“Hongqiao, perhaps the pharmacy staff just made a mistake. Why don’t you explain?” Baizhi said.

“I’ve already explained, but the Princess doesn’t believe me. I don’t know how to explain it anymore. Consort, this matter is quite strange. I clearly took that prescription to the pharmacy to get the medicine, but the clerk there said he didn’t take the wrong prescription. I think the clerk must be lying. Consort, could you please help me investigate and clear my name?” Hongqiao pleaded. Although Lady Fucha was heartless towards her, she didn’t want to take the blame.

"Alright, Hongqiao, I see you're a clever and quick-witted girl. Don't worry, I, the concubine, will find out for you." Madam Nian said, her eyes slightly narrowed. "Baizhi, then I'll send my edict to fetch a doctor to come and take a look at Hongqiao. That bloody hole looks frightening; I hope it won't leave a scar."

"Thank you for your consideration, Consort!" Hongqiao said hurriedly.

“Princess Fucha is still angry. I will go and try to persuade her. You can stay in Baizhi’s room and squeeze in with her, okay?” Madam Nian said gently.

"Thank you, Consort. I'm sorry to have bothered you," Hongqiao said, curtsying.

After Bai Zhi took Hong Qiao away, Madam Nian's smile vanished, and she said to Cui Ling, "Cui Ling, go and invite Doctor Lin to examine Hong Qiao. Then go to the pharmacy and tell them to transfer that clerk to another job."

"Consort, the personnel changes need to be communicated to the head nanny," Cui Ling said.

"Go tell that senior manager to talk to the head maid and say that he's unreliable and should be transferred elsewhere, preferably away from the inner quarters," said Madam Nian.

"Yes, I understand." Cui Ling nodded and then withdrew.

Seeing that the weather outside was getting better and better, and some early spring flowers were blooming, Lady Nian said, "Birou, go to Chunhui Courtyard and tell Lady Fucha that some of the flowers in the garden have bloomed, and ask her to accompany me to admire the flowers. Meet me at the garden gate."

Cuiling went to invite Doctor Lin to the east courtyard to treat Hongqiao's injuries, which goes without saying. She then took Madam Nian's written instruction and conveyed Madam Nian's wishes to the head steward of the pharmacy. The head steward, fearing that someone would ask about this matter, immediately sent the clerk to the flower room. When the head nanny saw that Madam Nian had come specifically to speak to him, and considering that he was just a lowly servant, she didn't pay much attention and agreed.

Meanwhile, Lady Nian, supported by Zi Ning, stood at the garden gate. She had arrived first, but Lady Fucha hadn't yet. Perhaps she was still angry, Lady Nian thought with a cold smile: Lady Fucha wanted to get pregnant, and she would absolutely not allow it. That's why she bribed that senior steward to have the pharmacy worker replace your rosehips with safflower, simply because the two herbs look very similar and wouldn't be easily detected. But she hadn't expected Lady Fucha to be so clever, discovering it so quickly. However, Lady Nian's plan was to frame the South Courtyard for this, and now that Lady Fucha had found out, she naturally had to do what she needed to do next.

"This concubine greets Consort Fu!" Lady Fucha, supporting Ping'er's hand, walked to the garden gate and found Lady Nian already waiting there.

"My sister is here," Madam Nian said with a smile.

"Have you been waiting for a long time, Consort? I am late," said Lady Fucha.

“That girl Hongqiao has run off to my place. How about it, sister? How could you be so harsh on your trusted maid?” Nian said to Fucha as she walked.

Fucha was taken aback. She had thought Hongqiao was hiding somewhere, but she didn't expect her to come to Nian's place.

"That wretched maid, she's not doing her job properly at all. My medicine has been switched, and she still claims she didn't know!" Lady Fucha was still furious.

"Was she used, or was she unaware of it? She was your dowry maid; she wouldn't betray you," said Madam Nian.

The two walked along the path in the garden. Seeing that Fucha really suspected that someone had switched the medicine, Lady Nian asked, "Sister Fucha, who is the person who least wants you to have a child right now?"

“Naturally, it’s the Niohuru clan!” said the Fuca clan.

“That’s it. I heard that Doctor Lin is one of her people.” Madam Nian gave Madam Fucha a meaningful look.

"She saw that the concubine was more favored than her, and that the prince came to Chunhui Hall from time to time, so she made her move?" Lady Fucha said, following this line of thought.

“That’s right. Anyway, when I heard Hongqiao mention this, my first thought was that it was her. Now that the Prince has handed over the power of the government to me, she is very dissatisfied with us. And that Doctor Lin is one of her people. It would be a piece of cake for her to tamper with your fertility soup,” said Madam Nian.

Fucha frowned deeply and said, "It seems I have wronged Hongqiao?"

Madam Nian glanced at her and said, "Hongqiao is still trustworthy. Her mistake was carelessness. I've already bandaged her up. I hope the scar on her forehead won't be too big."

Fucha knew she had gone a bit too far, but the girl had actually mixed up her fertility-enhancing soup, which was a complete waste of her trust in her.

“She’s so careless, how could she make a mistake? Let her go back, how dare she bother the concubine!” said Lady Fucha.

“Alright, I’ve already asked Baizhi to persuade her. Sister, there’s no need to get so worked up over a maid. Our current enemy is the Niohuru clan. Only by eliminating her will our lives be better in the future. Don’t you think so?” said Madam Nian.

“That’s right. I won’t let this go so easily. If the Niohuru clan dared to do this, then I can’t let it go unpunished.” Fucha was already thinking about how to deal with Lanqin.

"Do you have a solution?" Madam Nian asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Sister, we've just made some careful plans, and we absolutely cannot let her escape so easily again. I think what she's most worried about is her Fourth Prince. We should make some serious plans. If we can get rid of the Fourth Prince, that would be the biggest blow to her," Fucha said sinisterly.

“The Fourth Prince is very much favored by the Emperor. If you want to harm him, it will be no small matter. You need to plan carefully,” said Lady Nian.

“He’s just a child. If we can find a way to lure him out of the manor and then have someone kidnap him, it’s hard to say whether it will drive Niohuru Lady mad,” said Lady Fucha.

“If you’re really determined, I can have my brother send a few people over to get rid of that kid, and no one will be able to find him!” said Madam Nian.

"That's good. Without the Fourth Prince, the Niohuru clan will probably find it difficult to gain any further influence," said Lady Fucha.

The two women were in the garden, plotting against Lanqin and Hongli, exchanging words of their own. They might pay a heavy price for their actions later, but for now, no one realized it.