Lady Fucha was escorted back from the Fourth Prince's bedroom early in the morning. Naturally, she didn't know why the Fourth Prince hadn't returned last night, and she didn't dare to ask any questions. She was simply helped back by the eunuch and Hongqiao.

Where the Fourth Master rests each night is a secret that cannot be kept hidden in the inner quarters. Before long, everyone knew that the Fourth Master had gone to the South Courtyard last night.

Therefore, when Liu, who lived in the same courtyard as Lady Fucha, learned of this, she was surprised by how quickly Lanqin regained favor. However, she was still very lucky to have gotten pregnant during this opportunity. The woman opposite her was in a bit of an awkward situation. She had already arrived at the front yard, but was left there by the Fourth Master for the entire night. It was quite pitiful.

"Cuizhu, come on, let's go across the street and comfort Princess Fucha." Liu Shi was relieved to see that the anger that had been building up in her heart for the past few days since Princess Fucha was favored was finally released. Although she was dependent on Nian Shi, she longed even more for the feeling of trampling Princess Fucha underfoot.

"My lord, I'm afraid Princess Fucha is probably still busy catching up on sleep right now," Cuizhu said with a smile, covering her mouth.

"Oh, right, then let's wait until she's asleep before we go." Liu also covered her mouth and laughed.

Meanwhile, when Lady Fucha returned to her room, she did indeed look unwell. She hadn't slept well all night. The Fourth Prince hadn't returned, and she had slept alone in his bed, but she was constantly worried about whether he would come back, since no one had come to inform her. Throughout the night, Lady Fucha was interrupted by various noises, waking up several times. She had slept in a very hazy, disoriented state, and her head was still aching.

"Hongqiao, go get me some hot water. I need to wash my face." When Lady Fucha came out of the Fourth Prince's room, she hadn't even washed her face.

Hongqiao quickly agreed and went out to instruct Ping'er and the others to fetch hot water from the gatehouse. Usually, the old women at the gatehouses of each courtyard would go to the kitchen to fetch water early in the morning, and the maids of the various masters would then go to the gatehouse to get more if needed. The supply of hot water depended on how much favor the master of each courtyard received, or how generous the rewards were. Seeing Ping'er come to fetch water, the old women at the gatehouse exchanged glances and sat down to crack melon seeds.

"Our princess needs hot water, Aunt Zhou, please bring some hot water over quickly," Ping'er said.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, we just ran out of hot water and have to go get more. Would you mind waiting here, young lady, or going back to wait?" said Mrs. Zhou.

“Just now, Chunmei across the street was carrying water, I saw it. How come there’s no water now?” Ping’er said indignantly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but Princess Liu already asked for it beforehand. I couldn't very well refuse," said Mrs. Zhou.

"You, then let me see if there's any water left!" Ping'er knew that these gatekeepers were very good at judging people based on their status. "Our princess just came back from serving the master and wants some hot water to wash her face, but you're making excuses."

Granny Zhou had already learned about last night's events from Liu's maid, and smiled, "It's a pity that it's pointless to go. I say, Miss Ping'er, there really is no water here. You and Granny Qin will go fetch some water later. Let's wait a bit."

Ping'er had no idea about any of this. When she heard Zhou Mama say this, she scolded, "Zhou Mama, our princess is perfectly fine. She just got back. If you keep talking nonsense, I'll tell our princess and you'll be in big trouble."

Ping'er had also suffered a lot of mistreatment from the gatekeepers. Seeing that Lady Fucha was beginning to gain favor, she naturally didn't want to suffer any longer and immediately started cursing.

"Alright, alright, go back and ask her. Come back when you've found out." Granny Zhou didn't expect Ping'er, who she usually pinched a few times, to suddenly become so sharp-tongued. She disliked her even more, rolled her eyes at her a few times, and then went to her room.

Ping'er didn't even mention hot water, and fearing Hongqiao's scolding if she went back, she immediately went up to the old woman and knocked on the door, saying, "Mama Zhou, come out! Come out!"

Mrs. Zhou was surprised that her usually listless appearance was so fierce today. She stood inside the door and said, "There really is no water left. I'll go get some in a bit. You have to give us a break. If you don't mind the trouble, you can go get it yourself."

Actually, there was still some water in the room, but Zhou Mama and Qin Mama were thinking about how Liu Shi would need hot water to make tea when she came back later, and they wanted to use it to please her, so naturally they refused to give it to the unfavored Fucha Shi.

"You! You old hag!" Ping'er cursed angrily into the room.

"You little slut, who do you think you are? You were only favored for one night, and the master left you there the second night. Didn't you even bother to find out where the master went last night? He went to Consort Niu's place. You princesses sat there empty-handed all night, what are you acting all high and mighty for!" When Zhou Mama heard Ping'er cursing her outside, she immediately flew into a rage, pulled the door latch, and unleashed a torrent of abuse on Ping'er.

Ping'er had never seen anything like this before, and was immediately scolded to tears by Zhou Mama. She walked back while crying.

Lady Fucha, sitting inside, had already heard the shouting and cursing outside. Having slept poorly, the sudden noise only added to her irritation. She said to Hongqiao, "Go out and see who's making all that noise!"

Hongqiao immediately ran out to see what was happening, only to find Ping'er and Zhou Mama standing there arguing, looking like they were about to fight. It turned out that Ping'er was unwilling to give up, and as she walked away, she kept turning back to curse, which angered Zhou Mama, who chased after her, grabbed Ping'er's sleeve, and started shoving her.

Liu was bored in her room when she saw people arguing, so she immediately took Cuizhu's hand and came out to watch the commotion.

"Ping'er, where's the princess's water?" Hongqiao said angrily when she saw Ping'er arguing with Zhou Mama.

“Sister Hongqiao, this old hag not only refuses to give us water, but also speaks ill of our master,” Ping’er said, crying.

“Oh, Miss Hongqiao, I didn’t say anything. It’s just that you little girl are so ill-mannered, coming over to curse at me. I’m old enough to be her mother. How can a young girl like her use such foul language?” Mother Zhou said relentlessly.

"Aunt Zhou, what did you say that made Ping'er so angry?" Cuizhu asked immediately when she saw Liu wink at her.

“I didn’t say anything, I just told the truth, but some people just can’t stand the truth and got angry!” Seeing Liu’s smile, Zhou’s mother felt more confident.

"You're talking nonsense. Our master just went to serve the master last night. If you keep talking nonsense, I'll have your mouth torn apart." Ping'er felt emboldened when she saw Hongqiao arrive, and she argued even more fiercely.

"What are you all arguing about?" Fucha finally couldn't stand it anymore and walked to the door, shouting at the people in the courtyard.