Nanny Guo had a scrutinizing look on her face. Seeing Madame Yue’s weak gaze, she said, "Concubine Yue, Lady wants to see you."

"I, I’ll go see Lady right away." Madame Yue knew she couldn’t resist, so she obediently followed.

Nanny Guo nodded in satisfaction.

After Madame Yue was brought inside, she found only Third Madam alone in the room; all the other servants had left. She looked at her with increasing anxiety.

"Lady," Madame Yue greeted softly.

Third Madam Qi put down the twig in her hand, turned around, and asked, "Are you on good terms with Huo Ning?"

"I knew Miss Huo before, and we got along okay. Miss Huo is kind-hearted, so she took extra care of us."

"Oh? She took such care of you that she dared to come to my Qi Residence. That can’t simply be described as ’okay,’ can it?" Third Madam Qi looked at her piercingly, clearly not believing her.

Madame Yue hesitated and said, "Previously, it was because Yun’er escaped the courtyard, got injured, and was almost bullied by outsiders. Miss Huo rescued him. I’m very grateful to Miss Huo. As we interacted more, we slowly became acquainted. I’m very grateful to Miss Huo, and I wouldn’t dare define our relationship unilaterally. Whatever Miss Huo regards our relationship as, it’s acceptable to me."

"In that case, I need you to do me a favor." Third Madam Qi, seeing she didn’t seem to be lying, directly stated her purpose.

"You go contact Huo Ning and ask her to help me inquire about news from Jiangnan.

"

Madame Yue’s heart skipped a beat, almost thinking Third Madam Qi had already learned about what Ning’er had told her.

Seeing Third Madam Qi didn’t ask directly, she realized she almost exposed Ning’er’s intentions. If Third Madam knew, she would surely focus more on Ning’er.

"Third Madam, I... You have many people you can use, don’t you? Ning’er is just an ordinary daughter of a concubine and probably doesn’t know much about a place as far away as Jiangnan." Madame Yue slightly furrowed her brows, looking worried.

Third Madam Qi was displeased with her timid demeanor, scrutinized her for a while, and finally showed disdain: "I thought you were such a beauty that you could seduce Elder Qi San into secretly keeping you for over ten years. But you’re actually so timid and incompetent. I really don’t know what he saw in you."

Madame Yue lowered her face, didn’t respond, and quietly listened to her belittle her without retorting.

Seeing her reaction, Third Madam Qi’s disdain for her only grew, losing all interest, and she dismissively waved her hand: "You better do what I just told you quickly. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee Qi Yun will have any decent life in the Qi family in the future. You should understand, without me, Qi Yun will only have a harder time in the Qi family. You might end up being sent off to some manor at whim, and who knows, some people from the third household might secretly execute you two. You wouldn’t even know where you died."

Madame Yue was chilled all over: "Lady, I beg you to save Yun’er. I’ll do anything you ask, but with Miss Huo, I really can’t guarantee anything."

"I don’t care how you do it, but if you can’t, don’t blame me for being ruthless. I won’t keep any useless people around." Third Madam Qi sneered impatiently and waved for Nanny Guo to send Madame Yue away.

Madame Yue, in despair, left with her brows furrowed.