After counting the money at home, Wang Yan was full of energy. She had been somewhat lax lately, and the first thing she did upon returning to the courtyard was to go see Aunt Sun.

Make a dish of shredded pork with sweet bean sauce and serve it to the prince. Roll out the kneaded dough into dumpling wrappers the size of dumpling wrappers, soak them in rapeseed oil, take them out, and stack them up one by one.

Roll the dough into large round pancakes, steam them for 15 minutes, and the wrappers for the shredded pork with sweet bean sauce are ready.

Cut some pork tenderloin into strips, crack in an egg, a spoonful of cooking wine, pepper, and cornstarch.

Next, prepare the sauce for the shredded pork with sweet bean sauce. Add three tablespoons of soy sauce, one tablespoon of cornstarch, one tablespoon of sesame oil, and three tablespoons of sugar to a bowl of water. Mix well and then put it into hot oil. Simmer over low heat until thickened.

Stir-fry the shredded pork in a wok, add sauce and stir-fry until cooked. Then, cut a slit down the middle of the pancake with the shredded pork and sauce, fold it into a triangle, stack it into small mountain shapes, and serve it all at once.

Grandma Sun had stewed a pot of soy milk and bird's nest porridge, and the young master specially came to this courtyard and ate a whole plateful.

They had a huge appetite, and even the carefully prepared meals brought back from the main kitchen didn't taste as good.

Lady Hou was so pleased that she gave him two gold hairpins in the shape of plum blossoms. The young master had come in a hurry and hadn't brought his purse.

So he casually took off a jade pendant from his waist and gave it to them.

Wang Yan didn't want the jade pendant; it wasn't appropriate. But Granny Sun wasn't worried. At her age, what did she care about such things?

………………

In Mo Yuan Courtyard, Liu Xiang'er proudly brought a plate of plums to the study. The Third Young Master was busy studying and had no time to pay attention to her.

But I also told Aunt Yang not to bother her anymore, as she was incredibly bored staying in the room.

But she doesn't do any work. A couple of days ago, Fangli gave her an outer robe to embroider to pass the time, but she refused, saying she had a headache.

A new second-class embroiderer was transferred to the courtyard. Her mother worked in the needlework room and was an excellent embroiderer.

She's only 11 this year, but she's incredibly quick and efficient. She can embroider a pattern on a garment in just three days.

"Fangli, what style did you want me to embroider? Let me see." Without waiting for a reply, she snatched the clothes away.

"Why did you embroider pine branches instead of orchid leaves? You've been embroidering for so long, and you still have no sense of propriety? Young Master likes orchid leaves!"

Dai Xiu suppressed her anger, "The pattern on these flowers was requested by Aunt Yang. It symbolizes the evergreen nature of pine and cypress."

Upon hearing Aunt Yang's name, Liu Xiang'er awkwardly put down her clothes, pouted, and left.

After Chun'er saw her leave, she came over to Dai Xiu and said, "Don't be angry with the young lady. Although she has a bad temper, she is really kind-hearted."

Dai Xiu glanced at her, but didn't want to say anything more, and continued to work diligently with her head down.

Chun'er's face stiffened; she was unwilling to continue trying to win him over, but she felt deeply distressed.

Wang Ying severed ties with her because of the betrayal, and she also couldn't get along with the newcomer, Dai Xiu.

These people are all so eccentric, so Chun'er simply grabbed her needle and thread basket, turned around, and went to Xingzi's tea room.

Kyoko is quite polite to her now, but she no longer genuinely wants to play with her.

The atmosphere here wasn't good, and after a while it got boring, so I went back.

The Double Ninth Festival has arrived again. The family prepared chrysanthemum wine well in advance, and the whole family went out to climb mountains.

Grandma Sun's spicy strips and pork jerky were also taken away in two baskets.

The backyard is quite quiet today, as most of the masters and the first and second-class maids have gone out to serve.

Wang Yan and the other third-class maids and servants found themselves with some free time.

Grandma Sun decided to organize a card game and invited a few of her close female friends to play.

The young masters and ladies of the mansion did not return until the next day.

It turns out that yesterday, a group of people walked and stopped frequently, climbing too slowly, so they decided to stay overnight at a temple on the mountain.

Zhiju was also transferred to serve the Third Miss yesterday. Granny Hua took several baskets of five-colored cakes and chrysanthemum wine, which were given by the Madam, home for the Double Ninth Festival and went on vacation.

Not long after she returned, Zhiju went to tidy up Granny Hua's room, and shortly after, she came out to inquire.

"Where's that little screen that was on the nanny's table? It was just put up a few days ago, and it's gone when I came back today."

That screen is a double-sided Suzhou embroidery, and it costs more than ten taels of silver per piece.

"What do you mean by that, sister? If you want to ask questions, you should call all the maids in the courtyard over. Why are you focusing on me and Chunxi?"

Chunlu was never one to be trifled with. Right now, although Zhiju was asking questions, her eyes were only scanning back and forth between Chunlu and Chunxi. Naturally, she was furious.

"Granny Hua, only Zhixue, Chunxi, and I serve here. Others don't usually come to this room except when you're sweeping."

Zhixue went home on vacation. She left on the same day as us and hasn't returned yet.

So, am I wrong to stare at the two of you? If you're so capable, prove your innocence to me. What's the point of just talking nonsense here?

Zhiju also became somewhat angry and stopped speaking politely.

Chunlu sneered, "Maybe someone is crying wolf, putting on a righteous act. Nobody can be sure if they stole it themselves and are trying to frame someone else."

"If you're so capable, prove that the two of us stole it. If you haven't found any evidence, stop looking at us like we're thieves!"

We are your maids, not your servants. If you want to punish us, you will investigate the reasons and handle it fairly and justly.

Even when it comes to dismissing a scolding, I've never heard of someone being judged based on a mere suspicion!

The argument between the two grew louder and louder, attracting a crowd of old women and maids to watch.

Zhiliu heard this from inside the house, put on a coat, and came out.

"What are you doing, shouting and yelling at the top of your lungs?"

After hearing Zhiju's account of what happened, he frowned at her.

"It's just a lost ornament, why make such a fuss about it in the courtyard? Couldn't you have asked the questions first!"

Then she looked at Chunlu, "Didn't the head maid teach you any manners when she recruited you?"

If you've been wronged, you can go to your older sisters and explain the situation. Why are you yelling and shouting like this?

After saying that, he led the three of them into his room. "When did this screen go missing?"

"I don't know. I've been sweeping the outer courtyard the whole time and I've never been inside Granny Hua's room."

"I don't know either. I took a day off yesterday and went home," Chunxi replied curtly.

Zhiliu was so angry she laughed, and looked at Zhiju.

"Didn't you arrange for anyone to watch the house when you left yesterday? And you didn't even ask them about it when you came back today?"

Without knowing anything, you just made a definitive judgment that they stole something. If you're so good at solving cases, why don't you go to the Dali Temple?

"It's really beneath you to be a maid in our house!"

Zhiju's face flushed red and then turned pale from being teased. "Sister, please forgive me. I was just too anxious."

When I got back this morning, I noticed the screen was missing, so I instinctively went out and asked the two people about it.

Moreover, it's estimated that searching the yard now wouldn't yield anything; someone might have already taken it out.

Zhi Liu looked at her in surprise, then scoffed, "I said, find out the reason before you speak. Don't make baseless accusations."

She paused for a moment, then said, "Chunlu, go and inform Sister Qingqian to come over."

Seeing that things had escalated, Zhiju clenched her fists tightly inside her sleeves.