The Grand Secretary has no heir? His concubine gives birth to triplets.

Jiang Guo'er was shocked and almost lost her balance.

"How...how did you know?"

"Hmph, the old matriarch invited thirty noble ladies that day, do you think it was just for plum blossom viewing?"

Granny Li stared at Jiang Guo'er's face, and the scene of her last visit to Hongzhu when she left the manor uncontrollably floated into her mind.

In the dilapidated little house, Hongzhu lay motionless on the bed.

The girl who used to love dressing up now has disheveled hair and stares blankly at the roof beams.

She cried and called out "Zhu'er" several times before Hongzhu slowly turned her head.

That look in his eyes already said he didn't want to live anymore.

Her husband, Manager Ma, also complained about her every day.

"Didn't the old lady not punish you? Why did you insist on volunteering to be a lowly maid!"

"Now that the allowance has been halved and the master's trust has been lost, what will happen to my son's job? What will happen to Hongzhu's future?"

Each word was like a knife stabbing into her heart.

I just happened to run into Jiang Guo'er today; perhaps it was fate!

Granny Li chuckled.

"Of course not! The Old Madam invited them to find the Prime Minister's destined daughter among them!"

Jiang Guo'er's breath hitched suddenly.

"The destined woman?"

"Indeed, only the destined woman can save the Prime Minister's life and change his original fate."

Granny Li took a deep breath, her eyes deep and unfathomable.

"The Prime Minister's elder brother, father, and grandfather all died before the age of thirty. This is the Pei family's fate."

"In order to change the Prime Minister's fate, the old lady specially invited a reclusive master, Master Longchuan, to make a silk doll for the Prime Minister."

Jiang Guo'er felt as if all the blood in her body had been drained from her feet.

Human...doll.

That doll she hugs close to her chest every night while sleeping?!

"This puppet is connected to the Prime Minister by blood and qi, and their five senses are intertwined."

Granny Li stared at her face, her speech gradually quickening.

"Master Longchuan said that once the Prime Minister's destined woman touches this doll, the Prime Minister's body will definitely react."

Jiang Guo'er's mind went blank.

No wonder……

No wonder Pei Yan treated her, his concubine, with special regard.

No wonder Pei Yan's gaze towards her changed the next day after she touched or kissed the doll.

No wonder he was always aloof and abstinent, but after meeting her, he couldn't control himself and became like a wild beast.

She was even proud of it.

She always thought it was because she was good at lying about her "highly fertile constitution" from the Wujiang tribe, plus her skills in bedroom arts...

So that's where the root of the problem lies.

...It's not because...I like her... at all...

"At the plum blossom viewing banquet that day, thirty noble ladies took turns touching the puppet. But the Prime Minister did not react at all."

"In a fit of anger, the old lady threw the doll out of the window."

Jiang Guo'er closed her eyes.

That day, Cuiping had just sent her to Songhe Garden to chop firewood.

Shivering from the cold, on my way back after chopping firewood, I noticed something in the snow.

When they dug it out, it turned out to be a small rag doll dressed in a brocade robe.

She even suspected at the time who was using witchcraft.

But she was so cold.

I felt the doll was warm, so I put it in my arms to keep warm.

……I see.

Jiang Guo'er took a deep breath and tried to make her voice sound calm.

"So... I am the Prime Minister's... destined daughter?"

Granny Li's face suddenly twisted, and her eyes became even more sinister.

"Pooh!"

"Who do you think you are, to be worthy of being the Prime Minister's destined daughter?!"

Jiang Guo'er was so frightened that she quickly took two steps back.

Granny Li's chest heaved violently, and her eyes rolled halfway around.

"If I hadn't been so old and blind that I mistakenly stuck the talisman left by Master Longchuan on you, you wouldn't have gotten it."

Jiang Guo'er was stunned for several breaths.

"A talisman?"

Granny Li gritted her teeth, "That talisman was originally meant to be pasted on my Hongzhu's body."

"My poor Zhu'er, she grew up with the Prime Minister since she was little, knows him inside and out, and admires him wholeheartedly."

"This destined woman's fate should have been hers!"

Jiang Guo'er pondered these words for a long time before slowly coming to her senses.

"Does the old woman mean... that I stole Hongzhu's destiny?"

With reddened eyes, Granny Li said, "Not bad!"

Jiang Guo'er fell silent, staring at Li Mama's distorted face.

She doesn't believe it.

At least, I don't believe it completely.

If anyone could become Pei Yan's destined woman simply by having a talisman pasted on them, then such a destiny would be far too arbitrary.

The matter of the dolls is indeed strange.

When she was young, she had read a local history book from a previous dynasty in her brother's study.

It contains a story about a rumor that "a person and their doll share the five senses".

However, she only treated it as a supernatural story at the time and has long forgotten about it.

Thinking about it now, I'm surprised to find that several parts match up.

Jiang Guo'er suppressed the shock in her heart and deliberately softened her voice.

"So that's why Hongzhu hates me so much, and wishes she could kill me?"

Granny Li sneered, "If it weren't for you, how could she have ended up like this?"

Jiang Guo'er clicked her tongue inwardly.

This pot is so big and round!

If that's really the case, why didn't Granny Li and Hongzhu go to her right then and take back the doll and the talisman?

More importantly, since it was mistakenly pasted on her body, why had she never seen any talisman?

The doll might be real, but what about the talisman...?

Most of them are fake.

Jiang Guo'er lowered her eyes, feigning complete shock, her voice trembling slightly:

"Does the old woman mean... that the reason I gained the Prime Minister's favor was entirely because of that talisman?"

"Not bad!" Granny Li narrowed her eyes, her expression sinister. "You just got a bargain!"

Jiang Guo'er nodded very slowly.

"In that case... I should thank Granny for giving me this way to survive."

"What is the old woman trying to do by telling me all this?"

"Even if I could find it now and return it to Hongzhu... I'm afraid it would be too late, wouldn't it?"

Granny Li's expression changed drastically. She opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a word for a long time.

Jiang Guo'er sighed, her face showing remorse.

"Fine, I'll help you this once, since you're so pitiful."

Granny Li's eyes lit up.

Jiang Guo'er said, "Do you want me to help Hongzhu heal her leg, or do you want her to return to the Pei family? Let me be frank, the Prime Minister is indeed very fond of me these days."

"It's a fact that Hongzhu is crippled. No matter how unwilling you are, you can't let her serve the Prime Minister anymore."

Granny Li's face twitched.

These words are harsh, but they are also the truth.

"I heard that the Prime Minister has recently been poisoned, and all the doctors have been consulted but none of them can cure him?"

Jiang Guo'er's eyes narrowed.

"Do you have a way?"

Granny Li raised her head, a glint of light appearing in her cloudy eyes.

"Master Longchuan, who made the puppet for the Prime Minister, is elusive, but his medical skills are extremely high. If he were here, he would surely be able to cure the Prime Minister."

"And I—know his whereabouts."

Jiang Guo'er was deeply shocked.

"What conditions does the nanny require?"

Granny Li raised the corners of her mouth in a smug smile.

"If you agree to let me return to the old lady's side and secure a good future for my son..."

"I will personally go and invite Master Longchuan here!"