Chapter 182: Not long after Baohuan was beaten and Yinzhen left with the children...

Shortly after Yinzhen took the children away, Kangxi also left the capital and went hunting outside the Great Wall with Yinreng, Yinqi, Yinsi, Yinzhen and others.

Qi Buchen breathed a sigh of relief. He would be gone for at least one or two months, and he could finally have some peace and quiet.

But on weekdays the family is always lively and bustling, and now she is the only one left, Qi Buchen is not used to it.

I'd eat a delicious dish and want them to try it, but when I looked up, I realized I was the only one at the table. After checking the bill, I habitually asked the triplets what they were doing, only to realize they weren't there. At night, I turned over and wanted to hug the person next to me, but my hands found nothing...

Qi Buchen never knew that there would be a day when he would feel so lonely.

Baozhu saw that she was becoming more and more listless day by day, so she could only try to find something for her to do. She also asked Fuyun and other elderly people who were not at home to come back and chat with Qi Buchen.

When Fuyun came back the second time, his expression looked a little strange.

Baozhu asked, "What's wrong? Did you encounter any difficulties?"

"There is a difficult matter." It was no big deal to talk about this with Baozhu. Fuyun said directly, "Didn't you ask someone to send a message to Baohuan last time you came? Baohuan said she couldn't come because of something at home. After I returned, I thought I could help, so I went to see her. But Baohuan said she was sick and wouldn't see me."

Baozhu was surprised and asked, "Ah? Sick? Why didn't she tell me? Is she seriously ill?"

Fuyun's face was filled with anger. "I also thought she was ill and couldn't see anyone, but when I asked her carefully, the maid in her courtyard was hesitant and couldn't explain clearly. I noticed something was wrong and asked to see my two nieces, but the maid said my two nieces were also sick. This is nonsense! How can the mother and three of them be seriously ill and there be no smell of medicine in the courtyard? Besides, when I went in, I didn't think the servants behaved like the master was ill."

Baozhu frowned and said, "Just tell me what's going on."

"I just don't know." Fuyun said angrily, "I didn't see her that day. She was always stopped. Later, her mother-in-law came too. I couldn't just refuse to see her off in person."

"I'm a little worried. Did something happen to Baohuan?" Fuyun said worriedly, "But I can't think of a way to confirm it, and I can't just force my way in. Can you tell Fu Jin about this?"

She looked unhappy today, because she was still hesitating about this.

Baohuan pondered for a moment and said, "Don't tell me yet. It doesn't necessarily mean something's wrong. I'll ask someone to find out first."

Baozhu is now the most popular person around Fu Jin, and her power is not comparable to Fu Yun who is managing the shop outside. She said that she would take care of this matter, and Fu Yun finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Then I'll trouble you."

"What's the trouble? We've been friends for so many years." Baozhu sighed, "Go, go and keep Fu Jin company."

After sending Fuyun away, Baozhu took immediate action and went to find someone to help inquire. After two days of searching, she finally got some information from a relative of Guard Zhou.

The relative was drunk and spoke with a slurred voice: "I'm telling you... that... that Old Zhou is such a piece of shit. Back then... when he married the maidservant beside the concubine, he got so much benefit from it. Now... now that she doesn't bring him much benefit anymore, he's turned his face. He... his mother is not a good person either. She despises her maid background... Let me tell you, maid, what's wrong with being a maid? Even if she is a maid, she is still the princess's maid! Old Zhou is just a guard, and a guard who hasn't made any progress in all these years! He is useless, and he blames his wife for not speaking well of him in front of the princess. Bah! With his two dog crawling skills, how could the prince possibly be interested in him! The princess can't talk either!"

The person who was trying to get him to drink more refills echoed, "You're right, brother. Look at him with his belly sticking out every day. If the prince were really in danger, he'd be the first one to get scared and run away."

"That's right! The prince must have seen this, that's why he hasn't been with him all these years!" The relative sneered, "The prince is kind-hearted. If I had a guard like that, I would have sent him home to eat myself."

"Alas, the prince is just too nostalgic." The person trying to get the message out sighed pretentiously, then tried to get the message out, "I heard that the princess has been frequently summoning old friends from her past to reminisce about the past. Didn't Old Zhou ask his wife to speak up for him?"

"Well, he certainly wanted to!" The relative finished his glass in one gulp and whispered mysteriously, "Let me tell you, that Zhou guy is regretting it to death now."

The person who was saying the trick had his eyes light up. "How do you say that?"

The relative shook his empty glass, and the man who had been trying to get the message out quickly filled it up, saying, "Brother, drink as much as you want today. It's all mine."

"Haha, how can I be so polite, brother? You're so generous." The relative sipped his mouthful of food with satisfaction before saying, "My mother went to the Zhou family a while ago for something, and she happened to run into a big drama. Didn't that Zhou take a second wife and have a son? My mother said that when she went there that day, Zhou was beating his two daughters to death. His words implied that the two daughters wanted to kill his youngest son. But my mother said that based on what she saw at the time, the son was clearly innocent, and it seemed more like the second wife had framed him."

"But that family couldn't see anything wrong at all. They all targeted the main wife and the first two daughters. The Zhou man didn't care at all that they were his own flesh and blood. He beat the two daughters until they bled. Of course, the main wife tried to stop him, but was kicked away by the Zhou man. I heard that she was unable to move. It was only when my mother couldn't stand it anymore and spoke up that the family realized there were outsiders and sent the three of them back to their rooms. I don't know if they called a doctor afterwards."

The relatives sighed as they spoke: "That wife is really blind. She had such good conditions back then, why did she choose to fall for that Zhou girl? If she had married us, not only would she have become a grandmother, she would have also been able to eat and drink well, and she wouldn't have been beaten."

Then he gloated, "Not long after that day, the princess started seeing the old man soon? My mother went to the Zhou family for something and told her the news. She almost turned green with anger. She regretted it so much, but she had to grit her teeth and hold on in front of my mother. If my mother hadn't been kind enough to leave early, that old woman would have been furious that day, hehe."

The man who was trying to get the word out was secretly complaining, "Just passing on the news, it's obvious he's just there to watch the fun." But that was none of his business. He was just there to get the news, and now that he had the information, that was it. He didn't care about that anymore: "Come on, old brother, let's continue drinking."

Anyway, someone will reimburse you, so you might as well drink it.

Baohuan almost bit her teeth to pieces while listening to the visitor's story. Although their relationship was not as close as before because they had all started their own families, they were sisters who had been through it together after all. How could she bear to hear that the other had experienced such an experience?

Baohuan privately found Fuyun and Songying and told them about this. They were also shocked.

Song Ying said angrily: "He, Zhou, dares to hit people! No, I have to go find him!" She was the one with the worst temper back then. In recent years, she has been in charge of the big warehouse and has the final say over her subordinates, so her temper has become even worse.

Fuyun also said angrily: "When beating a dog, you have to look at the owner first. What does Zhou mean by this?"

Baozhu glanced at her. After all, she had been managing the shop for so many years, so her personality had become much more mellow and she was better able to grasp the key points.

This matter still needs to be handled by Fu Jin, otherwise what's the point of them coming to her house? They are not her family, and there is no such thing as friends interfering in the relationship between a couple.

"We can't just rush in like this," Baozhu said calmly. "After all, this is just gossip we heard from others. If it doesn't match the facts, it will seem like we're looking for trouble, and Baohuan will have a hard time in the future."

"For now, I'd better find someone I trust to go and see Baohuan in person, or my two little nieces."

Fuyun added: "It has to be done in a way that won't alert the Zhou family, otherwise there's a high probability that we won't be able to see him."

Baozhu nodded and said, "Then the person from the manor outside the city is more suitable. There is something on the manor that needs Baohuan's decision, and the reason is justified."

The matter was settled. Baozhu asked the people from the farm to send some fresh potted plants to the mansion, and then she took the old woman who delivered the things and gave her some instructions.

The old woman went straight to Zhou's house after leaving the house.

Mrs. Zhou came out to receive them, and she said in a very pretentious manner, "Haven't I already sent someone to tell the farm that my daughter-in-law is ill and needs to be taken care of? I won't be visiting her for the time being."

The old woman said in embarrassment: "We don't want to disturb the steward from recuperating, but now the mansion has assigned a task, and we can't decide. The steward has to step in."

Mrs. Zhou frowned and said, "What's the big deal? Why do you have to ask my daughter-in-law to come out despite being sick?"

The old woman replied, "The eldest prince of Prince Heng's mansion is getting married soon, and we will be responsible for providing all the flowers for the mansion. This matter can only be arranged by the steward."

Mrs. Zhou's heart sank, knowing that she couldn't stop him. She could only reluctantly say, "Then wait a moment. I'll have someone notify my daughter-in-law to get ready."

Go find your son and ask him to have a good talk with that bitch and tell her to shut up and stop saying anything she shouldn't.

The old woman waited for a long time before being invited to the room where Baohuan lived. Even then she didn't see anyone. The bed curtains were drawn tightly, so she could only hear voices.

Mrs. Zhou was standing beside them, watching with a fierce look in her eyes.

"Who is it?" Baohuan's voice sounded normal.

The old woman replied respectfully, "It's me who's in charge."

"It's Mother Pang, why are you here?" Baohuan's tone was flat.

Mrs. Pang replied, "I sent flowers to the mansion today. They told us a few things, but we couldn't pay attention to them, so I came to see you, the steward."

Baohuan hummed and asked, "What's the matter?"

Mrs. Pang talked about Prince Heng, then looked at Mrs. Zhou hesitantly and said, "There's one more thing..."

Before Baohuan could say anything, Old Lady Zhou spoke first: "Didn't we just talk about Prince Heng? How come there's something else going on?"

Mrs. Pang said, "This matter can only be discussed with the steward, and no one else can be told."

The room was silent for a moment. Old Lady Zhou frowned and said, "What shameful thing happened? Why do you have to hide from others?"

Mrs. Pang raised her eyebrows: "It's about the palace."

Mrs. Zhou's face immediately turned green, and after a while, she said angrily, "Don't try to fool me. Only a slave like you can know about the affairs of the palace!"

Baohuan finally spoke at this time, saying lightly: "Mother-in-law, be careful with your words. The manor sends a lot of gifts to the palace every season. Madam Pang, what happened to the gifts sent last time?"

Mrs. Pang gave an ambiguous "hmm."

Baohuan said, "Mother-in-law, are you sure you really want to listen?"

Seeing her hiding her true self, it was clear that it was not a good thing. Although Old Lady Zhou was not a smart person, she had heard a lot of the palace's secrets. After a while of uncertainty, she left reluctantly, and warned before leaving: "Her disease is contagious. You have to say so. Otherwise, if you get sick, don't blame us!"

Mrs. Pang was still a little afraid that Baohuan was really sick, but thinking of Baozhu's instructions, she didn't care about anything else. After the people in the room left, she took two steps forward and pulled open the curtain.

When he saw the person on the bed clearly, he couldn't help but gasp.