“Princess, please eat more. The little prince is growing every day and needs nutrition. No matter how little you have an appetite, you have to eat something,” Ye Ying comforted her. “What if you have another miscarriage like you did a few days ago? Luckily, Doctor Bai came in time. You should eat more so that the little prince can grow healthily in your belly.”
Yin lay on the long rattan rocking chair by the window, refusing to pick up the bird's nest porridge placed beside the chair no matter how Ye Ying tried to persuade her.
Seeing that she couldn't persuade him, Ye Ying had no choice but to pick up the bowl of porridge and say, "This servant will also serve you some mung bean and lily soup. It's too hot today, you'll need some to cool down."
After saying that, she left. Only Madam Yin remained lying in the large room, her expression slightly furrowed, and no one knew what she was thinking.
At this moment, Granny Liu suddenly walked in from outside, curtsied to Madam Yin, and said, "Princess Yin, the Fujin (Madam) has come to ask how your pregnancy is going these past few days? Are you feeling unwell again?"
Upon hearing that it was Granny Liu, Madam Yin immediately opened her eyes, sat up, and said softly, "Granny, you're here. I've been feeling much better these past few days. After taking Doctor Bai's medicine, the feeling of heaviness in my lower abdomen has eased considerably."
Granny Liu immediately smiled and said, "That's good. The Princess Consort has been thinking of you. Princess, Chunliu just came to my room and said that the Princess Consort wants to see you now. It seems there's something she needs to discuss."
Upon hearing that the Fujin (principal wife) had something to attend to, Lady Yin immediately stood up from her rocking chair and said obediently, "Then please have the old nanny accompany me to pay my respects to the Fujin. A few days ago, thanks to the Fujin's timely summoning of Doctor Bai, otherwise I would have been terrified."
After speaking, Granny Liu carefully helped Madam Yin towards the main courtyard. She should have called a maid to accompany her, but Ye Ying had just gone out to the kitchen, and Shao Yao was nowhere to be found. The servants initially assigned to Madam Yin, seeing this neglected princess, all disliked standing near her. Madam Yin generally disliked speaking to people, and apart from Ye Ying, the servants who served her rarely attended to her unless she summoned them herself.
"Princess Yin, this old servant has been in this mansion for over ten years and has seen many masters, but none as lenient as you. Why do Cui'er, Xiao Ningzi, and Shaoyao never seem to come to your room? Every time this old servant comes, you're alone in your room. Today, I must go and talk to the Fujin (Madam) and have these disobedient servants punished." Granny Liu said indignantly on behalf of Madam Yin as she walked.
"Thank you for your concern, Granny, but it's better to avoid trouble. There's nothing serious here anyway. Ye Ying is taking good care of me, and Shao Yao and the others are in charge of washing clothes and cleaning the house. Please don't bother the Fujin with such trivial matters," Madam Yin said cautiously.
Before long, the two had reached the main gate of the courtyard. Xia He, who was standing at the entrance of the main house, saw them come in and immediately turned around and went into the house.
Following Granny Liu, Madam Yin slowly walked towards the main house through the corridor in the courtyard. When they reached the door, Granny Liu said to Madam Yin, "Princess, please go in and pay your respects. This old servant has nothing else to attend to, so I will take my leave now."
Just then, Xia He came out from the inner room and saw Madam Yin standing at the door. She smiled and said to her, "Princess Yin, come in quickly. The Fujin is waiting for you in the study."
For some reason, Madam Yin always felt nervous whenever she came to this main courtyard, especially this time. She wondered why the Fujin (the wife of the principal wife) had summoned her here. Perhaps it was because of the sudden appearance of someone walking in from the hot outer room, but the coolness of the room made Madam Yin shiver. In two corners of the main room, there were blocks of ice in copper basins, with wisps of white steam rising from them.
When Madam Yin entered the study located in the side room of the main house, she saw the Fujin (principal wife) writing at the desk, with Granny Li holding a cup of tea behind her.
"Madam, Lady Yin has arrived." Granny Li glanced at Lady Yin and then respectfully addressed the Madam.
"Sister Yin, come in quickly. Sit down wherever you feel comfortable. I'll finish writing in a little while." The Princess Consort didn't look up, but her tone was very kind.
"Princess Consort, there's no need to rush. I'd also like to learn to write like you. Please allow me to stand beside Granny Li," said Madam Yin obediently.
Before the Fujin could say anything more, Granny Li had already placed the teacup on the desk, walked to Madam Yin's side, and helped her back to her previous spot, watching as the Fujin continued writing.
Outside, the incessant chirping of cicadas could be heard, but inside, thanks to the ice, there was no heat at all.
Meanwhile, Ye Ying returned from the kitchen but didn't see Madam Yin in the room. She placed the mung bean and lily soup she had brought on the table and headed towards Madam Yin's bedroom. Suddenly, a figure ran out and bumped into Ye Ying. The two collided head-on, and several jade beads fell to the ground.
"Peony, what are you doing?" Night Poppy rubbed her sore shoulder and asked sternly when she saw her master rolling on the ground.
"I... I'm packing things for Gege," Peony said in a panic.
"What about those beads? They look like the jade beads that Master bestowed upon the Princess before." Ye Ying knew everything about Madam Yin's belongings. In the days after Madam Yin was first favored by the Fourth Prince, she received many gifts from the Fourth Prince and his wife. Madam Yin entrusted these things to her for safekeeping, so Ye Ying knew immediately what the beads on the ground were.
"This bead fell to the ground, and I was picking it up for you when you suddenly called out. I was just about to come out and tell you when I bumped into you." A hint of panic flashed in Peony's eyes, but she was not too afraid of Madam Yin because she was a servant born into the household, so she pretended to be strong.
"No, I put all of the princess's things away safely, how could they have fallen to the ground? What were you doing sneaking around in the princess's bedroom?" Ye Ying could easily see that Shao Yao's words were clearly an excuse.
"I was just packing things for the princess, don't frame an innocent person." Peony's voice rose a few decibels, though she said this on the surface, she was still somewhat afraid inside. After all, Lady Yin was a princess, and if the Fujin (the wife of the princess) found out that she had stolen her things, she would surely be punished.
"When did I ever frame you? You're clearly guilty, and you've already admitted it yourself." Ye Ying had long disliked Shaoyao, but firstly because Madam Yin was timid, and secondly because they had no one to rely on in this mansion, she had been tolerating this restless Shaoyao. But now that she dared to steal from the princess, Ye Ying could no longer hold back.
"Which eye of yours saw me steal it? It was clearly the princess's things that fell on the ground. I kindly picked them up, but you're framing an innocent person. I'm going to tell the head nanny, hmph!" Peony insisted that she was just cleaning up for Madam Yin.
"You!" Ye Ying was so angry she couldn't speak.
Just then, Madam Yin suddenly appeared at the door.
"Princess, she..." Ye Ying saw a glimmer of hope and immediately wanted to tell her about Shaoyao's theft so that she could report it to the Fujin and punish Shaoyao.
But before she could finish speaking, Madam Yin said coldly, "Peony, tidy up those few masters. I'm tired. You can all leave once you're done."
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