This cousin from the Chen family was the original owner's white moonlight. When the original owner was being tormented by a palace maid in her childhood, her cousin happened to see it and immediately made it known to everyone. Only then did the Empress purge the servants around the original owner and replace them with a dutiful and proper caregiver.
That commotion resulted in his cousin's father being reprimanded, and his cousin being confined at home. But in the original owner's heart, it was the first time someone had protected him, cared for him, and was willing to stand up for him. In the future, whenever he faced difficulties, he would think of his cousin, and her image would evolve in his imagination to become something no one could surpass.
When he grew up and got married, the original owner went to see his cousin, but she said she only saw him as a brother and declined his advances. From then on, his cousin became the white moonlight in his heart, but love only occupied a small part of his life and had little impact. Years later, when he ascended the throne, he only took care of his cousin a little. Those youthful feelings had long since faded away with time, and he devoted all his energy to politics.
However, this was the original owner's idea, and the others did not know it. The reborn women thought that he loved his cousin Chen Shi very much, and even Chen Shi herself thought so.
Princess Zhang has not yet realized that others have been reborn, while Chen has unexpectedly been given the opportunity to come to the Prince's mansion. Upon hearing Zhang's invitation, she immediately dressed up in the way the original owner liked best.
Hu Feng reported to Xu Zifan: "Your Highness, Miss Cousin has arrived. The Princess Consort took her to Qixia Courtyard to visit Miss, saying that Miss Cousin should comfort her. There will be a banquet later to dine together. The Princess Consort sent someone to ask if Your Highness would like to dine with them?"
Xu Zifan sat in the study, flipping through the books of this world, and casually replied, "No need, let them eat well, and keep an eye on Cheng'er and Xiyun."
"Yes." Hu Feng responded and withdrew, then went to give a reply to the princess's people and went to arrange for the people around the two children.
The princess was somewhat surprised to learn that Xu Zifan hadn't come, but it didn't matter; Xu Zifan's absence made it easier to carry out her plan. She stayed with Madam Chen, playing with Xiyun, and was very kind to Madam Chen, subtly explaining the reason why Xiyun had fallen into the water.
In her previous life, Chen married someone else and did not enter the Prince's Mansion, so she naturally did not know what had happened there. However, she was quite certain that the Princess Consort had not asked her to comfort Xiyun in her previous life, nor had she been so kind to her. She couldn't help but wonder if the Princess Consort was acting strangely like her.
Both women had lived two lives, and their conversation was impeccable; an hour passed and neither could discern the other's true intentions. A servant reported that dinner was ready, so the princess took Chen and the two children to dine. Besides them, she also invited Consort Yang and her maid Liu to join them. Liu, being of lower status, could only stand aside and serve them food.
Yang was already seven months pregnant. Since her rebirth, she had stayed at home, knowing that her son would be the future emperor. She was not anxious or impatient, and only wanted to focus on her pregnancy and observe what Li Yurong was doing.
She had intended to avoid the turmoil in the manor, but there was no reason to refuse to dine with her cousin this time. Xu Zifan had just had a doctor check her pulse, and if she neglected her cousin while she was perfectly healthy, she was afraid it would displease Xu Zifan. So she had no choice but to come despite her big belly.
Madam Chen exuded a gentle and tender aura. This was the first time the concubine had seen her since her rebirth. Her skin was delicate and fair, her hair jet black and lustrous, and every gesture she made possessed an indescribable elegance. Suddenly, she understood why the prince had been willing to take care of her for so many years. Who could easily forget such a beautiful woman? It was fortunate that her cousin didn't want to marry the prince; otherwise, her son would surely be the prince's most favored child.
Thinking these things through, the concubine found Chen Shi even more pleasing to the eye, talking to her constantly and seemingly quite fond of her. Compared to the princess, the concubine seemed more like the principal wife, probably because she had been the empress dowager in her previous life, and her rebirth gave her a sense of watching the world go by with a smile.
Knowing that you will win in the end, why would you be anxious or afraid? Just do things the way they did in your past life.
Madam Chen was pleased with the concubine's overtures and, following the concubine's lead, arranged to come and admire the flowers in three days, thus gaining another opportunity to enter the Prince's residence.
The princess's eyes kept glancing at the concubine's belly, looking for an opportunity. Cheng'er sat to the side, wanting to talk to her, but seeing that the concubine wasn't paying attention to her, she lowered her head dejectedly and ate her food.
Liu carefully laid out the dishes, her lips pressed into a straight line, her resentment reaching its peak. Even in the apocalypse, she was a privileged superhuman; when had she ever been treated like this? These women in the inner quarters were actually making her a servant! She would definitely get her revenge someday!
Lady Liu reaffirmed that to live well in this ancient world, one must be favored by one's husband and have a son to rely on; otherwise, one will not fare well anywhere and will suffer sooner or later. She served the dishes while mentally calculating. Li Yurong was under house arrest, the Princess Consort had angered Xu Zifan, and the concubine was pregnant; she was the only remaining concubine in the household. This was her best opportunity; perhaps she should think of a way to bump into Xu Zifan.
The women, each with their own thoughts, laughed and chatted. After the meal, the princess suggested, "We were so happy today that we ate a little too much without realizing it. Why don't we go for a walk in the garden to digest?"
Mrs. Chen smiled and said, "Great! I'd like to stroll through the garden too; it's been so long since I've been here."
The concubine, supporting her pregnant belly, rose and said apologetically, "Your Highness, cousin, you should go and explore. I'm a little tired, so I won't go. Next time my cousin comes to visit, I'll stay with you for a while longer."
The princess walked to Chen's side and replied, "Then you should go back and rest. You're so far along in your pregnancy, you need to take good care of yourself."
Chen held Xiyun in her arms, and the princess reached out to touch Xiyun's little face to amuse her.
As she withdrew her hand, she ran her pinky finger across Chen's bracelet. She was applying a powder from her medicine cabinet that could corrode the bracelet's threads. Initially, she had thought these strange medicines were useless, but now she felt it was a sign of divine intervention.
Xi Yun moved slightly, and Chen's bracelet instantly opened, scattering more than twenty beads all over the ground. The concubine was taking a step when she saw the beads under her feet and her expression changed drastically. However, she couldn't stop in time and stepped on them, falling backward.
"Ah—" the concubine screamed in panic, and the servants around her were all thrown into a panic, rushing to the ground to cushion her back.
It all happened so fast that no one saw what was going on. The concubine fell on top of a maid. Although she didn't land directly on the ground, she fell backward, and her seven-month-old belly immediately started to hurt.
"It hurts! It hurts so much! Quickly, call the imperial physician..." The concubine clutched her stomach, her face covered in cold sweat, her voice weak and feeble, half from the fall and half from shock. This was her future glory and support, the one destined to ascend the throne as emperor. If anything happened to her, everything would be over.
The princess immediately gave serious instructions to everyone to carry the concubine safely to a nearby room on a soft couch. She sent someone to fetch the imperial physician and report to Xu Zifan. She then stayed by the concubine's side to comfort her, saying, "Don't worry, you've always been lucky. You'll be fine."
The concubine was already suspicious. How could it be such a coincidence that she fell? She didn't believe in such a coincidence; someone must have harmed her. Her first suspect was the princess, because Chen didn't like the prince and wouldn't have married into the family; there was no reason for her to harm her.
It was the Princess who invited Chen Shi here today, and it was the Princess who invited her to dine here. Perhaps the Princess was behind all this; how could she believe the Princess would save her? In desperation, she choked back tears and sobbed, "Your Highness, I need to see Your Highness! Yi Cui, go find Your Highness..."
The princess patted her hand, "I've already sent someone to inform the prince. He'll be here soon. Don't worry, don't be afraid, everything will be alright."
Despite her words, Yi Cui, having received her master's instruction, immediately ran to find Xu Zifan. Xu Zifan already knew and was on his way when he met Yi Cui on the way, asking her again what had happened.
Yi Cui wiped away her tears as she recounted the scene. She understood her mistress's meaning; she herself also suspected the princess, which led to her biased words, subtly implying that the princess had a problem. However, she spoke very cryptically, not explicitly.
Xu Zifan, of course, understood, and he received a definitive answer from Shao Hua: the princess was responsible. There was no evidence yet, as the drug wasn't from this world and couldn't be tested; it could only be considered an accident. However, he wasn't too worried. How could someone so easily drugged be a woman with a cheat-like ability?
The fetus was already seven months old and Xu Zifan didn't want them to affect the child. After seeing the concubine, he comforted her for a few words and then called everyone outside to ask questions, giving the concubine some space to be alone.
Xu Zifan sat in the chair, first looked at Cheng'er and Xiyun who were somewhat frightened, and waved his hand, saying, "Hu Feng, take Cheng'er and Xiyun back to rest."
The princess looked on hesitantly, and when the child was about to leave, she said hesitantly, "Your Highness, the concubine... fell because my cousin's bracelet broke. At the time, my cousin was holding Xiyun. I don't know if Xiyun pulled on my cousin's bracelet, or if her clothes or accessories got caught. Should we ask Xiyun about this?"
Xu Zifan looked at her coldly, "No need, Xiyun would not do such a rude and improper thing."
Hu Feng took the child away, and the princess felt a lump in her throat. What did he mean by "unruly and disrespectful"? She was the one who broke the bracelet; wasn't he insulting her?
Xu Zifan looked at Madam Chen. Madam Chen possessed the Favored Concubine System, and at this moment she already knew from the system that it was the Princess Consort who had used her to cause the concubine to have a premature birth. She quickly exchanged for the Pitiful Charm skill, her face pale and tearful as she looked at Xu Zifan softly, saying, "Cousin, I don't know... that bracelet was a gift from you, and I've been wearing it carefully. This morning, the maid even wiped the beads on it and didn't find anything wrong with it. Xiyun's hand strength is still small; she couldn't have broken it. I don't know why the bracelet suddenly broke."
She turned to the princess for help, "Your Highness, did you see it? You were standing right next to me, you could see the bracelet perfectly. How did this happen? I wish I hadn't come today. I'm so sorry for causing such a mess."
The princess was stunned. She hadn't expected that, amidst the chaos, Chen would remember such a small detail. Just as she was about to speak, she saw Xu Zifan looking at her with a suspicious gaze. "Princess, was it you who invited your cousin today? Was it you who invited the concubine to dine? Why were you there when the bracelet broke? Do you have anything to say?"
The princess's heart skipped a beat. Without any evidence, why did the prince suspect her? She glanced at Madam Chen out of the corner of her eye and instantly understood. He couldn't bear to part with his beloved, so he directly blamed her.