Ning Qiuxiu wondered what kind of potion Xiaoqin had given the dog to make such a difficult-to-train husky afraid of her.

The dog, still in such a lowly position, clearly needed to watch more palace drama to avoid being ousted too quickly.

At that moment, Xiaoqin came out of the house, holding Zhan Qingyue’s coat, and was about to put it on him.

But Jingjing, the very serious caretaker, took it from her and said, “There are a lot of chrysanthemums and honey in the trunk. Can you help carry them?”

Xiaoqin, though not pleased to be interrupted, couldn’t protest and went to help with the items.

Jingjing then handed the coat to Ning Qiuxiu and gave her a look, suggesting that she should put it on Zhan Qingyue.

Ning Qiuxiu smiled.

She and Zhan Qingyue had noticed Xiaoqin’s “little schemes” recently.

Zhan Qingyue was ready to dismiss her directly to avoid further issues.

However, Xiaoqin, despite her recent hints, hadn’t left any “evidence” and had been diligent and proactive.

This meant she hadn’t actually done anything wrong.

If they dismissed her now, it would be a breach of contract, requiring them to pay her three months’ salary.

Given that the wages for the Zhan family’s servants were high, paying her three months’ salary for just a few days of work felt like letting her off too easily.

Ning Qiuxiu, being frugal, wasn’t happy about it.

Moreover, if Xiaoqin wasn’t disciplined, she would take her “rich young master’s servant” mindset to her next job, thinking she could find a way into another family’s life. Such people need to learn a lesson.

As Ning Qiuxiu was about to put the coat on Zhan Qingyue, he found it amusing that it had gone through three people’s hands.

He said, “I’m not cold. You’ve just woken up. Wear it, or you might catch a cold.”

“Oh.” Ning Qiuxiu responded and casually put on the coat.

Xiao Qin: “…”

Although Zhan Qingyue was slender, the coat was a bit loose on Ning Qiuxiu.

However, her good looks and great figure made the oversized coat look fashionable on her.

She deliberately twirled around and asked Zhan Qingyue, “How does it look?”

Zhan Qingyue complimented her, “A beauty is pleasing to the eye.”

Everyone likes to be praised, and Ning Qiuxiu was no exception.

She felt elated by the compliment and even found the stupid-looking, timid dog, Miaomiao, a bit more bearable.

She glanced at Xiao Qin, who was holding a pot of flourishing chrysanthemums, and took on the role of the lady of the house, saying, “The flowers should be placed in a spot in the yard where Miaomiao won’t chew them, and remember to water them.”

Xiao Qin bowed slightly and said, “Understood, Miss Ning.”

…

The next day, Ning Qiuxiu spent her last leisurely day at home.

She would start her money-making journey the following day.

Although the process might be tough, thinking about presenting the 10 million to Zhan Qingyue and telling him it was her investment filled her with motivation.

After breakfast, Xiao Qin was informed by a friend that Mr. Zhan was in the yard, which thrilled her.

Since she had delivered the sweet treat to Zhan Qingyue last time and later Ning Qiuxiu had gone in, she had thought she was done for.

However, when there was no reaction at all, Xiao Qin grew bolder and her hints to Zhan Qingyue became more obvious.

Although Zhan Qingyue had not responded, he seemed to have accepted her actions and said nothing.

Men like to be pursued, and Zhan Qingyue and Ning Qiuxiu had been sleeping in separate rooms.

Xiao Qin didn’t believe he would be so strict.

This tacit acceptance had greatly encouraged her, making her feel like she was about to take off.

Today, when he had finally taken the initiative to find her, did it mean…

She went to the yard with a mix of joy and nervousness, only to be met with a cold splash of water: Ning Qiuxiu was also there.

“Yesterday’s chrysanthemum garden looked so beautiful,” Ning Qiuxiu was saying in a voice that made Xiao Qin’s skin crawl as she cooed to Zhan Qingyue. “I also want a garden like that.”

Zhan Qingyue responded in a domineering tone, “Should I buy one for you?”

“But our home isn’t here, so buying one would be pointless,” Ning Qiuxiu said sweetly. “Also, I want to be able to open the window and see it every day.”

The tone almost made Xiao Qin puke, but Zhan Qingyue seemed to enjoy it and chuckled, “That’s difficult for me. What should we do?”

Ning Qiuxiu seemed troubled for a few seconds, then her eyes lit up and she said, “Let’s transform this yard and grow one ourselves. How about it?”

Xiao Qin: “…”

Zhan Qingyue’s voice carried a tone of affection as he said, “I’ll do whatever you like.”

After Ning Qiuxuu’s playful mood, she glanced up and “coincidentally” saw Xiaoqin coming over.

She said, “Oh, you came at the right time. Could you go back and ask the housekeeper if there are any hoes or tools in the basement? I want to turn the garden soil to plant some flowers.”

“But… Miss Ning,” Xiaoqin sensed that Ning Qiuhou might be planning to make everyone help with the gardening and said, “The garden’s flowers and plants here are all planned out. It might not be allowed to dig it up.”

“Not allowed?” Ning Qiuxiu smiled, “The word ‘not’ is based on a lack of money. Do you think it has anything to do with us?”

Xiaoqin: “…”

Ning Qiuxiu, who couldn’t even produce 3 million, was really enjoying showing off.

Since she couldn’t dismiss Xiaoqin, she decided to make her do some manual labor.

It wasn’t considered a breach of contract, right?

Ning Qiuxiu had already instructed the housekeeper to buy a garden hoe early in the morning.

It was light and easy to use, making it hard for anyone to slack off.

Not only the hoe but also chrysanthemums, fertilizer, and pruning shears were bought.

She even checked with the property management to confirm that the garden plants could be replanted according to the owner’s needs.

The housekeeper checked the available help and managed to allocate two people: Xiaoqin and himself.

“Should we hire a gardener to help?” the housekeeper asked Ning Qiuxiu.

Ning Qiuxiu waved her hand, “No need. We can do it ourselves when we’re free. It’s more satisfying to plant it ourselves.”

“Ah, but my back has been hurting lately. I’m not up to it,” the housekeeper said, playing along.

“Then you can handle the pruning and leave the heavy work to the younger ones.”

Xiaoqin: “…”

The garden originally had other plants that needed to be removed first.

After that, the soil had to be loosened, new pits for the chrysanthemums had to be made, and then the chrysanthemums had to be planted and watered.

This was all hard labor.

After a day of work, Xiaoqin looked exhausted.

The next day, she pretended to be “sick” and had to take a break.

Ning Qiuxiu, who was away on business, told the housekeeper to let Xiaoqin rest and continue working once she was better.

She didn’t mind if the progress was slow.

A week later, when Ning Qiuxiu returned to her home in G City, she received Xiaoqin’s resignation letter.

Along with it was a complaint letter stating that Xiaoqin would report the employer for breaching the contract and exploiting her physically.

Ning Qiuxiu understood that Xiaoqin’s intention was not to actually file a complaint but to use it as leverage to demand compensation.

Since Xiaoqin resigned voluntarily, she wouldn’t be entitled to any compensation. Xiaoqin likely felt it wasn’t worth it to lose out without getting anything in return and wanted to get some compensation by making a fuss.

Ning Qiuxiu looked at the two documents, smiled, and said, “In the hit drama ‘Palace Beauty,’ the female lead was sent to the laundry department, washing clothes until her hands were frostbitten, and in the end, she won the affection of the Fourth Prince. In the melodramatic ‘I Am a Princess,’ the female lead does all sorts of dirty and heavy work in the male lead’s house, and eventually, they live happily ever after. And here you are, after only a week of gardening, wanting to quit because it’s too much? You haven’t even caught the employer’s attention yet. Did you not get the female lead’s script?”

Xiao Qin: “…”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Xiao Qin replied, not giving her any grounds to use against her. “I will file a lawsuit for the unfair treatment I received while working at your house. Miss Ning, please be aware that if the lawsuit succeeds, your family’s reputation will be severely damaged, and no one will dare to work for you again.”

“Oh?” Ning Qiuxiu raised an eyebrow. “What if the lawsuit fails?”

Xiao Qin was taken aback.

“If it really gets messy, do you think your company will choose to protect you or retain such a large employer as us?”

“I…” Xiao Qin hesitated, “I believe in fairness and justice.”

“And what about your affair with the master of the house?”

“Miss Ning, do you have evidence? Without evidence, this is slander.”

“I’ll slander you. What can you do about it?” Ning Qiuxiu briskly signed her resignation letter, tossed it at Xiao Qin, and said with a cold smile, “I told you before, ‘no’ is built on the foundation of money. Don’t always think about using eggs to smash rocks. A sparrow dressed in pheasant feathers will never become a phoenix.”

“By the way,” Ning Qiuxiu held her shoulder and took out her phone from her pocket, “Did you enjoy recording?”

Xiao Qin’s face turned pale.

After Xiao Qin left in a daze, Jing Jing, who had witnessed the whole thing, emerged and praised her enthusiastically, “Miss Ning, you were so amazing just now. Ahhhh, I’m your super fan now!”

“Get lost.” Ning Qiuxiu was still angry at Jing Jing for her previous comments.

She had almost turned green from anger.

Fortunately, Zhan Qingyue remained resolute and was not swayed.

The show ‘Daily Life with a Beautiful Bamboo Rat’ had filmed an episode, and the production team, worried that their work wasn’t up to par and afraid the show might be boring, decided to air the first episode and make adjustments based on the response before deciding whether to continue.

If the feedback was too negative, they would cut their losses and stop filming to avoid crying over the high cost of Fang Jinran’s participation.

Generally speaking, Zhan Qingyue would rather spend his time sleeping and resting rather than caring about some silly variety show, especially since it was an online streaming show with inadequate advertising.

However, Jing Jing, who was more of a troublemaker than a help, somehow learned the airing time of the show and rallied everyone to watch.

Moreover, this was the first show released since Mrs. Zhan joined the Zhan family.

The housekeeper, knowing this, took it very seriously and arranged for the family to watch the show in the basement’s home theater, enhancing the experience.

Ning Qiuxiu, who was busy running around for work and earning money in another city, was unaware that the housekeeper had everyone eat early on the night of the broadcast and gathered them in the home theater to watch her performance (or lack thereof) on the show.

Among them was Zhan Qingyue.