"Then what does Granny Song propose?" said Qi Yunruo.
"Eunuch Yunbao is one of Her Highness' servants of great use. What do you think?"
He dropped his gaze. Slowly said, "Those who are to be punished have been punished. Those who are to be beaten have been beaten. Even if you discuss with me now, it is already of no use. From now on, the only thing that can be done is to have Eunuch Gao control the servants better. Eunuch Yunbao isn't the only useful person at the princess consort's side. Keeping such a dishonest servant close will give Her Highness a bad name."
As soon as Granny Song opened her mouth, the temperature in the surrounding area fell. "Third Young Master really has a way with words."
Seeing that he had kept silent, the old female servant snorted and left directly for Winter Plum Courtyard.
Unlike Granny Song, Qi Niqun had a clearer view of the situation and a sharper mind. Although in her opinion, Qi Yunruo was a person who failed to appreciate kindness, she was more suspicious as to why Eunuch Qian had reported the case to this younger brother of hers.
Eunuch Qian was in charge of patrol and supervised the interior eunuchs and maidservants. He did not have much of a relationship with Qi Yunruo, and certainly did not cross paths with him often. Qi Niqun had from the start found Eunuch Qian observant, able to see through the hearts of others.
While suspicious of Eunuch Qian, she was still upset at Qi Yunruo for losing face for her in public. If he had instead gone and informed her of Eunuch Yunbao's crimes beforehand, this situation could have been avoided.
To pacify one of her capable servants, Qi Niqun had sent people to give Eunuch Yunbao a box of medicinal ointment. She had a servant let him know that once he had completely healed, she would return his prior position and responsibilities to him. Extremely grateful, Eunuch Yunbao had one of the servants send a message to his master. The note read, "This slave thanks Your Highness, the princess consort for your grace and benevolence. This slave was set up. Those wicked things forced this slave to partic.i.p.ate and then led Eunuch Qian over. There must be someone trying to use this excuse to go against Your Highness."
After reading the note, Qi Niqun's expression remained neutral. She slowly said, "Tell Yunbao to take his time to heal."
Those who had lured Yunbao to gamble were people belonging to Consort Ji. What a pity that Qi Niqun could not take back the power to manage the estate from Qi Yunruo. Consort Wei was with child. She also could not rely on Tertiary Consort Li, since the prince held a low opinion of her. Concubine Yi's status was too humble, as were the rest of the concubines' in the estate. She inhaled deeply in her heat. There were only a few months left…
Qi Yunruo…
If he was willing to offend others, then let him do so. Wait until he lost all his power. Then he'd know what true, unadulterated fear was. Qi Niqun smiled with ridicule. Once he was forced to the precipice of death, who could he blame?
The next day, word of the servants' crimes and subsequent punishments spread through the entire estate like wildfire. Concerned, Ji Huan took a visit to Qi Yunruos' residence. Expression neutral, Qi Yunruo said, "Older brother Ji needn't feel worried about me. I know what to do."
Ji Huan sighed. "You actually have the guts to offend others. If you keep doing this from now on, you'll have offended everyone in the estate."
A soft sigh also left Qi Yunruo's lips. "What else could I do?"
Ji Huan knew the youth before him wasn't a ruthless person¹. For a moment, he was at loss for words.
"Since they gave me this responsibility, then I should do it to the best of my ability. Otherwise, what's the point? Older brother Ji, you don't have to worry about me."
