The hour was late.
As Madam was fast asleep, the door to her room was gently pushed open, and a figure slipped inside. Upon entering, she first went to check on Madam.
Seeing that Madam was sound asleep, she immediately relaxed.
She took out the sleeping smoke she had prepared earlier and blew it gently towards Madam's face.
Madam fainted.
Next, she took down the "Landscape Painting" hanging on the wall.
Lighting an oil lamp, she shone it from the top edge of the scroll downwards, examining it one by one. She discovered that the Yixinfen powder applied to the painting was still there.
This meant that Madam could not possibly be pregnant?
Suddenly, she sensed something was wrong and quickly turned around.
The oil lamp suddenly went out, and a gust of wind swept in.
A dark shadow blocked her path, and a lazy voice said, "Smart enough to realize you've been tricked so quickly."
The room suddenly lit up.
Madam sat up, put on her shoes and socks, and walked over.
Granny Wang also walked over, holding the oil lamp.
"Dong Mei? How could it be you?"
Both Madam and Granny Wang were very surprised.
Dong Mei was usually the most observant and steady person.
A couple of days ago, Madam had been thinking of promoting Dong Mei to a first-class maid to help Granny Wang with some of her duties.
But she never imagined that Dong Mei, who had served by her side for many years, would be the one harming her.
Dong Mei, seeing Madam, Granny Wang, and Gu Qianying, was slightly startled but quickly regained her composure.
"You tricked me?"
Gu Qianying's lips curved slightly. "What else?"
Dong Mei, hiding her true abilities, knew some martial arts. She had intended to go all out and kill Gu Qianying and the other two.
After all, if she were caught, there would be no way out. If she killed the three of them and escaped, there might be a glimmer of hope.
But she never expected that Gu Qianying's martial arts were superior to hers, and she was subdued in just a few moves.
"Speak, who ordered you to harm my mother?"
Gu Qianying had Granny Wang tie up Dong Mei and interrogated her.
Dong Mei was stubborn. "I will never tell you!"
Dong Mei knew that Gu Qianying and Madam most wanted to know who was behind her. If she remained silent, she could at least temporarily save her life.
Gu Qianying sneered sarcastically, "Quite loyal." She took a poison pill from her purse and forced it into Dong Mei's mouth.
This poison pill would cause the victim excruciating pain, leading to death after several hours of agony.
She naturally had no intention of killing Dong Mei. If Dong Mei confessed, she would give her the antidote.
As the poison took effect, Dong Mei collapsed on the ground, writhing in pain, and finally confessed everything.
It turned out she was someone close to the Second Concubine, and it was the Second Concubine who had instructed her to harm Madam.
The "Landscape Painting" that Madam favored was also a copy commissioned by the Second Concubine, and she was to swap it when Madam was not paying attention.
After Dong Mei confessed everything, Gu Qianying gave her the antidote and instructed Granny Wang to keep a close eye on Dong Mei, ensuring she did not die.
Having learned from the previous incident, Gu Qianying did not delay in confronting the Second Concubine with Dong Mei.
Currently, the Second Concubine was pregnant. No matter what mistake she made, her father, who "favored concubines over wives," would naturally blame the Second Concubine.
Now, to bring down the Second Concubine, this matter could only be handled by her grandfather on behalf of her mother.
However, before handing Dong Mei over to her grandfather, she had something else to do.
"Mis... Miss... you this..." Granny Wang looked at Gu Qianying, who was disguised as Dong Mei, in utter shock, unable to speak coherently.
Compared to her surprise, Madam's was no less.
"Daughter... when did you learn these unorthodox arts?"
She was already surprised that her daughter could casually concoct poisons, but now she was even more astonished by Gu Qianying's realistic disguise.
However, these were not things a young lady of noble birth should learn.
"My master taught me."
"Master? What master? And from where?"
The tutors hired by the family would naturally not teach them such things.
"A master from my dreams."
"..."
The next day.
In the early morning, the Second Concubine was having breakfast with Gu Kun when a maid walked in and whispered something in her ear. After listening, the Second Concubine's eyes flickered, and she dismissed the maid.
"Master, your concubine suddenly craves the crispy pastries from the east of the city. Could you buy them for me?"
"Mm, I'll send a servant."
"No, Master, your concubine wants Master to go personally."
As she spoke, the Second Concubine reached out to touch her belly.
"It's not that your concubine wants to eat, but he does. If Master goes to buy it personally, he'll know that you, his father, are the best to him."
Gu Kun chuckled. Unable to refuse the Second Concubine, he left after breakfast.
After Gu Kun left, the Second Concubine's expression changed, and her face darkened. "Bring her in!"
"Yes."
"Dong Mei" entered and, without kneeling, stated directly, "Concubine, it's bad news. Madam is pregnant."
After Gu Qianying announced the "pregnancy" in Madam's courtyard and apprehended Dong Mei, she had Granny Wang seal the news.
Therefore, no information had reached the Second Concubine.
"What?"
With a crash, the Second Concubine smashed the breakfast bowl on the table, her voice laced with anger. "Useless! Didn't that slut ingest the Yixinfen poison? How can she be pregnant?"
"This servant does not know. I surmise that Madam has been taking medicinal soup daily, and the physician accidentally cured her."
Gu Kun sometimes stayed at Madam's residence, so the Second Concubine did not doubt the truthfulness of "Dong Mei's" explanation.
Upon learning of Madam's pregnancy, the Second Concubine was almost driven mad. She also failed to notice the anomaly of "Dong Mei" not kneeling to her.
After dismissing the other servants in the room, she had her personal maid discreetly buy a few taels of motherwort from outside and handed it to "Dong Mei," saying, "Do you know what to do?"
"Dong Mei" nodded. "This servant understands."
"Mm, you may go. Be careful not to let anyone find out."
After quietly returning, "Dong Mei" took advantage of no one being around to return to the Garden Pavilion. Upon emerging, she had resumed her original appearance—Gu Qianying!
Gu Qianying, with Lu Zhu, returned to Madam's courtyard. Upon seeing Granny Wang, Gu Qianying asked, "Did my mother go to see Grandfather?"
Granny Wang nodded. "Yes, she did."
After knowing this, Gu Qianying asked again, "Did you find Dong Mei's family?"
"We found them."
Gu Qianying then instructed Lu Zhu, "Disguise Dong Mei's family and bring them into the manor. Let them meet with Dong Mei."
Last time, the maid Fei Cui, who served Gu Mingyue, had "proven her innocence with death." Gu Qianying had later investigated.
It turned out that Gu Mingyue and her mother had captured Fei Cui's younger brother and used his life to threaten Fei Cui into taking the blame for them.
This time, Gu Qianying had to act first!
Naturally, she was different from Gu Mingyue and her mother. She would not harm innocent people. Although Dong Mei was guilty, her family was innocent.
Lu Zhu replied, "Yes, Miss."
After arranging everything, Gu Qianying, taking advantage of no one noticing, used her Qinggong and flew onto the rooftop.
"Come out, don't hide!"