"Hailan, your mother is about to die. You are only six months old, but your father has to order your mother to die." Yan Yu said, holding Hailan in her swaddling clothes, tears streaming down her face. Although Hailan couldn't understand anything yet, seeing her mother's tears, she made babbling sounds.
"Hailan, your mother doesn't want to die either, but they forced me to. When you grow up, remember to avenge your mother. Niu Shi is alluring and bewitched your father; she stole your mother's favor. The Fujin is ruthless; although she's your aunt, you must be careful, or she might use you." Yan Yu seemed to have so much more to say, but Hailan couldn't understand at all and gradually fell asleep.
Meanwhile, the Fujin (principal wife) was still awake. She was listening to a report from someone—Zhao Quan.
"You mean, your master sent you to take that child to the South Courtyard?" The Fujin put down the enamel snuff bottle, which was small and round with a picture of "Ladies on a Spring Outing" on the outside.
"Yes, that's what Master said. But when I went to Princess Yu's courtyard, the child was no longer there, so I had no choice but to come to the Fujin's place." Zhao Quan lowered his head and bowed slightly respectfully.
"That child is with me, the Fujin. I was planning to take him out immediately, but it was getting late, and I didn't know who to give him to after taking him out, so I was delayed." The Fujin had ordered the nanny who served the two children to take the child away first. Since she hadn't given clear instructions on where to take him, the nanny had no choice but to take the child to her own room first.
"The Princess Consort is kind-hearted. That child wasn't originally our master's biological son, but he's been the emperor's grandson for half a year, which is quite fortunate for him. Now our master has shown great compassion and decided to raise him in the South Courtyard, which is truly a blessing for him." Zhao Quan guessed this after hearing Su Peisheng say, "This child is indeed blessed."
The Fujin's eyes narrowed slightly. She hadn't expected that Lady Niu would actually adopt this child. She quickly suppressed her surprise and asked, "Does Lady Niu want to adopt that child?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Quan immediately regretted his presumptuous remark, but since the Princess Consort had already asked, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Your Highness, given the current situation, it seems that Consort Niu intends to adopt the child. This servant thinks that Master is referring to that."
The princess was slightly stunned and speechless for a long time. After sorting out her thoughts, she gave Lingxiu a wink.
Zhao Quan had lost count of the first time he had received a purse from the Fujin (wife's wife), and each time the purse was larger than the last; this time, naturally, it wouldn't be small.
"Brother Zhao, our Princess Consort has always admired you. Please visit the main courtyard more often in the future. She thinks you are very capable and will inevitably have some small matters to ask of you." Lingxiu stuffed a large purse into Zhao Quan's hand and said.
If the Princess Consort wanted to give orders to a servant, she wouldn't need to be so tactful. However, Zhao Quan was a servant in the front courtyard, not under the Princess Consort's jurisdiction. Furthermore, since the Princess Consort had never received the Fourth Prince's favor, she naturally had to flatter those who served him.
Zhao Quan weighed the purse in his hand, a smile naturally spreading across his face. He said repeatedly, "What are you saying? My lady, just say the word, and I will do whatever you ask. I have always respected you, my lady. If you have any requests, I will do my utmost."
Lingxiu smiled and nodded, then sent a maid to take Zhao Quan to the wet nurse's room.
"Where did that servant go?" The Fujin was reclining on the main couch, sniffing the snuff bottle. Ever since she got this thing, the Fujin hadn't written much calligraphy; whenever she had free time, she liked to recline on the couch and sniff it.
A young maid knelt at the feet of the Fujin, massaging her legs, while another stood behind her, massaging her shoulders.
“I’ve already sent him away. Zhao Quan is clearly the kind of person who will turn his back on his mother for money. As long as you feed him more meat, you don’t have to worry about him not becoming your dog.” Lingxiu walked up to the lady of the house and waved to the two maids serving inside.
"Hehe, you're right, girl. Then tell me, why did that woman in the South Courtyard adopt that child? Logically, she should hate Yan Yu to the core, so why would she have the kindness to adopt that bastard?" The Fujin's face showed a look of ecstasy; the contents of that small bottle were truly a wonderful thing. Ever since Lingxiu presented her with that small bottle, gradually, all the worries and frustrations in her heart had dissipated.
"I never thought of that. What I was thinking was whether there had been any changes on Princess Yan Yu's side as well?" Lingxiu was now the head maidservant of the Fujin. She was wearing a pinkish-peach-colored jacket and her headdress was also quite unusual, almost the same as those of the princesses.
This sentence startled the concubine, who was lost in her reverie, awake.
"What did you say?" The princess sat up abruptly, a sense of unease creeping into her heart.
"I wonder if Princess Yan Yu will also be spared from being sentenced to death. Since that wild child has been forgiven, and considering Princess Hailan, will Master be lenient towards Princess Yu?" Lingxiu said cautiously, glancing at the Fujin's face.
"No! Yan Yu knows too much. If she's still around, I feel like there's a knife hanging over my head that could fall at any moment!" the princess said angrily.
Seeing that the Fujin was displeased, Lingxiu immediately leaned close to her ear and whispered, "If the Fujin doesn't want Princess Yu to be pardoned, can't she send her off sooner?"
When the Fujin glanced at Lingxiu, the latter saw a hint of doubt on her face and quickly shrank back slightly, saying cautiously, "This servant also doesn't want the Fujin to have any unforeseen problems or to live in fear."
The Fujin stared at Lingxiu, then suddenly smiled and said, "Very good, I like your ruthlessness. You're right, Yanyu probably won't live to see the Master pardon her. Even if she is pardoned, she'll likely be imprisoned in Zhanghua Terrace like Wang Shi. Rather than being locked up there for life, it's better to be free sooner."
Lingzhi nodded and said to the Fujin, "This servant will go and prepare immediately, please rest assured, Fujin."
That night, Yan Yu had already fallen asleep holding Hai Lan, but not long after, Ling Xiu came in with two maids and quietly took Hai Lan away...
The princess couldn't sleep. She lay in the lotus-colored gauze curtains, her mind restless, until there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," the princess said to the person outside the door through the gauze curtain.
The person who came was none other than Lingxiu.
"Reporting to Your Highness, I have already escorted Princess Yu on her way. Tomorrow morning, someone will discover that Yan Yu has committed suicide out of fear of punishment," Lingzhi said, standing outside the gauze curtain like a ghost.
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