"Third Princess is being raised very well, all thanks to Sister Wu," Lanqin said, putting aside her thoughts about the child. To be honest, she had raised that child for almost half a year; it wasn't that she had no feelings for him, but it was already a blessing that Fourth Prince allowed him to live. Moreover, the child was already listed as "deceased" in the royal jade tablet, and she absolutely could not mention him again.
"Thank you, Consort, I understand. Now that I can support the Third Princess, I feel hopeful for the future! The past misunderstandings between me and you were all my fault, please forgive me!" Wu said sincerely.
Is she surrendering to me again? Lanqin thought that seemed to be the meaning behind Wu's words.
“The Third Princess’s birth mother has been gone for a long time, and her primary wife is still the same. She truly needs someone who genuinely loves and protects her. Master has seen how much Sister Wu loves the Third Princess,” Lanqin said with a smile. Now that she already has Madam Song and Madam Geng, she was a little unsure about Madam Wu’s offer of allegiance, so she declined.
Madam Wu smiled and said to Hong Qian, who was standing to the side, "Take the Third Princess over there to see the Jade Butterfly Flower. It's very beautiful."
Lanqin understood that Wu Shi had something to say to her but didn't want to say it in front of the Third Princess, so she remained silent and waited to hear what she had to say. Lanqin still remembered that when she first entered the manor, Wu Shi was the one who disliked her the most. But now, she no longer needed to consider anyone's feelings, yet Wu Shi had come to this.
"Consort, I understand you still resent the way I once targeted you, being Li's henchman. Most of those things back then were instigated by Li. Although she's now ashes, I must speak of what she did. However, Li didn't actually target you specifically; it was mostly the primary consort." Wu had never been so frank before. Her silence over the past year or two had finally led her to this decision: to pledge her loyalty to Lanqin and willingly become Lanqin's right-hand woman.
"It's all in the past, Sister Wu, why bring it up again? I've never blamed you, Sister. As long as you stop mocking me to my face, Lanqin will never hold it against you," Lanqin said. Now that she's in power, Wu's surrender doesn't necessarily mean she's truly loyal to her.
"Consort, I know you may not believe me if I pledge my loyalty at this moment. But I truly have no other intentions. Now that you have the Fourth Prince's deep trust, we are all far behind. If we were to obstruct you any further, we would be walking down a dead end," Wu Shi said, standing up.
Hearing her urgent voice, Lanqin felt a genuine sincerity and asked, "Why did you suddenly bump into me when the Princess Consort was holding a flower-viewing banquet in the courtyard?"
Wu quickly said, "Actually, I don't remember that incident very clearly either. I just felt that I was in a daze at the time, and when I heard Yehe's zither music, my mind became even more agitated. I didn't mean to bump into you. I hit a protruding rock on the ground, and then I fell forward."
Upon hearing this, Lanqin roughly understood that the Fujin must have done something to Wu Shi, and then used Yehe Shi's zither music to distract her, causing her to not notice the stone on the ground and bump into her. At that time, Lanqin was pregnant with Buchuk, and the Fujin was trying to cause her to miscarry.
What a vicious plan!
"Do you have any evidence to prove that the Fujin (wife of the emperor) put some kind of drug on you?" Lanqin asked.
Lady Wu shook her head, pondered for a moment, and said, "I have two things I want to say to the concubine. If these two things are done, then the concubine will surely be dead in the prince's heart."
Lanqin raised her eyebrows and said, "Go ahead and say it!"
"When Lady Yin died, she told me something. She said that the Third Prince's wife had tampered with his bedding and pillow. At that time, the Third Prince was almost terminally ill, and the reason was his pillow," Lady Wu said, bringing up the old story again.
"Didn't we already check Hongjun's pillow and find nothing?" Lanqin stared at Wu Shi suspiciously. "What do you know?"
"I was so frightened by Yin's fate that I dared to say anything. She was poisoned by the Fujin! It wasn't suicide at all. She gave Ruyi a pillow, the same one she gave to the Third Prince. Ruyi felt that the Fujin wanted to silence her at that time, which is why she was so eager to get rid of Yin, probably to find that pillow," Wu said.
"Why didn't you tell Fourth Master directly back then? Why did you only say it now?" Lanqin asked.
"Ruyi hadn't figured it out at the time, so she kept it a secret," Wu said, her expression somewhat unnatural.
"Do you know that if you had brought this up when the master was already angry with the Fujin, she might not be the Fujin anymore? But you're only telling me now. Even if I tell the master again, the impact on the Fujin has already diminished, or even has no effect at all. Because she's already imprisoned by the master, and hasn't caused any trouble, he certainly won't punish her anymore," Lanqin said coldly. She disliked Wu Shi's approach.
"Yes, there are still things to attend to. Does Consort know that one day, Sister Song's maids were searching everywhere for the Fourth Prince? That was a few months ago, just after the New Year." Wu knew that bringing up that matter now would not be of much use, especially since Consort Yin and Consort Yehe were already dead.
Lanqin raised an eyebrow and said, "They said the Fourth Prince took the wrong path for a moment, but didn't he immediately find his way back?"
"Consort, you may not know this, but Hongqian asked me to go out and pick some peach blossoms for the Third Princess to put in a vase. As a result, she actually met the Fourth Prince in the alley. Moreover, the direction the Fourth Prince came from seemed to be heading towards the main courtyard!" Wu said.
Hearing this, Lanqin finally began to understand what was going on. She stared at Wu Shi and asked, "Sister Wu, what has happened that makes you want to tell me all this at this time?"
Seeing that Lanqin was finally willing to accept her loyalty, Wu Shi quickly bowed deeply and said, "Although Ruyi and the Third Princess are not my biological children, this child is now the apple of my eye. Ruyi does not want anyone to take her away!"
Lanqin was taken aback and said, "Who wants to hold the Third Princess?"
Madam Wu said, "Ruyi's servant saw Lingxiu from the main courtyard approach the Third Princess. After all, she is the Third Princess's aunt. If she has any designs on her, she seems to be more qualified than me, her aunt, to raise the Third Princess."
Lanqin opened her eyes wide this time and said coldly, "She still wants to raise the Third Princess?"
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