Princess Consort Rui followed the abbot to a secluded meditation chamber.
The abbot withdrew, and the maid closed the door.
“Your Highness, did you arrange to meet the wife of some official?” Jinzhi asked, puzzled.
Princess Consort Rui shot her a look.
Jinzhi had been the maid who came with her from her maiden home. They had grown up together.
If not for that, Princess Consort Rui would never have dared bring her along.
“Jinzhi, you must keep today’s affairs absolutely secret!”
“No matter who asks, you are not to reveal a single word!”
“If Prince Rui asks about it, you may only say that I came to Great Buddha Temple to pray for our deceased child.”
“Do you understand?”
Jinzhi’s heart jolted, and she hurriedly fell to her knees.
“Please rest assured, Your Highness. This servant understands!”
“Today, Your Highness and I came to Great Buddha Temple to pray for the deceased young master and offer incense money!”
Princess Consort Rui’s expression relaxed.
“Loose lips sink ships!”
“Keep your mouth shut if you want to live.”
“I’m only saying this for your own good!”
Jinzhi did not dare raise her head. “Yes, this servant understands.”
Princess Consort Rui waved a hand wearily. Jinzhi rose silently and retreated to one side.
Princess Consort Rui walked to the window and gazed outside.
Behind the meditation chamber grew a cluster of green bamboo. It happened to shield the room from much of the heat, leaving it cool and shaded within.
The agitation in Princess Consort Rui’s heart suddenly eased.
“Jinzhi, go to the temple entrance. If you see Princess Changle, bring her here discreetly.”
Princess Consort Rui turned and gave the order.
Jinzhi was taken aback. She quickly stole a glance at Princess Consort Rui.
When she happened to meet her gaze, Jinzhi hurriedly lowered her head.
“Yes!”
“This servant will go at once!”
Jinzhi opened the door and hurried away.
Princess Consort Rui sighed inwardly.
She herself did not know whether she could still rely on this maid.
By now, she had been virtually stripped of all authority in Prince Rui’s household.
When she had realized her husband’s scheme, she had begun searching for a way out of her predicament.
But she had trusted Prince Rui too much back then and dismissed nearly all the maids and matrons who had come with her from her family home, leaving only a scant few behind.
On top of that, she had been in poor health. The person truly in control of the household had long since become the secondary consort.
To suddenly try to turn the tables now—how easy could that be?
She did not know whether her movements had been too obvious and aroused her husband’s suspicions, or whether there was a traitor beside her who had informed on her.
In any case, the child in her womb had ultimately not survived.
If not for the pills Duoduo had given her before, Princess Consort Rui believed she would have died long ago.
At the time, she had no idea what was happening. She had suddenly fallen down.
She had seen the blood flowing incessantly between her legs and felt the unbearable heaviness and pain in her abdomen. Princess Consort Rui had thought she was surely going to die.
Fortunately, Jinzhi remembered that Princess Changle had given them a pill. She found it and made Princess Consort Rui swallow it before going to fetch a physician.
Unexpectedly, the gates of Prince Rui’s residence were tightly shut, and no one was allowed in or out.
They said it was Prince Rui’s order.
Jinzhi hurried to find Prince Rui, only to be told that he was not at the residence.
Whether Princess Consort Rui had simply been blessed with a strong constitution or the pill had truly been miraculous, she survived in the end.
When Prince Rui and the secondary consort saw Princess Consort Rui walk out of the courtyard unharmed, they were stunned for a moment.
Princess Consort Rui became even more certain of her suspicions.
That fall had absolutely been deliberate.
Unfortunately, more than ten days had already passed, and all the evidence had long since been erased.
No matter how much she hated them, Princess Consort Rui could not show it.
Before, she had been pregnant and wanted to give birth to the child, so she had turned a blind eye to many things.
Now that the child was gone, her heart had grown completely cold.
Princess Consort Rui secretly had Jinzhi investigate. After tracing the matter again and again, they ultimately discovered that the culprit was her own daughter, Danyang.
Princess Consort Rui had fallen because Danyang had poured rose oil across the floor.
Danyang had done it because someone had told her:
“The child in your mother’s womb is a boy.”
“In the future, your mother will only dote on your little brother. She won’t love you anymore!”
And so, under that person’s manipulation, Danyang poured rose oil in a place Princess Consort Rui was certain to pass.
Princess Consort Rui immediately slapped her daughter hard across the face.
Danyang covered her cheek, her eyes wide with disbelief.
“You fool!”
“Whether the child in my womb was a boy or a girl, they would have been the person closest to you!”
“If you didn’t care about your mother, so be it—but you actually joined with someone else to harm me!”
“Danyang, you have truly disappointed your mother!”
Princess Consort Rui was trembling with rage.
The person who had incited Danyang had already been sold away for other mistakes. But after investigating for so long, Princess Consort Rui had discovered that the murderer of her child was actually another one of her own children.
The revelation left her utterly devastated.
“She wasn’t wrong!”
“Ever since you became pregnant, Mother, you stopped caring about me!”
“Your heart was filled with nothing but the child in your belly!”
Danyang looked furious, like a lion that had been provoked.
“I had nightmares and wanted to see you, but the maids said you were resting.”
“When my tutor reprimanded me, I wanted to come to you and complain, but you had the maid send me back to my room!”
“Mother, I’m your daughter too!”
After saying this, Danyang ran out in tears.
Princess Consort Rui sagged as though someone had punctured her. She swayed and collapsed into a chair.
Every mistake had been hers!
She should never have insisted on keeping that child.
Now, not only had the younger one failed to survive, but it seemed she had also lost the heart of the older one.
After sinking into despair for several days, Princess Consort Rui prepared to fight back.
She was not a fool. Naturally, she understood who had arranged for Danyang to be manipulated.
She would never let the matter go without settling the score.
But she needed someone to help her.
The first person Princess Consort Rui thought of was Princess Changle.
“Knock, knock, knock!”
A series of knocks interrupted Princess Consort Rui’s thoughts.
“Your Highness, it’s this servant.” Jinzhi’s voice came from outside the door.
“Come in.”
Princess Consort Rui smoothed her hair and turned around.
The door opened.
Duoduo stood outside.
Prince Rui hurried to the doorway and led Duoduo inside.
“Jinzhi, stand guard outside!” she said, closing the door behind her.
Duoduo looked around Princess Consort Rui’s face with open curiosity.
Princess Consort Rui took Duoduo’s hand and sat down with her in a chair.
Feeling Duoduo’s gaze upon her, Princess Consort Rui suddenly found herself at a loss for words.
The room fell silent.
“Fourth Aunt, you’ve lost so much weight.”
There was an almost imperceptible note of pity in Duoduo’s voice.
Princess Consort Rui’s eyes grew hot, and she nearly burst into tears.
For some reason, Princess Consort Rui felt an extraordinary closeness to Duoduo.
Perhaps it was because of the child she had lost.
Perhaps Duoduo resembled the child she had always imagined—sweet, obedient, and considerate.
Princess Consort Rui took out a handkerchief and dabbed at the corners of her eyes.
“I was ill, but I’ve recovered,” she explained briefly.
Duoduo pondered for a moment, then reached out her hand toward Princess Consort Rui.
