"So you mean I went to the wrong place to see the master?" Madam Nian said angrily.
"That's not what I meant. I meant that Lady Geng has nothing in common with you, except that she is gentle and quiet. Perhaps that is one of her strengths, which is why Master remembers her," Bai Zhi quickly explained.
"What can I do? I'm pregnant now, and she still managed to seduce the Fourth Prince. I'm so resentful." Nian Shi thought about how everything had gone wrong on this trip. Although she was pregnant, the Fourth Prince didn't visit her often. Compared to when she was at the Fourth Prince's residence, when Lanqin was pregnant, the Fourth Prince practically spent all his time with her. How could the always proud Nian Shilan tolerate such a difference?
“Princess, don’t argue with Geng Shi over trivial matters. Now that you’re carrying Master’s child, why should you worry about her surpassing you? You should calm down and focus on your pregnancy. Master will naturally come to see you,” Bai Zhi advised.
"No, am I to just watch her swagger around in front of me? I can't swallow this!" Lady Nian refused to listen to advice. Actually, if she had just focused on her pregnancy, how could the Fourth Prince not have come to see her? He wasn't coming today because he had something on his mind; Lady Geng was gentle and quiet, so she naturally went to her place to rest. Bai Zhi was absolutely right, but Lady Nian just wouldn't listen.
Bai Zhi was worried about her daughter's competitive nature, but she couldn't persuade her otherwise.
"Tomorrow, invite Madam Geng over. Tell her I want to see the little bib she made for the baby. Then you all put on a show, saying she has ulterior motives and is harmful to my unborn child," Madam Nian said sternly.
What a fuss! Why would a woman risk her unborn child for no reason? Sometimes, when women act impulsively, they're completely irrational.
"Princess, how can we make her do something that would harm the baby in your belly?" Bai Zhi said helplessly.
“It was easy. I pretended to get close to her, then pulled her along. When she wasn’t paying attention, I deliberately bumped into the corner of the table, hitting my stomach, and then it all fell into place.” A mad smile crept onto Nian’s lips.
Seeing Nian's reckless attempt to frame Geng, Bai Zhi sighed inwardly. This method wasn't entirely unfeasible, but if it actually affected the child in her womb, it would be a huge loss.
"Princess, what if we accidentally bump into the baby in your belly?" Bai Zhi reminded her.
"I know what I'm doing. How could I possibly hurt myself?" Lady Nian was determined to make the Fourth Prince dislike Lady Geng and wouldn't listen to anyone's advice.
The next day, Fourth Master got up early and returned to the front room. He called Thirteen to discuss preparations for returning to the capital. As for Lady Nian, he hadn't forgotten about her, and even planned to visit her, but he was simply too preoccupied with that matter to have the energy to see her for the time being.
As Bai Zhi said, in the Fourth Prince's impression, Nian Shi was noisy and Geng Shi was quiet. The woman the Fourth Prince needed at the moment was quiet, which is why he hadn't gone to see her.
Inside the north room.
As Nian was having Birou comb her hair, Cuiling was reporting to her what time Fourth Master had left that morning and what he was doing at the moment.
"Alright, Cuiling, after breakfast, go and invite Lady Geng over to talk," Madam Nian said coldly. At this moment, she couldn't understand why the Fourth Prince, who had always been quite kind to her, refused to come and see her. As a result, her hatred for Madam Geng intensified. Since she couldn't find a place to vent her anger, she could only shift the blame onto Madam Geng.
Last night, Nian had already told the four maids how she had falsely accused Geng of pushing her. The gist of it was that she invited Geng over, and then Nian deliberately bumped into the corner of the table and pretended to have a stomachache, leaving Geng unable to defend herself.
After serving Nian Shi her breakfast, Cui Ling went to invite Geng Shi over.
Ms. Nian raised her hand to support her belly, which was only two months old and had not yet bulged out at all.
However, a moment later, Geng Shi, supported by Lü Lan, came with Cui Ling.
"Sister Geng, have you had breakfast yet?" Nian greeted her with a smile, taking Geng's hand and asking.
"It's already been used. Sister, is something wrong so early in the morning?" Geng Shi was quite polite when Cui Ling came to invite her.
“Nothing much, just bored. Look at us, the two of us are stuck in this back courtyard, with nowhere to go. Why don’t we come over and sit down for a chat?” Madam Nian said affectionately, as if the two were very close.
Seeing Nian's sudden enthusiasm, Geng was slightly suspicious, but replied, "Great! I just brought the little bib I made for your child. Lvlan, show it to Princess Nian."
After Nian and Lülan sat down as host and guest, Lülan presented Nian with two or three small undergarments.
Cui Ling took the things handed to her by Lü Lan and then handed them to Nian Shi. Nian Shi looked at the green and yellow bibs made of Suzhou satin, and then at the stitches; they were indeed no less skillful than those of an embroiderer.
"Thank you, sister. These two little bibs are so pretty. The eyes and whiskers of this little cloth tiger are embroidered so lifelike, they're really lovely," said Madam Nian with a smile to Madam Geng.
"It's just a trivial skill, I'm glad you don't mind, little sister," Geng replied calmly.
“Cui Ling, go and get some bird’s nest for Geng Gege. Take Lu Lan with you and pick out more for your sister. Sister, don’t be shy with me, my brother sent these over. After he heard I was pregnant, he sent two big packages of bird’s nest and snow frog. I can’t use them all, so I might as well share some with you,” said Madam Nian.
"No need," Geng said hastily. "Since it was given to my sister by Governor Nian, and she is pregnant now, she naturally needs more than I do. Let her have some."
"Sister, are you not going to be friends with me anymore? You made these two bibs for my unborn child yourself, and you won't even accept some bird's nest I wanted to give you." Nian pouted and pretended to be sad.
Geng was speechless for a moment, so she could only nod to Lülan, signaling her to go and get a little bit.
Seeing Cuiling taking Lülan to the inner room to get bird's nest, Nianshi took the two little bibs and came down from the bed. She walked to Gengshi's side and said, "Sister, how was this embroidery done? It's really beautiful."
When Madam Geng saw Madam Nian standing in front of her asking her a question, she felt it was inappropriate to remain seated, so she stood up as well and looked at the spot Madam Nian was pointing to.
But before she could see clearly, the little bib in Nian's hand suddenly fell to the ground, and Nian was already prostrate on the chair she had just been sitting on, her face full of pain.
"Sister, what's wrong?" Geng was startled and instinctively reached out to pull Nian.
"Sister, why did you push me? My stomach hurts," said Nian, slumped in her chair.
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