The concubine was charming and alluring, and the ruthless prince coaxed her day and night.

Chapter 49 The Art of Witchcraft and Gu

After returning home from her first birthday banquet, Xu Jiaojiao spent most of the next two weeks in relative peace.

In the past two weeks, Xu Jiaojiao has been quite busy, with many things happening both inside and outside the mansion.

outside the house.

The pastry shop and tea shop that she co-founded with Jia Rong have opened.

The pastry shop was a great success from the moment it opened, earning four hundred taels of silver in just ten days. The workers in the shop were busy day and night.

In comparison, tea shops are far inferior.

The tea shops on Kyoto's four main streets have established a stable customer base, and these regular customers are unlikely to switch to a tea shop they are not familiar with.

So despite Xu Jiaojiao's tea recipes being completely different from those of the present era, she still failed to make a splash.

In the two weeks since the shop opened, the revenue has been insufficient to cover expenses.

Jia Rong sent a third letter from the palace, suggesting that they cut their losses and close the tea shop.

Xu Jiaojiao replied, telling Jia Rong to calm down.

With Qixi Festival approaching, a turning point is just around the corner for tea shops!

Xu Jiaojiao was extremely busy with the shop outside the mansion. Although she hadn't paid much attention to things inside the mansion, she had recently encountered quite a few setbacks, and most of these setbacks came from the same person—Tao Xiang!

Xu Jiaojiao was somewhat taken aback when she saw Taoxiang being promoted to a concubine.

Tao Xiang's real name is Tian Chunhua. Now that she has been elevated to the status of a concubine, she has reverted to her original name. Even the servants respectfully address her as Master Tian.

During this period, apart from showing up to pay her respects to the Princess Consort every day, Tian Chunhua almost never went around the mansion, nor did she seek favor from Prince Chen.

But even when it was just a simple greeting, Tian Chunhua would make sarcastic remarks to Xu Jiaojiao every day, leaving Xu Jiaojiao speechless.

That day, Xu Jiaojiao helped Prince Chen get up and arrived at Mingkun Courtyard a little late.

When he entered the house, all the wives and concubines except for Zheng Antong, who was under house arrest, had already arrived.

Upon seeing her arrive, Tian Chunhua sneered veiledly, "Oh dear, some people, after receiving a few days of favor, have their eyes on the sky and don't respect their elder sisters at all."

Xu Jiaojiao paused, her brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.

Lianye stomped her foot in anger, about to say something, when Xu Jiaojiao stopped her.

Zhou Yingyue, who was sitting in her seat, said with a smile, "Sister Tian has not yet been favored by the Prince and does not know that she will have to serve him when he gets up after receiving his favor. It is understandable that Sister Xu arrived later than everyone else."

Tian Chunhua's face flushed red, both ashamed and annoyed.

Cao Lingyun looked bewildered: "Huh? When did Sister Zhou receive such favor? How do you even know these things?"

These words made Zhou Yingyue blush.

A few snickers could be faintly heard from inside the room. Although the sound was not loud, it was extremely embarrassing.

A hint of mockery flashed in Tian Chunhua's eyes, which made her own embarrassment seem to fade a little.

Zhou Yingyue was somewhat embarrassed. She gave the confused Cao Lingyun a reproachful look, her words tinged with resentment: "Sister Cao, have you forgotten? When we married into the Prince's Mansion, the governesses taught us these most basic rules."

Cao Lingyun suddenly realized: "Ah! That's right! How could I have forgotten!"

Zhou Yingyue chuckled dryly, inwardly cursing: "You, Cao Lingyun, I bet you're deliberately trying to embarrass me! You just wait, don't give me a chance, or I'll make you pay!"

The atmosphere was awkward, and Xu Jiaojiao's lips twitched.

She stepped forward casually and bowed slightly to the princess: "This humble servant greets Your Highness the Princess and all the elder sisters. I hope Your Highness the Princess and all the elder sisters are well."

The princess smiled and nodded slightly: "Please sit down."

After that commotion, everyone felt a little sour.

Most of those present were long-time residents of the household, so why should a newly promoted maid steal their thunder?

After a few perfunctory words, everyone left and returned to their respective courtyards.

Walking down the street, Lianye was still indignant: "Ever since Lianye was made a concubine, she has been targeting you. Your Majesty, you are really good-tempered and have tolerated her every time!"

Xu Jiaojiao chuckled: "Lianye, let me ask you, if a dog bites you, are you going to bite it back?"

Lianye was taken aback for a moment, then subconsciously replied, "Of course not! If you bite back, wouldn't that be like dogs fighting and getting a mouthful of fur?"

Xu Jiaojiao looked at Lianye with a narrow gaze, but smiled without saying a word.

Lianye suddenly realized: "This servant understands! But this servant still feels unwilling. Are we just going to let her continue like this?"

“Of course I won’t let her bark like that forever…” Xu Jiaojiao’s red lips parted slightly, her beautiful fox eyes as deep as a pool, unfathomable at first glance.

"Don't argue with mad dogs, don't debate with fools. Not everyone can be your opponent, Lianye. You must understand that if a mad dog is barking wildly, it's either truly insane or it's just relying on its master's power."

After a pause, Xu Jiaojiao smiled meaningfully: "Lianye, what kind of mad dog do you think Taoxiang is?"

Lotus leaves are always intelligent; they understand things immediately.

After hearing what Xu Jiaojiao said, she immediately understood.

Previously, Tao Xiang had always kept a low profile and had never offended Master Xu. They could be said to have kept to themselves.

Ever since Tao Xiang was promoted to concubine, she has frequently started targeting Master Xu.

This targeting is superficial and extremely obvious, as if it's deliberately done for someone else's benefit.

Lianye lowered her voice and asked, "Master, is the person this mad dog is relying on Consort Zheng?"

Xu Jiaojiao shook her head: "It's hard to say. Let's hold back for now and see what Tao Xiang does next..."

Three days later, Prince Chen went to the camp outside the capital for a routine inspection.

The inspection will take two days and one night.

On that very day, Concubine Tian, ​​citing the scorching summer heat and the intense sun in the Stone Warm Pavilion, which made it difficult for people to sit or stand, asked the storeroom for two paulownia trees.

The warehouse staff were efficient, and the next day they brought in two tall sycamore trees.

Because the trees were tall and there were many people moving them, the journey to the Stone Warm Pavilion attracted a lot of attention. Some of the servants from the Prince's mansion, who had nothing better to do, even gathered at the entrance of the Stone Warm Pavilion to watch the servants dig holes and plant trees.

Just as they were digging the pit, a servant was suddenly so frightened that he wet himself and scrambled out of the knee-deep hole.

The foreman frowned: "What are you doing? Why are you in such a panic? What kind of behavior is this!"

The servant was so frightened that he became incoherent, his finger trembling slightly as he pointed at the pit: "There! There! There's a villain!!"

The person in charge was slightly taken aback, then his pupils dilated.

He immediately ran forward and indeed saw a rag doll with yellow paper pasted on it and needles stuck all over it.

Realizing something serious had happened, the person in charge immediately dispersed the crowd gathered at the entrance of Shi Nuan Pavilion, then looked at the servants who were digging the hole: "You guys stay here and guard! I'm going to Mingkun Courtyard, I'll be right back!"

Although the servants who had gathered at the entrance of the Stone Warm Pavilion were driven away, and the steward closed the gates before leaving, the news that someone was practicing witchcraft in the mansion still spread like wildfire, quickly reaching the entire palace…