Chapter Forty-Five

  The fragrant tulips were burning, and the cool air from the ice bucket was swirling around the entire room. On the kang, a new-style rich brocade quilt cover from Suzhou was spread out, and the pure and kind Princess Fu sat on it, wearing a sky-blue headband and an autumn fragrance-colored longevity-patterned cheongsam, covering her mouth with a handkerchief and sobbing: "My poor Rong'er, I don't know who framed him. Now the Emperor has ordered the Fourth Prince to investigate this matter. If he really gets tortured into making a false confession, what can we do?!"

  The pure king sat on the other side, frowning and waving his hand impatiently: "What's wrong with you crying? Who says this matter will definitely be settled? Isn't there still me in this big world?"

  Chun Qin Wang's consort was afraid that Chun Qin Wang would not be meticulous enough about the matter of Fu Ergen, so she deliberately cried in front of him. After hearing this, she slowly stopped crying and wiped away her tears: "Do you think I should go find Si Fu Jin? Women's words are always easier to say, let me probe into the situation first?"

  The pure king also had such a meaning, but before he opened his mouth, the steward outside came in to respond, not speaking loudly, only whispering in the ear of the pure king. The pure king's wife only vaguely heard the words "four A Ge" and "moving fetal gas", and saw that as soon as the steward finished speaking, the pure king slapped the kang table fiercely and scolded: "Fool!"

  The pure and kind princess consort was also startled, and asked tentatively: "What's going on?"

  "What's wrong with this idiot?! We were trying to figure out the Fourth Prince's intentions, and he goes and finds a bunch of thugs to throw things at the Fourth Prince's carriage. As a result, they even startled a pregnant princess and made her lose her breath! Now it's all over, just wait for the consequences! If that princess really miscarries, that would be a real imperial grandson!"

  Pure King Fu Jin is also over 50 years old, and despite being well-maintained, her face still has many wrinkles. When she frowns, the wrinkles between her eyebrows deepen and become more noticeable. Putting aside the grudges of the men in front, let's just talk about the women in the back house. Fourth Fu Jin was only around 10 years old at that time, and it was a time when she was eager to compete and win. Now, with Ge Ge pregnant, it's hard to say if she didn't have any other ideas. It's said that one of the ge ge moved her fetus, but who knows what methods Fourth Fu Jin might use? In her opinion, the possibility of this ge ge losing her child is extremely high. If so, things would become very complicated all at once.

  The news of what had just happened had already reached their ears, and the commotion was likely to spread far and wide. Even if others didn't know who did it, as soon as they thought about it a little, they would think of Fuheng's family in Sicheng City. Public opinion had already turned against the Fourth Prince, and afterwards, whatever the Fourth Prince did to Fuheng seemed justified.

  Pure Royal Consort Fu Jin also started to worry: "No matter what, we should try our best, before the fourth prince's banquet for guests in two days, let the eldest sister-in-law go first, and then I will go to the palace to see the empress dowager. The empress dowager usually dotes on Fuheng, maybe asking her will have a better effect."

  It seems that for now, he can only try to take a few tentative steps, and since the Pure Prince has not yet been intimidated by the Fourth Prince, what he is thinking about more is the Emperor's mind. If the Emperor really wants to deal with Fuheng, does that mean that some of the things he did made the Emperor feel uneasy?

  The Xiangxiang Temple has more than 20 large and small houses, and there is a wordless wall in the temple that can only be seen after turning around. On one side of the right hand, there is a fake mountain made of Taihu stone, with many vines climbing on it. There are several flower trees on all sides, and under a lush green cypress tree on the other side, there are stone tables and stools. Even looking at such shade on a summer day feels comfortable.

  Two sides leaning against the house built a corridor, under the corridor hung various birds, cheerful chirping.

  Pushing open the three carved red lacquer doors, you enter the main house. On the wall hangs a painting by Fan Kuan, "Travelers in a Mountainous Landscape". In front of it is an incense table with a pair of censers and a pair of Buddha's hands melons on either side. Two rows of stools are arranged below, with two rooms on each side, including a bright and dark room. Turning left past a pair of iron-wood double-sided embroidered bird screens, on the left-hand side hangs a crystal clear glass bead curtain. Through the curtain can be seen a wide red wood imperial concubine bed, half-person-high official kiln blue-and-white porcelain vases, or red or green fresh flower arrangements. Behind it is the warm pavilion, also the temporary residence of Bao Ge'er.

  On the left side of the carved flower moon gate, a large kang was set up in front of the window. Locally, there is a set of round marble table and chairs. On one side, there is a treasure pavilion, and inside, a large bed is placed against the wall. Behind it, there is a hidden room with a toilet.

  Bao Ge'er has been taken care of by the wet nurses and is now settled down. Yongzheng just came out of the purification room, changed into casual clothes, saw Quan Pei coming in, and said while sitting on the windowsill: "Let's go take a look at Wu Shi together after changing clothes."

  Since you want to play, then play it to the end. With a dignified expression, she turned around the screen and entered the back room, changed her clothes and went to Ruiyuan with Yongzheng together.

  Ruiyuan and Ranyuan were separated by a narrow alley, with plum blossoms, orchids, bamboos, and chrysanthemums arranged in the courtyard, presenting a thriving scene. The imperial physician had been summoned to take Wu's pulse, while Yinxiang and Quanpei sat on chairs beside them.

  Nalan Mingyue was also clever and stood on one side, wiping away tears: "I've never seen her so flustered, the sweat on her forehead is all over the place, and her face is also red. You must take a good look, if this child has any accidents, it's because you, the imperial physician, are not doing your job!"

  The imperial physician's forehead was instantly covered in sweat, and the Fourth Prince and Princess sitting beside him had very serious expressions. The princess in front of them spoke bluntly and carelessly, but the two seemed to tacitly agree with her. The princess on the bed didn't seem to notice anything unusual, no matter how much she pretended, but he couldn't help but repeatedly nod in agreement, unsure what kind of trouble he had gotten himself into this time.

  Ruan Yu looked at the fresh chrysanthemum in the house and said to Xiang Jun, "Looking at Wu's sister's condition, it's really not good. Let's ask this imperial physician to stay in the mansion for the time being. When Wu's sister gets better, he can leave then."

  The imperial physician heard the Fourth Prince agree and say it was good, and he broke out in a cold sweat. If at that time this so-called "moving fetal energy" princess really miscarried, wouldn't he become the scapegoat again?

  There was a soft and casual voice speaking to him, as if he had seen through what he was thinking in his heart. He hesitated for a moment before reacting that it was Si Fu Jun: "Wu Gege's child must be kept safe, only if Wu Gege's child is kept safe can the imperial physician be at ease."

  If that's the case, then it won't be a problem. He just needs to keep quiet and guard his mouth, and he should be able to get through this period safely. So, for once, he sincerely replied: "I understand."

  These words seemed to be said for the benefit of Wu Ruoxue on the bed, and Wu Ruoxue's originally furrowed eyebrows relaxed a lot, as if her pain had eased a great deal.

  Fuheng did not immediately return home, he knew that returning home would inevitably lead to a scolding. He had thought everything through but hadn't expected that the princess would have moved her fetus energy. What nonsense about being startled and moving the fetus energy! It's not like it's made of paper, can you just move the fetus energy by saying so? In his heart, he was resentfully thinking while ordering his subordinates: "Go tell the City Patrol Battalion to release those few rascals early!"

  His subordinates hastily responded with a yes.

  The City Patrol and Horse Guards are under the control of the eldest prince, and when the people below received this message, they felt that both sides were not good to offend, so they could only report it to the eldest prince. The eldest prince listened and snorted coldly: "Just a grandson of a prince, he doesn't put the imperial son in his eyes at all? Are all the imperial sons just eating soft food? Not one is allowed to be let off, beat them hard until they're dead, I'll see who dares to mess with the imperial son again!"

  The eldest brother is a straightforward person, hating evil like an enemy. Although he can't be considered close to Yongzheng, he also can't stand the behavior of Fuerdun. It's just that it's not worth making things difficult for a few scoundrels, and even the Pure Prince shouldn't bother with such trivial matters.

  The lower officials received the letter and were already inclined towards Yongzheng, so it can be imagined what kind of end those few mixed elements would come to.

  Fuerdun was spoiled since childhood, always thinking that the Pure King's Mansion could cover the sky with one hand. He didn't expect his words to be useless, and instead made things worse for several people inside. He stomped his feet in anger but had no better solution at the moment. As the sky darkened, he reluctantly returned to the Pure King's Mansion.

  Once he went, he was caught by the pure king himself, and left a message: "Lock him in the house and don't let him go anywhere, you're getting more and more out of control!"

  Xiao Yue and Cui Mo said they were teaching the lower-ranking people rules, but after saying a few words at the beginning, they didn't say another word. The people below couldn't understand and could only do things according to the rules they had learned before, and the rules in the yard seemed to be roughly okay.

  Because they had just moved into a new home, Kangxi granted his sons several days off. However, being early risers, the sky was still deep blue when eight second-class maids brought in all the washing and toiletries. The room was quiet without any extra noise, but after only one night, there was an unfamiliar fragrance that made all the unfamiliar servants more cautious. A high-held copper basin, a bright Western-style mirror, and a silver box with a rare pale pink gold and jade beauty cream inside - the low-browed and obedient servants carefully did everything to perfection, showing that this was their usual standard of serving their master.

  With a few lazy strands of hair, the fourth mistress sat in front of the dressing table, her black long hair flowing behind her like a shiny satin, no need to say more, but everything has already shown that this master is unmatched in nobility and delicacy, it takes a lot of effort to be a good servant...

  She had breakfast and then went to the front yard to see the manager of the outer yard. Quan Pei met with the manager of the inner yard in a side room, accompanied by several servants who were part of her dowry. Among the eight first-class managers, four were hers. Without saying anything extra, she knew that time would reveal people's hearts, and whether they were good or bad would be clear soon enough. She simply instructed them: "I don't care where you served me before, let's just look to the future. Do your job well, and let results speak for themselves." Because of the banquet for the new housewarming the next day, she added a few more words: "I won't intentionally assign tasks to subordinates, you several managers naturally have your own responsibilities. I don't care about the good or bad things those underlings do, as long as something goes wrong, I'll only talk to you."

  This lukewarm fourth mistress once again left everyone at a loss, unsure of how to act in order to cater to the new master's preferences. Some of the lower-ranking servants were originally people with some status who had been recommended by others, and perhaps they were still waiting for Quan Pei to ask them questions in detail so as to show off their differences. However, Quan Pei didn't ask, seemingly not even wanting to know, so temporarily speaking, they didn't have any advantages in terms of behavior.

  The people below respectfully retreated, Quan Pei tidied up the loose hair on her temples and leisurely drank the clear tea in her teacup. Jing Xiang's skill in brewing tea had already been practiced to perfection, so now she rarely needed to personally lift a hand when drinking tea. All in all, there were several hundred people in the backyard, but it was unknown how many of them were unclean. She wasn't in a hurry, slowly observing would eventually reveal everything.

  The maid outside came in and replied: "Third Lady Fu and Princess Chun have arrived together."

  It's said that San Fu Jin and Chun Qin Wang Ye's consort are cousins, Chun Qin Wang Ye's consort wants to pave the way for her son but is afraid of not being allowed in, so she pulled San Fu Jin along, with San Fu Jin having a good relationship with Quan Pei, it wouldn't be easy to refuse them entry.

  Quan Pei said please, and soon saw the somewhat embarrassed San Fu Jin and the smiling Chun Qian Wang Shi Zi Fu Jin. San Fu Jin also had to agree, but in her heart she really didn't want to get involved in this muddy water, because helping anyone seemed to be a bad idea.