Meanwhile, after the Fourth Master left, Madam Wu went out, but she didn't go far. Instead, she stopped in a corner and waited until everyone had left before she came out again, supported by Hong Qian.
"Let's go. Just now, the Fujin gave me a wink, meaning she wanted me to stay," Wu said.
The two, mistress and servant, stepped into the main courtyard again. As soon as Lingxiu saw Wu, she smiled and said, "The Fujin is waiting for Wu Gege in the study."
Wu raised her lips slightly, perhaps out of respect for this most favored maid under the Fujin, and led her towards the Fujin's study.
"This humble servant greets the Fujin!" As Wu followed Lingxiu through the red lacquered sandalwood door adorned with the Three Friends of Winter, she saw the Fujin writing large characters on a sheet of Xuan paper that covered the entire table.
"Hmm, come and grind the ink!" The princess consort didn't even look up, but simply waved the brush in her hand. Ulanara was quite confident in her calligraphy. Whenever she was feeling depressed or had some free time, she would write large characters to express her inner frustration.
Wu walked over obediently, grabbed the sleeve of the other hand with one hand, and picked up the ink handle from the inkstone with that hand, and began to write ink.
"Your Majesty's calligraphy is strong and powerful, seemingly possessing a spirit that rivals that of men. I admire it greatly," Wu said ingratiatingly.
"I want you to do something. Do you dare?" The princess didn't take the bait and asked directly.
Wu's heart sank, but she still smiled obsequiously and said, "I will obey your orders, Your Highness."
The Fujin then put down her pen, turned to look at Wu Shi, and said directly, "I assure you they won't find anything in the pharmacy. Because I didn't get that stuff from the Fourth Prince's residence, nor did I buy it from a pharmacy on the street. Although Niu Shi is clever, how could I be so careless? Only a fool like Yin Shi would be so useless."
Wu lowered her eyes and said respectfully, "Yin is just a concubine's daughter. How can her vision and skills compare to those of the Fujin? Even I look down on her."
The Fujin smiled faintly and said, "Right now, the only thing lacking is direct evidence that Niu Shi poisoned the undergarment. As long as the source of the lily of the valley powder cannot be found, she cannot be cleared of suspicion. If you step forward now and testify that you saw her ask Cui Niang to go out and find someone to buy that stuff, I can guarantee that she will have a hard time getting away with it."
Wu was slightly taken aback. Although she knew that the Fujin must have asked her to come here for something, she did not expect it to be this matter, and she was a little hesitant to agree.
"What, you don't dare?" the Fujin asked, glancing sideways at Wu.
"My word alone is unlikely to convince you, my lord. It seems you don't quite believe me today," Wu said softly, avoiding the gaze of the Fujin (the wife of the deceased).
"Even if you don't believe me, I still made her go back and shut herself in. As long as the Master harbors even the slightest doubt, it's intolerable to Niu Shi. Didn't you see the sadness in Niu Shi's eyes? She thinks she's pure and innocent in his heart because she's favored by the Master, but little does she know she's just like everyone else. The Master will doubt her just the same. And that's exactly what we need to exploit. Ruyi, once Niu Shi falls out of favor, Yin Shi will probably be finished too, and then you can rise to power. I, the Princess Consort, will definitely find a way to make you gain the Master's favor." The Princess Consort smiled, knowing that with Wu Ruyi's personality, she would definitely come to her side.
A glint of cunning flashed in Wu's eyes. She finally decided to take the gamble. If she could eliminate Niu and Yin at once, who else in the inner quarters could rival her? Song was old, Geng was plain-looking, and the Fujin (principal wife)? Heh...
"What does the Princess Consort want me to do?" Madam Wu raised her charming face, her beauty no less than that of a woman.
“You’ve always been on good terms with Lady Niu, so go tell the master that you overheard her sending Cui Niang and Chen Shou out to buy lily of the valley pollen. Do you understand?” the Fujin said.
Just then, Xia He hurried to the door and said, "Reporting to the Madam, the pillow and bedding have disappeared."
The Princess Consort quickly interrupted her, shouting, "You're getting worse and worse at handling things! I'm talking to Consort Wu right now, get out of here!"
Xia He was about to speak when she saw Ling Xiu grab her arm and pull her outside.
Upon hearing this seemingly random remark, Lady Wu asked in confusion, "What did she mean by pillows and bedding?"
The princess was slightly embarrassed, but quickly recovered and said, "It was I who asked Xiahe to find me a set of pillows and blankets. The foolish servant didn't know where she put them. She's getting more and more useless."
Lady Wu did not ask any more questions, and chatted with the Fujin for a while before leaving.
Meanwhile, Cui Niang hurried towards the west courtyard. When she arrived at the Third Prince's room, she saw that the gate, which had been sealed shut, was now wide open. She felt a slight unease and quickly went inside, only to bump into someone coming out.
"Ouch! Who is it? Don't you have eyes?" The servant who bumped into Cui Niang cursed angrily.
"Eunuch Zhao, did I bump into you? What's wrong?" When Cui Niang saw that it was Su Peisheng's apprentice, and remembered that Lan Qin had already confirmed Zhao Quan's identity with Su Peisheng, she quickly asked in a friendly manner.
"Oh. It's Aunt Cui. I'm here on the master's orders, leading people to move all the things the Third Prince used. What brings you here?" Eunuch Zhao greeted her politely upon seeing that it was Aunt Cui.
“Oh. I came to look after the Third Prince for a few days a few days ago, and I left a pair of earrings here. The room was sealed off a few days ago, so I didn’t dare to come in and look for them. I wonder if I can go in and look for them now. They were a pair of jade earrings that our master specially bestowed upon me. It’s such a pity that they’ve been lost,” said Cui Niang with a regretful expression.
Zhao Quan chuckled and said, "Auntie, just go inside and look for it. The room is already open anyway."
Cui Niang naturally took some loose silver from her sleeve and stuffed it into Zhao Quan's hand before smiling and going into the house.
She saw that most of the things inside had already been moved out. Cui Niang didn't care about that and hurriedly went to the Third Prince's bed, only to find that all the bedding on the bed was gone.
"Where did the bedding go?" Cui Niang asked in a trembling voice.
Inside the room, two servants were taking down a painting on the wall. When they heard Cui Niang ask this, they said, "It was taken down a long time ago. It's probably already been taken down to be washed. They said it was a gift from the Fujin to the Third Prince."
Cui Niang's heart stirred, and she pretended to look for the earrings again, searching the room in a pretentious manner. Of course, she couldn't find them, so she left the room.
Cui Niang knew that the princes' bedding and quilts were handled by the laundry department in the mansion, so she disregarded the Fourth Prince's decree and rushed to the laundry department in the Fourth Prince's mansion.
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