After seeing Yan Hong off, Lan Xiang walked out of the room and came to the railing in the corridor. She happened to see the madam who was about to come upstairs, so she took two steps forward and called out to her, "Madam, please wait."
Actually, the madam came upstairs because she saw Yan Hong come up, as if she had something to say.
Hearing Lanxiang call her, she quickly adopted her usual cheerful demeanor, waving her handkerchief and exclaiming, "Oh my, Mother, who do we have here? It's my good daughter Lanxiang! How was that handsome young master from the west of the city that I introduced to you today? I didn't mistreat you, did I?! That young master is truly rich and handsome, and most importantly, he's still a virgin! Are you satisfied, daughter? By the way, where is he? Is he still bedridden?"
As soon as the madam finished speaking, she covered her nose and chuckled.
However, Lanxiang ignored the madam's hypocritical behavior. As soon as she stepped closer to her, she lowered her voice and reminded her, "Mother promised me that after Yu Niang's matter is over, she would return my indenture to me. Mother hasn't forgotten, has she?!"
Upon hearing this, the madam immediately grabbed Lanxiang's arm and looked around nervously and alertly...
Seeing that no one had seen or heard them, he quickly pushed Lanxiang into the room. "Oh dear, my little darling, why don't you know when to stop talking? How can you just say things like that anytime, anywhere?!"
However, Lanxiang looked at her with an extremely contemptuous gaze, appearing completely indifferent.
At that moment, all she wanted was to get her indenture as soon as possible and take her grandmother away from this place she loathed so much.
Seeing this, the madam had no choice but to patiently and earnestly say to him, "This matter is of great importance, and we must all be cautious at every step and be careful throughout the entire process. If we are not careful, and our master's entire plan is ruined, then not only will your contract of servitude be forfeited, but we may not even be able to save our lives. You must not cause a disaster because of your momentary carelessness."
Upon hearing this, Lanxiang's tone softened, and she smiled gently. She then tentatively inquired again, "Mother, please don't worry. I was just reminding you not to forget the promise you made to me... By the way, from what you've said, you seem to know the Pavilion Master quite well. Surely you know who he is? And you must know what he's plotting, right? Also, what are those medicines you usually give Yu Niang for?"
As soon as Lanxiang finished speaking, the madam suddenly glared fiercely at her, slowly walking towards her and forcing Lanxiang to retreat step by step. She said, "Eat your own food, walk your own path. Don't ask what you shouldn't ask, and don't say what you shouldn't say. Watch your mouth, or you'll bring disaster upon yourself. What happened to Yu Niang is something you shouldn't have seen. If it weren't for me protecting you and pleading with the master, you would have been torn to pieces by him long ago. Do you believe me?"
Hearing these words, Lanxiang was suddenly very surprised. She suddenly remembered what happened to Yu Niang last time, and she was still feeling uneasy and scared.
At that time, Lanxiang was still deeply infatuated with Tuoba Ze, the calm and domineering master of Wanjiao Pavilion.
The appearance of Yu Niang caused her to completely lose the little bit of attention that Tuoba Ze had for her.
So she plotted to deliberately approach Yu Niang with ill intentions, using all her charm to please her and gain her trust, hoping to take the opportunity to win back Tuoba Ze's attention.
Just as the beauty's blood was about to be fully formed, the madam became even more vigilant in watching over Yu Niang.
Thus, Lanxiang became the only link between Yuniang and the Qin Prince's Mansion on ordinary days, but Yuniang did not tell Lanxiang that she was a person sent by the Qin Prince's Mansion.
One day, it happened to be the day that Xuanyuan Han instructed Cheng Liang to secretly send a portrait of Tuoba Ze, the eldest prince of the Northern Lie Kingdom, to Wanjiao Pavilion for Yu Niang to keep a close eye on.
When Lanxiang received the portrait sent by the Prince of Qin's mansion on behalf of Yu Niang, she secretly unfolded it and found that it was someone she knew very well.
But she held the portrait in her hand and examined it for a long time, but she couldn't figure out anything. It really was just a portrait, without any writing on it. So what did this portrait mean to Yu Niang?
As she was lost in thought, walking upstairs to Yu Niang's room, which was also the room where Lan Xiang was currently staying, she suddenly saw a shocking scene through the half-open door.
The madam was holding a bowl of medicinal soup, pinching Yu Niang's chin as she forced it down her throat. Yu Niang struggled painfully with all her might, but she couldn't budge the madam's body in the slightest.
Finally, after finishing the entire bowl of medicinal soup, Yu Niang fainted for some unknown reason.
Just then, the madam seemed to notice Lanxiang's presence at the door out of the corner of her eye. While Lanxiang was still standing there dumbfounded, staring at the motionless woman lying on the ground, wondering what had happened, the madam's vicious and eerie eyes suddenly appeared in the half-open door crack, staring at Lanxiang like a ghost. Lanxiang was immediately startled and trembled. After a moment, she quickly hid the portrait in her hand.
Then, the madam scooped him up through the crack in the door and slammed the door shut.
As soon as Lanxiang was thrown into the room by the madam, she leaned tightly against the wall, trembling and begging for mercy, "Mother, spare me! I was just passing by, I didn't see anything, I really didn't see anything..." But her voice grew softer and softer as she spoke.
However, the madam did not speak upon hearing this, but instead turned her gaze to the purple lilac beaded curtain in the room.
Lanxiang, also startled, slowly shifted her gaze in that direction.
If it were someone else, she might have hesitated or not recognized them. But now, even with the densely arranged beaded curtains obscuring her vision, she recognized him at a glance. It was the man she knew all too well, the man almost etched into her mind, the calm and domineering man who had haunted her dreams for so many days and nights.
She then realized that he wasn't the kind of person who cared about Yu Niang, as she had imagined.
It turns out, his true intentions weren't what they seemed. He actually had ulterior motives towards Yu Niang. But what exactly did he want to do to Yu Niang, and what had they just given her?
Just then, Xiaobai—a pure white kitten that she had just bought a couple of days ago to please Yu Niang and keep her entertained—ran out of Yu Niang's bedroom.
Whether it was due to hunger or the scent it liked, Xiao Bai jumped onto the table as soon as it came out and began licking the soup bowl that Yu Niang had used.
Lanxiang's eyes widened instantly, and she gasped. But looking at the two people in front of her, she didn't even dare to breathe loudly in the end.
Unexpectedly, after licking the leftover soup in the bowl a few times, Xiao Bai suddenly let out a low groan, then collapsed onto the table, twitched a few times, and died.
"Poisonous!" Lanxiang cried out in horror upon seeing it, covering her mouth tightly with both hands.
Upon hearing this, the man hidden behind the beaded curtain gave the madam a wink, and the madam immediately pulled out a shiny, seemingly extremely sharp dagger from her sleeve and slowly approached Lanxiang step by step.
Lanxiang stared in astonishment at the dagger held in the madam's hand, pressed herself tightly against the wall behind her, and shook her head and begged, tears already streaming down her cheeks.
Just as she closed her eyes in despair, gave up pleading, and prepared to accept the disaster before her, she suddenly heard the crisp sound of a dagger falling to the ground.
She opened her eyes instantly, only to see the madam kneeling heavily on the ground, pleading with the man behind the beaded curtain for her: "Master, please spare this girl. I promise, I will keep a close watch on her, and she will absolutely not reveal a single word of what happened today. If she does, I will be willing to die to atone for my sins, please, Master."
Before she finished speaking, the madam kowtowed heavily, waiting for the man's response, while Lanxiang was already terrified and frozen to the side.
The man remained silent, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly stood up, walked straight to the door, and gently closed it behind him.
At this moment, the madam finally raised her head, wiped the fine sweat from her temples, and slowly got up to help Lanxiang, who was still standing there in a daze, to sit down at the table.
Lanxiang sat down and saw Xiaobai's pitiful corpse on the table in front of her. She then buried her face in the table and cried.
The madam, however, had no time to care about her feelings. She turned her gaze to the ground on the other side, hurriedly went over to check Yu Niang's pulse, who had been lying on the ground until now, and then examined her eyelids for a moment.
Then, he looked up at Lanxiang, who was still sobbing and slumped over the table, and said, "Aren't you going to come and help?!"
Hearing the sound, Lanxiang finally came to her senses, wiped the two lines of hot tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand, and sniffed. She then got up and walked over to Yu Niang on the ground, bent down and helped the madam carry her to the bed in the inner room.
At this moment, Lanxiang asked with some disappointment and sadness, "Mom, what happened to Yu Niang? Did she also die from poisoning like Xiaobai?"
"No, I've already checked Yu Niang's condition carefully. She won't die as quickly as Xiao Bai," the madam replied to Lan Xiang while tidying Yu Niang's disheveled hair as she lay unconscious.
"Mother, why is Master treating Yu Niang like this? Doesn't Master like Yu Niang very much? He even took her to his room. Master has never brought any woman into his room in the backyard before!" Lanxiang asked in confusion.
The madam looked at Yu Niang's calm yet pale face, sneered, and said, "Hmph... How could someone as cold-blooded as my master possibly fall in love with anyone?!"
Upon hearing this, Lanxiang fell into deep thought. It turned out that all her meticulous planning and scheming towards Yu Niang, day and night, for that person, had been in vain.
This Wanjiao Pavilion is truly rife with conspiracies.
After regaining her composure, Lanxiang thanked the madam, saying, "Thank you so much for saving my life today, Madam. I will never forget it. But from now on..."
The madam glanced around the room, interrupting her thoughts, and said, "You can stay in this room from now on, but you must keep your mouth shut about what happened here today. Also, you must obey me from now on. After this is over, I will ask my master to return your indenture and set you free. I know you were sold here by a heartless man..."
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