggard face.
“You. Take charge of the medicine room. From now on, only you are allowed to touch the prince’s medicine.”
The old maid was stunned for a long while before slowly kowtowing.
“This old servant obeys.”
After making one round, Jiang Zhaoxue selected only a few people. She waved her hand and dismissed the rest.
Granny Cui watched from the side, frowning deeply. She finally could not help but remind her.
“Princess Consort, the people you chose\… are they a little too, too honest? They don’t look very clever.”
Granny Cui hurriedly pulled out a maid who had not been selected earlier. The maid had a slender figure and lively eyes.
In a low voice, she said, “Princess Consort, take a look at this one. Her name is Bizhu. This old servant personally chose her. This girl is quick with her words and nimble with her hands and feet. She is definitely a clever one\…”
Jiang Zhaoxue glanced at the maid named Bizhu with a faint smile.
“Her brow bones are prominent, and the whites of her eyes are greater than the black. This is the face of someone born with a rebellious nature.”
Jiang Zhaoxue leaned closer to Granny Cui’s ear.
“Also, her forehead is dark, which means she is harboring malicious intentions. And soon, she will encounter bloodshed.”
Granny Cui sucked in a cold breath. How did this Princess Consort suddenly start speaking so mysteriously?
Jiang Zhaoxue straightened up and smiled at Bizhu.
“Since Nanny says you are clever, then go work in the back courtyard doing rough labor.”
Bizhu’s expression stiffened. A trace of unwillingness flashed in her eyes, but she could only grit her teeth and accept.
“This servant obeys.”
After everyone had left, Jiang Zhaoxue finally waved to Laifu, who was still standing there foolishly.
“Laifu, find two guards with good skills. Tonight, as soon as it gets dark, have them keep watch over the well in the back courtyard. If that maid goes to draw water, capture her immediately.”
Laifu swallowed.
“Princess Consort, why?”
“Just do as I say.”
It turned out that Jiang Zhaoxue’s words were never wrong.
That very evening, just as darkness began to fall, a muffled sound of struggling came from behind the main courtyard.
Not long after, Laifu brought two guards and dragged Bizhu, who was tied up tightly, to the corridor.