Chapter 113

Chapter 113

Wan Linlang was crying her eyes out, tears and snot running down her face. "I figured even if it wasn't easy to call in an imperial doctor, we could've just called the mansion doctor. Why did they have to make me, a lowly concubine, go check on her?"

"I refused over and over, but I was still half shoved, half dragged by Shufei Fang's maidservants to the Xiachi Courtyard."

"I'd barely laid eyes on Shufei Fang and said two words when she suddenly got all worked up, grabbed me and wouldn't let go, then lost her balance and fell."

"I'm truly wronged!"

The Princess glanced at Prince Jing, whose eyes were dark and unreadable, and seeing he didn't seem inclined to ask anything, had to ask the question herself.

"Qiu Xiang, is what Concubine Wan said true?"

Qiu Xiang's eyes were red, but her soft voice was firm: "Of course not!"

"Since it was dark out last night, my mistress didn't want to bother the mansion doctor, and since she had some private women's issues, she thought she'd ask Lady Wan for advice."

"We went to invite her in good faith, even offering all kinds of perks, and only then did Lady Wan agree."

Qiu Xiang emphasized deliberately: "There was no shoving or dragging her along, like Lady Wan says."

"She's a grown woman—if she didn't want to come, would we really dare to put our hands on her, knowing our place?!"

"We walked past plenty of courtyards on the way. The Princess can send someone to ask if anyone saw us forcing Lady Wan to come!"

Wan Linlang's face turned red with anger. "You came up with excuses to invite me, and I couldn't exactly say no and offend Shufei Fang by flat-out refusing."

"Besides, I've learned my lesson with Shufei Fang, and I'm scared of her—how could I dare not show up?!"

Qiu Xiang said calmly, "So by that logic, there was no shoving or dragging either, like Lady Wan said?"

Wan Linlang was at a loss for words for a moment.

She hadn't expected that Fang Yuaner's maidservant, plain as she was, would be so sharp-tongued and clever.

In her past life, the one who stood out by Fang Yuaner's side was the dumb and impulsive Qiu Lan, and Wan Linlang had handled the mistress and her maid without breaking a sweat.

She never expected that in this life, Qiu Lan would be taken out by Cefei Ning, and Fang Yuaner had swapped her for a trusted maid who was so hard to deal with.

Wan Linlang gritted her teeth and said, "Shufei Fang has the higher rank, so I won't argue anymore."

"I just hope the Prince and Princess understand—my reputation's already bad, so why would I dare cause trouble in a pregnant concubine's courtyard in the dead of night?"

"Even if I were braver, I wouldn't do something that stupid."

The Princess watched without expression, then suddenly asked, "You said you only said a few words to Shufei Fang before she got worked up."

"What exactly were those few words?"

Maybe because she'd dealt with so many cases, the Princess had gotten good at zeroing in on the key details.

Sure enough, at that question, Wan Linlang's body stiffened for a split second.

Wan Linlang said, "...Nothing much. I just noticed Shufei Fang looked unwell and reminded her to watch out for the baby in her belly."

Even as she said it, her mind couldn't help replaying the scene.

Fang Yuaner, stroking her swollen belly, looked down at her from her height, and one sentence nearly made Wan Linlang's legs give out and buckle.

"You're faking being pregnant, aren't you?"

"Dandelion, realgar, atractylodes..."

Fang Yuaner's face, half-hidden in the dark, slowly recited a prescription.

That was exactly the prescription Wan Linlang had used to fake her pregnancy!

Wan Linlang instinctively denied it, but her denial was weak and unconvincing.

For some reason, Fang Yuaner got all worked up, lunged at her, grabbed Wan Linlang's clothes, and started cursing her out.

When Wan Linlang struggled, Fang Yuaner fell to the ground, screaming that her stomach hurt.

In that moment, Wan Linlang knew Fang Yuaner had set her up.

But now, in front of the Prince and Princess, how could she dare say any of that?

Some things stay perfectly hidden as long as no one's paying attention.

But once noticed, they can't withstand scrutiny.

With Shiqie Han's fate as a warning before her, Wan Linlang dared not take the risk.

Better to bear the charge of offending a concubine than to have the fake pregnancy exposed.

The Prince and Princess were no fools—with such an obvious frame-up by Fang Yuaner, they couldn't possibly have no suspicion at all!

That sliver of suspicion was her chance at survival.

Wan Linlang made a snap decision, lowered her head, and tearfully confessed.

"Yes, it was because I was angry that I said some disrespectful things, but I truly did not push Shufei Fang!"

"Disrespectful things?"

Wan Linlang's face alternated between pale and red as she stammered, "I recalled the humiliation Shufei Fang inflicted on me when I first entered the mansion, and I was also jealous of her pregnancy, so I cursed that she would give birth to a daughter and never bear a son in her lifetime."

"Shufei Fang became furious and came to slap me..."

As she said this, Wan Linlang's gaze fell on Qiu Xiang.

Qiu Xiang's expression remained composed. "It's good that Lady Wan is willing to confess, so that my mistress won't have suffered in vain while also bearing the blame for failing to protect the child."

Then she bowed to the Prince and Princess. "I ask the Prince and Princess for their understanding. When my mistress was four months along, the imperial physician diagnosed it as a son."

"My mistress knew the mansion had few boys and had always hoped for a male child. Who would have expected Lady Wan to speak so maliciously from the start?!"

"My mistress is most proud by nature, and already suffering from pregnancy discomfort—how could she endure such provocation?"

In this day and age, no one mocked a woman for wanting to bear a son.

Especially when the Prince's mansion had so few male heirs.

But Wan Linlang's curse that she would bear a daughter appeared utterly vicious in people's eyes.

Qiu Xiang's words made Wan Linlang's face flush crimson with rage.

She silently cursed Fang Yuaner for her shamelessness.

Fang Yuaner had no evidence of Wan Linlang's fake pregnancy!

If she truly did, Fang Yuaner would have been eager to finish her off in one go, rather than resorting to such a clumsy frame-up that wouldn't do lasting damage.

Wan Linlang had indeed hit the nail on the head.

Fang Yuaner's initial claim that Wan Linlang was faking pregnancy was just a guess.

She reasoned that since Wan Linlang had a cold womb (a condition that made conception difficult) in her previous life, it was unlikely she could become pregnant so quickly in this life.

Later, as more women in the household became pregnant, everyone gradually forgot about Wan Linlang, but Fang Yuaner kept tabs on her.

She vaguely picked up on a few vague clues.

Just then, she recalled an incident from the original story.

In the original story, Wan Linlang had indeed faked a pregnancy once, but that happened after she entered the palace.

The situation back then was also completely different.

However, Wan Linlang's scheme to use a fake pregnancy to frame Fang Yuaner was carried out very meticulously.

Fang Yuaner herself had no clue about it.

It wasn't until later, when Wan Linlang was caught for harming the imperial heir and confessed, that her trusted aide's testimony revealed this matter.

Since Wan Linlang had confessed to many other major crimes at the time, no one paid much attention to these minor offenses.

That's why Fang Yuaner, who'd transmigrated into the book, didn't catch on right away.

This time, when she summoned Wan Linlang to Xiachi Courtyard to frame her, there was also an element of testing.

Wan Linlang's reaction showed that Fang Yuaner's guess wasn't wrong.

But now, lacking evidence, she couldn't use this matter to crush Wan Linlang, so she had Qiu Xiang drop a hint and leave it at that.