Lady Fucha helped Ping'er to the place in the Fourth Prince's mansion where prisoners were held. Ping'er was also carrying a food box in her other hand, which contained food for Hongqiao.

After Hongqiao was brought here with her hands and feet bound, she was kept in a room.

When she was all alone, Hongqiao began to feel a chill of fear. She didn't want to die. Fucha Shi hadn't even fulfilled her promise to her, and now she was being kicked aside and made to take the blame for her?

Hongqiao lay in the corner, lost in thought. She realized that if she hadn't taken responsibility, she probably wouldn't have fared well either. If her mistress had been punished, what chance did a servant have?

With both sides of the road blocked, Hongqiao knew she was doomed this time. It was impossible for her not to feel resentment, but Lady Fucha was her mistress, and her indenture was in Lady Fucha's hands. How could she possibly resist?

The Fourth Prince's mind was entirely focused on treating Lady Nian's illness, and he hadn't had time to attend to Hongqiao. So, as soon as Hongqiao was brought over, no one paid her any attention. Lady Fucha personally carried the food box to the gatehouse of this secluded courtyard and said to the servant who seemed to be guarding the place, "This is a small token of my appreciation, hoping it will help that maidservant. It's just to bring her some food!"

This servant had never seen anyone so generous; Lady Fucha handed over twenty taels of silver. He was already seething with resentment, living in such a poor and unprofitable place.

"Thank you, Princess. Then hurry up and send him in. Prisoners are people too, they still need to eat!" the servant said with a grin. If he knew the consequences of his greed for those twenty taels of silver, he would probably regret his greed.

Lady Fucha smiled and nodded, then said to Ping'er, "You wait here. I've been mistress and servant to that girl before, so consider this my way of serving her today. That girl shouldn't have done such a foolish thing."

Ping'er nodded and handed the food box in her hand to Fucha.

"Should we take a look?" Fucha suddenly asked the gatekeeper.

"Alright, take a look. Thank you for your consideration, Princess." Seeing that Lady Fucha had offered to let him inspect the food box, the servant felt even less concerned. He opened the food box and looked inside, then opened the hidden compartment at the bottom of the box to take a look as well.

"Princess, please go inside quickly. The food won't taste good if it gets cold," the servant said.

Lady Fucha, carrying the food box, followed the servant to the room where Hongqiao was imprisoned. He opened the door, only to find it dark and filled with a strange smell. Lady Fucha held her breath.

"Princess, the person is inside. Let me light the candles for you first, it's very dark in here." After saying that, the man took out a tinderbox from his pocket and lit it with a whoosh.

After the person lit the candle, the room became much brighter. Hongqiao was slumped in the corner, seemingly asleep. Fucha Shi saw her at a glance and thought to herself: How can she still sleep!

After the man left, Lady Fucha thought that Hongqiao might just be pretending to be asleep and would wake up and look at her soon. But she waited for a long time and there was still no sound.

"Hongqiao!" Fucha called softly.

Hongqiao slowly opened her eyes. She had naturally woken up, but she hadn't figured out how to deal with Lady Fucha.

"Master, you've finally arrived." Hongqiao looked at Fucha, a hint of mockery flashing in her eyes. Only after being bound hand and foot and brought here did she realize that she was nothing more than a servant girl, at her master's mercy.

“Hongqiao, you’ve suffered. I know you must resent me. But at that moment, I had no choice but to do that to save myself. Otherwise, how could I have come to save you?” Fucha understood that Hongqiao must be filled with resentment towards her at this moment, otherwise she wouldn’t have pretended to be asleep just now, obviously waiting for her to speak first.

Hongqiao looked at Fucha with suspicion. She knew all about what Fucha had done, so how could she not know what kind of person she really was?

“Hongqiao, why don’t you believe me? We’ve been master and servant for so many years, how could I lie to you!” Seeing that Hongqiao still didn’t believe her, Fucha had no choice but to grit her teeth and continue.

“My lady, please don’t think of kicking me aside. Although I am just a maid, I value my life. If you really come to save me now, I will be eternally grateful. But if you have other intentions, I don’t know what I might do to save my life.” Hongqiao said to Fucha Shi. She now fully understood her position in this game.

Fucha's heart skipped a beat, and a smile as charming as a flower bloomed on her lips as she said to Hongqiao, "Hongqiao, do you know that I recently developed a pill called 'Soul-Separating Pill'? After taking this fragrant pill, it can block your breathing. Once they think you're 'dead,' I'll go and make a scene, saying that you've been with me all this time, and let me buy you a thin coffin to carry you out. After the effects of the medicine wear off, you can come out on your own and go find my father."

"My lady, if they bury me underground, how will I get up?" Hongqiao asked in confusion.

“I will have them send you to the mortuary. All you need to do is slip them some silver. Those people are all greedy and will definitely agree. Besides, sending you to the mortuary is much simpler than having them bury you. Why wouldn’t they be happy to do it?” said Lady Fucha.

Hongqiao scrutinized Fucha's face. Just a moment ago, the master and servant trusted each other, but now they had become enemies who distrusted each other.

“Hongqiao, think about it, do you have any other way? If you confess to the Prince, do you think you'll have any chance of survival? Every single thing I've done, I asked you to do. So, we're in the same boat. Now, I'm using the Soul-Separating Pill to save you; it's my last resort.” This was indeed what Fucha was thinking at the moment. Although Hongqiao knew all her secrets, except that she herself was reborn, she should have eliminated her. However, it was not easy for her to do so here, so she had to come up with this method.

Hongqiao knew she was right, so after a moment's thought, she had no choice but to agree to Fucha's plan. She also knew that she was just a lowly maid whose birth contract was in the hands of others, and her life was no more than an ant's to them.

When Lady Fucha took out the Soul-Separating Pill hidden on her person and fed it to Hongqiao, she regretted not leaving herself a way out.

The effects of the Soul-Separating Pill were swift, and Hongqiao soon closed her eyes. Only after seeing that she had "lost her breath" did Lady Fucha arrange the food in front of Hongqiao, then eat some herself.