You take on two husbands, I'll turn around and marry the tyrant and rule the world.

Chu Nianci's heart stirred upon hearing this.

Yin-Yang Bottle?

Also known as the Nine-Bend Mandarin Duck Bottle.

She had indeed heard of it.

Rumor has it that this bottle is very mysterious.

It can hold two kinds of wine in one container. It was originally a contraption developed by Emperor Ai of the previous dynasty to please Consort Wan. Later, it was transformed into a harmful weapon.

However, due to the war, the production technique has long been lost.

She had only heard about it; she had never actually seen it.

She glanced up at Fugui, who was kneeling in the distance.

Even if this servant wanted to save his brother, he had violated palace rules and could not be tolerated. Otherwise, how could he discipline his servants in the future?

So she hardened her face and said coldly, "Having made such a grave mistake, you still have the nerve to plead for mercy? Just wait and see how I deal with you when I return to the palace!"

Back in the palace, Chu Nianci's face was frosty. She had Aunt Lan move a chair to the main hall and then summoned more than twenty palace servants.

"Bring Manbao and Fugui up here," she ordered.

Manbao shrugged, head hanging low, looking like an abandoned puppy.

Fu Gui was older, with a long face and handsome eyebrows, but when he was brought up, he still stubbornly stuck out his neck.

Fu Gui nonchalantly shouted, "My lady, this is my first offense. Please forgive me this time. My godfather is Wei Jinzhong, the chief eunuch in the Empress's palace!"

Chu Nianci was slightly taken aback.

The head maidservant by the Empress's side was Xia Dong; she had never heard of a chief steward.

Aunt Lan leaned down and whispered, "Your Highness, Chief Steward Wei was bestowed upon the Empress by the Empress Dowager in her early years. The Empress doesn't trust him much and usually doesn't let him enter the palace to serve her. She also often doesn't take him with her when she goes out. Therefore, he has always claimed to be ill and lived in seclusion, keeping a low profile and not having much real power."

So he's all talk and no action. Chu Nianci looked up, her voice cold: "I don't care whose son you are, wrong is wrong. I've long established rules against gambling. Drag them away and give each of them twenty strokes of the cane."

After saying that, she gave Aunt Lan a wink.

Manbao was still young, so he instructed his men to go easy on her and not to really hurt her.

The sound of the paddle hitting flesh rang out one after another.

The crowd below grew increasingly fearful, their hearts filled with unease.

"You've all seen what happened to Zhui'er and Xiao Guizi. They ended up like this because they were bribed," she said, her voice not loud, but it calmed everyone in the courtyard. "Now that all the palaces are watching us, if we continue to indulge ourselves and act recklessly, aren't we just handing someone a knife? If anyone feels they can't stay, they can leave now. I won't stop them, but if they stay and dare to cause trouble..."

She paused, then her tone turned cold: "Give him a beating and send him to the riot control room."

The courtyard was completely silent; the sun was shining brightly, and the air was stiflingly stuffy.

Aunt Lan was the first to kneel down: "This servant obeys the young mistress's orders and has no disloyal intentions."

Tuanyuan immediately followed suit, bowing low: "This servant does too!"

Everyone kowtowed and said in unison, "We servants would never dare to disobey our master!"

Chu Nianci's expression softened slightly: "You just need to do your jobs properly, and I will naturally not treat you unfairly. In a few days, I will confer the title of Lady upon you, and everyone in the palace will receive an extra month's allowance."

The people below couldn't hide their joy.

She turned and stepped into the hall.

I know perfectly well... Most of these people are opportunists; only by using both kindness and severity can I keep them in check.

Tuanyuan followed in, pouting, "My lord, these people are so fickle, why don't we just kick them out and replace them with a new batch?"

"If we kick them out, will the newcomers not be seen as opportunists?" Chu Nianci shook her head. "Most people living in the palace have to know how to read the winds. I have ways to make them submit. Besides, aren't you here to keep an eye on things for me?"

Tuanyuan immediately nodded: "This servant will definitely keep a close eye on things for Your Highness!"

After a while, Aunt Lan gently closed the door and reported back: "My lady, the caning is over and Manbao is fine. He will be able to get out of bed after a few days of rest. I have found out everything. He did break a bottle in the Imperial Workshop because of his brother. He didn't have money to pay for it, so he went to gamble. That Fugui is just lazy and addicted to gambling."

Tuanyuan added, "By the way, Manbao was talking about her brother earlier. What was his name again... Should we go to the Imperial Workshop to take a look?"

Aunt Lan thought for a moment and said, "Manbao's brother is called Baozhu."

Chu Nianci lowered her head and thought for a while before asking, "Being able to become the adopted son of a high-ranking eunuch in the palace is something everyone tries to curry favor with. Eunuch Wei is, after all, the Empress's chief steward. Why wouldn't he, a lowly eunuch from the Imperial Workshop, be willing to do so?"

"This..." Aunt Lan glanced at Tuanyuan and whispered in Chu Nianci's ear, "This Eunuch Wei has always had a peculiar habit of taking young and beautiful eunuchs to the side rooms to spend the night."

"How did these two eunuchs manage to accomplish this?" Chu Nianci asked curiously.

"This... this servant does not know. The Empress questioned him about this matter, but the investigation revealed that it was consensual on both sides, so we could not interfere any further. We could only reprimand him and leave him alone."

Chu Nianci had no mood to deal with these messy things, but she still felt uneasy about what Manbao had said earlier about Consort Yue going to the Imperial Workshop.

So she changed into a simple dress, took Tuanyuan with her, and went straight to the Imperial Workshop.

As I passed by Shanglin Garden, a gentle breeze brought a touch of warmth, and many of the garden trees sprouted tender buds. The green willows by Mirror Lake also exuded a spring-like atmosphere.

She couldn't help but sigh to herself: If she could really climb to a high position in the future, how pleasant it would be to live such a noble and comfortable life.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he saw Consort Yue coming out of the Imperial Workshop, still with that cold and aloof demeanor.

Chu Nianci didn't want to see her, so she turned around and took Tuanyuan to the backyard.

Before even entering the courtyard, I heard a commotion of cursing and swearing.

She frowned and quickened her pace, passing through the narrow alley. There she saw five or six eunuchs surrounding a young eunuch, beating and cursing him.

One of the older, long-faced eunuchs asked in a harsh voice, "Baozhu, do you know how much silver that bottle is worth?"

Surrounded, Baozhu remained silent.

"Two hundred taels!" the long-faced eunuch spat. "How are you going to pay me back?"

"...I'll pay it back once I get my monthly salary."

"You only make four hundred coins a month, when will you ever be able to pay it back?" The man squinted and tried to count on his fingers, but he couldn't figure it out.

"Damn it, you want to pay back decades? Are you looking for a beating?" The long-faced eunuch said as he kicked Baozhu several times.

Baozhu curled up and endured it without uttering a sound.

This only enraged the other party, who kicked even harder.

A eunuch next to him rolled his eyes and whispered a few words in the long-faced eunuch's ear.

The long-faced eunuch's eyes lit up, and he reached out to lift Baozhu's face... He was only sixteen or seventeen years old. Although he was covered in dirt and blood, you could see that his skin was fair and his features were very delicate.

He immediately changed his tune, grinning lewdly: "Baozhu, go and become Eunuch Wei's godson. As long as you curry favor with him, let alone two hundred taels, even a thousand taels will be nothing to you."

Baozhu pursed his lips and remained silent.

A lewd smile flickered in the man's eyes as he reached out to lift Baozhu's chin. "Will you agree or not?"

Baozhu raised his dark eyes, stared at him coldly for a long time, then suddenly grinned and cursed, "Go to hell."

The eunuch flew into a rage and ordered the people around him to beat and kick him again.

Amidst the muffled thuds and curses, a clear, sharp voice broke through: "Stop."

The eunuchs turned around at the sound and saw a bright-eyed girl in a cloak trimmed with fox fur standing a few steps away, followed by a round-faced palace maid who was coldly watching them.

"You haven't even bowed to Consort Hui!" Tuanyuan stepped forward, hands on her hips, and scolded.

Upon closer inspection, the eunuchs realized that the girl was dressed in the attire of a noblewoman.

Suddenly, I remembered that there was indeed such a favored noblewoman in the palace.

The long-faced eunuch at the head of the group immediately changed his expression and hurriedly led the others to tumble and kneel on the ground.

Chu Nianci approached with a sullen face, her clear eyes sweeping over the crowd.

The words fell on the long-faced eunuch: "His Majesty and the Empress Dowager have long ago issued clear orders strictly prohibiting any acts of bullying in private. Even the chief stewards of the various palaces adhere to etiquette and cultivate their character. How dare you gather a crowd to humiliate others? A bunch of wooden-headed fools, do you want to test the sharpness of palace rules?"

The group of people were so frightened that they dared not breathe.

A eunuch whispered, "My lord, he broke some utensils, and the servants are chasing after him for payment."

"Even if he broke things, the compensation should be pursued by the Imperial Household Department. How dare you servants resort to vigilante justice and pursue the matter privately? Are you trying to line your own pockets?"

"This..." The eunuch was speechless.

Chu Nianci instructed, "Send someone to fetch the manager of the Imperial Workshop."

These words made the legs of all the eunuchs feel weak.

The long-faced eunuch's eyes darted around, and he hurriedly crawled a few steps on his knees, begging for mercy with a servile expression: "Consort Hui, please spare my life! This servant will never dare to do it again..."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and slapped himself hard across the face. Seeing this, several eunuchs nearby also began to slap themselves.

Chu Nianci just watched coldly.

They slapped each person more than a dozen times, their faces already red and swollen.

She glanced at Tuanyuan.

Tuanyuan understood and said sternly, "If you bully others again, you won't get away with it so easily! Get out of here!"

The eunuchs, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, kowtowed, hurriedly scrambled to their feet, and stumbled away.

Once all the eunuchs had run far away...

Baozhu hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down: "Thank you so much, Miss Hui, for saving my life."

Chu Nianci gazed into the distance and said calmly, "People must save themselves first before others can save them. It all depends on which path you choose."

Which road to choose?

The implication is that it depends on his sincerity and his pledge of allegiance.

Baozhu was quick-witted. He quickly wiped the blood off his face and said, "I will remember your kindness, my lord. My younger brother, Manbao, also works in Tangdi Palace. He has been taken care of by you, my lord. From now on, I will follow you to the death and obey your every command."

Seeing him say that.

Chu Nianci's gaze softened slightly.

She wasn't afraid of him betraying her, after all, with her younger brother Manbao in her hands, his loyalty was still somewhat trustworthy.

"Stay here for a few more days," Chu Nianci instructed in a low voice. "I heard that someone here has secretly made a copy of the Yin-Yang Bottle. Try to find a way to secretly draw a copy of the design for me."

Baozhu wiped the blood from his lips and kowtowed again: "This servant will certainly do it."

Chu Nianci looked at his delicate features and thought to herself: He's quite clever.

If they can truly pass the test and prove their loyalty, it wouldn't be unreasonable to transfer them to Tangdi Palace in the future.

Returning from the Imperial Workshop, she and Tuanyuan saw Consort Yue and Suxin sneaking out of the side door of the Imperial Workshop... Their strange looks made it clear they weren't plotting anything good...