TICIEC Chapter 20.2

Ning Wanyin picked some honey beans and soaked them in clean water.

She walked out leisurely.

Xiao Guizi was standing guard not far away.

Ning Wanyin looked at him and said, “Gather all the palace people to the courtyard. I have something to say.”

“Yes!” Xiao Guizi accepted the order respectfully.

The twenty lashes last time let everyone know that Ning Wanyin was a very strict person, so they would never neglect her orders.

A moment later.

Two eunuchs and four palace maids stood together in the courtyard.

Lu Ju was the first second-class palace maid assigned to Lingxue Pavilion. She was good at making tea and snacks, so she often went to the small kitchen.

After Dan Li left, the Imperial Household Department filled a vacancy, named Dan Tao.

Second-class palace maids mostly learned skills for close-range service. Dan Tao also served in her room and was good at needlework and makeup.

The other two maids were third-class cleaning maids added by the Imperial Household Department when she was promoted to Meiren. Their names were Cai Sang and Cai Ye, and their primary responsibilities were cleaning the courtyard and pruning the flower beds.

As for the two eunuchs, Xiao Guizi and Xiao Yuanzi, they were originally in charge of cleaning the outer room and running errands.

Ning Wanyin looked at them one by one without saying a word, just leaving them alone.

Everyone was very calm, and from the outside, it was impossible to tell who the traitor was.

Until Lian Rui came back and nodded quietly, everything was done.

Ning Wanyin then slowly spoke, “I lost a bracelet.”

Lian Rui understood what was going on and shouted at the palace maids, “Who among you stole the Master’s bracelet? Hand it over immediately!”

“Master, I didn’t steal!”

Xiao Guizi thought that he understood why his master had punished them by standing, and was the first to stand up and express his loyalty.

“Miss Lian Rui, please search me! Search my quarters and prove my innocence. I am loyal to my master!”

“I didn’t steal anything!” The palace maids rushed to deny the charges.

Last time, she gave her servants twenty lashes. Everyone in Lingxue Pavilion knew that Ning Wanyin was cruel in punishing her servants.

But the rewards they received were also generous, so they were reluctant to leave. As long as they didn’t make any mistakes, the Master was usually very good-tempered and didn’t treat her servants harshly.

With this excuse, Lian Rui immediately checked everyone one by one, searching their bodies and the servants’ rooms…

After a while, she came back to report, “Master, your bracelet is not found.”

No clues were found on their bodies or in the places where they lived.

This was also what Ning Wanyin expected.

The other party had already hidden the medicine ash, so there was no need to go through the trouble.

However, in order to eliminate any hidden dangers, she naturally had to check it again.

“It seems that this bracelet may have been lost outside.”

Ning Wanyin looked at the palace servants and said, “I almost misunderstood you. You are all loyal to me. I will reward each of you with twenty taels of silver.”

“Thank you, Master!” The palace servants happily accepted the reward.

“Lian Rui will stay behind today. Xiao Guizi and Lu Ju will accompany me.” Ning Wanyin instructed.

Lian Rui was a little worried, but she also understood that her master kept her here because something big was obviously going to happen today, and she needed to guard the house.

She would keep a close watch on Lingxue Pavilion!

She would not allow anyone to harm her master.

…

Ning Wanyin left Yonghe Palace and whispered to Xiao Guizi beside her, “Go get your master a physician. I don’t know why my knee is aching. Maybe it’s a relapse from an old problem that wasn’t treated before.”

Xiao Guizi was stunned. The master’s leg was only a superficial wound and had healed long ago.

But then he thought again: if the master’s old illness relapsed, the Empress Dowager wouldn’t be able to force her to stay.

First there was the sweet soup, then the old illness.

In order to deal with the Empress Dowager, the Master’s moves were more clever than the last.

With Empress Dowager Xue making things difficult for Ning Wanyin before, it was perfectly reasonable for Ning Wanyin to pretend to be sick on the day of paying her respects.

Xiao Guizi took the order and went to the Imperial Medical Bureau immediately.

Ning Wanyin had a smooth journey to Jingxi Palace.

She looked around from a distance, keeping her distance from every concubine on the way, determined not to give herself any opportunity to commit a crime.

After thinking carefully three times and making sure that everything was correct, Ning Wanyin stepped into the gate of Jingxi Palace.

 

 

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