The raging fire at the Marquis of Jinxiang’s residence seemed to burn away all of Consort Fan’s recent irrationality and desperation. Clutching a delicate floral hairpin, her pristine, fwless palm was pierced by its sharp tip, drawing blood—but she didn’t feel the pain at all.

  The heavy and light curtains in the room swayed gently with the breeze, and suddenly, from within the yers of silk, she let out a piercing scream.

  It was like a startled cat in the dead of winter—sharp and shrill, grating on the ears. Outside, Nanny Fang trembled violently at the sound. Inside, the room fell eerily silent. Everyone held their breath, afraid to provoke Consort Fan in this state.

  Consort Fan let out another restrained but anguished cry, but it did little to alleviate the suffocating frustration in her chest. Unable to bear it, she bit down hard on the back of her hand, sinking her teeth in so deeply that it seemed as though she might tear her own flesh.

  By the time Nanny Fang sensed something was wrong and rushed in with the steward on duty, Consort Fan’s usually well-maintained hand was already mangled and bloody. She crouched on the soft carpet like a wounded animal, barefoot, her hair disheveled, her face deathly pale.

  The sight left Nanny Fang almost paralyzed with fear. It took her a long moment to recover before she rushed over, prying the floral hairpin from Consort Fan’s grip and gently patting her back to console her. “It’s all right, Consort… it’s all right...”

  Nanny Fang herself was terrified. Consort Fan’s younger sister, Lady Fan, had entered the pace to thank the Empress for her husband Han Yueheng’s recent promotion. As protocol demanded, she also visited the Eastern Pace, but no one could have foreseen what happened next.

  The Crown Prince, who had always shown particur care toward Consort Fan’s younger sister, personally met with Lady Fan. However, during the meeting, she pulled out a floral hairpin, asking the Crown Prince if he recognized it, ciming it belonged to Consort Fan.

  The Crown Prince, of course, recognized it. Even if he hadn’t, he would have recognized Consort Fan’s childhood nickname engraved on it. Lady Fan sneered, almost shoving the hairpin in Consort Fan’s face, asking if she remembered where it had gone.

  At the time, even the servants were questioned by Lady Fan.

  From that moment, Nanny Fang knew something terrible had happened. Lady Fan must have seized hold of some incriminating evidence against Consort Fan.

  What followed confirmed her fears. They were all sent out of the room, and shortly afterward, the Crown Prince fainted.

  The Crown Prince’s sudden illness caused a flurry of activity within the pace. Imperial physicians and pace attendants were summoned in droves. The Crown Princess took charge of the situation, while the Empress, upon hearing that the Crown Prince had been angered into fainting by Lady Fan, immediately demanded her presence and questioned Consort Fan about what had happened.

  But Lady Fan had metaphorically set fire to herself and the entire Marquis of Jinxiang’s household, leaving nothing but ruin in her wake.

  Nanny Fang’s brows furrowed deeply, her worry piling up yer upon yer. She couldn’t suppress the thought that she had warned Consort Fan not to corner someone desperate. Even a cy figurine had its breaking point.

  Consort Fan’s sharp scream snapped Nanny Fang back to reality. She and the steward carefully helped Consort Fan to her feet and hurriedly instructed Lianqiao and Lianxin to fetch water and summon the physician.

  But Consort Fan violently shoved them all away, leaning heavily on the chaise, panting for breath. After some time, she coldly ordered, “Send them all out!”

  Even though Consort Fan’s hand was still bleeding profusely, Nanny Fang hesitated to say more when she saw the fierce look in her mistress’s eyes. She hurriedly ushered everyone out.

  Consort Fan stepped off the chaise barefoot, rummaging through the cabinets until she finally found a small seal. Clutching it tightly in her hand, she held it for a long time before handing it to Nanny Fang.

  “Take this seal and leave the pace. Go to Minister Wang’s residence and give it to his wife. Have her deliver this item for me...”

  Nanny Fang’s hands trembled slightly as she hesitated before finally accepting the seal, bowing deeply. “Yes, Consort.”

  Consort Fan then picked up a brush and wrote a letter. “Take this to her as well and have her deliver it to my mother...”

  Nanny Fang’s unease deepened. Consort Fan had always used the Eastern Pace’s scribes to pen letters to her family, openly sending them via the post station. Even when asking Old Lady Fan to search the hometown of Nanny Zhang, she had done so through official channels without any concealment.

  But now, she was entrusting Minister Wang’s wife with such a task…

  Thinking about the ailing Crown Prince and the Prince of Commandery, and recalling the floral hairpin engraved with Consort Fan’s childhood name, Nanny Fang felt a cold sweat break out across her back despite the winter chill, clinging to her like a festering sore.

  Consort Fan’s cold, sinister gaze fixed on Nanny Fang, her voice carrying a biting chill. “Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and go!”

  Snapping back to her senses, Nanny Fang carefully tucked the items into her chest, bowing and responding hastily, “Yes, Consort! This old servant will go immediately!”

  After Nanny Fang left, Consort Fan curled up on the chaise, clutching her head in agony as a splitting headache overtook her. She realized she had truly lost her mind—completely overpyed her hand. For over a decade, she had exercised restraint, keeping Lady Fan firmly in her grasp, bending her to her will. Yet, in just this short time, she had lost control and gone too far.

  Now she understood why her mother had warned her repeatedly in her letters not to act impulsively. Truly, those with nothing to lose have nothing to fear. It was her own urgency, her excessive ambition, that had led her to this.

  She hadn’t even properly interrogated Nanny Zhang, hadn’t verified if the old woman held any evidence against her, and instead had her killed outright. She had grown too compcent, living in smooth sailing for too long, forgetting even the simplest precautions. She had only remembered that Nanny Zhang’s departure years ago had been oddly timed, never imagining that the old woman had kept the hairpin hidden all this time.

  At the thought of the hairpin, the fury in Consort Fan’s eyes fred up again. If not for Han Zhengqing, that idiot! If not for his incompetence and carelessness in leaving such damning evidence, she wouldn’t be in this predicament, unable to clear her name no matter how she tried!

  Her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles cracked, the tension pulling on the wounds on the back of her hand, causing even more pain. But she didn’t feel it at all—there was no time to care about such things now.

  She called out sharply, summoning Lianqiao and the others. In a light, casual tone, she instructed them, “Bring me my clothes. I need to see His Highness.”

  Lianqiao and Lianxin exchanged gnces, lowering their voices to inform her, “The Crown Princess is personally guarding His Highness... She’s waiting for him to wake up to ask why Lady Fan angered him so badly. That vile woman named Lu must be feeling quite smug right now, thinking that once His Highness wakes, you’ll be finished...”

  Consort Fan let out a cold ugh. “Who said I was going to see the Crown Prince? I’m going to visit the Prince of Commandery.”