Mammy's cold eyes swept over everyone again.
"Listen to me, this is the palace. There are rules in the palace. The nobles are above all else. You may think I am exaggerating now and using my power to intimidate you, but in the future, you will know the benefits of my doing so."
The nanny turned her eyes to Murong Wan.
"Come out and kneel down!"
The severity in his tone made the others shudder.
Shen Qingwan's eyes were calm.
Only Murong Wan looked very unconvinced.
This old guy is still so arrogant after receiving the money!
Her mind was filled with hatred, which was all conveyed through her eyes, but the nanny didn't take it seriously.
"Did you go out for a stroll last night and go to people's doors to pick fights? Is that true?"
Murong Wan didn't believe that the nanny would punish her, so she blurted out without thinking: "So what? I was just walking around in the inner courtyard. Didn't Shen Qingwan sleep either? I don't know what she was doing in the courtyard alone. It looks unusual."
Mammy sneered: "They are doing things in their own courtyard, how can it bother you? I think you are unrepentant and making excuses! Then deal with it according to the palace rules!"
Having said this, she picked up the sign in her hand and asked someone to summon the officer in charge of punishment to come and enforce the law.
Murong Wan was really scared. She looked at the nanny in disbelief: "You really dare to hit me?"
"What else?"
The mammy spoke bluntly.
Murong Wan almost blurted out the truth: "You obviously accepted it..."
Before she could finish, she was frightened by the look in the housekeeper's eyes and swallowed the words back.
What kind of look was that? It carried a deep sense of oppression, as if something terrible would happen to her the next second after she said it.
Murong Wan was timid.
"You have something to say, why don't you say it?"
Mammy tried to sound nonchalant, but everyone knew she was angry.
Murong Wan endured it and did not dare to confront the nanny in public.
"Very good, it's good that you know you are wrong, so you can have a future. If you don't know and still pretend to know, and then you do something terrible, even I can't save you."
A group of people responded politely, “Yes.”
Soon, people came. Murong Wan shuddered when she saw some eunuchs holding whips in their hands.
"Give me twenty lashes to teach her a lesson."
"Yes, Mammy."
Even though Murong Wan was a little-known person, she had never suffered much. Today's punishment was beyond her tolerance. She just didn't want to cry out loudly for the sake of face, but the pain in her body was getting more and more painful, and soon she couldn't care about her manners anymore.
"Mammy, Mammy, I was wrong. Please forgive me. I really know I was wrong and I won't do it again!"
There was no need to look closely, the whip marks had seeped blood onto her clothes, turning them red, and the muscles on her back were cramping with pain, and Shen Qingwan felt pain just looking at it.
But she deserves it.
This has always been the rule in the palace.
She looked away, waiting for everything to be over before she turned her attention back to the people present.
Calculating the time, it's time for dinner. I don't know what important task the nanny will give her today. Is she testing her patience by sending her to other places to do hard labor
Shen Qingwan's thoughts involuntarily drifted to the nanny, who was also looking at Shen Qingwan at this moment.
"You come with me, and the rest of you continue with your work."
Qingwan didn't even look at the woman on the ground who was glaring at her fiercely. She wiped the flower dirt off her hands and followed the nanny into the room.
"You are very sensible. You didn't beg for mercy when you saw the people coming in with you. A woman living with you didn't come out to help you when she saw you were in trouble, and she didn't fight with you out of petty motives. I'm curious about what kind of person you are."
Shen Qingwan smiled generously and said, "Mammy asked me, even if I tell you, I may not be able to gain your trust. You might as well observe slowly. My sister should have told you everything, right? She was indeed quite unrighteous last night, but she has her own way of dealing with people. Why force it? But this person is a little too hypocritical. She didn't sleep in the morning and ran to comb her hair..."
The nanny's face changed, as if she was thinking about something. She waved her hand and asked Shen Qingwan to go down. Before she left, she told her a new task: "Go to Lanfang Palace to deliver the food to the nobles. I will let you know the connections of the nobles so that you can help me in the future."
Shen Qingwan guessed that it was probably because her gentleness left a good impression on the other party that a series of good things happened.
She was happy to see it happen.
"Then I'll go down and prepare the things first, Mammy, calm down."
Restraining her excitement, she steadily followed the steward who led the way to Lanfang Palace to deliver the tea tray.
This is the Shufei's courtyard nearby. If I have the chance to get close...
She looked around, trying to find even the slightest chance to slip away without being noticed, but it was too difficult.
After entering Lanfang Palace, I have rarely met the new noble lady Shen Qingwan. This person is probably not favored and has not much interaction with the emperor.
The woman was wearing a light pink dress and looked quite young, but her cowardly character was not a burden to her because of her good family background. At least some people were willing to give her family some face and did not treat her badly.
"Your Excellency, please have some refreshments."
The steward said this respectfully and left without waiting for her to reply.
But Concubine Zhao frowned and wanted to say something, but in the end she didn't say anything and let them go.
Just at this moment, Shen Qingwan gave a gentle reminder.
"Your Excellency, why don't you break the snacks into small pieces and soak them in tea to drink together? It will make the taste less greasy."
The nobleman's eyes lit up.
The young steward was very unhappy.
"Is it okay for you, my lord?"
After hearing what Shen Qingwan said, Concubine Zhao really tried to do it according to what Shen Qingwan said. The taste was indeed different from before, and she couldn't help but feel very happy.
"Are you a maid in the imperial kitchen? You seem to be quite capable."
She was praising him sincerely, but she didn't expect this to arouse the jealousy of the manager, who was ready to explode as soon as she got out.
Shen Qingwan didn't care, and replied gently: "Yes, I am from the imperial kitchen, and this method was given to me by the head chef silently. Today, I saw you use it, so I just said it casually. I hope you don't mind."
"How could I mind? You've done a great job. I'd be unhappy if I didn't eat snacks for a few days in this palace. But the taste is not as familiar as the ones I used to have at home, so I can't get used to it. If you have any new ideas next time, tell me about them, so I can also relieve my cravings."
Qingwan was overjoyed and immediately knelt down and kowtowed, but her face remained calm.
"I understand."
As soon as he left Lanfang Palace, the little steward's worldly face was immediately revealed.
"I didn't realize you were such a boaster. How dare you, a newly arrived maid, speak so casually in front of the noble lady."