Upon hearing this, Luo Wenpei's eyes immediately reddened, but he dared not say anything more, only lowering his head and silently replying, "Yes."

She felt so wronged that she just wanted to cry. When the maidservant next to You Shuyao came to find her, she was so happy that she almost flew away, thinking that the opportunity had finally come. She didn't expect that even though the young mistress had agreed, Huo Jingsha would refuse so thoroughly, especially in front of You Shuyao and so many maidservants.

"Which nanny was with Aunt Pei?" Huo Jingsha asked again, glancing at Shu Yao, who was standing silently beside her. Her expression was clearly not as cheerful as before. It was satisfying; she couldn't let this girl always have the upper hand.

An old nanny knelt down at Luo Wenpei's feet, trembling as if shedding chaff, and replied with her head bowed, "This old servant is it."

“Aunt Pei has been in the mansion for quite some time now. As her personal maid, haven’t you taught her the rules of the mansion?”

The old nanny trembled even more violently, knowing that the master was going to hold her accountable. In truth, she hadn't taught her anything. She assumed this concubine would receive the same treatment as the young mistress, living in the front courtyard, and would surely become a favored concubine. She was too busy serving her diligently to have time to teach her manners. She could only make up an excuse. "Uh…a few days ago, Concubine Pei was ill, and this old servant thought…to teach her when she was better. This old servant really didn't know…".

"Did Aunt Pei only recover today?"

"No...no..." The old woman's forehead was pressed against the ground, cold sweat streaming down her forehead, yet she looked like she wanted to cry but dared not, knowing that she was probably in grave danger this time.

"Xi Yan, you speak!" Huo Jingsha suddenly called out Xi Yan, who was Luo Wenpei's head maid.

Xi Yan knelt down with a thud, kowtowed first, and then nervously replied, "My lord, Aunt Pei recovered well twenty days ago. I remember it clearly because after she recovered, she only needed to take her medicine once a day. There are just nine packets of medicine left."

"Very good, you're clever. It seems the old nanny deliberately delayed teaching you, which is a dereliction of duty. Guards, drag her out and give her thirty lashes."

Two guards came in and hurriedly dragged the old nanny, who had already fainted from fright, out of the room.

Luo Wenpei stood to the side, not daring to even breathe loudly. Her face turned pale and then red. She had often heard that Lord Huo was ruthless and merciless in handling matters. Today, she finally saw it for herself. It seemed that he couldn't warn her directly, so he took his anger out on the people around her.

Shu Yao glared at Huo Jingsha with a tense expression, clearly unconvinced. Today, she was determined to make Huo Jingsha unhappy.

"Why are you making things difficult for the old nanny, sir? When I came to the manor, no one taught me manners. Besides, my sister is only willing to brave the cold to serve you because she cares about you. How can you be so heartless as to refuse her kind offer?"

Huo Jingsha's face darkened. "I didn't have the nanny teach you because you are my legal wife, the head mistress of the Huo family. Besides me, you are the most important person. You are the embodiment of etiquette, so why would you need to learn any more etiquette?"

In one sentence, he immediately established a hierarchy of status and revealed to everyone the importance of You Shuyao in his heart, an importance that no one could easily shake.

Luo Wenpei's face immediately darkened, his hands clenched into fists with jealousy, but even more so with hatred. He hated that Huo Jingsha favored You Shuyao so much, and it seemed that her desire to replace her was not as simple as she had imagined.

"As for not letting Aunt Pei come along, it's because it's an official business trip, not a vacation. If word got out that I, Huo Jingsha, am going to the Ministry of Personnel to serve the Emperor, and I have to bring a concubine along to serve me, where would I put my face?"

You Shuyao endured and suppressed her desire to win, but her competitive spirit suddenly exploded. In the end, she stood up abruptly, looked down at Huo Jingsha beside her, and shouted, "Does Your Excellency have any shame? That's strange. Didn't you take me there before? Why weren't you afraid people would say you were indulging in pleasure then?"

When they first got married, he couldn't be without her every night. Even when he went to the office on business, he would take her with him and they would go home together the next morning. Now he actually dares to ask for shame?

Huo Jingsha calmly flicked her shirt, slowly stood up, and was actually more than a head taller than Shu Yao. Her imposing presence immediately overwhelmed Shu Yao. She curled her lips and pressed her face towards Shu Yao, almost touching nose to nose, before stopping. "That's right! For you, I can be shameless, but not others!"

After saying that, he turned and left, completely ignoring Shu Yao's flushed face. But to onlookers, it would seem that the couple had said something incredibly embarrassing to make the lady blush like that.

As Huo Jingsha passed by Luo Wenpei, she stopped and her expression turned serious. "Wenpei, bringing you into the manor and giving you a proper status is the biggest concession I can make. I hope you can keep your promise to me back then, otherwise... I'm afraid I will also break my promise to you!"

After saying that, he left Biyue Residence without lingering.

After this fierce power struggle, You Shuyao and Luo Wenpei's plans both fell through, while Huo Jingsha escaped unscathed, leaving without a trace.

After the New Year, Huo Jingsha was promoted to the first rank and even took over the role of the emperor's cabinet guard. He was so busy that he often didn't have time to rest and would not return for three or four days at a time.

As a newly appointed official, besides his own duties, he also had endless social obligations. When he returned home that day, he was already seven-tenths drunk. After taking a bath and washing himself, he drank all the hangover soup that Chunlu brought him before lying down on the bed with Shuyao.

Although he was gradually getting sleepy, he still couldn't bear to close his eyes. Looking at Shu Yao's fair and rosy cheeks, he couldn't help but gently stroke them and said softly, "My dear wife, once your husband gets through this busy period, let's take Xiao Bao on a picnic. I haven't seen my son for three days, and I miss him terribly."

She nodded and agreed, "Okay, we'll see it tomorrow."

"Is there anything you like lately? Tell me, and your husband will buy it for you. I've been so busy lately, and you've been taking care of everything at home all by yourself. I'm sorry to have troubled you." Holding her hand and pressing it against his cheek, he wished time could stand still at this moment, so that the touch on his cheek could last forever.

"There's nothing I want." She shook her head and refused. "Actually, there's nothing much going on in the manor, so there's no question of feeling wronged."

Even if there are grievances, you can grit your teeth and get through them. Besides, are the grievances that can be spoken not real grievances? Only those that are bottled up inside, indescribable, bitter, sour, astringent, and painful, yet cannot be expressed and no one can relieve them, are the real grievances.

"No, even if you work a little harder, I'll still feel like you're suffering, but my Yao'er is not allowed to be wronged."

She chuckled, a laugh devoid of the coldness he feared, but instead filled with the tenderness he had longed for.

"Yao'er, you look so beautiful when you smile, I can't get enough of looking at you."

"Do you remember what I once said, sir? When you like someone, you will be happy because of their happiness and sad because of their sadness."

"I remember, so when my Yao'er smiles, my heart blossoms with joy; when you frown, my heart feels like it's being pounded by a sledgehammer. This is enough to prove that I love you very, very, very much, Yao'er, I love you very, very much." Before he could finish speaking these sweet words, he himself was already drunk. She became a double image in front of him, and his mind became dizzy and confused, as if he had been soaked in alcohol and lost his senses.