Wu stared intently at the Fujin (principal wife) and repeated, "I want to see the master."
Before the princess could speak, Wang Jinzhong was seen bowing outside: "Princess, the Fourth Prince has arrived."
Wu's eyes moved slightly again, and she finally moved. Her bent knees slowly straightened, and she moved as if she were about to die. She got off the daybed silently.
As everyone watched Wu Shi get out of bed, Fourth Master entered, bringing with him a gust of cold wind.
As soon as Fourth Master stepped in, Wu Shi staggered into his arms, as if her legs were numb or she simply had no strength left. She fell down before she even reached Fourth Master.
Wu Shi's long silence finally erupted at this moment. She clutched her chest and wept bitterly. Her cries sounded extremely shrill. Her whole body was trembling. Because of the force of her crying, she couldn't stop coughing. She leaned weakly against the small wooden frame next to her, and her eyes were so red that they looked like they could bleed.
Bai Jia couldn't stand it, and turned her head away with red eyes.
"My lord... Hongming is gone... the eldest prince is gone..."
Her hair was disheveled; the unexpected drowning of the eldest prince had clearly dealt her a fatal blow, causing Wu Shi to lose her composure.
However, she was not completely senile. She did not trust the Fujin (principal wife), refused to let the Fujin's people take the eldest prince away, and refused to speak to the Fujin when she saw her. She was just waiting for the Fourth Prince to come back and make a decision for her child.
"Help your princesses up. Serve them some honey water. Please sit down." The Fourth Prince also looked somewhat tired. He sat down casually and then gestured to the others to excuse him from their formalities.
In just a short while, Madam Song, Madam Liu, and Madam Xu also arrived. However, the three of them naturally dared not walk ahead of Fourth Master, and could only wait outside in the corridor.
Song stood at the very front, practically straining her ears to hear what was happening inside.
The Fourth Prince suddenly pointed to the crowd standing there, not to the Princess Consort, but to Li Chenjiao, who was standing a little behind her.
“You’re weak, what are you doing standing there? Su Peisheng, bring a stool for your Master Li.”
Li Chenjiao: ?
She forced a smile, squatted down to thank the Fourth Prince for his kindness, and waited for Su Peisheng to bring over an embroidered stool. She then nodded slightly to the Fujin (principal wife) before sitting down on the stool.
What does it mean to feel like you're sitting on pins and needles? This is it.
This clearly shows that the Fourth Prince is unhappy with his wife, and the concubine, caught in the middle, has been used as a scapegoat.
After several days of bumpy carriage rides, sitting down is naturally more comfortable than standing.
If you're going to use a gun, then use it. Sitting down allows you to see things from a lower vantage point, which might reveal things you can't see while standing.
The Fujin was naturally angered, but she didn't have time to care about Li Shi.
Sure enough, when the eldest prince got into trouble, the fourth prince immediately suspected her.
The princess was so angry she almost vomited blood. If she had really done it, it would have been fine, but since she clearly hadn't done it, she had no way to explain herself.
Just as Li Chenjiao settled down, the Fourth Prince suddenly called out to his wife, "Princess, please sit down too."
However, compared to the previous sentence, the Fourth Master's sentence sounded much colder.
Not only was the Fujin stunned, but Li Chenjiao was also a little taken aback.
She had initially thought that the Fourth Prince had dragged her out as a pawn, but now that the Fourth Prince had allowed the Princess Consort to sit as well, it seemed that things were not quite the same.
It seems that the Fourth Prince really thought Li Chenjiao was weak and wanted her to sit down, but then he remembered the Fujin. Although it was a bit inappropriate, the Fujin sat down too.
Moreover, the princess consort still had to try to decipher the tone of her master's voice.
On the other side, Madam Wu sat and slowly drank the honey water that Ju Xiang handed her. This action finally made her look somewhat like the old Princess Wu.
Wu's maiden name was Hehui, Wu Hehui, but after entering the mansion, no one ever called her by her maiden name again.
She was just a concubine in the Fourth Prince's household, a member of the Wu family.
Later, she became the birth mother of the eldest prince, Hongming.
She had countless times hoped that her Hongming would inherit his master's title and become someone like his master.
Especially when Prince Honghui's health was deteriorating in the main courtyard, she was always secretly pleased. Without the Second Prince as her legitimate son, her Hongming was one step closer to inheriting the title.
Who could have imagined... that her perfectly healthy Hongming would pass away so suddenly and without explanation?
Empress Wu never intended to harm the Second Prince, never. But why would anyone want to harm her Hongming?
Why does Hongming never let her off the hook?
Her tears had already dried up last night, and even honey tasted bitter in her throat. Suddenly, Wu stood up and curtsied to the Fourth Master: "This servant has something to say to Your Highness."
The princess frowned subconsciously, then looked at the fourth prince to observe the changes in his expression.
Naturally, it was extremely difficult for the Princess Consort to discern anything from the Fourth Prince's face.
Fourth Master finally agreed, waving his hand: "Everyone, go out first."
Su Peisheng stood to the side with a blank face, urging people to leave. At this point, no one dared to show the slightest hint of a smile.
Li Chenjiao hadn't even settled into her seat when she stood up without changing her expression and followed the others to wait in the corridor outside. Su Peisheng gave her a wink.
His apprentice, Fulu, then moved the embroidered stool outside and invited Li Chenjiao to sit down. Of course, Fulu had invited his wife to sit down first.
The master dared to say that the concubine should sit first, but he wouldn't dare.
The outside quickly fell silent; even footsteps were barely audible, and everyone held their breath and stared intently.
The situation in the mansion changed drastically after the eldest prince's accident.
Song, who had never gotten along well with Wu, surprisingly kept quiet. Last night, she even came to the South Courtyard to wait for Wu, but Wu locked herself in her room and refused to see her.
Instead of being annoyed by the closed door, Mrs. Song sighed several times.
Even now, Mrs. Song couldn't help but sigh again.
When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. Even if Wu Shi were to grieve deeply, she would have no one to rely on anymore.
Although the second prince, whom the Fujin was caring for, was sickly, at least he was still breathing.
However, once the eldest prince got into trouble, naturally no one stood in front of the second prince to compete with him.
As Song sighed, she would occasionally cast meaningful glances at the Fujin.
The princess's forehead twitched from that gaze, and she was filled with resentment but had nowhere to vent it, yet she had to endure it.
She spoke coldly: "There's something strange about the matter concerning the eldest prince. I will investigate it thoroughly with the master. However, I don't want to hear any rumors circulating in the backyard before the matter is clarified. Do you all understand?"
"Your Highness, I don't quite understand what you mean by gossip. What kind of words are considered rumors?" It was a somewhat unfamiliar voice.
Who would dare to contradict the Princess at this time?
Everyone couldn't help but turn their heads.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
