The princess consort twirled the silk handkerchief in her hand, the gold openwork tortoiseshell nail guards on her little fingernails drawing a cool, detached arc as she swayed.

The Fourth Prince walked in looking exhausted. When his wife greeted him, he said, "The eldest princess is now an adult, so we've set aside a separate courtyard for her to live in. She's also living with the second princess, so it's a bit cramped."

The Fujin smiled gently, noticed a speck of dust on the Fourth Prince's shoulder, raised her hand to pat it off, and said, "Yes, I was also thinking of getting the Eldest Princess a new room. We should also hire a nanny to take care of her and teach her some household management skills so that she won't be clueless when she gets married and goes to her husband's family."

The Fourth Prince's gaze softened, and he said, "Thank you for your trouble, Madam. I wonder how Lan'er is doing. I'll go and check on her. Everyone in the front courtyard has left, and the head nanny is taking care of things there. Madam must be tired today, so please rest."

The princess's eyes flashed, suppressing the bitterness in her heart, and she smiled and said, "Sister Niu is already more than eight months pregnant, so you must be careful. Master, please go and take a look."

The Fourth Prince nodded and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something and turned to his wife, saying, "Wife, in a few days, send a memorial to the palace to pay your respects to Mother. Just tell her to arrange for two experienced midwives to come to the manor to serve Lan'er when she gives birth."

The princess's heart skipped a beat, but she quickly replied, "It has been quite some time since I paid my respects to my mother. My lord, you need not worry. I will definitely ask for this favor for my sister Niu."

Fourth Master nodded and said gently, "I'm leaving now. You should get some rest."

The Fujin's eyes were full of smiles, like the gentle breeze of a willow tree in spring, making people feel very comfortable. But as soon as the Fourth Prince turned around, the smile on her face became as cold as a white plum blossom blooming on a branch in winter, instantly freezing into a mark.

Meanwhile, Lanqin, along with Geng and Song, had already sat down in Wu's room, each holding a cup of tea.

"Sisters, I don't understand what you mean. Lülan, you said you saw Que'er enter my room, but you must be mistaken. Wasn't Que'er sent away by the Fujin? Not only her, but all the maids in Li's room were sent away. You must be seeing things." Wu suppressed her surprise and forced a smile.

Lanqin, Song, and Geng exchanged glances. They had known that Wu would deny it, and it turned out to be true.

"Since Sister Wu is like this, Lanqin will not insist. But Sister, you must be careful in the future. If Que'er dies, will the Fujin remember whose person you used to be?" Lanqin put down her teacup and stroked her abdomen.

Wu forced a smile and said, "That's all ancient history. The Fujin has always been forgiving. Li Shi has already been buried, so why bring it up again?"

Madam Geng glanced down at the unidentified little flower on her sleeve and said leisurely, "If you think you can live like this without any worries for the rest of your life, then I won't say anything more. Look at me, I had nothing to do with the Fujin, but she became intolerant of me just because I got close to Lan'er. Last time, if it weren't for Lan'er, I'd probably be in Youhua Residence by now, or perhaps I'm not alive anymore. Besides, how did you treat Madam Li before? Can the Fujin forget?"

Wu felt a tremor in her heart and lowered her head to ponder. For a moment, the only sound in the room was the monotonous ticking of the quartz clock with its copper base and glass back.

Time is being eroded little by little.

Lanqin couldn't help but stand up, walk to the eaves, and look at the large water vat in the courtyard. She saw small lotus leaves and tiny flower buds peeking out from inside.

"If Que'er refuses, even if I were, I'm afraid I couldn't control her." After pondering this for a long time, Wu Shi finally seemed to have made up her mind and said to Lan Qin, who was standing by the house, "Sister, would you be willing to help Xi Yue? And what about Sister Song and Sister Geng?"

Lanqin smiled gently, turned her head, looked at Song Shi and Geng Shi, and said, "We came here precisely to stand with Sister Wu through thick and thin!"

Madam Song smiled and said, "There aren't many sisters in the back courtyard to begin with. It is our responsibility to live in peace and continue the royal lineage. But the Princess Consort is not magnanimous and insists on pretending to be magnanimous."

Madam Wu nodded, and said worriedly, "Where is Que'er? After she left here, she said she was going to see the Fujin (Prince Consort)."

Upon hearing this, Lanqin hurriedly said, "Oh no, what if the Fujin detains her? Sister, you don't have any concrete evidence, do you? If she's gone, the master might not be able to question the Fujin."

Just then, a blue figure rushed in through the red lacquered wooden door. Lan Qi was panting when she saw Lan Qin standing on the threshold of the inner room. She quickly said, "Princess, Master has come to our courtyard. I told you that you and Princess Song went to the small garden to admire the flowers."

Lanqin nodded slightly, gave her an approving look, and said, "I understand."

Lanqin looked up at the sky and saw a dark cloud drifting across it, indicating that it was about to rain.

Then, Wu, along with Lanqin, Song, and Geng, helped their respective maids to the south courtyard.

Meanwhile, the Fujin sat on the main couch with a gloomy face, harboring resentment over the request made by the Fourth Prince.

"Madam, it's just a matter of needing a midwife; there's no need to get so worked up," said Granny Li, bringing a cup of tea to Madam.

“We’ve already found a midwife, but they’re saying they’re going to ask the empress in the palace for one. Who are they trying to protect themselves from?” The princess took the cup of tea and slammed it heavily on the table.

"Madam, the child has been born, but whether he will survive is still unknown," Li Mama had no choice but to continue persuading.

"The South Courtyard is like an impregnable fortress; not even a bird can fly in," the Fujin said. "None of them are of any use. Even though Yan Yu gave birth to twins, she still couldn't win his heart. Wang Shi just can't catch the prince's eye. Now, those three are huddled together; are they trying to challenge me, the Fujin?" The more the Fujin spoke, the angrier she became.

Just then, the door to the west room suddenly opened, and Lingxiu ran out. Seeing that the Fujin's face was not good, she put away her smugness and said cautiously, "Master, Que'er confessed that the person was Wu Shi."

What! !

Shock flashed across the Fujin's eyes, but she quickly concealed her astonishment, revealing a ruthless glint in her eyes as she fiddled with the nail guards on her hands, saying, "As expected, it's still that bitch. Come to think of it, she's Li's confidante, so who else could it be but her?"

Lingxiu then asked, "What should we do with the sparrow?"

Li Mama coldly looked at Lingxiu, Chunliu and the others were all dissatisfied, but they couldn't stop the Fujin from using her, so they had no choice but to suppress their thoughts and remain silent.

The princess glanced at her and said indifferently, "Granny, send her out tonight and hand her over to Wuge for disposal."

At Lingxiu's instruction, Chunliu and the others fetched water and washed all the ants off Que'er's body.