"Master, your bird's nest soup is ready," Cui Ling said to Madam Nian, who was standing in the courtyard teasing the birds. It turned out that Madam Nian paid great attention to her health and beauty. She ate bird's nest soup and snow frog soup every day. In order to maintain her skin and beautiful appearance, she spared no expense and never hesitated to spend money on this. She ate bird's nest soup before lunch every day, and after her afternoon nap, she ate snow frog stewed with snow pears. She never missed a day.

"Hmm, put it there. I'll feed this bird after I've finished." Nian Shi, dressed in a pink everyday outfit adorned with butterflies and flowers, stood on the bluestone, looking quite charming.

"My lady, when will we get our own little kitchen in our courtyard? That way, we servants won't have to run to the main kitchen anymore," Cui Ling suddenly said. It turned out that although the East Courtyard was large, it didn't have its own kitchen. Actually, when Lady Nian was made a concubine, she had wanted her own kitchen and had mentioned it to the head nanny. However, the head nanny's reply was: if you get your own kitchen, you'll be responsible for all the expenses there. Lady Nian was furious after hearing this, because the kitchen in the South Courtyard was paid for by the public accounts, but when it came to her own kitchen, she was refused responsibility. She couldn't very well bring this up with the Fourth Prince; that was all the head nanny had said anyway. Because of this, Lady Nian, in a fit of anger, never bothered to get a separate kitchen. After all, getting food from the main kitchen was free, and although Lady Nian was wealthy, she wasn't stupid in these matters; why not take advantage of free meals?

"What are you doing? You know you have to pay for the kitchen yourself. You little hussies don't have anything to do all day, so why are you so lazy?" Madam Nian said to Cuiling without giving her a friendly look.

Cui Ling quickly shrugged and lowered her head, saying, "We servants just feel that even Niohuru has her own private kitchen, but your meals have to be taken from the main kitchen and mixed with those of the other ladies. Those blind fools don't even bother to prepare properly for you, Master. It's no big deal for us servants to run errands. It's all for you, Master, as if you're inferior to that lady in the South Courtyard."

Upon hearing this, Lady Nian immediately retorted angrily, "What? Do those little bastards in the kitchen have a death wish? How dare they not do their best to prepare my meals? Do they think that Lady Niohuru is in charge of the kitchen?!"

Seeing that Madam Nian was indeed angry, Cui Ling quickly said, "That's right, they simply don't understand the situation. Your Highness, you are now in charge of the household, yet they are still fawning over the South Courtyard. They are simply blind."

It turned out that today, Cuiling had personally gone to fetch the bird's nest for Madam Nian, only to find that the stove where Madam Nian was stewing the bird's nest was unattended, and the soup had already overflowed. Cuiling was furious and gave the steward in charge of the stove a thorough dressing-down. Because Madam Nian ate these two dishes every day, Cuiling and her colleagues had to go early every morning to start stewing them and then instruct the cooks to watch over them. The cooks were also tired of this, as it wasn't a one- or two-day thing, but a long-standing routine. That day, the young cook responsible for watching the fire for Madam Nian's bird's nest suddenly had an upset stomach and went to the toilet, only to be caught red-handed by Cuiling. The steward, angered by Cuiling's scolding, retorted. Before, when Lanqin was in charge, she was very lenient with them, and Lanqin never came to the kitchen to collect her own meals, making the cooks appreciate her even more. Since Madam Nian took over the kitchen, they compared the two and felt Lanqin was even better.

After hearing Cuiling's account, Nian was so angry that she dropped the birdseed in her hand on the ground.

"Go and call the head of the kitchen over here, and that waiter too." Madam Nian was already very concerned that the South Courtyard had its own independent kitchen, and when she went to ask for it, they said they wouldn't use the public accounts. Hearing Cuiling say this, she immediately became furious.

The steward and waiters of the dining room were summoned by Nian's maid, who was letting Birou paint her nails. She made the two men stand there and wait for half an hour before letting them in.

"I heard you burned my bird's nest?" Madam Nian said in a high-pitched voice, without even looking at the two of them.

The worker on duty was already terrified, his neck shrank back, and he dared not utter a sound. He had actually been tending the stove the whole time, but he had been absent from his post due to an upset stomach, and he never expected to be caught red-handed like this.

"You little brat, apologize to the concubine! What are you standing there for?" The steward, surnamed Wu, immediately slapped the young waiter on the back of the head, signaling him to beg for mercy.

"Please forgive me, Consort, I didn't mean to be negligent." The young waiter immediately knelt on the ground with a thud. He was helpless; he hadn't argued with Cuiling, it was Steward Wu who had, but now it seemed all the blame was on him. He dared not say that Steward Wu and Cuiling had quarreled—that was an inappropriate matter, and if he did, he'd lose his job. So for now, he could only remain silent, like a sawed-off gourd.

Nian looked coldly at the young waiter kneeling on the ground and kowtowing repeatedly, and said to Cuiling, "Was it him who talked back to you?"

Upon hearing this, the manager surnamed Wu immediately felt a chill. He had been protecting his own people, but he had unexpectedly gone too far by taking the lead, and now he was also implicated.

“It wasn’t him, it was…” Cui Ling glared angrily at Steward Wu.

"Oh dear, Consort, please forgive me! I was just being a smart aleck and said such foolish things." Steward Wu had no choice but to cry out immediately and kneel down next to the waiter with a thud.

Nian's face was as cold as frost as she stared at them, remaining silent no matter how much they begged for mercy.

“Since you have such a foul mouth, you should slap yourself and give Luo a good beating!” Cui Ling understood what Nian Shi meant and suddenly said to Steward Wu.

Upon hearing this, Manager Wu knew he couldn't escape today, so he had no choice but to slap himself repeatedly.

Snap, snap, snap...

The crisp sound of slaps echoed repeatedly, and the young waiter beside him was already trembling like a leaf. People like them, their lives were like ants, held in someone else's hands, to be disposed of however they pleased.

Only after Steward Wu had slapped himself so hard that his face was swollen did Madam Nian give Cui Ling a look.

"Alright, our concubine is merciful. We'll only punish her lightly this time. But if there's a next time, we won't let her off so easily!" Cui Ling said to Steward Wu with an expression as if she were granting a general amnesty.

"Thank you, Consort! Thank you, Consort!" Steward Wu's mouth was already bleeding. The young waiter beside him hurriedly followed suit, kowtowing repeatedly.

"Listen carefully, all of you. From now on, I, the concubine, will be in charge of managing this inner quarters. If I hear even the slightest thing about it again, the next time it won't be so lenient." A faint smile appeared on Lady Nian's lips.