Chapter 86

Chapter 86: Suspicion "Miscarriage? How could she have a miscarriage just like that?" Cui Lingrong had assumed Huadie would be able to hold her own against Princess Rongjia for a while. How had it come to a miscarriage? Cui Lingrong hurried to Shouan Tang. Before she even entered the room, she heard Princess Rongjia's voice defending herself. "Old Madame, please see clearly—your daughter-in-law had no reason to harm Huadie's child. I originally thought that since Huadie came from my Wutong Yuan, her child would be my child too. Whether the child was raised by me or by her would be the same. Moreover, if the child were registered under my name, they would have a better standing in life, and it wouldn't affect the bond between mother and child." Princess Rongjia, accused by Huadie of planning to remove the mother to keep the child, knelt before Old Madame Song on the spot. She claimed she was completely innocent and that everything she did was for the good of Huadie and her child. When Cui Lingrong entered the room, this was the scene she walked in on. Seeing Cui Lingrong arrive, Princess Rongjia instinctively wanted to rise. The last person she wanted to witness her in such a humiliating state was Cui Lingrong. Old Madame Song had lived more than half her life and had seen every kind of scheme there was. The only thing she couldn't understand was why Princess Rongjia had wanted to raise Huadie's child in the first place. "Rise first." Old Madame Song still gave Princess Rongjia face. She turned to Cui Lingrong. "Huadie is raving like a madwoman, spouting nonsense. Go interrogate her and find out what really happened." The pregnancy had already passed three months, and now the child had simply slipped away—how was she supposed to accept that? Old Madame Song was certain someone had interfered. Was it Princess Rongjia? Or Cui Lingrong? Cui Lingrong was the more likely suspect. After all, Huadie was Princess Rongjia's person. Cui Lingrong wouldn't want to see a child born into Princess Rongjia's faction. That was also why Old Madame Song had summoned Cui Lingrong to conduct the interrogation—she wanted to see whether Cui Lingrong would let anything slip. Cui Lingrong said yes and turned to leave, but Old Madame Song called her back. "Cui, although I've been somewhat displeased with you lately, we have been together for many years. There are some things I very much want to believe about you. Don't disappoint me!" Old Madame Song said these words aloud, but in her heart, she was thinking that once she had a hold over Cui Lingrong, she would take back the household management authority and have the Cui family come to collect her. The moment Cui Lingrong heard this, she knew Old Madame Song suspected her more. She stopped walking altogether. "Since Old Madame has doubts about me, why don't you conduct the interrogation yourself? Your daughter-in-law believes Mama Xu and the others are fully capable of getting to the bottom of this. I won't interfere, lest people say I'm trying to manipulate things." "Cui, are you determined to work against me?" Old Madame Song slammed her hand on the table. "Old Madame, the one working against you is not me—it's whoever harmed Huadie's child. Your daughter-in-law has a clear conscience. Search wherever you like; I have no objections." Cui Lingrong sat back down, her gaze shifting to Princess Rongjia across from her. "Speaking of which, since Huadie became pregnant, I've had nothing to do with her food, lodging, or daily care. After all, the Princess said Huadie was someone from Wutong Yuan. It's only fitting that Old Madame hold the Princess accountable. However..." Cui Lingrong picked up her teacup and took a sip, leaving her sentence unfinished. Princess Rongjia gritted her teeth. "What are you trying to say?" Cui Lingrong smiled and shook her head. "It's just that there's one thing I don't understand. The Princess is young and in the prime of her life—why would she want to raise Huadie's child from the very beginning? Could it be that you can't bear children?" The words "can't bear children" were spoken by Cui Lingrong right in front of Old Madame Song. Old Madame instinctively looked at Princess Rongjia, but she didn't think much of it at the moment—the imperial physician had come to take the Princess's pulse last time and hadn't mentioned anything of the sort. Princess Rongjia, however, felt her heart pound violently. She instinctively wondered—did Cui Lingrong know something? How could that be possible? Princess Rongjia's face grew paler and paler, her palms sweating. It wasn't until Chen De's Wife pressed a finger to her back that she snapped out of it and angrily retorted at Cui Lingrong, "Sister Cui, don't spout nonsense! I merely wanted to give Huadie some dignity. You're slinging mud at me—that's going too far!" "Why is the Princess so agitated? I'm merely curious about your motives. After all, you're someone capable of faking a pregnancy—being unable to conceive would hardly be surprising." Cui Lingrong's light, airy remark provoked Princess Rongjia into flushing red with anger. Princess Rongjia shot to her feet, pointing at Cui Lingrong. "You... you're talking nonsense! I think you're jealous of the Marquis's favor toward Huadie, so you poisoned her and killed her child!" "Jealous?" Cui Lingrong laughed. "She's just a concubine—a lowly one at that. She could never be elevated to a proper wife in a hundred lifetimes. Why would I be so foolish as to compare myself to her?" She turned to Old Madame Song. "Old Madame, what did the physician say? Did Huadie miscarry because she ate something she shouldn't have?" Old Madame Song said no. "Then what was it?" Cui Lingrong pressed. It was excessive anxiety—she hadn't rested well for days, and then today, after seeing Princess Rongjia, she started bleeding shortly after. Recalling those words, Old Madame Song couldn't help but look at Princess Rongjia. Earlier, Old Madame Song had been puzzled as to why Princess Rongjia wanted to raise Huadie's child. Now Cui Lingrong had planted a seed of doubt—could it be that Princess Rongjia truly couldn't bear children? Old Madame Song's thoughts were in disarray, and she couldn't sort them out for the moment. At this moment, Mama Xu returned, saying that Huadie and Baitao both wanted to see the eldest young mistress. "Baitao was put to torture, and the boards came down on her, but she kept saying she didn't know what was going on. In the end, she couldn't take it anymore and asked to see the eldest young mistress. Concubine Huadie still... still insists that Princess Rongjia harmed her, and begs the eldest young mistress to save her." Both women wanted to see Cui Lingrong, and Old Madame Song grew even more suspicious. "Cui, what exactly have you done?" "Your daughter-in-law has said it—I have done nothing. Think carefully, Old Madame. If I had truly done something, would they still be begging me to save them? That shouldn't be the case. No matter what, the people of Wutong Court ought to be begging Princess Rongjia instead." Cui Lingrong rose to her feet. "Well then, I might as well be a good person and go see what's going on. Otherwise, in the end, they'll splash dirty water all over me and pin the blame on my head." Cui Lingrong went to see Baitao first. Baitao had been beaten with boards, and the skirt at her backside was stained red with blood. "Please... please save this servant, eldest young mistress." Baitao, seeing a lifeline, wept as she spoke. Cui Lingrong walked up to Baitao and crouched down. "Baitao, you are clever, but only with petty cleverness. Even now, you still think you can avoid offending either side—but how could that be possible?" Baitao's tongue was bitter. "This servant..." "You don't dare offend Princess Rongjia?" Cui Lingrong smiled. "Then wait for Princess Rongjia to come save you." Cui Lingrong rose to leave, and Baitao shouted after her, "Eldest young mistress, have pity on this servant! This servant knows you must have a way." "But Baitao, you refuse to identify Princess Rongjia. If only Huadie is speaking out, others will just think she's gone mad." Cui Lingrong said, "Whether you live or die is entirely up to you. If you dare tell Old Madame the truth, I can guarantee your life is spared." With that, Cui Lingrong went to see Huadie. The people in the room dared not approach Huadie, all believing she had lost her mind. The moment Cui Lingrong entered, Huadie rushed over. "Eldest young mistress, you've come! Tell them—this concubine is not speaking nonsense. It truly was Princess Rongjia who wanted to harm me!" "Evidence? Or what did she do?" Cui Lingrong countered. "This... this concubine heard it with her own ears—Baitao and Wang Hechun's Wife were conspiring to snatch this concubine's child!" Huadie wept. Cui Lingrong looked at Huadie and shook her head. "Huadie, you still couldn't hold yourself together. She wanted to snatch your child, yes, but she hadn't done anything yet, and you panicked first and lost the child. Think about it—everything she's done now can be denied. At worst, she'll push Wang Hechun's Wife out to take the blame, and she'll come out clean again." Huadie was in despair. "Could it be that this concubine's child is just gone like that?" She hated it so much. The Marquis had clearly promised she could raise her own child, and now the child was simply gone? "Huadie, you once served Princess Rongjia. Think carefully—is there any leverage she has that could make the Marquis loathe her? Only then can you be said to have taken revenge." Cui Lingrong guided Huadie step by step.