The master's reaction was so strange that Lizhi couldn't help but take a closer look and immediately gasped!

The reason was that there was a white cat inside that long box!

The cat had already died, its snow-white fur around its neck stained with bright red blood, its frail body curled up in an extremely strange posture, a sight that sent chills down one's spine!

That was Kim Min-jung's favorite pet! I still remember when she first entered the palace, she said she wanted to raise a cat, so Hongli found one in the palace and gave it to her.

She cherished it dearly and had kept it by her side all this time. She had just been thinking of rewarding it! Now it had turned out like this. Jin Minjing couldn't accept it; she was both anxious and angry, and rebuked it bitterly:

"How could my dumpling be like this? Who? Who killed it? I'm going to hold her accountable!"

Li Yu replied calmly, "It was Fourth Master who ordered the slaughter. Princess, do you want to settle accounts with Fourth Master?"

"Fourth Master?" Upon hearing Hongli's name, Jin Minjing immediately cowered, no longer daring to be arrogant. But she really couldn't understand, "Why would Fourth Master harm my cat? He gave it to me! What did it do wrong?"

Li Yu thought to himself: This cat is indeed innocent, but it's a pity that its owner is wicked. "Fourth Master said that some things can be taken by the cat as a scapegoat, but if it does it again next time, there will be no one to take the blame."

Upon hearing this, Jin Minjing's heart skipped a beat. She pretended to be confused and said, "What exactly does Fourth Master want to say? Is he doubting me? It was Xilan who knocked down Sister Gao, not me. My cat is innocent too."

As a servant, one should not make too many judgments, so Li Yu did not say anything more to Princess Jin, and said with an apologetic smile: "This servant is dull and does not understand what Master means. Princess, you should figure it out yourself!"

After saying this, Li Yu withdrew, leaving Jin Minjing alone. Looking at the box, he was terrified and restless. "What should I do? Fourth Master suspects me again!"

After a moment's thought, Lizhi pondered, "Fourth Master only had Eunuch Li send over a dead cat, so this matter is probably over, right? I suppose Fourth Master has no intention of pursuing it any further."

“But he killed my beloved pet. This is clearly a warning shot, he’s trying to scare me!” The blood on the cat’s neck was shocking. Kim Min-jung felt scared and trembled at the thought.

Lizhi didn't take it seriously and kindly advised, "Princess, there's no need to worry. You didn't let the cat catch Princess Lan. It's all just a coincidence. Princess Gao is unlucky and unable to bear the eldest son for the Fourth Prince. It's fate, so don't blame you."

The maid's words comforted Jin Minjing somewhat. "That's right! It's fate. I didn't harm her. Blame Xilan for being reckless. This has nothing to do with me. Fourth Master shouldn't blame me. My cat really died unjustly."

With that thought, she felt no more guilt and simply ordered Lizhi to take the cat out and bury it somewhere.

Gao Xiuwen, who was inside the Lanyue Pavilion, remained unmoved upon hearing this.

The life or death of a cat was unimportant to her, nor was it important who Jin Minjing had grudges against, but Xi Lan knocked down her child, and that was her fault!

Cui Ning handed the hundred copies of the Rebirth Sutra to her master. Gao Xiuwen took it and frowned, "How come there are two different handwritings?"

“It was Su Gege who helped her write it.”

Su Yushan has recently gained Hongli's favor and become a thorn in Jin Minjing's side. However, Gao Xiuwen does not take Su Yushan seriously. In her opinion, this powerless commoner from Suzhou poses no threat to her.

No matter how much the Fourth Prince dotes on her, she is still a Han woman. At best, she can only be a favored concubine, not even a secondary consort. Gao Xiuwen is better than her in every way, so why would she care about Su Yushan?

But this time, Su Yushan actually sided with Xilan, which displeased Gao Xiuwen, who immediately threw the stack of "Rebirth Sutras" onto the table.

"Go and show it to Fourth Master, let him see what Su Yushan has done!"

Cui Ning hesitated for a long time before saying, "Fourth Master knows about this, but he didn't say anything."

Upon hearing this, Gao Xiuwen sat up straight despite the pain, silently listening to Cui Ning recount what had happened to Princess Lan the previous day. Her knuckles gripped the brocade quilt tightly, twisting the peony flowers on the fabric. Later, she suddenly laughed.

"So, because Su Yushan is kneeling, Fourth Master exempted Xilan from kneeling? Is this what Fourth Master calls punishment? Is our child more important, or Su Yushan?"

Despite her master's outward smile, Cui Ning felt a pang of bitterness. She also spoke up for her master, saying, "Fourth Master has spoiled this Consort Su far too much, to the point that he can't even distinguish right from wrong."

Yesterday, when Hongli was so angry, Gao Xiuwen thought he really cared about her and the child. But today, when she heard Cui Ning talk about these things, she felt a chill in her heart and suddenly felt so pathetic. She had worked so hard to carry his child, and now the child had been murdered. Yet he was lenient with the murderer because of his favorite concubine.

So her child is so unimportant?

Gao Xiuwen grew increasingly distressed, but Cui Ning, oblivious to the change in her mistress's expression, continued speaking.

“This servant feels there’s something fishy about this. No matter how wicked Princess Jin is, she can’t possibly be so powerful as to give orders to a cat, can she? According to Princess Lan, they had been arguing for so long before, so how could it be such a coincidence that Princess Lan suddenly fell down just as you approached? Could this be their conspiracy to use a cat to harm your child?”

Although Gao Xiuwen hated Xi Lan, she only thought it was a coincidence and didn't think about it too deeply. "Why would Xi Lan harm me? Fourth Master doesn't favor her. What good would it do her to harm me?"

"It's not good for her, but it's good for Su Gege! Although Su Gege is favored, she is not pregnant yet, so she must be anxious. Seeing that you are pregnant, she will definitely be envious. She may have already complained to Lan Gege. In order to curry favor with her, Lan Gege will take the opportunity to harm your child."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!