strictlysupreme Chapter 041 A Noble Concubine is a Concubine
Chapter 041 A Noble Concubine is a Concubine
Cleaning the wound, cutting away the rotten flesh, applying medicine, and stitching it up—Lu Zhiyuan didn't utter a single word throughout the entire process. Liu Ying stood to the side, holding a tray, her eyes slightly red, tears still clinging to her eyelashes. She dared not look at Qingzhi's back, stitched up like a spiderweb, nor dared she cry anymore.
Miss is right, crying is the most useless thing. If she were more capable, she could have protected Qingzhi when Miss and Madam were not around.
He sniffed hard and asked Lu Zhiyuan, "Will Sister Qingzhi die?"
Lu Zhiyuan didn't want to lie to her. After washing her hands, she fed Qingzhi a pill: "She wasn't simply beaten with a board. Those dense holes were left by nails. The nails were old and rusty, which can cause very serious infections in the wounds. Whether she can survive this depends on her luck and her resilience."
Liu Ying didn't know what infection was; she only knew that nails had been driven into the board on which Qingzhi had been beaten. Ji Wanwan wasn't acting out of family discipline, but out of murderous intent; she wanted Qingzhi dead, and the madam had been sent away by her.
"Madam, Madam is also in danger!" Liu Ying panicked, put down the tray, and grabbed Lu Zhiyuan's sleeve: "This servant will go find the eldest young master."
"No need to trouble your uncle. Trust me, Mother will be fine." Lu Zhiyuan gently patted her hand, shifting her gaze from Qingzhi: "Take good care of her."
"Miss is going to find Ji Wanwan?" Liu Ying grabbed her hand: "It's not that I don't trust you, Miss, but the Marquis... Miss, you should wait for Madam to return before we talk. I'm afraid you'll suffer."
Lu Zhiyuan laughed, took her hand and pushed her to the bedside: "Don't worry, your young lady will eat anything, she just won't suffer any loss."
In Fulin Courtyard, Lu Jinyao knelt before the chaise lounge, applying medicine to Ji Wanwan's wounds. She dared not tell her mother that the itching powder was originally meant to harm Lu Zhiyuan.
Everything was normal at the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet. Lu Zhiyuan was not affected, but her mother, who was imprisoned in the Duwei Mansion prison, was poisoned.
Even her father couldn't get into the Commandant's mansion, so how did the clothes get in? Besides, her father had never sent clothes to her mother before. The mystery was obvious. Fortunately, this trip to the palace had yielded some results. Even if her mother found out the truth later, she would let her off the hook for the sake of the Prince of Yue's mansion.
A favored concubine?
She could have easily become the Princess Consort of Yue based on that life-saving grace, but it was all Xie Chaoyun and her daughter's fault for ruining things. Fortunately, His Highness the Prince of Yue made a promise to grant her the position of concubine when she came of age and got married.
She must use these five years to firmly grasp the heart of His Highness the King of Yue.
"That venomous Xie Chaoyun thinks that by blocking your path to becoming a princess, she can trample us, mother and daughter, under her feet. Little does she know that status and background are far less important than a man's heart." Ji Wanwan's face was full of mockery and disdain: "So what if she is the legitimate daughter of the General's Mansion? The Marquis doesn't love her, and he still left her to live alone for nearly ten years. Listen to your mother, as long as you have Prince Yue under your control, this Princess Yue will be yours for the taking."
“Mother is absolutely right, that’s what I think too.” Lu Jinyao lowered her eyebrows slightly, her voice soft and hesitant: “I’m just worried that they might play other tricks. A blood test has already made Father distrust me, and my situation in the Marquis’s mansion is quite awkward.”
Ji Wanwan glanced at Lu Jinyao and said, "Is it true that your blood is incompatible with your father's? That shouldn't be the case. You don't resemble Zhu Guozhi at all, and the time you were born doesn't belong to the Zhu family."
"Mother, did you have any other opportunity?" Lu Jinyao probed. "I shouldn't question you, Mother. It must be that Lu Zhiyuan who tampered with the water. We are both your father's daughters, so why is it that only her blood can mix? She must be jealous of me and came up with this plan to harm me. She is afraid that I will take away her position as the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's family."
Lu Jinyao's words and expressions reminded Ji Wanwan of someone, someone who resembled Lu Jinyao's father even more than Lu Huai.
No, it couldn't be that person! She'd only been with him a few times; there was no way she could be pregnant with his child. But what if Jin Yao was his daughter? That person's status was far more prestigious than Lu Huai's.
"Yao'er, do you want to be a princess?" Ji Wanwan grabbed her shoulders, her voice filled with excitement.
Lu Jinyao looked at her suspiciously, noticing her flushed eyes and increasingly agitated emotions. She reached out and touched her forehead: "Mother is confused. Only the daughters of princes can be princesses. Could it be that Mother has some connection with a prince in the capital?"
It's not from inside the capital, it's from outside the capital.
Just as Ji Wanwan was about to explain, the image of Prince Yong'an flashed through her mind, and she couldn't help but shiver.
Prince Yong'an is not Lu Huai. He is capricious, ruthless, and unwilling to let anyone know about their past. If Jin Yao were his child, she would not only lack the wealth and glory within her grasp, but would also die without a proper burial.
She pulled the thin blanket up and wrapped it around herself. She must be crazy to dare to make such a guess.
A series of slaps came from outside. "Aunt Ji is really carefree. She doesn't even know who her biological daughter's father is."
"Lu Zhiyuan?" Ji Wanwan came back to her senses and looked at the door. "Why aren't you in your Fangfei Courtyard? What are you doing in Fulin Courtyard?"
"Look at the question Aunt Ji asked, you've forgotten that you're the guest." The door was kicked open by Lu Yun, and Lu Zhiyuan stepped up the stairs with her hands in her pockets: "I've come to invite Aunt Ji to the front yard to watch a family discipline session."
Ji Wanwan thought of Qingzhi, who had been beaten to a bloody pulp.
"What family rules? My mother needs to rest. Please ask my sister to leave." Lu Jinyao stood up: "This is the Marquis's order."
"You're not calling me Father anymore?" Lu Zhiyuan tilted her head. "Why don't you go to Father and complain about me, and see if he'll punish me, or if he dares to punish me?"
Lu Jinyao's expression changed.
“Even without the Marquis’s orders, my mother is still your elder.” Lu Jinyao took a deep breath: “Not only is she your elder, but she is also the mother-in-law of Prince Yue. Please speak respectfully and do not be disrespectful.”
“Elder? What kind of elder is she?” Lu Zhiyuan glanced at Ji Wanwan: “His Highness Prince Yue’s mother-in-law? Does His Highness Prince Yue even acknowledge her? She’s just a concubine, yet she really thinks she’s something special.”
“You—” Lu Jinyao’s face turned pale and then red: “No matter what, I was personally appointed by Her Majesty the Empress as the concubine of Prince Yue.”
Lu Yun touched the tip of his nose: "A concubine is still a concubine. She only has the word 'noble' added because she enters the Prince's mansion. She is no different from other concubines. A concubine cannot enter through the main gate or the side gate. She must enter through the back gate where the servants enter. To put it nicely, she is a concubine. To put it bluntly, she is just a servant in the Prince's mansion."
"Shut up! How dare a servant like you interrupt when the master is speaking!" Lu Jinyao trembled with anger. In all her life, no one had ever used such words to humiliate her.
She raised her hand to slap him, but Lu Yun grabbed her wrist, allowing Lu Zhiyuan to slap her across the face.
"How dare you! You dare to beat my people on my turf! You're a worthless bastard who was born of a mother but raised by no father!"