After refusing marriage, she was pampered by the prince who acted as a shield.

Chapter 464: Establishing Authority Gets Scolded

As she walked, Zhang Mama's face grew increasingly grim, and she couldn't help but glance at the palace maid who had gone to find Zhuang Lijuan with the Empress Dowager the day before.

How did things go yesterday?

"Yesterday? Everything for yesterday's birthday banquet was prepared more thoroughly than before, even the little lanterns were exquisite..."

The palace maid's face showed a hint of admiration, which made Zhang Mama even more furious.

But the other party had no intention of pausing and continued talking about what happened next, which made the person's face even more gloomy.

Have you said enough?

"That's enough, that's enough."

The palace maid carefully shrank her neck, thinking that this would be the end of it.

But before she could sneak a peek, a hand landed on her face.

She fell to the ground, and before the palace maid could explain, Zhang Mama grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up.

"Granny, I know I was wrong, please forgive me!"

The palace maid let out a cry of surprise, clearly wanting to say something else, but was thrown to the ground and let out another wail.

He quickly looked up at the other person, a chill ran through him, and he felt like he was doomed.

He rushed forward, rolling and crawling, and clung tightly to Zhang Mama's leg, hoping she would let him go.

But this Zhang Mama had always been by the Empress Dowager's side, so how could she have such a good temper? She slapped the other woman again.

The palace maid's face, which was originally half presentable, was now completely disfigured. The other palace maids quickly backed away, afraid of being implicated.

To everyone's surprise, the palace maid who had been lively and talkative just moments before, after only two slaps, was now lying motionless on the ground.

"Granny, she...she can't be dead, can she?"

"Die? It's not that easy."

Granny Zhang let out a cold laugh and grabbed the person by the hair, lifting them up.

The pain jolted the unconscious palace maid awake, and she let out another mournful cry, but no one dared to plead for her, and they all lowered their heads, not daring to utter a sound.

What would you like to say first?

"Granny, isn't this too cruel? After all, she is the Empress Dowager..."

"Since you know who you are serving, you shouldn't say things that are inappropriate."

Only then did everyone understand why Granny Zhang had done this, and they dared not utter a sound, clutching their clothes tightly to the sides, too afraid to move.

After all, they had spoken up just now, which violated the point about not being able to judge people properly. If they don't reflect on their behavior now, they might not be waiting for just a couple of slaps.

When Zhang Mama didn't see any reaction for a while, they thought the demonstration had ended.

Who knew that when he looked up, he would be met with a pair of mocking eyes and a whip lying at his feet.

"If you don't know the rules, then you should learn them properly. The nanny won't punish you too much, but if you can't even control your mouth, then you don't need to stay in the palace anymore."

"Granny!"

He knelt down with a thud, and everyone agreed, promising that they would never say anything inappropriate in the future once they recognized his true identity.

Seeing their expressions, Granny Zhang turned her gaze away with satisfaction and looked at the silly little palace maid beside her.

"If you had even a fraction of Miss Biao's intelligence, you could have thrived here, but unfortunately..."

"Don't worry, Granny, we will study hard and never cause the Empress Dowager any discomfort."

"That's all he can say, just empty words."

The young palace maid, though directly exposed, showed no anger whatsoever. She smiled and continued nodding, finally managing to appease the Empress Dowager's favorite.

Even so, he still received a cold snort.

"That's all for today. Tomorrow I will teach you the rules again, so you will know what is right and what is wrong."

"Thank you, Granny."

Looking at the respectful palace maids and eunuchs behind her, Zhang Mama's smugness became even more apparent.

But as she approached the East Palace, her expression darkened again.

"Sigh, I've watched Miss Biao and the other masters grow up. I thought they would be together, but who knew that this person would suddenly appear in the middle."

Although the others were curious about who the old woman was talking about, they remembered the previous rules as soon as they opened their mouths and all shut up and looked at her.

But we're all a group of people, how could we possibly harm ourselves for such a small amount of curiosity?

In the midst of this silence, the group quickly entered the East Palace and headed towards the room where Lin Rusi was.

Because of Zhang Mama's status and the Empress Dowager's order, no one dared to obstruct them along the way, and they arrived at the door very smoothly.

Seeing that there was only one door left, Granny Zhang raised her hand to tidy up her hair, which had become a little messy from scolding the others, before speaking.

"Your Highness, the Empress Dowager requests your presence."

"Didn't you go to see Zhuang Lijuan yesterday? Why are you back so early?"

Lin Rusi not only didn't come out, but she didn't even let anyone open the door. She just casually left this sentence inside the room.

Because of her status, Zhang Mama had not been treated like this for a long time, and her face turned even more unpleasant. She wished she could just push the door open and go in to see what was going on.

Before they could even get close, the guards on both sides reached out their hands first.

"presumptuous!"

"I think it's you who's being presumptuous. The Crown Princess didn't allow you to enter, so how dare you, a mere servant, just push the door open and walk in?"

"I have the Empress Dowager's decree, instructing the Crown Princess to pay her respects today."

Granny Zhang was not afraid of the guards at all, and raised her voice to say the words she had prepared beforehand.

As the sound faded, the door was finally pushed open, revealing Lin Rusi practicing calligraphy inside.

"My grandmother was so tired yesterday, I thought she hadn't woken up yet."

After all, he ran out of the palace yesterday to coax that so-called cousin, almost making the remaining three a laughing stock.

Thinking of this, Lin Rusi felt even more helpless. She gently put Changning down and then wet a handkerchief to wipe his hands, which were stained with ink.

"You little rascal, you really love to cause trouble. I told you these pens aren't suitable for you, but you just wouldn't believe me."

"Mom, no, I'm going to practice calligraphy!"

Changning opened her small hands and hugged the person tightly after wiping them clean.

Lin Rusi didn't plan to go over either. She got up, wanting to find some excuse to leave the person standing there.

But to her surprise, before she could even speak, Granny Zhang spoke first.

"This is the Empress Dowager's decree, and it cannot be disobeyed."

"I didn't believe the Empress Dowager's earlier statement that the Crown Princess was bad at teaching children, but judging from the young prince's current behavior, you really do need to learn manners."

A servant looking after his master?

Lin Rusi let out a cold laugh and slammed her hand on the table.

"Can you really define rules just by talking about them?"

"I am indeed not qualified to comment, but it is absolutely unacceptable for the prince to be so lacking in manners and constantly thinking of his mother."

"Are you done talking? How old is Changning? Being able to talk and walk doesn't mean he's old. If he doesn't rely on me now, does he expect to float around the table by himself?"