The next day, I encountered the Noble Consort, who was surrounded by many people, in the Imperial Garden.

　　She was still beautiful and captivating, capturing everyone's attention.

　　However, deep down, she swallowed her bitterness, and only she knew how much.

　　'So the Noble Consort is here too.

　　I'm feeling unwell today, Consort, you should accompany me back to the palace.' The Queen almost immediately grabbed me and said.

　　The Noble Consort looked down on her pathetic appearance, or perhaps, there were not many people in the palace who respected this timid Queen.

　　Naturally, she wasn't afraid of her, and any so-called respect was merely lip service.

　　'Queen, you're unwell, why are you pulling others with you? Fuling, how can you not even greet me when you see me? Have you forgotten that I am your former mistress?' Her voice carried a sense of oppression.

　　I was accustomed to it and didn't even try to resist, simply saying, 'Fuling greets Your Majesty.' This was the first time I had seen her since becoming favored, but I knew that I was like the explosive in her heart.

　　No matter how she restrained her temper and became gentle and delicate, she couldn't change her true nature.

　　On the contrary, the longer the time passed, the drier the explosive became.

　　As soon as I opened my mouth, I could ignite the fuse and cause an earth-shattering explosion.

　　Sure enough, she sneered, 'You have no manners! I am the Noble Consort, and you are just a concubine, oh, I almost forgot, you used to be a servant girl in my palace.

　　When you see your former mistress, why didn't you kneel and pay respects?' It was humiliating to bring up the past in front of everyone's eyes."

　　Those concubines naturally come from prestigious families, and upon hearing these words, their faces showed disdain: "She was originally just a foot-washing maid, with such a lowly status, how can she stand with us?" "Stop kneeling already.

　　Previously, it was only said that you were a palace maid in the Imperial Concubine's palace, not that you served in such a manner.

　　Just standing here makes me want to vomit." "Smells so bad, a stench of poverty.

　　It's no wonder His Majesty is disgusted with her.

　　Turns out she was just a temporary fascination." "You..." the Empress wanted to speak.

　　I tugged on her sleeve and when she looked at me, I had already lifted my skirt and knelt in front of the Imperial Concubine, deeply kowtowing, once again saying, "Fuling, I have seen Your Ladyship." The Imperial Concubine remained silent for a while, walked forward, raised my chin, her beautiful eyes filled with resentment and coldness, and gritted her teeth in a low voice, "Who do you think you are? You're just a plaything.

　　When His Majesty had a disagreement with me, you took advantage of the opportunity to enter.

　　But you didn't know that His Majesty always had me in his heart, only me.

　　As long as I show a little weakness, you mean nothing! You wretch!"

　　She was stunning and proud, perhaps Pei Qi could bear anyone but me, a lowly servant who only deserved to wash her feet.

　　I was forced to look at her and forced a smile, saying, "Yes, His Majesty only has Your Ladyship in his heart.

　　I am merely an accident.

　　Your Ladyship, please don't be angry." Her pupils suddenly contracted, understanding the meaning behind my words.

　　I am an accident, but what about those behind her? Are they all accidents too? She violently pushed me away, her chest heaving, and slapped me, cursing, "You wretch! You wretch!"

　　This anger frightened everyone.

　　Initially, she wasn't just cursing at me.

　　But she still couldn't calm down, throwing the handkerchief in her hand into the nearby pond, maliciously saying to me, "Aren't you good at swimming? Isn't your swimming ability excellent? Fetch that handkerchief from the pond for me now! It is a token of affection His Majesty gave to me.

　　If it's lost, you will be held accountable!" "Imperial Concubine!" the Empress anxiously said, "The pond is deep, please don't act recklessly!" But how could the Imperial Concubine listen to her words? On the contrary, after hearing this, she not only didn't restrain herself, but sneered repeatedly, "What are you standing there for? Go! Don't tell me that now that you're a concubine, I can't order you around anymore? A foot-washing maid will forever be just that – a foot-washing maid!" I effortlessly switched roles, "Yes, this servant obeys." But the truth was, I didn't really know how to swim.

　　I had only learned a little when I was young, playing around in the river.

　　But someone did know how.

　　I had watched him jump into the river countless times, his strong arms swinging, diving into the water, and in just a moment, he would come up holding a lively fish, smiling at me and saying, "Su Niang, I caught one!" The spring water was cool, not much different from the winter, and remembering these past events was not pleasant.

　　I felt pain all over my body, and the heavy palace attire was dragging me down.

　　When I finally grabbed the brocade handkerchief, I swam ashore and was pulled up by Fuyin and the palace maids beside the Empress.

　　When I reached the shore, the intense pain in my abdomen was unbearable, and I curled up uncontrollably on the ground, my face pale.

　　This frightened the noble ladies.

　　The Empress, summoning her courage, shouted for the imperial physician.

　　The Imperial Concubine's face looked equally terrible, but she didn't want to show it or admit any wrongdoing.

　　Grinding her teeth, she said, "What's the hurry? She has also gotten into this pool in the winter before, and nothing happened.

　　Now she's just putting on an act.

　　I didn't expect you to be so scheming, wanting to frame me.

　　Let me tell you, it won't work! Get up!" As she spoke, she kicked towards me.

　　The toe of her palace shoes, adorned with pearls, caused an especially intense pain when it kicked my stomach.

　　It hurt so much that I couldn't tell if it was just the pain of flesh and skin or the pain of separation of flesh and bone.

　　"Blood...

　　blood is flowing!" someone exclaimed in alarm.

　　They pointed at the bloodstain between my legs in a panic.