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She and His Majesty truly had a tacit understanding, just as she was coincidentally making clothes for him, he happened to want them, how lovely.

Thus, the Emperor could finally breathe a sigh of relief, having managed to "keep" the secret for his Little Concubine with great difficulty.

Once Lian Hua had finished laughing, she didn’t forget what the Emperor had just said and solemnly promised, "I won’t write poems when delivering meals anymore, Your Majesty, so you can focus on eating."

"Nannan is really good," the Emperor said with a smile as he gently touched her head.

"And I won’t learn poetry from Consort Fang Pin anymore." No need for that.

"Mmm," the Emperor’s smile widened, even more pleased.

"It’s fortunate that what I agreed to learn from Consort Fang Pin just now was something else, otherwise, I would have gone back on my word." Thankfully, thankfully.

"..." The Emperor’s smile vanished completely.

At this time, in Nanny Qi’s room.

Xiao Jizi respectfully reported to Nanny Qi about the suspicious behavior of Xia Liu, and after going out for a round to confirm that Xia Liu’s claims were indeed true, he still felt something was odd.

Nanny Qi frowned thoughtfully, "I did indeed instruct her to fetch Bird’s Nest Soup. Are you saying that besides Bird’s Nest Soup, she only brought back some trinkets?"

Xiao Jizi replied, "Yes, I looked through everything, and also felt through the bag, but I found nothing."

Nanny Qi raised her eyelids, "Did you search her person?"

Xiao Jizi appeared troubled, "This... I wasn’t very sure, I just felt it was abnormal, besides, firstly I don’t have the authority to search her, and secondly, I was afraid of startling the snake by hitting the grass..."

Nanny Qi’s words were always to the point, but his status was not enough, even if he wanted to search someone he wasn’t allowed to. What if someone raised an alarm, startling the master?

So after his investigation turned up fruitless, he came back and reported everything as it was to Nanny Qi, who was more cunning with age. Nothing was too careful when it concerned the master’s affairs.

Nanny Qi understood that Feng Ji’s status was not sufficient.

It was time for Canglan Court to appoint a leading figure, otherwise, without her presence, the other servants would not be managed properly.

In the future, more and more servants will pour into the young miss’s residence, so it’s better to decide on a leading servant now to avoid disputes later on.

From her observations, the three servants of the young miss, though of different talents, were each loyal; otherwise, she would not have felt reassured letting them serve the young miss.

Among these three people, Feng Ji had the best qualifications, having come from Star Palace and seen some of the world. The other two also looked up to him, and their work was fairly thorough.

Moreover, the Emperor had mentioned to her in passing that no matter what the future held for the young miss, Feng Ji was determined to follow her, sharing in both honor and disgrace. To harbor any ill intentions would be to seek his own death.

In that case, Feng Ji could be considered for a minor leadership position to see how he handles it. If he proved capable, they would continue to cultivate him in the future.

She had made her calculations, but her face didn’t show it. The task of promoting a servant by bestowing grace and favor should still be left to the young miss. She would just remind her later.

She dared to say that the young miss probably hadn’t even considered such matters. She truly was a young girl with a long road ahead of her.

Thinking of Lian Hua, Nanny Qi felt somewhat amused, softening her usually serious and stern face with a trace of a smile.

Thinking about how she had sneaked out today and sneaked back in, she felt a bit helpless.

Her original plan had been to hurry back before the young miss woke from her noon rest, as her waking time was usually around the same hour each day, and she had calculated it carefully.

But man’s calculation falls short compared to heaven’s, causing a delay. After tending to Xu Rongying, feeling somewhat tired, I rested at Huaying Hall, and I ended up falling asleep.

Getting old and less useful, I felt tired just from doing such little work. When I woke up, I realized I had messed up; it was already past the time Nannan had woken up.

Rushed and moving stealthily back, upon entering the court I saw Zhang Qing.

From what Zhang Qing mentioned about the events during my absence and Nannan’s reaction, I had an understanding of the situation and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Nannan was only suspicious and had not discovered me leaving.

Back in Canglan Court, my old bones completely relaxed, and I thought how much more comfortable it was to be here.

Xiao Jizi didn’t know what Nanny Qi was thinking. Seeing her not speaking for a long time, he hesitated before speaking out, "Nanny..."

Nanny Qi snapped back to reality and waved her hand, "Not alarming the snake by hitting the grass is correct. Once these evil spirits show themselves, they aren’t threatening anymore.

It’s better to have them out in the open than to let someone with intentions continue to bring in someone who is well hidden; that would be truly impossible to guard against."

She continued to make arrangements, "When Doctor Huang comes to check the Pulse of Peace, quietly show him the Bird’s Nest Soup to see if there is any issue. If there is, take Xia Liu down without making a fuss."

Xiao Jizi respectfully acknowledged that he understood, having the Imperial Physician check on the way was the most natural method.

"As for this servant’s luggage..." Nanny Qi pondered, "Never mind, let’s not search it for now."

There were several reasons for considering this.

First, if it was searched, even if done quietly, it could easily be discovered and raise alertness, leading to more careful hiding; second, the best opportunity to search had already passed.

If something was truly brought back from outside, Canglan Court was so vast, no one would be that foolish as to hide things in their own luggage.

If someone was that foolish, then they are not worth considering.

Xiao Jizi responded, "Yes."

In the end, Nanny Qi said, "Regardless of whether there is an issue with the Bird’s Nest Soup, just to be safe, from now on all items entering Master Lian’s mouth will be personally managed by you three and Pang Ya.

Don’t delegate it to others. Remember that.

From today on, I also won’t let the Palace Maid easily approach the kitchen or the Side Hall. Go."

"Yes." Xiao Jizi bowed and was about to leave when he turned back with hesitation and asked what was on his mind, "Nanny, why does it seem like you’ve never suspected the servant of making a mistake in judgment?"

Nanny Qi spoke indifferently, "What if I have made a wrong judgment? It’s just being more cautious. Besides, now even a wrong killing cannot be overlooked."

Xiao Jizi felt a shiver in his heart and bowed before retreating.

From Nanny Qi, he felt as though he had learned something...

...

In the somewhat dark room, only Changzai Zhou and Liu Ying were present.

Liu Ying, anxious and unsure, looked down and asked from a few steps away, "Master has summoned this servant; may I ask what are your orders?"

At this time of day, if the master had nothing urgent, she’d prefer to talk to herself, and others were not to disturb her.

The master played chess very well and had even received His Majesty’s reward, but Liu Ying didn’t know why she had been called in today. The other attendants had been sent on errands by the master, leaving only her to serve.

Changzai Zhou looked at her gently and motioned for her to come closer, "Come here."

Liu Ying, somewhat confused as the master usually didn’t like people getting too close in private, thought, "What’s the matter?"

Though puzzled, she complied and moved two steps closer.

"Closer, come here, so I can have a good look at you," Changzai Zhou said, pointing in front of her. Her voice remained gentle, but her gaze was indifferent.

Liu Ying felt a chill crawl up her spine, instinctively feeling something was wrong, and she quickly knelt down, "Master, has this servant done something wrong? This servant..."

Changzai Zhou’s gentle facade faded, her voice turned cold, "What? Can I no longer call on you?"