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

Chapter 563 564. Princess
Rong Ruiyuan came and went in a hurry, and Gu Antong collapsed to the ground. After a long while, she struggled to get up.

She knew she was in a sorry state, and it was all because of this gloomy mansion.

Having guessed her future fate, Gu Antong stopped thinking about those vague and unrealistic things. She only thought that, at the very last moment, she would use her own abilities to get some justice for herself.

Even if she can't get revenge, she won't get away with it, and no one else can either.

Rong Ruiyuan left the courtyard and went straight to the main courtyard. He saw the princess with her maids pruning flowers in the garden, with more than a dozen maids and servants attending to her.

Compared to Gu Antong's miserable situation, Rong Ruiyuan was even more dissatisfied. Even if he disliked Gu Antong now, as the mistress of the house, it was her dereliction of duty not to be fair and just.

"Greetings, Your Highness," Princess He Yurou said, placing the scissors on the tray beside her and bowing slightly as Rong Ruiyuan approached. The maids and servants beside her followed suit.

"Your Highness has quite the refined taste; you seem to be living a very comfortable life," Rong Ruiyuan said sarcastically as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Thanks to the prince," He Yurou thought to herself, "I wonder where the prince went and ran into trouble, so he came here to vent his frustrations."

She looked down on him more and more. If it weren't for the emperor's bestowal of marriage, she wouldn't have had to be tied to this spineless man.

They said it was poisoning, and the medicine had already neutralized it; he would recover in a few years. Who knows if this was just a deliberate act by the royal family to save face?

Anyway, she knew she wouldn't be able to have children with the women in her backyard for the next few years, so she couldn't be bothered to fight for them.

Moreover, there is a venomous snake lurking in the backyard. Who knows when it might use the same tricks it used on Consort Gu on her?

Not only her, but even the women in the backyard who used to love vying for favor, were now trying to avoid Rong Ruiyuan.

Therefore, He Yurou was somewhat resistant to Rong Ruiyuan's arrival. Since he had entered the inner courtyard, he shouldn't come here. He used to only come here on the first and fifteenth of the month. How could this rule be broken?

"Look at your place, you have so many maids and servants. Have you ever cared about the other courtyards?"

He Yurou knew exactly what was going on as soon as she heard it. She was well aware of the current state of Consort Gu's courtyard.

She felt sorry for the other person, but there had been some past grievances, so she decided to let it go.

The maids and servants wanted to climb the social ladder and had even used their connections, so she, as their mistress, granted their wish.

She considered sending someone else, but as soon as she assigned someone, that person fell ill. After this happened several times, she gave up and stopped caring.

Thinking that Rong Ruiyuan wouldn't pay attention to her anymore, and would never look at such an obese woman again, she decided to leave her to fend for herself in that courtyard.

Moreover, she also restrained her subordinates. No matter what grudges they had in the past, no one was allowed to touch Gu Antong's personal maid. At least she had someone to serve her tea and water, and she didn't want to bear a harsh accusation.

“It’s truly a misunderstanding,” He Yurou said, taking the water brought by her personal maid and placing it in front of Rong Ruiyuan. “Your Highness is referring to Consort Gu’s courtyard, isn’t he?”
"Sigh, this is a long story..." "Just get to the point," Rong Ruiyuan said, wanting a drink of water but then putting it back down, thinking of the mess in the backyard. "A whole courtyard without a single maid or servant. If word gets out, will you save face?"

He Yurou said, "How could there be no one to serve her? Doesn't Consort Gu have her own dowry maids?"

"So you knew all this. Each courtyard has its own set of rules. Gu Antong's courtyard has at least two head maids, two junior maids, and four general helpers. But when I went to that courtyard today, it was empty. Only Consort Gu was there."

"If I hadn't gone today, would you have let them starve to death in that courtyard?"

He Yurou frowned. "Your Highness's words are too serious. How could I have such a thought?"
The maids and servants who had previously served her, seeing Consort Gu's current state, were afraid of being implicated and tried to plead for her to leave.

I thought it wouldn't be right to force her, so I thought I'd send her some more new girls. But who knew that's when they started calling names? Those damned maids and servants were either sick or had all sorts of excuses. Your Highness, you should understand how difficult things are for me.

Although we hold the power of life and death over those in this household, Father Emperor is benevolent, and we dare not do anything to torment them. Otherwise, I would have already imprisoned those who didn't know their place.

He Yurou completely absolved herself of any responsibility, saying, "Besides, she received a lot of monthly allowances in her courtyard, including those for the maids and servants, all of which were sent to Consort Gu."

As for the extortion and bribery in the backyard, He Yurou didn't mention a word. What difference did it make if she gave them monthly allowances? Every step she took in this mansion required money to pave the way.

No one knew better than He Yurou what was going on with the people in the inner quarters; Gu Antong's courtyard was probably already empty.

She also specifically instructed the kitchen that there was no need to be stingy with the last bit of food, so she had already done enough and been generous enough.

"Then come with me now and see how you manage this backyard." Rong Ruiyuan didn't want to listen to her sweet talk here. If it weren't for his father's bestowal of marriage, he would have divorced her today.

The He family had previously opposed him in court, and even after marrying their eldest daughter into the family, they had not clearly stated that they were on his side. Rong Ruiyuan had long since given up on tolerating such a family.

“There’s no need to look,” He Yurou retorted, neither too soft nor too hard. She used to have high hopes for this man, but according to the information she received from her family, she now only wanted to stay in this courtyard and wait a few years to see if she could get a son from the imperial clan and become a concubine.

Rong Ruiyuan had no idea what the princess was thinking; otherwise, he would have spat out a mouthful of blood. He had only been married for a short time, and she was already hoping for his death.

“I know that Your Highness still thinks about Consort Gu, but she hasn’t come to pay her respects for a long time, and she usually keeps her doors closed. I think Your Highness should ask someone to teach her manners again. Even if she is unwell, she should come out every now and then to communicate with her sisters and let everyone know what she needs.”

You know, she's such a grown woman, yet she confines herself to the courtyard all day long. Even when her sisters want to visit, she keeps them at arm's length and keeps the courtyard gate tightly shut.

In this way, only she herself knows whether she is doing well or poorly.

"Given her condition, I think Your Highness, why don't you find her a proper estate? A new environment might cheer her up, and she might recover without treatment. Then she can serve Your Highness well."

After hearing this string of lies, He Yurou felt it made perfect sense and that this was the right thing to do.