At three quarters past five in the morning, the clapperboard sounded through the window lattice, piercing Liu's lingering dreams like a fine needle. She struggled to sit up from under the brocade quilt, her abdominal cramps forcing her to hunch over, her nails digging deep into the bed guard embroidered with lotus flowers. Normally, at this hour, Lu'e would have been waiting outside with a cup of warm water, but today the room was eerily quiet, broken only by the subtle pecking of sparrows in the corridor.

"Lü'e! Where the hell is Lu'e?" Liu pounded the bed, her voice hoarse, her throat feeling like it was clogged with cotton wool. After three days of diarrhea, her voice had lost its former sharpness; it now sounded more like the rumble of an old bellows.

The carved wooden door creaked open a crack, and Lu'e reluctantly poked her head in. The velvet flower in her bun was tilted to one side, and a smile uglier than crying appeared on her face. "Madam, you called me?"

"Where's my face wash water?" Liu saw her empty hands and her anger shot up to her head. "Do you want me to wipe my face with dew?"

Lu'e twisted the corner of her clothes, her eyes glancing down at the ground. "The kitchen said... that your monthly salary hasn't been paid yet. According to the rules..."

"Bullshit!" Liu picked up the copper-enamel mirror beside her pillow and threw it at him. The mirror made a sharp sound when it hit the door. "I am the second wife of the general's mansion! Who dares to cut off my water supply?"

"The eldest lady said..." Lu'e shrank her neck in fear, "The rules of the mansion cannot be broken. We must first serve the master who has received the monthly salary."

Liu choked. Ever since she'd been scammed during the warehouse raid, Shen Weiwan had stopped paying her extra expenses, claiming "unclear accounts," even reducing her monthly salary to a fraction. She was trembling with anger, pointing at the door and yelling, "Then go! Bring me some water now!"

Lu'e took a half step back, holding onto the door frame and groaning, "Madam, I twisted my ankle this morning while pouring out the night incense. I can't walk anymore..."

Liu took a closer look. Lu'e's embroidered shoes were perfectly straight, with no sign of sprain at all. She was so angry that her whole body was shaking. She grabbed a wooden comb and threw it at her: "You treacherous little bitch! Did you accept Chen Weiwan's favor?"

Lu'e screamed and hid behind the door, crying out in a sobbing voice: "Madam, it's not that I don't want to serve you! You see, you've been in trouble lately... I'm afraid that following you will bring trouble to my family!"

The word "involved" pierced Liu's heart like an icicle. She stared at Lu'e's huddled figure, suddenly realizing that this servant, who had served her for ten years, now held a gaze filled with disdain. "Get out! Get out of here!" She grabbed her pillows and blanket and flung them to the ground. The quilt unraveled, revealing the worn cotton wool beneath, a reflection of her current predicament.

Lu'e, as if granted amnesty, slammed the door and ran away. Liu slumped on the edge of the bed, looking at the empty room. The bronze mirror on the dressing table reflected her sallow, swollen face. The gold hairpin on her temples was crooked. Where was the air of a mistress?

At the same time, Shen Weiwan was stirring the bird's nest porridge in the bowl with a silver spoon. When she heard Chuntao reporting the farce in the west wing with a suppressed laugh, she almost spit out the porridge.

"Miss," Chuntao lowered her voice, her eyes gleaming with gossip, "Lue'e just came to see me and said she wanted to be transferred to our courtyard to serve."

Shen Weiwan slowly put down the porcelain spoon and wiped the corner of her lips with a brocade handkerchief: "Oh? Isn't she as close to Liu as mother and daughter?"

"That's right!" Chuntao curled her lips. "She said she was worried every day following Liu, afraid that you would implicate her when you dealt with Liu. It would be better to come to you early and find peace."

Chen Weiwan chuckled softly, her fingertips tapping the rosewood table. "Tell her she can come over if she wants. First, hand over the detailed list of the monthly wages that Liu has withheld from the servants over the years, as well as the pawn tickets she secretly used to sell items in the warehouse. Hand them over completely."

"I understand!" Chun Tao took the order and left, but just as she reached the door, she turned back and said, "By the way, Miss, Uncle Li and Aunt Zhang in the front yard also asked me to pass on a message, saying that they will obey your orders from now on."

Shen Weiwan raised her eyebrows: "Aren't they Liu's right-hand men?"

"That's right!" The old butler walked in on crutches, his goatee quivering with laughter. "Uncle Li said that following Liu will end up in jail sooner or later, so it's better to join the right team sooner rather than later."

Shen Weiwan's fingertips traced the dark patterns on the edge of the table, and a cold smile appeared on the corner of her mouth: "Let them find evidence of Liu selling the old weapons of the General's Mansion. The more the better."

The old housekeeper nodded repeatedly, his cane tapping the blue brick floor as he turned. Chen Weiwan gazed at the falling crabapple petals outside the window, remembering how Liu had used these servants as pawns in her past life. A cold glint flashed in her eyes. "Liu, do you think the servants are truly afraid of you? They're just afraid of sharing your misfortune."

The midday sun blazed down on the golden bricks in the corridor, and Liu had been starving for a long time, with no one even to offer her tea or water. She clutched her rumbling stomach as she walked out of the courtyard. Just as she reached the corner gate, she ran into Zhang Ma, carrying a lunch box.

"Auntie Zhang," Liu said, straightening her back with forced composure, "Go to the kitchen and make me a bowl of pigeon soup with snow clam."

Aunt Zhang glanced at her sideways and hid the lunch box behind her. "Madam, the kitchen said you didn't get your monthly allowance, so we can only give you some steamed bread and pickles."

"How dare you!" Liu was so angry that veins on her forehead were throbbing. "I am the second wife of the general's mansion!"

"Madam, come on," Aunt Zhang sneered, twisting her waist as she walked forward. "Don't you know who's in charge in the mansion now? We servants don't want to starve to death with you."

Liu watched Zhang Ma walk away, her hips twitching. The aroma of meat wafting from the food box pricked her stomach like a needle. She leaned against the wall to keep her balance, suddenly realizing that she had become a stinking piece of shit that everyone in the general's mansion avoided.

Back in the yard, Liu became more and more angry, and suddenly she cursed at the empty courtyard: "Chen Weiwan! You little bitch! Die miserably!"

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!