Yun Zhu walked at an unhurried pace after leaving the main kitchen.
By the time she finally returned to Jingwu Courtyard, she was covered in sweat from the heat.
“Your Majesty, Miss Yun Zhu is back.”
A sharp little maid scurried in to announce her arrival.
Yun Zhu, carrying the food box, walked towards the room, saying joyfully, “Your Majesty, the Princess Consort specially prepared for you…”
Before she could finish speaking, she saw Wang Qingyao, who was sitting beside Concubine Dowager Fang and fanning her. Yun Zhu froze instantly, her smile vanishing.
Wang Qingyao greeted her with a smile, “Yun Zhu, you’re back.”
Yun Zhu’s cheeks twitched a few times. She tightened her grip on the handle of the food box, forced a smile, and asked, “Why has the Princess Consort come? I didn’t encounter you on the way.”
“Isn’t that right?” Wang Qingyao stood up, walked over to Yun Zhu, and fanned her a couple of times. “You’re sweating profusely, where did you run off to? I forgot to add salt to my dish and couldn’t catch up with you. So, I had to make another bowl and deliver it to the Dowager Consort myself.”
Yun Zhu then noticed a black lacquered food box with a lotus pattern on the table. Her pupils contracted sharply, and she unconsciously tightened her grip on the handle again, explaining, “I went to the kitchen to have them prepare some cold dishes for the Dowager Consort. Her Majesty hasn’t had much of an appetite lately.”
Concubine Dowager Fang nodded and said affectionately, “You are thoughtful. Go and wash up quickly, you’re so hot.”
Wang Qingyao pointed to the food box in Yun Zhu’s hand, “Give it to Zhenzhu to hold. I’ll take it back later. It’s been so long, the noodles must be mushy by now. Since it has no salt, just discard it.”
Yun Zhu lowered her head, “How can I casually discard the Princess Consort’s kind intentions? Perhaps you could bestow it upon me instead.”
Wang Qingyao smiled, “If you don’t mind, you can have it.”
Yun Zhu curtsied, “Thank you, Princess Consort.”
She walked backward out of the room, carrying the food box. Without rushing to wash up, she returned to her own room, closed the door, and first fished out the beef from the noodles to eat.
Concubine Dowager Fang did not eat beef. To please her, Yun Zhu had not eaten beef for many years. Suddenly eating it made her feel a bit nauseous.
She endured the nausea and quickly swallowed the noodles.
Eating so hastily, she didn’t notice for a moment that the noodles had been salted.
She kept wondering, how could it be such a coincidence?
After she finished the noodles and hurriedly washed up and changed her clothes, Wang Qingyao had already left.
Concubine Dowager Fang beckoned her over. Yun Zhu walked over, took the fan from a nearby maid, and gently fanned Concubine Dowager Fang.
Concubine Dowager Fang smiled charmingly, “The Princess Consort is quite cute.”
Yun Zhu’s fanning motion paused, and she said softly, “The Princess Consort lacked parental guidance since she was young, so her temperament is a bit lively, but she is quite cute. Even in Kangping Courtyard, it’s different from before. The maids don’t say ‘servant,’ they all say ‘you’ and ‘me.’ The Princess Consort says she likes everyone to be close like family.”
“Nonsense, how can servants and masters be family?”
A frown immediately appeared on Concubine Dowager Fang’s brow, and her earlier good impression of Wang Qingyao vanished.
She hadn’t expected at all that she herself had called Yun Zhu, her servant, her half-daughter!
Kangping Courtyard.
Zhenzhu still didn’t understand Wang Qingyao’s actions. Why go to the trouble of sending another bowl of noodles? The previous noodles clearly had salt in them. What if Yun Zhu noticed and thought Wang Qingyao didn’t trust her, harboring resentment?
Yun Zhu was the foremost person by Concubine Dowager Fang’s side. If she were to constantly speak ill of the Princess Consort to the Dowager Consort, how could the Dowager Consort still like her daughter-in-law?
Zhenzhu worriedly voiced her concerns.
Wang Qingyao: “It’s fine, if she doesn’t like me, so be it. I don’t depend on her for a living. I just find this Yun Zhu very suspicious. You all should be vigilant when you encounter her in the future, don’t bring trouble upon us.”
Zhenzhu carefully recalled Yun Zhu’s words and actions. She truly didn’t find anything suspicious about her.
Zhenzhu had studied martial arts since childhood, with sharp ears and keen eyes. Her eyesight and hearing were far superior to ordinary people.
Even she hadn’t discovered any issues, yet the Princess Consort had. The Princess Consort was truly amazing!
Zhenzhu looked at Wang Qingyao with admiration, “May I ask if Your Majesty discovered something?”
Wang Qingyao found it difficult to explain that she had seen Yun Zhu’s subtle actions with her clairvoyant eyes, so she said, “No, it’s just a woman’s sixth sense.”
Zhenzhu: “…”
Wang Qingyao couldn’t give a clear explanation, but since she had said Yun Zhu was suspicious, the few head maids around her took note.
In the evening, after dinner and with the door closed, when there was no one else in the room, Wang Qingyao told Xiao Yun about Yun Zhu hiding the beef.
She had just bathed and smelled fragrant. Her long, dark, soft hair cascaded over her shoulders. As she was about to sleep, she was only wearing a moon-white camisole. Her trousers, originally long, had been altered by Yin Zhu into capris. Barefoot, she sat on the bed, like a mischievous girl next door.
Xiao Yun sat beside her and began to feel restless, kissing her neck several times. Hearing this news abruptly, he paused and looked up, “Yun Zhu?”
“Yes. Didn’t you see? If I hadn’t had… this intuition, I would have thought she was good too! Why do you think she did that?”
Xiao Yun pinched her face and asked, “Then what did you do? Did Mother blame you? Oh, I’ll explain it to Mother tomorrow morning. This Yun Zhu can’t stay in the household anymore!”
“Who do you think I am? I discovered it, so how could I let her frame me?”
Wang Qingyao excitedly recounted how she had made another bowl of noodles and personally delivered it to Jingwu Courtyard: “Mother isn’t used to interacting with me, but she seemed quite happy. You should have seen Yun Zhu’s expression then, as if she had seen a ghost.”
Wang Qingyao imitated her, laughing uncontrollably.
“Then we must get rid of her. How can my Ding’an Prince’s Mansion keep such a troublemaker?”
Wang Qingyao rolled to the inner side of the bed and sat against the wall. “We have no proof, so how can we dismiss her? Are we going to tell others that the Princess Consort has intuition and sensed Yun Zhu putting beef in the bowl? Who would believe that? Anyone would think I was deliberately looking for trouble! Would Mother agree?”
Xiao Yun hugged her and lay down, looking quite perplexed. “I never felt she had ill intentions before. Don’t worry about this. I’ll find fault with her, and we’ll eventually find an opportunity to get rid of her.” He added, “If Mother didn’t value her so much, I could have dismissed her with a single word of dislike.”
Wang Qingyao giggled, her fingers sliding up and down his Adam’s apple playfully. She casually said, “Does she like you, and that’s why she dislikes me?”
Xiao Yun caught her restless hand and chuckled, “Do you think I’m a hot bun that everyone likes?”
“Of course. The man I fancy must be sought after, right?”
This statement made Xiao Yun’s heart swell with sweetness. He flipped over and kissed her lips several times…