The Fujin (principal wife) personally led a search party to the South Courtyard. Lanqin, like a puppet, was pulled along by Nianxue to the South Courtyard. Li Shi was confined to her quarters by the Fourth Prince and was not allowed to leave the courtyard until the matter was clarified.

When Granny Wang opened the courtyard gate, she saw the dignified Fujin (princess) and the head nanny standing outside, while her own princess stood there as if she had lost her soul.

Before Granny Wang could even offer her greetings, the Fujin (principal wife) led her entourage into the small south courtyard for the first time.

Since Lanqin moved here, the Fujin has never visited any of the princesses' courtyards before; this is probably the first time.

"Granny, take your men and start from Niu Gege's bedroom. Don't miss any place." The Fujin spoke very softly, but it sounded chilling to everyone. Lanqin could clearly hear the hatred in her words.

When did the Princess Consort begin to hate me so much? I was so oblivious; how could I be so slow to realize it?

The head nanny and her men quickly dispersed. Some of them followed the head nanny to search Lanqin's room, while the others began searching the maids' rooms.

"Nianxue, go and tell everyone to go about their business as usual. There's no need to panic or come out to wait," Lanqin suddenly said to Nianxue beside her.

After Nianxue nodded and left, only Lanqin, Fujin, and Chunliu beside her remained in the courtyard.

“Madam, Lanqin is somewhat confused. Lanqin has always been respectful and humble towards Madam, but I never expected to still displease Madam so much.” Lanqin stared at the woman in front of her wearing a dark red cheongsam with large peony patterns and said in a deep voice.

"Hmph, Princess Niu's memory isn't very good! Does she still remember how the First Prince left?" The Fujin didn't turn around, her gaze remaining calm, her smile gentle as she looked ahead.

Lanqin sighed inwardly. Sure enough, it was still that hurdle. Actually, she had been too naive.

"The eldest prince was just an accident; no one wanted him to die like that." Lanqin had no choice but to say this, but even she felt somewhat powerless. If that child were her own, would she have felt the same way as the princess?

"An accident? Was it really an accident? If you hadn't made that damn skateboard, would the First Prince have had that accident? And that accident was just what you see as an accident. To me, there was no accident at all." The Princess Consort's voice finally became somewhat agitated.

“I really only did those things to make the eldest prince and the others happy. I never expected such a thing to happen. The eldest prince is as reserved as an adult. Didn’t you, his mother, notice that?” Lanqin couldn’t help but say, although she knew that no matter what she said to the princess, she wouldn’t believe her.

“How the eldest prince is is none of your business. He is my son, the eldest son of the Fourth Prince, and the heir to the Fourth Prince’s title. You all coveted his position, which is why he didn’t live to adulthood. However, I will make him pay for everyone who has wronged him, no matter how long it takes,” the Princess Consort murmured.

Lanqin hadn't expected that the Fujin had reached such a paranoid and insane state. She couldn't help but take a few steps back to avoid being hurt by the chilling and desperate aura emanating from her.

"I didn't do anything. You knew I wasn't the one who got the red flower on Yan Yu, so why did you still bring people to investigate?" Lan Qin said warily, glancing at the retreating figure. From the moment she revealed her true colors, Lan Qin understood that she and the woman were now locked in a life-or-death struggle.

This time, the princess consort said nothing.

Just as Lanqin was about to speak again, the door to Huanbi's room was suddenly flung open.

"Madam, we've found the safflower!" a servant announced, holding up a small bottle.

Lanqin stared at the thing in his hand with disbelief, but the Fujin had already walked quickly to the man, taken the bottle he handed her, opened it, and then smelled it under her nose.

Those responsible for searching the other rooms heard someone shouting outside and immediately stopped their search and ran out.

Nianxue was still in Lanqin's bedroom watching them search, making sure they didn't damage Lanqin's things, when she suddenly heard someone outside shout "Red Flower found!" She hurriedly ran out after them.

Huanbi came out of her room, walked to the Fujin and knelt down.

Zi Ran, Xi Cha, Granny Wang, Uncle Li, and Niu Baoquan all stood at their respective doorways, watching this scene. They couldn't believe that Lan Qin actually had a red flower hidden away.

But only Nianxue and Lanqin knew that it was not surprising at all that the bottle of red flowers came from Huanbi's house.

Nianxue stared intently at Huanbi, while Lanqin, seeing the terrified expression on Huanbi's face, felt her heart sink...

"Where did this red flower come from?" the princess asked sternly.

Lanqin looked at them and felt a chill in her heart. She knew they were acting, but she had no way to expose their trick.

"Your Highness, this is what the Princess instructed me to keep," Huanbi said, her voice trembling with tears.

Lanqin felt her mind go blank. She glanced at Nianxue, who was also looking at Lanqin with confusion and bewilderment in her eyes. She had clearly searched Huanbi's house herself, so how come she had never seen this small bottle before?

Lanqin understood the confusion in Li Nianxue's eyes, pursed her lips, and thought to herself: If she wanted to hide something, how could you possibly find it so easily? She might carry it with her day and night; how could you possibly find it?

"You're talking nonsense! When did Gege tell you to keep this?" Nianxue was so angry that she rushed up to Huanbao and slapped her across the face.

Five bright red finger marks immediately appeared on Huanbi's pale face after the beating, showing how hard Nianxue had used her strength.

"If you slander the princess again, I'll beat you to death, you traitor!" Nianxue was about to strike again, but Huanbi, perhaps feeling guilty, immediately stood up to avoid Nianxue's attack.

"Stop! You brat, how dare you be so arrogant in front of me, the Fujin? I haven't even asked her a question yet, and you're already trying to beat her half to death. What are you up to?" The Fujin naturally saw Nianxue's hatred for Huanbi and was afraid that if she didn't take action, Huanbi might really be beaten to death.

“I did not falsely accuse the princess. She did indeed keep this little bottle for me.” Huanbi, protected by the Fujin, simply avoided Nianxue’s entanglement. Judging from her expression, she did not care at all about what Nianxue said.

"Then why don't you say that I instructed you to put safflower in that pot of tea? I really didn't expect that you, Huanbi, would betray the trust that Nanxiaoyuan placed in you," Lanqin said coldly, staring at Huanbi.

"Princess, I'm sorry, I'll cover it up for you. Please forgive me." Huanbi's acting skills were truly Oscar-worthy. She showed no remorse for Lanqin's words and even went along with her.