The cousin's family is extremely wealthy; she deserves to be a concubine.

But then she couldn't help but say maliciously, "It's no wonder that this servant is not of one mind with her mistress, the Seventh Miss. Who told her to be so vicious at such a young age, even trying to harm her own cousin and nephew."

Hua Sirong did not criticize Wang Mama for her inappropriate words. She smiled slightly and said, "My cousin Zhu is only fourteen or fifteen years old this year, but her desire to enter the Second Prince's residence is becoming increasingly difficult to hide."

Okra probably learned about this miraculous prescription from Granny Li by chance, and then secretly began to bewitch He Zhizhu.

He Zhizhu is still young, and she certainly won't be satisfied with her current appearance.

After all, she had personally witnessed the dazzling array of women in the Second Prince's harem during her visit that day.

"Little girls are naturally anxious and lack confidence."

With a scheming girl nearby tempting him, it's understandable that he might impulsively use this method to make himself more mature and attractive.

With the principal wife still alive, what identity will He Zhizhu have when entering the Second Prince's residence?

Hua Sirong couldn't help but feel a little excited!

Wang's mother's eyes gleamed, "Then why don't we grant Okra's request?"

Anyway, let's just assume it's Okra's own choice. Ultimately, who uses that harmful herb on themselves is beyond our control.

Hua Sirong looked somber and shook her head, saying, "That's not appropriate. Qiu Kui is trying to use this opportunity to drag me down with her."

Look, in this letter she says directly that she needs it herself. Even if the truth comes out one day and we take this letter to our aunt, our aunt will not be able to convict her based on it.

On the contrary, it is we, the ones who provide the medicinal herbs, who have ulterior motives.

As Hua Sirong spoke, she placed her hand on the stack of evidence again and sneered, "However, Miss Qiu Kui has certainly gone to great lengths."

Fearing I wouldn't give in easily, she presented me with all the evidence she had secretly collected of the evil deeds my cousin Zhu had committed against me, hoping to provoke my anger.

She was right; anyone with a temper wouldn't let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for revenge—to use someone else to do their dirty work.

Under Wang's expectant gaze, Hua Sirong nodded slightly, "Of course I won't let it go either."

"But I can't just hand over my secrets to that cunning girl, Qiu Kui, so easily."

"Mom, come closer, I want to tell you something..."

Wang's mother nodded repeatedly, "Pah, pah!"

That girl, Qiu Kui, is no good at all. Even now that we've left the Marquis's mansion, she's still plotting against you, Miss.

We should definitely cut off all contact with her; that would be the safest course of action.

If we've given her leverage this time, next time she might use it to blackmail us into being her tools.

"Pah! You've really got a knack for calculating! Even more shrewd than you, young lady, who's been playing with an abacus since childhood!"

Hua Sirong wholeheartedly agreed. Although she disliked He Zhizhu, she was unwilling to get involved in such dirty work herself.

Especially her husband, whose status is special, and whose future is even more unpredictable.

But she was merely an orphaned daughter of a merchant, and all her honors and disgraces were as fleeting as duckweed.

To some extent, the Marquis's mansion served as a facade for her to elevate her status.

Hua Sirong did not want to strain her relationship with the Marquis's mansion unless absolutely necessary.

Therefore, Qiu Kui's plan today can be accomplished. But it must not be discovered that it was Hua Si Rong's people who were carrying it out.

She doesn't want to antagonize the Marquis's family for the time being, and she certainly doesn't want to be branded as ungrateful before things are settled.

Hua Sirong's thoughts raced for a moment. She instructed Wang Mama, "I think Qiu Kui's actions are somewhat like venting her anger, but we can also glean from them that she has a grander plan."

My mother will write back to her. She will simply say that I am heavily pregnant these days and have no energy to attend to anything else.

And Mom, you're getting old, and you don't have any connections in the capital. Where would you find those rare medicinal herbs?

Moreover, two of the ingredients don't look like good medicine. I kindly remind Miss Okra where this prescription came from and not to use it indiscriminately.

"And so, our relationship with her ends here."

Madam Wang nodded, "Yes, this old servant understands."

"By the way, when Mom goes to see Manager Ning, remember to avoid certain people. I don't want anyone to know that I have any contact with Manager Ning."

He has many connections; he can find a distant herbal medicine merchant and secretly make contact... Qiuyi, I think they definitely won't let me down.”

While nodding in agreement, Madam Wang asked with a puzzled look, "Looking for Qiuyi? He's already married the young mistress's maid, would he still be involved with that girl Qiu Kui in private?"

Hua Sirong said firmly, "The bond between childhood sweethearts can't be broken so easily."

“Qiu Kui is a smart person. Qiu Yi has a high status in the Marquis’s mansion. She can’t just cut off her support like this.”

After we rejected Qiu Kui, she wanted to give He Zhizhu a push, but didn't want her aunt to find out anything. Therefore, finding Qiu Yi, who frequently came and went from the Marquis's residence, was the best option.

"But the damage this thing does to the body is irreversible."

Even the most closely guarded secret recipes in the palace, after numerous improvements by the Imperial Medical Academy, could not be directly applied to the empresses.

Most of them were concubines who chose this path because they wanted to rise in rank or regain favor.

Otherwise, He Zhizhu and Qiu Kui wouldn't have kept it a secret and followed my path to get medicinal herbs.

I suspect my dear aunt knows nothing about this.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have let He Zhizhu act so recklessly.

Sigh, okra is such a cautious creature; I'm already looking forward to seeing the results.

However, Madam Wang had some concerns. "What if Seventh Miss really uses such an unorthodox method to make her body mature prematurely and gain the favor of a noble person? Wouldn't we be indirectly helping her?"

Wasn't it supposed to be revenge? Now they're repaying kindness with enmity.

Hua Sirong smiled faintly: "The flowering period is too short. Even if you are favored, how long can you stay popular? Besides, you have no children. After you fall out of favor, how will you survive?"

Don't blame her for being ruthless; there's a cause for every effect.

Mother Wang couldn't help but shudder. "But what is Miss Qiu Kui after?"

What benefit could a personal maid possibly gain from helping her master gain and then lose favor?

Such a capable maid is definitely destined to stay with He Zhizhu for life; it's impossible for her to remain in the household and marry elsewhere.

Hua Sirong pondered for a moment, then suddenly her eyes gleamed, "My cousin Zhu would never like to give away someone close to her to her husband."

She naturally wouldn't share such a heaven-sent remedy with Okra, or even just scraps.

However, when my cousin went to the Second Prince's residence and received his exclusive favor, but was unable to conceive for a long time, the best solution was to use a surrogate mother.

Okra, isn't it the best choice?

Perhaps, this is the ultimate purpose of okra.

After all, He Zhizhu had blocked her marriage, so it's not impossible for her to step on He Zhizhu to rise to the top.

Wang's mother was startled by Hua Sirong's conjecture and broke out in a cold sweat.

"But what if Seventh Miss doesn't choose Okra? Wouldn't Okra's whole plan have come to nothing?"

Hua Sirong said firmly, "No! Qiu Kui's scheme is not something that can be accomplished overnight. As long as she doesn't change her original intention, she will definitely be able to get what she wants!"

After all, opportunity always favors the prepared.

However, it's best not to get involved with this kind of person easily.

Hua Sirong only hoped that Qiu Kui wouldn't take her anger out on others. Having seen through Qiu Kui's intentions, she no longer wanted to have anything to do with her.

Wang's mother clearly shared this concern.

Hua Sirong saw through it and smiled, reassuring her, "Mom, just focus on taking care of what's in front of you. As for the rest, we'll see."

Having been assigned a task, Wang's mother's anxiety was relieved. She then gave Chunyan a few more words of advice before hurriedly leaving the Jiang family courtyard.