Not only her, but everyone else looked on with envy. Madam Nian returned to Weifang Courtyard with a belly full of anger. Xianglan fanned her mistress, glanced at her, and said, "Mistress, Consort Tong is really disrespectful to you. When the master comes, you'll have to have a good talk with her."

Madam Nian frowned and shook her head slightly: "I was too hasty and fell into the trap set by Madam Li. Didn't you see the strange looks everyone gave me after I spoke? You should ask around and find out what's going on. I just feel something's off."

"Yes, Master, but..."

"What? Just say it,"

Xianglan hesitated for a moment, but seeing her mistress urging her, she said, "I heard that Mistress Tong suddenly moved to Wanyue Pavilion on the very night you married into the family. Before that, she had been living in Lan Courtyard."

She was puzzled. She often heard her mistress talk about the master. Logically, the master should care about her the most, so why didn't he let her stay in Wanyue Pavilion?

Lady Nian suddenly stood up, her expression changing slightly. "Is that so?" Xianglan nodded and said, "Wanyue Pavilion is the courtyard closest to the main study, followed by the Fujin's Plum Courtyard."

Upon hearing this, Lady Nian could no longer sit still. She muttered, "How could this be? How could this be?" and suddenly instructed, "Quickly tell Xiangxiu to keep an eye on Master's movements."

Xianglan straightened up and said, "Yes."

After a while, seeing Xiangxiu enter, he hurriedly asked, "How is it? Where is Master?"

"Reporting to Master, the Master has gone to Wanyue Pavilion."

Lady Nian was secretly annoyed. Sure enough, she had guessed right. It was Wanyue Pavilion again. Ever since she saw Lady Tong again in the manor, she had had a bad feeling.

Last time she made a special trip to visit, Madam Tong wouldn't let her into the house, completely disregarding the fact that they lived in the same household, leaving her unable to find out the truth and returning empty-handed.

In the master's backyard, the only one who could pose a threat to her was Tong Yilan; the others were insignificant. Moreover, the timing of her entry into the mansion was perfect: the primary wife was not yet beautiful, Li Shi and Qi Shi were too old, and the others were of low rank and could not compete with her.

Tong Shi, who cowered in the courtyard all day, dared not confront her directly. Thus, let her strike first and see how long Tong Shi could endure.

She believed that she and the master knew each other well and had a deep affection for each other. As soon as she entered the mansion, she was appointed as a secondary consort and held a higher position in the master's heart than Lady Tong.

"Xianglan, go and tell the master that I am not feeling well."

"yes"

Yinzhen was having dinner with Nan Yi when a maid came to report that Lady Nian was unwell. He pondered for a long time. After a while, Nan Yi saw him frowning and said, "Next time you come, you must choose a good time. Otherwise, you don't need to come in. It makes my stomach hurt."

Yinzhen curled the corners of his mouth and said, "How does this relate to the stomach?" He could always listen to her spout some nonsense. Chatting was nice and helped to lift his spirits.

Nan Yi got off the kang (a heated brick bed), glared at him, and said, "It will definitely affect your appetite, and your stomach will hurt after a while."

Yinzhen raised an eyebrow. If he remembered correctly, she had a good appetite, so he said, "But I remember you have a good appetite."

Nan Yi, hands on her slender waist, said domineeringly, "I meant my appetite for tomorrow." Yinzhen nodded, accepting this powerful reason, and leisurely finished his meal before walking away.

Nan made a face at his back and went straight to take a bath. After he finished, he lay on the bed tossing and turning, thinking about it. Don't misunderstand, it has nothing to do with the Fourth Master.

She was troubled about whether or not to apologize to the two men. If they accepted, it would be fine, but if they didn't, they would be kicked out, which would be too embarrassing. It was really a headache. She wasn't very smart to begin with, and with her mind in such a mess, she was even more confused.

Nara, who was also sleepless, was secretly annoyed in bed. She didn't want to admit that her master cared about Tong. He hadn't visited her even once in the past three months, which had completely chilled her. Now, he had inexplicably assigned Wanyue Pavilion to her. What was her master's intention?

She didn't understand what he meant, but the opportunity was rare, and it was so close that it was right under her control.

******

The Ninth Prince declared that he would sever ties with Nan Yi first, which thoroughly angered Nan Yi. He was single-mindedly focused on making money. After he got the money, he was not at all relieved or happy. He took six concubines back to his mansion to have fun. Three of them were his own choice, and three were gifts from his servants. He didn't care who came.

That day, the Tenth Prince excitedly ran to the Ninth Prince's residence and saw his brother playing in the water with his newly acquired favorite concubine, with several women singing and dancing, having a great time.

When the Ninth Prince saw him, he greeted him warmly, "You've come, have a seat," and then said to the servants, "Bring some wine."

After sitting down, Lao Shi picked up a cup of wine, drank it down, sighed, and said, "Good wine."

He glanced at the women flanking Ninth Brother, noticing the somewhat chaotic scene, and frowned slightly, saying, "Ninth Brother, Nan Yi doesn't like this."

The Ninth Prince glared angrily and hissed, "Whether she likes it or not is none of my business." Despite saying this, he secretly released his hold on the beauty, rubbed his hands as if they were stained with something unclean, and then pretended to pour wine.

"You're spying on me specifically for her?" Even after all this, he's still siding with her. Whose brother is he anyway? He was immediately dissatisfied.

The tenth brother waved his hand and said, "I know you can't hear me anyway. I just came to tell you that it's Fourth Sister-in-law's birthday the day after tomorrow. I'm going to the banquet and will also visit Nan Yi on the way."

He couldn't care about what happened to Eighth Brother, Ninth Brother, and Nan Yi, but he wouldn't just ignore Nan Yi.

After listening, the Ninth Prince remained silent for a long time. Finally, he frowned and said, "Let your Ninth Sister-in-law go with you. Come to the manor to pick her up when the time comes. As for me, I have other things to do, so I won't go to join in the fun."

After revealing her identity, he couldn't face her as if nothing had happened. He decided to deal with it later, after he had calmed down.

Nara's birthday banquet was a very lively affair. Since Tong lived close to the main courtyard, the Fujin sent someone early in the morning to invite her to entertain the guests.

Dressed up by the maid, she was pushed out of the room. She clung to the door and pleaded, "I said, can you not be so ostentatious? It's the birthday of the primary consort. Your mistress should be low-key. Dressed like this, isn't it obvious that you're trying to steal the spotlight?"

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