"Princess, this is a gift from the master to you!!" Yuhen exclaimed. "If someone sees it, you will be guilty of disrespect."
“I begged him, but he still wouldn’t let me keep his child. What’s the use of this reward? It’s useless!” Yehe said angrily.
The room was quiet, except for the sound of Yehe's heavy breathing.
"Why hasn't Yulu returned yet? Bring that wretched maid Taohua to me!" Yehe Shi cursed.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, this servant has returned." Seeing Yehe Shi start cursing, Yulu had no choice but to lower her head and go inside.
"Where's Peach Blossom!" Yehe stared intently at Peach Blossom, her gaze sweeping over her several times.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Peach Blossom, Peach Blossom ran away. She climbed out the window." Yu Lu's voice was so soft it was almost like a mosquito's hum.
"She ran away? Where could she have run to? This is outrageous! Yuhen and Yulu, go find her. Without my decree, she can't even leave the house!" Yehe Shi said angrily.
“Princess, why don’t we call Holland over? She and Peach Blossom came together, and she lives next door to her,” Yuhen said.
In a short while, the lotus flower was brought to Yuhen.
"Lotus, where did you get this hairpin?" Yuhen pushed and pulled Lotus to kneel before Yehe. She went to Lotus and found her trying on the hairpin.
“It was given to me by someone else,” Lotus said, her eyes sparkling.
“Who would be so generous as to give you a hairpin worth several taels of gold? Tell me, did you steal it?” Yehe said.
"No, no, this servant has never stolen anything." Lotus looked at Yehe's gloomy face and felt a little scared.
"Where did you come from? If you don't speak, go outside and kneel down until you do!" Yehe was burning with anger and had no outlet for it. This lotus flower was unlucky enough to run into her trap.
Upon hearing this, Lotus burst into tears. In this day and age, kneeling outside for less than an hour would make one sick. It was an era where even a cold could kill you. Lotus immediately begged for mercy; she couldn't risk her life for Peach Blossom.
“Master, Master, I’ll tell you, it was Peach Blossom who gave it to me. She gave me this hairpin as long as I opened the door bolt,” Lotus cried.
Enraged, Yehe threw a cup on the table, nearly hitting Hehua. Hehua cried out and dodged the cup.
"Yulu, slap her. Let's see if she dares to betray us again. Take her outside and beat her." Yehe said angrily.
Lotus was pulled away by Jade Dew. Seeing that Yehe's temperament had become extremely irritable recently, Jade Hen stepped forward to comfort her, saying, "Princess, you are still young, we have a long future ahead of us."
"That slut has disappeared and is hiding somewhere. We have to find her." But Yehe wouldn't listen.
"Master, it's good that Peach Blossom ran away like this. Why don't we go to the concubine and tell her that Peach Blossom ran away, and leave everything else to her? We can't be bothered with Peach Blossom anymore. Besides, she's already taken all her valuables with her, so it seems she doesn't plan to come back. I just don't know where she'll go, maybe to the master's place?" Yuhen thought this was a good idea; at least Peach Blossom was gone, and they didn't have to make up any excuses.
Yehe was also confused with anger. After Yuhen said that, she felt that it made sense, so she stopped asking.
Outside, Yulu stood at the doorway with Hehua in her hand, facing the cold wind, slapping Hehua's face repeatedly. Gradually, Hehua's face began to turn red. At first, she tried to hold back, but after seven or eight slaps, she couldn't hold back any longer and started to cry.
Qingping, who was sitting opposite, saw this and said to Song, who was doing embroidery in her main room, "Princess, the one opposite is embroidering lotus flowers. She looks so pitiful."
"Yehe has gained favor, and her temperament has worsened. When she first came in, she was so gentle and refined, but now she's so shrewish. I wonder which one is her true nature." Madam Song was embroidering a large rockery piece on a large embroidery frame. Madam Song's needlework was probably the best in the inner quarters; she could even do double-sided embroidery. This rockery piece used over thirty different kinds of silk thread. She deftly sewed the threads, each as thin as a silkworm's silk, through her fingers—it was truly an art form. Lanqin loved watching Madam Song embroider.
“I’m afraid this is the real Yehe clan now. People say that people only restrain their temper when they are in a bad situation. Now that she is favored, she has shown her fangs and is completely different from before,” Qingping said.
“You silly girl, she is a princess after all. You mustn’t speak like that. If she hears you, it could cause trouble,” Madam Song said, turning her head to the side.
"I know, I only said that in front of the princess. Now that the concubine is in charge, we don't have to be as careful as before." Qingping took a soft cushion and walked behind Song Shi, placing it on her back.
“No, we must be even more careful in the future. Now that Lanqin is in charge, if we are not careful, we might accidentally do something wrong and cause trouble for her. So many eyes are watching her now, and they are probably hoping she will make a mistake. If she shows favoritism for our sake, wouldn't that give those who want her to do something bad a handle?” said Madam Song.
Qingping quickly lowered her head and admitted her mistake, realizing that she still didn't understand things as well as Song Shi.
After taking a midday rest, Yehe still sent Yuhen to Lanqin to report that Taohua had run away and requested that she search for her in the mansion. She then assigned two maids to come and serve her.
After lying in bed for twenty days, Lanqin refused to lie down any longer. Whether she threw a tantrum or begged, she finally got Cui Niang to agree that she could get out of bed for one hour each day.
When Yuhen arrived, it was just as Lanqin was getting out of bed for some fresh air.
"Master, Yuhen from the Yehe clan came and said that Peach Blossom from their house has run away and her whereabouts are unknown," Nianxue reported as she entered.
"It ran away?" Lanqin asked in surprise, hands on her hips.
“Master, she also said that Princess Ye wants to send two more maids over to serve her,” Nianxue said.
"Let her in. I'll ask what happened." Lanqin was a little bored and restless. There was actually a maid running away. It sounded quite interesting.
When Yuhen entered, Lanqin was already sitting on the warm couch in the main room. Lanqin's hair was tied into a bun by Nianxue. Cui Niang was afraid that she would be cold, so she specially wrapped a white rabbit fur forehead protector around her forehead, similar to the one used by Zhaojun.
"This servant greets Consort Yuhen." This wasn't the first time; she had always accompanied Yehe Shi when she came before.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
