The Fourth Prince didn’t know the details. As soon as he returned, Fujin came to plead guilty. After helping her up, the Fourth Prince asked about the detailed course of events and went to examine the corpses of those two snakes.

“Non-venomous?”

Su Peisheng replied respectfully, “Non-venomous.”

It was already dark now, but people were still standing guard outside with lanterns lit. No one dared guarantee that there were only two snakes in total within the estate.

What if one had broken into some master’s quarters… So everyone else was being cooperative too—no one wanted to suddenly see a snake flicking its tongue at them in greeting one day.

The Ce Fujin’s courtyard and its surroundings were the key investigation areas, since one snake had been found in her courtyard and another discovered not far from it.

Fortunately, Ce Fujin had only experienced some fetal disturbance and nothing serious had happened.

The servants managing the courtyard felt extremely fortunate about this. They were also the most active in the daytime search.

A charge of dereliction of duty was unavoidable for them. With the snake having caused no major disaster, they could still receive lighter punishment. But if Ce Fujin had miscarried… Just thinking about it made their skin involuntarily tighten.

The Fourth Prince had no intention of conducting a nighttime search—that would create too much commotion. He inquired about Ce Fujin’s condition.

Su Peisheng reported, “Ce Fujin has already taken her medicine and retired for the night.”

The Fourth Prince nodded, “Then don’t disturb her. Let her rest well. What did the imperial physician say?”

Su Peisheng replied, “She experienced some fetal disturbance and needs quiet recuperation.”

The Fourth Prince said sternly, “Guard that courtyard tightly for me. I don’t want to hear about any more things that shouldn’t be there appearing in Ce Fujin’s courtyard again.”

Su Peisheng shuddered upon hearing these words. Fujin, standing nearby, nodded in agreement and continued blaming herself, “It’s this concubine’s fault for lacking energy recently and being lax in supervision. Snakes appearing in our estate—they cannot escape blame, and this concubine also bears responsibility. I shouldn’t have fallen ill at this time.”

The Fourth Prince said, “Falling ill was not your wish. How is your health now?”

Looking at Fujin’s pale face, he advised, “I’m here to handle this. Go and rest quickly.”

After Fujin left, the Fourth Prince asked Su Peisheng sternly, “Who brought the snakes in?”

Su Peisheng bowed very low, “Reporting to Master, Tie You at the second gate is the most suspicious, but he redeemed himself and left the day before yesterday.”

The Fourth Prince’s eyes instantly became frighteningly cold, “No matter where he’s gone, if he’s alive I want to see him, if he’s dead I want to see his corpse!”

The next day’s thorough cleaning discovered another smaller snake in a snake-attracting hole by the pond—three in total. After that, no new snakes were found, and the entire estate was thoroughly cleaned once more.

Following this, one by one—those guarding courtyards, those guarding gates—all were summoned by Su Peisheng for interrogation.

Tie You was the most suspicious, but this suspicion was glaringly obvious.

Could it really be him, or was he a decoy pushed forward by someone else?

Until everything was investigated clearly, everyone was under suspicion.

This matter was different from last time. A cat could be said to have jumped in on its own, could be called an accident, but these snakes?

These weren’t newborn baby snakes. Snakes can’t fly, and the courtyard walls had no holes for them to crawl through—it could only be human intervention.

Who had brought the snakes in?

What was their purpose?

Regarding this point, Su Peisheng knew the purpose was obvious, but it still needed confirmation.

The Fourth Prince also came to Luo Yu’s courtyard.

He saw Luo Yu, whose face was pale and whose entire body was surrounded by the smell of medicine.

“Huai Zhen.”

Hearing the voice, Luo Yu looked over. The tears she had prepared immediately fell, “Master, you’ve returned…”

“Why did you only come back now?”

“I dreamed of you last night.”

“When I woke, you weren’t by my side, and the child troubled me too. I couldn’t sleep peacefully all night.”

The Fourth Prince sighed softly, “I returned too late. Knowing you had retired for the night, I didn’t come over. Had I known, I would have come.”

Luo Yu was somewhat pleasantly surprised, “Is that so? So Master was also thinking of me.”

She took her handkerchief and dabbed at the corners of her eyes, “Master, how could there be snakes in our estate? Have they all been caught now?”

“I was truly frightened. It suddenly appeared.”

The Fourth Prince reassured her, “They’ve all been caught. Rest assured, there won’t be any more. I will investigate this matter thoroughly.”

Luo Yu looked at him trustingly, “I believe in you, Master. You’ll certainly find the root cause.”

The Fourth Prince fell silent for a moment, then looked with heartache at Huai Zhen with her protruding belly, embracing her, “You’ve suffered.”

Where Luo Yu couldn’t see, he suppressed his rage.

If anything had happened to her, it would have been three lives lost!

Luo Yu watched as the Fourth Prince left, his departure tinged with barely concealed anger.

She touched her belly and looked in Li Gege’s direction.

On the surface, this was an accident.

Privately, everyone had their speculations.

Now they were waiting for the Fourth Prince’s investigation results.

With snakes having entered the estate, those who had been negligent were punished one after another, and some were replaced. Among them, those guarding the courtyards and those on Li Gege’s side were the hardest hit.

Seeing this situation, Luo Yu knew it was most likely Li Gege.

This was what the Fourth Prince had uncovered.

As a result, the personnel around her were purged once over. The people she had cultivated over so many years were destroyed in one fell swoop.

This didn’t mean no one else had definitely plotted anything, but this was what the Fourth Prince had uncovered.

Did the Fourth Prince find any substantial evidence? Luo Yu guessed not yet.

She knew Li Gege shouldn’t be underestimated.

Having a bad temper didn’t mean she lacked capability.

She had safely given birth to several children and raised them until now—if she were incompetent, she couldn’t have accomplished this.

On Luo Yu’s side, she received a large sum of valuables to calm her nerves. The Fourth Prince came more frequently and treated her even better.

Luo Yu knew he felt guilty.

Luo Yu had anticipated this outcome. This was also part of her calculations.

She had arrived late, couldn’t compare with Fujin’s legitimate status, couldn’t compare with Li Gege’s abundant offspring. If it came to direct confrontation, she would easily suffer losses.

Hearts are made of flesh—the Fourth Prince would also have his own preferences.

Her experiencing fetal disturbance was putting it lightly. Speaking more gravely, someone had wanted to harm her, to harm two children. With her being unharmed, and with Li Gege having the estate’s only remaining two sons and one daughter to contrast, as long as the Fourth Prince had no solid evidence in hand, he wouldn’t do anything drastic.

If there was evidence, for the sake of the children’s reputation, the possibility of Li Gege being ordered to cultivate quietly or being “died of illness” was higher.

On the surface, these dirty matters wouldn’t exist.

But even without evidence, didn’t the Fourth Prince have some idea in his heart?

He knew.

So he felt guilty—guilty toward her, guilty toward the two unborn children.

This guilt, if properly utilized, could gradually increase her significance in his heart.

She took the opportunity to propose that she had been suffering nightmares and wanted her birth mother to come accompany her. The Fourth Prince agreed without a word and even proactively suggested, “If Madam Yun is available, it would be even better if she could stay for a while to keep you company.”

Before the snake incident had completely subsided, Yun Shuyao arrived.

Yun Shuyao first took her pulse and, after confirming she was well, set her heart at ease, “You, this girl.”

Luo Yu smiled cheerfully, intimately resting her head on her shoulder, “Auntie, I did the right thing this time, didn’t I? I really wanted to see certain people’s expressions when they heard I was only frightened but otherwise fine. It must have been quite spectacular.”

Yun Shuyao tapped her, “You still have the mood for this?”

Luo Yu’s smile grew wider, “Of course I do. What a pity—no matter how disappointed they are, they won’t get the result they wanted.”

Besides Li Gege, was there no one else who didn’t want her to give birth to these children?

No.

Luo Yu knew.

No one hoped for her smooth delivery. No matter how sincere their smiles, they wished it were themselves who were pregnant.

This was human nature.

Yun Shuyao asked, “No revenge?”

Luo Yu touched her belly, “Auntie, no rush. Let’s talk about it after I give birth. There’s still plenty of time.”

Yun Shuyao looked at her—she had become more clear-sighted, “You…”

Luo Yu closed her eyes and murmured, “Auntie, I know what I want. I’ll be fine.”

She wasn’t dull-witted.

She didn’t understand when young, but having grown older, she could personally experience it—experience the difference between how Auntie treated them siblings and how she treated Father.

Was Auntie bad to Father?

No.

The two of them had never been at odds. When Father came, Auntie would care for him, look after him, send him things, prepare gifts for him… But she was even better to them siblings, more considerate. That feeling—if you didn’t experience it personally, you might not be able to distinguish it.

Although it had never been said aloud, she knew that they siblings were the most important to Auntie.

When she was small, she had wondered whether Auntie didn’t like Father.

Later she gradually understood some things. Now, she understood even more.

For her, Father was a blood relative she could rely on and trust. For Auntie, he was not.

Now her own situation somewhat resembled Auntie’s back then.

The children were her own blood relatives, but the children’s father would also be the blood relative of other children. There was ultimately a layer of separation.

She couldn’t give everything without reservation.

Yun Shuyao said nothing.

Better to see through things clearly—seeing through meant she wouldn’t be hurt.

In this era, good men were rarer than giant pandas. Not harboring expectations would make life much easier.

“Things should settle down from now on, shouldn’t they?” Yun Shuyao was still somewhat worried, “When you’re about to go into labor, remember to have someone inform me.”

“You must also keep watch over the midwife and wet nurse matters. I’ll keep watch from my side too.”

After staying several days here, Yun Shuyao returned from the Fourth Prince’s estate. As soon as she returned, the Old Madam immediately asked, “How is Luo Yu now? Is her condition still good?”

With their granddaughter encountering such things, anyone with rich experience in inner household matters knew there were inside stories—they were just covered by a fig leaf.

Lin Ruhai’s face was icy. Li Gege was in the Fourth Prince’s inner household—he couldn’t deal with her, but she had a natal family, and her father was also in the officialdom.

If he had no missteps, that was one thing. But if there were any, he wouldn’t let them pass.

There was a saying about fathers paying for children’s debts. Now it was reversed—daughters’ debts paid by fathers.

After some time passed, at the Fourth Prince’s estate, Li Gege was confined for three months for offending the Fourth Prince with her words.

On Fujin’s side, her illness had recovered, and she supervised the estate’s personnel even more strictly.

Being suddenly confined—had some clue been found?

Luo Yu touched her increasingly prominent belly. But if some clue had really been found, it shouldn’t have been just confinement. If it were being glossed over like this, it wouldn’t fit the Fourth Prince’s temperament.

However, she should be able to peacefully await childbirth now.

Shortly after Li Gege’s father, Magistrate Li, was impeached by someone, the Fourth Prince learned of it.

He said nothing and did nothing. After returning, he told her this news.

That person hadn’t been found. Li Shi couldn’t possibly have this capability herself—it must have been the Li family who intervened to help.

This made him very angry. Her ambition had grown too large. If not for the several children, he wouldn’t have temporarily punished her only with confinement.

Should the several children continue to be raised at her knee? The Fourth Prince worried the children would have their temperaments corrupted, but if the children were taken away, to whom should they be given?

—

Li Gege was already extremely enraged about being confined.

She refused to accept it. She had arranged everything in advance. The Fourth Prince couldn’t find anything, and the Lin family couldn’t find anything either. No one had evidence.

Why was the Fourth Prince so certain it was her?

He had even completely eliminated the people she had painstakingly accumulated, equivalent to starting from scratch.

Later being confined and forbidden to leave—looking back, Li Gege realized she had suffered enormous losses.

She had done all this, yet Lin Shi’s belly was still fine. She had even gained the Fourth Prince’s sympathy, receiving so many good things from him.

Fujin too, because of falling ill, had the Fourth Prince visit her several times, sending medicinal materials and jewelry.

The other women, because of her confinement, enjoyed more favor and perhaps some lucky one would become pregnant.

Only she herself suffered heavy losses. Most importantly, the Fourth Prince was angry this time.

Li Gege still remembered that look he gave her—dark and deep. He had even asked one question: why?

Just recalling it made her heart involuntarily skip. Losing personnel could be remedied through retraining. Confinement wasn’t forever. But if she lost the Fourth Prince’s favor, that would be the worst situation.

She wouldn’t let such a thing happen.

Before she could figure out how to win back the Fourth Prince’s heart, she now heard this devastating news.

Her father had been impeached and needed to defend himself. If he couldn’t provide a good explanation, he might be demoted.

This was like a basin of cold water poured over her head. “It must be the Lin family who did it!”

Lin Shi’s father was one of the chief censors!

If he wanted to impeach someone, nothing could be more convenient.

Ya Hui came to see her, quietly advising, “Mother, please don’t be angry anymore.”

They lived close by, and she had heard Mother breaking who knows how many things. She had also heard Mother cursing people, and the maids didn’t dare approach, “Mother, as long as you sincerely admit your fault, Father will forgive you.”

Li Gege laughed coldly, “I should admit fault? Admit what fault? I’m not wrong!”

Suddenly, she thought of something. Yes, she could admit fault, sincerely admit fault. When the Fourth Prince saw it, he would relent. So she quickly rallied her spirits, “Someone come! I will copy sutras to pray for blessings for Lin Ce Fujin’s two children. Prepare the finest brushes and ink for me!”