Time quickly passed and it was December, with its biting winds and falling snowflakes. The eldest prince, Honghui, had finally recovered from his illness, and his wife, who had been watching everyone in the backyard like a thief, finally relaxed her guard.
The person being watched suddenly felt much more relaxed. Jiaming was one of them. Although she never paid attention to the Fujin's surveillance, she still didn't like being watched.
Sure enough, her leisurely and contented life immediately attracted the attention of the women in the backyard.
In fact, this has always been her attitude towards life. However, the women in the back courtyard were in a relaxed mood because they no longer had the pressure of the Fujin keeping an eye on them. They felt that Jiaming was living a carefree life, so they disliked her even more.
Previously, they had tried to scheme against her, but Jiaming was shrewd and had always been able to defend herself without any loopholes. As a result, many concubines had no choice but to accept their fate and give up. Since they couldn't outsmart her anyway, why waste their efforts?
However, some people were unwilling to accept this, and this included not only the Li Hesheli clan.
While they were grumbling about their dissatisfaction with Jiaming and plotting against her, there was another person doing the same thing.
For example, in a room in one of the courtyards of the mansion, Madam Song looked extremely jealous and resentful, her once delicate face now quite ugly.
With a tearing sound, her white-knuckled hand ripped the handkerchief in her hand to shreds.
That was a handkerchief embroidered with the finest fabric and thread. How much force must have been used to tear it open? The maidservant serving Madam Song was quite frightened. If it were just the handkerchief that was torn, she wouldn't be scared. It was just that her mistress's delicate face was horribly distorted!
Even though she knew that her master harbored resentment towards the Taoyuan Guarjia clan, the fierce feeling still rushed towards her. The moment the handkerchief was torn, it felt as if her master was about to tear her apart.
The maid secretly inhaled and exhaled, her hand unconsciously patting her chest, repeatedly telling herself—the mistress isn't going to tear her apart, it's Princess Guarjia, there's no need to be afraid, no need to worry, no need…
Having finally managed to suppress her fear, she looked at her master, and her heart and eyelids twitched simultaneously.
The master seemed to be shrouded in a layer of black mist, like a demon.
She couldn't help but blink. The black mist was still there, its claws outstretched. She blinked again, and it was gone. She chuckled; it must have been an illusion.
In a daze, she heard her mistress's vicious voice, "Guarjia clan, don't even think about giving birth peacefully. I, Song Qingyu, will not let you off."
Then, she seemed to hear her mistress call her name. She swallowed hard, opened her mouth, and her lips moved several times before she found her voice, "This servant is here."
"Tell me about the people we've planted in other places?" Song asked, staring at the other party with a fierce gaze.
Because her people had been purged by the master a few days ago, she felt heartbroken and panicked as she watched her subordinates disappear one by one from her list. To get rid of this feeling, she simply stopped looking at them and handed them all over to the maids serving her.
Although she knew the malice wasn't directed at her, her heart and eyelids still twitched uncontrollably when her master stared at her like that.
Even though his mind was distracted, he still remembered to reply: "Since the First Prince fell ill, the matter with the Fujin (Prince's wife) has been resolved, as for Li Shu Fujin..."
Song Shi became agitated upon hearing this and impatiently waved her hand forcefully, "Stop talking about this! Talk about those close to Guarjia, those related to her. I want to take action against her. What use is knowing about Consort Li and the others?!"
The maid who had been yelled at immediately understood and said what Madam Song wanted to know: "After Princess Guarjia was 'infected' a while ago, the Peach Courtyard was thoroughly cleaned up, and our people were all eliminated. However, Madam Lin, who was in charge of cleaning the garden near the front courtyard, is still here."
"Mrs. Lin, the garden near the front yard, the garden where the young master and the master can relax and enjoy the scenery?" Although it was phrased as a question, Mrs. Song's tone was very certain, and by the end, her excitement was palpable.
Sure enough, the next moment she ordered the maid, "Go, have someone summon that Lin Shi, I want to see her."
The maid didn't respond or go out to deliver a message; she remained standing there, looking quite troubled. "Master, what about Lin Shi..."
Upon seeing this, Song felt as if she had been doused with cold water; her excitement instantly froze, and her face stiffened. "Then what happened to Lin?"
"That Lin is a traitor, no, not just three surnames. According to the reports from below, she has connections with the Fujin (Prince's wife), Li Shu Fujin (Prince's wife), and others. In short, this person is not trustworthy." After the maid finished speaking in one breath, she quickly lowered her head and tried her best to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.
Upon hearing this, Song, who was already in a bad mood, exploded, "How dare Lin betray me! She has wronged me! This is outrageous!"
The handkerchief ripped again with a "rip" sound, and tore even more to shreds.
Clearly, if Madam Lin were here now, Madam Song would have torn her handkerchief instead of the handkerchief.
Regardless of what happened at the Song family's place, in the Peach Courtyard, where Jiaming lived, the peach trees were covered with a thick layer of snow. As the snow fell heavier and heavier, the peach trees were gradually weighed down by more and more snow, and many branches were bent over.
"The snow is getting heavier and heavier," Jiaming murmured as she looked out through the crack in the open window from the tatami mat in the outer room.
Sitting on a small stool in front of the couch, Xiao Hezi said very solemnly, "Master, please rest assured, I have arranged everything. No matter how strong the wind and snow are, I am not afraid."
Upon hearing this, Jiaming shifted her gaze back to Xiao Hezi. She smiled, knowing that Xiao Hezi had misunderstood her words.
She thought she was implying that as her delivery approached, those who disliked her would definitely not want to watch her give birth smoothly, even if the "child" was just a princess.
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