As Uya and her servants walked out of the garden, a cacophony of laughter echoed behind them.
When they returned to Uya's room, Uya immediately strode into her own room, forbidding anyone from entering. Xiangqiao and An'er, seeing Cuiyun standing anxiously at the door of Uya's bedroom, asked curiously, "Sister, didn't you accompany Madam to the garden for some cool air? Why are you back so soon?"
Cuiyun didn't care about them at all and quickly sent them away. Instead, she anxiously pounded on the door and said, "Master, please don't take those people to heart. Please let me in. I can even fan you. You're going to get suffocated staying in the room like this."
Uya lay on her bed, feeling utterly miserable. She had thought that by marrying into the Fourth Prince's household, she would at least receive his affection. Unexpectedly, since her marriage, the Fourth Prince hadn't even come to spend the night with her. She had become the laughingstock of the entire household. Even the maids dared to disregard her; it was utterly humiliating.
No, I can't just sink into obscurity in this inner quarters! This peaceful life isn't what I want. I'm here to reclaim the Fourth Prince's favor; I must win his heart back!
As Wuya thought this, tears streamed down her face. She gradually stopped crying and then asked someone to open the door. No matter how heartbroken she was, it was useless; she had to take action, otherwise, sitting here would only make her a laughingstock.
"Master, Master!" Cuiyun suddenly called from outside, "We have guests!"
When Wuya heard the word "guest," she was immediately taken aback. She had been married into the family for almost two months, and apart from Geng, who lived nearby, who had spoken to her a few times at the door, no one else had come to visit her.
Uya couldn't help but wipe away her tears with her handkerchief before standing up and opening the door. There, besides Cuiyun, stood an unfamiliar woman.
"My lady, this is Lingxiu from the Fujin's quarters!" Cuiyun had just exchanged names with Lingxiu when Lingxiu immediately gave Cuiyun a jade ring upon meeting her.
Wuya's heart skipped a beat. She only knew that the mistress of the mansion was the concubine, while the fourth wife had been confined to the main courtyard by the fourth prince for almost a year and hadn't been involved in the affairs of the mansion for a long time. Why would she come looking for her at this time?
"This servant greets Madam!" Seeing that Wuya did not respond immediately, Lingxiu knew that she had not yet reacted, so she performed a graceful bow.
Seeing that even the head maidservant beside the Fujin was bowing to her, Uya felt much more at ease and immediately said, "Miss Lingxiu, please get up. I'm afraid I can't accept your courtesy!"
Lingxiu already knew about the humiliation that Wuya and her servant had suffered in the courtyard. Her arrival at this time was precisely to take advantage of Wuya's bad mood and make it easier to persuade her to cooperate with the Fujin.
“Madam, you are the master’s cousin, and you were personally married into the family by him. When our Lady learned of the disrespect shown to you by those maids, she was deeply saddened by your plight and sent me to pay my respects,” Lingxiu said solicitously.
Upon hearing Lingxiu's words, Lady Wuya naturally understood the situation. However, she was reluctant to actually approach the Fujin (the fourth prince's wife), since the Fujin had been disliked by the Fourth Prince. If she were to approach the Fujin and the Fourth Prince discovered it, it seemed there would be no benefit for her.
"Thank you for your concern, Madam. Those are just minor matters; how could I trouble you with them?" Madam Wuya said with a faint smile.
Lingxiu knew what Uya was planning, and cursed inwardly, but still said outwardly, "Madam, our Fujin has long known of your position in the master's heart. We very much want to meet you. Our Fujin is very dissatisfied with the Niohuru clan's dominance and hopes to work with you to suppress them and restore a normal inner quarters to the Fourth Prince's mansion. The Fourth Prince's favoritism towards his concubine and neglect of his wife will only bring him unexpected consequences. Our Fujin is deeply worried about the master and the Fourth Prince's mansion. Since learning of your arrival, our Fujin has been very happy because she knows that you would not want to see the master harmed."
Wuya was already somewhat swayed by Lingxiu's words, but she was worried that the Fujin would implicate her and cause the Fourth Prince to dislike her, so she could not easily propose to join forces with the Fujin.
Seeing that she had said enough, Lingxiu decided not to press Wuya and took her leave after saying a few more words.
“Madam, since the Fujin wants to cooperate with you, why don’t you agree?” Cuiyun felt that Lingxiu was very respectful, even to her, and even gave her a jade ring.
"Why is the Princess Consort coming to me now? If she had a solution, why would she seek out her former rival?" Uya said sarcastically.
“But Madam, isn’t there a saying, ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend!’ Now the South Courtyard is all-powerful, and the Fujin has been forced by Niohuru to live a secluded life in the main courtyard, no longer concerned with worldly affairs. Now that she has suddenly come to see you, Madam, she must have a way to break this situation?” Cuiyun said.
Cuiyun's words struck a chord with Wuya. She was right! Although the Fourth Prince had abandoned the Fujin (the wife of the emperor), she had managed the inner court for so many years; she couldn't possibly be without her own confidants. Those people might still be in their original positions, just not openly loyal to the main court. The South Courtyard held sway, but that didn't necessarily mean all of the Fujin's wicked people had been replaced. She was currently struggling to make a breakthrough, and if she could take over the Fujin's old subordinates, it would definitely be beneficial. For example, she didn't even know when the Fourth Prince would return each day; no one informed her.
“Let’s wait and see. Even if we’re going to cooperate with the Fujin, we need to come up with a foolproof plan. If we rashly approach the Fujin and it falls into the Master’s eyes, he might just despise me,” said Madam Wuya.
After Lingxiu returned, she reported Wuya's reaction to the Fujin (principal wife). The Fujin listened quietly, then said calmly, "She is indeed cautious. Let's observe her slowly; I have patience. She will definitely come to me."
Lingxiu then said, "Master, should we meet with the Fourth Prince again? He's spending more and more time with Lady Song these days. What if he forgets the nurturing you've given him?"
The princess shook her head and said, "No, the fourth prince is resolute. From a very young age, I told him that he would be the heir of the prince. As long as he remembers this, he will not forget me. He will also not forget who his birth mother is."
Lingxiu nodded and said, "Your Majesty is wise. You planted a seed in the Fourth Prince's heart long ago. Once this seed takes root and sprouts, that will be the time when Your Majesty sees the light at the end of the tunnel."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
