ebookland Chapter 247 Cui's Tactics
Chapter 247 Cui's Tactics
Seeing her somewhat flustered and naive appearance, Lan Zhi's previous imagined malice towards her suddenly lessened considerably.
"From now on, we'll be living under the same roof, so there's no need to stand on ceremony. Please sit down!"
Despite her words, Zhu Fangfei still took the teacup from the maid, raised it with both hands, and respectfully presented it to her.
"Please have some tea, sister."
Lan Zhi nodded with a smile, took the teacup from her hand, took a small sip, then put the teacup down and gestured:
"sit down!"
Zhu Fangfei sat somewhat awkwardly to her right, swallowing hard nervously, unsure of what to do, and could only wait quietly for her to speak.
"I heard you came back from the mountains?"
"Yes, I lived on Mount Kunlun for eighteen years."
"Oh? Kunlun Mountain? There must be lots of fun things to do on the mountain."
When this topic was brought up, Zhu Fangfei's previous nervousness vanished, and she began to talk freely.
"You're right. The mountain not only has all kinds of rare plants and beautiful flowers and grasses, but also some small animals, such as rabbits, deer, monkeys, hedgehogs, pangolins, and foxes..."
At this point, she looked at Lan Zhi as if she had just remembered something, "Oh right, I have a white fox. She is very well-behaved and sensible. I originally wanted to bring her with me yesterday, but my father said that people would talk behind my back about me being disrespectful. When I go back to my parents' home tomorrow, can I bring her here to raise her?"
Looking at her innocent and naive appearance, Lan Zhi really didn't want to see her as an enemy, but was more willing to...more willing to see her as a friend.
She smiled and nodded,
"Sure, since Jingyi Garden is yours, you can raise whatever you want."
"really?"
Zhu Fangfei was a little excited.
"Can I really bring it with me?"
"of course can."
Upon receiving her approval, Zhu Fangfei immediately beamed with joy.
"Sister, everyone says you are the kindest woman in the world. Now it seems they are right. You are a really good person."
Lan Zhi curved the corners of her mouth into a gentle smile.
"You seem very kind."
Zhu Fangfei lowered her head, feeling somewhat guilty.
"I...I stole your man, it was wrong of me, but...but I really like him..."
Seeing her pitiful look, Lan Zhi felt a pang of unease. She realized that this woman was her rival in love, and she had to constantly remind herself not to be fooled by her innocent appearance.
She looked at her with a serious expression and reminded her, word by word:
"Relationships need to be mutual to last, and I hope you understand that."
"I know, I like him, which means I have a 50% chance of success. If he falls in love with me in the future, then I'll be successful."
Ah!
How naive is this girl's idea?
She actually said such things in front of someone's wife.
Although Lan Zhi was displeased, she still nodded magnanimously and praised:
"It's good that you think that way. By the way, I won't summon you anymore. Don't wander around the main courtyard. You can go to your Jingyi Garden and the back garden of the Crown Prince's residence..."
"Why? I'm a concubine, can't I even stroll around the Crown Prince's residence?"
"No."
She interrupted her directly.
"Now that you are married, you must follow the rules of the Crown Prince's residence."
Although Zhu Fangfei was puzzled, she nodded in agreement.
"I understand. Jingxiang Garden is the closest to me. May I go there?"
"No."
She interrupted her directly.
She knew that those three brats had scared her with small animals last night. If she were allowed to wander around the Crown Prince's residence freely, she might just run to Jingxiang Garden to cause trouble for those brats.
Zhu Fangfei blinked a few times and then nodded in agreement.
"Okay then, I'll go back first."
As she spoke, she stood up, and before leaving, she suddenly turned back to look at her.
"Sister, tomorrow is the day I return to my parents' home after three days. Could you please ask the Crown Prince to accompany me to my parents' home?"
Fearing that Lan Zhi might disagree, she continued:
“It won’t take up too much of his time. He just needs to say a few words to my dad. Otherwise, it won’t look good for me.”
Zhu Kui arranged for his daughter to marry into the Crown Prince's residence, largely to cultivate a relationship with Wei Jianning. In any case, at least now he would no longer harbor any ill intentions towards Wei Jianning, so taking this opportunity to build a connection was not a bad idea.
She nodded.
"Alright, I will speak with the Crown Prince."
Zhu Fangfei immediately beamed with joy.
"Thank you sister..."
She left with cheerful steps. Lan Zhi picked up her teacup, but had no heart for tea, and put the teacup back in its original place.
Zhenlan Garden
The Emperor has been spending his nights at Zhenlan Garden lately, but he has not yet mentioned making Linglan a Noble Consort, nor has he even given her the title of Consort. This is making Linglan a little anxious.
If she couldn't become a Noble Consort sooner, even if the Empress were to die unexpectedly one day, given the seniority of Consort Liang and Consort Zhen in the palace, it wouldn't be her turn to become Empress.
So in the past few days, Cui has thoroughly understood the situation in the palace and the circumstances of the ladies-in-waiting.
She secretly devised a plan, the first person she wanted to eliminate was Consort Zhen, that woman who was all show and no substance.
She took out the arsenic she had bought from outside the palace, mixed it with several medicinal herbs, narrowed her eyes slightly, and then turned and left.
A few days ago, she visited Zhenshu Garden and learned that although Consort Zhen had been in the palace for many years, she had never been able to conceive.
She immediately guaranteed that she could obtain a miraculous medicine that could cure women's infertility. Consort Zhen believed her and not only gave her one hundred taels of silver but also a white jade bracelet.
Yesterday, she left the palace to give Ling Laoda some silver, instructing him to stay obediently outside the palace, and then went to the pharmacy to buy a few medicines.
When she arrived at Zhenshu Garden, the maid led her directly to Consort Zhen.
When Consort Zhen saw her, she looked at her empty hands with expectant eyes and asked in surprise,
"Mr. Cui, have you brought what I asked for?"
After looking around, Consort Cui frowned slightly, looking somewhat wary. Consort Zhen quickly waved for everyone to leave.
Once only the two of them were left, Cui mysteriously pulled out the medicine bag hidden in her sleeve.
“Your Highness, this medicine is no ordinary medicine. You will see results in three days after taking it, but you must not tell anyone outside the family, not even the maids around you.”
"Okay, I'll do anything as long as you can get me pregnant."
While secretly rejoicing that her scheme had succeeded, Lady Cui handed the small packet of medicine to Consort Zhen on the table in front of her and instructed her:
"Take this packet of medicine with warm water on an empty stomach before breakfast tomorrow. Whatever you do, don't tell anyone I gave it to you..."
Consort Zhen nodded hastily.
"Don't worry, you've been so good to me, how could I possibly expose your secrets? Can I just take this one packet of medicine?"
Cui hurriedly waved her hand.
"That won't work. I'll deliver it to you tomorrow afternoon."
Why didn't you give it to me together?
“What if someone finds out and comes to me asking for the prescription? Didn’t I tell you a few days ago that this divine doctor’s prescription is not to be shared? If Consort Lan hadn’t taken this medicine, how could she have gotten pregnant so easily?”
Consort Zhen immediately nodded in understanding.
"I understand. If I manage to get pregnant, I will definitely thank you properly."
Cui's eyes revealed a hint of smugness that was hard for others to detect. After speaking seriously to Consort Zhen about the precautions for taking the medicine, she left Zhenshu Garden.
Although Consort Zhen was not particularly cunning, she was not stupid.
She couldn't believe that Consort Lan's mother would kindly send her medicine.
She immediately called out,
"Xiao Die, go and fetch the imperial physician..."
She wanted to see what kind of medicine Consort Lan's mother had given her.