Qing Xiang secretly signaled the women. They all knelt down, crying mournfully.
“Old Madam Zhou, you must help me! If my husband doesn't give me an explanation today, I’ll hang myself outside the Prime Minister’s mansion, boo hoo…”
“Madam Zhou, I’m willing to be your servant and do your bidding in the Zhou mansion, I only beg you to spare my child and me!”
“I’m nine months pregnant, please save me, Madam Zhou.”
…
Old Madam Zhou was carried into the room.
Zhou Qingfeng, the eldest son of the Zhou family, snatched the knife from Zhou Yanran’s hand and whispered, “If you kill someone in broad daylight, Father will be at a great disadvantage. So many people are watching Father in the imperial court now. Yanran, you need to change your temper.”
“Are we just going to watch these bitches refuse to leave?” Zhou Yanran retorted unhappily.
“If these women come to our door, Father will at most be branded as debauched and flirtatious. But if someone is killed in public, the nature of the offense is entirely different,” Zhou Qingfeng said in a deep voice.
“Hmph, I’m just too angry,” Zhou Yanran twisted her body and turned to walk into the courtyard.
Zhou Qingfeng sighed slightly as he watched her back.
After a long while, Old Madam Zhou weakly woke up. She cast a feeble glance at everyone in the room and asked, “Those women… are they all gone?”
Madam Zhou dabbed her swollen eyes with a handkerchief and sniffled, “Mother, not yet. They’re still kneeling outside the main gate, saying that our family must give them an explanation, otherwise, they will hang themselves outside the gate.”
“Alas~” Old Madam Zhou sighed deeply, looking at Madam Zhou. “Xianshu, I’ve wronged you all these years. But men, that’s just their rotten nature. We women can only endure it. What else can we do? Alas, it’s alright, don’t be sad. Qingfeng, Qingyun, go ask those women what it will take for them to leave our house?”
Zhou Qingyun said with a dark expression, “They say that either we acknowledge them as Father’s concubines and let them live in the Zhou family, or we give each of them a thousand taels of silver.”
“A thousand taels? Humph, they wish! A bunch of stinking rotten bugs!” Zhou Yanran cursed in disgust.
Old Madam Zhou looked at her daughter-in-law. “Xianshu, what are your thoughts? If we don’t deal with them quickly, the matter will only escalate. Tomorrow, Yanqing will have no face to meet the Emperor, and our family will be completely disgraced.”
Tonight was New Year’s Eve. She feared they wouldn’t even have a good New Year. Encountering bad luck at the start of the year was perhaps a bad omen.
Madam Zhou gritted her teeth. “They want to live in the Zhou family? No way! At most, we’ll give them a few taels of silver and tell them to scram.”
The mansion already had eleven concubines. Looking at the entire capital, which master’s wife endured such humiliation? If he, Zhou Yanqing, dared to take another concubine, she would fight him to the death!
“Mother, not a penny should be given to them! Let them enter the mansion as Father’s concubines, and then we’ll deal with them one by one! Anyway, once they become part of the Zhou family, no official will dare to interfere even if they die!” Zhou Yanran’s eyes revealed a vicious glint.
Old Madam Zhou looked at her young granddaughter as if she didn’t recognize her and shook her head in pain. “Yanran, you must not act recklessly. Walls have ears. If this gets out, how can your father hold his ground in the imperial court? Moreover, those children, how should I put it… they are also the blood of the Zhou family. Didn’t you see? They all look so much like your father.”
“They are all lowly bastards! Worse than pigs and dogs. What does it matter if a few die?” Zhou Yanran’s eyes were cold.
Old Madam Zhou’s face fell. “You— your father’s offspring are also bastards?” This granddaughter was becoming more and more out of line!
Madam Zhou glanced at Zhou Yanran and subtly shook her head at her.
Zhou Yanran pouted and said no more.
Zhou Qingfeng sighed. “Grandmother, Mother, this matter should not be delayed. We must send those women away quickly. I’ll go and negotiate with them again.”
“Yes, go,” Old Madam Zhou waved her hand helplessly.
In the end, both parties reached an agreement. Those with children would receive 500 taels of silver each, and those without children would receive 100 taels of silver each. They signed and thumb-printed, and from then on, they had no further connection with the Zhou family.
As dawn broke, the entrance of the Zhou mansion was finally quiet. However, the scandalous gossip of Minister Zhou’s philandering on New Year’s Eve quickly spread throughout the entire capital, reaching even the Emperor.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, when Minister Zhou went to meet the Emperor to thank him for the imperial feast, he was severely reprimanded by the Emperor.
The Emperor ordered him to write a self-criticism letter to be posted outside the Xuanzheng Hall, fined him a year's salary, and strictly forbade him from entering places of pleasure ever again, or he would be demoted and stripped of his official position!
On the way, he encountered many colleagues who mocked and taunted him. Minister Zhou was so enraged that he nearly exploded and secretly vowed to find the person behind him who was plotting against him!
In the study of the Zhou mansion, Minister Zhou held the personal letters and tokens with a grim expression.
Judging by the handwriting, they were indeed his own, and perfect copies, but he had not written them. This person who imitated his handwriting was truly remarkable.
The tokens were also his belongings, but he clearly remembered keeping them safe. How did they fall into the hands of those women?
Who was the person behind this scheme? How could they have stolen so many of his possessions without anyone noticing?
Bai Sheng sneezed several times in a row.
She didn't need to think; it must be Minister Zhou cursing the person who had plotted against him.
She and Lu Ye had watched the commotion outside Minister Zhou's mansion for a long time last night. Both were very satisfied with their masterpiece, but this was just an appetizer they had prepared for the Zhou family. The main course was yet to come.
In the spatial dimension, she and Lu Ye were catching up on sleep when Hmph Hmph knocked. He said Prince Yu and Consort Mei had arrived and asked them to exit the dimension quickly.
Lu Ye rolled over and hugged Bai Sheng, muttering, “Good girl, ignore that drama queen. Let’s keep sleeping.”
“You can ignore Prince Yu, but you can’t ignore Consort Mei, Your Highness. She is our future third aunt,” Bai Sheng struggled to get out of bed. She was working hard for her third uncle to get married soon.
Lu Ye had no choice but to sit up. With that drama queen around, he couldn't let his good girl go out alone. That drama queen was still not giving up. At her age, she still hadn't found a woman to marry, and she drooled every time she saw his girl.
Consort Mei had disguised herself as a maid beside Prince Yu and sneaked out.
Bai Sheng had taught her several makeup techniques. After applying them, she truly looked like a different person. When passing through the imperial city gate, the guards only glanced at her briefly before letting her through.
When Consort Mei brought Prince Yu to meet Third Uncle, Third Uncle stared at Prince Yu for a long moment, his eyes showing an irrepressible excitement.
Consort Mei told Prince Yu about Third Uncle’s past. She knew her son could be trusted.
Prince Yu had indeed heard of Baili Rongmo’s story and greatly admired him. Now, seeing him in person, he felt an inexplicable sense of closeness.
However, why was Uncle Baili looking at him so excitedly? Had Prince Yu truly become a king admired by all?