After their minds were read, the entire court trembled with fear.

Chapter 68 Dark 9 You're fired!

Hidden in the shadows, An Jiu silently fired several daggers into the back of the Ministry of Works official.

It's bad enough that his own brother is taking his job, but now another wealthy man has come along.

The thought of his brothers who had been vying to give gifts to Shen Zhiyi during the day made An Jiu want to grind his teeth to dust.

"Little Jiu, you've seen Shen Lang off so many times, it's my turn today."

"Get out of here. Don't you know what it means to respect the elderly and care for the young? After Xiao Jiu, it's my turn to take over."

"Get lost, get lost, don't you know that the big ones have priority? It should be me, Dark Big One, who should take the lead."

"Brother, you have the arduous task of protecting His Majesty. Come on, get out of here."

An Da remained silent, but he also wanted to hear what kind of fun Shen Zhiyi had to offer.

On her first day following Shen Zhiyi, An Jiu witnessed a good show, and afterwards learned quite a few other amusing things as well.

envy!

envy!

hate it!

"Shen Lang, this restaurant was just opened by my brother. Their signature dish is roast duck. I've tried it, and it's delicious. It's on me."

Shen Zhiyi had smelled the fragrance long ago.

“Master Cai, what can I do for you?”

Shen Zhiyi struggled to resist the temptation.

Unsolicited kindness is often a sign of ulterior motives or theft!

Ministry of Works Assistant Director: ...

He genuinely wanted to treat her to a meal!

"It's nothing, it's just the opening of a new store. Please have a taste."

[Really? You only invited me? I'm too scared to eat.]

Could it be that this official from the Ministry of Works is worried about his brother and is trying to test the waters by bringing me along?

Seeing that Shen Zhiyi was getting more and more off-topic, the Ministry of Works official quickly said, "Shen Lang, my brother is an excellent craftsman and a good village chief. He wants to lead the whole village to get rich. At the same time, he is also very filial and has no resentment towards my biological mother."

[Their craftsmanship is indeed excellent.]

Shen Zhiyi swallowed shamefully.

[The village chief seems to be quite capable, huh? He knows he's the son of the Imperial Sacrificial Official—well, the Imperial Sacrificial Official has already been appointed, but the Liu family is still around, and his brother is a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Works. He's wealthy and powerful, and after being recognized as a member of the family, he started thinking of ways to use his mother's and the official's connections to seek personal gain.]

[Anyone else who's particularly filial? Ha! Let me see what's been going on in the household of this Ministry of Works official lately that led to this conclusion about his filial piety towards Lady Peng.]

After reading it, Shen Zhiyi felt that she had followed the old emperor too early.

[Oh dear, old emperor, why did you leave so early? You missed such a good show.]

Good heavens, this village chief is quite the actor! His half-truths are certainly believable. The Ministry of Works official is cautious enough to have sent someone to investigate.

The Ministry of Works official awkwardly touched the tip of his nose.

One should always be wary of others.

[Peng was indeed unkind to the village chief initially, but later, perhaps due to a change of heart or a loss of hope in the scumbag priest, she began to treat the village chief better.]

But the damage done in childhood has already been done; what good is trying to fix things after the damage is done?

On the surface, the village chief maintained a superficial mother-son relationship with Peng, but in reality, he harbored some resentment towards her. As for the scene he put on after recognizing his ancestors, it was actually an act for the Ministry of Works official to see.

The Ministry of Works official was initially puzzled, but he quickly realized what was going on.

Although her mother, Lady Liu, was exonerated and all the scholars in the world knew that those famous poems and songs were written by her, she was already old and still a scholar.

He is different.

Currently, he is a fifth-rank official in Daye, and also holds a position in the Ministry of Works that the old emperor highly values.

So that whole thing that day was actually performed for him.

Regardless of anything else, this Ms. Peng was his birth mother.

After learning about it, the Ministry of Works official smiled helplessly.

He already felt indebted to the village chief, and even if the village chief hadn't pulled this stunt, he would have helped him as much as he could within his means.

This is all he should do.

"Shen Lang, you can take both of these roast ducks."

Shen Zhiyi looked at the person next to her with a hint of doubt.

She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that the people around her seemed much happier.

Who cares? Only a fool wouldn't take advantage of a good deal.

"Then I thank you, Assistant Minister Cai."

Shen Zhiyi, carrying two roast ducks, went back with her right hand frozen red. Just as she unlocked the gate to the courtyard, a voice came from behind her.

"Shen Lang".

Shen Zhiyi turned around and saw a simply dressed woman walking towards her with her hands in her pockets.

"Uh, you are?"

“Shen Lang, I used to work in the palace, but I was kicked out for making a small mistake. Later, I heard that your household was recruiting servants, so I took the liberty of coming here to volunteer.”

Shen Zhiyi stiffly turned her head, looked at her small courtyard, and hesitated before asking, "Can this really be called a mansion?"

The eldest sister was momentarily speechless; she hadn't expected that the emperor's favorite would live in such a dilapidated place.

“Oh, look at what you’re saying, Shen Lang. With an official living here, it’s no wonder it’s a mansion. This is a blessing for this house, it elevates its status.”

[What a eloquent lady! Does she work in the palace?]

Shen Zhiyi was somewhat conflicted. Having learned from her previous experience, she carefully examined the past of the woman in front of her this time.

Wow, no parents! And no relatives at all! Perfect!

Good heavens, she's a former palace matron, someone who used to manage a group of maids. What mistake could someone like that have made to be kicked out?

[Wait, is this for real? He got kicked out just for accidentally eating a little talent's sweet? Wow, that's quite a price to pay for that one bite of sweet.]

"Cough cough."

Shen Zhiyi, who was tempted, pretended to be serious: "Working for me is actually very easy. I leave early and come back late, so you only need to be busy in the morning and evening. The rest is up to you."

"It's getting cold, and I need hot water to wash up in the morning. I might have to trouble you to boil some water in advance."

"I also need to take a shower every night, so I might need you to heat it up in advance."

The older woman's eyes widened: "You still take a shower every day in this cold weather?"

"No, it's about once every two or three days."

The older sister thought to herself, "That's quite frequent!"

"Then I might have a late-night snack when I get back. You can make it or buy it outside. The rest of the time is yours to do. You don't need to go to my room. Just keep the rest of the place tidy up as you see fit, as long as it's not too dirty."

The older woman nodded: "Okay, no problem. By the way, sir, my surname is Cheng. You can call me whatever you like."

"From now on, I'll call you Aunt Cheng."

Shen Zhiyi stepped aside: "Come in quickly, it's so cold outside."

"Please go in first, I'll lock the door."

Not wanting to spoil her older sister's fun, Shen Zhiyi readily agreed.

Damn it, she's freezing to death.

After Shen Zhiyi entered the house, Aunt Cheng, who had been all smiles, immediately turned serious and spoke to An Jiu, who was hiding in the shadows.

"You don't need to come anymore. I will take full responsibility for Shen Lang's affairs."

Anjiu: Family, does anyone understand? We've been so careful, but we still lost the job!