The Self-cultivation of a Salted Fish Concubine

King Jing suppressed his laughter, sat on the chair on the desk, and held Xie Run in his arms.

"Should I still praise you?"

Xie Run took advantage of the situation and hooked her arm around his neck, saying with a touch of arrogance, "No need for praise. How about Your Highness reward me with a painting?"

After saying that, she added proudly, "I don't want anyone else's, I want the prince's!"

"You've asked for it twice. If I don't give it to you, wouldn't it be too disrespectful to Concubine Xie?" King Jing teased her.

Xie Run shook his head, his little girl full of pretentiousness, "Not giving face to Concubine Xie is a small matter. But not giving face to the little grandson of the emperor is unacceptable!"

King Jing suddenly laughed and raised his hand to pinch her nose.

"For the sake of the little grandson, I will reward you!"

Xie Run pushed his hand away, rubbed his nose, and gave King Jing a sidelong glance, "Your Highness, your grip is really strong!"

My nose is about to be pinched off.

King Jing was even more amused. "This king is not only strong in his hands, but also in other parts of his body. Don't you know that?"

Xie Run blushed, after all, he didn't have that thick skin.

She went to the side to grind the ink, and King Jing took out a brush that he had prepared earlier and started painting.

Halfway through the painting, King Jing glanced at Xie Run who was carefully grinding ink beside him.

Her skin is fair and delicate, even whiter than the tribute white porcelain.

Her emerald eyebrows and dark eyes exude exquisite brightness everywhere, yet her temperament is extremely gentle.

The elegant beauty reveals a hint of charm, silently bewitching people's hearts.

There was a faint fragrance coming from the incense burner next to it. Outside the window, snow had started falling again, landing on the branches of the red plum blossoms, half-covering them, shy and timid.

Warmth and peace linger in people's hearts, accompanied by the faint fragrance of books and ink.

It was exactly as Xie Run described.

King Jing's nerves, which had been tense for more than ten days, finally relaxed, and his mood became warmer and more peaceful than ever before.

King Jing was a wise man.

Naturally, he guessed that everything Xie Run did today was to find him a place to relax.

Her little thoughts were just to please him, and they were clearly displayed in front of him.

Who couldn't love it?

King Jing liked it very much and felt very happy.

That night, King Jing stayed at Chunshan Courtyard.

Of course, nothing was done.

In Xiuyue Pavilion, Wan Linlang quietly looked at the snow outside the window, feeling a sense of inexplicable emptiness in her heart.

Looking at the red-hot charcoal fire, she still felt cold and unconsciously wrapped herself tightly in the quilt.

Wan Linlang originally had two maids, named Suijin and Suiyin.

Sui Jin was transferred away by the princess on the grounds that she was seriously ill and was not suitable to serve in Xiu Yue Pavilion.

Suiyin was abandoned by her, and on the day she was charged with the crime, she committed suicide by taking poison.

Wan Linlang named the two newly promoted girls Suiyu and Suici.

After half a month of getting used to each other, both of them realized that their new master was a bit gloomy and difficult to serve, so they were extremely careful in their words and actions.

Suiyu came back from getting the news and whispered, "The prince is staying at Chunshan Courtyard."

Concubine Wan sneered, "You're so shameless trying to win my favor even though you're pregnant!"

Suiyu and Suici didn't dare to respond and just lowered their heads.

"Why does the prince favor her when there are so many people he can favor?" Concubine Wan was very puzzled. "Then what's so special about Concubine Xie and Concubine An, who are both of similar character?!"

Among the women favored by the prince in his previous life, there was clearly no one like Xie!

Whether it was her or Fang Yuaner, or the later concubines Han and Li.

"Could it be that Xie really has some unknown means of seduction?!"

Wan Linlang thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure it out, so she had to give up in the end.

Suddenly, Wan Linlang smiled and said, "Concubine An is still no match for Mrs. Xie."

"That day at Qiufeng Courtyard, Mrs. Xie remained calm and composed from beginning to end, while Concubine An acted cowardly even before she was implicated."

"She can't match his love, and she can't match his temperament. It's my fault for being short-sighted. I didn't realize that she's actually a bit clumsy as well."

Even on the Zhishui Boat, Xie was extremely alert.

This prevented Wan Linlang from having the opportunity to sprinkle powder on Xie Run, so she had to give up the idea of putting the blame on him.

Although Wan Linlang felt a little regretful, when Han Shiqi's fake pregnancy was exposed later, she responded quickly and pushed the blame of poisoning Ning Shiqi onto Han Shiqi, finally clearing herself of suspicion.

Both Han Shiqie and Wan Linlang wanted to use each other as a shield, but in the end Wan Linlang was the better one.

It’s a pity that she lost a piece of silver. Now she has completely lost all her confidants and has to train them all over again.

Suiyu came forward with the prepared medicine soup, "Master, you are still in the period of confinement, don't think too much, be careful of your headache."

Wan Linlang nodded slightly, "I understand. Put the medicine down."

"Yes." Suiyu put down the medicine, glanced at the broken porcelain beside her, and quietly retreated.

When only broken porcelain and Wan Linlang were left in the house.

Wan Linlang said lazily, "Pour out the medicine."

Suici quietly took the medicine and poured it into the flowerpot beside her.

In a blink of an eye, the medicine in the porcelain bowl was empty.

Suici then took out a new bowl of medicine from somewhere and said, "Master."

Wan Linlang then sat up, sniffed the medicine, and tested the poison with a silver needle. Only after making sure that there was no problem did she drink it all in one gulp.

Suici was waiting by the side, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Wan Linlang put down the bowl and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. "Just say what you want to say. Don't be hesitant in front of me."

Suici whispered, "Master, are you really alright? Medicines are always toxic. Drinking too much of this medicine might be bad for your health."

"It's okay." Wan Linlang said calmly, "The fake pregnancy medicine we used before was too cold. This medicine is just the right medicine to dispel the cold and nourish the body."

"Once my 'small confinement period' is complete, I won't need to drink it anymore."

Wan Linlang was not pregnant at all.

It was also thanks to Han Shiqi's fake pregnancy that gave her inspiration.

As long as Han's concubine faked her pregnancy and disguised it properly, King Jing would not have suspected anything.

Likewise, she can.

She can do it even more covertly than Han's concubine!

Han's concubine's fake pregnancy attracted everyone's attention, but she was ignored by everyone.

No one would care about a concubine of humble origin and no favor getting pregnant, just like Concubine An.

No, her situation was not even as good as Concubine An's.

So, without being noticed by everyone, Wan Linlang faked her pregnancy and then had a miscarriage quietly. She then naturally put the blame of the miscarriage on the concubine Han.

Until the miscarriage, no one knew about it except the small change.

Therefore, Suiyin must die!

No matter whether Suiyin was involved in poisoning Ning Shiqie or knew about Wan Linlang's fake pregnancy, Wan Linlang would not keep Suiyin.

The only thing that made her angry was that Suijin had been transferred away.

This girl has a good relationship with Suiyin. Although she has been sick, she is also quite smart. Who knows if she has heard any news?

Wan Linlang wanted to dispose of the broken gold at that time.

Just because he was afraid of revealing his whereabouts, he secretly gave Suijin some chronic poison, causing her to die quietly.

Now Wan Linlang revealed the news to Suici, also to test Suici's loyalty.

The person who benefited the most from the chaos surrounding Princess Ruyi's birthday was undoubtedly Wan Linlang.

She cleared herself of the suspicion of harming Ning's concubine, and presented a clean and innocent image in front of King Jing. She also miscarried the non-existent child and won King Jing's mercy.

Her situation now is finally much better than when she first entered the mansion.

"Unfortunately, all four concubine positions are occupied now, and I won't be able to take action anytime soon."

The limelight has just passed, and anyone who shows up at this time will definitely become the target of public criticism.

King Jing will never forgive him.

Wan Linlang suddenly chuckled, "There are so many talented people in this backyard. If I don't take action, someone will naturally be unable to control it."

"There are three women in the mansion who are about to give birth. It all depends on who gives birth to a boy first and takes the lead."

For this little advantage, I'm afraid the three pregnant women will fight to the death.

Wan Linlang didn’t know about others, but she knew that Fang Yuaner was ambitious and would never let anyone down.

Wan Linlang still holds a grudge against Fang Yuaner.

"When the news of my pregnancy first came out, not many people paid attention. But that bitch from the folk recipe camp was still restless despite being grounded, and she actually started accusing me of faking the pregnancy. I haven't been able to sleep well for several days!"

"One day or another, I will repay her for all these humiliations!"

On the fifteenth day of the second month, it was still snowing heavily when the document of Li Shiqie's promotion suddenly arrived.

In the blink of an eye, Concubine Li became Concubine Li.

After everyone thought about it carefully, they finally figured out what was going on. It turned out that Concubine Li had taken refuge with the princess!

The promotion decree was carried out quietly, and someone must have helped cover it up.

This person is definitely not King Jing, so it can only be the princess.

Looking back at what has happened since Concubine Li became pregnant, I unraveled the mystery and discovered quite a few of the princess's tricks.

Everyone couldn't help but feel nervous.

Could it be that... the princess has taken a fancy to the baby in Li Shufei's belly and wants to take it home to raise it herself?