Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Prince Jing enjoyed the peace and quiet at Xie Run's place, so he stayed for three consecutive days.

It wasn't until the fourth day, when some clues emerged about Lady Yun's miscarriage, that he went directly to the main courtyard.

The princess was then handling the household accounts.

Upon hearing the announcement, she put down the account books, stood up, and bowed, "Your humble consort greets the Prince."

Prince Jing helped her up with a gesture, "Rise."

With that, he took the seat of honor.

Also summoned were Shufei Ning and Fang Yuaner.

During these days of confinement in Lanxiang Garden, Shufei Ning's days were far from easy.

She tried many ways but failed to get any message out.

One after another, her people were taken away for interrogation.

Even Nanny Zhang, her closest confidante, left and never returned.

Shufei Ning felt as if she were being roasted over a fire every day.

Today, Prince Jing had her summoned to the main courtyard.

She inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

It was like a blade hanging over her head had finally fallen.

Prince Jing took the tea handed by a maid, took a small sip, and then said, "Since everyone is here, bring them in."

Soon, a young manservant was brought in under guard.

Then, Nanny Zhang and Shufei Ning's maid Zhenzhu were brought in, along with the half-dead Wenxiang, who knelt at the back.

Given such a scene, it was naturally not for Prince Jing to conduct the questioning.

Eunuch Shi'an stepped forward of his own accord, his shrill voice ringing out, "Shufei Ning, you must be familiar with these three people before you, right?"

Shufei Ning looked somewhat dispirited and only snorted coldly, "Nanny Zhang and Zhenzhu are my people, so of course I know them."

As for the manservant, Shufei Ning glanced at him and said calmly, "Who is this person? I don't know him."

Eunuch Shi'an: "This man is a manservant from the Weiyuan Marquis's residence. He came to the Prince's mansion ten days ago, claiming to deliver something."

Shufei Ning's face instantly lost all color.

Seeing this, Eunuch Shi'an continued unhurriedly, "As the Princess said, I did indeed find that the Weiyuan Marquis's residence had purchased a batch of safflower a few days ago. And on the same day, they sent this manservant to visit, claiming that the Marquis's residence was sending something to Shufei Ning."

"This manservant has already confessed that what he delivered that day was precisely the safflower."

Shufei Ning's legs gave way, and she nearly fell off her stool.

She looked at Prince Jing with hopeful eyes, "Your Highness, I did not..."

Seeing Prince Jing frown, clearly impatient, Eunuch Shi'an immediately quickened his speech.

"I also found that someone had seen this manservant and Nanny Zhang meeting. It seems that this safflower likely entered the Prince's inner courtyard through Nanny Zhang's hands."

As for why the safflower wasn't found in Lanxiang Garden, that was simple enough. Such things are easy to destroy—either dissolve them in water and pour them away, or bury them in an inconspicuous corner.

On the contrary, keeping them around would be a problem, as if waiting to be caught.

Eunuch Shi'an added, "People from the Princess's courtyard and those from Shufei Ning's courtyard usually have no dealings. But half a month ago, Miss Wenxiang accidentally broke a jade bracelet belonging to the Princess, and coincidentally, Miss Zhenzhu saw it."

"This bracelet was a Kunblood Jade bracelet brought by the Princess from the Xia Dynasty. There are only two such bracelets in the entire Prince's mansion. One is on the Princess's wrist, and the other was given by the Princess to the former Cefei Ning back then. Because of this, the two suddenly started having dealings."

As he spoke, Eunuch Shi'an glanced at the Princess at the head seat: "The Princess should still be able to produce her bracelet now."

Since the Princess's jade bracelet was broken, if the Princess still has one here, it must be the one belonging to Shufei Ning.

This also proves that Zhenzhu and Wenxiang were colluding in secret.

The Princess glanced at Lady Li beside her.

Lady Li immediately sent someone to search the storeroom.

Soon, a complete Kunblood Jade bracelet was brought up.

Lady Li's face was stern, "Your Highness, this is not the Princess's bracelet. The Princess's bracelet has a character engraved inside the ring; this one does not... You know that."

The Kunblood Jade bracelet was handed to Prince Jing, who glanced at it lightly, "This is indeed not the Princess's bracelet."

At this point, what was there left to understand?

The medicine bought by the Weiyuan Marquis's residence entered the Prince's mansion through Nanny Zhang's hands.

Zhenzhu, Shufei Ning's maid, used the bracelet to get close to Wenxiang, the Princess's maid, and put a large amount of safflower in Lady Yun's miscarriage-preventing medicine, intending to cause her miscarriage and frame the Princess.

Shufei Ning's face was as white as paper.

She racked her brains, trying to defend herself.

But Eunuch Shi'an pulled a stack of papers from his sleeve and respectfully presented it to Prince Jing: "Your Highness, all the confessions are here, all signed and fingerprinted."

Shufei Ning felt a bang in her head, as if something had suddenly collapsed.

She called out weakly, "Your Highness..."

At that moment, Fang Yuaner suddenly rose, supported by her maid, and slowly bowed to Prince Jing.

"Your Highness, I also have something to say."

Prince Jing took the confessions expressionlessly, flipped through a few pages casually, showed no anger, and simply said, "Speak."

Fang Yuaner had been holding back for this day.

She looked up at Prince Jing's gaze, and her eyes instantly filled with tears, "Your Highness, my last miscarriage was not an accident; I was harmed!"

Prince Jing's eyes were dark and deep, sharp enough to cut someone.

Fang Yuaner's heart raced. She suppressed her nervousness and spoke slowly as planned.

"Although Qiu Lan is impulsive, I have repeatedly warned her to behave. Even if she truly wanted to seek revenge for me, she would not do so behind my back."

She suddenly rose and walked to the kneeling Pearl, "Qiu Lan's actions were all instigated by Nanny Liu, but why would Nanny Liu, without cause, harm Shiqie Yun?"

Fang Yuaner let out a light laugh, "I sent people to investigate, and as it turned out, Nanny Liu had met someone before the incident..."

She suddenly demanded sharply, "Pearl, where were you at quarter past seven on the third of July?"

Perhaps seeing that Shufei Ning had lost all hope, or intimidated by Shi'an's torture, Pearl's tears fell continuously as she stammered, "I went to see Nanny Liu. I did it, I confess everything, I beg the Prince and Princess for mercy!"

"I was only following orders..."

"Following orders?!" A surge of anger rose in her chest. Fang Yuaner's bright red nails dug into her palm. She turned and took two steps, then slapped Shufei Ning twice across the face.

Two crisp slaps echoed through the room.

Prince Jing at the head furrowed his brows, while the Princess seemed to enjoy the spectacle.

After venting her anger, Fang Yuaner spoke with a tearful voice, "These two slaps are for my unborn child!"

Fang Yuaner's gaze at Shufei Ning was filled with resentment and murderous intent.

During the Qixi night banquet, Shufei Ning had slapped her twice like this, then had her maids slap her publicly in front of everyone.

Fang Yuaner would never forget that humiliation.

Turning around, Fang Yuaner's delicate face quickly took on an expression of grievance and indignation, "Your Highness, Shufei Ning asked me to help her with the Qixi night banquet, intending to use my hand to harm Princess Ruyi. It was a scheme to kill two birds with one stone."

"Princess Ruyi was fortunate and escaped disaster. But I was unlucky, unable to protect the child in my womb... And now she has maliciously plotted against Shiqie Yun's child." Fang Yuaner wept profusely, "Such a venomous woman, every extra day she spends in the back courtyard keeps the other concubines walking on thin ice, never knowing peace..."

"I beg Your Highness to seek justice for me and Sister Yun!"

After Fang Yuaner finished, the room fell into dead silence, broken only by the sound of Prince Jing casually flipping through the confessions.

No one knew how long passed, but everyone felt a chill down their backs.

Only then did Prince Jing speak calmly, "Shufei Ning, for deliberately plotting against my offspring, is demoted to shiqie, confined to Lanxiang Garden, never to leave."

"Those involved in harming the heirs of the Prince's estate."

"To be executed by flogging!"

With these cold words, Prince Jing stood up unhurriedly and said to the Princess, "Jue'er will be temporarily raised by the Princess for a while. After the New Year, he will move to the front courtyard."

Before the Princess could speak, Shufei Ning crawled forward and grabbed Prince Jing's robe, "Your Highness, I am guilty, but Jue'er is your own child..."

Prince Jing glanced at Eunuch Shi'an.

Eunuch Shi'an immediately said, "Hurry up and drag her away!"

Before Shufei Ning could finish, she was gagged and dragged out.

Prince Jing said indifferently, "I'll take my leave first. The Princess will handle the rest."

As he took a step, he heard the Princess call out, "Your Highness, I have one more request to make of you."

Prince Jing always treated his Princess with respect.

Especially since she had been innocently implicated in this matter.

His tone softened, "What is it?"

The Princess spoke gently, "Shiqie Yun gave birth to Princess Ruyi for you, which is a meritorious deed. If not for this mishap, she might have borne you another child."

Prince Jing's gaze darkened.

The Princess continued, "The imperial physician said Shiqie Yun was severely injured this time. Not only will she be unable to conceive again, but her health will also be greatly compromised. I thought to beg for the title of shufei for her. What does Your Highness think?"

Prince Jing pondered for a moment, "Do as the Princess wishes. Shiqie Yun has injured her body; open the storeroom and give her more tonics."

The Princess bowed gracefully, "Then I thank Your Highness on behalf of Shiqie Yun."

Fang Yuaner, standing nearby, heard their conversation and her heart raced.

The Princess had actually requested the title of shufei for Shiqie Yun?!

The back courtyard's quota for shufei was limited to four.

Now that Shiqie Yun had taken one, and Consort Rou would soon bestow two more, only one position would remain.

In a little while, when Prince Jing returned from disaster relief, he would bring back a lifesaver and promise her the shufei position.

Then all four shufei positions would be gone. Would she have to remain a lowly shiqie?!

Thinking of this, Fang Yuaner was filled with resentment.

Her eyes darted around, and her hand subconsciously fell to her abdomen. Gritting her teeth, she decided to take a gamble.

Suddenly, Qiu Xiang's voice rang out: "Mistress, what's wrong?!"

Prince Jing turned around and saw Fang Yuaner's delicate body collapse softly.

Qiu Xiang, a maid, couldn't support her, and they stumbled.

With a glance from Prince Jing, Eunuch Shi'an immediately went to help.

Amidst the chaos, Fang Yuaner was diagnosed with a pregnancy of less than a month.

The Princess smiled and congratulated Prince Jing: "Congratulations, Your Highness. With so few heirs in the back courtyard, if Shiqie Fang can give you a son, she will be a great contributor."

The Princess was simply too lazy to scheme, but she understood all the women's thoughts in the back courtyard.

After offering congratulations, the Princess said, "Considering her previous miscarriage, Shiqie Fang has already conceived twice, truly a blessed woman."

"She suffered no small grievance during the Qixi night banquet. Since Your Highness has already granted Shiqie Yun a promotion, why not reward Shiqie Fang as well? It would bring more joy to the mansion and dispel the recent bad luck."

But this time, Prince Jing did not agree immediately.

"We'll discuss this later."

The Princess did not press further, leaving it at that.

--- In Fangfei Garden

"Mistress, great news! The Princess has begged for a favor, promoting you to shufei."

Shiqie Yun was drinking medicine, attended by her maids.

Upon hearing the news, she remained quite calm.

A faint smile played at the corner of Shiqie Yun's lips as she spoke softly, "Indeed, this is good news. Everyone in Fangfei Garden will be rewarded today."

The maids in attendance all joyfully bowed and offered congratulations.

A shu fei and a shiqie may seem just one rank apart, but there is actually a huge gap between them!

There's no limit to the number of shiqie and tongfang in the prince's household; in essence, they are all maidservants of the household and not considered the prince's proper concubines.

If the prince's wife were domineering and cruel, she could beat or sell them off without anyone being able to resist.

Such shiqie are found everywhere in the prince's inner quarters; the only difference is whether they're favored or not.

But who can claim to be favored forever?

If you can't remain favored forever, the fate of those unloved shiqie will become your own.

However, if one becomes a shu fei, she is a proper concubine registered on the imperial genealogy. Whether favored or not, her rank and allowance ensure her life won't be difficult.

Even if she commits a major offense and is demoted, it's not something that can be done with a single word.

Instead, it must go through the imperial clan and follow the proper procedures.

Generally speaking, even if the prince doesn't favor a certain shu fei, he will only neglect her and will never demote her unless she commits a serious mistake.

People in ancient times always adhered to the principle of keeping family scandals hidden.

If it were taken to the Imperial Clan Court, that family scandal would be exposed, and no normal man would do that.

Therefore, when Fang Yuaner had earlier told Prince Jing that Shufei Ning was betraying her own side and stealing the soap recipe, Prince Jing wasn't angry, nor did he ever entertain the thought of demoting Shufei Ning.

It was at that time that Fang Yuaner realized the benefits that came with the status of a shu fei, and she became even more aware that if she wanted to topple Shufei Ning, it would take a major offense on her part.

After sending everyone away, Shiqie Yun pushed away the medicine Fangse was feeding her and gently shook her head.

She lay down languidly, her beautiful face pale without a trace of color, revealing a hint of weakness.

Fangse quickly took a pillow to place under her lower back, slowly helped her settle down, and said with deep concern, "My lady, why must you go through this?"

She couldn't help lowering her voice and said, "If you give birth to a boy, with the merit of having a child, you might also be promoted to shu fei and have security for the rest of your life. Even if it's a girl, it wouldn't be bad... Why do you have to harm your own body like this?"

Shiqie Yun's fingers instinctively gripped the quilt, and she said softly, "Do you think I want to risk my body?!"

"The princess let it slip that Consort Rou already picked two women for the prince, and they will enter the household after the Mid-Autumn Festival."

"Both of these women are from official families, and as soon as they arrive, they will at least be granted the rank of shu fei. If Shufei Ning isn't overthrown, and Consort Rou bestows two more shu fei, and the newly arrived Lady Fang and Lady Xie are both quite favored by the prince, how could I possibly compete with them?"

Shiqie Yun pressed her lips and said, "I can't afford to wait!"