good season

There were quite a few people in the village, including some guards, but Old Madam Wei was a woman who valued rules.

Of course, Madam Wei's rules did not apply to her sons and grandsons.

Apart from these two, everyone in the Baoqing Marquis's manor and the estate must unconditionally abide by her rules.

Even though this is a manor, her residence is considered the inner quarters. According to the rules, servants over the age of thirteen are not allowed to enter or leave the inner quarters, and guards are even less permitted to do so.

Therefore, at this moment, there are no guards in the inner quarters, not even any adult men.

Women have an innate fear of snakes.

Two daring old women rushed into the inner room, trying to use sticks to push away the snakes that had crawled onto Old Madam Wei. But as soon as they got close, a snake flicked its tongue and lunged at their hands. Luckily, they dodged quickly, or they would have been bitten.

The two were terrified. Fu Jiao was unable to make a sound and collapsed to the ground.

Countless snakes crawled past her and onto Madam Wei's bed. Fu Jiao had heard people say that not all snakes are poisonous, but snakes were rare in the capital. Having grown up in the Marquis's mansion, this was the first time she had ever seen a real snake. Before this, she had only seen bamboo snakes that children played with, so how could she distinguish between poisonous and non-poisonous snakes?

Snakes were crawling all over Madam Wei's bed. They crawled onto her body and face and crawled into her quilt. Madam Wei finally woke up. She had drunk some calming soup and was sleeping soundly. She would not have woken up if the snakes hadn't been biting her.

She opened her eyes, glanced at it once, and then fainted.

The usually strong and unyielding Madam Wei was actually so frightened that she fainted.

The guards finally arrived after hearing the news. Fu Jiao disregarded the old lady's rules and let the guards into the old lady's inner room. Some of them were familiar with snakes and were initially startled by the snakes on the bed, but after a closer look, they breathed a sigh of relief. These snakes were all non-venomous.

There are few venomous snakes near the capital; most of the snakes are non-venomous.

Knowing that the snakes were not poisonous, the group became bolder, and some people raised their knives to kill them, but a slightly older leader stopped them.

"No, this is Liu Xian, we can't kill her. Don't you think today's events are a bit strange? When have you ever seen so many snakes? This must be Liu Xian manifesting herself. We can't kill these snakes."

Everyone thought it made sense and looked at Old Madam Wei, who was still unconscious.

The old lady was no kind person; she may have done something to offend Liu Xian, and in a fit of anger, Liu Xian summoned his sons and grandsons.

Nobody wants to wake up to a bed full of snakes, so it's best to avoid getting involved.

The guards carefully put the snakes into sacks and then carefully took them up the mountain to release them back into the wild.

While the doctor was treating Old Madam Wei, several high-ranking maids had their servants prepare incense, candles, and fruit, pleading with Lord Liu Xian to show leniency and stop frightening people.

Madam Wei did not fully regain consciousness until almost dawn.

Unfortunately, she did not forget the scene before she fell into a coma, and she will remember it vividly until she dies.

As for the old women saying that it was the work of the willow spirit, Old Madam Wei did not believe it.

"Strange powers and supernatural phenomena, they're all strange powers and supernatural phenomena!"

There was something that Old Madam Wei kept to herself: if there really were gods, wouldn't all those who died by her hand become evil ghosts and come to haunt her every night to claim their lives?

No, never.

So these snakes weren't some kind of divine intervention; someone was warning her!

Yes, a warning, not killing her!
If you want to kill her, not all snakes will be non-venomous; if you want to kill her, one venomous snake will be enough.

The person behind that was trying to scare her and warn her.

Warning for what?
But who could this person be?
Madam Wei gritted her teeth. That vile Consort Li, it must be her, it absolutely must be her!
Why wasn't she warned before, but now of all times?
Still need to ask?

Because those four people have disappeared!
This shows that Consort Li had always known about the existence of those four people. She didn't take action because she was worried that those four people would stand in front of others. Now that she was sure that those four people were gone, she revealed her claws.

Others might not think this way, but Madam Wei is different. She is a person who is carrying a big secret. Let alone a bed of snakes, even a snake would be seen as a conspiracy against her, and she would magnify the conspiracy tenfold or a hundredfold.

"You bitch, you bitch, you forced me to do this, you forced me to do this!"

Madam Wei's soul-stirring cry startled the two cats eavesdropping on the roof, making their whiskers stand on end.

Meow, that scared the cat to death!
As for why these snakes were running around and all ended up on Madam Wei's bed?
Everyone has their own answer.

Madam Wei: That bitch has warned me!
Crowd: The old lady is immoral, but the Willow Fairy has appeared!

Upon hearing this, Ruan Ruan cracked open a melon seed, suddenly clutched her stomach, and yelled at the maid standing beside her, "I want bird's nest porridge! Tell the kitchen to make it now!"

The maid rolled her eyes, about to say something sarcastic, when Ruan Ruan glared at her: "You're not done framing me for adultery yet."

The maid was heartbroken. She clearly saw a man enter the room, but no one believed her.

She could only drag her injured leg and limp to the kitchen.

Seeing her leave, a smug smile appeared on Ruan Ruan's face.

Yesterday, that androgynous person told her that if she sprinkled the powder on Old Madam Wei, he would give her a prescription to remove her freckles.

Many women develop freckles or age spots during pregnancy, even the empresses in the palace. However, most women become haggard after giving birth, and the spots on their faces not only do not fade but also worsen year by year.

But the ladies in the palace had faces like peeled eggs, and even in their forties or fifties, they looked like they were in their prime.

why?
Because there is a secret recipe in the palace for removing blemishes. If you use this recipe, even if you become a shameless monster, you will regain your beauty.

For Ruan Ruan, her appearance was her source of confidence. If her face was ruined, it would be useless to give birth to a son. Not only would Lord Zhu be disgusted by her, but she herself would be disgusted by her.

What?
You're saying it's not worth taking the risk for a recipe?

The person who said this was either a man or someone of average appearance who didn't know what beauty was, had never been a beauty, and had never enjoyed the benefits that beauty brought, so he wouldn't understand how important beauty was to a woman like her.

The pink embroidered shoes hung on her toes, swaying gently, just like Ruan Ruan's current mood, relaxed yet expectant.

meow~
A meow sounded outside the window, and Ruan Ruan's eyes lit up. She quickly opened the window, and there stood the orange cat from yesterday on the windowsill, with a sachet hanging around its neck.

Ruan Ruan's heart was pounding with excitement, and she looked at the orange cat as if she were looking at a generous patron.

"You're here? Are you tired? Oh dear, your neck is all thin from being strangled. Let me massage it for you."

Ruan Ruan deftly untied the sachet from Da Pang's neck, and then gave him a kiss on the nose.

Big Fatty: Sister Yao is going to complain about me again.

Ruan Ruan opened the sachet, and inside was a square knot. She opened the knot, and it really was a prescription!
Ruan Ruan could tell the recipe was genuine with just one glance, because it was full of good stuff.

Her face can be saved!
Ruanruan has good taste; this recipe is absolutely genuine.

Xiao Zhen personally went home to obtain this prescription from the princess.

This was his first time returning to his residence since returning to the capital. The last time they met was at Su's Tea House.

That time, the princess's mother and the prince consort disguised themselves and sneaked over to see their son.
When Xiao Zhen returned in person, the princess and her husband were overwhelmed with gratitude. They would have agreed to anything, not just a beauty formula, but even if Xiao Zhen asked for half of their fortune right now.

In short, although Xiao Zhen's return home was somewhat clandestine, he felt good about it, and he even got to see his little sister. However, Princess Jiayi wanted him to hold his sister, but he hesitated to do so.

It smells so good and feels so soft, he dares not hug it.

"Why don't you hug me? What you said makes me want to hug you too."

In the Ruyi Pavilion, after hearing Xiao Zhen talk about that little girl, Zhao Shiqing felt sorry for him.

Unfortunately, she didn't have a younger sister, nor even the legendary, extremely annoying younger brother.

She's always been the youngest sister, always the little one in her family's eyes, and she really wants to be the older sister.

"Who does your sister look like? The Princess or Prince Consort Xiao?"

Regardless of who they resemble, they would both be beautiful; both of them are very good-looking.

Xiao Zhen shook her head: "I can't tell who she looks like, she's just very white, so white that she's almost transparent, like she'd break if you touched her."

At this point, his gaze fell on Zhao Shiqing's face.

When I first saw her, her face and body were very dirty because she had been dug out of a mass grave by wild dogs. But back then, she must have been very fair-skinned and fragrant, like a jade doll.

Why didn't he take a closer look back then?

He was so stupid when he was little!
"I'm talking to your sister! What are you looking at me for? If you keep looking, I'll charge you!"

Zhao Shiqing put her hands on her hips and threatened him with a stern face.

Xiao Zhen smiled and shook his head. He really wanted to tell her that he simply enjoyed watching her.

But he knew that now was not the time.

Just as Zhen Wuduo said, he doesn't deserve it!
He is someone who doesn't even dare to show his true face.

He changed the subject: "Consort Li's days are numbered."

Old Madam Wei was ruthless, not foolish.

Knowing that Consort Li was threatening her, she would not retaliate.

Instead, she would feign illness to make Consort Li believe that she was nearing the end of her life and no longer had the ability to cause trouble.

But in secret, she will never stop.

Zhao Shiqing was a little anxious: "I hope she won't keep me waiting too long."

As expected, Madam Wei did not disappoint Zhao Shiqing. Just as Xiao Zhen had said, the news of Madam Wei's impending death spread from the manor to the capital in less than two days.

It is said that Madam Wei was so frightened that she suffered another stroke, and this time she was unable to speak.

When the news reached the palace, Emperor Yongjia sent an imperial physician to the estate. After the physician returned, Consort Li personally summoned him.

"How is my cousin?" Consort Li asked with concern.

The imperial physician sighed: "The old lady is not in good condition. Although she seems to be conscious, she can no longer speak. No matter what she wants to say, she can only say 'sit'."

Yes, when the imperial physician saw Madam Wei, she was shouting at her maid, "Sit, sit, sit, sit!"

The maid couldn't understand, and Old Madam Wei shouted even louder, acting like a madwoman.

Later, when they smelled something was wrong, everyone realized that Old Madam Wei had urinated or defecated.

The imperial physician recounted everything he had seen and heard from the maids. Consort Li's eyes grew brighter and brighter. Was the heavy stone weighing on her heart finally about to collapse on its own?

Very good!
If she wanted to kill Old Madam Wei, she would have done so long ago.

But she dare not.

No one knew Madam Wei better than she did.

She could imagine that as soon as she killed Old Madam Wei, the secret from back then would be exposed to the public.

That old bastard will definitely have a backup plan.

So over the years, she respected and flattered her, turning the old slut's children and grandchildren into useless people, so that the old slut would end up with no useful descendants.

She doesn't even need to lift a finger; that old slut's son and grandson can drive her to her death with anger.

And now, this old bastard is finally about to die, no, even if she doesn't die, she'll be a cripple.

Consort Li was not a clever person; she used all her intelligence in her life on how to get along with Old Madam Wei.

They are the best and closest sisters, the best sisters in the world, hahaha!

Princess Li burst into laughter; this was the most hearty laugh she had ever had in all these years.

No one knows how she has survived all these years of constant fear and anxiety; no one knows.

She wanted to keep that secret to herself and take it to her grave.

As for the one on the dragon throne, she would never utter a single word until her death.

As long as she doesn't speak up, even if she can't become Empress Dowager while she's alive, as long as she dies in front of the Empress Dowager, she will be posthumously honored as Empress Dowager.

Of course, the premise is that she must live a healthy life and die in front of the Empress Dowager.

"That old bastard, he's eaten so many pills, how come he hasn't died yet!"

Thinking of the retired emperor in the Longevity Palace, Consort Li gritted her teeth.

Madam Wei could no longer pose a threat to her; in Consort Li's mind, she was as good as dead. From now on, she wouldn't even bother to think about her anymore.

Therefore, the only person Consort Li hates the most now is the Emperor Emeritus.

This old hag made her sacrifice not only her youth but also her own flesh and blood, yet in the end, he wouldn't even give her a position as empress.

Her son was already the emperor, but that old geezer still refused to let her become the empress dowager.

Consort Li clenched her fists. That old codger was a cultivator. If she weren't afraid of the backlash, she would have written down his birth date and time and stuck needles into his heart day and night to make him suffer to death!

That old codger has hardly done any good deeds in his life. He's probably afraid of being cursed to death, so he went to cultivate immortality, hoping that the ancestral master would protect him. Bah!
Consort Li closed the door and gave a good scolding. Just then, a eunuch outside said, "Consort Li, Consort Qiao has come to pay her respects."

Consort Li's eyes showed a hint of disdain. What was that bitch doing here?
Indeed, in Consort Li's eyes, all the women in the palace were lowly.

The old concubine left behind by the retired emperor was a lowly woman, and all the women in Emperor Yongjia's harem were lowly women as well. (End of Chapter)