"Madam, the rumor you requested has already spread outside!" Lingxiu said.
The princess was sitting upright on a sandalwood table carved with hibiscus, peony, and camellia flowers, writing.
"Does the Fourth Prince go to speak with him every day?" the Fujin asked.
“Caiyun goes to that little garden every day. She’s telling the Fourth Prince what the Fujin taught her!” Lingxiu said. “The Fourth Prince still misses the Fujin.”
"The Fourth Prince has not been raised in vain; given time, he will surely repay us!" the Princess Consort said calmly.
“My lady, the rumors outside that a demonic star has descended upon the world are already spreading like wildfire!” Lingxiu said again when she saw that her lady was not responding to her question.
"So?" the princess asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Madam, all we need to do is direct our anger at that person in the South Courtyard!" Lingxiu asked, puzzled, seeing that Madam was still hesitant.
“How can we do this without anyone noticing? It’s very difficult! Father is no longer an official in the court. And Wuge is just a minor official; he can’t play a significant role!” the Fujin said.
Just then, Caiyun's voice rang out from outside.
Uya followed behind Caiyun, walking gracefully. The Fujin already had a bad relationship with her mother-in-law, Consort De, and now seeing Uya, who looked quite like Consort De, she suddenly felt disgusted.
"I personally pay my respects to the Fujin!" Uya bowed to the Fujin.
"Please sit down, Madam. What brings you to my residence today?" The Fujin asked, looking at Wuya Shi with a mocking expression.
“My lady, I have already had my brother spread the rumor that a severe drought is the imminent arrival of a monstrous star! Many people in the capital are talking about it now! But the lady in the South Courtyard doesn’t leave her house, so it seems that the rumors have no effect on her!” said Lady Wuya.
“Now, if we want to connect this 'demon star' with the child in Niohuru’s womb, we need one more thing to help us!” the Fujin said.
"Please enlighten me, Madam!" The burning gaze in Uya's eyes told Madam that this woman was so eager to overthrow Niohuru.
"Madam, think about it, what kind of people usually appear around a 'demon star'?" the Fujin asked.
“Naturally, some very strange things will appear around the demon star, such as ghosts and snakes!” said Uya.
The princess's eyes lit up; it seemed that this Uya clan member had the same idea as her.
"If a lot of venomous snakes suddenly appeared in the South Courtyard, do you think it would cause panic?" the Fujin said coldly.
Perhaps thinking of the cold-blooded animals that had no body temperature, Uya couldn't help but shiver.
"But, Madam, how are we going to get so many snakes into her courtyard?" Uya asked, suppressing the chill in her heart.
"Back when I was still a young lady in my boudoir, I heard that there were people in Southeast Asia who were skilled in the art of controlling snakes. The snakes could attack a designated person upon hearing their whistles!" the princess said.
"There really is such a divine being!?" said Uya.
“The world is too big, and all sorts of bad things can happen! As long as you have your brother find the snake tamer, it won’t be difficult to drive the snake to the designated location,” the princess said.
“My family is, after all, the family of Consort De, so such matters should not be taken too far. Besides, my brother is merely a minor official; how could he possibly find such a miraculous person?” Uya said, declining the offer.
"Fine, I didn't expect you to find someone with such supernatural abilities. But there's one thing you're sure you can do!" the princess said lazily, squinting her eyes.
"Please enlighten me, Madam. I will do everything in my power to help you," said Lady Wuya.
"I'd like you to go and offer some calming incense to the one in the south courtyard," the princess said.
“But I can’t even get into the courtyard of Nanxiaoyuan. How can I do what the Fujin asked me to do?” said Madam Wuya.
“In summer, there are many mosquitoes and other insects, so people burn incense in each courtyard to repel them. If you mix those things into the incense, who would notice?” the Fujin said.
“But I am merely a concubine, how could I possibly do such things?” Uya asked, still puzzled.
"I've always been acquainted with Steward Liu, who works under the Grand Madam. You just need to ask him to do it," the Princess said.
Wuya thought to herself that this Fujin (principal wife) was quite shrewd. Although she was now disliked by the Fourth Prince, she had not severed her old connections.
"I am being watched very closely. If Lady Wuya could move around outside, she could avoid people and not attract attention," the princess said.
"Very well, I'll go and deliver a message to Steward Liu!" Madam Wuya finally decided to give it a try. She was now solely focused on getting rid of the South Courtyard; only then would her favor be restored!
After Wuya left, Lingxiu said, "Does Master intend to use her as a shield?"
"She is ultimately my enemy. If I can remove two thorns in one fell swoop this time, I will be very happy!" The princess was too lazy to continue writing. She knew that a good show was about to begin.
Meanwhile, Uya, holding Cuiyun's hand, once again went out through the side gate!
"She has a clever scheme, trying to pin everything on me. Does she think I'm a fool?" said Uya.
"My lord, what does the Fujin want you to do this time?" Cuiyun asked.
"She wants me to relay a message to Steward Liu, who works under the Grand Madam, and she also wants my family to continue searching for the Snake Master. She herself refuses to do anything and just keeps making me do it," said Uya Shi with dissatisfaction.
"Madam, should we still cooperate with her?" Cuiyun asked.
“Of course we should, but this isn’t how we should cooperate! Let her go find the snake tamer herself, and you go and pass on a message to Steward Liu,” said Uya.
Lanqin already knew about the secret relationship between the Fujin and Wuya, so she was aware of their meeting today.
Due to the severe drought, the government has begun to conserve water, and the daily water supply is decreasing. Many people have to fetch water from the Bixin Lake in the backyard to wash themselves.
Lanqin was no exception. Although she was almost seven months pregnant, her daily ice basin supply had been cut off. She was almost out of water, let alone ice.
In the following days, Lanqin indeed began to have nightmares and often had restless nights, seeing ghostly figures whenever she closed her eyes.
That night, Lanqin was so sleepy that she couldn't stay awake any longer, but as soon as she closed her eyes, the female ghost in white with black hair came again.
"Ah!" Lanqin sat up, covered in sweat, and gasped for breath.
"My lady, you're having another nightmare!" Seeing that Lanqin wasn't sleeping well, Cui Niang always stayed by her side. But when Lanqin started talking about ghosts, Cui Niang had never actually seen one!
"She's here again, Cui Niang!" Lanqin was tormented by this nightmare to the point that she could hardly sleep at night, and she had obviously lost a lot of weight.
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