After transmigrating into the book, I replaced the innocent-looking girl and became the Crown Prince

The next day.

While Lu Hanting was having dinner with Wu Weiwei, Ru Feng came over to report.

"Your Highness, I just ran into Qingwen at the gate of the mansion. I saw her leading Doctor Jiang into the mansion."

Upon inquiry, it was learned that the Lady of the Marquis had fallen ill after being exposed to the wind last night…

Hearing Ru Feng's words, Wu Weiwei lowered her eyes slightly, but her heart was filled with turmoil.

Haha, the news just came out yesterday, and I'm sick today. What a coincidence!

Lu Hanting frowned, his eyes turning icy.

Wu Weiwei put a piece of cherry meat into his mouth.

He said considerately, "Young Master, since the Lady of the Marquis is ill, as her son, you should naturally go and visit her."

Hearing Wu Weiwei say this, Lu Hanting's expression softened slightly.

He looked at Wu Weiwei and said softly, "I'll listen to Weiwei."

After seeing the Crown Prince walk out of the courtyard gate.

Lingfu complained, "Auntie, I think the Lady Hou is just faking it, isn't she?"

She didn't get sick earlier or later, but she fell ill right after she was beaten to death.

It was all just to cover up her guilty conscience about harming her aunt and to gain the prince's sympathy so that he wouldn't hold her responsible.

Wu Weiwei glanced at Ling Fu with a smile.

"Lingfu, whether she is really sick or pretending to be sick."

She was the wife of a marquis and the mother of the heir apparent.

Even if she killed me, her concubine, as her son, the heir apparent couldn't do anything to her.

She's feigning illness to gain the prince's attention, only because she's afraid I'll whisper in his ear and sow discord between them...

Lingfu nodded, seemingly understanding, yet not quite.

"Aunt, if that's the case, why don't you just sow discord between them?"

Instead, she always spoke highly of the Lady of the Marquis in front of the heir apparent.

"Lingfu, you don't understand this."

The tricks have to be reversed; following them blindly gets boring.

The prince likes a kind-hearted woman who is charming, seductive, considerate, and occasionally temperamental.

Although she was promoted by the Lady of the Marquis, now that she is not playing by the rules, she will probably be eliminated by the Lady of the Marquis.

She disliked the female lead, so she promoted her to replace her.

But now she can't control things, and she wants to get rid of her.

But before she gets rid of him, she hopes to see him and the female lead get into a fight, preferably one that results in mutual destruction.

She wanted to reap the benefits without lifting a finger.

Tsk.

There's no such thing as a free lunch. As the saying goes, it's easy to invite a god, but hard to send him away.

If she were that easy to send, she wouldn't be called Wu Weiwei.

Lady Hou might have thought she was following the usual pattern, speaking ill of her to the heir apparent, but she didn't.

The more the Lady Hou treated her badly and tried to harm her, the more she would speak well of her and flatter her in front of the Heir Apparent.

The more she suffers and gets hurt, the more the prince will feel sorry for her.

Over time, the accumulated resentment deepened.

Once things had accumulated to a certain point, she would add a crucial ingredient at the opportune moment, allowing the young master to fully see the true colors of the Lady of the Marquis.

At best, one can retreat to a nunnery to cultivate one's character; at worst...

Qiu Shui Pavilion.

Lady Hou lay on the bed, her face pale and her body utterly weak.

Qingwen helped her up and placed a soft pillow behind her back. Granny Qiu brought over the medicine that had been decocted.

"Madam, it's all my fault for not taking good care of you..."

If it weren't for her bad idea, the lady probably wouldn't have gotten so sick.

Since the news of Wang Xiulan's death by beating yesterday arrived, the Lady of the Marquis has been worried that the Heir Apparent will blame her, which has caused a rift between them.

So, on Granny Qiu's advice, the windows were left open all night.

Unexpectedly, the lady actually caught a cold from the cold, and it seemed to be quite severe.

"Cough cough..."

Madam Liu waved her hand, "Granny Qiu, this isn't your fault..."

Lady Hou's eyes suddenly turned fierce. If anyone is to blame, it's Wu Weiwei.

She never expected that she had misjudged her, thinking she was a docile little sheep, not knowing that she was actually an ambitious wolf.

"Madam, it's more important to recover right now. The young master might come to see you soon."

Granny Qiu advised.

Then, looking at Qingwen beside him, he said, "Qingwen, go and brew a pot of Biluochun tea that the young master likes to drink..."

After hearing this, Qingwen obediently went out.

Seeing Qingwen leave, Liu looked at her and asked, "Is everything arranged?"

"Don't worry, Madam, everything is arranged."

Liu nodded in satisfaction.

Before long, the prince arrived at Qiushui Pavilion.

Seeing that Liu looked haggard and her expression was completely different from her usual elegant and powerful demeanor, Lu Hanting immediately put aside his grudges.

"Mother, why did you suddenly fall ill?"

He sat on the edge of the bed, and the hard lines on his face softened instantly.

He felt guilty for his recent suspicions about his mother.

"Ting'er, your mother is alright."

"It's just that I forgot to tell them to close the window last night, and they caught a cold from being exposed to the wind all night."

Upon hearing that it was caused by a servant forgetting to close the window, Lu Hanting's brows immediately darkened: "Granny Qiu, who served Mother last night?"

Granny Qiu stepped forward shakily and said cautiously, "Young Master, I served the lady during the first half of last night, but I remember that the window was not opened at that time."

In the latter half of the night, Qingwen replaced the old servant, who remembered specifically instructing her to take good care of the mistress.

Unexpectedly, after waking up one night, the lady caught a cold...

"Bang!"

When Qingwen, who was carrying the tea, heard this, she was so frightened that she dropped the teacup.

She immediately knelt down and said, "Your Highness, spare me! I... I didn't..."

The window was already open when she and the nanny changed shifts last night.

She remembered mentioning it to Granny Qiu at the time.

It is said that the night is cold, and I am afraid that the Lady of the Marquis will freeze and have to close the window.

But Granny Qiu said that the Lady Hou felt chest tightness, and it was she who instructed that the window be opened for ventilation.

But what she was hearing now was that Granny Qiu was trying to shift the blame for the Lady Hou's illness onto her.

She looked at Granny Qiu in surprise and doubt.

But I noticed a faint, dark light emanating from her eyes.

Lu Hanting narrowed his eyes slightly. Qingwen was his mother's capable head maid, so why would she do such a thing?

"Qingwen, my mother has always treated you well, why did you want to harm her?"

Qingwen's heart skipped a beat.

Looking at Lady Hou again, she saw that she didn't look at her at all, not even glancing at her.

Since entering Qiushui Pavilion, Qingwen has considered herself to be loyal to the Lady of the Marquis, and has served her with utmost care and deference for several years.

She also believed in her heart that she was a maidservant valued by the lady.

If you ask her what she did to wrong the lady who made her give up on her, it's only that matter...

Thinking of that incident, Qingwen turned pale.

"Your Highness, I did not harm the lady, I really did not."

"No? Could it be that Granny Qiu is making baseless accusations against you?"

Lu Hanting looked at Granny Qiu, and his eyes immediately sharpened.

"Your Highness, this old servant dares not. This old servant is only telling the truth. If you don't believe me, you can ask the Lady of the Marquis."

Then Qingwen looked pitifully at Lady Hou.

"Madam, please say a word for me!"

I really didn't. Qingwen has always been loyal to you. I really didn't..."

If she were accused of plotting to murder the Lady of the Marquis, she would probably lose her life.

But to her surprise, the Lady of the Marquis looked at her coldly:

"Qingwen, you have served me for many years, and I believe I have treated you well."

You can speak freely about any resentment or dissatisfaction you have towards me, but I never expected you would actually try to harm me…