"You'll be punished by heaven for doing this, you wicked woman!"

"Let us go! Let us go now! If you don't let us go, when Chief Steward Liu arrives, he'll definitely give you a hard time," the old eunuch said.

Guan Zhiyue crossed her arms, pinched her chin with her right hand, and looked at the group with a deep thought in her eyes, saying, "I ask you, is this Wuqin Palace under your jurisdiction?"

"Hmph, so what if it is? So what if it isn't?" The old eunuch knelt down on the ground, acting like a dead pig that wasn't afraid of boiling water.

"Awesome, you have guts. I hope your guts will last forever," Guan Zhiyue said.

Bilian was furious at the sight of these old men and tried to persuade Guan Zhiyue, "Your Highness, these old scoundrels seem to have powerful backers. Do you think we should..." Bilian said, wiping her neck with her hand.

Guan Zhiyue stared at Bilian. This girl actually told her to kill someone directly! What the hell? It's just that the house wasn't cleaned properly. Does that mean she has to be dragged out and killed?

"That's not a good solution either, but am I the kind of person who kills or draws a knife so easily?"

"Old folks, I have a question for you. Who is this Steward Liu you're talking about? He sounds like he's some kind of big shot," Guan Zhiyue said.

Upon hearing the name of Steward Liu, the men's smug expressions instantly lifted, and they said with pride, "He's the head of our internal affairs office, a favorite of the Emperor."

"Isn't Hua Quan the eunuch beside the Emperor? Why is there another Chief Eunuch, Liu?" Guan Zhiyue asked.

"Those are the servants in the front hall, the old servant is talking about the servants in the back hall."

Guan Zhiyue turned her head and looked at Bilian with a puzzled expression. There was such a person in the Emperor's inner court? Who was this person, so powerful?

"There are unruly servants in the Emperor's inner court? Tsk tsk tsk, what a misfortune for this family!"

"You, come here," Guan Zhiyue said, pointing to a young eunuch standing at the door.

"May I have your name?"

The eunuch standing at the door immediately stepped forward, knelt respectfully on the ground, and said softly, "This servant is Xiao Chunzi."

"Xiao Chunzi, go to the Emperor and ask him if he has a eunuch named Liu in his inner quarters. If so, please have the Emperor discipline him properly, lest he kick the bucket without even knowing how."

After receiving the order, Xiao Chunzi got up from the ground and headed towards the Emperor. The people kneeling on the ground were also apprehensive when they heard that the Empress was not afraid of Chief Eunuch Liu. Chief Eunuch Liu was someone who had served the Emperor since childhood.

Her power is naturally immense, but now the Empress doesn't even respect people. We little shrimps are going to be tortured to death by her!

"Your Majesty, spare my life!"

"Your Majesty, this old servant knows his mistake. Please forgive us for our hard work and dedication throughout our lives!"

The group began to kowtow frantically, their snot and tears streaming down their faces as they begged for mercy.

Guan Zhiyue pouted and said, "You're not wrong. You're veterans of the previous dynasty. I wouldn't dare to be presumptuous!"

"You're all right, where are you wrong? What are you wrong about?"

"Our palace is in dire need of talents like you; such talents are hard to find!"

"Don't kneel before me, I'm not worthy! You're all old-fashioned, I can't accept your worship!"

Guan Zhiyue fiddled with her fingers, speaking in a sarcastic tone, which chilled those old men to the bone.

"Bilian, are you done inspecting? Is this palace still usable?"

Bilian, accompanied by several young palace maids, respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, the palace is usable, but it needs to be thoroughly cleaned. Moreover, the palace is especially beautiful when the lights are lit at night."

"Oh, really? How did you know?"

Bilian smiled and said, "When I was inspecting the house just now, I noticed that the palace lanterns in Wuqin Palace are all very unique in design and very attractive."

Upon hearing this, Guan Zhiyue looked around and saw that the lamp stands custom-made for the pillars in the entire hall were indeed more beautiful than any lamp stands she had ever seen.

Lifelike rabbits, phoenixes soaring through the sky, adorable little tigers, and plump, cute frogs.

"It is indeed beautiful. I imagine the shadow cast by the lamp would look just like this."

"Alright, since that's the case, then go and get more people to clean it up thoroughly. Scrub it clean from top to bottom, don't miss any corners," Guan Zhiyue instructed the group.

Everyone bowed respectfully and said, "Yes."

As Guan Zhiyue looked at the several old palace servants kneeling on the ground and was thinking about how to deal with them, Xiao Chunzi rushed over with an old eunuch who looked to be about sixty years old.

"Your Majesty, Chief Steward Liu has arrived," Xiao Chunzi reported.

Guan Zhiyue was puzzled. She had only asked Xiao Chunzi to ask the Emperor, so how did she end up bringing this person here?

"This old servant, Liu Changchun, pays his respects to Her Majesty the Empress!" said the old eunuch Liu Changchun.

Guan Zhiyue looked at the old man with gray hair and age spots on his face, whose skin wrinkles were almost sagging down.

"No, Chief Steward Liu, is that right? You don't need to kneel. I didn't come here today. I just wanted to send someone to ask the Emperor if he has someone like you."

"This old servant knows, this old servant knows!" Liu Changchun said with a kind smile.

Liu Changchun is sixty-two years old this year, which is considered a long life in this dynasty. He raised the emperor and is an old eunuch. He has always been kind and amiable, and he is extremely loyal to the emperor, treating him as his own flesh and blood.

Hua Quan grew up alongside the emperor from a young age, and Liu Changchun was also Hua Quan's teacher.

Liu Changchun was getting old, so he managed internal affairs in Li Qiji's backyard, while the young Hua Quan served in front of the palace, running errands, delivering messages, and doing other chores.

"Since Chief Steward Liu is in charge of internal affairs, I will entrust these people to him. I greatly respect you for serving His Majesty for so many years, but a country has its laws, a family has its rules, and a palace has its regulations. I hope Chief Steward Liu can handle this impartially," Guan Zhiyue said softly.

Liu Changchun nodded and respectfully clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I will definitely give Her Majesty the Empress an explanation!"

"In that case, I will not disturb you any longer. I would like to ask Steward Liu to arrange for someone to clean and tidy up this Wuqin Palace. I will come to inspect it tomorrow."

After Guan Zhiyue finished speaking, she left with Bilian and her group, leaving Steward Liu and his group to deal with the problem on their own in Wuqin Hall.

****

By evening, the news had spread throughout the palace that the palace servants of the previous dynasty had disrespected the Empress, but the Empress, being magnanimous, had not held it against them. Instead, she had them castrated and banished from the capital for life, as a warning to anyone who dared to disrespect the Empress again!

Upon hearing Bilian's words, Guan Zhiyue murmured softly, "What a 'killing the chicken to scare the monkey' approach! Is this a veiled warning to herself or a threat to her servants?"