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Nanny Qi lived in a separate side room behind the Side Hall. It was not very close to the Side Hall, but it was closer to the Main Hall than the Side Hall was, originally for the convenience of the master of the Main Hall to summon her.

Lian Hua, accompanied by Xiao Qing, walked toward the side room.

At that time, the courtyard was silent. Xiao Jizi and the others must have known her routine and were not walking around in the courtyard.

When they reached the door of Nanny Qi’s room, Lian Hua saw a rattan whip and uttered a surprised, "Huh."

This rattan was long and thick, made of a bunch of dry vines bound together, stiff like a stick and not the flexible kind. It even had some thorns and looked very familiar.

Wasn’t this the very whip that Pang Ya had used to scare Xiao Jizi and the others?!

She picked it up curiously, feeling a novelty in it, and couldn’t help but swing it a couple of times. Indeed, it was quite impressive. It could rival the vine whip she played with as a child. Having this in hand would be much more effective than gesturing with her hands when scaring Xiao Linzi.

Xiao Qing stepped back in fright; she recognized the rattan all too well and still felt a residual fear even now.

Lian Hua couldn’t help but cover her mouth and snicker silently. Look, just two swings had scared Xiao Qing to this degree; it would surely work twice as well on Xiao Linzi.

Hmm, she was quite satisfied with herself. She would keep the rattan!

"Is that Yuan Yuan outside? Come in," Nanny Qi’s stern voice came from inside the room.

Nanny Qi was awake? Lian Hua and Xiao Qing exchanged glances. The sound just now must have reached Nanny Qi inside, who must have thought it was Pang Ya.

Lian Hua stepped forward first, intending to push the door open, with Xiao Qing following behind.

Seeing her master still holding the rattan, Xiao Qing couldn’t help but lower her voice and hurriedly reminded her, "Master, master, the rattan, the rattan.

.." If Nanny Qi saw the master holding it, she was sure to be disciplined.

Lian Hua didn’t quite catch what she said, only hearing a muffled "tent tau tent tau." She turned back to look at Xiao Qing, rattan in her right hand, pressed her hands against the door, and pushed it open directly.

Xiao Qing went silent. The door was open; it was too late for any words.

Entering and seeing that Xiao Qing was quiet, Lian Hua turned her head back and looked inside. She saw Nanny Qi with disheveled hair, only half-wearing her shoes, sitting on the edge of the bed, looking like she had just woken up.

The room wasn’t large. The bed was opposite the door, with a small window beside the door and a little table beneath it. At a glance, one could see everything.

The window curtains were drawn, making the room a bit dark. Lian Hua suddenly opened the door, and the outside light was glaring. Nanny Qi shielded her eyes with her hand, unable to see clearly who had come in.

Lian Hua stuck out her tongue, feeling she had been a bit rash, then with a smile on her face, stepped over the threshold. Just as she was about to greet Nanny Qi, she noticed something black moving under the quilt behind Nanny Qi. It was easy to overlook unless one looked closely.

Holding her breath, she peered closely, while Xiao Qing, blocked outside, couldn’t enter.

After adjusting for a while, Nanny Qi finally got used to the light and could see clearly. It wasn’t Yuan Yuan; it was that young girl who had come.

She frowned slightly and couldn’t help wanting to scold. A master visiting a servant’s room was out of the question. And seeing Lian Hua holding a rattan in such a manner was utterly improper, she thought to start scolding.

Before Nanny Qi could open her mouth, Lian Hua finally saw what the moving thing was – it was a long serpent, black and white in color!

Lian Hua’s mind went blank in an instant, and she instinctively shouted, "Grandma!"

Nanny Qi was startled by Lian Hua’s cry, and she remained seated without moving, with the words of reprimand she was about to utter getting stuck in her throat. Since meeting this young girl, she had never heard her speak so loudly, so Nanny Qi couldn’t help but freeze in shock.

Lian Hua felt her heartbeat pounding like a drum as she watched the serpent slowly slithering and flicking its forked tongue, getting dangerously close to Nanny Qi. If Nanny Qi were to make a sudden move, she would surely startle the snake, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

She felt that she had never been as tense and calm in her life as at this moment, with her heart violently throbbing, yet she dared not alarm Nanny Qi for fear of frightening her.

Swallowing hard, Lian Hua managed to keep her facial expression somewhat rigid while she slowly walked inwards, gently saying, "Grandma, would you like some cake, don’t be afraid, I’m here, and even if you don’t eat the cake, you won’t have to take medicine."

She was saying something, but she didn’t even know what it was anymore, her eyes were fixated on the serpent as she slowly lifted the rattan in her hand.

Nanny Qi sensed that something was amiss as she watched Lian Hua approach and was about to ask what was wrong.

Before she could react, Lian Hua dashed over and with one swift motion pulled her to her feet, dragging her behind her while shouting loudly, "Xiao Qing, catch her!"

Xiao Qing had been following behind Lian Hua with her head down since she entered. Hearing the shout, she looked up to see Nanny Qi hurtling towards her. Quickly, she caught Nanny Qi in her arms and steadied her firmly, her height and strength making her well suited to catch Nanny Qi safely.

Nanny Qi was yanked up by Lian Hua so suddenly that her arm hurt from the pull. She fell forward toward the doorway and nearly toppled over, but was caught just in time by the maid behind Lian Hua. That was a close call; her old bones almost broke.

Meanwhile, Lian Hua grabbed the rattan stick with her right hand and violently struck the bedding, hitting the serpent square on. It thrashed around, trying to escape.

Once Nanny Qi had regained her footing, she saw Lian Hua frenziedly hitting her bed with the rattan stick. She couldn’t help but shout sharply, "Beauty Lian, what are you doing!"

Had the young girl gone mad? Even if she had grievances against her for the passed couple of days, such behavior was unacceptable. What was the use of beating her bed? If she was dissatisfied, she could simply leave; why insult her so!

Nanny Qi was extremely infuriated as she had just begun to warm up to Lian Hua. She was rudely awakened from her nap to find someone with a rattan stick at her door, babbling nonsense, and now beating her bed. How could she tolerate this?

Lian Hua didn’t explain; seeing the serpent fleeing underneath the bed, she pursued it, striking away, and ordered tensely, "Xiao Qing, hurry and help Grandma Qi out!"

Xiao Qing had been with Lian Hua for many years, and they had developed an understanding. Without a word, she firmly supported and half-carried Nanny Qi out of the room.

Once outside the room, Xiao Qing was somewhat at a loss on how to handle Nanny Qi and hesitated. Then, she hurriedly said to Nanny Qi, "Please stand firm, Nanny, I’m going to help my master," before turning and rushing back into the room.

At that moment, Nanny Qi truly realized something was wrong. She hadn’t seen clearly what was happening in the room, just Lian Hua recklessly swinging her stick around.

However, the sounds of clashing and things being smashed came from the room, creating an extremely tense atmosphere, making her realize that there must be some sort of problem, and she felt a wave of dread wash over her.

Suddenly Xiao Jizi, Pang Ya, and the rest, having heard the commotion, all rushed over.

Fearful for Lian Hua’s safety, Nanny Qi, trembling, pointed towards the room and shouted at Xiao Jizi, "Quick, go in and protect your master, hurry." Her expression was extremely anxious.

In the Palace, no one was more treasured than this young girl. Nothing could happen to her. If it weren’t for her old age and fear of being a hindrance if she went in, she would have wished to go in herself.