Wu Shi, supported by Hong Qian, walked back. The words of the Fujin (Prince's wife) had left her conflicted. Should she take the risk of delivering it? Yin Shi's side must be completely surrounded by the Fourth Prince's men so early. If she rashly went now, wouldn't that be tantamount to sabotaging herself? The Fujin always liked to have others do things for her, and if anything went wrong, she would push those people out while she remained safely hidden behind the scenes.
"The Fujin is really good at giving orders. This time, the people in the South Courtyard are keeping a close eye on her. I wonder who the Fourth Prince will believe," Wu said as she walked.
“This servant thinks that the master has already decided on Lady Yin and the Fujin this time. Princess, if we continue to help the Fujin like this, won’t we be implicated as well?” Hongqian said.
“Even if I don’t do it this time, don’t forget that I helped change that set of undergarments. Yin will definitely not let me off the hook then. Sigh, let’s go and see if we can get in touch with Yin.” Wu helped Hong Qian walk towards the west courtyard with a conflicted expression.
When she entered the courtyard, she saw two servants standing at the door of Madam Yin's house, clearly guarding the door and preventing anyone from entering or leaving.
As for Madam Yin, she was now being watched by Yuhen and Yulu together. The head nanny had sent people to search her main room. Madam Yin went into her bedroom, with Yuhen and Yulu still following closely behind.
She walked to the window, pushed open the hexagonal bamboo window, and looked outside. She saw that Madam Wu had just walked to the door of her room with Hong Qian by her hand and was looking in her direction.
"Princess, it's windy over here, why don't you sit over there?" Yuhen noticed that Wu was looking in their direction and spoke up to stop her.
"What? I don't even have the right to stand at the window anymore? What are you?" Madam Yin was furious. She turned around abruptly and slapped Yuhen across the face.
*Smack!* The crisp sound of a hand striking flesh was particularly clear in the quiet room.
The head maid who was leading the search outside also heard it. She knew that Madam Yin was yelling at the maid, but she ignored her and just kept an eye on the searchers to make sure they searched as quickly as possible and didn't miss a single place.
"This servant wouldn't dare. This servant is just afraid that the cold wind will seep in. Your Highness is frail. What if you catch a cold?" Yuhen took a deep breath and said calmly.
She had no mistress-servant relationship with Madam Yin to begin with. The two of them had just been assigned to serve by the head nanny, and they didn't even know if Madam Yin would still be their mistress in the future. Naturally, she only spoke and acted in a businesslike tone towards Madam Yin. Although Madam Yin had just slapped her, she was still a princess, so she could only endure it.
"Isn't it better if he catches a cold? It saves them all from worrying. Thank you so much for your concern." A hint of tears welled up in Madam Yin's eyes.
She knew perfectly well that the Fourth Master had confined her to her quarters without even asking a question, showing no regard for her dignity, and had her watched over as if she were a prisoner. Now, he had even searched her house. In truth, she held no respect in his eyes at all. So what was she even fighting for?
Suddenly, Madam Yin felt as if she were a knife in the hands of the Fujin (the wife of the deceased prince), which she could swing wherever the Fujin wanted. If anything went wrong, she would be discarded like a useless, abandoned woman.
The poison of the lily of the valley is clearly a result of the conflict between the Fujin (Prince's wife) and Lady Niu, yet the Fourth Prince is now ordering a search of his own room. Once something is found, no matter how much he tries to argue, it will be to no avail.
"I'm hungry, go and get me some food. Fourth Master didn't tell you to let me go hungry, did he?" Madam Yin suddenly said.
Yuhen and Yulu exchanged a glance, and Yuhen said to Yulu, "I'll go prepare the princess's meal. You stay here and watch over her."
After saying that, Yuhen went out, whispered a few words to the head nanny, and then went out to fetch the meal.
"Go and light another brazier. This room is so cold, are you trying to freeze me to death?" Madam Yin said, glaring at Yu Lu.
"Yes, this servant will go right away." Yu Lu was a bit timid to begin with, and seeing that the request made by Madam Yin was not something that violated her duty, she had no choice but to go and prepare.
After dismissing the two maids, Madam Yin walked to the window and waved to Madam Wu.
Wu understood and quickly helped Hong Qian walk towards her window.
"Go stand over there. If anyone comes, just say something to remind me. Understand?" Madam Wu ordered Hongqian to walk to the corner of the room and keep watch.
"I understand, Princess, please be careful." Hong Qian understood, so she let go of Wu Shi's arm and walked to the corner to stand.
Wu looked around and, seeing that no one was around, quietly walked toward the window where Yin was standing.
The window wasn't low, so Wu had to raise her face and say to the person inside, "Sister, just say what you have to say. It's uncertain whether the Fujin (principal wife) can even attend to you now. Is that thing really with you?"
Madam Yin remained silent inside the window, unsure of whom to believe. After a moment's thought, she said, "If Sister Wu doesn't want people to know that you also helped change that undergarment, please do me a favor."
Wu felt uneasy and could only ask, "I wonder what my sister wants me to do?"
Madam Yin said, "Go and tell the Fujin that if she intends to abandon me, that thing will fall into the Fourth Prince's hands. Moreover, I have already checked, and there is indeed lily of the valley pollen on that pillow. It is indeed a good plan. Hiding the pollen in the reed fluff of the pillow, and shaking it slightly, the pollen will float out through the Su satin. Because the Su satin has large gaps."
Standing outside the window, Wu was terrified and shocked by the ways the Fujin had come up with. She had no choice but to tell her the Fujin's plan: "The Fujin has another set of pillows and mattresses that are exactly the same as the ones given to the Third Prince. As long as we can get the head nanny and the others to find them, we can get the Fujin and her sister out of trouble."
Madam Yin sneered, "Heh, what a joke. If the pillow we found is innocent, then Fourth Master will definitely ask me why I hid it."
Wu was taken aback, thinking to herself: Indeed, to go to such lengths to hide the pillow and not say anything is just digging a hole for oneself.
"Sister Wu, think about our Fujin (wife of the emperor), she's really something. She can't keep the master in check herself, so she tries every means to make us work for her to maintain his favor. If I hadn't avoided this calamity today, I would have been next. I regret it now. If I could start over, I would never again fawn over her." Madam Yin said bitterly.
People only reflect on their actions when faced with an inescapable fate. It was only at this moment that Madam Yin realized she could never win against Madam Niu, not even in her entire life.
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