Although Lady Xiao had already agreed with the old lady's words in her heart, she still pretended to look hesitant on the surface. She hesitated for a while before opening her mouth. "But will Bao'er agree? After all, we've raised her in our mansion for many years..."
The old lady of the Xiao family saw through Lady Xiao's hypocrisy at a glance. Clearly, she had already agreed with her in her heart, but she still insisted on pretending to be a kind mother and trying to persuade her a bit.
"Eldest daughter - in - law, Mr. Qi said that Bao'er's lifespan is most likely to end around her coming - of - age ceremony. Anyway, she's a short - lived person destined by heaven. Why don't you think more about your own daughter?"
After saying that, the old lady picked up her teacup and took a sip, no longer looking at Lady Xiao.
-----
Back in her room, Xiao Bao'er had no idea that someone was already scheming about taking her princess - in - waiting title after her death. She only felt an intense headache suddenly, as if her head was about to split open.
She forced herself to stay awake and ordered Lingzhi to guard her door well and not let anyone in easily.
Lingzhi had been punished by Xiao Bao'er before, and now there was only fear in her eyes when she looked at Xiao Bao'er. She quickly nodded in agreement.
Xiao Bao'er staggered towards the bed and nestled herself into the soft quilt with all her strength. Moments later, she fell into a dream.
In the dream, she saw some truths that she hadn't seen in her previous life...
Princess Sixteen fell into the water. She wanted to shout for help, but the water filled her throat and she couldn't make a sound. From her perspective, she could clearly see Xiao Jingwan standing in the woods, just watching her floating up and down in the water.
Xiao Jingwan's calculating and greedy face was clearly seen by Princess Sixteen. Just when she was about to give up, Xiao Jingwan pretended to shout a few times. Only when she heard footsteps approaching did she jump into the lake and pretend to save Princess Sixteen with great effort.
But Princess Sixteen had been in the cold water for too long. That night when she got back, she had a high fever. Delirious, she shouted, "Save me, quickly save me. Don't just stand there."
Concubine Hui loved her daughter dearly. Hearing her daughter's delirious words, she cried uncontrollably.
The emperor ordered the imperial doctors to take turns on duty, and only then was Princess Sixteen pulled back from the gates of hell. However, her intelligence was affected, and it would forever remain at the level of a child. Moreover, she developed a fear of water as a sequela.
Princess Sixteen was afraid of water. She dared not drink water or take a bath, so there was always a strange smell on her body.
The emperor gradually became disappointed with this daughter and no longer cared about her. After all, he had many children. Losing one didn't matter much.
But Concubine Hui only had this one daughter. She resented the emperor for his cold - heartedness and thought about her daughter all day long. Slowly, she also lost her favor in front of the emperor. Mother and daughter became invisible people in the palace.
Later, the Rouyi tribe attacked the Dayi Kingdom. Without the resistance of the Xie family's army, the Rouyi tribe advanced like there was no one to stop them and almost conquered the entire Dayi Kingdom. Dayi had no choice but to cede territory, pay indemnities and arrange a marriage alliance. Only then did the Rouyi tribe agree to retreat.
And the one who was sent for the marriage alliance was the under - age Princess Sixteen. There were many marriage - eligible princesses in the palace, but no one wanted to go for the marriage alliance. So the emperor sent Princess Sixteen, who hadn't come of age yet, to replace Princess Eight. Her age was also increased by a few years.
Princess Sixteen had become a silly girl and didn't understand what was going to happen to her. She happily watched the maids dress her up beautifully and send her onto the carriage for the marriage alliance. Concubine Hui, who wanted to save her daughter, was locked up in the palace by the emperor and couldn't even see her daughter for the last time.
When the leader of the Rouyi tribe saw that the princess sent by Dayi was not only in the appearance of a child but also intellectually disabled, he angrily rewarded Princess Sixteen to a horse groom.
The horse groom humiliated Princess Sixteen that night. Princess Sixteen was so scared that she tried to hide everywhere but accidentally ran into the soldiers' tents...
Less than a month later, the news of Princess Sixteen's death was sent back to Dayi. Concubine Hui hanged herself in the bedroom where Princess Sixteen had lived before her marriage. And Concubine Hui's father, Lord Song, upon hearing the sad news one after another, was so angry that he suddenly passed away on his way back to the capital...
As an onlooker, Xiao Bao'er could only watch all this happen helplessly.
Before her death, Concubine Hui looked in the direction of the Yangxin Hall and cursed the emperor with a hideous smile. "Your Majesty, you are cold - hearted and have no regard for our past affection. I will never forgive you even in death. I only wish that after my death, I will turn into a fierce ghost and watch your and Dayi's final tragic ending with my eyes wide open!"
Before Princess Sixteen took her last breath, she still tightly held Concubine Hui's jade pendant in her hand. As the soldiers vented their lust on her, she stared blankly into the distance and murmured, "Mother, Cheng'er is in pain. Come and take Cheng'er home quickly..."
The real and depressing scene made Xiao Bao'er out of breath. Every word Concubine Hui said before her death and the confusion and sadness on Princess Sixteen's face before she died seemed like a big hand trying to drag Xiao Bao'er into the abyss.
The faces of Concubine Hui and Princess Sixteen slowly distorted in front of her, making it hard to distinguish between reality and illusion. Their helplessness, pain and hesitation took root in Xiao Bao'er's heart.
Just when Xiao Bao'er was completely lost in the darkness, she felt a trace of warmth on her body, which guided her to find the way back...
When she woke up, she saw the familiar bed curtain. She didn't know if it was just an illusion, but she felt that someone had been in this room just a moment ago, and there was still a warm touch on her palm.
Only then did she understand why, in the dark, she felt the guidance from heaven and knew that she must save Princess Sixteen. In the dream, she not only saw the ending of Concubine Hui and her daughter but also the things the second branch of the Xiao family had done by taking advantage of the princess.
Remembering what the judge had said, she gave a bitter smile. The people around her were not just wolves and tigers; they were all kinds of evil spirits.
Xiao Bao'er was thinking about what to do next. Just as she raised her arm to roll up the bed curtain, she was surprised to find that the black bumps on her arms had faded a lot.
She happily ran to the mirror but found that the black spots on her face hadn't changed at all. But Xiao Bao'er wasn't discouraged. Since the black spots on her body could get better, it meant that the ones on her face would surely improve too.
She originally thought that she had some strange disease that caused these things to grow on her. Now that they were getting better without treatment, Xiao Bao'er guessed that it must be because she had changed the fates of Concubine Hui and Princess Sixteen, so the black bumps were getting better.
With a good mood, Xiao Bao'er finally had a good sleep in the second half of the night.
When she woke up, she found that it was the fifteenth day. Even if Xiao Bao'er didn't want to go to the old lady's place to pay respects, she had to follow the rules and go to the Ning'an Courtyard. Anyway, she was now a princess - in - waiting personally conferred by the emperor. It shouldn't be her who was afraid.
Xiao Bao'er didn't like to be followed by many people. Now she only took Lingzhi with her when she went out. But Lingzhi had impure thoughts towards her and was not suitable to stay by her side for a long time.
So Xiao Bao'er was thinking about cultivating some of her own confidants. But this was the Xiao Mansion after all. How could she avoid the eyes and ears of the old lady and Lady Xiao?
While she was deep in thought, Xiao Bao'er felt a pair of eyes following her all the time. So she quickly turned her head and saw a little maid not far away, looking at her furtively.