The fire at the Marquis of Jinxiang’s residence had burned away all of Elder Madam Fan’s recent irrationality and desperation. She clutched that flower hairpin, her pristine white palm pierced bloody by the sharp pin, yet she felt no pain whatsoever.

The layers of light gauze curtains hanging in the room were blown about by the wind, rising and fluttering lightly. Hidden behind the layers of gauze on her soft carpet, she suddenly let out a shrill scream.

Like a startled cat on a winter night, the sound was both sharp and piercing, frightening Nanny Fang outside until her entire body trembled. The room became even more deathly quiet, with everyone holding their breath and remaining silent, afraid to touch Elder Madam Fan’s ill fortune at this moment.

Elder Madam Fan cried out once more with restrained agony, but found that the suffocating feeling in her chest had not been relieved in the slightest. Unable to help herself, she viciously bit down on the back of her own hand, using such force that she nearly bit off her own flesh.

By the time Nanny Fang sensed something was wrong and rushed in together with the steward on duty, Elder Madam Fan’s usually well-maintained hand was already a mangled mess of blood and flesh. She was curled up in the soft carpet like an injured wild beast, barefoot with her hair disheveled, her face a frightening pallor.

This scene frightened Nanny Fang until she nearly lost her soul. It took her quite a while to react. She rushed forward and first pried open Elder Madam Fan’s hand that was tightly gripping the flower hairpin, then gently patted her back to comfort her, saying over and over, “It’s all right, my lady, it’s all right.”

In truth, Nanny Fang herself was quite frightened as well. Young Madam Fan had entered the palace ostensibly to express gratitude to Her Majesty the Empress for matters concerning Han Yueheng. As was customary, she had also made a visit to the Eastern Palace. But who could have expected—no one could have expected—that something would go wrong.

The Crown Prince had always shown considerable care for Fan Liangdi’s younger sister, so naturally he received her personally. But with this one meeting, young Madam Fan had pierced through the heavens. She held up a flower hairpin and asked the Crown Prince if he recognized it, saying it was Elder Madam Fan’s personal possession.

The Crown Prince naturally recognized it. Even if he hadn’t, he would have recognized Elder Madam Fan’s childhood nickname carved on it. Young Madam Fan let out a cold laugh, then practically thrust the hairpin into Elder Madam Fan’s face, asking if she remembered where this hairpin had gone. At the time, all of them servants had been questioned by young Madam Fan as well.

She had vaguely known that something momentous must have occurred—young Madam Fan must have discovered some damaging evidence against Elder Madam Fan. Later, all of them had been driven out, and following that, His Highness the Crown Prince had collapsed unconscious.

The Crown Prince had fallen ill. All the imperial physicians and attending doctors in the palace had come. The Crown Princess was presiding over the situation. When the Empress heard that young Madam Fan had angered the Crown Prince into unconsciousness, she immediately ordered someone to summon young Madam Fan and asked Elder Madam Fan what exactly had happened.

But now young Madam Fan had burned herself and the Marquis of Jinxiang’s residence to ashes with a single fire. Nanny Fang couldn’t help but furrow her brow into a deep crease. Layers upon layers of worry surged up in her heart that she simply couldn’t suppress. She had said from the beginning that one shouldn’t drive a dog into a dead-end alley, but Elder Madam Fan had refused to listen. One must know that even a clay figurine has three parts earthen nature.

Elder Madam Fan’s screaming brought her back to her senses. She and the steward together carefully helped Elder Madam Fan up from the floor, hurriedly ordering Lianqiao and Lianxin to fetch water and summon the imperial physician.

Elder Madam Fan reached out and forcefully brushed them all away. Leaning against the soft couch, she gasped heavily for breath. After who knows how long, she finally ordered Nanny Fang, “Send them all away!”

But Elder Madam Fan’s hand was still bleeding profusely with fresh blood. Nanny Fang was about to say a few more words when she was startled by Elder Madam Fan’s fierce and severe gaze. She hurriedly drove everyone out.

Elder Madam Fan descended from the couch barefoot and began rummaging through drawers and cabinets, searching and picking through them. Finally, she found an extremely small seal. She clutched that seal tightly in her hand for a long while before finally handing it to Nanny Fang.

“Take this seal and leave the palace. Go to Vice Minister Wang’s residence and deliver this seal to Vice Minister Wang’s wife, Madam Wang née Yang. Have her help me send this item out.”

Nanny Fang’s hands trembled slightly. After hesitating for a long time, she finally dared to accept the seal, bowing as she responded affirmatively.

Elder Madam Fan immediately picked up her brush and wrote a letter. “Deliver this to Madam Wang née Yang as well. Have her help me send the letter to my mother.”

Nanny Fang felt even more chilled in her heart. Whenever Elder Madam Fan needed to send a letter home, she would always have the Eastern Palace’s secretary draft it, then send it to the postal station. Even when she had previously sent Madam Fan to search and confiscate Nanny Zhang’s old home, it had been done through the postal station, completely openly and without concealment. But now she was asking Vice Minister Wang’s wife to handle such matters for her.

Thinking of the ailing Crown Prince and Prince of Dongping, and then of that flower hairpin carved with Elder Madam Fan’s childhood nickname, Nanny Fang felt that even in the dead of winter, she had broken out in a cold sweat that clung to her back like a disease that penetrated to the bone.

Elder Madam Fan’s dark and cold gaze fixed on Nanny Fang, her voice itself carrying a chill. “Why aren’t you going yet?!”

Only then did Nanny Fang come to her senses. She carefully tucked the items into her bosom and hurriedly agreed, “Yes, this old servant will go at once!”

After Nanny Fang left, Elder Madam Fan curled her entire body into the soft couch, her head splitting with pain as she clutched it with both hands. She had truly lost her mind, truly become too carried away with success. She had clearly endured for more than a dozen years, had clearly held young Madam Fan in the palm of her hand for all these years, doing as she pleased. Yet in this recent period, she had lost her sense of proportion and gone too far.

Elder Madam Fan finally understood why the letter her mother had sent contained repeated warnings and exhortations not to act impulsively. Indeed, those with nothing to lose fear nothing—it was she herself who had been too hasty, who had gone too far.

She hadn’t even properly interrogated Nanny Zhang to see if she held any damaging evidence before directly having her killed—these past dozen years had been too smooth and easy. She had actually forgotten even this basic point. She had only remembered that the timing of Nanny Zhang’s resignation and return home had been rather coincidental, never imagining that the old hag had actually been hiding that flower hairpin all along.

Thinking of that flower hairpin, the fury in Elder Madam Fan’s eyes blazed up again. If it weren’t for that fool Han Zhengqing! If it weren’t for that useless wretch Han Zhengqing being careless in his actions and leaving behind such damaging evidence, she wouldn’t have fallen to this state where even with a mouth full of words, she couldn’t explain herself clearly!

Her fists clenched with audible creaking sounds. The wound on the back of her hand hurt even more from being pulled by such forceful tension, but she felt none of it. Right now, she had no time to worry about such things. She called out, summoning Lianqiao and the others inside, and casually instructed them, “Find me clothes. I’m going to check on His Highness.”

Lianqiao and Lianxin exchanged glances and lowered their voices to tell her, “The Crown Princess is personally attending to His Highness.”

Preparing to wait for the Crown Prince to wake up and ask why young Madam Fan had angered him to this state. That lowborn woman surnamed Lu must be quite pleased with herself, must think that once the Crown Prince wakes up, it will be the end for her.

Elder Madam Fan let out a cold laugh. “Who said I was going to see His Highness the Crown Prince? I’m going to check on the Prince.”