The Princess Consort looked at the broken jade bead on the Fourth Prince's hand. It was her own pair of bracelets, now broken. When she first received these ingeniously crafted bracelets, she was amazed! She hadn't imagined that such small beads could be hollowed out and then the joints wrapped in gold thread, making it impossible to see what was inside. Truly, the craftsmanship was exquisite and unique, a testament to ingenuity.
Yehe felt a sense of relief. She hadn't expected that the Fujin would admit as soon as she arrived that it was a gift from her, and that she could now distance herself from the matter.
"I don't know what you mean, Master. What musk?" The Fujin suddenly changed color and then showed surprise on her face.
"Does the Princess Consort not know that this bead has been hollowed out and stuffed with musk?" the Fourth Prince asked sternly.
Everyone looked at the Fujin, wondering how she would defend herself against the facts before them!
The princess stared blankly at the beads, then exclaimed in disbelief, "I truly don't know anything about these. When my mother gave me these bracelets, she said I could give them to the sisters who serve the Fourth Prince. At the time, I found Princess Nian and Princess Ye to be very well-behaved and pleasing, and I hoped they could bear children for the prince, so I gave each of them one bracelet. This has been a tradition; I give one to every princess who enters the household."
What the Fujin said is true. Every time the princesses entered the summer palace, she, as the primary Fujin, would present them with jewelry and fabrics to show her demeanor as the mistress of the house.
Upon hearing this, Lady Nian clenched her small hands tightly. This Fujin (principal wife) was now making excuses about not knowing, causing her to miscarry without any explanation. It was truly hateful, but she couldn't say anything at the moment.
"What you're saying, Madam, sounds rather strange. Would your mother have given you a pair of bracelets containing musk without explaining? What if you liked them and wore them?" Lanqin suddenly spoke up, pointing out the flaw in Madam's words.
The Princess Consort gritted her teeth inwardly, momentarily speechless at Lanqin's words. Everyone silently gave Lanqin a thumbs-up in their hearts, all looking at the Princess Consort with expressions of "Let's see how you try to argue now." Only Yehe Shi remained silent, head bowed, lost in thought.
"My lord, we have been husband and wife for ten years. Do you still not trust me? How could I be so vicious as to do such a thing?" The princess forced a tear to her eye as she looked at the fourth prince.
Lanqin silently admired the Fujin's acting skills. If she hadn't been repeatedly tricked by her, she too would have been moved by her expression and words.
The Fourth Prince was momentarily stumped by his wife's expression. He knew that she was not as gentle and virtuous as she appeared, but could she really be so vicious as to do such a thing?
The Fourth Prince understood the situation of his wife, but he was reluctant to believe that she was so vicious.
Lanqin glanced at the Fourth Prince's expression, a chill running down her spine. She then looked at Madam Nian, who seemed to understand and said, "If the Princess says it was a gift from Mother, then why don't we ask Madam Ulanara? Otherwise, I'm afraid the Princess's words will make me dissatisfied!"
The Fujin gritted her teeth inwardly. She was already struggling to deal with Niohuru, and now with Nian, she was simply overwhelmed.
"My late mother has passed away. If Princess Nian wants to ask, she can go to the ancestral graves of Unara to inquire!" the Fujin said loudly, her aura as the primary Fujin was by no means weak.
Lanqin shook her head and replied, "If the Princess Consort says so, then there is no way to verify it. I wonder if Lord Feiyanggu is aware of this?"
The Fujin seemed to have anticipated this question and immediately replied, "When I married Master Yu, my dowry consisted of 288 bundles, a veritable ten-mile-long procession of red bridal procession. My mother and father only had me as their legitimate daughter, and they truly thought of everything they could think of for me. My father should know this, and Master Yu can send someone to verify it, but he is already quite old."
Upon hearing this, Fourth Master seemed somewhat hesitant.
Seeing the way the Fujin looked, Lanqin realized that she was probably already prepared. She sighed inwardly and said, "My lord, I think the Fujin's explanation is really hard to believe. What mother would prepare such a harmful thing for her daughter? Did she already plan for her daughter to harm your offspring? I don't think this matter is as the Fujin says."
After Lanqin finished speaking, Song, Geng, and even Nian all stood up and bowed gracefully, saying, "We think what Consort said is very true. Please, Your Highness, do us justice!"
Lady Nian crawled on her knees a few times and said, "My lord, my child was lost without anyone knowing. It's such a misunderstanding. My lord, I'm not reconciled. I'm not reconciled to being plotted against like this."
The tears on Nian's face at this moment were genuine, without the slightest pretense. She thought of her unborn child, who had actually been killed by her own stupidity, and her heart ached as if she had been stabbed with a knife.
The Fourth Prince felt a pang of sorrow as he watched Lady Nian kneeling on the ground, her face streaked with tears, pleading her case. He looked at his wife, then at Lady Nian, and for a moment, he was unable to make a decision.
Should we believe our wife, or the facts before us?
After a long while, Lanqin said to the Fourth Prince, "I am tired and want to rest. Please, Fourth Prince, your wife, and all the sisters, go back. If you make any decisions, please let us know."
Damn it, what do you need to make you hate the Fujin so much? Such an obvious fact, yet you still can't make a decision, what else is there to say? Lanqin, as a time traveler, was absolutely furious!
Everyone looked at Lanqin in surprise. They couldn't believe that Lanqin would dare to chase away Fourth Master, except for Song and Geng.
The Fourth Prince naturally sensed the grievance and anger in Lanqin's words, and turned to stare at the Princess Consort, saying, "Princess Consort, do you dare to swear that you didn't know about the musk inside?"
Lanqin almost laughed, thinking to herself: If oaths had any effect, pigs could fly. For an actress like the Fujin, making an oath would be a piece of cake.
"I swear in the name of the Ulanara family that if you have uttered even the slightest falsehood, then the Fujin family will suffer endless misfortune, and their century-old foundation will be destroyed in an instant," the Fourth Prince said fiercely.
Everyone present was stunned, especially Lanqin. She had thought that a vow would be no challenge for the Fujin (principal wife), but the Fourth Prince's next words were like a powerful blow to her. The ancients believed in fate and reincarnation, and especially valued the power of vows.
"If you don't believe me, then please grant me a letter of divorce! You don't believe what I'm saying now," the princess said shrilly.
Seeing that the Fujin (principal wife) was also determined to fight to the death, Lanqin thought: "The prince can't divorce his wife, can he? Unless he reports to Kangxi and lets him decide what to do! But Kangxi probably won't take this kind of struggle between wives and concubines seriously."
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