"Elder sister, Yu'er knows she was wrong!" Yan Yu saw that the Fujin had seen through her words, so she could no longer sit still. She quickly stood up, walked to the Fujin, and curtsied.
The wife neither urged her to get up nor spoke, letting her squat there like that.
"Elder sister, Yu'er is willing to give the prince to you to raise." Seeing that the Fujin was unmoved, Yan Yu gritted her teeth and had no choice but to say this. She had just heard the Fujin say that, and she didn't know how much the Fujin knew, so she could only say this.
The Princess Consort sneered, "Yu'er, you are indeed clever; but being too clever is foolish. What kind of person is that wretch? You still dare to give him to me to raise?"
Granny Li had already closed the door to the room from both the inside and outside, as there were too many secrets to discuss. She also sent the few young maids who were tidying up the courtyard away. Only Chunliu, Xiahe, and herself remained in the room.
"Elder sister, what do you mean? Yu'er doesn't understand." Yan Yu was unwilling to give up. She had clearly kept that matter very secret, so how could she know?
"What, do you really want me to have Lady Liu say it for you?" The Fujin said, staring at Yan Yu's shifty eyes with disgust.
Upon hearing the name Liu, Yan Yu immediately understood. She sighed inwardly and had no choice but to kneel down: "Elder sister, Yan Yu was ignorant and asked for your punishment. Please forgive Yu'er this time, considering that we are both daughters of the Ulanara family."
After saying this, she prostrated herself at the feet of the Fujin (principal wife) and began to weep.
Granny Li watched Yan Yu pleading coldly, saying nothing. This mother and daughter were both incredibly foolish and audacious.
“Yan Yu, do you know that you have committed a capital crime by confusing the royal bloodline? Who can forgive you?” the princess said.
"Yu'er is foolish. Yu'er deserves to die ten thousand times over, but she has implicated her elder sister and the Ulanara family. Even if Yu'er goes to hell, she will be filled with dread." Yan Yu said this, but in her heart, she was already cursing the eldest daughter of the Ulanara family, who was always high and mighty and always thought she was superior to her. If it weren't for her deliberate obstruction, she would have already been promoted; her mother must have been coerced into revealing that matter.
"Hmph, you're right. You're committing a capital offense, which has also implicated the family. I, the Fujin, have no choice but to save you. But if you continue to be so self-righteous and do something behind my back, don't blame your elder sister for being ruthless," the Fujin said meaningfully.
"Yu'er wouldn't dare, I will definitely listen to my elder sister from now on." Yan Yu didn't know how much Liu Shi had said, or whether she had mentioned her connection with the Ninth Prince. She hesitated whether she should say it or not.
"Alright. I hope you remember what I just said, and don't try to play tricks on me again. Get up." Seeing that it was about time, the princess gave Li Mama a wink.
Granny Li immediately came over and helped Yan Yu up. Fang Yun was already standing there in a daze. From the moment she entered the room, she felt that the way the Fujin looked at her was strange.
"Fangyun, do you know your crime!" the Fujin said angrily.
"This servant...this servant does not know, please enlighten me, Madam!" Fangyun knelt down abruptly, feeling as if a stone was pressing on her heart.
"You insolent servant, Chunliu, slap her!" The Fujin (principal wife) would not treat her with the same politeness as she had with Yan Yu.
In the blink of an eye, Fangyun's pretty face was slapped so hard that her lip was bleeding. By the time she had been slapped twenty times, her face was swollen.
"Please spare me, Madam! Please spare me, Madam!" Fangyun pleaded repeatedly. At this moment, all she wanted was to save her life; nothing else mattered. Just now, she had thought of Ninth Master, but what good was that? Even if Madam beat her to death right now, no one would say a word.
"Speak," the Fujin said, picking up the blue-and-white porcelain teacup with intertwined floral patterns that Xia He had just handed her, lifting the lid, and smelling the aroma of the tea.
"This servant shouldn't have deceived the Fujin. The princess has done such a wrong thing, and this servant should have reported it to the Fujin first." Fangyun knew that if she revealed her relationship with the Ninth Prince, even Yan Yu would probably not let her off the hook.
Yan Yu glanced at Fang Yun. She had just felt a little sorry for her, but as soon as Fang Yun said that, that feeling of master and servant vanished immediately.
"Chunliu, keep hitting her!" the Fujin said, then took a sip of tea.
Before Fangyun could react, Chunliu swung her arm and began to hit her hard.
For a moment, the only sounds in the room were Fangyun's faint screams and applause.
"What, you still won't tell me? Can the person you're protecting save you?" The princess glanced at Fangyun and said.
At this moment, her hair was disheveled, and her face was frighteningly swollen on both sides.
"Fangyun, let me tell you, what is the relationship between the person you're protecting and our master? They say they're brothers, but matters of the court and the imperial family are not something a servant like you can fully comprehend. Tell me, what benefits did Ninth Master promise you that you, you dog of a servant, would dare to betray your master like this!" The Fujin suddenly stood up, walked up to Fangyun, and used her hand, adorned with a red-gold openwork enamel nail guard, to lift Fangyun's face, which was bruised and unbearable to look at.
Yan Yu was terrified. She thought that Liu Shi wouldn't mention Ninth Master, but now it seemed that Liu Shi had told her everything.
“Elder sister, I think that lowly maidservant might have been colluding with Ninth Prince all along. I was also bewitched by her. Ninth Prince said that as long as I was willing to do a few small things for him, he would help me. Those two midwives were hired by Ninth Prince.” Yan Yu said hurriedly, but in her heart she thought: I can’t escape today anyway, so I might as well tell everything. I am still from Ula’s family. With Father here, she won’t take my life.
Fangyun started bleeding not only from her mouth but also from her nose. Seeing that Yan Yu had already abandoned her like trash, she knew that she couldn't escape today.
"This servant has something to say!"
"Speak now, or you won't be able to say anything later." With that, the princess consort slashed her sharp nail guard across Fangyun's face.
A piercing pain shot through Fangyun's heart.
"This servant contacted several pregnant women for the princess, but the Ninth Prince's personal servant saw us, and that's how he found out. He said that if the princess did something for him, he would help us switch the baby boys, otherwise he would tell the master. The princess was afraid that the master would find out that she had switched the baby boys, so she agreed. This servant was just the messenger. Please, Your Highness, investigate thoroughly!" Fangyun was determined to fight back. She knew she was just a servant, and the others were her sisters. But things had come to this point, how could she be satisfied without taking a bite out of them? Even if she died, Fangyun would drag a few of them down with her.
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