Chapter 97

Chapter 97

At this moment, Ping'an burst in, struggling. Seeing the chaos in the room, she said coldly.

"No need to ask further! I know!"

The room fell silent instantly.

Ping'an walked out calmly, "No one was targeting her."

"It's just that Orange, a servant who stole and betrayed her master, and made a huge scene throughout the entire mansion, who could have any respect for her?"

"Pleading for her to stay back then was the last straw that killed her."

Ping'an's indifference stabbed into Concubine Lu's heart like knives, one after another.

"You promised to take her away—but did you ever say when?" Ping'an pressed relentlessly.

"Her mother's illness is, frankly, just poverty. In this world, you help with emergencies, not chronic poverty. Could she really rely on you forever?"

"Everything you promised her was just empty words. Concubine Han waved her hand and gave her a thousand taels of silver, hired the best doctor for her mother—why wouldn't she be tempted?"

Ping'an walked up to Concubine Lu and said coldly, "Even if you sold her, she wouldn't fetch a hundred taels."

"One life for a thousand taels of silver—she still came out on top."

"Slap!"

The sound of a sharp slap echoed.

A red mark immediately appeared on Ping'an's face.

Concubine Lu's hands trembled.

She was almost bursting with rage. "Your worthless life is barely a hundred taels!"

"If you want to put yourself down, that's your problem. Don't drag others into it!"

Once she calmed down, Concubine Lu pushed her away and sneered. "So you admit that everyone in this courtyard has been bullying her?"

With that, she turned and rushed to Concubine An's side, sneering. "I know—you're either pretending not to know, or if you did know, you're too scared to say anything."

Concubine An trembled. "I, I really don't know."

"If I'd known, I would have said something."

Concubine Lu looked down at Concubine An, full of contempt and disdain. "You useless good-for-nothing!"

"You've been spineless and weak your whole life!"

"Back then, we all went cold and hungry with you, and got bullied. You didn't even dare to open your mouth!"

"Now, out of pity, you kept Orange here, and everyone bullies her. Even if you knew, you fool yourself into thinking you didn't. You probably think you're being kind by keeping her here."

"Incompetent, hypocritical, and stupid!"

"Orange was so unlucky to have a master like you!"

These were words Concubine Lu had wanted to throw at Concubine An for a long time.

Concubine Lu's eyes were red from screaming. "Now that you're pregnant, I won't touch you! But just you wait—we'll see!"

Concubine Lu flicked her sleeves and turned to leave.

She paused as she passed Ping'an, a smirk on her lips. "Her incompetence ruined my life, and now it's cost Orange her life!"

"I'll be watching to see who's next in this courtyard!"

"You remember her kindness and stay loyal to her. I'm curious—will you come to a good end?"

Ping'an replied coldly, "That's between me and my mistress. It's none of your concern."

"But I know that no matter what, I would never betray my mistress!"

Ping'an's loyalty only made Concubine Lu sneer contemptuously. She snorted lightly and left the courtyard.

Concubine An looked at Ping'an with empty eyes, her voice weak. "Ping'an, is Jixiang..."

Ping'an had always been gentle and respectful to Concubine An, but now she interrupted her. "Mistress, she's not Jixiang. She's the prince's concubine, Lu!"

Concubine An said sheepishly, "Is Concubine Lu angry with me? I truly didn't know."

Ping'an tucked her blanket in. "That's not important. What matters now is that you rest well and have a safe delivery."

Reassured by Ping'an's words, Concubine An calmed down.

Concubine Lu was helped back to the Clear Wind Courtyard by two maids.

Cuiniao cursed. "What a fool!"

"She was already weak, and then she goes and makes a scene at Concubine An's place. The other party is fine, but she's half dead from anger!"

Though she kept cursing, her hands never stopped tending to Concubine Lu.

Concubine Lu lay numbly on the bed, and her fever began to rise again.

The stewardess sent by the princess arrived a step late. By the time she reached Concubine An's courtyard, Concubine Lu had already left. Seeing that Concubine An was fine, she hurried to check on Concubine Lu.

After confirming both were well, she returned to report everything to the princess.

Though Concubine Lu had merits, her outburst today was a bit too reckless. The princess, following protocol, sent someone to scold her.

But scolding is like water off a duck's back for those with thick skin.

The farce, with both parties ill, was not meant to escalate, and it was quickly suppressed.

That evening, Cuiniao fetched dinner from the kitchen and rushed into the bedroom to find Concubine Lu.

She was holding a letter and a jade pendant.

Cuiniao said, "This was given to me by Orange's cousin. She said Orange entrusted it to her before she died, telling her to keep it quiet and find a chance to pass it to you."

"Hurry and see—did Orange write about why she was bribed by Concubine Han?"

Concubine Lu still had a fever, alternating between hot and cold. Hearing about Orange's suicide note, she perked up and forced herself to sit up again.

When she saw the jade pendant in Cuiniao's hand, her face grew even paler.

Her voice was faint as she said, "Quickly, check if there are characters engraved on the back of the jade pendant."

Cuiniao hurriedly turned the pendant over. "There are two characters. The second one looks like 'sui', but I don't recognize the first."

Concubine Lu grabbed it and looked, and upon seeing the characters "Suisui," her breathing quickened. "This jade pendant is exactly the one that Concubine Xie lost!"

Cuiniao was startled. "Isn't this the jade that Concubine Xie made such a big deal about before the banquet, getting the whole courtyard involved?"

"How did this jade end up in Juzi's hands?"

As she asked this question, both mistress and maid felt a chill of fear.

Since Princess Ruyi's birthday banquet, the entire inner courtyard of the prince's residence had gone quiet.

Xie Run had thus enjoyed a few days of peace.

Now, Concubine An and Concubine Li had experienced pregnancy complications, Wan Linlang had miscarried, and Concubine Han had faked a pregnancy.

Of the six who were pregnant, only two were still in good condition.

Fang Yuaner, in particular, owed her safety to Prince Jing's earlier house arrest order.

Only Xie Run, at the center of the storm, had emerged unscathed.

Because of this, Xie Run had secured the top position, gaining even more favor from Prince Jing, to the point that even Fang Yuaner had to take a step back.

Fortunately, Prince Jing had been busy with official duties lately and rarely came to the inner courtyard, only occasionally visiting Xie Run without staying the night.

Otherwise, Xie Run might not have been able to endure.

Seizing this opportunity, Xie Run quietly had the entire Chunsan Courtyard searched several times, sparing no effort, even covering every inch of the low hill.

Only after ensuring that nothing had been added or removed from Chunsan Courtyard did she truly feel at ease.

As for the incident at Zhishui Boat, only the matter of the rabbit going mad remained unsolved, and only the maid who had been holding the dog was punished.

All other matters had solid evidence, pointing to Concubine Han.

Concubine Han was demoted to a commoner, given forty strokes of the rod, and confined to Pearl Pavilion, never allowed to leave.

However, on the third day after receiving the punishment, Concubine Han had stopped breathing.

Xie Run knew that Prince Jing had no intention of letting her live, and the executioners had been given orders to ensure her death.

From the moment she exposed Concubine Han's fake pregnancy, Concubine Han had no chance of survival.

Because of this, Consort Rou lost face and made trouble for the princess consort for several days.