Wuya felt like she was about to suffer from heatstroke; the room was like a sauna. Back when she was in the Xiao family of Nanling, they always used ice in the house during the summer. She never imagined that in the Fourth Prince's mansion, she wouldn't even be entitled to ice. She had the money but nowhere to buy it, and she dared not use her own savings. If the Fourth Prince found out she had used her own money to buy ice, what would he think of her?
"Xiangqiao, go fetch some cool water. It's unbearably hot today, I need a bath!" Uya Shi, smelling the faint odor of sweat emanating from her collar, felt a surge of irritation and nausea, and gave the order. Xiangqiao and An'er were two new maids specially assigned to Uya Shi by the Fourth Master through the head nanny. They only did menial tasks and naturally didn't enjoy Uya Shi's trust as much as Cuiyun. The two maids were also somewhat resentful, because Uya Shi's status was only that of a concubine, and her allowances were often less than those of a princess. Therefore, those who served her received even less, and their monthly wages were less than those of the maids who served princesses.
"Washing eight hundred times a day doesn't help!" An'er grumbled as she and Xiangqiao went to fetch water for Wuya.
"Say less, she might hear you!" Xiangqiao gave her a shushing look.
"What's there to be afraid of? She doesn't have ears that can hear everything. Who in this mansion listens to her orders?" An'er frowned disdainfully and said, "Just you wait, when we go, the person in charge of water in the kitchen will definitely give us a hard time. Last time, they said, 'Why does our mistress use water so frequently?'"
"Judging from her appearance, she probably used ice before, but her status isn't high enough now!" Xiangqiao said.
"That's right! Hey, I heard that this woman used to have a relationship with our master, but for some reason it didn't work out and she got married. I really didn't expect that she could still marry into this family now. She's shameless." An'er raised an eyebrow and said.
"You mustn't say such things. Be careful, the walls may have ears!" Xiangqiao quickly stopped An'er as she saw her words becoming increasingly explicit.
"Anyway, I just can't stand her. Concubines have no one to serve them. Look at Zhang and Yun from before, weren't they both concubines of their masters? They lived alone and did all their own food and drink. This master actually has three maids serving her!" An'er was quite pretty and disliked Wuya very much.
"This girl, different people have different fates. Isn't she our master's cousin? Naturally, she's different from others. Alright, let's say less." Xiangqiao and An'er had already reached the entrance of the kitchen.
After they went inside, a maidservant emerged from the roadside—it was Lingxiu, who hadn't been seen in the manor for a long time. Since the Fujin (principal wife) was confined, she rarely moved around the manor, only accompanying the Fujin in the main courtyard. Today, because the head nanny had sent someone to deliver fruits, she and several maids had helped carry the things, getting covered in sweat. She had come specifically to fetch water to go back and bathe, but she had inadvertently overheard Xiangqiao and An'er's conversation, and thus became somewhat curious about this Wuya Shi.
Xiangqiao and An'er each carried a bucket of hot water out, but they saw Lingxiu carrying a bucket of water in. They didn't recognize Lingxiu, because she had rarely appeared in the mansion in the past year or so, so it was normal that they didn't recognize her.
Lingxiu didn't think so. Wherever she went before, she was always fawned over by the servants. Although she had gotten used to being ignored over the past year, seeing those two maids acting as if they didn't recognize her made Lingxiu quite uncomfortable.
After carrying the water into the main courtyard, Lingxiu lost all interest in bathing. She immediately dropped the bucket and went into the main room to see the Fourth Prince's wife. Although the Fourth Prince had rejected her, her status was still there; no matter how unworthy she was, she was still the Fourth Prince's wife.
"Madam!" Lingxiu, finding no one in the main room, went to the study, where Ulanara was indeed writing. She had transformed from her initial despair and despair. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to go on living unless she died. On the contrary, Lingxiu noticed that Madam's character had become increasingly resilient. At first, she often cursed Niohuru, but over time, she realized that cursing alone wouldn't solve anything.
"Didn't you go to take a bath?" Ulanara didn't look up, still focused on writing large characters.
“When I went to fetch water today, I overheard an interesting conversation. I think perhaps Your Highness would like to hear it,” Lingxiu said cautiously as she approached Lady Unalar.
“Now I have no power, no children, and no love from my master. I can’t care about the things that happen outside.” Lady Ulanara glanced at Lingxiu beside her.
That glance sent a chill down Lingxiu's spine. From Unalana's gaze, Lingxiu felt a profound coldness. She could no longer influence her mistress's actions with a few words as she once did. She could no longer hide even the slightest thought in her heart; the mistress's gaze had become increasingly sharp.
“But the Princess’s hatred for Niohuru will not disappear. Perhaps the conversation I overheard will be of some use to the Princess.” Lingxiu suppressed a trace of fear in her heart and said cautiously.
"Speak!" the princess said, withdrawing her gaze.
"I heard that another concubine has entered the household, named 'Wuya Wanru'!" Lingxiu had naturally inquired about Wuya's name. Now that the Fujin (principal wife) was practically deaf and mute, no news could reach them. The people who used to serve the Fujin, seeing Wunalana's current state, all stopped associating with her.
The princess paused, and a drop of ink slid from her brush onto the Xuan paper below.
"Hahaha!!" Unalala's laughter, as loud as an owl's, suddenly filled the room. Lingxiu stared at the Fujin in surprise, not understanding why she was so happy to hear this name.
"Our master is truly devoted! He still has such feelings for that woman. Isn't she married?" Ulanara said, her eyes flashing with a sharp light like a dagger.
"Does the Princess Consort know this woman?" Lingxiu asked.
“Wuya Wanru, Consort De’s niece, how could I not know her! If it weren’t for the Emperor’s arranged marriage, she might have been the Fourth Prince’s wife,” Ulanara said sarcastically. “But this woman later married into the Xiao family of Nanling. How come our master has taken her back now?”
"Madam, I overheard her maids talking today. They seemed to look down on this Lady Wuya. She entered as a concubine!" Lingxiu said excitedly.
"A concubine?" Ulanara stared at Lingxiu in surprise, then a mocking smile appeared on her lips. "Haha, you were so ambitious back then, and now you're still just a concubine. Haha!! It's really laughable."
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