“What is it.” Xiao Cheng recovered himself.

Su Roujia lowered her head and poked at the grains of rice in her bowl with a pitiable expression.

Xiao Cheng caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of Yan Shiyao and Yu Zhi striking up a conversation. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to Su Roujia’s cheek.

Su Roujia covered her mouth and laughed softly.

“Feeling better now?” Xiao Cheng teased with a wicked grin.

Su Roujia, flushed with embarrassment, turned her head away — and met Yan Shiyao’s somewhat exasperated gaze. She quickly raised her bowl and took small, delicate sips of rice to cover her awkwardness.

Yan Shiyao withdrew her gaze and continued speaking with Yu Zhi. “My lady, you were asking just now what kinds of food Ningning enjoys?”

Xiao Cheng also pricked up his ears.

Yu Zhi smiled, the corners of her eyes curving. “I was. If the Crown Princess comes to visit you at the estate, I’d like to prepare a meal for her in advance.”

“Elder Sister, you want to cook for the Crown Princess?” Su Roujia let out a derisive laugh. “I wouldn’t bother if I were you. If the Crown Princess comes to the estate, my husband will naturally arrange for a skilled chef to prepare dishes and pastries for her.”

“That meager cooking of yours — you’d offer it to the Crown Princess? Are you not afraid she’ll take offense?”

“And how would you know my cooking is meager?” Yu Zhi’s gaze, seemingly warm, shifted slowly to rest on Su Roujia’s sneering face.

“You……” Su Roujia pressed her fingers together.

Had there not been a time when she could say anything and Yu Zhi wouldn’t breathe a word in return?

“Zhizhi — what is this manner of speaking?” Xiao Cheng’s expression went faintly cold.

Yu Zhi smiled. “What did I say? Eldest Young Lady Yan, have I said something? Is this how they question me?”

Yan Shiyao’s brow creased slightly. At this point she was genuinely too tired to involve herself in anyone else’s domestic affairs.

Yan Shiyao said nothing. Su Roujia raised her chin and said mockingly, “All right, Elder Sister — I understand you want to curry favor with the Crown Princess. But even if you do, there’s no need to cook for her personally. If your cooking doesn’t satisfy the Crown Princess, it might well backfire entirely.”

“It won’t. How could Ningning possibly take offense at the lady for something so small?” Yan Shiyao said with a smile.

This Yu lady clearly had a difficult time of it in this estate. She might as well speak a word in her defense.

Su Roujia pressed her lips together lightly. “You’re right — look at me. The Crown Princess is magnanimous. Why would she quarrel with Elder Sister over something like that?”

“Good that you understand.” Yu Zhi cast her a cool, measured look.

Su Roujia bit her lip — and waited until Yan Shiyao had finished her meal and left the dining hall. She sent Xiao Cheng away, then fixed Yu Zhi with a vicious glare. “What did you mean by that today?”

Yu Zhi’s lips curved. “Not just today — this is how it will be going forward.”

From this moment, she wanted to be the eldest daughter of the Yu family again. She was done being the pathetic Grand Commandant’s wife.

“Yu Zhi — you’ve grown bold? You want to go against me?” Su Roujia looked at her with contempt.

What good would it do? Acheng stood with her — Yu Zhi would still be hers to manipulate, just as she always had been.

Just as the child Yu Zhi had miscarried and lost had been entirely within her power to control.

Yu Zhi lowered her eyes gently. “Su Roujia, these years you’ve been married to Xiao Cheng — why is it you’ve never had a child?”

Su Roujia’s heart lurched. “What are you trying to say?”

Yu Zhi smiled and picked up a pastry, taking a leisurely bite.

In the past, she’d kept quiet because she’d been savoring the anticipation — imagining what it would look like as Xiao Cheng grew old without a single child at his knee. That was his due punishment.

Had she spoken up and caused Xiao Cheng to repudiate Su Roujia and take another concubine, she would never get to see Xiao Cheng’s regret.

There had been no trace of her siblings, and the sole thread of hope that kept her going was the fantasy of watching Xiao Cheng one day find them and be consumed by remorse.

Things were different now. Both Ningning and Shiqing had been found. She had no more appetite for watching Xiao Cheng’s regret play out one day.

If she continued to be this spineless, would she not end up being someone the Crown Prince disdained — a sister of Ningning’s like this?

Xiao Cheng had his talent for putting on a good face in front of others. In the past, because he was helping her search for Shiqing, she had endured everything. Xiao Cheng was vain about his reputation, and since word had already spread outside that he was searching for her younger brother on her behalf, he would certainly keep searching in earnest.

Now she intended to use that same vanity to give Xiao Cheng a thorough humiliation.

“What do you know?” Su Roujia pressed down the dread rising in her chest.

Back then, after learning that Acheng had married Yu Zhi, she had acted out of spite and agreed to pursue a man who had been courting her. On the night of Acheng and Yu Zhi’s wedding, she had spent the night with that man.

She hadn’t expected that, a few days later, Acheng would come looking for her — explaining himself, telling her it had been unavoidable.

In a fit of willfulness, she had made a single demand: before she became his secondary consort, Yu Zhi could not be allowed to give birth to his firstborn son. Astonishingly, he had agreed.

But a month later, a series of strange signs made her realize — she herself was with child. She was terrified. She had no formal engagement, and if her father found out, what would become of her?

If Acheng found out — what then??

She was only a concubine-born daughter, and even her handmaidens had been assigned to her by her mother. She had not dared tell her personal handmaiden, let alone dare venture to a pharmacy.

It had been summer at the time. She had soaked herself in the cool water of the lake for two days. She had been foolish then and had not foreseen how badly she would injure herself.

Later, after she married Acheng, she had become even less willing to allow Yu Zhi to bear his firstborn son and threaten her position.

She had only been able to fabricate a story that Yu Zhi had given her a tea that caused barrenness, and then bribed a physician to tell Acheng that with a few years of restorative treatment she would recover.

At the time, Yu Zhi had looked at her with that faint, ambiguous smile — she hadn’t thought much of it then. But now she understood: Yu Zhi had known all along!!

How could she have known??

Yu Zhi surveyed Su Roujia and smiled with extraordinary gentleness.

Su Roujia’s palms went damp. “How did you find out?”

Yu Zhi toyed with the pastry, tilting her brow upward. Her father had told her back when he was still alive.

Her father had found out about Xiao Cheng and Su Roujia’s involvement and warned her. She had dismissed him at the time, arguing that Su Roujia had already been with child once — surely there could be nothing between her and Xiao Cheng now.

She hadn’t expected that, shortly after her father passed away, Xiao Cheng would marry Su Roujia. At the time, she hadn’t told Xiao Cheng either — why should she? Letting him be played for a fool without even knowing it was so much better.

The moment Xiao Cheng took Su Roujia as his secondary consort, she had realized that what she felt for Xiao Cheng was only gratitude — not love. She had confused the two.

“Elder Sister, I have never harmed you……”

“Is that so?” Yu Zhi raised her eyes to look at her.

Su Roujia felt her heart tighten. “It… it is.”

Wasn’t it just making Acheng give her a miscarriage-inducing tea? Her health was already poor — wasn’t her miscarriage simply a result of not having taken proper care of herself afterward? What did that have to do with her?

She had also had clear porridge brought to her. And occasionally she’d spoken to her in a somewhat raised voice — hadn’t she? But that was all. She hadn’t done anything else to harm her.

Compared to the treatment women received in other households, she had been far more lenient.

“Jia’jia, don’t be frightened — I won’t tell Xiao Cheng.” Yu Zhi bit her lip as if troubled. “It’s just that I have so few handmaidens of my own……”

“Elder Sister, I’ll choose a few for you right away and send them to your courtyard.” Su Roujia said hastily.

Yu Zhi raised a brow. “I’ll choose them myself.”

She had laid bare Su Roujia’s secret — tonight or tomorrow night, Su Roujia would certainly send someone to deal with her. When that happened, the real show would begin, and Xiao Cheng’s mask would finally be torn away.

She needed to ask for Nanny Lu ahead of time to come and help her.

……

The Xuanzhao Royal Palace — Noble Consort Pei’s Bedchamber.

Pei Shutong had come to the palace early that morning and was now leaning against Noble Consort Pei’s shoulder, wiping at her tears with an air of grievance.