Carrying the little lucky star, leading the villain on the road to exile

Chapters 542 and 543: A Joyous Event
It was unusually stuffy today, and Gu Antong felt like she could hardly breathe. Finally, she managed to move her body to the window, opening it a crack. Just like that, a cool breeze slipped in through the gap, making her want to lean even closer.
The sun was still high outside, but it was cooler than inside her room.

The ice in Gu Antong's courtyard had been cut off for some time, and the servants below were becoming increasingly negligent, so a strange smell always permeated the room.

"Caihua, you brat, where did you run off to?" Gu Antong started yelling loudly. She wanted to maintain her image, but she simply wouldn't allow it.

If she hadn't yelled so loudly, that damned Caihua might not have come all day.

When Caihua heard this sound, she wished she could cover her ears and pretend she hadn't heard it.

But she couldn't, and dared not, because Gu Antong was, after all, her master, and had her indenture in her hands.

No one paid any attention to her in this courtyard, but if she dared not serve Gu Antong well, the other masters in the back courtyard would use this as an excuse to punish her.

Every time this happens, she goes hungry, sometimes for an entire day.

Not daring to delay, he quickly walked to the courtyard, took a deep breath, and then lifted the curtain. "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

"Why is it cooler outside than inside? Did we not get any ice today?"

"Your Majesty, no. The Empress Consort has sent word that the household's expenses have exceeded the budget recently, and everyone needs to cut back on spending. Many things are being reduced."

Caihua was also bitter. Although it was called the Prince's Mansion, it was only superficially impressive. She heard that the entire Prince's Mansion was now supported by the Princess Consort's dowry.

During this period, the Third Prince has been living in the main courtyard; otherwise, the Empress Consort would have already given up.

Bai Suihe: "Then hurry up and fetch the imperial physician for me..."

"Your Majesty, as I told you before, those two imperial physicians have already returned to the palace, and I cannot invite them back."

"Why don't you go to His Highness? He promised me he would cure my illness."

"Yes, this servant will go right away," Caihua dared not refuse, so she gave a perfunctory reply. In any case, His Highness the Third Prince was no longer paying attention to this matter, so whether she went or not, the result would be the same. She would rest outside for a while and then come back to report that she had not found His Highness, and the matter would be over.

If she dared to refuse directly, Gu Antong would call her over and do something underhanded again; there wasn't a single unscathed spot on her body.

So now she tries to stand at the door when she comes in to answer questions. She's made up her mind that if Gu Antong dares to continue to bully her, she'll have no choice but to make a scene. At worst, she'll be punished and sold off, which is better than fighting to the death here.

After Caihua left, Gu Antong walked to the window and continued to stare outside. As a concubine, she had her own courtyard, but now it seemed more like a cage.

Seeing the butterflies fluttering on the flower buds, Gu Antong felt a surge of envy. Her life was not even comparable to that of a butterfly. She didn't even dare to touch the colorful world outside.

"Quack doctors, they're all quacks!" Gu Antong cursed again. Indeed, they couldn't even treat her simple ailment.
After waiting for a long time without seeing her, Caihua, that girl, went to a corner to slack off again.

She also wanted to give this unruly girl a good beating, but this was the only person she could rely on right now. If she really punished her too harshly, there would be no one to serve her, and the main courtyard would definitely send someone, which was something she didn't want to see.

She moved her obese body with difficulty, panting heavily with every step. Her current size was simply too enormous. The other day, those lowly concubines from the neighboring courtyard hid outside the wall and loudly discussed that she must be at least 1000, if not 800.

Gu Antong really didn't know what her weight was, and she didn't dare to weigh herself, nor did she have the opportunity to do so.

Caihua dawdled until almost lunchtime before finally arriving. "Your Highness, the Third Prince isn't in the residence today..." "At this hour, how could he not be here?"

"I've heard that His Highness is now highly valued by His Majesty and is already in charge of the Ministry of Justice..."

Gu Antong suddenly stood up. Because of the sudden movement, her vision went black for a moment. She grabbed at something and bumped into a cabinet next to her. With a forceful pull, she heard a crash as the cabinet fell to the ground, smashing all the bottles and jars inside, along with the folk remedies she had found, into a pile.

"Your Highness," Caihua was also startled and stepped forward to help her up, but found that she couldn't lift her at all. She could only ask with concern, "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Can you still go out now?" Gu Antong suddenly asked.

Caihua said, "Your Highness, how can this servant go out? You need the Princess Consort's waist token to enter and exit. This servant can't even enter the main courtyard."

They had already tried before, but now the manor simply won't let them out. Even if they wanted to ask the Gu family for help, they had no chance at all.

Just as Caihua was struggling to help the person onto the stool, she heard a creaking sound, which startled Gu Antong so much that she quickly stood up. She had already broken a stool and fallen before, and she didn't want to go through that again.

"Help me to the kang (heated brick bed)," Gu Antong said, no longer caring about such things. She felt that living like this was worse than being free from this burden.

But she herself didn't have that kind of courage, so she could only wait it out day by day.

Suddenly, a commotion arose outside, followed by the sound of cannons firing.

"What's going on? Is there some happy occasion in the household?"

It's impossible for any newborns to be born, because Rong Ruiyuan has been making sure that the women in his backyard don't get pregnant for the past few years.

"This servant doesn't know either," Caihua said, too lazy to even go out and inquire, since even if it was a joyous occasion, they had nothing to do with it.

"Go and take a look," Gu Antong was still somewhat unwilling. As long as there was a chance, he would try to find a way to survive.

Caihua hid in a corner, watching the lively and noisy scene in front of her, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Caihua really didn't want to take this "good news" back with her, fearing it would become another outlet for her frustration tonight.

Just then, a young girl passing by stopped and recognized Caihua. "Oh, why are you out here?"
Now that we're out, let's hurry to the main courtyard to offer our congratulations. Our Highness has been bestowed the title of Prince Ning; our household will be elevated to a higher status from now on. We must go to the Princess Consort to ask for her reward.”

Caihua was somewhat tempted, "Is it okay if anyone goes?"

The maid looked at Caihua with sympathy. She was the most miserable person in the entire mansion right now, so she stopped and said, "Of course, on such a wonderful day, as long as you sincerely congratulate her, the Princess will definitely reward you."

"Hurry up, or we'll be late and all the rewards will be given out."

After saying that, I felt I had done my best and ran forward as fast as I could.

After all, these lowest-ranking maids relied on the manor's rewards, besides their monthly stipends.