Chu Jinyao brought Madam Gong back to Chaoyun Courtyard. Madam Sun was standing at the gate of the courtyard, arrogantly shouting at the maids. When she heard the door open, she turned around immediately, saying, "Fifth Miss, why did you come back just now..."

Before she finished her words, Madam Sun raised her head and saw Madam Gong.

Madam Sun's words were stuck in her throat.

People in the courtyard must know who Madam Gong is. They were all surprised and surprised to see Chu Jinyao actually brought back the old lady's arm. All of them stopped and paused their actions.

Madam Gong glanced at the yard and asked, "Did the young lady arrange for someone to clean up the yard?"

"Yes, spring is here, let them move all the soft things out to dry in the sun to get rid of the moisture."

Madam Gong nodded, said nothing, and followed Chu Jinyao into the house.

After a while, a message came from the house, asking them to put down their work and come in to let Madam Gong recognize them.

Chu Jinyao sat on the armchair in the middle, and Nanny Gong stood on one side. Chu Jinyao pointed at them one by one and said to Nanny Gong: "These two are my senior maids. The taller one is Dingxiang, and the other one is Shancha. The four below them are second-class maids, from left to right, they are Baishao, Platycodon, Chenxiang, and Rose. The ones standing outside are some rough servants."

The people who were pointed at bowed their heads and saluted Chu Jinyao and Nanny Gong one by one. Nanny Gong nodded silently. At the end of her speech, Chu Jinyao pointed at Nanny Sun and said: "This is the disciplinary nanny that my mother sent to me a few days ago. Her surname is Sun."

Nanny Sun put on a flattering smile and nodded to Nanny Gong. Nanny Sun was sent by the elders, and her status was much higher than that of the maids. Chu Jinyao was introduced last, but Nanny Gong knew what was going on. She just nodded slightly in response to Nanny Sun's flattery. Nanny Gong

's arrival immediately shocked the servants in the courtyard who were thinking about something else. They had seen that Chu Jinyao had received many good things, and Chu Jinyao was not a lady who grew up in a marquis's mansion, so they were somewhat contemptuous in their hearts and felt that Chu Jinyao was not someone who could be controlled. So they urged Chu Jinyao to open the box and let everyone have a look, so that they might be able to get some benefits. But all the palace nanny had to do was stand in the yard without saying anything, and the servants who were having doubts would immediately become scared and dare not mention it again.

The news that Madam Chu had assigned a nanny to Chu Jinyao spread quickly throughout the mansion, and Zhao was somewhat embarrassed. She had just sent a nanny, Sun, to Chu Jinyao not long ago, and now the old lady had sent another one herself. The distrust behind this was obvious. Even the people from the second and third rooms were surprised to hear that the old lady had intervened in the affairs of Chu Jinyao's room, but they all smelled something unusual.

Madam Chu was aloof and had never been close to the younger generation. She would not do anything without a purpose. Madam Chu suddenly began to pay attention to Chu Jinyao. Does this mean that the wind direction in the inner house is about to change?

In Chaoyun Courtyard, the palace nanny did not make any movement, as if she was just staying quietly at Chu Jinyao's place. Chu Jinyao was not in a hurry, she could wait. From what Changxing Hou said, it was clear that Old Madam Chu had already prepared people for her, but she did not take the initiative to mention it, and she had to ask for it in person before she gave it to the palace nanny. This is the difference between Chu Jinyao and Chu Jinxian. If it was Chu Jinxian, Old Madam Chu would have arranged it long ago, and would not care about these tricks. But when it came to Chu Jinyao, the old lady was not only pulling her back, but also disciplining her, just like a superior to a subordinate.

Chu Jinyao could not say that she was very close to Old Madam Chu. Compared with her grandmother, Old Madam Chu was more like a person in power, a protector with whom she had something to ask of each other. Such a simple interest relationship made Chu Jinyao feel at ease. If the element of family affection was mixed in, Chu Jinyao would find it difficult to deal with.

So Chu Jinyao also applied the old lady's attitude towards Madam Gong. The most important thing for a superior is patience. If the superior wants to do something and says it first, then he will lose his status and initiative. So there is no need to be anxious, you must wait, wait for the other party to be unable to hold back and bring it up.

Madam Gong came here to help Chu Jinyao be a bad person, and both of them knew this. Chu Jinyao did not express his opinion, but asked people to take good care of Madam Gong. He was also respectful to Madam Gong on weekdays and refused to mention other things. Madam Gong waited for two more days, and after she had understood the situation thoroughly,

she took the initiative to ask Chu Jinyao while serving her tea: "Miss, I have something to say to you." Chu Jinyao opened the teacup to drink tea. She slowly brushed aside the tea leaves, took a sip, and then put down the teacup and said to Madam Gong: "Madam, please say whatever you want to say. They usually don't come in without my order."

Chu Jinyao was now sitting in the east room. When Qin Yi was there, it was not convenient for people to come in, so she passed down the rules, so that people could not easily enter the study and disturb her. Now that Qin Yi has left, this rule has been left. As long as the maids saw Chu Jinyao in the east study, they would not come to serve her unless there was something important.

Nanny Gong saw that Chu Jinyao looked calm and didn't seem to be pretending, and she secretly admired the Fifth Young Lady's patience. "My lady, I don't need to explain what the old lady means. You have just returned and your foundation is still shallow, so it is inevitable that some servants will neglect you. I have been observing you coldly for several days and have a rough idea of ​​the people in your courtyard. You are already thirteen this year. To be frank, the marriage will be arranged in the next few years. You are the daughter of the Marquis. Your future marriage will be carefully selected by the Marquis and his wife, so it will definitely not be bad. It is precisely because of this that the staff around you cannot be careless. Calculating the time, it will only be two or three years before you get married. The staff prepared now will all be your dowry in the future. The girl is still young and may not know the importance of dowry, but I, who have seen a lot of ups and downs, have to do more. " I want to remind you to be cautious. When you go to your husband's house, the maidservants who come with you as a dowry will be your arms and face. Whatever they say and do, they represent you behind the scenes."

Chu Jinyao said, "That's why I have to rely on you to take care of it for me. What do you think, Madam? How should I deal with it?"

Madam Gong said, "It depends on you, young lady. I just don't know what kind of yard you want?"

Chu Jinyao became serious and sat up straight, "To be honest, Madam, I just came back and I'm confused about many things. These maids and old women are all arranged by others. I use them as I like. I don't expect my yard to be as orderly and airtight as a military camp, but I still have to be loyal to my master and not gossip about him."

"This is their duty." Nanny Gong said, "Young lady, there is one nanny, two senior maids, and four second-class maids in your courtyard. Although the number is complete, the rules are still a little lax and they have to be adjusted slowly. Let alone the second-class maids, these two senior maids are your arms, but they still have some shortcomings. I think Dingxiang is honest, but taciturn and does not know how to adapt. If she encounters any problems in the future, I am afraid she will hold you back. The other Shancha, although she is smart and talkative than Dingxiang, she is not someone who can keep calm."

Chu Jinyao stood up, showing an attitude of being frank with Nanny Gong: "Dingxiang is honest. She has made no contributions during this period, but she has worked hard. Thank you, Nanny, for your discipline."

Chu Jinyao only mentioned Dingxiang but did not mention Shancha. The meaning behind it was very clear.

"It's the duty of an old servant." Nanny Gong also knew that although Madam Chu asked her to take care of Chu Jinyao temporarily, it was unreasonable for the elders to send someone away and then ask for her back. Most likely, she would live with Chu Jinyao, get married, or even be supported by Chu Jinyao in her old age. So Nanny Gong also tried her best to show off her skills in front of Chu Jinyao. Nanny Gong had heard that the family had other plans for the Fifth Lady, and she was probably a very lucky person. In this case, Nanny Gong also wanted to make achievements as soon as possible and occupy the position of the first capable person among the Fifth Lady.

The two of them had the same goal, so the next thing was much easier to do. Madam Gong said, "I heard that Madam Sun was disrespectful to you, but Madam Sun was given to you by the Madam. When an elder gives someone a gift, she always has some

respect. Madam Sun cannot be touched for the time being, but the other maids can be punished." "Okay." Chu Jinyao stretched out her hand and pointed at a few people on the list, "These people always like to run outside. I don't know why. Maybe changing someone will be better."

Madam Gong looked at it and secretly remembered, "This old servant understands what the young lady means."

A few days later, Chenxiang brought in a plate of fruit. When he entered the room, he was bumped by Shancha unexpectedly, and the whole plate of fruit fell to the ground. Shancha was thinking about something and was walking in a hurry. He didn't notice that there was someone opposite him, so he bumped into him directly. She didn't take it seriously after bumping into Chenxiang, and scolded him, "You little bitch, don't you have eyes when you walk? There's no man in the room, why are you so anxious?"

Chenxiang was already aggrieved after being bumped, and he became even angrier after hearing this. But Shancha didn't care, and told Chenxiang to pack up his things in a bad mood, and she was going to leave. Shancha always rushed around in the yard, and even dared to neglect Chu Jinyao, let alone a maid. Chenxiang was so angry that her hands trembled, but she knew she couldn't win over Shancha, so she had to squat down and clean up the mess. Shancha said a few more frivolous words and was about to leave when suddenly the voice of Madam Gong sounded from behind: "Stop."

Chenxiang quickly stood up and Shancha turned around and said with a smile: "Madam, why did you come out? This girl was careless and I was just teaching her a lesson!"

Madam Gong's face was particularly serious, and she had a bit of the demeanor of Madam Chu. The wrinkles on Madam Gong's face did not move, and she said sternly: "This is the girl's room. How dare you say these indecent words in front of the girl? You are so brave!"

Shancha was a little panicked, but she didn't think it was a big deal. They all scolded the new maids in this way in private, and at most they didn't let others hear it. Shancha smiled at Madam Gong: "It's my fault. I spoke too quickly and didn't pay attention to these things. I will pay attention next time."

"There will be a next time?" Madam Gong sneered and said, "The young lady's room dare not keep a maid like you. Since you can't control your quick mouth, go outside and learn something. Come back when you can talk."

Shancha's smile froze: "Madam, what did you say?"

"Didn't you hear what I said?" Madam Gong coldly ordered the servants outside the room, "Take this disrespectful maid away and send her out."

Shancha was really a little panicked this time: "Why is it so serious? I just said something casually." After that, she glared at Chenxiang fiercely. It was all this little bitch's fault. Chenxiang quickly lowered his head in fear.

Madam Sun heard the commotion here and also walked over. After she heard someone else retell what had just happened, she felt that it was not necessary: ​​"Madame Gong, Shancha only scolded the servants. Although she was outspoken, it was for the good of the young lady. Why are you making such a fuss?"

But Madame Gong was not moved at all. She just said with a serious face: "Who is the young lady? How can you be so rude? Today, everyone in the room is our family. If there are guests next time, will you be so outspoken? Why don't you take her out? Don't you understand what I am saying?"

The old women who were gathered at the door of the room watching the excitement were frightened. If Chu Jinyao said this, they would dare to wait and see. But now it was Madame Gong who was speaking. This was the old lady's person! The old women didn't dare to watch the show. They immediately took Shancha's arms from the left and right and pulled her out. Shancha finally understood what happened. She was so embarrassed that she shouted to the inner room, "Girl, girl, please save me! I don't want to be sent out!"

The curtains in the east compartment were silent. There was such a commotion here, but Chu Jinyao didn't come out to take a look. Everyone was terrified. It seemed that Nanny Gong didn't punish Shancha today because she said something wrong. Nanny Gong would probably make trouble no matter what Shancha did. Chu Jinyao obviously knew about it in advance and even gave instructions.

The people serving inside and outside the house felt like they had fallen into a cold cellar. It was April, which had already warmed up, but now they felt a biting cold for no reason. They used to think that the girl was kind and didn't abuse servants like the young ladies who grew up in a marquis' family. But now it seems that she is of noble blood after all, and this kind of cruelty has long been integrated into her nature.

Many maids and servants relied on Chu Jinyao's shallow background and lack of backing, so they inevitably looked down on her and didn't pay much attention when she was ordered. Now that Shancha was killed as a warning to others, they immediately panicked. Sure enough, Gong Ma Ma had a gloomy face and used the excuse of tidying up the house to punish several maids and servants in succession, and even the second-class maid Yueji did not escape.

Fortunately, Zhao was not interested in Chu Jinyao at that time, and most of the people assigned to her were new maids. Although they were not well-behaved, they did not have complicated backgrounds. In the whole mansion, there was no other backer except Chu Jinyao. Gong Mammy quickly exiled Shancha and Yueji, and also sent a few housemaids to the palace, but did not make any major moves on other people. The servants were frightened when they saw that two of the first- and second-class maids who were in great glory on weekdays were gone. For a while, everyone was in danger, served carefully, and did not dare to speak loudly.

What happened in Chu Jinyao's yard was not hidden from others. One day when she was paying her respects to the old lady, Yan asked, "I heard that the fifth lady has been showing off her power these days and has driven away many servants?"

Everyone's eyes turned to Chu Jinyao. Chu Jinyao said calmly, "I don't understand either. It was Nanny Gong who felt that these people were undisciplined and sent them away for me. I think Nanny Gong is the elder given by my grandmother, and everything she does is reasonable. Don't you think so, second aunt?"

Yan was choked and could only say, "Of course." She smiled and passed over the topic, but was embarrassed by Chu Jinyao's retort.

Chu Jinyao just pretended not to understand and pushed everything onto the old lady and Madam Gong. Anyway, she was valuable in the old lady's eyes, so if not now, when? After hearing this, the old lady Chu turned a few beads and said lightly: "Since these girls are unruly, just sell them out. I will ask the traffickers to come to the mansion in a few days, and you can pick a few that suit your taste."

Chu Jinyao nodded in agreement. Zhao was going to tell Chu Jinyao not to be so unforgiving, and that this was not the behavior of a lady from a noble family, but after the old lady Chu said this, what else did Zhao dare to say? Even Yan, who had just asked the question, lowered her head in embarrassment. They all thought in their hearts, Chu Jinyao drove away people so rudely, including a first-class maid given by the elders, but the old lady turned a deaf ear and directly agreed?

The meaning behind this is shocking. Over the years, only Chu Jinxian had the confidence to drive away three or four people at a time, but the people around Chu Jinxian were carefully selected and did not need to be replaced. So over the years, no daughter-in-law or girl in the mansion dared to do this.

But now, Chu Jinyao did it. The old lady didn't say anything, and the Marquis of Changxing didn't say anything. Even if others thought it was not proper, they didn't dare to bring it up. They watched helplessly as the old lady let the people enter the mansion and take away the maids that Chu Jinyao drove out. In name, these maids were sold because they were unruly, but who doesn't know that the real reason was because they were disrespectful to Chu Jinyao?

After Chu Jinyao sent Shancha away, there were many vacancies around her. She bought three or four maids from the matchmaker, and the old lady also transferred two maids to her. Although the old lady didn't say anything, Chu Jinyao still gave her face and promoted one of the maids to the first class, named Linglong, and the other one, named Lian Xuan, took the position of a second-class maid.

It seemed that in the blink of an eye, the people around Chu Jinyao changed drastically. Those who were close to other courtyards and whose hearts were beating fast were all replaced overnight. Everyone realized that although the Fifth Lady looked good on weekdays, she knew exactly what her subordinates had done. This time, with the help of the old lady and the palace nanny, she acted like thunder and sent away all the disloyal people in an instant. Before that, there was not even a hint or sign. Everyone

was secretly shocked, and their eyes turned into awe when they looked at Chu Jinyao. Linglong was worthy of being someone who came out of the old lady Chu's side. Her speech and eyesight were much better than Dingxiang, who was also a first-class maid, and she was also experienced in doing things. With Linglong taking the lead inside and the palace nanny intimidating outside, the rules of Chaoyun Courtyard immediately became clear and neat.

Nanny Sun looked at the people around her and felt more and more that she was in danger. How could she not know why Shancha was sent away? Nanny Sun really didn't expect Chu Jinyao to be so vindictive and so courageous. Shancha was only verbally disrespectful and it was already like this. Nanny Sun had confronted Chu Jinyao head-on before. Could Chu Jinyao let her off? Nanny Sun herself didn't dare to hope for it.

Nanny Sun quietly went out while no one was paying attention and walked towards Chu Jinmiao's yard.

In the main room, Chu Jinyao put down her pen and asked, "Did she go out?"

Linglong stood aside respectfully and replied, "Yes. Judging from the direction, she should have gone to the fourth lady's yard."

Chu Jinyao chuckled softly and did not comment. Nanny Gong frowned and said, "She was personally appointed by the Madam, so even the old lady has to give face to the Marquis' wife. I'm afraid we can't punish Sun just because of one or two words."

Nanny Gong represented the old lady, and she dealt with maids like Shancha as she said. But it would be difficult to deal with Nanny Sun, who was nominally of the same level and had Zhao's face behind her. At least, it wouldn't work just because of one or two words.

"Then let's talk about it after she makes a more obvious mistake."

Nanny Gong was stunned for a moment, and asked cautiously, "Miss, what do you mean?"

Chu Jinyao shook her head and refused to say anything. She remembered what Qin Yi said at the beginning. As a master, it was very embarrassing to go out and fight with the maids and servants in person. What she had to do was to take charge of the overall situation and let these servants fight on their own. She would just control the situation when necessary. Now that Shancha had been solved, it was not enough to punish Nanny Sun.

Since it was not enough, then add fuel to the fire. When Nanny Sun made a big mistake that could no longer be covered up, let the old lady take action directly.

Nanny Gong and Linglong looked at Chu Jinyao like this and felt that this fifth lady was unfathomable and even a little noble, just like the noble lady in the palace whom they had met once by chance. Nanny Gong was secretly wondering, Chu Jinyao rarely went out, let alone knew the people in the palace, why did she feel that Chu Jinyao looked like someone in the palace?

Chu Jinyao stood up and said, "It's easier without Nanny Sun. Before she comes back, you can go to the west room with me."

Chu Jinyao took Nanny Gong, Linglong, and Dingxiang to the west room storeroom. Nanny Gong and Linglong were a little happy and a little nervous to see that Chu Jinyao trusted them so much. When they opened the mahogany boxes sent by Qi Zhangshang, they were only worried.

Nanny Gong was so surprised that she couldn't close her mouth: "This..."

The first box was full of gold and silver jewelry, oriental pearls, agates and other things. There were ready-made jewelry, and boxes of raw gems. Chu Jinyao remembered that day when she and Zhao, Chu Jinxian and others went out to look at jewelry. Zhao spent a lot of money to buy her a set of gemstone head ornaments. Chu Jinyao always thought that this set of jewelry was extremely exquisite. Until now, she has kept it in her dressing box and is reluctant to take it out to wear. But now she looked at the box of gold, silver, jade and gems in front of her that were almost blinding, and suddenly felt that what were the things in Zhao, Chu Jinxian, and even the entire treasure cabinet?

But, these things were all given to her?

Chu Jinyao opened the second box with trepidation, and the four people in the room all gasped. This box was actually full of Yunjin.

Yunjin is extremely valuable and is rarely circulated in the market, and almost all of it is used as tribute.

Nanny Gong covered her chest, obviously unable to bear it. Chu Jinyao frowned secretly, feeling a little regretful. She originally thought that Qi, the shopkeeper, was a businessman, so no matter how many things he sent, how valuable could they be? It was just a large quantity. Chu Jinyao thought that these boxes were just the same silk, spun silk, cloth and other items as last time, so she brought Nanny Gong and Linglong with her. Now it seems that she was still reckless. These things in front of her are not mere silver.

But this cannot be blamed on Chu Jinyao, she never thought that the shopkeeper Qi would dare to give these things! How could he get these? Even

the palace nanny was a little scared, just the two boxes of things alone, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the value of these things is ten thousand taels. However, it is not only worth ten thousand taels, even if you take out ten thousand taels of silver, I am afraid you can't buy half of these things. Not to mention those oriental pearls and jades, just this box of cloud brocade, it is an honor for ordinary powerful people to get a piece of cloud brocade, because this kind of thing is either a gift or smuggled secretly by the eunuchs of the Nanjing Textile Bureau. However, even if there is a great connection, who can come up with so many tributes? Do you think your head is too strong?

Nanny Gong asked, "Miss, are you going to open the remaining boxes?"

Chu Jinyao walked to the third mahogany box, unlocked it, lifted it up slightly to take a look, and quickly closed it.

Chu Jinyao felt that she was not in a good mood. She originally thought that the box of Yunjin was scary enough, but when she took a quick look just now, she actually saw several pieces of gold-woven fabrics and silver-patterned satin. In theory, it is not allowed for ordinary people to wear clothes woven with gold and silver, but now that merchants are prosperous and many families have money, they will secretly cross the line of rank and wear gold belts and silver, and silk and satin. The government turned a blind eye to all this, and when these girls from the marquis' mansion were visiting guests, in order to impress, they would also wear some overly gorgeous clothes. But even though everyone knew it, no one dared to be too presumptuous and cross the royal level. The fabrics inside were shining with gold, and who knows how many gold threads were woven into them during the weaving process. Who would dare to wear such fabrics unless they were members of the royal family?

Chu Jinyao was a little scared. What on earth was Qi doing in charge of the cabinet? Was he crazy?

Chu Jinyao frowned and looked at the remaining boxes one by one. Each time, he would just open a line slightly and cover them. Palace Nanny and others knew how powerful he was, so they all lowered their heads and stood aside, not looking at Chu Jinyao's movements.

To be honest, they were also scared, so how could they dare to look any further?

After Chu Jinyao finished looking at them one by one, he locked them himself. She turned around and looked at Madam Gong, Linglong, and Dingxiang, her face unusually serious: "No matter how much you saw today, once you leave this door, forget everything. If you dare to go out and talk nonsense, I'm afraid that the entire Changxing Marquisate will be implicated by you, not to mention me."

Madam Gong and the others understood very well, and they hurriedly agreed. Fortunately, they were all clear-headed, and they closed the door of the west room as soon as they entered the house, so these scary things were not seen by outsiders. Chu Jinyao scolded them a few more times, scaring them until they turned pale and sweated profusely. Then he said, "Okay, calm down and follow me out. Dingxiang, lock the door carefully. No one is allowed to come in without my permission from now on! If you dare to disobey, I'm afraid I can't protect you."

"Yes." Dingxiang nodded with her head down, followed Chu Jinyao out the door, and then quickly locked the west room, as if there were some monsters inside. In fact, there were really monsters inside.

Chu Jinyao left and took Gong Madam to find Old Madam Chu. After hearing what Chu Jinyao said, Old Madam Chu also looked heavy. "You said, what Manager Qi sent that day was not something from the common people?"

"Yes."

Old Madam Chu sat up straight now: "It's impossible. He is just a merchant. How dare he..." "

Because of this, the matter has become more serious." Chu Jinyao said, "Grandmother, I want to see Manager Qi again."

The next day, Qi Desheng was invited to the Changxing Marquis' Mansion. He had a plan in mind when he went out. When he went straight into Rongning Hall and saw Chu Jinyao in the anteroom, his guess was confirmed.

Chu Jinyao sat upright on the chair, stood up and bowed to Qi Desheng, then looked him in the eye and asked directly: "Master Qi, let me ask you, where do your things come from?"