Upon hearing the words of the Fujin (Prince's wife), Lady Yin felt as if she had heard a colossal joke. She grinned, revealing her even, white teeth, and said, "If I don't tell the Fujin where that pillow is, will my body be left to rot in the wilderness after I die? The Prince won't come to see me, nor will he recount my many misdeeds; he only had the Fujin give me a cup of poisoned wine. Perhaps he'll simply tell the public that I died of a sudden illness. If I'm not mistaken, the Prince wants to pin all this on me and then hastily end it all. If nothing unexpected happens, then I'll probably just be buried somewhere. But if you, my good Fujin, exaggerate and say how I refused to die, how I cursed, who knows, the Prince might, in a fit of anger, throw me into a mass grave?"
As Lady Yin spoke more and more, the Fujin's expression grew increasingly grim, because Lady Yin's words struck at almost every thought in her heart.
Seeing the Fujin (principal wife) frozen in shock, Madam Yin chuckled softly. Seeing Madam Yin's infatuation with the Fujin, Sanfu couldn't resist stepping forward and slapping her hard across the face.
The slap was so hard that Yin's lip immediately broke open, and bright red blood flowed out.
Lingxiu searched almost every corner of the room, but naturally found nothing.
"You really won't tell?" the princess asked through gritted teeth.
Lady Yin remained silent, turning her head away to avoid the murderous gaze of the Fujin (the wife of the deceased).
"Yin Guangzu, the garrison commander of Yangzhou, is your father, isn't he? Your mother, Madam Peng, was merely a maidservant who accompanied the principal wife during her dowry. She caught Yin Guangzu's eye because of her beauty, and that's how you came to be. My uncle in Yangzhou is the current commander of Yangzhou, wielding considerable military power. He has a very good relationship with the prefect of Yangzhou. Sister, if my father were to inform my uncle, do you think your father's career would still be smooth sailing? If he knew that you, his good daughter, had not only failed to bring glory to the Yin family but had also created a major obstacle to his career, do you think Madam Peng would have a hard time?" The Fujin spoke in an incredibly gentle voice, recounting the Yin family's affairs as if she had witnessed them firsthand.
Madam Yin's teeth began to grind involuntarily, her molars clenching so hard they made a cracking sound. Suddenly, she grinned, revealing a blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, and said in a mournful voice, "I never received my father's favor in that family, so why should I consider his career? My mother also looked down on me because I was just a woman, unable to gain status through my son like she could. So why should I care whether she's happy or not?"
The Fujin stared at Madam Yin in disbelief for a moment before saying fiercely, "Fine, since that's how it is, sister, set off on your journey. Sanfu!!"
Sanfu immediately turned around, took the large black lacquered plate from the maid following behind him, walked to the Fujin's side, and bowed as he handed it over.
Madam Yin slowly stood up, staring at the amber-colored wine, her lips gradually turning down in a frown. She knew that at this moment, she couldn't escape. The Fourth Prince clearly didn't want to hear any more arguments; the reason the Princess Consort brought Sanfu along was precisely to prevent her from running off.
"You're so ruthless!!" Madam Yin spat out these three words to the Fujin, then suddenly reached out and picked up the wine cup in the lacquer tray, brought it to her lips, tilted her head back, and drank it all in one gulp.
When the Fujin saw Lady Yin drink the poisoned wine, the weight on her heart finally lifted.
After drinking the poisoned wine, Lady Yin wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with her sleeve and said to the Fujin (principal wife), "Are you alright now? Are you relieved? You are a Fujin, but you don't even have your own biological children. How long has it been since the master last spent the night at your place? You only have the title of Fujin; what will your fate be? Niu Shi is also from the Niohuru family, another prominent Manchu surname. If she gives birth to a son, raising several illegitimate children won't help you. Hahaha!!"
"Shut up! If you dare to spout nonsense again, I'll give you a mouthful of red charcoal!" Sanfu said venomously.
Madam Yin glared venomously at Sanfu, but as expected, she said nothing more. Being a woman, she naturally didn't want her mouth burned after death, so she could only look at the Fujin and the others with vicious eyes.
"You all stay here and report back after she breathes her last." The Fujin was suddenly unsettled by Yin's words, and after saying this, she left, supporting Lingxiu's hand.
When the Fujin (principal wife) walked out of Yin's room, Wu was standing in front of her window watching her, but not in a very obvious position. Instead, she left the window slightly ajar and looked through a crack at the activity on the other side.
"Princess, I think you shouldn't have given him that information just now. If the Fujin finds out about that note, we'll have offended her," Hongxi whispered from behind Wu Shi.
“I didn’t expect the Fujin to arrive so quickly. Alas, it seems that Lady Yin can’t escape. But she shouldn’t let the Fujin find out, because she hopes I can help her get revenge,” said Lady Wu.
"Gege, shall we go and get that pillow?" Hongxi whispered.
"No need. The master has already sent his wife to offer the poisoned wine, so it's clear he doesn't want to investigate any further. If I were to send that thing up now, it would be a slap in the face to the fourth master and the wife. Why should I be the one to make that sacrifice? As for Lady Yin, I can only hope that her luck is bad." Lady Wu turned back and said after seeing the wife help Lingxiu out.
"Alas, it's all for naught. Not only did she fail to win favor with the South Courtyard, but she also got herself into trouble. This time, the Fujin (wife of the Prince Consort) has also lost more than she gained," Hongqian sighed.
"I doubt it. I heard that the master has already formally adopted Hongshi into the Fujin's family. Is this to maintain the status of the principal wife?" Wu said.
“Princess, but why does Master want to accompany Consort Niu to stay elsewhere again?” Hongqian asked.
"Naturally, he has to consolidate the position of the principal wife while also taking care of the feelings of the favored concubine. Our master has it tough, doesn't he?" Madam Wu herself found the words amusing and couldn't help but laugh a few times.
"Princess, what will you do in the future? If you continue to obey the orders of the Fujin, I think Princess Yin's fate will be rather tragic." Hong Qian sighed inwardly.
"No, I understand now. The Fujin (principal wife) doesn't want us to bear children for the master at all; she's just competing with that one in the South Courtyard. We don't need to be her pawns anymore. That way, we're not involved with either side, and we'll be free and safe."
Half an hour later, Madam Yin breathed her last on her bed.
Fourth Master ordered that a decent place be found for her and a large tomb be built for her. If it weren't for the fact that he felt indebted to her, he wouldn't have made such a special arrangement.
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