Zhu Xiang left Jian Gong Zhai, her oval face clouded with worry. Yan Ning was clearly suspicious of her, and she didn't want to hide it from her any longer, but she couldn't disobey Fu Kang An's orders.
Mingxin and Rongxi are still missing. Although no news of their deaths has been received, they are sure to meet a bad end. The servants in the mansion all know the consequences of disobeying Fukang'an's orders. The most important thing for a servant is to be loyal. Her master is ultimately the Fucha family, not Yan Ning.
The four maids, Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju, were bought as children and trained under the care of the old lady. To prepare them for becoming Fukang'an's concubines, they received more instruction in poetry, literature, and etiquette than the other maids in the household. On the day they entered the mansion, the old lady told them that in all the world, their only loyalty lay with the Emperor and Fukang'an. The Emperor was not someone they could meet; the old lady's implicit meaning was that they must be loyal to Fukang'an.
Later, because Xi Ying was in charge of managing the household, Fukang'an entrusted all four of the four concubines—Plum, Bamboo, Chrysanthemum, and Orchid—to her care. Before they reached adulthood, they became concubines, and Fukang'an went to Jinchuan due to the war.
She had reached the age required, but before Fukang'an could return from the front lines, he directly bestowed her upon Yan Ning as a maid in a letter. Mei Xiang was ambitious and longed to become a concubine, but she only wished to marry a commoner and grow old together.
It was only when she received the gold hairpin from Zhao Xing that she truly fell for him. Originally, she was a maid in the back courtyard and had little opportunity to see Zhao Xing, but after serving Yan Ning, because of Fu Kang An, the servants of the Fu residence frequently met with Zhao Xing.
She never imagined she would win Zhao Xing's favor. Although Zhao Xing was a servant of the Fucha family, he served Fukang'an and had secured a decent position in the military camp. If they were to marry, he could certainly marry a woman from one of the three Manchu banners.
Although Fukang'an tacitly agreed that Zhao Xing could take her as a concubine, Yan Ning couldn't bear to see her suppressed by the principal wife, which is why she had delayed until now. Zhu Xiang was also aware of Yan Ning's feelings for him. Even if their love was stronger than stone, it couldn't overcome the difference between the principal wife and the concubine.
Thinking of this, memories of the past spent with Yan Ning flashed through Zhu Xiang's mind, and she hesitated.
Yan Ning had always treated her sincerely and never regarded her as a lowly servant. How could she possibly betray Yan Ning?
Wu Chun has not returned from the palace, and the reasons for this are not something she can speculate on. Having stayed in the Fucha family for so many years, she can still discern the political climate within the Fucha family. Fukang'an must have his reasons for concealing Yan Ning's whereabouts.
Fukang'an's feelings for Yan Ning are as clear as day. If Fukang'an's actions are truly for Yan Ning's sake, then wouldn't helping Yan Ning conceal Fukang'an's true intentions be harming Yan Ning?
After much deliberation, Zhu Xiang turned and headed towards the Peony Hall.
When they parted ways at the gate of the mansion, Fukang'an went to the Peony Hall with the old lady. Zhuxiang walked faster and faster, afraid that Fukang'an would go somewhere else, and finally she started running. More than her loyalty to the Fucha family, she was worried about Yan Ning's situation. She ran to the Peony Hall in one breath and saw Zhao Xing still guarding the main door. Zhuxiang breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing Zhu Xiang so flustered, Zhao Xing mistakenly thought something had happened to Yan Ning. Forgetting the proper boundaries between men and women, he rushed forward and took Zhu Xiang's hand. "Is something wrong, Madam?"
Zhu Xiang, panting, nodded, then hurriedly shook her head. "Madam wants to leave the manor alone and won't let me go with her. I'm afraid she's going to the city to find a doctor!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xing immediately returned to the main room and, through the thick curtain, reported, "General, Zhu Xiang said that the lady has gone out alone and forbade the servants to follow her!"
Fukang'an was discussing the trip to Yuanmingyuan with the old lady when he heard Zhao Xing shouting outside the curtain. His eyes narrowed, and he dropped the covered bowl in his hand and strode out.
Watching Fukang'an's departing figure, the old lady fiddled with her jade prayer beads, her heart in turmoil. Her brows furrowed with pain; a mother's heart is always connected to her son's, and how long could this be kept from Yan Ning? If it weren't for the constant troubles in the household during the New Year holidays, she would likely have already become suspicious.
After leaving Jian Gong Zhai, Yan Ning hurried towards the main gate of the mansion, her hands involuntarily resting on her lower abdomen. Since New Year's Eve, Zhu Xiang had been bringing her a bowl of soup every day, saying it was to regulate her vital energy.
Since arriving in ancient times, she had been repeatedly frightened and injured in Jinchuan, and before she had fully recovered, she rushed to the capital with Zhao Xing. Their peaceful days didn't last long before she was punished by the old lady. Although she was given the finest medicinal herbs every day at He Di, her health could never return to what it once was.
After Fukang'an brought her back from Hedi, misfortunes and injuries kept happening. She lived in constant anxiety, and was already exhausted. She truly became a woman with sorrow on her cheeks and illness plaguing her body.
Drinking herbal soups was a regular occurrence for her, but her dietary preferences suddenly changed, which Zhu Xiang attributed to the herbal soups.
She knew she shouldn't doubt Zhu Xiang's kindness. However, the Fucha family harbored countless secrets, and Fukang'an and his mother each had their own agendas, which made her wonder if the imperial physician and the doctor waiting in the mansion had also been intimidated by Fukang'an.
Yan Ning's flowerpot-soled shoes clattered on the covered walkway. Just a few steps away was the gate separating the front and back yards. A series of hurried, chaotic footsteps came from behind her. Without bothering to turn around to see who it was, Yan Ning quickened her pace, only to be startled by Zhao Xing, who suddenly appeared in front of her, causing her to retreat repeatedly.
Zhao Xing bowed to Yan Ning, then stood up, his kind face serious. "Madam, the General requests your return to Jian Gong Zhai; he has important matters to discuss!"
Yan Ning clutched her chest, which was pounding from Zhao Xing's startling gesture, and glared at him with slight anger. She turned around, and Zhu Xiang came to greet her, handing her a hot water bottle wrapped in a brocade quilt.
Yan Ning took the hot water bottle, warming her already cold hands, and looked back and forth between Zhao Xing and Zhu Xiang, both of whom had lingering fear on their faces. She knew they must be hiding something from her.
"Bang!"
Yan Ning slammed the hot water bottle she was holding to the ground, her brows furrowed and her eyes slightly wide as she stared at the two of them. "What are you hiding from me?"
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