Luoxuexuan
"Geng Shi has been confined to her quarters?" Yin Qingyi was somewhat surprised. She was surprised because Geng Shi seemed to be out of her mind. She had actually brazenly put safflower on her own clothes. Was she willing to harm herself to frame her? How come she didn't know she and Geng Shi had such a deep-seated feud?
"Hmm, you also have to copy the Rules for Women ten times." Chunlan nodded from the side, but she didn't seem very satisfied with the punishment.
"Ten times?!" Yin Qingyi was stunned. She knew a little about the Rules for Women. Even if Geng Shi copied the Rules for Women ten times, it would take her half a year to finish. She was originally a little angry that Yinzhen only punished Geng Shi by confining her to her quarters, but now she was not angry. Even if Geng Shi did nothing all day, it would still take her more than half a year to copy the Rules for Women.
“Yes, ten times? I think that’s too lenient. She almost caused trouble for the princess’s little prince.” Chunlan pouted.
“Chunlan, now that the master has punished you for this, and so much time has passed, you must not say such things again.” Yin Qingyi’s expression changed; Chunlan really needed to change her ways.
"This servant knows her crime." Chunlan was startled by Yin Qingyi's sudden change of expression, and feeling somewhat wronged, she slowly knelt on the ground.
"Chunlan, do you feel wronged?" Yin Qingyi saw through Chunlan's thoughts at a glance. This girl was good in every way, except that she was too naive. Perhaps it was because she had never served by the master's side before. She entered the manor as a maid in the sewing room, and all she had to do every day was sweep and clean the area outside the sewing room. No one in the sewing room would deliberately make things difficult for the people inside, let alone a maid who only did sweeping and cleaning. Therefore, Chunlan was completely innocent.
Qiu Ju was different. Although she didn't serve her master, she caused trouble in the garden, which was a place where accidents frequently happened. Even if she had been watching stupidly for two years, it was impossible for her to be completely naive.
"This servant wouldn't dare," Chunlan replied softly.
“If you feel wronged, it proves that you don’t understand how difficult my situation is right now. Let’s not talk about the distant past, just look at how I was attacked right after I got pregnant. We ourselves don’t even know I’m pregnant, but others already know. What does that mean? Have you thought about it?” Yin Qingyi patiently spoke to Chunlan. After all, Chunlan was an old servant who had followed her through the low points, and she didn’t want to replace her unless absolutely necessary.
"There are nails in our yard that belong to someone else!?" Chunlan immediately thought of this after Yin Qingyi mentioned it.
"Princess, it's not me, I didn't know you were pregnant." Thinking of this, Chunlan felt that the princess might suspect her, so she immediately defended herself.
"...Of course I don't suspect you. This matter wasn't spread by the three of you. It's just that I didn't collect my menstrual pad on time this month, which is why someone with ulterior motives found out. What I want to tell you is that Luoxuexuan is going through a special period right now, and we need to be extra careful. If you act recklessly as before, and others use you against me, who will care more about me, you or myself?" Yin Qingyi looked at Chunlan, who was in a panic. This child wasn't completely stupid; it's good that she could think of this.
"Princess, I was wrong. I will be more careful with my words and actions in the future." Chunlan wasn't stupid, but no one had ever said these things to her before. Now that Yin Qingyi had said them, she immediately knew she had made a mistake, and her attitude in admitting her mistake was sincere.
"Well, I'm not telling you to be too reserved. Just know what you shouldn't say and what you can say, and don't say what you don't know if you can or can't say. If you really want to say something, just ask Qiuju." Yin Qingyi actually quite liked Chunlan's personality, but this backyard couldn't possibly accommodate someone with a pure heart. If Chunlan hadn't been lucky enough to be assigned to the needlework room, she probably wouldn't exist in this world anymore.
"Yes, Princess, don't worry. You're pregnant with the little prince, so don't overthink it." Chunlan regained her liveliness after figuring it out, but the innocent look in her eyes was gone.
“That’s right, Princess, you should rest more. Chunlan has your servants and Xiao Jinzi watching over her, so nothing will happen to her.” Qiuju spoke up immediately after the Princess finished speaking about Chunlan. She had wanted the Princess to rest for a long time, but Chunlan’s temperament was indeed a headache. Apart from the Princess, Chunlan might not listen to either of them. Now that the Princess had spoken up, Chunlan would think carefully before speaking in the future.
"Alright, I'm sleepy too, I want to take a nap." Yin Qingyi felt sleepy after Qiuju said that, and yawned.
"Then this servant will take her leave first. If you need anything, Princess, just call out, and we'll be right outside the door." Qiuju pulled Chunlan out.
Yin Qingyi closed her eyes and fell asleep in no time. It was unclear whether she was truly exhausted or if the medicine was taking effect.
The next day, the entire backyard learned that Yin Qingyi was suffering from a heart attack and would need to rest for more than a month, and that Geng Shi had been confined to her quarters for half a year. These two events happened on the same day, and everyone knew what was going on, but no one spoke out about it.
They thought that was the end of it, but on the first and fifteenth of the month, everyone discovered something big: the master was staying in the front courtyard instead of the main courtyard. Once or twice was fine, but after it happened a lot, the women in the back courtyard realized something was wrong. What had the princess consort done to anger the master?
"Oh dear, what did this lady do to displease the master? I'm really curious." Lady Li laughed heartily in Luoying Courtyard.
“Princess, this servant thinks this matter might be related to Princess Yin,” Liu Mei said cautiously from the side.
"Oh? Tell me about it." Madam Li looked at Liu Mei.
“The master stopped entering the Fujin’s courtyard the month when Consort Yin had her heart palpitations,” Liu Mei replied softly.
“Now that you mention it, I’ve remembered it too. Indeed, could it be that the Fujin was behind Yin’s heart palpitation? It’s not impossible. With Geng’s pig brain, she wouldn’t come up with any malicious ideas. Maybe the Fujin said something to her. But why? Wasn’t the Fujin going to make Yin fight with me? What is she up to now?” Li frowned, feeling that there was something she didn’t know about this.
"Perhaps the Fujin (principal wife) was dissatisfied with Consort Yin's excessive favor, which is why she took action." Liu Mei also felt something was amiss, but she had no other clues.
"Princess, this servant has made a discovery," Li Zhongde said as he entered from outside, bowing to Lady Li.
"What discovery?" Madam Li straightened up. Li Zhongde was the head steward of her Luoying Courtyard. He was also very intelligent, and Madam Li relied on Li Zhongde for many things.
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