Jiaming was unhappy, and her thought was—wait and see, in the future, whenever she had the chance, she would definitely make you even more unhappy.
However, she hadn't encountered an opportunity yet, and Jiaming stopped thinking about it. In front of the bedroom mirror, she got ready, fully alert, and prepared to head to the Eighth Master's mansion next door.
In an instant, she completely let down her guard in the mirror and returned to her usual demeanor, as if the person who had just been so vigilant and shrewd was not her at all.
Seeing that she was ready, she took out her handkerchief, turned around, and said to Hearts, who was going to come with her, "Let's go."
"Yes!" Hongtao replied alertly, then followed Jiaming out of the bedroom.
Jiaming did not immediately go to the Fujin's place to go to the neighbor's house together, but instead went to see her second son, Hongjing.
Seeing that Hongjing was sleeping soundly with a snoring soundly, she didn't disturb him. She naturally tucked the blanket covering him, then turned and walked out of the inner room to the outer room, where she instructed Hezi and Lvliu to take good care of him.
He Zi and Lü Liu respectfully agreed. Just as Jia Ming was about to leave, He Zi's gaze sharpened as he looked at Hong Tao, and he hesitated, saying, "Wait, Master, isn't Hong Tao's behavior a bit inappropriate?"
He originally wanted to leave Green Willow behind, but when he caught a glimpse of her tense and anxious demeanor, just like Red Peach, he swallowed back his suggestion.
"What's wrong with me?" Hearts became even more tense.
He Zi carefully scanned Hong Tao from top to bottom, his brows furrowed tightly, and said, "Master, Hong Tao is too vigilant, always on edge, which is not good."
Jiaming glanced at the ever-vigilant Hongtao and immediately understood Hezi's intention. However, she said, "This is just right. Hezi, you're overthinking it. Hongtao's actions will help those with ill intentions lower their guard."
"What do you mean, Master?" He Zi frowned even more deeply. He looked at Jia Ming with a puzzled expression and asked, "Isn't it because seeing how vigilant Hong Tao is, she knows that we are on guard, so that when she targets and plots against you, Master, she will be more secretive, more unpredictable, and more difficult to guard against?"
Upon hearing this, Jiaming smiled and leisurely uttered four words: "Quite the opposite!"
"On the contrary?" Red Peach and Green Willow, standing to the side, were also puzzled. In their opinion, He Zi's concerns were quite reasonable. They couldn't understand their master's thoughts no matter how hard they tried. So, they wisely decided not to think about it anymore and that it would be easier and safer to get the answer from their master.
“Yes, on the contrary,” Jiaming said, estimating the time and deciding that it was still early and there was no need to rush to meet with the Fujin. She walked to a chair, sat down, and then began to explain to the group in detail.
"Your Highness, you took me to the neighbor's house with ill intentions, didn't you?"
He Zi and the others nodded in unison, saying, "Yes!"
"Very well, how many of you do you think are unaware of the Princess Consort's ulterior motives?"
He Zi seemed to be deep in thought. Green Willow frowned for a while before her brows relaxed. As for Red Peach, she looked troubled. "There are still quite a few people who don't know about the Fujin's wicked intentions."
Jiaming and the others all looked at Hongtao, speechless—did she have to be so blunt?!
Hongtao was still unaware of why everyone was looking at her. She only knew that perhaps she had said something wrong, but what was wrong? She couldn't help but mutter to herself, "I didn't say anything wrong. I heard everyone in the manor saying that the Fujin treats the master well, and that she only takes the master without the more senior Fujin, Li Shu."
Jiaming couldn't hold back any longer. She rolled her eyes clearly and then said speechlessly, "I was mainly referring to the concubines and secondary wives, not the servants in the mansion."
Upon hearing this, Red Peach blushed and felt embarrassed.
Green Willow chimed in, “That’s rare. It seems they’re all waiting, waiting…” Red Peach, feeling awkward, glanced at Green Willow with gratitude as the attention was diverted.
Green Willow replied earnestly, unaware of Red Peach's grateful gaze.
"You're just waiting to see your master make a fool of himself, aren't you?" The question was phrased rhetorically, but Jiaming's tone was quite certain. Then, before anyone else could speak, she continued, "Actually, it's not just people in this manor; even the Eighth Master's manor next door, having received information that your master was attending a banquet, is probably plotting something against him!"
He Zi, Hong Tao, and Lü Liu agreed with this statement. However, while Hong Tao and Lü Liu agreed, He Zi immediately felt annoyed. "Master, you've gone off on a tangent. Get back to the point. You've been quite good at keeping Hong Tao on high alert, which helps to lower the enemy's guard."
Wait a minute, a thought suddenly struck He Zi, but he needed time to think about it more carefully...
Before he could think further, Jiaming continued, "I know that the Wang family next door has ill intentions towards me, right? The Fujin (principal wife) knows that the news of the Wang family targeting me came from here, right? Since the Fujin and the others know that I have found out about the Wang family's ill intentions, it would be too illogical for me not to be wary of the Wang family's mischief when I go to the neighboring residence."
Upon hearing this, He Zi and the others suddenly realized, "Indeed, it is only natural that Hongtao (me) would be on guard (nervous)."
"However," He Zi looked at his calm and composed master and asked in confusion, "Master, you didn't seem at all on guard or nervous just now, just like usual?"
Jiaming blinked, not answering He Zi, but instead asked in surprise, "He Zi, you seem to have become a little dumber?"
He Zi's face twisted slightly as the words "became stupid" kept swirling in his mind.
Hongtao and Lvliu, who were standing nearby, rarely saw He Zi's contorted expression change. They burst out laughing twice—no, three times, including Jiaming's.
He Zi immediately came to his senses and realized that he had made a fool of himself in front of others, and he felt a little uncomfortable.
Fortunately, Jiaming and the other two knew when to stop, especially Jiaming, who was still thinking about the question she had just asked. "Your mistress was able to give birth to two princes safely, so I'm afraid she's not someone without cunning in the eyes of the people in the inner courtyard. Since she is cunning, she can't act too stupid. She has to be reasonable. She doesn't need to show outward vigilance, she just needs to be aware of it in her heart."
“That certainly makes sense!” He Zi deliberately emphasized the word “common sense”.
Red Peach and Green Willow, who were standing nearby, understood at this point that the common sense in their master's words was just a way of deliberately conforming to what others thought.
Without a doubt, the group of people silently mourned for the Fujin and others who had been fooled by their master with "common sense"!
At the same time, I felt much relieved about going to the Eighth Prince's mansion today to attend the first birthday celebration of his eldest son.
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