Perhaps because she had soaked in cold water all night, Heyue felt a bit feverish. The Fourth Prince also thought of this and had someone brew medicine for her. After waking up, she drank it and rested for a while, and her spirits recovered somewhat.
Thinking that she hadn't gone home last night, and that her mother was probably worried when she heard she was sick, she decided to say goodbye to the Fourth Prince and his wife later.
Not long after Heyue woke up, Yuying returned.
Upon seeing Heyue, before Heyue could say anything, Yuying knelt down with a "plop".
Hailan was astonished and immediately stepped forward to help her up: "What are you doing? Can't you talk things out properly? Why are you kneeling down?"
Yu Ying shook off her hand, crawled forward on her knees, looked up at He Yue with teary eyes, and said, "Princess, please punish this servant."
"What did you do wrong?" He Yue looked at her behavior coldly, without a ripple in her heart, her voice so calm that it was impossible to tell whether she was happy or angry.
Yu Ying's eyes widened in panic, her heart filled with uncertainty. She bit her lip and after a long while replied, "Although this servant did not do it on purpose, I have still disgraced Your Highness. This servant is willing to accept the punishment."
"So you know you've embarrassed me?" He Yue sneered.
Yu Ying trembled, her face turned deathly pale, and she was speechless.
He Yue wasn't sure before, but looking at her expression now, how could she not be confused?
She never expected that the maid who had served her for so many years would do such a thing.
He Yue's face turned pale with anger: "Who gave you the audacity?! I've never wronged you, why did you do this?"
"Aren't you going to tell the truth?" Seeing that she remained silent, Heyue's tone became even colder.
Yu Ying kowtowed repeatedly, sobbing uncontrollably, "Princess, this servant is so sorry, please punish this servant!"
"Heh." He Yue chuckled lightly, but there was no smile in her eyes. "I need to know what mistake you made before I can punish you, don't I? But do I still have the right to punish you now? You dared to climb into the Fourth Prince's bed, how could I dare to make things difficult for you?"
The tone of disappointment was laced with endless sarcasm.
Yu Ying suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with tears, yet her resolve remained firm: "Princess, no matter what, I am still your servant. You may punish me as you wish, but I will not utter a single word."
Looking at her expression, He Yue saw that it was genuine and heartfelt. After all, they had been together for many years, and their feelings were real. So she pursed her lips and her expression softened considerably: "Alright, I'll ask you whatever you want to know. If you dare to tell even the slightest lie, I'll pretend you don't exist as my maid."
Yu Ying bit her lip and nodded with tears in her eyes.
Hailan listened in astonishment. When she heard this, she seemed to understand something, covered her mouth, and looked at Yuying in disbelief.
He glanced at Heyue's face again, but in the end, he didn't dare to show his anger and forced himself to lower his head.
"Go outside and keep watch. Don't let anyone come near," Heyue whispered to Hailan.
Hailan nodded, stepped back, and closed the door.
Only Heyue and her servant Yuying remained in the room. Heyue looked at Yuying.
"You knew there was something poisoned in that bowl of porridge, didn't you?" Though it was a question, the tone was certain.
Upon hearing this, Yu Ying's face showed difficulty. When she met He Yue's calm and indifferent eyes, she realized something and immediately lowered her eyes, answering in a trembling voice, "This servant heard Sister Yun Ying, who serves the Fourth Prince Consort, talking to the people in the kitchen about putting medicine in the porridge and sending it to the Prince. They also mentioned the Princess. This servant was frightened and wanted to tell the Princess, but this servant dared not, fearing that the Princess might act impulsively and cause a conflict with the Fourth Prince Consort. So I went with the Princess, thinking that I would remind the Princess and act according to the circumstances."
He Yuexin's heart sank. So she really is the Fourth Prince's wife?
I originally thought that although the Fourth Prince's wife was somewhat cunning, she was not a malicious person, but I never expected her to do such a thing.
However, the evidence now points to Li Gege. Although she was drugged at the Fourth Prince's place, Heyue does not believe that the Fourth Prince is so stupid as to not have a way to deal with it.
It will probably still be pushed to Li Gege.
"Then why did you sleep with the Fourth Prince? Since you knew the porridge was drugged, why did you still pounce on him?" It was difficult to ask this question, but He Yue still asked it.
He Yue guessed that what she meant by "playing it by ear" was probably having relations with the Fourth Prince in her place, which was quite ironic.
Yu Ying's cheeks flushed red, and her voice was barely audible: "This servant...this servant didn't expect that the incense burner had also been drugged. This servant...this servant couldn't control herself..."
"You're lying!" He Yue angrily rebuked, grabbing a teacup from the side and trying to throw it, but she held the teacup tightly and couldn't bring herself to throw it.
Worried that the commotion would attract attention, Heyue eventually put the teacup back.
However, He Yue's sudden angry rebuke still startled Yu Ying, making her face turn pale.
He Yue glared at her, her eyes filled with anger: "Do you think I don't know what you're thinking? You deliberately sent yourself there to get close to the Fourth Prince. You knew the porridge was drugged, but you still went. It wasn't that you couldn't control yourself; you were planning to be with the Fourth Prince all along, and you couldn't help yourself, was that it?"
Yu Ying was so ashamed by He Yue's words that her face turned as red as if it could bleed. She wanted to explain that it wasn't true, but after opening her mouth, she remembered what He Yue had said before and swallowed her words back, remaining silent.
Seeing her tacit agreement, He Yue closed her eyes in disappointment. When she opened them again, her voice had regained its composure: "When did you start?"
Yu Ying knew what she was asking, and dared not lie anymore. Her face flushed, she answered honestly, "When I first met Fourth Master."
"Ha, you're quite honest. How old were you back then?" Heyue couldn't believe that her maid had such thoughts from such a young age.
Yu Ying was only one year older than He Yue; at that time, Yu Ying was only ten years old.
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