"This servant will never dare to do it again, please forgive me, Princess! This servant will serve you wholeheartedly from now on. It was she who instructed me not to listen to you and not to interfere in my affairs." Lingxiu couldn't withstand Yan Yu's threats and immediately kowtowed and prostrated herself on the ground, even bursting into tears.
Madam Geng and Lulan stared intently at Lingxiu. They knew that even this little girl had been arrogant and haughty in their presence before. Now, Yan Yu had only scolded her a few times, and she was already crying and wailing in fear.
"Am I really too lenient? Or too indifferent to worldly affairs?" Geng watched silently. Although Yan Yu did these things in front of her, she felt really bad inside.
"Caifeng, it seems you're the one who's been stirring up trouble among the servants." Yan Yu's eyes flashed as she stared at Caifeng and shouted.
Cai Feng was surprised that Ling Xiu was so timid and had even revealed everything she had said to her. She glared at Ling Xiu angrily.
“Reporting to Princess Yan Yu, this servant has never said such things. This servant has always been dutiful and done her duty. If Your Highness is dissatisfied with this servant, this servant asks Your Highness, what has this servant failed to do in accordance with Your Highness’s orders?” After saying this, Cai Feng did not look at Yan Yu, but instead directly asked Geng Shi. This was because she did not have any clear evidence against Geng Shi. Although she had done everything on the surface, she had always kept her actions hidden in the shadows. This was also the reason why Geng Shi had been patient and tolerant. If she went to the head nanny or the Fujin to complain, without concrete evidence, she would only give people the impression of being a picky and harsh servant.
"You shameless Caifeng! I never expected you to be so shameless. Although you didn't openly disobey the princess's orders, have you ever done anything with any care?" Seeing that Gengshi remained silent, Lülan couldn't help but question her directly.
“Aunt Lülan, you are too kind to say that. I have done my best. If you are dissatisfied, why haven’t you told me yet?” Caifeng ignored Lülan and stared straight at Gengshi.
"Although this girl is so disrespectful to her master, Que'er, go and slap me. When my elder sister returns, I will inform her." Yan Yu suddenly said to Que'er beside her.
Cai Feng was surprised that Yan Yu Hui had ordered someone to slap her. Before she could say anything, Que'er had already walked up to her and slapped her three times. Blood began to trickle from the corner of Cai Feng's mouth.
When Xie Mama and Lingxiu saw this, they were even more frightened and kept begging for mercy, fearing that Yan Yu would also have them slapped.
"Caifeng, slapping you is too lenient. A servant like you who doesn't respect her master should be dragged out and beaten to death. Hurry up and apologize to your master, or go to the Fujin to receive your punishment!" Yan Yu said coldly.
Cai Feng was completely stunned. She realized that she was just a servant and that her master could really kill her if he wanted her dead.
Although Madam Geng may seem easy to manipulate, she is still the mistress. She could easily find a way to frame Madam Geng for stealing her mistress's jewelry, such as throwing one of her own pieces of jewelry onto her bed. Madam Geng would not only be punished by the family law, but could even be expelled from the mansion.
Geng's eyes gradually turned cold. Cai Feng stared blankly for a moment, then knelt down with a "plop." She crawled on her knees to Geng's side, hugged her legs, and said, "Princess, please forgive me! I was blinded by greed and disrespectful to you, my mistress. Please punish me!"
Seeing this, Lülan finally felt relieved. Caifeng and the others had been here for over a year, and she had truly had enough.
Looking at Caifeng kneeling before her, tears streaming down her face, Madam Geng said coldly, "Considering the more than one year you've served me, I'll give you another chance to reform. Go down. From now on, Lülan will be your head aunt, and her orders are my orders. If I find out that you have disrespected her in any way, there won't be such leniency next time."
Cai Feng quickly kowtowed to express her gratitude, and Granny Xie and Ling Xiu also kowtowed to express their gratitude. Lü Lan went over and led them out to arrange their work, leaving only Madam Geng, Yan Yu, and her three maids in the room.
"Sister, you have such a good temper, letting them off so easily? If I were in a better mood, I would have kicked all those disloyal servants out," Yan Yu said.
“The elder sister is not like the younger sister. She has children to rely on and her own sister to support her. Even if we drive them all out, will the people who come later be better than them? Not necessarily. If this causes a scene, then it will be me, the elder sister, who is being harsh on the servants.”
Geng said silently.
“Why be so pessimistic, sister? You’re only a few years older than Yan Yu, and you can still conceive a child with Master.” Yan Yu knew that she was getting closer to Geng Shi’s heart when she saw that Geng Shi was willing to open up to her.
“Sister, let’s be frank. Master only thinks of this place twice a month, so it’s extremely difficult for him to conceive like you. Besides, a woman’s pregnancy depends on the right time and place; it can’t be achieved overnight,” Geng said.
"Sister, who is the most favored by the Fourth Master in this inner courtyard? In other words, where does the Fourth Master spend the most time?" Yan Yu asked, her heart filled with resentment, showing that her hatred for Lan Qin was extraordinary.
Upon hearing this, Madam Geng fell into a deep silence. After a long while, she finally spoke, "How can we reverse this situation?"
Yan Yu finally heard the words she wanted to hear and said happily, "Of course, we should get rid of this person. With her around, all the sisters are like widows living in a dream. Believe me, sister, when Niu Shi gets into trouble, no one will say a word in her defense. They just hope that the wind will blow the wall down. But for this wall to fall, we need a trigger."
A glint of shrewdness flashed in Madam Geng's eyes, and she sighed, "I'm afraid this opportunity will be hard to come by. She has been confined by the master for a month now, and she hasn't left the house every day. It will be difficult for my sister to find fault with her. Moreover, given the master's favor towards her, it's not a matter of certain death, but rather a futile effort."
Yan Yu hadn't actually figured out how to deal with Lan Qin yet, but she felt that she needed to win over a few allies first, and then slowly come up with a solution.
"Opportunities will always come; it's just a matter of how you use them. Sister, I have a prescription here. If you take the medicine according to the formula on time, it will greatly benefit a woman's ability to conceive. I was able to get pregnant so quickly thanks to this prescription." Yan Yu finally brought out her most valuable bargaining chip. Now, as long as she could get herself on the path to becoming a concubine, she had to recruit as many people as possible to help her. She understood the princess's intentions all too well, so she couldn't rely on the princess alone; she had to find other allies.
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