The Qing Palace Never Meets Spring

Zhu Ying's heart sank to the bottom. She knelt down and pleaded, "My lady, I am ignorant. I only thought that you would be happy to hear this, so I rushed to say it. I did not know that it would disturb the other ladies."

And as for the concubine, she's pregnant and most used to being served by servants. She begs the Princess Consort to consider the concubine's situation—no, to consider the unborn child—not to send the servant out of the palace.

"If this servant is sent out of the palace, even Lord Ahajan and his wife will not spare him."

Qingwan looked at Zhuying, who was kowtowing on the ground, reached out and grabbed her chin, looking at the tears on her face: "You are indeed good-looking, otherwise your master would not have been so eager to deal with you as soon as you showed your face."

The palace is never short of people who are good-looking, have high social status, and are also intelligent.

Get up. This is not the place to beg for mercy.

Zhu Ying wanted to beg for mercy, but Mu Xiang said, "Get up. Don't make the Princess angry anymore, or it won't be as simple as just sending you out of the palace."

Zhu Ying then got up crying and followed the two back. After entering the prince's residence, Mu Xiang ordered someone to take Zhu Ying away.

Mu Xiang looked at Zhu Ying's back and said, "After all, she was a palace maid. When it comes to familiarity, we are no match for her."

I never expected she could find her way to the Sixth Princess.

After standing for a moment, Qingwan said, "Go and see if Zhang Rui went out with Master today. If not, call him to me."

"Yes. But if we summon Zhang Rui, wouldn't the prince find out about the matter of the Fujin (princess) handling the bamboo shadows?"

Qingwan said, "There was no need to hide it. Fuling was waiting to use this to trip me up."

Mu Xiang nodded thoughtfully: "I misunderstood. Today's matter is justified in the way the Fujin dealt with Zhu Ying. The trouble is that if the Guarjia concubine brings up her pregnancy, the Fujin will inevitably incur the master's displeasure."

Since there are few children, they naturally need to be valued. The master has never been particularly fond of his wife, and every time this girl comes to invite him, he takes the opportunity to leave. I'm afraid that doing this will only...

Today's events have truly wronged the Fujin (principal wife); she has never encountered anything like this at home.

Mu Xiang was telling the truth. After Guan Zhu was born, Guan Zhu's mother did try to seduce him for a while, but before Li Jia could do anything, Marhan intervened and suppressed her. Moreover, when Li Jia entered the household years ago, Marhan's inner quarters had already passed the point of fierce infighting.

Furthermore, of their six daughters, five of whom participated in the talent show, none of them were selected. They assumed she would be the same, so Malhan and Li Jia only planned to find a family with few members.

Although the results of the selection were somewhat unexpected, and she and Marhan had analyzed them, they never imagined that with such a humble family background, she could still become a prince's consort.

Things I wasn't even familiar with at home, I now have to teach myself.

Thinking of this, Qingwan shook her head and sighed, "These kinds of disputes between wives and concubines happen in every household; it's just a matter of whether they make a scene or not."

She watched the little girl go off to find Zhang Rui, took a deep breath, and said, "Let's go, let's go meet Fu Ling."

As soon as Qingwan arrived at Fuling's bedroom door, the others prepared to go in and report. Qingwan waved her hand to indicate that it was not necessary, and went in with Muxiang and Chenxiang, who arrived later.

Fu Ling was resting on the bed, the bedsheets covered with children's clothes. If it weren't for Qing Wan and the others, it would have been a very warm and cozy scene.

Fu Ling was so engrossed in stroking the clothes that she didn't even notice the others entering. Her other maid, Xi Ying, followed behind Qing Wan, watching her anxiously, but also mindful that Qing Wan and the other two shouldn't make any moves.

After observing Qingwan's expression, Chenxiang coughed lightly to attract Fuling's attention.

When Fuling looked up and saw Qingwan, she quickly put down the clothes in her hands and stood up. When Xiying tried to step forward, she was blocked by Chenxiang who had stepped back, and she was unable to move forward. For a moment, Xiying was stuck in place, unable to move forward or backward.

Because of her pregnancy, Fu Ling got up very slowly, and the others didn't urge her, letting her do as she pleased.

After Fuling stood up and bowed, she realized something was wrong. Qingwan not only did not treat her any better because of her pregnancy, but even made her stay in the bowing position for a while longer. She was puzzled, as the Fujin was not the kind of person who could be so impatient.

Then, realizing that she hadn't even heard the servants' report, he said, "When the Princess Consort comes to my place, I should go out to greet her according to the rules. But I don't know where these maids have gone to play, so I failed to greet her properly."

When they return, I will properly instruct them.

Mu Xiang stepped forward: "Concubine, think carefully before you speak. Your mistress is still sitting in front of you. Who are you going to instruct? The maids in our palace are all well-known figures in the Eight Banners. What right do you have to instruct them?" Her tone was respectful, but her words were unpleasant.

Fuling felt somewhat resentful. Although she was only a concubine, she was the only one with a title in Yinxiang's harem for a long time. Even though she gave birth to the eldest princess, she was still just a concubine. Later, when Qingwan entered the household, it was only the two of them. Therefore, she had never suffered any mistreatment from outsiders.

She opened her mouth, but in the end she only curtsied and said, "This servant has overstepped his bounds."

Qingwan looked at Muxiang with a hint of helplessness. She was usually so composed, but today she really learned something from the Eighth Prince's wife.

He said to Fuling, "Get up. I've been busy with the Sixth Princess's arranged marriage all day, and I almost forgot that the maid next to you came to report that you are pregnant."

Find yourself a place to sit; you're probably more familiar with this place than I am.

The bamboo shadows beside you are not only wandering aimlessly in the palace today, but also disturbing the other princes and their wives.

"You were a palace maid, so you should know the rules best. What do you think should be done with this person?"

Fuling looked up at the door but didn't see any bamboo shadows. She lowered her head again and said, "This matter should be handled according to palace rules."

"Palace rules?" Qingwan smiled. "Is it a beating or something else? You'd probably prefer a beating, wouldn't you?"

I was thinking you'd at least plead for her, but I didn't expect you to be so heartless. This could easily leave a scar. If she gets a scar, does that mean she can't even think about anything else anymore, hmm?

Fu Ling was startled. Today's events were not a good plan; they were merely a convenient move after she discovered she was pregnant. Zhu Ying's ambitions had grown increasingly larger over the past year, and she had been wanting to give her a warning, hence this action.

She wasn't worried about Zhuying's life. Although Zhuying was sent to the palace after she became pregnant with the eldest princess and wasn't a proper palace maid, her life wasn't that worthless.

However, Qingwan's unconventional approach and directness caught Qingwan off guard.

But thinking of the eldest princess and the child in her womb, her heart, which had been pounding, calmed down: "This servant does not know what the princess is talking about, but has that girl Zhuying offended the princess?"

Qingwan watched her get up and raised her voice, saying, "Sit still, you're making me dizzy."

Fu Ling, who was about to get up, was startled by this and sat back down steadily.

Qingwan then spoke again: "Don't play dumb with me. We all know what you're up to and why you're scheming against your maid. I'm only letting you have your way today because of the child. But if it happens again, you'd better think twice."

Fuling looked at Qingwan and saw that she was not angry. She was even more unsure of Qingwan's thoughts. She looked at Xiying again and saw that she no longer showed the concern she had shown when she got up. She just lowered her head.

She grew increasingly anxious and was about to explain herself when Zhang Rui entered, breaking the tension.