Fu Jiujiu stayed home with her family, closed off from the outside world for over half a month. While the weather outside fluctuated constantly, the Fu household remained sunny and clear.

"Open the door," Fu Jiujiao said crisply.

The crimson wooden door creaked open, followed by the sound of bustling traffic outside.

"Finally, I can get out of here. I've been cooped up for days! My legs feel like they don't belong to me anymore." Fu Baiwan complained.

"I haven't seen you go out before, it's good that nothing happened. If you really got sick like that and went out to harm people, you would be met with retribution." Tian Guihua said.

Now that everyone in the family is safe and sound, that's the best thing. It doesn't matter if we don't go out all year.

Mengyan has plenty of breast milk, Liupang can eat rice porridge now, and Qipang, the little boy, not only hasn't lost weight but has gained some.

Tang Xian had been waiting at the door for a long time. Fu Jiujiao ran out excitedly, "Let's go see Ge Siyan."

"You're in such a hurry, you don't even want me to come inside and sit down?"

Tang Xian asked.

"The inside is still the same, let's talk about it later." Fu Jiujiu pulled Tang Xian onto his carriage.

The teaching institute, Ge Siyan was whipped and verbally humiliated by the teacher's grandmother for resisting her.

She expected life wouldn't be easy, but to actually experience it was a different story.

"I greet the Seventh Prince and the County Princess." The teaching nanny put away her whip and bowed respectfully.

Tang Xian waved his hand, glanced at Ge Siyan kneeling on the ground without any resistance, and thinking of what this woman had done, he felt no pity at all.

"Are you all here to laugh at me? Where's Jiang Yao? Why didn't she come? I've fallen so low, isn't she the happiest?"

Ge Siyan laughed bitterly, a bloody trace on her pale face. The ambiguous marks appeared faintly on her exposed arms and the skin beneath her neck, "How could she miss such an opportunity?"

Fu Jiujiao sighed, stubborn.

"My third sister-in-law has never considered you a rival. In her eyes, you have no chance, let alone the qualifications. Ms. Ge is being far too self-important."

Ge Siyan was now utterly hopeless, but she wasn't heartless. She couldn't bear to watch her parents and grandmother die because of her, so she could only cling to life.

Murder most cruel, Emperor Xianfeng's skill is truly remarkable.

This also made her fear the emperor for the first time. It turned out that his apparent kindness and amiability were just a facade. Once she had provoked him, the consequences were unimaginable.

"It doesn't matter what I say now, you can look at my jokes if you want." Ge Siyan was so weak it seemed like she could die any moment.

Suddenly, she was fed a pill by the little dumpling. "What did you give me?"

Fu Jiujiu curled her lips, "I'll cure you."

"You!" Ge Siyan naturally knew that the little dumpling wasn't being so kind. At this time, she just wanted to die.

If she couldn't commit suicide, then she would die from illness. The emperor wouldn't be implicated in her parents' affairs because of that.

But that damn Fu Jiujiu said she would cure her illness, isn't that deliberately against her?

Her plan fell through.

"You should never, ever lay a hand on those two children. They are innocent."

Ge Siyan smirked and looked at Fu Jiujiu, "Perhaps the other child is innocent, after all, even though he died you found me. But how can Jiang Yao's son be considered innocent?"

Fujujiao shook her head, completely unreasonable. "I'll give you one last chance. How did you get the symptoms of Tianhua's illness?"

Ge Siyan unconsciously glanced to the side, then a smile appeared on her face. "Didn't I already say it? It was Mei Niang who made it, you should ask her."

She's dead, and she died under suspicious circumstances. Aren't you afraid the next one will be your family?

Ger Siyan curled her lips, seemingly seeing through Fu Jiujiu's scheme. "I told you and you didn't believe me, so what else can I say? Mei Niang's death is suspicious, and the Ministry of Justice will handle it."

Her confidence was unsettling to Fu Jiujiu, making him feel uneasy. However, there was nothing he could do. Ge Siyan had fallen to this desperate state and refused to reveal the truth, which was truly terrifying.

"Grandmother, this is a good prescription for treating Miss Ge. Please take good care of Miss Ge and make sure nothing happens to her. Pay attention to the people around her and everything she eats and drinks, understand?"

"Yes, Seventh Prince. This servant will be most careful and attend to Miss Ge personally. There will be no mistakes." The mama assured him.

Tang Xian said this because she was worried that the Ge family would use their connections to help Ge Siyan get her wish.

After leaving the Imperial Academy of Arts, Tang Xian took the little dumpling back to the palace. The reason was that the Empress Dowager, after seeing the portrait of the little dumpling that she had painted for Mei Niang, insisted on clamoring for one for herself as well.

The Empress said that the little dumpling's painting skills were far better than those of the court painters.

Fujujio's paintings are different from ink and wash paintings, they mostly use modern techniques. Compared with traditional painting methods, each has its own merits. It's just that the people here haven't seen them before and find them novel.

"Here they come, Empress Dowager, the Princess is here." Seeing Fu Jiujiu and Tang Xian's figures, Ming Hui hurriedly reported to the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager tidied up her clothes and asked Minghui, her maidservant, to help check if her hair was messy.

"Grandson greets his grandmother."

"Jiujiu greets her grandmother."

"Come on, there's no one else here, so you don't have to be so formal. Chiu Chiu, are you alright?" The Empress Dowager asked softly.

"Grandmother, thanks to your blessings, Jiujiao can eat and sleep well. Look, I've gained weight."

Tang Xian nodded. "That's true."

Fu Jiujiu glared at him. Didn't she care about face?

"What good fortune has my old wife brought upon us? Well, Chirp-Chirp did a great service this time. But Chirp-Chirp, you need to know, this measles is quite serious. I'm just saying this so everyone doesn't get scared."

Fuju nodded, "Grandma Empress, Juju knows, Juju won't tell."

"Well, Chirp-Chirp, you've been good. So the Emperor can't openly reward you, but Grandma Empress can! Tell me, what do you want?"

"Chirpy didn't do anything, it's embarrassing to want a reward."

"Grandmother, please don't listen to her. She usually starts with politeness and then demands a large sum afterwards."

Fu Jiujiu glanced at him and then coughed.

"Then keep it, Seventh Brother won't let you be a princess. This old Empress really can't think of anything else to reward you with. Just wait until this Empress has figured something out, there's no need to rush, right?"

The Empress Dowager, watching the two little ones bickering, quickly ordered someone to bring tea. "I heard that the Seventh Prince loves sweet things," she said, "so I had them add extra sugar for you. It's very sweet, so go ahead and eat it."

Fujiu Jiu took a bite and it was really sweet, so sweet that it made her teeth ache. I wonder how many candy sellers have died because of this sweetness.

"Is it delicious?" the Empress asked.

Fu Jiujiu gritted her teeth and said, "Delicious."

She suspected that Tang Xian did it on purpose. Who would eat something so sickeningly sweet? It's better to just chew on candy.

Three more chapters, with one more coming this evening!

First published by HanziNovels