Chapter 376 Yixiu 54
The news of Lai Yi Hall's closure quickly spread throughout the backyard, especially since the reason given this time was "a temporary illness." Most people in the backyard knew what was going on, guessing that Nian's long-standing ambitions had finally led to his downfall.
People like Geng, who were well-informed, or Song, who were experienced in many things, vaguely realized that this matter was unusual.
Especially after Yixiu hurriedly stepped forward to take over the business of the palace, they rarely discussed the matter even in private, and only speculated about it in their hearts.
Yixiu didn't explain much about this and let them think about it on their own. After all, she was really too busy now.
Although the prince personally sent his people to investigate the matter, Yixiu could not completely let it go. She worked with Yinzhen's confidants to screen the front and back yards several times.
As the saying goes, money makes the world go round. First, they caught a few stewards who had accepted bribes from Nian, which was not very important. But Su Peisheng actually found out that a servant in the front yard who had access to the study was on good terms with one of Nian's maids.
When Yinzhen learned about this, he got very angry. Su Peisheng couldn't escape either. He was beaten with ten boards on his buttocks. He had to walk in a secretive manner these days.
Later, Yinzhen went to Laiyi Hall again in person. It was unknown what he asked, but not long after he came out, the servants in Qi and Fujin's courtyard were gradually replaced by Yinzhen's people without anyone noticing. Jixiang was sold out, while Lianxing and Shiyue remained in Ninghua Hall, but like Fujin, they could never step out of the courtyard again.
All these matters were handled by Yixiu, and Yinzhen did not hide them from her. He even came to Chixinzhai late at night and got drunk after everything was settled.
"Thank you for your hard work these days, holding up your body to take care of these dirty things for me."
After Su Peisheng and Jianqiu had led their people away and they were the only two left in the room, Yinzhen breathed a sigh of relief, raised his glass and slowly said these words.
Yixiu then lifted the wine in front of them, and they both drank it with a light clink of their glasses. Seeing his gloomy expression, Yixiu explained her work arrangements for the past few days: "Two of the three stewards in the mansion who accepted bribes are lazy and only know how to flatter their superiors and bully their subordinates. Their other behavior alone is enough to make them drink a pot of wine. I have chosen two serious offenses and sent them to the farm."
"The other one is quite diligent and an elder in the mansion. This time, he was also in trouble because of his son's debt. His only son was tricked into gambling and ended up borrowing money at high interest rates. He couldn't resist and committed a crime. Perhaps he was frightened by the noise in the mansion a few days ago and fell ill. I sent someone to give him money for the coffin and sent him and his son back to their hometown on the way."
Yinzhen just listened silently, as if it was a way to relax his brain.
Yixiu continued, "Jixiang was sold to a merchant in the north according to my master's instructions..."
Yinzhen, who was listening and drinking, saw Yixiu gradually become silent. He looked up at her with a puzzled look on his face, but saw Yixiu hesitated to speak: "Your Highness, my sister..."
"Shut up!"
Yinzhen suddenly shouted without any warning: "Don't mention her to me."
Yixiu was not frightened by his sudden anger. Instead, she said in a softer voice, "Are you angry with me, Master?"
Seeing that Yinzhen didn't answer, she continued, "I don't know what my sister did to anger the prince so much, but I know that the prince and my sister have been married for many years, and it's not easy for them to know each other and stay together. I hope that no matter what, the prince can give my sister another chance, for the sake of her health...at least don't let her recuperate and worry day and night."
At the end, Yixiu still covered her face and cried. She stood up, bowed, and choked up as she repeatedly pleaded for her beloved and respected sister.
His heart is truly lamentable.
At least Yinzhen sighed and helped her up: "I have always wanted to go back to the old days with your sister, but times have changed. We used to talk about everything, but now I don't know how to start talking to her anymore."
Perhaps under the influence of alcohol, Yinzhen was more talkative and weaker than before. "Looking at her now, she seems much stranger, yet she's clearly the same person. Yixiu, I know people's hearts change, but can a person's appearance also change? It's not the natural process of aging, but suddenly, for no apparent reason, you look at that person, with exactly the same facial features, yet she looks like a completely unfamiliar person."
"Perhaps it's because my sister has endured too much hardship these past few years." Yixiu turned her head away, avoiding Yinzhen's gaze for the first time. She looked at the tree trunks outside, which had unknowingly fallen leaves, and sighed softly, "Look, my lord, winter is coming again."
Following Yixiu's gaze, the man watched a fluttering falling leaf outside, and gradually stopped watching. Only after the leaf had flown over the courtyard wall and disappeared did he turn around and down the already cold wine in his hand. "Yes, it's winter."
"It's really cold."
The mansion suddenly became quiet. Under Yixiu's management, the remaining people lived a peaceful life. Even if one or two people wanted to cause trouble, they were easily suppressed by Yixiu.
In the 53rd year of the Kangxi reign, Geng successfully gave birth to a son, and at the same time, Lu also became pregnant. Thanks to these two happy events, the palace finally began to shake off the gloom of the previous year, and everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction.
Only the concubine had been suffering from illness for many years, and many times people thought she would not be able to endure, but she had persevered. Even when Nian became more and more favored and the prince was less and less willing to visit her Ninghua Hall, Rouze had managed to get through it. However, this spring, when the prince visited her once, she could no longer get up.
This time I really can't hold on any longer.
The prince had summoned several imperial physicians, all of whom said the birth would happen in the next few days. Yixiu had also ordered preparations to be made for her wedding.
But obviously, this is like promoting a dying concubine to the rank of Imperial Noble Consort in the palace. It is useless.
"Your Majesty?"
Rouze opened her eyes with great effort and realized that she had survived another day. Before she could even see the person beside the bed, she had already asked the question.
"The prince is on duty and will be back by noon, but he may not come."
A familiar, annoying voice called out to Rouze, and she turned her head away: "Let's go." She was now having great difficulty speaking, so she only said one word and stopped talking.
"You don't have to tell me. I have to leave soon. There's still a lot of things waiting for me in the mansion, and this is the only time I can spare to take a look."
Yixiu didn't get angry with her, she experienced so many worlds and sent so many people away. Enemies, allies, confidants, subordinates... and of course, the emperor.
Even though the emotional part of her memory would be blurred after each mission, those past experiences still made her more tolerant, especially when facing the dead.
Well, a hypocritical victor is always entitled to be kind.
Yixiu thought to herself, feeling somewhat bored: [I am truly a qualified opponent, whoever agrees or disagrees will be in my favor.]
[I agree!] N1 briefly connected to her mind, then immediately disconnected.
The small system that has been with the host for a long time has already gained experience. Given the difficulty of the Qing Dynasty's mission, it is better for it to stay hidden and not make things worse.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
