The maid's road to success

An Zizhong felt that it was very necessary for him to get to the bottom of this matter. It was very likely that the Han family's actions would affect the success or failure of all the things he had arranged.

Things have come to this point. Whether it is the women of the marquis's mansion in Liangzhou or the spies scattered across the capital, they cannot afford to make the slightest mistake. He cannot allow the Sixth Princess and the Han family to plot behind the scenes.

An Zizhong thought carefully for a long time. It was already dark. An Wenniang could not spend the night here as there were too many unsafe factors. He called Zhuhai in.

"Send the young lady back, and remember not to let those people see her."

Zhuhai nodded in response. He led An Wenniang over the side wall, and then took a detour from the secluded path of the next yard to the backyard and climbed over the wall. Zhuhai knew that he had climbed into other people's yards many times, as he was familiar with the route. Fortunately, this family was small, and most people gathered in the main yard to eat at this time, so Zhuhai quickly avoided the servants and left.

"How's your brother doing lately? When I got to the door today, I noticed there were a lot more people around."

Zhuhai answered as he led An Wenniang through the alley.

"After the Sixth Prince's people exposed the matter of Duke Cheng'en in the court, the secret agents in Kyoto became busy. The young master was also watched by many people because of his relationship with the Grand Princess, but they were all ordinary secret guards. The Grand Princess was in danger. Someone had already raided the Grand Princess's mansion at night to search for something and was secretly killed."

An Wenniang didn't expect that Lord Cheng'en was so bold that he didn't even care about his face and directly sent people to sneak into the princess's mansion. Could it be that the eldest princess has been a vegetarian all these years?

"Master Li said that the Ministry of Justice received an order from Lord Cheng'en to produce evidence of officials' crimes that had been hidden for a long time, hoping to take the opportunity to remove the Sixth Prince's power in Kyoto before he could return. But for some reason, the Emperor did not agree this time, nor did he organize it. In short, it was ambiguous, so the Ministry of Justice did not dare to arrest anyone casually. Even the Queen Mother did not help Lord Cheng'en, which made Lord Cheng'en very angry and he lost his temper in the Ministry of Justice. Master said that Kyoto has been undercurrents recently, so he asked you to recall some of the martial arts masters sent from Xishan and settle down in Suzaku Street."

An Wenniang nodded. She was also aware of this. An Zizhong's identity was awkward. He was the son-in-law of the Grand Princess, but his relationship with Princess Baozhu was not good, and could even be said to be cold. After the incident between Princess Baozhu and the Fourth Prince came to light, the Grand Princess sent Princess Baozhu to the farm to recuperate. She announced to the outside world that the child was accidentally lost, but in fact the Fourth Prince and the Grand Princess discussed it and aborted the child with medicine.

It has to be said that Princess Baozhu, who is so fickle, actually fell in love with the Fourth Prince, a cold-blooded animal without any emotions. She was so depressed because of the child that she even broke down. It's a pity that the prince refused to let Princess Baozhu die like this.

As long as Princess Baozhu is alive, the Grand Princess will give An Zizhong certain conveniences for the sake of her daughter, which will make it more convenient for An Zizhong to do things.

When An Zizhong heard the news that An Wenniang had returned home safely, he felt much more relaxed. He got up in the morning and started packing his things, preparing to go to the farm outside Kyoto to visit Princess Baozhu. He would make time to go there almost every month.

The original purpose was to gain the trust of the Grand Princess. Later, it was discovered that Princess Baozhu was not completely ignorant of the affairs of the Fourth Prince and the Grand Princess, and occasionally she would gain some useful information, so she would go there almost every month.

But before leaving this time, he had to go to the Grand Princess's Mansion first.

"Grand Princess, my son-in-law is here to visit. He is waiting in the hall. His husband is chatting with him."

Princess Fu'an put down the calligraphy in her hand, stretched her wrists, asked the maid to help her wash her hands, and then went to the flower hall.

"Zi Zhong has met his mother."

The eldest princess nodded, motioned him to sit down and talk, and was about to ask him the purpose of his visit when the prince consort spoke first.

"Zi Zhong is going to visit Bao Zhu again. This time he wants to ask us for a few servants. Bao Zhu is short of staff."

When the eldest princess saw her husband interrupting casually, a hint of dissatisfaction flashed in her eyes. After all, her son-in-law was still there, so she did not scold him for his behavior, but just looked at An Zizhong and asked gently.

"You're not busy today? Do you have time to look at the orb?"

An Zizhong saw everything. He nodded respectfully and pointed to the box behind him.

"The government gave me a day off today, and I have collected some things these days. I want to send them, but the maidservant beside the princess rarely sends back messages, so I brought them here for mother to take a look and see if I need to add anything else. The last time Zhushan sent fruits, the princess had fewer people. Now there are only servants in my yard, and there are not many maids. I have to trouble mother with this matter."

The more the Grand Princess listened, the more satisfied she felt. An Zizhong was chosen by her personally. Although he came from a poor family, his character and ability were among the best among this batch of Jinshi.

The regret in her heart was even greater. If Baozhu had been smarter and not fooled around with the Fourth Prince, but lived a good life with An Zizhong, she would not have fallen into this situation now.

Even if An Zizhong didn't say anything, he had to personally select and send the people to Baozhu's side, not for any other reason, but just to prevent the people around Baozhu from spreading gossip for An Zizhong to hear. Although there are rumors outside now, An Zizhong has a lot of people he sent to cover for him, and the Fourth Prince also tried his best to get him a busy and powerful official position. At present, An Zizhong has not noticed anything, but who can guarantee that over time, no one will say anything about An Zizhong.

The nanny on Baozhu's side did not dare to pass on Baozhu's news to An Zizhong, but she received a lot of news on her side. It was not about lack of manpower. It was obvious that Baozhu was very unstable after the miscarriage. She beat and scolded the maids and old women, and even caused a death. Some were beaten severely and sent back to the mansion, and some simply "disappeared".

Fortunately, the people in the manor were all sent by the princess's mansion, and the secret has been well kept so far. However, in the current situation, the Grand Princess's mansion and the Fourth Prince have to concentrate on dealing with the affairs in Kyoto, so it is difficult to transfer more people to the manor. But she is not at ease if she just buys a few people at random.

After all, the prince consort had lived with the Grand Princess for such a long time that he could sense something about what she was worried about. When he thought of something, he immediately thought about it and spoke.

"I do have a few maids who are quite hardworking and quick, so why not send them to the farm to look after Baozhu? We have to slowly select good maids, and there are not many young maids in our house. If we give them away all at once, there will be no one to serve us in the house. I am followed by servants, and those maids are of little use to me."

An Zizhong looked at the White Prince Consort and couldn't help but look up to him. No wonder he could be the Princess's Prince Consort. This man was quite smart. The Grand Princess was a man who was good at making trouble. She always had a lot of people watching both him and the White Prince Consort. These women must be the Grand Princess's people.

Prince Consort Bai's words not only sent away the spy around him, but also found a good excuse for the Grand Princess to deal with her embarrassment of not being able to transfer a maid to serve Princess Baozhu.

The eldest princess thought about it and felt that Prince Bai's suggestion was very good. Those maids had been with Prince Bai for quite some time and had not noticed anything abnormal about him. On the contrary, Baozhu needed more manpower now. She could not send away the people around her casually, but those maids could be used. Firstly, they were her own people and could be trusted. Secondly, they were indeed capable people. Baozhu was quite crazy now, so it would be more appropriate to have more maids around her than those weak maids. If she went crazy again, they could be subdued directly.

"That's all, but don't give them all to me. Keep two for yourself and let Zi Zhong take the rest to the farm. Also send some good supplements and money. I have an appointment with a few ladies today, so I can't refuse. Zi Zhong, go by yourself and tell your father if you need anything."

An Zizhong nodded. Prince Consort Bai watched the Grand Princess packing up to change her clothes and go out, and said something after hesitating.

"I haven't seen Baozhu for a long time. I'm very worried. Can Zizhong and I go together today?"

The eldest princess turned her head to look at him, and seeing that he was indeed very worried, she felt relieved. She nodded and asked him to go find the butler to arrange a carriage.

An Zizhong looked at the four-horse carriage behind him. This was exactly the standard for the princess's travel. Prince Consort Bai could only see his figure sitting inside. An Zizhong couldn't help laughing. It didn't seem like he was going to visit Princess Baozhu with him. It was clearly an excuse to visit his mistress.

Some time ago, the concubine kept by Prince Consort Bai suddenly moved to a large courtyard near the east gate of Kyoto. Most of the people living around there were businessmen. Prince Consort Bai was anxious to check on the situation. His arrival only gave him a target.

It was difficult for Prince Consort Bai. He was in a very embarrassing situation in the Grand Princess's Mansion and he kept the matter of his concubine and child a secret. The Grand Princess didn't even know anything about it.

"Zi Zhong, I suddenly remembered that Bao Zhu is not feeling well. We need to find a doctor to see her. I'll go find a doctor and we'll change the carriage. The carriage in the princess's mansion is too eye-catching and not very convenient."

An Zizhong waited for a long time and was almost out of the city gate. Prince Consort Bai finally couldn't wait any longer and stopped An Zizhong's carriage. How could An Zizhong not guess that he was not really going to see a doctor but had other purposes? However, he didn't expect that he was so cautious and wanted to change carriages with him?

However, if he had not been careful, the affair with the mistress would have been exposed long ago, and she would not be alive until now. An Zizhong did not want to play tricks on Prince Consort Bai, so he got off the carriage directly. However, he did not get into the carriage of the princess's mansion. He just pulled a horse and rode it. In order to facilitate Prince Consort Bai's movements, he specially asked the six maids who were sent to the farm to serve Princess Baozhu to get on the carriage.

"Sir, this is inappropriate. We are all servants."

The most stable-looking old woman declined politely, but was persuaded back by Prince Consort Bai with just a few words.

"There's nothing inappropriate. You are all elders in the mansion and loyal servants. This time you are here to serve Princess Baozhu. There are no need for so many rules. Besides, you are all not young anymore. It's still a long way to the manor. Take a carriage to save time. Otherwise, my son-in-law and I may not be back until dark today."

The old women looked at each other and were very happy in their hearts. This was a kind of affirmation from the masters of the family. Besides, it would take a lot of effort to walk such a long distance, so they no longer refused and got on the carriage.

Prince Consort Bai asked the guards to escort An Zizhong to the farm, and he got on the gray carriage and walked to the back. An Zizhong looked at his anxious look. Perhaps in the eyes of these guards in the princess's mansion, Prince Consort Bai was in a hurry to find a doctor, but he was very clear that the direction Prince Consort Bai left was the direction of the concubine's house.

An Zizhong looked at Zhuhe. He signaled him to follow Bai Fuma with his eyes, while he rode his horse and walked towards the farm with the people from the princess's mansion. This was the difference between Bai Fuma and himself. Perhaps it was because Bai Fuma and the eldest princess had been married for many years. Although there were still spies and spies around him, as long as there was a good reason, he could make the other party believe it and would not follow him all the time.

Although the Grand Princess appears to be a good son-in-law, in fact, she never relaxes her surveillance on the people around her. If An Zizhong had not been smart, he would have replaced many of the people he had planted in the Princess's Mansion when the Grand Princess changed the staff. The An family's yard would have become a sieve long ago.

An Zizhong was riding on his horse, looking forward to Prince Consort Bai's visit to his mistress today. The gift he was going to give to Prince Consort Bai was almost ready, as it had disrupted the life of the Sixth Prince. Now it was the turn of the Grand Princess's Mansion.

Prince Consort Bai ordered the servant to hurry up, feeling very anxious. The mistress had left a mark at the place where he often listened to operas. It was a mark researched by Bai's father himself. In fact, the Bai family was not a clean family of scholars. Bai's father had failed the imperial examinations several times and even colluded with bandits. The pattern researched by Bai's father was to inform the bandits when a wealthy businessman would pass by a certain place, and afterward someone would leave the promised share for Bai's father in the designated place.

Later, the bandits were killed by the general from Kyoto. Bai's father escaped because of his identity as a scholar and the fact that he had been using special patterns to communicate with the bandits. Moreover, he was masked every time he met the bandits. With the money shared by the bandits, the Bai family was able to become rich.

When Prince Bai was a child, he had a sister next door. At that time, both families wanted to arrange the marriage of the two children. However, the fortune teller said that Prince Bai had a noble fate, so Bai's father hesitated and did not agree. Later, he passed the exam and was favored by the princess to become Prince Consort.

Prince Consort Bai was still thinking about the girl next door and refused to agree. However, his father said that the girl's family had moved away when he was in Kyoto, so he made up his mind and agreed to become the prince consort.

Seven years ago, Qiumei, a girl next door, fled to Kyoto. He happened to see Qiumei selling snacks in a storytelling teahouse. Only then did he realize that the eldest princess had fallen in love with him after valuing his reputation. However, someone from the same village told the story between him and Qiumei, which made the eldest princess dissatisfied. She took people to set fire to Qiumei's family.

Bai's father clearly knew something, but in order to make him loyally become the princess consort, he did not speak to him but concealed everything.

Seeing the burns on Qiumei's neck and forearm and the jade pendant she took out that was only available to the secret guards of the Grand Princess's residence, Prince Consort Bai wanted to rush over to question the Grand Princess like a madman, but was stopped by Qiumei.

Since then, Prince Consort Bai often went to that teahouse, wrote down the patterns developed by his father for trading with bandits, and gave them to Qiumei for use in communicating with him. The two had been childhood sweethearts and had a special relationship.

Prince Consort Bai felt very guilty because Qiumei's family was persecuted because of his own fault and wanted to make amends. With Qiumei's kindness, the two of them got together.

Prince Consort Bai gained admiration and respect from Qiumei that he had never had before. Every time he saw Qiumei's admiring and worshipful eyes, he could forget the humiliation he suffered in the Grand Princess's Mansion.

Therefore, Prince Consort Bai's feelings for Qiumei became deeper and deeper and hard to let go. Fortunately, Qiumei was a simple woman who did not fight or compete. She never asked Prince Consort Bai for things or favor. She would be very happy as long as he was willing to visit her. Prince Consort Bai's own status in the mansion was very embarrassing. The servants treated Bai Shoude and Princess Baozhu with more respect than himself. Therefore, in addition to the monthly salary, he had some income from the shops and farms under his control. However, these all had accounts, so the money he could give to Qiumei and her son was not much, only a few hundred taels a year.

Qiumei is very kind. She used the money to open a snack shop. The money she earned is enough for her and her son to spend. She also saves money to buy things for Prince Bai. How could Prince Bai not love such a Qiumei?