As the courtyard suddenly quieted down, footsteps and voices could be heard from outside, as if a group of people had entered. Lauren Brooks glanced at the maid sitting on a small stool beside her, whose head was nodding as she dozed off. She wanted to speak, but in the end, she remained silent. Before long, she heard the door curtain rustle, followed by a cough, so she simply closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

"Ah, Mrs. Bennett!"

The maid guarding the bedside was startled awake, and upon seeing who had arrived, she jumped in fright, hurriedly saluted, and in her panic knocked over the small stool. Seeing this, the leading Mrs. Bennett could no longer hold back and angrily scolded, "You’re supposed to be watching over Third Miss, but instead you’re sneaking a nap yourself, and so clumsy on top of that—what kind of service is this?"

As the voice grew louder, Lauren Brooks gently turned over. Sure enough, a calm and unhurried voice sounded from the side.

"The Bennett Family's maid, if you want to instruct the Third Miss’s maid, you should do it outside. There’s no reason to disturb the Third Miss."

At these words, the shrill voice was abruptly cut off. Lauren Brooks opened her eyes to see a face beaming with smiles leaning toward her, speaking a few ingratiating words, which made her frown slightly. At this moment, the maid who had just been scolded, her eyes red, hurried over to carefully help her sit up, and placed a half-worn ink-patterned bolster behind her for support.

After checking on Lauren Brooks, Mrs. Bennett stepped back and said with a smile, "Third Miss, the Old Madam has sent Mrs. Carter to see you."

At this moment, an older woman stepped forward. Her hair, streaked with silver, was neatly arranged, adorned only with a single silver hairpin. She wore a lotus-green cross-collared long robe and a pine-yellow vest. Despite such plain attire, she appeared even more dignified and imposing than Mrs. Bennett, who wore gold bracelets on her wrists, pearl hairpins in her hair, and seemed afraid her silk clothes weren’t crisp enough.

"Are you feeling better, Third Miss?"

After what happened three days ago, Lauren Brooks had finally shaken off her confusion and disappointment, and resigned herself to her current circumstances. She had always been highly adaptable, which was why, even as the company changed bosses several times, her position had steadily risen. However, her current situation was nothing like simply getting a new boss, so she had to come up with the most appropriate excuse.

"I'm feeling better, thank you, Mrs. Carter, for coming to see me. I just occasionally still have headaches, and my mind feels a bit muddled."

"Your head still hurts?" Mrs. Carter was a bit taken aback, then turned and glared fiercely at those beside her. "The Old Madam has sent people to ask several times, and you all said she was awake and everything was fine. So why does Third Miss still say her head hurts? Fourth Young Master is still young—are you all muddled too? Even if others are muddled, you from the The Bennett Family should know better. Second Madam has sent you to check several times—how could you not report back? How can you be so negligent!"

Sitting against the bolster, Lauren Brooks saw Mrs. Bennett lower her eyes and agree, but the corners of her mouth twitched—she knew full well this person was only outwardly compliant. Her memory was still a bit muddled; she remembered two faces and their titles. Now she recalled that one was the Old Madam’s confidante, the other belonged to the Second Madam. Though they came together, they were not of one mind, so she simply kept silent. After Mrs. Carter finished scolding, seeing everyone silent as mice, she softened her tone: "Third Miss, the Old Madam has asked me to pass on a message to you."

At this, even though Mrs. Bennett was clearly reluctant, she still withdrew with the maids who had come with her. The maid in the room quickly brought over a brocade cushion for Mrs. Carter to sit on. Only then did Mrs. Carter put on a look of genuine concern.

Mrs. Carter studied Lauren Brooks for a moment, then sighed. "Third Miss, the Marquis of Dongchang’s family has sent people to apologize repeatedly, but there were so many people at the time, it’s impossible to tell which young master or miss pushed you. So you’ve had to suffer this grievance. However, now all the noble families in the capital know that our Marquis of Yangning’s Third Miss loves her younger brother dearly—despite being covered in blood herself, she still pushed her brother up onto the shore first. Deep sibling affection is a good thing, but since you were injured, Fourth Young Master has even stopped attending his studies, which isn’t good. The young masters are all grown now. Not long ago, Second Madam and Third Madam told the Old Madam they planned to pick a good day to move all the young masters, except Sixth Young Master, to the outer courtyard."

Lauren Brooks was silent for a while before nodding. "I understand what you’re saying. Please thank the Old Madam for me."

"I knew it—Third Miss is always the most sensible. Also, the servants need to be kept in line. Those little maids outside just now were like a bunch of squabbling cats, only good at gossiping, not reliable at all. The one guarding the room just now was Qinfang, right? Already fourteen or fifteen, yet still so clumsy—how can she manage the younger maids? Why not ask the Old Madam for a better one to serve you? That way, things will go more smoothly, it’ll keep the others in check, and you’ll be better cared for."

As for how to skillfully plant someone in her service, Lauren Brooks, a veteran of office politics, naturally understood, so the slight smile on her face didn’t change at all. Instead, she nodded even more obediently. "Mm, thank you for the reminder."