When Fourth Master woke up and learned the truth, he was so angry that he wanted to drag Shui Ling out and beat her to death immediately. Lan Qin, out of consideration for their past relationship, initially wanted to kick her out, but unexpectedly, a month later, Shui Ling discovered that she was pregnant and returned.

The Fourth Prince still refused to acknowledge her pregnancy and told Lanqin not to worry about it. Lanqin then had a doctor take her pulse, and it turned out she was indeed more than a month pregnant. Only then did the Fourth Prince have no choice but to accept her as a concubine.

At first, Shui Ling thought she was pregnant. Although she was just a concubine, she thought that if she gave birth to a prince, she might be promoted to the rank of princess. In fact, this was wishful thinking. The Fourth Prince had no intention of taking her in. Even if she gave birth to a child, he would only take the child away and would never promote her.

But Shui Ling didn't know that she was pregnant and even started to act arrogantly in the chrysanthemum garden. As a result, she accidentally miscarried. Fourth Master didn't even come to see her or say a word. It was only after Lan Qin found out that she had someone send some medicine to help with the miscarriage.

From then on, the Fourth Master almost forgot about her, and Lanqin naturally never mentioned her again. The little ripple that Shui Ling had stirred up disappeared without a trace in the inner quarters.

Shui Ling's current life is far worse than when she was a first-class maidservant to Lan Qin. Not only is there no one to serve her, but she has to do everything herself. Even her clothes for all four seasons are pushed to the last minute by the embroiderers, and they are not even finished as early as those of the maids to Lan Qin. They are basically done hastily and perfunctorily. In addition, as a concubine, she doesn't get any good fabrics or jewelry, and her monthly salary is very small.

As for the food, the kitchen is the place where people are treated differently depending on their status. A concubine like Shui Ling has to fetch her own food, and no one pays her any attention. Sometimes she has to wait for half a day. Moreover, the people in the kitchen will treat Shui Ling's food even worse in order to please Lan Qin.

All these things left Shui Ling with unspeakable bitterness, and she didn't know who to talk to. She sat on the bed, two lines of tears streaming down her face. This time, she fell because no one had swept the snow and ice in front of her house. Not only that, but snow and ice from other places had also been piled up in front of her house.

As Shui Ling reflected on the past year, she thought bitterly: If she had the chance to be as favored as the concubine, she would make those who had made things difficult for her pay dearly.

"Madam Ji, it's time for your medicine." Mama Qiu brought in a bowl of dark, murky medicine. Because the room was cold, she still frowned and said, "Madam Ji, you should just burn that black coal. It's going to freeze people to death."

Shui Ling quickly thought of something and said in a low voice, "Thank you, Aunt Qiu. It's not that I don't want to start a fire, it's just that those charcoal pieces are impossible to light."

Autumn's mother carried the medicine to Shui Ling's bedside and said, "How could that be? The charcoal in our area is easy to burn."

Shui Ling knew that Yun Shi must have tampered with the coals she was given, having someone sprinkle water on them so that she couldn't light them at all.

"Oh dear, it's all my fault for being careless and getting the charcoal wet. Aunt Qiu, I wonder if you could trouble you to talk to the steward and ask for a new batch of charcoal?" Shui Ling said to Aunt Qiu, then took off a silver bracelet from her wrist and stuffed it into Aunt Qiu's hand.

"No need for that, please drink this medicine first," said Qiu's mother, declining the offer.

"Aunt Qiu, I've broken my leg and can't move at all. If I don't burn some charcoal soon, I'm afraid I'll really freeze to death. Please, please, get me some dry charcoal." Shui Ling pleaded with Aunt Qiu.

Seeing her pitiful state, Qiu Mama accepted the silver bracelet and nodded, saying, "Then this old servant will try it. Madam, please drink this bowl of medicine first."

Shui Ling took the herbal medicine from Qiu's mother and looked at her reflection in the dark medicine. She was so thin that she was just skin and bones.

She suppressed her discomfort, held her breath, and drank the bitter medicine in one gulp.

After Qiu's mother took the empty bowl, shook her head, and left, Lanqin felt a wave of nausea and discomfort in her chest, so bitter that she wished she could vomit her heart and liver out.

"Wu Shi, you're nothing but her lackey, deliberately instigating Yun Shi to make things difficult for me! I'll never die!" Shui Ling said through gritted teeth.

It turned out that ever since Shui Ling moved in, her neighbor was Yun, another concubine of the Fourth Master. Yun would often pick on Shui Ling, which made her very annoyed.

Meanwhile, Qiu Mama went to the front courtyard of the mansion to manage the charcoal fire. Since the head nanny left, Lanqin promoted Chen Shubao, a servant who had served in her courtyard, and let him stay in the same place where the head nanny lived, still managing those things.

“Aunt Qiu, as you know, the amount of charcoal allocated to each place is fixed. You’re telling me now that the charcoal allocated to Madam Ji is wet and you want to exchange it. I’m afraid that won’t work. If you return the wet charcoal, there’s nothing I can do. In this kind of weather, it simply won’t dry.” said the junior servant in charge of coal distribution.

"Madam Ji is ill now, and the room is like an ice cellar. You should do a good deed and change some things, otherwise Madam Ji may really freeze to death."

"Mother Qiu said."

"You cook it yourselves, why don't you share some with Madam Ji? Don't make things difficult for me." After saying this, the little eunuch turned around and closed the door.

Qiu's mother stood outside alone, sighed, and had no choice but to go back inside. She thought about talking to Zhang's mother about sharing the charcoal from her room, but Zhang's mother would definitely refuse.

"Mom!" a voice called out to Qiu's mother.

Autumn's mother turned around and found a woman who looked like a daughter-in-law standing behind her. Her face was unfamiliar, and she didn't seem to recognize her. She hesitated and asked, "Miss, are you calling me?"

“Yes, I am Lingxiu from the Fujin’s courtyard. I just heard you say that there is no more charcoal in Madam Ji’s room?” Lingxiu is no longer the Lingxiu of the past. She is now in her early thirties, long past the age of marriage, and her hair is already tied up.

"Oh. She's from the Princess Consort's courtyard. This old servant greets you, Aunt." Mama Qiu quickly bowed. She knew that the Princess Consort was not favored by the Prince, but she was still the Princess Consort, and as a mere old woman guarding the courtyard, she still had to show her respect.

“Mother, please don’t be so polite. My wife is very fond of doing good deeds. If you need charcoal, I can inform my wife, and she will definitely help you,” Lingxiu said.

After hesitating for a moment, Qiu's mother nodded and said, "That would be perfect. Thank you, Madam, and thank you, Miss Lingxiu."

"What's your mother's surname? Is she the one who guards the Chrysanthemum Garden?" Lingxiu asked with a smile, pursing her lips. Naturally, news of Shui Ling's situation reached the ears of the Fourth Princess Consort, who had been almost forgotten and was finally eager to reappear.