Mu Qingling reached out, and the nanny, very quietly, stepped forward and handed over a cup of tea.
She had beautiful hands, with long slender fingers, white as jade. At the moment, these hands were holding the teacup while gently fiddling with the lid.
âWhen youâre really granted a side consort position, I will send someone to the Marquis and ask Second Aunt to get your deed of sale back, and by then, you will be a free woman.â
âHowever, even though youâre free, you can only be a side consort. Iâm the main consort, in control of the householdâs management, and the Prince himself told me that I would be in charge of all the affairs of the household. Do you know what this means?â
There was puzzlement in Pu Taoâs eyes and a hint of superiority that Mu Qingling could barely see.
She was a little amused. She had a good temper, but how could she not be angry at being looked at by a maid with such a gaze.
However, Mu Qingling couldnât understand what gave Pu Tao the confidence to look down on her. She was the master and Pu Tao was the slave.
Even the second madam wouldnât dare to show something so openly. Was she too stupid or did she have a card in her hand?
Pu Tao does indeed have a card, itâs just that her card came from her belief that Mu Qingling would soon be dying of illness and that she was in the Princeâs favor.
So, she wasnât afraid of Mu Qingling. Who would be afraid of a person who was going to die?
âThis maid doesnât know. Please clarify, Princess.â
Mu Qingling lowered her eyes and blew on the tea in her teacup, âNowadays, everyone in the entire mansion listens to my, the Princess Consortâs, orders. Do you think anyone could care if tonight, if a maid, who lost her life to a cold, died in the Princess Consortâs main courtyard?â
Pu Taoâs body stiffened, then quickly relaxed again, âBut if this maid is loved by the Prince and questions the words of the Princess, will the Princess not care?â
âA maid is not a side consort after all. Even if she does become a side consort, I will be the main one and the side consort will be the secondary one. Itâs easy for the Princess Consort to dispose of a small side consort, especially one with little family background.â
âI was personally given the marriage by His Majesty. Even if the Prince is displeased because of a dead maid, would he really divorce me for this maid? At that time, I will still be the Princess of the Prince, but that maid, however, can only be sent out of the mansion for burial, rolled up in a straw mat.â
Pu Taoâs nerves were rattled by what Mu Qingling had said. Her head snapped up to look at the person leaning against the bed.
Mu Qingling, who was sitting on the bed, although looking pale, looked as if he was talking about an everyday matter, not about killing another human being.
When she was with the second madam, she had seen the image of her beating a maid to death, for seducing the second lord. The image flashed through Pu Taoâs mind.
Mu Qingling was also a member of the Marquis family, and she had only served by her side for a few days; perhaps Mu Qingling wasnât at all as gentle as she appeared to be.
She wasnât scaring me, she is really out to get me!
The moment this thought rose, Pu Tao shivered and her body trembled.
She wasnât afraid that Mu Qingling was going to settle the score later, because she was convinced that her opponent wouldnât live to see that. But she was afraid, afraid that Mu Qingling would really decide to send her on her way because of her disrespectful attitude.
When the time comes, although Mu Qingling would be able to go down to hell and join her shortly afterwards, whatâs the point in that?
Pu Tao was so frightened by her own thoughts that her body trembled. The smugness on her face instantly scattered away, and she hastily and anxiously said, âThis maid understands her mistake. This maid wonât dare do it a second time. Please forgive this maid, please be merciful!â
Although she was kowtowing, she wasnât kowtowing as hard as the previous commoner girl who had been forcibly snatched, but was careful not to bleed. She was careful to avoid ruining the pretty face that the Prince had taken a liking to.
Mu Qingling sipped her tea and didnât tell her to get up. She waited until Pu Tao was almost dizzy from kowtowing before she spoke in a calm tone, âGet up.â
âYou are my dowry maid, and youâll be a side concubine. Tonight, youâll stay in the side courtyard, and Iâll have someone help you clean up properly, so as not to disgrace me.â
Without raising her eyes, she said, âNanny, prepare ginseng soup for Miss Pu Tao, so that she can nourish her body before serving the Prince.â
âYes.â
Ginseng soup...
Pu Taoâs nerves jerked. She hadnât spent much time in the second madamâs courtyard, but she had learned a lot of tricks.
For example, the second madam would give medicine to the second lordâs concubines. If they drank the medicine, the women would be sterile for the rest of their lives, and every time they had their periods, they would be in excruciating pain and would make them wish they were dead. If one or two of them had conceived, the fetus would have been miscarried in less than 3 months, and it would have been the second madamâs doing.
She opened her mouth to shout, but saw that Mu Qingling looked like she was expecting it. Mu Qingling raised her voice and called out, âZhi Zi, come in here.â
The oldest maid, Zhi Zi, promptly pushed open the door and walked in, bowing in respect, âMadam.â
âTake Miss Pu Tao out, and donât let her out of the side courtyard until the Prince summons her tomorrow.â
âYes.â Zhi Zi responded and turned to look at a shocked Pu Tao, âMiss, please.â
âIâm not going. What are you going to do? Iâm not going. Your Highness this maid is wrong, Your Highness...â
Pu Tao was forcibly pulled out by a few maids. The nanny closed the door and looked back at Mu Qingling with relief, âYou should have been like this long ago, if you could have been like this in the residence, why would you have to be reduced to such a low position by the This Young Lady? â
Mu Qingling waited for the people to leave before the calm look on her face gradually turned into a bitter smile, âMy Mother and younger brother are living under the hands of my Second Aunt. Even if I had the desire to do so, I could only endure itâ
The nanny nodded with distress, âThen what about the ginseng soup?â
âGo to my private storage to get it, just pick a similar root. If she doesnât want to drink, thereâs no need to force her. Just let her know that this Princess is not to be messed with.â
âIf this old maid is permitted to say, you are too kind Miss. If she becomes a side concubine in the future, she will oppose you every day. It would be better to dispose of her sooner rather than later, to avoid any future problems.â
Mu Qingling shook her head with a bitter smile, âAs long as she behaves herself, I donât want to do anything to her. If such things are done, it would be too easy, and maybe by the end, I wouldnât recognize myself.â
The nanny sighed, âYouâre always like this. You donât fight, you donât seize, and you donât get upset when people mess with you. Although that is the temperament a good familyâs daughter should have, but if you give in like this and donât fight back even when you let someone bullies you, you will suffer a great deal in the future.â
âNanny is correct, I will change.â
Mu Qingling merely smiled bitterly.
Itâs not that she was backing down, itâs just that she didnât have the strength. When she was in the residence, the second madam was at odds with her mother, and was trying to suppress the eldest family. There was nothing else for her to do but to act like a wooden person.
And having married into the Imperial family, although the Prince had been kind to her, she couldnât afford to anger him so easily. Pu Tao, a woman with a bad temperament, was bound to be even more unpleasant than before, once she got her way. The Prince, with his appearance, was sure to have a lot of women in his harem in the future, and with a temperament like Pu Taoâs, she would be the first to perish.
And she, as the Princess Consort, even if she had no marital affection for the Prince, had to abide by her duties, to protect the Princeâs household for him, to set the rules and regulations, and keep the women in the backyard under control.
As for not fighting back...
Mu Qingling looked down at the cup of tea in her hands, her eyes full of bitterness.
Where can I get the confidence to fight back?
At home, as a daughter, everything was tied to her father, so when he died, she, originally the favored first daughter of the eldest family, was instantly made a sidekick to her sister.
When she arrived at the Princeâs Mansion her backbone was in her husband, Prince Linjiang.
If the other party didnât give her that backing, what could she do?
Mu Qingling somewhat self-deprecatingly thought, perhaps it was really as nanny had said, that only when she had suffered greatly later would she think of fighting back, even when she had no backing at all.
Anyway, now that Pu Tao was intimidated, she would probably stay in line for a while. When she gets well, the rules in this mansion should be straightened out, the side consort wonât be able to make any waves.
Mu Qingling had planned well and slept soundly for the night.
On the other hand, on Pu Taoâs side, after she rejected the ginseng soup to death, the maids didnât do anything to her. They very obediently left with the soup.
Instead of being reassured, Pu Tao was even more worried.
Perhaps by not drinking the ginseng soup she had angered the Princess and was to be left to die?!
She was so frightened by her own imagination that she stayed awake all night. She kept one eye open and nervously cowered under the bed looking at the door and windows, for fear that someone would suddenly burst in and kill her.
As it turned out, nothing happened until dawn.
She was dressed in new clothes and beautiful jewelry, and sent to the Princess.
Lin Shiheng was visiting his consort. He had really brought the powder and even a hairpin, which he personally pinned on for Mu Qingling.
âHow about this hairpin that this Prince picked out, does it look good?â
Mu Qingling blushed a little and gently smiled as she wore her hairpin, âThe one chosen by the Prince is naturally a good one.â
âI think so too.â
As they were talking, Pu Tao came in.
She had been terrified all night. Now, when she saw Lin Shiheng, she fell to her knees as if she had seen a savior.
âYour Highness!!! This maid has finally seen you, Your Majesty, this maid...â
Pu Tao was about to elaborate on how she had been aggrieved when Lin Shiheng, who had been sitting nicely on the edge of the bed, jerked up and stared at her with frightened eyes.
âWhere did such an ugly maid come from, hurry up and get rid of her!!!â
Pu Tao was stunned, âYour Highness, Your Highness... This maid is Pu Tao ah... Yesterday you said you would make this maid a side consort...â
âPooh!!! Youâre so ugly, but you have the nerve to be a side consort?!! You canât even carry this Princeâs shoes!!â
âSomeone!! Throw her out, throw her out!!â