For several days in a row, Fourth Master did not visit Lady Nian's side. Even though Lady Nian sent people to the front yard to inquire under various pretexts, it was to no avail. Fourth Master only gave one answer: It's the New Year, and I'm busy discussing various matters with Lanqin. I don't have time to go. Tell Lady Nian to take good care of the children.

Lanqin sent Lanqi with several repairmen to the east courtyard to inspect the damage and remove any peeling paint. Seeing that Lanqin had already started work, Nianshi sent others to interfere, insisting the repairmen follow her instructions. Lanqin, knowing this, told Lanqi to ignore them and continue construction according to the Fourth Master's orders. After all, Nianshi wouldn't dare to actually confront the Fourth Master.

On this day, several repairmen got into another argument with the two maids sent by the Nian family.

"Our master said all the windows here need to be replaced, and you're just randomly hammering in a few wooden nails? What does that mean?" Cui Ling asked, noticing several repairmen working on windows in a boat-shaped house next to the waterside pavilion. This was the most exquisitely renovated part of the East Courtyard. A square pond had been artificially dug, and a boat-shaped house was built along the water. Every window in the house offered a breathtaking view of the clear water and blue sky. The paint on these windows had peeled off due to years of neglect. The repairmen were only planning to repaint them, but Nian's maids pointed out several slightly warped windows and insisted that they all be replaced.

“We only act according to the wishes of the concubine. If the concubine wants to change anything, she has to talk to the concubine. We can’t make the decision ourselves,” said one of the repairmen.

"You, do you think you only have eyes for Consort Niu and not for our master?" Cui Ling said angrily, pointing her finger at the repairman's head when she saw that he was not buying it. "When I go back and report to the master, you'll regret it."

"Does the young lady have to make things difficult for others?" The repairman had no choice but to say when he saw Cuiling using the Nian family name to pressure him.

“You are the ones who are disrespecting our master. Who is this place built for? It’s for our master, isn’t it?” Cui Ling said.

"That's naturally for Consort Nian to live in." The repairman's voice gradually faded.

"So, you're not building it according to the wishes of the people who live there. Aren't you afraid that our master will talk to the master about it?" Cui Ling said.

“But our master clearly said that he would only repair the damaged parts. Things like this aren’t broken, just peeling paint, and can’t be replaced. I wonder what Miss Cuiling wants to say to our master?” Lan Qi rushed over and asked. It turned out that one of the repairmen had secretly gone to find Lan Qi while Cuiling was speaking.

"You, your master is meddling too much. This east courtyard was built for our master to live in. Why does our master need your master's permission to repair a window?" Cui Ling raised her voice.

“Miss Cui Ling, you are so disrespectful to your master, be careful you will be punished. Our master is only following his orders to make repairs, don’t use foul language and slander our master. Uncle Wu, don’t waste your breath on them, you do your work. If you delay the construction, I won’t go and plead with the master for you.” Lan Qi said briskly.

Uncle Wu, the one who had just been talking to Cui Ling, quickly said upon seeing Lan Qi's reaction, "Alright, alright, don't be angry, young lady. We'll hurry up and finish. Come on, let's get back to work!"

After saying that, Uncle Wu immediately led his men to continue working, ignoring the interference from Cui Ling and the others.

"You, you all!" Cui Ling glared angrily at them when they stopped paying attention to her, but it was no use.

Seeing that Lan Qi was unwilling to give in, Cui Ling stamped her foot and then took Bi Rou and turned back to find Nian Shi.

"What did you say? Is that really what they said?" Madam Nian was holding her Persian cat and watching the wet nurse feed the little prince. After hearing Cui Ling recount what happened in the East Courtyard, she suddenly grabbed the cat's fur, causing the cat to jump out of her arms in pain.

The child nearby was startled by the cat's strange cry and choked on his milk. Seeing the child choking, the wet nurse quickly pulled the milk out of the child's mouth.

The child choked, his face turned red, and he started crying loudly.

"How did you breastfeed your son? You made him choke! You'd better watch out!" Seeing her son's face turn red and swollen, Mrs. Nian was so angry that she immediately scolded the wet nurse.

"Please forgive me, my lord. I didn't mean it. I was just startled by the cat." The wet nurse quickly held the child upright and gently patted the child's back.

"Alright, alright, go downstairs. This child cries all day long, it's so annoying." After being a mother for three months, Madam Nian was starting to get impatient. Babies either eat or sleep, and they need to poop. Although there was a wet nurse, she couldn't completely leave the baby to her.

"This servant will take him away and comfort the little prince again." Seeing Nian Shi's angry face, the wet nurse was frightened and quickly took the little prince out.

"Let's go to the South Courtyard. I, the Consort, want to ask her why she didn't ask my opinion!" Seeing that the Fourth Prince hadn't come for the past few days, Madam Nian became increasingly angry and wanted to go and argue with Lanqin.

“Master, Lan Qi is just a servant girl, how could she dare to say such things? It must be the master’s intention. It’s no use you going to Nan Xiaoyuan to talk to her. In fact, it was all the master’s intention,” Bai Zhi advised.

"How could Master treat me like this!" Madam Nian still couldn't believe that this was all the Fourth Master's doing.

“My lord has just been promoted and is now moving to a new courtyard. If we were to carry out a major renovation, he would surely think that we are being too kind to him. In the two years since you came into the palace, I have observed that you are a person who values ​​rules and balance.”

After being persuaded by Bai Zhi, Lady Nian calmed down and thought for a while before saying, "I am really angry. Why does the South Courtyard have the right to manage the affairs of the inner quarters? Now I am on equal footing with her, so why should I still have to act according to her wishes?"

“My lady, let’s just enjoy the New Year. You’ve just been promoted and your position isn’t secure yet. Don’t attract too much attention from the master, or he’ll think we’re too arrogant.” Seeing that Nian Shi had listened to the advice, Bai Zhi dared to speak more frankly.

“Alright, let’s wait for my brother to arrive. With the friendship between my brother and the master, I don’t believe we can’t outmaneuver the Niohuru clan, who comes from a small family,” said Madam Nian.

Upon hearing this, Bai Zhi sighed inwardly: her mistress's temperament was truly too impatient.