Zhong Muyu stood up and asked, "How are the bricklayers?"
"They're still waiting for dinner; it shouldn't matter if it's a little late."
"They won't be able to eat lunch today. Send someone to give them some money as an apology. Come with me to the kitchen."
Zhong Muyu twisted her wrist, cracking her knuckles, which startled Zaochun: "Your Highness, please don't hit anyone anymore! This isn't good!"
"Don't worry, I won't hit them this time. I'm very reasonable and won't hit people for no reason."
Zhong Muyu strode out and, seeing that Zaochun wasn't carrying a stick, felt somewhat relieved.
When the kitchen staff saw Zhong Muyu arrive, they all bowed and greeted him, but each of them kept their heads down, looking as if they had done something wrong and were trembling with fear.
They had all heard about what Zhong Muyu had done before, and now that they were in the kitchen, they knew they couldn't offend the princess. However, Wu Mama and the others didn't dare to offend her either.
This is troublesome.
Zhong Muyu looked down at them and said, "Don't be afraid. I won't do anything to you today. I just want to ask, in the backyard of the Prince's Mansion, do you listen to me or to Granny Wu?"
The group looked at each other, not daring to utter a sound.
"you say."
Zhong Muyu casually pointed to an old woman, who immediately knelt down: "Of course, I'll listen to the Princess."
"That's good. The money is all yours. You don't need to repeat yourself. If Granny Wu causes you any trouble, just ignore her. Tell her to come to me directly if she has any problems. Do you understand?"
"Listen, I heard it..."
Those people agreed timidly, and Zhong Muyu really didn't make things difficult for them.
After leaving the kitchen, Zaochun asked, "Does the Princess intend to let that Granny Wu off so easily?"
Zhong Muyu said, "Let's leave it for now. I've been so tired these past few days. As long as they don't cause me any trouble, I won't bother with it. This afternoon, send someone to keep an eye on the kitchen and make sure they cook properly. Don't let my workers go hungry."
The two swaggered back to Xinxiang Courtyard, but this only made Granny Wu uneasy, especially when she learned that the kitchen had started cooking for the bricklayers again.
That evening, she stormed into the kitchen and demanded, "Aren't you doing this to help the Princess ruin the reputation of the Prince's mansion?"
The old woman who was cooking glanced at her and said in a low voice, "This is the Princess's order. We are just following the rules."
The maids and servants remained silent. The princess had asked them to cook without spending a penny of the palace's money, and even gave them money in return. If they caused any more trouble, they would only be beaten like the previous group.
Granny Wu was furious: "Even the Prince doesn't consider her his Princess Consort, yet you all obey him. I heard the Princess Consort gave you money to buy things, so she must have received quite a bit of bribes, right?"
Just then, Qiao'er, who had been sent to keep watch, entered and immediately flew into a rage upon hearing this: "What a big mouth you have, Granny! How dare you, a mere wet nurse, try to interfere with the Princess Consort? Our Princess Consort is the Prince's lawfully wedded wife, and it's none of your business, her wet nurse, to meddle in whatever she does!"
Granny Wu had never been reprimanded like this before, especially seeing a girl who was only fifteen or sixteen years old opposite her. She immediately flew into a rage: "You little brat, you think you can teach me a lesson?"
After saying that, he slapped Qiao'er across the face.
Qiao'er's face instantly turned red and swollen. She covered her face, feeling wronged, and tears streamed down her face.
Granny Wu said smugly, "It seems that those who come from the palace are nothing special. Since they don't know how to discipline their servants, let the people from the Prince's Mansion teach them a lesson."
At this moment, Xiaomei, the maidservant beside Granny Wu, grabbed Qiao'er and dragged her outside.
Qiao'er cried out in terror, "What are you going to do? Let me go!"
Xiaomei pinched her fiercely: "What am I doing? Of course, I'm going to teach you some manners. Don't do anything rash, or you'll be the one who suffers."
The two women forcibly dragged Qiao'er away. The people in the kitchen saw this, and although they felt sorry for the little girl, they knew it was not their business, so they could only remain silent.
Until the next morning—
Zhong Muyu was sitting in front of the mirror combing her hair when Zaochun suddenly rushed in and whispered, "Your Highness, Qiao'er is missing."
"Gone? Didn't she come back last night?"
Early Spring looked worried: "I heard from the maids that she didn't come back all night. Your Highness, could something have happened to her?"
Zhong Muyu stopped what she was doing, and upon thinking about it, it did indeed seem strange.
"Wasn't she assigned to supervise the kitchen? Go ask the people in the kitchen, and if they won't tell you, try to trick them."
After Zaochun nodded and left, she saw Zhang Mama leading a group of people carrying in gorgeous clothes.
"This old servant greets Your Highness!"
Zhong Muyu was surprised: "Granny Zhang? What brings you here?"
Zhang Mama smiled and said, "These are new clothes made for you in the manor. When I went to pick them up, I heard that the Prince was returning today. I thought it would be perfect for you to wear these clothes to greet him!"
Zhong Muyu glanced at the shimmering silk dress, then thought of the bricklayers outside who were working themselves to the bone and were about to finish their work, and waved her hand:
"No need, just wear ordinary clothes. Besides, I'm busy and don't have time to greet him."
"Your Highness, you're talking nonsense again! As the mistress of the house, how can you do this? Stop being so willful."
Seeing that Granny Zhang was about to spout her usual theories again, Zhong Muyu quickly conceded: "I'll wear it! I'll wear it! I'll go fetch the Prince too, don't worry!"
Seeing her admit defeat, Granny Zhang said with a look of satisfaction, "Oh, that's more like it! Then this old servant will take her leave."
After seeing Zhang Mama off, Zhong Muyu changed into a light gold dress with the help of her maid.
The clothes were indeed exquisitely made, with beautiful subtle patterns on the silk and delicate embroidery. However, Zhong Muyu had no time to appreciate them at the moment, as he was preoccupied with Qiao'er's matter.
Just as Zhong Muyu was pondering, Zaochun hurriedly returned.
"It's terrible, Your Highness! Qiao'er has been captured by Granny Wu!"
Why did Granny Wu arrest her?
"I heard from the kitchen staff that Granny Wu took Qiao'er back to discipline her because Qiao'er had spoken rudely to her."
Zhong Muyu's lips twitched: "Old hag, you really think highly of yourself, you didn't even tell me who arrested me!"
Without even finishing her meal, Zhong Muyu grabbed her tools and headed to find Granny Wu to demand the person back.
Upon reaching the courtyard, Chengfeng, who had been slacking off while supervising the work, saw Zhong Muyu come out aggressively and had a bad feeling. He immediately rushed out to stop her.
"what you do?"
Zhong Muyu scrutinized the guard. Since he came to supervise the construction, Zhong Muyu hadn't paid any attention to him. Fortunately, he was quite honest and wouldn't cause trouble like Lu Ziyuan, which made him quite reassuring.
Chengfeng clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I wonder where Your Highness is going? I heard that His Highness is returning today. Your Highness should make preparations to welcome His Highness as soon as possible."
"I will, but I have something to do right now. I'll definitely pick him up later."
Chengfeng clearly found it hard to believe such a perfunctory attitude.
But Zhong Muyu didn't give him time to believe her and walked right past him.
Granny Wu's residence was located in the southwest corner of the backyard, a very quiet place. When Zhong Muyu knocked on the door, it was Xiao Mei who opened it.
Upon seeing Zhong Muyu, Xiaomei did not appear afraid, but she kept her head down, so her expression was not visible.
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