Bai Liahua then went to one of the guards she was given as dowry for protection and asked him to investigate the other concubines secretly. She had to make sure there were no other skeletons coming out of the closet with plots. 'I've already wasted a lot of time in this world and haven't done anything much. My initial plan has to be scrapped.'
Initially, Bai Lianhua wanted to try and use the methods she read in other books by finding a way to build her prestige, training up secret guards and fighting in secret to ruin Long Aotian. But after the last few weeks spent in vain, she realised a lot of things. Firstly, as a boudoir woman, she really didn't have that much freedom to move around as she wished. She was closely monitored by her maids, so she couldn't just leave the mansion.
Secondly, with what happened to Feng Minyan, she was in no mood to try and meet with the Empress, so there was no support on her side. Still, she had a plan. Bai Lianhua patted her cheeks and cheered herself up before walking in the direction of the study.
To get to the study from where she was, she had to cross the bridge just above the koi pond. As she walked, she noticed Li Zhenzhen and Feng Minyan standing near the rails of the bridge.
Alarm bells went off in her mind, and she immediately knew that something tricky was about to happen. Still, there was only one way to cross the pond, and she had to walk by them. Bai Lianhua saluted both Li Zhenzhen and Feng Minyan and wanted to walk away quickly, but Feng Minyan refused to let her go.
Li Zhenzhen was already feeling irritated and sickened having to look at her child's killer, so she wasn't in the mood to stay and chat. Nevertheless, she had worked so hard to build her reputation as a virtuous wife. She didn't want her efforts to be undermined, so she gave Feng Minyan a gentle smile while clutching her skirts tightly to steady herself.
Feng Minyan pointed to the Koi fish and asked, "Aren't these fish very gorgeous? I heard that the Master spent a generous amount to have them transported to the Mansion." Bai Lianhua smiled: "Indeed, they are very lovely to look at." She didn't add much to the conversation. Li Zhenzhen responded better: "Doesn't the imperial palace have more beautiful ponds than these? I'm sure you've definitely seen better!" These words were a small knife that cut Feng Minyan's heart and reminded her of the sacrifice she gave just to be with Long Aotian.
These thoughts made blood rush to her head faster, and anger slowly filled her heart. Still, she managed to squeeze out a smile and nod in agreement with Li Zhenzhen.
Bai Lianhua still wanted to leave, so she said, "The kitchen is preparing a soup for delivery to the master, so l should not delay."
She turned to leave, but Feng Minyan's tricks sprang into action. Feng Minyan fell forward due to the pain and bumped into Bai Lianhua, who just happened to be standing near Li Zhenzhen. Bai Lianhua moved to the left so that Feng Minyan would not fall into her. However, instead, Feng Minyan used this opportunity to elbow Li Zhenzhen so she would fall into the pond. Li Zhenzhen did not see who pushed her clearly because Feng Minyan's robes were so long that they concealed her actions. All Li Zhenzhen felt was a sharp force pushing her as she fell into the pond.
Bai Lianhua was in shock as she saw all the maids running around trying to remedy the situation. Feng Minyan was practically in a coma and probably lost the child. Li Zhenzhen, who had just recovered from a miscarriage, was still in the pond. She didn't even know how to swim, so she was gradually drowning.
Some strong male servants had to jump in to save her, and this was a great blow to her dignity as the wife of the Master. With two important women in the mansion at the edge of death, Long Aotian did not have the appetite to be eating. He immediately summoned two Imperial Doctors and sent them to see his wives respectively. Feng Minyan had her own private doctor whom she had paid off to do exactly as she had said.
This news even reached the imperial palace, and the Emperor was furious. The Empress almost fainted when she heard her favourite child was in a coma, and her teeth were itching to find out who was behind it.
Naturally, all the other concubines were summoned into the main Hall to be interrogated. Even Long Ting had to come out of her residence because these incidents were too big to be ignored. Long Aotian smashed a cup on the floor and scanned all the faces of the concubines that were kneeling on the ground. Even Bai Lianhua, with her injuries, was forced to kneel, and at this point, she considered giving up the task because the hardship was too much.
The system sneered, 'If you want to give up the task because of this small hardship now, just think about the future worlds you'll go to. How will you survive in Xianxia, where there are fights everywhere and blood being shed at the drop of the hat? How will you survive in Interstellar when the Zerg come to fight and devour? Zombies? Serial killers?' Bai Lianhua ignored the system and said nothing to refute it because she knew it was right.
The entire Hall was so quiet that the cicadas could be heard very clearly. Mixed in with the cicada's chirps were the sounds of maids sobbing and asking for justice.
Long Aotian rubbed his head because he already felt another migraine coming back. He had been so busy solving the Emperor's problems, and now his own backyard was adding to his load. At this point, he wondered why he married so many wives. His system snorted and blamed him for being greedy and reckless.
Not being able to keep up with the changes, Bai Lianhua had a bad premonition that, this time, she had been dragged into hot water. At the time that the incidents happened, both Li Zhenzhen and Feng Minyan had their personal dowry maids. She was the only one without a maid. This meant if they wanted to spin a story, now would be an amazing time. No one would defend her, and no one would believe her because there was no one on her side except herself.
At this time, when everyone was pondering what had just happened, the Imperial Doctors both came to the Hall to report their diagnosis.
Long Aotian motioned for them to sit and begin.
Imperial Doctor Li spoke first: "General Long, your wife almost drowned in the Koi pool. The water entered her lungs and damaged them. The root of coldness has been planted into her body. Her body will be weak for some time, and you will need to spend a lot of money to raise it. It has also become more difficult to bear a child at this time." Long Aotian sighed heavily and restrained himself from breaking another cup. He cupped his hands and bowed in thanks to Doctor Li and gave him the customary reward.
Imperial Doctor Meng continued: "Things are worse for the Princess, General. She seems to have been given a highly lethal poison which caused her to have a miscarriage. This poison is difficult to solve, and my level isn't good enough to help at this moment. She will remain in the coma until the poison has been detoxified otherwise, if she wakes up, death will be instantaneous."
Long Aotian gritted his teeth, almost pulling out his sword to kill people. Such an incident now is the worst timing possible, and now, with the princess on her deathbed, the emperor would be keeping an extra eye on him.
These matters couldn't be taken lightly.
Again, the doctor was rewarded and then sent away. Long Aotian declared that he would investigate these matters carefully and put the entire mansion on lockdown. No master could leave their residences at all, not even visit the sick patients.