Favoring Qie Over Wife (20)

When Song Jia arrived in Bai Mei Lien's courtyard, the first thing that greeted her eyes was Ruolan kneeling on the floor in the outer rooms, her face looking pale and terrified. She didn't spare her a glance but directly entered the bedchamber with Minglan closely following behind her.

Inside the room, the atmosphere was tense and terrible. All the servants had retreated to the sides with their heads lowered, trying to blend into the wall decorations. Zhao Cheng was sitting on a chair by the bed, tightly holding Bai Mei Lien's hand. The physician had already left, but she still didn't regain consciousness. It could be said that the situation was pretty bad.

Song Jia swept the room with her gaze. She found Bo Yu kneeling a close distance away from the bed with other first-ranked maidservants, crying silently. Her black hair draped over her shoulders, revealing her milky-white nape. She looked like a delicate but pitiful beauty, akin to a pear blossom drenched under spring rain.

The yahuan announced Song Jia's arrival, but Zhao Cheng didn't look at her. Instead, he directed his gaze at Bo Yu. "Explain to wang fei what happened at the koi pond."

Song Jia didn't fully enter the room. She leaned against the doorway and crossed her arms, appearing as if the whole matter was unrelated to her.

Bo Yu sobbed when she heard Zhao Cheng's words. Seemingly choked with emotion, she said haltingly, "Nubi...nubi suggested to Mistress that we go to the koi pond this afternoon. Mistress didn't look well, so nubi thought that maybe a change of scenery would help uplift her mood. Along the way, Mistress encountered wang fei's personal maidservant. Mistress decided to talk with her for a bit. Afterwards, just as Mistress was leaving, nubi saw wang fei's personal maidservant push Mistress into the koi pond!"

Tears flowed down her cheeks like a waterfall. She knocked her head to the ground thrice, "Nubi didn't protect Mistress well, nubi deserves punishment! Wang ye, wang fei, please punish nubi!"

The corner of Song Jia's lips hooked up. Wang fei's personal maidservant this...wang fei's personal maidservant that...did this Bo Yu think she was deaf as well as blind? Although the sound of her head hitting the ground was loud, she had not used force. Otherwise, wouldn't it leave a scar? How could she become Zhao Cheng's tongfang [1] then?

"Minglan, call Ruolan to come in here."

Song Jia wanted to enjoy a good play, but she didn't think that she would be one of the actors. Instantly, this halved the fun for her.

Ruolan looked like her soul had already flown far away when she was dazedly brought into the room by Minglan. She knelt in front of Song Jia but didn't beg for mercy.

Seeing her like this, Song Jia felt that the life of these servants wasn't really easy.

"Ruolan, what can you say for yourself?" The sleeves of her red dress rustled as she moved, making Zhao Cheng finally focus on her.

He frowned. "Why are you standing there? Didn't the physician tell you to take care of your body?"

He stood up and brought his chair to her, forcing her to sit. Song Jia looked at his expression and inwardly sighed. He was indeed the future monarch. There was no sign that he was blaming her for Bai Mei Lien's condition on his face. It was a good attitude to make. Unless proven guilty, one should not draw a hasty conclusion and make the mistake of accusing the innocent.

Ruolan saw that wang ye was respectful of wang fei and her pale face flushed with happiness. But she remembered the present situation and her happiness faded away. She dragged wang fei into this mess...what if wang ye starts suspecting her? Ruolan slightly panicked.

"Nubi...nubi truly didn't push Bai shufei into the koi pond! Bai shufei only talked to nubi about small matters and right when nubi saw Bai shufei leave, she suddenly slipped and fell into the koi pond. Nubi is innocent, wang fei, please believe nubi!"

Ruolan was about to follow Bo Yu's example and knock her head on the ground when Song Jia's slender hand reached out to stop her.

Before Song Jia could open her mouth to reassure Ruolan, a grief-stricken voice suddenly spoke up, "How could you...how could you not admit wanting to kill my mistress!"

Bo Yu trembled, her eyes filled with pain. She pointed a shaking finger at Ruolan as she continued, "Mistress is kind and nice, but you dared to harm her. Could it be that you think Mistress is easily bullied and wanted to take advantage of her?! Nubi is inadequate and does not deserve to say this, but Mistress has always treated nubi very well. In this life, nubi only wants to repay her. Wang ye, wang fei, please give justice to my Mistress!"

Eh...Song Jia glanced at Bo Yu who seemed to have been overwhelmed by her emotions. She really didn't think Bo Yu was saying these words for Ruolan. Isn't this just a classic example of pointing at the mulberry tree while cursing the locust tree? It was general knowledge that in most households, the main wife frequently bullied her husband's concubines. Now that Bai Mei Lien was heavily favored by Zhao Cheng, who would believe that she had no intentions to harm her? It was a good strategy, except...

Song Jia leaned back against her chair, her almond-shaped eyes sparkling with good humor.

She, this grandma, was planning to be a very virtuous wife.

"Cursing at my personal maidservant, wouldn't that mean you're cursing me as well?" she asked coldly.

[1] Lowest ranking concubine. Usually servants who was then 'graced' by the master.