Chapter 4: Inviting Trouble and Stirring Up Conflict

After seeing Jinzhi off, Li Yanchang looked at the two maidservants who had just been sent in. "What are your names? What were your duties at the Princess Consort's place? And what rank of allowance did you receive?"

The one standing in front stepped forward to answer, "Replying to the Consort of the Heir, this servant is called Taoju. I originally served in the Princess Consort's quarters and received the allowance of a second-class maid."

Her chin was slightly pointed and fine, and her eyes were particularly bright and agile. However, several peach blossoms were embroidered on her cyan maidservant's uniform, showing she was a person of intent.

The other maid had a large, round face and a somewhat sturdier build. Her voice was also a bit coarse and blunt. "Replying to the Consort of the Heir, this servant is called Taogui. I was originally responsible for courtyard sweeping and similar tasks, and I received the allowance of a third-class maid."

Li Yanchang nodded slightly, making a mental note of it. She glanced at Yicui. "You two will be responsible for the courtyard matters; you shall both receive the second-class allowance. Yicui, starting tomorrow, you will come into the room to serve."

Overjoyed, Yicui hurriedly knelt down. "Thank you, Consort of the Heir! This servant will certainly serve you with all my heart and soul."

She had originally been a third-class maid responsible for cleaning the courtyard, but now she had been promoted to a second-class allowance, so she was naturally elated.

Taogui was relatively indifferent, though she was also happy to have been promoted a rank. Taoju, however, felt somewhat unwilling. She had originally been a second-class maid serving directly by the Princess Consort's side; being sent to the Consort of the Heir was a demotion, and now being assigned to sweep the courtyard made her quite dissatisfied.

Li Yanchang naturally saw the expressions on their faces, but she ignored them. She simply picked up her cup and began drinking her tea, not saying another word.

The two could no longer stand there comfortably, so Taogui spoke first. "If the Consort of the Heir has no further instructions, this servant will take her leave to work."

Li Yanchang nodded slightly. As she watched them slowly withdraw, a trace of coldness flashed in the corner of her eyes.

*What a calculating Princess Consort, truly masterful at playing schemes.*

She had stood idly by while Li Yanchang suffered through the life-and-death agony of being forced into a corner, yet now she sent warmth. Was she trying to make her understand that in this vast Prince's Manor, she would be unable to take a single step without the Princess Consort?

First, she had transferred all the people around her away, and now she was forcing two more in. Was this not a case of a weasel offering a chicken a blessing—clearly harboring ill intentions?

Li Yanchang sneered. Regardless of the motive, having someone lend a hand at this time was beneficial. At the very least, it resolved her current crisis and might even open a sunlit path for her.

With silver in hand, the first thing Li Yanchang commanded was, "Baoping, take some from the monthly allowance and send it to Qiaoyu. Tell her to tend to my illness first."

Baoping weighed the silver in her hand; it wasn't very heavy, so she hesitated. "Consort of the Heir, since two more people have been sent here, I fear this silver..."

"Just send it to Qiaoyu. I will find a way for the rest." Li Yanchang's eyes were bright, flashing with an unusual light that injected a ray of sun-like hope into Baoping.

At this moment, Baoping hoped that the Consort of the Heir could truly become powerful.

The next morning, Li Yanchang rose early. She still wore simple, pale colors, but she had applied a little powder to her face, making her complexion look slightly better than yesterday.

Tong-shi was sitting at the kang table drinking tea. Seeing her enter, a nearly imperceptible light flickered in her eyes, but her voice carried a hint of complaint. "It is early in the morning, and the wind is cold. Why have you come out? You should be resting properly in your room."

Li Yanchang knelt to bow. "Now that Mother is looking after me, my body has already improved greatly. Thank you for your care, Mother. This daughter-in-law should do her utmost to show filial piety to Father and Mother."

As she spoke, her eyes actually reddened.

Tong-shi saw this and felt joy in her heart. The tactic of combining soft and hard approaches truly worked. Her smile deepened. "It hasn't been just a day or two since you entered the manor; do you think I don't know your heart?"

The outer door curtain was lifted, and a graceful woman walked in. She wore a peach-colored padded jacket and a water-mist green pleated skirt scattered with flowers, with gold hairpins and jade branches in her hair. She possessed quite a bit of beauty.

When she saw Li Yanchang was also there, a flash of surprise crossed her eyes. She walked slowly to Tong-shi and knelt to salute. "Mother."

Then she turned to Li Yanchang and said, "Elder Sister-in-law."

Li Yanchang smiled and gave a slight bow in return, calling out, "Third Sister."

This was Tong-shi's biological daughter, the He-shuo County Princess, Yuwen Qinglu, who had just turned fourteen this year.

Immediately following, the concubine-born Qing-shuo County Princess, Yuwen Qingxia, and the concubine-born second son's wife, Princess Consort Wan, entered one after the other. They all bowed in turn, and upon seeing Li Yanchang, they all showed degrees of surprise.

Wan-shi was clearly a shrewd woman. Her brows twitched slightly as she squeezed out a few traces of sadness. "Elder Sister-in-law, do not be too heartbroken. Once you have recovered your health, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

Li Yanchang smiled faintly. "Thank you for the comfort, Sister-in-law. Fortunately, with Mother's care, my body is much better."

Tong-shi naturally loved hearing such words and felt that Li Yanchang seemed more obedient and sensible than before. She said, "Tomorrow is your eldest brother's auspicious day. As for what I assigned to you all a few days ago, everyone should still do their own tasks. Ye-ge'er's wife, since you have finished your postpartum confinement and your health is mostly recovered, you shall join Jian-ge'er's wife in greeting the female guests at the front."

Li Yanchang nodded in agreement.

Tong-shi continued, "Tomorrow there will be many people coming and going, so all of you must be careful." As she spoke, she glanced at the two sisters, Yuwen Qinglu and her sibling. "Especially you two; do not cause me to lose face."

The two sisters were momentarily stunned, but quickly understood. They both lowered their heads slightly and responded with flushed faces.

One had just turned fourteen, and the other would reach the age of marriage (jiqi) mid-year. They were both at the age where marriage was being discussed; securing a good reputation was naturally a way to seek a good future for themselves.

Just as Tong-shi was about to say more, Jinzhi rushed in hurriedly. She walked to Tong-shi, leaned close to her ear, and whispered a few words.

Tong-shi's expression changed instantly, her brows trembling slightly; it was clearly not good news.

The atmosphere in the room immediately turned heavy. Li Yanchang merely stood quietly, focused inward as if she were not paying attention to anything else, but her ears were seriously catching every piece of information.

After finishing, Jinzhi stood behind Tong-shi, her gaze drifting intentionally or unintentionally toward Li Yanchang.

Tong-shi forcibly suppressed the anger in her heart and said indifferently, "All of you, go back to your own business."

The four of them hurriedly bowed to take their leave, but Tong-shi spoke again, "Ye-ge'er's wife, stay."

Li Yanchang had a vague, bad premonition in her heart, but her face remained as calm as water as she stood obediently to the side, waiting.

After Wan-shi and the other two had left the room for a while, Tong-shi suddenly slammed her hand onto the table, making the teacups rattle loudly. Li Yanchang was also startled.

It was impossible to remain a "transparent person," so she stepped forward to ask, "Mother, has something happened?"

Tong-shi's face was ashen. She said word by word, "Jinzhi, go. Call that girl Chunmian to me."

Jinzhi did not dare to delay; she gave an answer and hurried out.

Tong-shi's chest heaved with anger, as if she were struggling to breathe. She threw out a cold sentence, "These two brothers are simply going to anger me to death."

Li Yanchang's eyelid twitched as she secretly pondered Tong-shi's words. *Two brothers? Who is she referring to?* Prince Jin had three sons in total: the legitimate eldest son Yuwen Ye, the concubine-born second son Yuwen Jian, and the legitimate third son Yuwen Hengyuan.

Since Tong-shi had asked her to stay, one of them must certainly be Yuwen Ye.

Li Yanchang wore a look of worry and said softly, "Mother, has the Heir caused you anger again? You must take care of your health; do not let anger ruin your body."

Only then did Tong-shi let out a long sigh, her expression desolate. "It is truly difficult being a stepmother. I think only of Ye-ge'er's well-being, but sometimes, there are things I am not convenient to say. You have just suffered a miscarriage, and he shouldn't be so rushed to take a side consort. That would be one thing, but tomorrow is his auspicious day, and he insists on going out to cause trouble."

From these few sentences, Li Yanchang could not guess exactly what had happened. She only feigned anxiety and said, "Mother, do not be angry. The Heir was momentarily confused, which is why he has caused you such great distress. You are only doing this because you love and care for him."

Before Tong-shi could say anything more, Jinzhi had already brought a maid in.

Tong-shi's anger flared up again, and she scolded coldly, "Why haven't you knelt down? We have been lenient with you, yet you don't even know how to behave."

Chunmian was startled and hurriedly knelt.

Tong-shi's face was pale as she stared fiercely at Chunmian. "Speak! Did your Prince return yesterday? Did he stay out overnight?"

This was exactly what Chunmian had been worried about all along. She hadn't expected the Princess Consort to actually ask. She had planned to hide it to some extent, but seeing the Princess Consort in a fit of rage, she did not dare to speak recklessly.

Seeing her silence, Tong-shi's lips trembled with rage. "You... you still want to cover for him? I made you his personal maid so that I could entrust him to your care, but look at you! Now, he has gone out and, because of some performer, incited a fight and beat the second master of the Weiyuan Marquis Manor half to death! How much longer do you intend to cover for him?"

Chunmian shuddered, her face turning ashen. Tears welled up in her eyes as she cried out in desperation, "Princess Consort, this servant had no choice. The Prince forbade this servant from speaking of it. Princess Consort, I beg you to spare this servant!"

Tong-shi slammed the table again, causing another clatter. "You still have the face to beg me for mercy? Then let me ask you, who should this Princess Consort go and beg to spare the Prince?"

Chunmian knew well how ruthless the Princess Consort could be. She had originally served the Princess Consort before being sent to Yingping County Prince. Since the Princess Consort had put it that way, there was no room for negotiation.

Chunmian slumped to the floor, murmuring, "Princess Consort, please punish this servant, but please do not implicate my parents."

Tong-shi gave a cold snort. "Drag her out. Fifty strokes of the cane. If she does not die, throw her out of the manor and say she violated the great taboos of the Prince's Manor."

In the end, it was a death sentence. Chunmian's face was full of despair, but she no longer made a sound to beg for mercy.

Li Yanchang's heart stirred. She stepped forward and said, "Mother, this matter with the Third Brother just happened, and we do not yet know the full truth. If you throw her out like this, it will inevitably lead to criticism. It would be better to keep her alive so she can clarify things for Third Brother."

Tong-shi was jolted, suddenly realizing. Her son had committed a mistake, and before she could even punish him, she would have beaten a maid to death and thrown her out.

Even if a servant was in the wrong, they could not decide for their master. Ultimately, it would still be the master's fault. Going deeper, it would be her fault as a mother for failing to teach her son properly. Beating a maid to death would instead leave her with a reputation for being cold-blooded and ruthless, enabling her son's violent behavior without distinguishing right from wrong.

She felt a chill run down her spine and only recovered after a long exhale. She looked at Li Yanchang with great gratitude. "Thanks to your reminder, I almost committed a grave error."