Cuizhu looked at Liu Shi, still feeling frightened: Liu Shi had clearly killed her own daughter, yet she genuinely believed someone else was responsible. How cruel could someone be to abandon their own child?
Liu seemed to sense what Cuizhu was thinking, and her dark eyes shot out a gaze as cold as ice as she said, "Do you think I'm too cruel, so cruel that I can even harm my own child?"
Cuizhu, having her thoughts seen through, immediately lowered her head and said, "This servant wouldn't dare. This servant is only heartbroken for the princess and for the young master. The young master is truly pitiful; he didn't even have a chance to be born into this world!"
Liu's face twitched. She had to admit that Cuizhu's words had stung her somewhat. Her voice was hoarse as she said, "She won't just leave like this. I will definitely get revenge for her!"
Cuizhu nodded and said, "This time, I don't know if His Highness will believe us. After all, last time, it seems..."
“This time it won’t be like that. The Prince’s status is different now. If he only favors one Niohuru woman, then the other families will never support him. He will have to consider his wife and Nian’s family. As long as I insist that it was her maid, whether she was the mastermind or not, it may not matter to the Prince.” Liu said, “The key is that I need the Prince’s mercy to get out of my current predicament!”
Cuizhu didn't know what to say, so she could only tuck Liu in her blanket.
"Tomorrow, stew all those tonics and give them to me. I need to get better quickly." After saying this, Liu closed her eyes and went to sleep.
The light in the room opposite hers had not yet been turned off; that was Fucha's room.
"Master, you should rest. Why are you staying up like this?" Hongqiao was so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open.
"Go to sleep first. For some reason, I can't sleep tonight," said Lady Fucha.
"Is Master still thinking about what happened across the street? If you ask me, she's ruthless enough to actually kill her own child," Hongqiao said.
"Sacrificing Zhu to save the king. She can't even protect herself, yet she's trying to gain the prince's pity by using this child's death. Unfortunately, it's still hard to say whether the prince will show pity or not," Fucha said with a cold smile.
“With Consort Nian pleading on her behalf, it’s likely to happen,” Hongqiao said.
"If this woman is crippled like this, it's for our own good. After all, the Liu family isn't a very important family," said Madam Fucha.
“But having one more person is better than having one less. Niohuru has three people helping her. Now that Consort Nian is cooperating with her brother, having another Ma Qianzhu—Liu Shi—is also good. Then, many things won't require the master to take the lead,” Hong Qiao said.
After hearing this, Lady Fucha said, "That makes sense. Father has already told me in his reply that if the Prince is able to ascend to that position in the future, they will definitely support the Princess Consort. So we can get closer to the Princess Consort's side in the future."
“But Consort Nian is an enemy of the Prime Minister. Is it possible for us to build a relationship with Consort Nian on one hand and get close to the Prime Minister on the other?” Hongqiao asked.
“Of course. Of course, we can’t let them know. Hongqiao, I’ll go and pay my respects to the two concubines first thing tomorrow morning. We still need to maintain appearances,” said Lady Fucha.
The next day, perhaps because of what happened at Liu's place the night before, the masters were all exhausted and hardly anyone got up early. Perhaps it was also because the Fourth Prince and his wife were not in the mansion, so they didn't need to go and pay their respects to them.
Lanqin slept soundly until it was fully light before stretching her arms and opening her eyes.
"Master, it's past Chenshi (7-9 AM). Lady Fucha has arrived, along with Lady Song and Lady Wu, to pay their respects!" Si Hua said, opening the bed curtains.
"Uh, why are so many people here?" Lanqin felt a bit annoyed when she heard so many people waiting outside. She disliked being in bed while people waited outside, clearly urging her to get up!
"Today is the first day of the lunar month, isn't everyone here to pay their respects to the concubine? Besides, what about what happened last night?" A shadow crossed Si Hua's eyes.
"Don't be afraid, I believe you!" Lanqin sat up abruptly and said to Sihua. She had returned too late last night and hadn't had a chance to hear Sihua recount the events.
"Thank you, Master!" Si Hua said, moved.
"What are you thanking me for? You're taking the blame for me. Their goal was to set me up. Liu is absolutely ruthless," Lanqin said.
“My lady, I think she might have a backer behind her, otherwise why would she take such a risk?” Si Hua said.
"Let's see what tricks they're up to!" Lanqin pulled her legs out of the quilt and placed them on the shoe rack. Sihua quickly knelt down and helped Lanqin put on her embroidered shoes.
After the maids had dressed Lanqin and combed her hair, Fucha, Song, and Wu, who were sitting in the side room drinking tea, were already talking about Liu.
“Si Hua is usually a calm and collected person, how could she possibly have accidentally pushed Liu Shi?” Song Shi retorted. Just now, Fucha Shi mentioned what happened to Liu Shi last night, saying that Si Hua might have accidentally caused it.
"Yes, how could someone who was standing perfectly fine suddenly suffer a miscarriage?" Wu Shi added. Last night, Song Shi and Wu Shi had been staying in the front courtyard trying to bring Song Shucheng and Wu Ruyue together. After Liu Shi's accident, Lanqin hadn't sent anyone to inform them, so they only heard about it from their maid this morning.
"But surely Liu wouldn't accidentally bump into herself?" Fucha asked, picking up her teacup.
"That's hard to say! Some people are capable of anything to achieve their goals," said Madam Wu, raising her eyebrows. She was currently focused on bringing Song Shucheng and Wu Ruyue together, and also on using Lanqin to establish a relationship with Consort De. Seeing what had happened, she worried about Lanqin and her sister. Because if anything happened to Lanqin, Wu Ruyue would have to participate in the imperial concubine selection.
“Indeed, human nature is terrifying! Si Hua has always been an honest and kind person, and is highly regarded by the concubine. She shouldn’t have pushed Liu Shi away; there must be some misunderstanding.” Song Shi said.
"Alas, this concubine is merely speculating. We'll have to wait and hear what Consort Liu has to say," said Lady Fucha, seeing that the two women were consistently defending Lanqin.
At this moment, Yu Xiao walked in and said to them, "The concubine has already gotten up and said she wants to invite Consort Song and Consort Wu to have breakfast together!"
Upon hearing this, Lady Fucha knew that she would have to wait.
Song and Wu exchanged a glance, then got up together and walked towards the door, leaving Fucha alone in the side room to continue waiting.
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