Several maidservants entered upon hearing the call, each holding exquisite brocade boxes containing the items Xiao Yunshu had quietly purchased at the shops earlier that day.
At the sight of the splendid dresses and hairpins, Wei Qinghan knew they were of considerable value and was about to decline once more.
“Mother wear! Pretty! Mother wear flower!”
Before Xiao Yunshu could even begin to persuade her, Nuannuan had already picked up a jade hairpin and was reaching up on tiptoe to fasten it into Wei Qinghan’s hair.
Afraid the hairpin might fall and break, Wei Qinghan quickly lowered her head to accommodate her.
Nuannuan clumsily secured the hairpin, took two steps back, tilted her little head to admire her work, and clapped her hands.
“Mother so pretty, like fairy, pretty pretty.”
Xiao Yunshu chuckled softly and seized the opportunity to speak. “See? Our Nuannuan has such good taste.”
“Sister-in-law, please accept them!” She clasped Wei Qinghan’s hands firmly. “Putting aside everything else, you are now the Shizi Fei of Wu’an Wang, representing the dignity of Wu’an Wangfu. When you go out, you mustn’t let others look down on you for no reason.”
Over the past few days, she had come to understand Wei Qinghan’s temperament, so she deliberately spoke more sternly, then subtly winked at Nuannuan.
Though Nuannuan didn’t understand why her aunt was winking, she tugged insistently at Wei Qinghan’s sleeve.
“Mother pretty, Nuannuan wants mother pretty!”
Wei Qinghan touched the warm, smooth jade hairpin in her hair, then looked at Xiao Yunshu’s sincere smile, her eyes glistening with tears.
In the end, she nodded gently. “Then… thank you, Yunshu.”
The next morning.
Wei Qinghan sat in the courtyard, gently combing Nuannuan’s hair.
Several newly assigned maidservants stood nearby, heads bowed and breaths held, waiting in respectful silence.
Among them, the most conspicuous were naturally Fufeng and Zhu Yue.
Originally Xiao Yunshu’s personal maidservants, they had grown up by her side and were exceptionally skilled in martial arts.
Yet, after returning to the Wangfu yesterday, no matter how Wei Qinghan tried to refuse, Xiao Yunshu insisted on sending the two of them to serve her.
Wei Qinghan naturally protested, “Yunshu, you mustn’t. Fufeng and Zhu Yue have been with you for so long. How could I take what you cherish?”
“Sister-in-law, Fufeng and Zhu Yue have been with me for years and are quite capable in martial arts. With them by Nuannuan’s side, I can feel at ease.”
Xiao Yunshu’s tone was resolute.
“Don’t worry, Sister-in-law. I’m not giving them to you permanently. Once I find more suitable replacements, I’ll swap them out for you and Nuannuan. How does that sound?”
Mentioning Nuannuan left Wei Qinghan unable to refuse any further, and she gratefully accepted.
At that moment, Nuannuan sat obediently, letting her mother braid her hair.
In her small hands, she played with a slightly worn silk flower adorned with beads.
Perhaps from being handled too much, the threads had loosened, and the flower accidentally slipped from her grasp, falling to the ground.
“Nuannuan, don’t move. Mother will pick it up,” Wei Qinghan said, leaning down.
Zhang Mama, who was responsible for tidying up items, moved faster, snatching up the flower before her.
“Shizi Fei,” she said with an ingratiating smile, presenting the flower to Wei Qinghan with both hands.
Just as Wei Qinghan was about to thank her, Zhang Mama muttered under her breath.
“Oh, Shizi Fei, really… these trinkets brought from the common folk are made of such coarse material. Look closely—the beads are even turning yellow.”
“Now that Shizi Fei’s status has changed, these old things should be replaced with new ones.”
“Don’t let outsiders see them and think Wu’an Wangfu has fallen so low, inviting ridicule for no reason.”
Wei Qinghan’s hand, reaching for the hairpin, froze mid-air, a flicker of gloom passing over her face.
Hearing the contempt in Nanny Zhang’s words, she felt her cheeks burn with shame, and a wave of inferiority welled up in her heart.
Indeed, she came from a rural background. If not for Nuannuan, she would likely never have even touched the threshold of Wu’an Wangfu in her lifetime.
At this thought, her expression darkened.
Nuannuan looked up at her mother, then turned her gaze to the arrogant Nanny Zhang. With a sudden movement, she jumped down from her chair.
She took two steps forward, placed her hands on her hips, and glared up at Nanny Zhang, her childish voice filled with anger.
“Bad nanny, don’t talk about Mother.”
With that, she snatched the hairpin from Nanny Zhang’s hand.
“The hairpin is from Mother to Nuannuan. It’s pretty! The prettiest! Prettier than you! You’re a bad person.”
Fufeng hadn’t expected Nanny Zhang to be so bold. Seeing the young miss speak up, she immediately stepped forward to reprimand her.
“Nanny Zhang, who gave you the nerve? How dare you speak disrespectfully to Shizi Fei? Have all the rules you learned gone to the dogs?”
In earlier years, Wu’an Wangfu had extremely strict rules.
However, the Wangye and the young masters and misses were often away from the capital and did not scrutinize the servants’ conduct too closely.
Moreover, this Nanny Zhang had only entered the household in the past year or two. With the household busy with many affairs, there had been less restraint over these servants.
Nanny Zhang, seeing that Shizi Fei had a gentle disposition, had grown somewhat presumptuous.
She didn’t even regard the maids Fufeng and Zhu Yue as significant.
“Miss Fufeng, you say that, but this old servant was only acting out of good intentions,” she retorted defiantly, curling her lip. “This old servant was merely reminding Shizi Fei to uphold the dignity of Wangfu. What? Can Shizi Fei not even bear to hear the truth?”
“What truth! What good intentions!”
Everyone turned in unison to see Xiao Yunshu standing at the courtyard gate, her face icy cold.
At the sight of Xiao Yunshu, Nanny Zhang was terrified out of her wits. She fell to her knees with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly. “Junzhu, please forgive me! This old servant spoke out of turn! This old servant knows her mistake!”
Xiao Yunshu ignored her and walked straight to Nuannuan’s side. “Nuannuan, don’t be angry, alright?”
Nuannuan pointed angrily at Nanny Zhang. “Auntie, nanny is bad! Mother’s hairpin is pretty.”
“Of course it is. The hairpin Mother made for Nuannuan is the prettiest in the world.” Xiao Yunshu patted her head and gently lifted her from the ground.
Steward Shen arrived hurriedly at that moment.
Xiao Yunshu turned to look at him. “Steward Shen, Nanny Zhang has overstepped her bounds and spoken offensively to Shizi Fei. Our Wu’an Wangfu cannot keep such an arrogant servant.”
Shen Dehou, having served by Wu’an Wang’s side for many years, naturally understood Junzhu’s temper and quickly knelt as well.
“Junzhu, please forgive me. It was this old servant’s failure in supervision.”
Nanny Zhang also tearfully begged for mercy. “Junzhu, please show mercy! This old servant dares not again!”
“Sell her off immediately,” Xiao Yunshu didn’t even glance at her, continuing to address Steward Shen. “Pass on my orders: from today onward, if anyone in this household dares to show the slightest disrespect to Shizi Fei, regardless of who they are, they are to be sold off without exception.”
Steward Shen bowed in acknowledgment, then signaled two sturdy maids to drag away the limp and terrified Nanny Zhang.
After handling this matter, Xiao Yunshu quickly stepped forward to take Wei Qinghan’s hand. “Eldest sister-in-law, I know today’s incident was no accident. But you are Eldest Brother’s wife, the rightful mistress of our Wu’an Wangfu. From now on, if anyone in this household dares to gossip, you may deal with them directly.”
Nuannuan also ran over and hugged Wei Qinghan’s leg, lifting her little face.
“Mother is the best, Nuannuan likes Mother the most.”
As she spoke, she picked up the beaded flower that Nanny Zhang had scorned, clumsily trying to put it on her own head.
“Mother wear it, Mother put it on Nuannuan.”
Seeing her daughter’s innocent smile, the slight sense of inferiority in Wei Qinghan’s heart instantly vanished.
She nodded firmly and carefully placed the beaded flower on Nuannuan’s hair bun.