"Nanny, this is all my fault. You can punish me however you wish, but please, you must save Xiao Qi."
Only Nanny Sun could bring Xiao Qi back now. She was useless and couldn't save Cui'er; she couldn't give up on Xiao Qi.
Even if she died, she had to save Xiao Qi.
"The person has already been taken away, how can we get her back?"
Nanny Sun was more anxious than ever. Xiao Qi knew quite a bit. If Xiao Qi couldn't resist temptation and told Feng Jin everything, it would be disastrous.
"Nanny..."
"Silence. You go back first. Let me think about what to do next."
Zhen Zhu wanted to say more, but Nanny Sun glared at her fiercely. The words in her mouth were swallowed, and after a moment of hesitation, she retreated.
After Zhen Zhu left, Nanny Sun's feigned calm and composure vanished. She threw on a cloak and hurried out.
...
Zhen Zhu returned to her room and looked at Xiao Qi's empty bed. A wave of sadness surged through her, and tears welled up in her eyes, filled with self-reproach.
With a splash, a basin of ice-cold water was poured over Zhen Zhu's head. She was drenched from head to toe, not a dry spot.
"You still have the audacity to come back? You can't stand to see us well, constantly scheming and framing others. I suspected you were behind Cui'er and the others' troubles long ago. It wasn't enough to harm Cui'er and Liu Li, and now you won't even let Xiao Qi go. She's only thirteen, how could you be so cruel?"
The woman who poured the water over Zhen Zhu pointed at her nose and berated her, raising her hand to strike. She was stopped from behind.
"Lan Cui, what are you doing? Are you crazy!"
"Let go of me! I'm not crazy, Zhen Zhu is! I want to ask her how many people she needs to harm before she's satisfied. Will she only be happy when we're all dead!"
Lan Cui struggled to break free and lunged forward, wanting to beat Zhen Zhu severely.
It wasn't enough to harm Cui'er and the others; now she wouldn't even spare Xiao Qi. Xiao Qi was only thirteen, still a child. She had watched Xiao Qi grow up. How could she be so heartless as to harm Xiao Qi?
"Zhen Zhu, are you stunned? Hurry and leave!"
Yu Rong, who was holding Lan Cui from behind, shouted loudly, urgently urging Zhen Zhu to leave.
Seeing Zhen Zhu standing there as if stunned and unmoving, the other palace maids stepped forward to persuade her: "Let's go out first."
They had to drag Zhen Zhu out. After Zhen Zhu left, Yu Rong finally released Lan Cui.
"Why did you stop me just now? If you hadn't, I would have beaten Zhen Zhu soundly and asked her how many people she needed to harm before she would stop. Would she only be satisfied when we were all dead!"
"What nonsense are you talking about? If Nanny Sun hears this, none of us will have a good outcome!"
Yu Rong rebuked her angrily. She had no reservations now, not even knowing what to say and what not to say.
If Nanny Sun found out about these things, they would all be punished.
"I'm just so angry! We grew up together as sisters. How did I offend her that she has to frame us like this? Cui'er and Liu Li's deaths were caused by her, and today it's Xiao Qi. Tomorrow, we'll all die by her hand!"
"Shut your mouth! Never speak such baseless words again!"
"You're afraid of her, but I'm not! She's just relying on Nanny Sun's favor, acting so arrogant. Have you ever seen her look directly at any of our sisters? When I gain power, she'll be the first one I deal with."
When she gained power, she would properly teach Zhen Zhu a lesson, letting her know what it means for fortunes to turn, and that she would have to be careful when seeing her in the future.
"How do you know Cui'er's matters are related to Zhen Zhu? Besides, the situation today was that the lady from Eastern Chu wanted to take Xiao Qi away. Zhen Zhu couldn't stop her, so it's not her fault."
When their masters made a decision, how could they, as servants, stop it? They could only obey.
At that time, Zhen Zhu must have tried her best to keep her, and she must have been heartbroken when Xiao Qi was taken away.
"Since you know she couldn't stop it, why did she take Xiao Qi there? It was because she took Xiao Qi there that this happened. Ultimately, this matter was also caused by her."
She had to take the punishment alone and also bring Xiao Qi along, so the culprit was Zhen Zhu.
Lan Cui harbored a deep hatred for Zhen Zhu in her heart, firmly believing that Zhen Zhu was harming people.
"You're just arguing unreasonably!" Yu Rong stated sharply, "No matter how angry you are, you must endure when Zhen Zhu returns. Don't cause trouble again, understand?"
Lan Cui had an irritable temper and acted without considering the consequences. If she really got into a fight with Zhen Zhu and Nanny Sun found out, their entire room would be punished.
"As long as she behaves herself, I won't bother her." Lan Cui said reluctantly.
After getting Lan Cui's answer, Yu Rong was somewhat relieved.
...
"Quickly take off your wet clothes and change into clean ones so you don't catch a cold."
The surrounding palace maids were busy, holding clean clothes and handing them to Zhen Zhu.
Zhen Zhu's gaze was vacant, as if she hadn't heard anything around her. She just sat there blankly.
Suddenly, she stood up abruptly. As if she hadn't heard the shouts behind her, she dashed out of the door and ran outside like a madwoman.
She didn't know how long she ran until she was exhausted and stopped. Zhen Zhu collapsed limply to the ground, the tears she had held back for so long now falling like a broken string of pearls.
The moment she looked up, she vaguely saw a figure sneakily walking by.
Driven by curiosity, Zhen Zhu followed. She waited until the person entered a room before continuing to follow a moment later.
Through the slightly ajar door, she could vaguely see a man and a woman standing there. The woman's figure was very familiar, but Zhen Zhu couldn't figure out who it was for a moment. It wasn't until she heard a familiar voice that Zhen Zhu decisively confirmed it was Nanny Sun.
Why was Nanny Sun here, and why was she changing her clothes to meet someone? Zhen Zhu became even more curious and cautiously leaned in to listen.
"My lord, Xiao Qi was taken by Ling Mohan's wife. Do you think we should find a way to get her back?"
Nanny Sun asked tentatively. Xiao Qi was someone she had trained herself, and she did want to get Xiao Qi back. However, she had no strategy for how to request it.
"Why would Ling Mohan's wife take Xiao Qi? Did she discover something, or was it your incompetence that caused the message to leak, leading to this?"