"What does the doctor say?"
After seeing off Doctor Tian, Ouyang Fu quietly asked the steward.
The steward also lowered his voice, "Doctor Tian said that the injury is quite serious. Whether he can recover or not depends on how well the injury heals. In short, it's fifty-fifty."
Ouyang Fu said "Oh".
"Why didn't I hear the master yelling?"
"Madam, Doctor Tian used anesthesia on the master, and it worked very well. The master fell asleep and will not wake up for half an hour."
Ouyang Fu walked into the bedroom and took a look at the wound wrapped in gauze, feeling very disgusted.
She covered herself with the quilt, out of sight and out of mind.
She asked the steward, "Is he really seriously injured? Did you see it with your own eyes?"
The steward nodded repeatedly, "It was a bloody mess, it was really serious. That hairpin almost cost me my life... I deserve to die. I said the wrong thing. Please punish me, Madam."
Halfway through his words, the steward realized that the hairpin was made by the mistress.
Now the Madam has the final say in the entire mansion, so how could he possibly displease her?
Ouyang Fu snorted coldly, "He deserves it."
She had already tidied herself up and changed her clothes.
There was an extra headband on the forehead to cover the purple marks on the forehead.
A gentle touch on her forehead made her gasp in pain.
She never expected that Liu Ping would be so cruel.
She had no doubt that at that moment Liu Ping wanted to kill her.
As long as she dies, Liu Ping will have the final say in this family.
Her dowry and the property shares she had accumulated over the years would all fall into Liu Ping's hands.
Children are suppressed because of filial piety and have little room to resist.
In addition, the concubines' sons and daughters were obstructing her, and she couldn't imagine what the consequences would be if she died.
No matter what, she had to die after him. Only in this way could she ensure that the interests of the children would not be swallowed up by people with evil ambitions.
The more she thought about it, the colder Ouyang Fu's heart became, and the more vicious she became.
She glanced towards the bedroom, a cold light flashing in her eyes, as if she was calculating something.
The manager didn't dare to look at it, let alone ask questions.
Ouyang Fu instructed the steward, "Take good care of the master! He is not allowed to leave the room until his wounds have healed. Eat three meals a day in the room. I will send someone to deliver the food on time."
The manager is miserable, but having fallen into the trap, he can only bite the bullet and move on.
"As you command!"
"Take good care of the master and you will be rewarded handsomely."
"Thank you, ma'am!"
Ouyang Fu walked through the courtyard and returned to the backyard in a bad mood.
When she thought about Liu Ping's woman living in the backyard, she felt extremely sick.
When Liu Ping was stripped of his title, all the women who had no children were driven out by her.
The women who stayed behind all gave birth to children for Liu Ping.
These people cannot be driven away no matter what.
There was no other way, Ouyang Fu could only hold her nose and bear it.
What happened today served as a wake-up call for her.
It seemed that she had the overall situation under control, but if something happened to her, the situation in the mansion would be turned upside down in an instant.
No, she must prepare early.
The first person she thought of was her fourth brother's wife, Xiao Qin'er.
She called the housekeeper and said, "Send a visiting card to Princess Duan and ask her when she is free. I want to visit her."
"I heard Princess Duan was very sad about Concubine Xiao's passing. Is it inappropriate for Madam to visit at this time?"
"It doesn't matter. Just send the visiting card over. I'll get a reply whether it works or not."
"As you command!"
The housekeeper took the visiting card to the Prince Duan's Mansion and received a reply that the Princess of Duan would be free in three days and could visit.
Ouyang Fu breathed a sigh of relief.
Even though Xiao Qin'er has many flaws and speaks harshly, she is still a kind and loyal person.
Over the years, Xiao Qin'er has never cut off contact with Ouyang Fu, and sometimes even stands up for Ouyang Fu.
The sisters-in-law have done their utmost to help their children.
As for Princess Cui of Dun County, Ouyang Fu was not familiar with her, and the relationship between the two sisters-in-law was not very harmonious.
Princess Cui of Dun County always relied on her good family background and good manners to not care about other sisters-in-law who broke the rules. She always believed that the sisters-in-law were corrupting the royal family's morals.
Ouyang Fu naturally would not try to please someone who was not in her best interest, so she kept her distance from Cui.
On the appointed day, Ouyang Fu dressed neatly and brought her daughter-in-law to Prince Duan's mansion.
Xiao Qin'er was cheerful.
"Second sister-in-law is a rare guest! You refused to come when I invited you before. What wind blew you here today?"
Ouyang Fu said frankly, "In the past, my pride got the better of me, and I was too ashamed to show myself in front of others. Now I've come to my senses and it's time to get out and about."
By the way, introduce your daughter-in-law to Xiao Qin'er.
Xiao Qin'er's eyebrows moved, and she knew that Ouyang Fu was trying to build relationships for her son and daughter-in-law.
She presented a gift and praised Liu Xun's wife a few times, making her face turn red with shame.
"He's a shallow child."
"She comes from a humble family and hasn't seen much of the world. Fourth sister-in-law, please don't laugh at her."
"Second sister-in-law, you're joking. I think Liu Xun's wife is pretty good. I like her so much that I can't wait to laugh at her."
"Fourth brother's wife is a quick-witted person."
Ouyang Fu gave a look, and Liu Xun's wife sat down obediently.
Ouyang Fu's son Liu Xun got married after his father Liu Ping was stripped of his title.
The wife he married, as Ouyang Fu said, came from a humble family.
Their family is now just an ordinary royal family, so naturally they cannot marry a girl from a wealthy family.
This is also what Ouyang Fu deeply regrets.
If she had not been so picky and arranged a marriage for her son earlier, and had gotten married earlier, her son would not have had to suffer the consequences of his marriage.
Why……
It's too late to say anything now.
When two sisters-in-law meet, they naturally have endless things to talk about.
Xiao Qin'er was well-informed. "The third sister-in-law and the third brother had a big fight. It was so bad that even the palace was alarmed."
Ouyang Fu asked curiously, "Why did the Third Brother and his wife quarrel? I remember that the Third Brother's wife was gentle and always went along with the Third Brother."
"Of course it's because the Queen has spoken out and is very dissatisfied with the Third Sister-in-law."
"The Queen has spoken?" Ouyang Fu was surprised.
Her status is not as high as it once was, so the news is delayed. It is inevitable that many things are realized later.
Xiao Qin'er nodded and whispered, "The Empress was not happy with the chaotic life Third Sister-in-law was leading. She privately scolded her for not managing the household properly and not fulfilling her responsibilities as the mistress of the household. Word of this indirectly reached Third Sister-in-law, and of course she got angry. So, she started a fight with the Third Brother and dismissed half of the women in his backyard."
Wow!
Ouyang Fu exclaimed, "I didn't expect that my third sister-in-law also had a decisive side. I thought she would be a dough for the rest of her life, being kneaded and squeezed by others."
Xiao Qin'er sneered, "Even if she wants to be a favor, it depends on whether the Empress agrees. The palace has been turned into a mess. The third son is a jerk, and she, the mistress of the house, is too weak, which is why she is like this. Now she is being tough. Although the quarrel with the third son is not good, at least half the people in the palace and the backyard are gone, which can be considered quite effective."
Ouyang Fu nodded repeatedly. "Living in the capital is not easy. Everything is getting more expensive these days. It's obviously more expensive to support someone than before. A whole courtyard of women would cost a fortune every month. If we lay off half of them, we can save a lot of money."
"My second sister-in-law knows how to manage the household and is very thrifty. I'm not like that and I often make mistakes in the accounts." Xiao Qin'er giggled, trying to cover up her stupidity.
Ouyang Fu held her in her arms, "Since Fourth Sister-in-law is a princess, she naturally doesn't need to worry about food and clothing. With such a large palace, there's no shortage of income. Unlike my family, we all rely on me for our living expenses. And yet, I don't even get a single kind word. I'm even secretly resented by others, hoping I'll die soon so they can take advantage of the situation and divide up my dowry."
"Hearing what my second sister-in-law said, could something have happened in the mansion? Did someone dare to challenge my second sister-in-law's authority?" The son looked gossipy.
"I don't have any authority. I'm just a fool, using my own money to support a bunch of ungrateful people."
After saying this, Ouyang Fu burst into tears.
She wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and said, "I'm so embarrassed to let my fourth brother and his wife laugh at me."
Xiao Qin'er quickly comforted her, "Second sister-in-law, please don't be polite. Tell me, what's going on? I don't believe there's anyone so bold. Your whole family relies on you, and yet someone still bullies you and acts so recklessly."
"Fourth sister-in-law underestimated someone's cruelty and ruthlessness. I was truly blind."
Xiao Qin'er pondered this and suddenly realized, "Second sister-in-law is saying that Second Brother treats you... so cruelly? Where does he get the confidence to act so wildly towards you?"
"Not only did he act wildly towards me, he also wanted to kill me."
Ouyang Fu did not hide anything and told the whole story.
Xiao Qin'er exclaimed repeatedly, "He's crazy!"
"Whether he was crazy or not, I don't know. I only know that at that time he was determined to kill me. When I thought about my death, my dowry, the property and shares I had accumulated over the years, would all be taken away by him, benefiting those illegitimate sons and daughters and the women in his backyard. My children would be bullied by them until they had nowhere to go, or even driven out of the mansion and left on the streets. When I thought about this, my heart ached so much that I wanted to die."
Ouyang Fu cried, and her daughter-in-law started crying too.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law cried so sadly.
After crying enough, Ouyang Fu wiped her tears and continued, "To be honest with you, Fourth Sister-in-law, I came here today just to ask you for a favor."
"Please speak, second sister-in-law!" Xiao Qin'er was very serious at this moment.
Ouyang Fu said solemnly, "If one day I were to have an accident, be injured, or die, please ask my fourth sister-in-law to help me seek justice and help my children protect my dowry and property. My dowry and all my property can only be left to my children. I have done my best to support my illegitimate sons and daughters. Don't even think about taking a penny from me."
"Why is it so?"
"Since you haven't experienced this, you can't understand the fear in my heart. I'm shamelessly asking you to do me a favor. Please don't despise me."
After saying that, he took out a land deed as a reward.
Xiao Qin'er quickly declined, "Second sister-in-law, who do you think I am? I can't accept this. The reason I hesitated is not because I think it's troublesome, but because I'm wondering if I can ask the palace to make the decision for you."
"After all, I hurt him. How can the palace handle this for me? If the palace were to investigate, wouldn't that just be what he wants?"
Ouyang Fu denied it repeatedly, as she didn't want to alarm the palace.
She was afraid that Emperor Liu Zhao would favor Liu Ping. After all, Liu Ping was injured, and his vitals were injured.
Xiao Qin'er gave her some advice, "I know what Second Sister-in-law is worried about. In fact, you can ask the Queen to come forward. In this kind of matter, if nothing unexpected happens, the Queen will definitely stand on your side."
Ouyang Fu still shook her head, "Forget it, I don't want to alarm the Queen."
Xiao Qin'er hesitated for a moment. "Okay, I'll do as you say. I can promise you that if anything happens to you, I will come forward to seek justice for you. But things may not be as bad as you think. The whole family depends on you for food. If you get into an accident, someone will always be unlucky. It's better to maintain the current situation."
Ouyang Fu laughed at herself, "I actually hope to maintain the current situation, but I'm afraid someone will lose patience and start to have evil thoughts. To be honest with you, Fourth Sister-in-law, when he gets crazy, he really can do anything."
"It's better to lock him up."
"I do want to! But this is not a long-term solution after all."
Xiao Qin'er also felt pain for Ouyang Fu.
This day is so terrible.
"If you're free, please come visit me more often. I can't guarantee anything else, but at least I can save your face and prevent some people from acting rashly."
"Thank you, fourth sister-in-law!"
Ouyang Fu was extremely grateful.
This solved her big problem.
She said goodbye and left with satisfaction.
When she returned to the mansion, she heard that Doctor Tian was coming for a follow-up visit, so she hurried to the study.
Doctor Tian is angry.
"Did you follow my instructions? Why is the patient's condition worse than the last time I checked him? Where are the medicines? Bring me the medicines I prescribed for inspection."
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