Having finalized her plans, Ruan Meiying decided that Hongshi would take her to Baixianglou tomorrow, so that no one would know.

When Linlang arrived at the outside of the Fujin's courtyard, she said to the nanny, "Linlang has something to say to the Fujin."

The old woman said, "Please wait here, Your Highness. This old servant will go and inform the Princess Consort." After saying that, she turned and went into the courtyard.

In the Princess Consort's courtyard, the maids and servants walked without making a sound; it was very quiet.

The princess leaned against the pillows, listening to the nanny talk about Linlang's arrival.

The princess frowned and muttered to herself, "What is she doing here!" Then she said to the nanny, "Send her back! Just say that I am not feeling well and do not want to see outsiders."

"Yes," the old nanny replied and withdrew.

After she left, the princess's personal maid asked, "Madam, Linlang must have come here today for something. Is it really appropriate to send her back so easily?"

The princess snorted coldly: "Who cares about her! The prince doesn't like her as much as he used to, and I can't be bothered to look at her face."

The old woman walked outside the courtyard and said to Linlang, "The Princess Consort is not feeling well today and is not seeing outsiders. Please go back, Madam."

When Linlang heard that the Fujin (principal wife) was not going to see her, she said anxiously, "Please ask the nanny to go and inform her again that Linlang really has something urgent to ask the Fujin to see!"

But the old woman remained unmoved: "Please go back, Madam!"

Just as Linlang was about to get angry, the magpie beside her stopped her. The magpie whispered, "Master, let's go back first. I suppose we were not very polite to the Fujin before, and she holds a grudge against us. Let's go back and discuss this further."

Linlang glared at the old woman after hearing her words, said, "Let's go," and turned to leave.

The next day, Hongshi woke up. Fortunately, he didn't remember much about what happened the night before, nor did he remember what he had said to Ruan Meiying, which relieved Ruan Meiying.

After helping him get dressed, Ruan Meiying whispered in his ear, "Your Highness, I've heard how prosperous the capital is since I was little, but I've never had the chance to come before. Now that I'm here, I've been staying in this mansion and haven't gone out at all. Today you're home, so I'd like you to take me out for a stroll."

Hongshi thought for a moment. Since he didn't want to go to court recently anyway, he might as well take Ruan Meiying out for a stroll to relax. So he nodded and said, "Alright, go and get ready. I'll take you out in a bit."

Ruan Meiying was overjoyed. Things had gone as smoothly as she had imagined. She praised Hongshi a few more times and then instructed the servants to hurry up and get ready to go out.

Back in her room, Linlang sat down in a chair: "What does that Fujin mean! She's just lucky to be a Fujin, but she's not liked by any men at all. If it were before, I wouldn't have bothered to see her, but today she actually put on airs with me. It's infuriating!"

Magpie advised, "Master, don't be angry. This Fujin won't be so powerful for long. As long as we win back the Prince, you'll still be in charge of the mansion. We can only put up with her for now. As long as she agrees to join us in dealing with Ruan Meiying, we'll have achieved our goal, won't we? You should rest first. We'll go tomorrow. Then the Fujin won't be able to refuse to see you."

Linlang had no choice but to listen to the magpie, even though she was unwilling.