Chapter 55 Planning

Qi Yuebin pushed the small porcelain bottle on the table toward Yixiu and said, "This is evidence of 'catching someone red-handed.' I had a doctor examine it; it's a drug that can be used as a contraceptive. Long-term exposure will gradually eliminate the possibility of pregnancy. It was found on Bixi, a maid in the main courtyard."

“Bixi?” Yixiu was not very familiar with this name and looked at Jianqiu beside her.

“She was a maidservant under Xiu Xia’s command. She served in the courtyard when the Fujin entered the mansion. Because she was honest and dutiful, she was promoted to a third-class maidservant not long ago. Her main job was to assist Xiu Xia in giving out rewards. She usually looked very inconspicuous,” Jian Qiu reported in detail.

Yi Xiu frowned upon hearing this. What a "clever" maid she was, both in terms of status and personality. Xiu Xia was her confidante, and Bi Xi followed her, seemingly her true subordinate. In addition, as a maid responsible for delivering rewards, it was normal for her to come and go outside the courtyard, and it was reasonable for her to have the opportunity to poison the reward items.

"So, she was the one who contacted the physician's servant in the Xu household?" Yi Xiu pressed, and seeing Qi Yuebin nod, she understood. Indeed, she was a very suitable spy. If she didn't know that Bixi wasn't her confidante at all, she would have believed that everything was orchestrated by her.

"You really trust me that much?" Yi Xiu was somewhat doubtful. With "conclusive evidence," did Qi Yuebin really believe her so easily?

"Of course I don't believe it all, but Bixi's betrayal was too quick." Concealing that he already knew about his situation, Qi Yuebin offered an excuse: "My maid accidentally discovered Bixi drugging him. After she was apprehended, she panicked and confessed everything clearly without me having to ask many questions, but in reality, there were flaws everywhere..."

Qi Yuebin's fingers slid across the teacup as he recalled the scene. Knowing that Ruyi had betrayed him, watching her unintentionally catch Bixi, who had been drugged, was like watching a farce.

If she had known nothing at the beginning, she would have been thrown into a panic upon suddenly learning that she was infertile. She might have even followed Wuya's arrangements and hated Yixiu, since there was both witness testimony and physical evidence.

After knowing everything, and looking at it all again, Qi Yuebin deeply felt Wuya's arrogance. She was so arrogant that she didn't take her seriously and thought that she, Qi Yuebin, could be manipulated by her forever, just like before.

Uya still thought she was Consort De, and that Qi Yuebin was a little girl begging for her protection.

It's a pity, everything is already different. Qi Yuebin looked at Yixiu, who was sitting upright at the head of the table and was gradually showing the demeanor of a primary consort, and couldn't help but smile. Even Wuya Shi couldn't control Yixiu, this illegitimate niece who didn't take her seriously. How could she expect to control her?

"Leaving aside how someone who drugged me for three years without revealing anything could be caught so easily, just look at how easily she betrayed me after being caught, using the pretext of saving her parents and saying she could do things for me. When she was lurking in the main courtyard, I completely lost faith in her."

Why don't you believe it?

"Because the Ulanara Yixiu I know wouldn't be so lacking in such means that she couldn't even keep an eye on her own maids."

Qi Yuebin met Yixiu's gaze frankly. Having gone this far, the polite formalities were gone; Qi Yuebin's attitude was quite clear.

After a moment of silence, Yixiu asked, "What do you want?"

"You guessed it, didn't you? In this mansion, who else could be the one to bypass you and plant a spy in your courtyard so early?" Qi Yuebin stared directly at Yixiu without flinching, his tone revealing a hint of hatred despite his efforts to remain calm.

"So..." Yi Xiu had already guessed the truth from Qi Yuebin's gradual narration. It was obvious that this was a scheme orchestrated by her kind aunt.

Now that Qi Yuebin had found out, she naturally wouldn't let the blame fall on her. To put it bluntly, Qi Yuebin couldn't possibly be naive enough to think the two of them had a good relationship, could she? Qi Yuebin's infertility was her problem, so what did it have to do with her? She already had the burden of being seen as a "filial piety" figurehead, so why would she bother to help Qi Yuebin?

"Do you know what Bixi said to me when she confessed and after she betrayed me?" As if he couldn't see Yixiu's indifference, Qi Yuebin abruptly changed the subject.

Seeing that Yixiu remained unmoved, Qi Yuebin smiled and continued, "She said that you drugged me because you were worried that I would lead the eldest prince in the mansion to commit suicide. She also said that she could infiltrate the main courtyard for me and find a way to be transferred to the eldest prince's side..."

"Insolence!" Yi Xiu slammed the teacup to the ground, her eyes blazing with fury as she stared intently at Qi Yuebin.

"Why are you looking at me like that? The young prince is very handsome, it's a pity he doesn't like his wife..."

"Shut up!" Yi Xiu shouted angrily. Her child was her Achilles' heel, and she would not tolerate anyone disrespecting or harming him.

"Madam, you should be glad I didn't fall for it, but there will only be more and more people in the inner court, and there will be no shortage of lustful and irrational women. If it's not me, there will be another one. Isn't your elder sister a good choice too..."

Qi Yuebin looked at the angry Yixiu, his tone full of sarcasm. Only when the knife cuts you do you know the pain; Yixiu only realized the best choice after experiencing the pain.

"Enough, what exactly do you want?" Unwilling to let Qi Yuebin sway her emotions any further, Yi Xiu took a deep breath and asked bluntly.

"It's simple, our enemies are all the same, aren't they?"

"You want to form an alliance with me?" Yi Xiu questioned, not quite trusting Qi Yuebin.

"I can't get pregnant, so I won't pose a threat to you. You'll take care of my future life, and I'll protect you from any potential targeting of the young prince in the inner quarters. It's a very simple exchange, isn't it?" Qi Yuebin seemed to be speaking sincerely.

"It can't be that simple, can it? Are you, Qi Yuebin, the kind of person who would swallow your pride?" Yi Xiu looked at her familiar old rival with suspicion. In her mind, Qi Yuebin was the most cunning person in the backyard. Such a person was terrifying as an enemy, but it was also hard to believe he could be an ally.

"Of course not. So my ultimate goal in seeking an alliance with you is revenge. I don't think you want to live in constant fear. For our future peace, isn't cooperation a better choice?"

Yi Xiu looked directly into Qi Yuebin's unwavering gaze, sensing the deep hatred she felt for being deprived of her fertility. After a moment's hesitation, she nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I agree. What are you going to do?"

"No rush. Our alliance has just been established. I know you can't fully trust me yet. I'll send someone to deliver Bixi and Ruyi, who are with me, to you in a little while. Check them first to make sure I'm telling the truth. Once there are no problems, we can talk."

"Alright, I hope you are truly willing to cooperate with me." Yi Xiu looked deeply at Qi Yuebin.

"Naturally, our alliance is very strong in this matter."

Qi Yuebin stood up, gave a proper bow, and then turned to leave...

After Qi Yuebin left, Jianqiu glanced at Yixiu's face and cautiously asked, "Fujin, do you really want to cooperate with Qi Shufujin?"

"Cooperation?" Yi Xiu sneered. "She wants to use my influence, then she shouldn't blame me for using her as a weapon. Qi Yuebin... no matter how rational she is, she couldn't have been indifferent to infertility from the beginning. She must have been hiding a lot of things..."

Meanwhile, Jixiang, who was helping Qi Yuebin leave, asked the same question after noticing that no one was around: "Master, why do we cooperate with the Fujin? Will she trust us?"

"Of course she won't believe it. We just share the same goal—to use me," Qi Yuebin replied slowly, not in a hurry at all. "She uses me as a knife, but I'm also using her power. As long as I can get revenge, I don't care about anything else... It must be very interesting for this high and mighty guy to be betrayed by his illegitimate niece whom he has always looked down upon..."