“Miss, this old servant was wrong. Madam is right to reprimand me.”

Lin's mother's voice trembled slightly as it came from behind.

She was terrified, extremely terrified, but she didn't want to make things difficult for the girl, so she gritted her teeth and endured the whipping.

But Shen Yunjiao didn't think so. "Granny, you're one of my people. How can you let someone hit you like that?"

Her sharp gaze swept over the three people present, finally settling on Madam Xu: "If Mother thinks I haven't served you well, then punish me. If you don't dare to punish me, you can say so directly. Why take it out on the people around me?"

“Granny Lin served my father and mother. If I tell my father about this, what do you think he will do?”

The once formidable Xu Shi immediately lost half of her arrogance upon hearing these words, but with so many eyes watching.

She could only force herself to say, "Don't try to scare me with those words. You've married into the Pei family, so you're a member of the Pei family now. Besides, she's just a servant girl; I can discipline her however I want."

Xu's words lacked confidence, mainly because she was indeed afraid that Shen Yunjiao would go back and complain.

Shen Yunjiao narrowed her eyes and sneered, "Mother still thinks I'm a member of the Pei family? I'll say it right here today: I won't let you lay a finger on Granny Lin. If you're not happy, have your precious son divorce me!"

After saying that, Shen Yunjiao, her face full of frost, helped Lin Mama leave.

The maids standing in the room held their breath, none of them daring to risk their lives and step forward to stop Shen Yunjiao.

Xu and the others could only watch helplessly as Shen Yunjiao left. She pounded her chest in agitation, crying out, "What a tragedy! How could we have married such a daughter-in-law!"

Upon seeing this, Madam Pei the Second also began to wail, "What a misfortune for our family!"

Although Fang Ziyu was so angry she almost shredded the handkerchief in her hand, she still had to gently comfort her, saying, "Madam, don't be sad. When His Highness returns, I will have him uphold justice for you and for the whole family."

Upon hearing this, Madam Xu stopped wiping her tears, and a fierce light suddenly flashed in her eyes. "That little bitch, I will definitely make Xuan'er teach her a lesson!"

——

As soon as she stepped out of Ci'an Hall, Granny Lin's body went limp, and she couldn't even stand up.

"Thank you, young lady." Her slightly cloudy eyes were now filled with tears. "You've been so kind to me, I really don't know how to repay you."

Seeing Lin Mama burst into tears, Shen Yunjiao's eyes also reddened.

She whispered to comfort her, "Granny, you are my family, of course I will protect you."

She regrets it terribly now.

I should have known better than to help that old hag Xu detoxify yesterday.

Good intentions gone wrong!

However, such a vicious woman will be taken away by God sooner or later.

Shen Yunjiao helped Lin Mama back to her courtyard, where Lin Mama sat shakily in a chair.

When I rolled up his trouser leg, I saw that his calf was indeed covered in bruises.

Fu Xia was so heartbroken when she saw it that she burst into tears.

Shen Yunjiao told her not to cry, and that the important thing was to apply the medicine to Granny Lin.

"Today's events have shown that, for the sake of this old servant, the young lady has essentially broken ties with both the Madam and the Second Madam." Lin Mama's eyes stung with tears as she let out a long, heavy sigh.

"Don't worry about it, Granny. I've been fed up with them for a long time too," Shen Yunjiao said calmly, reaching out to take the medicinal oil from Fuxia's hand.

She poured the medicated oil into her palm, rubbed it slightly to warm it up, and then applied it to the bruised area on her calf.

"Miss, I can do it myself." Granny Lin was startled by her actions and hurriedly tried to stand up.

Shen Yunjiao quickly pressed down on her shoulder, "You usually serve me, it's no big deal for me to apply the medicine for you this time." "Besides, my massage technique is quite good, you can try it, and your calves will definitely not be so sore tomorrow."

Lin Mama was so touched by Shen Yunjiao's actions that she wanted to cry again.

How come she never noticed before? The young lady is so considerate and protective of them, the servants; she truly treats them like family.

Fu Xia saw all of this and secretly made up her mind that she would follow the girl for the rest of her life and be her most powerful helper.

Inside the side room of Chunhe Hall, the three, master and servant, were chatting intimately, enjoying each other's company.

Pei Zhixuan, who had just finished his shift and returned to his residence, was intercepted by Madam Pei the Second in the covered walkway.

"Hello, Second Aunt." Pei Zhixuan nodded and greeted her. He was wearing a blue official robe and was about to return to his study to handle the unfinished official business of the day.

"Zhixuan, you're finally back!" Madam Pei said excitedly. "Go and see your mother quickly, she fainted again because of Shen Yun's nagging."

Pei Zhixuan was stunned for a moment, then took a deep breath and headed towards Ci'an Hall.

Wearing a headband, Madam Xu was lying on the bed with her eyes half-closed. As soon as she saw Pei Zhixuan enter the room, she cried out in a pitiful manner, "My son, my life is so bitter!"

"Mother, don't cry." Pei Zhixuan quickly walked to her side. "What happened?"

“My sister-in-law has been sick recently, so I asked Shen Yunjiao to come and help feed her medicine today. I didn’t expect that your princess consort, Zhixuan, would deliberately pour boiling hot soup on my sister-in-law and not let her punish her.” Madam Pei lifted her sleeve, revealing a patch of red on her wrist. “Look, your aunt didn’t lie to you. This is the evidence.”

Madam Xu slowly sat up on the bed, tears streaming down her face, and said, "This Shen Yunjiao doesn't know the rules, and I don't dare to scold her. I wanted to punish her nanny a little, but she wasn't happy about it."

Pei Zhixuan knew his mother's temperament; she was capricious and prone to beating and scolding servants.

However, Shen Yunjiao went too far this time, splashing hot soup on her elders, which was simply outrageous.

He frowned and said coldly, "I'll go and have a good talk with Shen Yunjiao later. But Mother was thinking about how to punish the nanny around Shen Yunjiao. If it was a severe punishment, she would naturally be unhappy."

He remembered that every time he went to see Shen Yunjiao, Granny Lin would always be there to serve her. Even an old woman in her sixties couldn't withstand the strain.

"I just wanted to give her a good whipping."

Xu said guiltily, noticing Pei Zhixuan's expression change slightly, she hurriedly covered her head and cried, "But you don't know about that Shen Yunjiao. She was disrespectful to me in front of so many people, and she kept trying to pressure me by mentioning her father's official position."

"Yes, that Shen Yunjiao is simply outrageous. She even said that if you're unhappy, you can ask Zhixuan to divorce her." Madam Pei chattered on from the side.

I see.

Pei Zhixuan's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, and a chill crept into his eyes.

He suddenly remembered that Shen Yunjiao had been making a fuss about leaving the Pei residence yesterday.

Could it be that all this fuss she put on today was just to get me to divorce her so I could go back to my own home freely?

“Mother, you should rest well. I’ll go talk to Shen Yunjiao and have her apologize to you,” Pei Zhixuan said, his eyes lowered.

Madam Pei said hurriedly, "Go and teach her a lesson. Although her family is powerful, since she has married into the Pei family as a daughter-in-law, she should put you and the Duke's mansion first in everything. How can she keep mentioning the old man of the Shen family to intimidate people?"

——

Fang Ziyu, under the guise of delivering dinner, waited for Pei Zhixuan at the end of the covered walkway with a food box in her hand.

Pei Zhixuan was preoccupied with how to reprimand Shen Yunjiao. After leaving Ci'an Hall, he saw a woman standing by the corridor. From behind, she looked delicate and beautiful.

A slight thought crossed his mind, but he maintained a cold expression. He took a few steps closer and called out impatiently, "Shen Yunjiao, do you know you were wrong and want to apologize?"