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Although Noble Consort couldn’t be completely certain, the fact that so many coincidences had been encountered by Little Daying was undeniable.

Adhering to the principle of "better to wrongfully kill than to mistakenly release," regardless, Little Daying would definitely become a focal point of her attention. Now with leverage in hand, she figured it wouldn’t be too difficult to deal with her.

Nanny Chen harbored numerous doubts about Noble Consort’s insistence on inspecting the needlework of every palace, but since the Consort had forbidden her from asking last time, she dared not ask this time either.

Seeing the Consort’s cold sneer only intensified her fears and suspicions—could it be that the Consort had discovered something significant?

Noble Consort disdainfully tossed the handkerchief back to Nanny Chen and coldly said, "Was the investigation of the needlework in the palaces handled cleanly last time?"

Nanny Chen hurriedly replied, "Your Highness, I have taken care of everything thoroughly, ensuring that no one has discovered anything."

"Hmm. You just said that Beauty Li was looking to trouble Little Daying?" She knew that Beauty Li indeed had issues with Little Daying and must harbor resentment toward her for being punished.

"Yes, our people heard it from Beauty Li herself, that’s exactly it." Nanny Chen had no idea what the Noble Consort intended to do or why she suddenly brought this up.

With her eyelids lowered, Noble Consort thought that since that was the case, pushing Beauty Li a little and just watching her deal with Little Daying would suffice. She wouldn’t have to dirty her own hands and could still claim innocence.

Concealing her thoughts, she instructed Nanny Chen, "Go, show Beauty Li the right path."

Nanny Chen was somewhat surprised and asked, "What do you mean, Your Highness?" Why suddenly...?

Noble Consort looked into Nanny Chen’s eyes and said, "Do I really need to teach you such matters?"

With just that look, Nanny Chen shuddered in fear; the Consort’s gaze was truly terrifying. She quickly lowered her eyes and said, "Yes, I understand. I will take care of it thoroughly."

A mysterious light flashed in Noble Consort’s eyes as she said, "Remember, just give Beauty Li a few hints. Don’t meddle beyond that."

"Yes," replied Nanny Chen. With that, she withdrew, collected her thoughts, and headed toward Driftfrost Hall.

...

Towards dusk, Driftfrost Hall.

After Nanny Chen had left and closed the door behind her, Beauty Li asked anxiously, "Nanny Sun, what do you think Nanny Chen meant by what she said? I don’t understand it at all."

Nanny Chen being the overseer Nanny in Noble Consort’s palace, had suddenly visited Driftfrost Hall.

Beauty Li had thought that the afternoon’s events had reached the Noble Consort’s ears and that she had been sent by the Noble Consort to scold her.

She was terrified, regretting not heeding Nanny Sun’s advice earlier, causing such a disturbance.

Little did she know, Nanny Chen had come with kind words, praising her straightforwardness. She said it would be great if Beauty Li could give advice to the lesser-behaving concubines, sparing the Noble Consort the trouble and worry, thereby alleviating some of the Consort’s concerns.

After adding a few more words of praise, Nanny Chen left, leaving Beauty Li still hanging in suspense, unsure of the meaning behind her visit.

Apart from the incident that afternoon, she had been behaving these past few days, merely recuperating in the palace and not stepping out at all, clueless as to why Nanny Chen would make such a sudden appearance, staging such an act.

She had already been tormented enough by the Golden Meal; now mere mention of the Noble Consort frightened her, and seeing the older nannies from the Noble Consort’s side made her uncomfortable.

After listening, Nanny Sun slightly smiled, leaned closer, and said, "My lady, just relax, Nanny Chen’s visit isn’t a bad thing. Perhaps this afternoon’s event reached Noble Consort’s ears—"

Upon hearing this, Beauty Li became frantic, interrupting in a high-pitched voice, "You still say it isn’t a bad thing, it has already reached Her Highness!"

She also knew that her behavior in the Imperial Garden that afternoon had been inappropriate, but she was too incensed at the moment to care, and she regretted it afterward.

If the Noble Consort found out, and deemed her behavior improper, and decided to punish her, what should she do?

Nanny Sun quickly soothed the anxious Beauty Li, "My lady, do not panic, let this servant finish speaking. Although I suspect the matter has reached the Consort’s ears, the Noble Consort did not send someone to punish you.

If it were for punishment, Nanny Chen’s attitude would not have been as such.

Think about it carefully, did Nanny Chen mention anything about this afternoon? "

Realizing she was not to be punished, Beauty Li felt somewhat relieved and nodded, "That is true, but I do not know why Nanny Chen would praise me, which genuinely leaves me uneasy." This was the part she could not understand.

Nanny Sun gently patted Beauty Li’s back, "My lady, Nanny Chen praising you means that the Noble Consort does not wish to punish you for this afternoon’s incident. This is a clear indication; you can be at ease."

A glint flashed in her eyes, she paused, then continued, "As for the praise, did she not say that should you encounter any low-ranking concubines who behave out of turn, you may discipline them? Her words coincidentally came when you wanted to discipline Daying Lian of Canglan Court. Isn’t this to say that if you want to discipline Daying Lian, the Noble Consort approves?

You can confidently go ahead and discipline. "

Beauty Li’s eyes lit up, she asked, "Really?"

Nanny Sun nodded with a smile. With the Noble Consort’s implied approval, dealing with a mere Little Daying should be straightforward; they need not tread carefully anymore—let the issue escalate if it must!

She originally thought she needed a meticulous plan to deal with the Little Daying, fearing that too intricate a plan might be beyond Beauty Li’s abilities.

Now that concern was gone; she should just go ahead boldly—no matter how rough the plan, they must deal with the Little Daying, and the remaining issues were unlikely to be scrutinized in detail by the Consort!

Seeing Nanny Sun nod, Beauty Li beamed.

She had been stifling her frustrations, always wanting to discipline that Daying Lian, but she could neither summon the right people to her side nor catch her in the Imperial Garden despite daily attempts; she was truly at her wits’ end.

Now, with Nanny Sun’s words, it was as if she had an amulet. She could finally stiffen her backbone and no longer had to conceal her intentions; she could boldly confront the issue head-on.

With this thought, Beauty Li smirked sinisterly.

The next morning in Canglan Court.

Lian Hua got up early and, with Xiao Qing, was tampering with the hawthorns they had gotten the day before; Xiao Jizi had gone to the Imperial Kitchen to fetch things.

They were worn out after returning to Canglan Court the previous day, and Lian Hua felt slightly unwell, lacking the spirit to tinker, hence leaving it till today.

Thinking of the tangy and sweet candied haw sticks, she could not sleep at all that morning and drooled uncontrollably, prompting her to rise early, making it the earliest she had ever been up in recent days.

"Young Master, the syrup is ready," Xiao Qing said as she stirred the pot of syrup, calling out to the Young Master.

Hearing her call, Lian Hua, who was threading hawthorns nearby, responded, "Coming, coming, the hawthorns are almost threaded."

Continuing her movements without stopping, she threaded the last skewer of hawthorns and walked over with the plate to set it aside.

Standing by the stove, Lian Hua picked up a skewer of threaded hawthorns and gently rolled it in the syrup, coating it just right, then placed it on a clean chopping board.

In no time, she had lined up a row of uniformly sized red fruits, each glistening with a crystal-like luster, looking extremely appealing.