Chapter 4 The Excessively Beautiful Third Sister-in-Law

Her identity has been revealed? When? Who? Will the Prince of Zhenbei find out?

A series of questions flashed through her mind. A few breaths later, she heard the window being gently opened. Her body tensed slightly as she prepared herself, but the other person did not enter the room. They simply placed something down and then closed the window.

"I've left the reply outside the window; I'll come to pick it up tomorrow night," the other person said, their voice deliberately lowered, making it impossible to discern anything from the other's words.

Then, the person turned and left.

Ge Lan remained on guard, but the little ones told her that the other party had left.

She frowned, got up and walked to the bedside, only to find that the other person had left a letter.

I picked up the letter and sniffed it gently, but found nothing. The other party had handled the traces very cleanly.

After lighting the lamps, Ge Lan opened the letter, glanced at it briefly, and his heart tightened suddenly.

The letter contained few words and no pleasantries. It began by stating that he had learned of the lady's identity by chance and that she possessed a rare poison, and he hoped to exchange it with her.

They then added that he/she had a grudge against the Prince of Zhenbei, and assured her that he/she would not say anything more.

Ge Lan frowned, turning the letter over and over to read it. The handwriting was ordinary, merely neat. From the strokes, she could roughly tell that the writer was a woman, but that didn't prove anything.

That person could have had a maid write it.

She wouldn't be so foolish as to believe someone just because they say they won't talk too much, but the current situation is that the other party knows her identity and background, but she knows nothing about the other party.

This uncontrollable unease made Ge Lan somewhat uneasy. Her expression shifted between light and dark for a long time until a maid in the courtyard noticed that she had lit a lamp and came to ask her something. Only then did she put away the letter and rest. However, because of this unexpected letter, she could not fall asleep for a long time.

On the other side, Bai Shanyin retreated in the shadows. The Zhenbei Prince's Mansion was heavily guarded, with numerous hidden agents in addition to the guards on the surface.

However, he had figured out most of these arrangements over the years, so the retreat was relatively easy.

But halfway there, he seemed to sense something.

Bai Shan paused, carefully sensing for a moment, then let out a soft exclamation and picked off a tiny speck the size of a dust mote from the corner of his robe.

It was clearly a Gu worm.

His expression immediately became much more serious. You see, because of Bai Xuerou's reminder, he had been extra careful when entering the courtyard, releasing his true energy and paying attention to everything around him.

Bai Shan was certain that he didn't have the Gu worm on him when he left the courtyard, but it had appeared now. He racked his brains but couldn't recall when he had been infected.

Aunt Ge is truly formidable.

With her heart pounding, Bai Shan carefully checked herself over again. After leaving, she tidied herself up, even throwing away her clothes because she was unsure of what to do.

The Gu poisons of the Miao region are incredibly diverse and can be used for all sorts of purposes, so you can never be too careful.

Only after confirming that he had not forgotten anything did Bai Shan return to his residence.

On the other side, in the Xiefang Courtyard, the young boy on the bed opened his eyes. He was exceptionally handsome, with delicate features and slightly deep-set eyes. Although he was still young, his gaze was calm, without the impetuousness and frivolity typical of his age.

If you didn't know better, you might mistake her for a well-behaved and sensible little girl at first glance. In fact, she is Ling Xun, the sixth son of the Prince of Zhenbei, born to Consort Ge.

Ling Xun's appearance perfectly inherited the best features of his parents, but because he was too delicate and had a feminine appearance, he didn't look like the Prince of Zhenbei at all.

Ling Xun pursed his lips, somewhat regretful.

His Gu worms died.

I don't know what that person wanted from my mother...

The seemingly quiet palace hides a lot of liveliness.

In the ancestral hall, Ling Shujun was filled with resentment. Ling Chong and Xiao Jinyu brought up Ling Shujun's affairs again, and so on.

Bai Xuerou was also awake.

She had been ill for some time, and to avoid catching her illness, Ling Zheng had been sleeping in the study. However, since Doctor Ge had spoken up today, he naturally moved back to the main room. But given that she wasn't fully recovered, he didn't do anything else.

Even so, Bai Xuerou still felt uneasy, but couldn't find an excuse.

It's not that she can't find him, but she and Ling Zheng are a legitimate married couple. She can't escape, nor does she intend to. This means that the two of them will have to spend several more years together.

Over the course of several years and thousands of days and nights, she couldn't keep refusing.

Since that's the case, let's just face it calmly.

Ling Zhengsheng was handsome, so Bai Xuerou felt she wasn't at a disadvantage.

But despite her thoughts, Bai Xuerou couldn't sleep at night while Ling Zheng lay outside.

These days, she can't help but think about it over and over again: Is what's written in the novel true? Would Ling Zheng really treat her like that?

Will the person beside her in bed become unrecognizable?

Bai Xuerou didn't want to believe it, but everything she discovered now proved the authenticity of that memory.

Enough, she gave up on tormenting herself for the umpteenth time.

Just wait and see. When the time comes, you'll know for sure. All she has to do is prepare herself.

Be prepared to face whatever happens with equanimity.

After a restless night, Bai Xue Rou felt as soon as she closed her eyes that her maid was already calling her.

She has to pay her respects to the princess today.

The Prince of Zhenbei had three wives. His first wife, Lady Zhang, was a princess of the imperial clan. His second wife was Lady Gao, the birth mother of Ling Zheng. After giving birth to Ling Zheng, she was in poor health and was bedridden until he was ten years old when she passed away.

Then came the current Ms. Wu.

The Wu family of the North was renowned for producing beauties; one of the late emperor's favorite concubines came from the Wu family. This lady who married into the royal palace was even more outstanding in appearance.

Unlike Bai Xuerou's noble and graceful beauty, this second princess was pure and refined, otherworldly and peerless, like a fairy in a painting. As soon as she married into the family, she was favored by the Prince of Zhenbei, who even forgot about his previous favorite concubine, Aunt Ge.

At that time, Ling Zheng had not yet been valued by the Prince of Zhenbei, and everyone said that the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion would probably fall into the hands of this son born to the Wu family.

But to everyone's surprise, after six years in the household, Lady Wu remained childless.

Moreover, none of his concubines have given birth to any children in all these years.

Rumors circulated that it was because the Prince of Zhenbei had been injured on the battlefield.

Bai Xuerou had been curious about this before and even believed the rumor, but now, she had a different guess in mind—

Aunt Ge.

Since she would poison the Prince of Zhenbei, it's quite possible that she also caused him to be childless.

After getting up and dressing in the morning, Bai Xuerou took her maid and went to Huiyin Courtyard, where the princess lived.

She wasn't late, but two of the five concubines in the household had already arrived: the most senior concubine, Concubine Liu, and Concubine Ning.

Aunt Liu served the Prince of Zhenbei from a young age and had a son and a wife in the mansion.

Ning Yiniang was Gao Shi's personal maid, and she only had one daughter, San Niangzi.

Their daughters also came along. As for their sons, the Prince's Palace had a rule that they had to go to the martial arts training ground every morning to practice, and after practicing, they would return with the Prince of Zhenbei to have breakfast.

Bai Xuerou nodded slightly and greeted the two concubines. Then, Xuancao, Wu Shi's personal maid, came out to invite her.

She went in and saw Madam Wu doing her hair. She pretended to go and serve her, but Madam Wu looked at herself in the mirror, smiled, and had her maid help her sit down to the side.

"I wouldn't dare trouble you, please sit down," she said with a playful smile. Her eyes sparkled, her beauty ethereal yet possessing a subtle, alluring charm that every woman knows, like a fairy brought down to earth, stirring the heart.

Bai Xuerou couldn't help but stare intently for a moment, thinking to herself that it was no wonder that the Prince of Zhenbei had never had a beautiful woman enter his mansion since he had a beautiful wife.

Such a beauty, like a goddess from Mount Gusha, who could not be moved?

Bai Xuerou didn't stand on ceremony and sat down with a smile.

Contrary to outside speculation about a rift between the two—

Since Lady Wu had no sons, and with the Prince of Zhenbei's growing interest in Ling Zheng in recent years, he inevitably turned his attention to him, and women from the Wu family frequently came into contact with him.

Therefore, everyone naturally assumed that the Wu family would definitely make things difficult for Bai Xuerou.

In fact, Bai Xuerou and Wu Shi got along surprisingly well.

Bai Xuerou is gentle and easygoing, while Wu Shi seems aloof but is actually lazy. The two are not difficult to get along with and their personalities are quite compatible.

In addition, both of them are rare beauties, and they have a mutual appreciation for each other when they are together.

Madam Wu inquired about her health with concern. After finishing her hair and makeup, she got up and went out with her.

One was otherworldly and refined, the other elegant and beautiful. The appearance of these two stunningly beautiful faces one after the other was enough to leave even those in the hall momentarily stunned.

Everyone rose to greet her, and then sat down at Wu's suggestion.

By the time Bai Xuerou went in, all five concubines had arrived, including Concubine Ge, as well as her two sisters-in-law, the eldest daughter-in-law Xiao Jinyu and the second daughter-in-law Ning Xinxian.

After exchanging greetings with her two sisters-in-law, Bai Xuerou sat down, her gaze seemingly casual as she looked at the woman sitting at the end of the table.

She has been ill for the past few years, and she has become very thin. Her features are exceptionally clear, with a sharp and piercing quality. She has a cold expression and is still beautiful, but not easy to approach.

Immediately afterwards, those slightly deep-set eyes met hers directly. Bai Xuerou blinked, seemingly casually, and calmly looked away.

Aunt Ge didn't think much of it, but she did glance at Bai Xuerou a few more times.

Even though she was a woman herself, she had to admit that Bai Xuerou was beautiful, elegant, and stunningly beautiful. No wonder Ling Zheng was so determined to marry her.

But the man was fickle, and no one knew what fate awaited this beautiful woman.

The backyard of the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion seemed peaceful on the surface, but that was only on the surface.

The five concubines each had children, making a total of six sons in the household. However, the Prince of Zhenbei only favored his third son, Ling Zheng. The concubines with sons could not tell what was going on on their faces, but it was hard to know what they were thinking.

In the past, Ling Zheng's biological mother died early, so even if people were unhappy, they couldn't do anything to Ling Zheng.

But things are different now. Bai Xuerou has married into the family, and who knows how many schemes await her.

Bai Xuerou even suspected that one of her aunts was behind Ling Shujun's pushing her into the water.

In that novel, she had no children until the beginning of the story, five years later. Her health had always been good, so there must be a reason why she couldn't conceive for so long.

However, it doesn't really matter. It was fine before, but ever since she received that memory, Bai Xue Rou actually thinks that not having children is a good thing.

Just then, she heard a commotion outside, and then Prince Ling Ji'an of Zhenbei walked in with several of his sons.

The women first rose to pay their respects, and then the young men paid their respects to the princess before taking their seats.

Ling Zheng sat down next to Bai Xuerou. She smiled, glancing at Ling Xun out of the corner of her eye before looking away. She thus failed to notice the look Ling Xun was giving her.

Although Bai Xuerou only glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, Ling Xun still noticed her, but when he looked, he only saw her profile.

Looking at his excessively beautiful third sister-in-law, Ling Xun withdrew his gaze.

I guess I just glanced at it casually.

A note from the author:

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