After the replacement marriage, I was forced to fight at home

At night, Zhou Yu came back very late, and Meng Wan had already fallen asleep. When she woke up in the morning and turned over, she saw Zhou Yu's handsome face appear in front of her.

Meng Wan rested his right arm under his head and turned to look at the young man who was only 21 years old this year. His slightly immature face showed the stability of an adult. There was a faint shadow of frown lines between his eyebrows, and even though he was sleeping soundly, he was still frowning.

Meng Wan sighed softly, thinking how much worry she had to worry about in order for her to grow up safely. As she thought about it, she reached out her hand to touch the center of her forehead, stroking it softly as if to smooth it out.

Zhou Yu's eyes twitched and he opened his eyes, looking at Meng Wan's expressionless face looking at him, with heartache, sadness and pity.

"Did I wake you up?" Meng Wan asked.

Zhou Yu shook his head, lifted the quilt and was about to get up.

"what are you doing?"

"Pour you a glass of water."

Meng Wan has the habit of drinking water in the morning, and he wants to drink plain water, the kind that is slightly hot.

Once when he opened his eyes and wanted to kiss her, Meng Wan pushed him away, saying that she had not drunk any water.

Zhou Yu was puzzled, Meng Wan smiled and said, "My mouth smelled bad all night." This prompted Zhou Yu to blow air into his palm and smell it again, and it really didn't smell very good.

Since then, Zhou Yu has developed the habit of drinking water in the morning.

After drinking the water, the two lay down again, "Don't we have to go out today?"

"No need. I did what I had to do yesterday. The rest is their business. You don't have to go and pay your respects. I'll ask Mother Kong to go and tell her that I was drunk and wouldn't let you go."

"No need to talk about it. Last night, the princess assigned the remaining tasks for the banquet to me and my sister-in-law. We can go and take care of our own things. There is no need to pay respects in the morning. We can wait until after the first month of the lunar year." Meng Wan said, leaning in Zhou Yu's arms.

"Hmph, maybe she's up to something bad. Zhou Yingning didn't stand out but got into trouble, and the fabric didn't have the effect she expected. You just wait and see, after the first month of the year, she'll definitely make trouble for you."

"I thought so too. When I saw Chuntao yesterday, her coat couldn't cover her anymore. Mother Kong said she was starting to show her pregnancy."

"Just respond as we planned? Is there anything that needs to be changed?" Zhou Yu hugged Meng Wan tightly.

"No, wait for me to go through it in detail."

The two hugged each other for a long time without saying anything, and then the sound of servants' footsteps came from outside.

"Prince Duan has been imprisoned by the Emperor."

"What? Is it because of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month?" Meng Wan asked in surprise. The word "confinement" reminded her of Kangxi's son.

"It should be. My brother-in-law got the news that the palace where we accidentally discovered the old items was once lived in by a maid who served the late Empress Dowager. She was later favored by the Emperor and was given the title of Talented Lady, but she died of complications during childbirth not long after."

Meng Wan sat up and asked, "Is that old item related to the late Empress Dowager?" She remembered the rumor that caused the Wang family to fall.

"I don't know the exact circumstances. That night in Chengtian Palace, it was said that Prince Duan went out for the box. Prince Rui found out and questioned Prince Duan, but Prince Duan ignored him and just walked away. Prince Rui had no choice but to come back and tell the emperor. The emperor didn't take it seriously at first, but after hearing Prince Rui's description of the box, he got angry, ended the banquet, and asked the crown prince to take Prince Duan over immediately."

"Could it be that the rumor was spread by Prince Duan or to the Imperial Concubine?" Meng Wan asked.

"I guess so. I asked my brother-in-law the same question, but he didn't tell me. I don't know if he doesn't know or if it's inconvenient for him to tell me more."

No wonder the emperor was so angry. If it weren't for the late empress dowager, it's hard to say whether the emperor could grow up safely, let alone sit on this position. After the emperor ascended the throne, the first person he canonized was Empress Dowager Xiao Duanzheng. The prosperity of the Wang family reached its peak at that time.

"If they really did it to the imperial concubine and her son, what did they want to do? The rumor was spread a year after the empress dowager's death. What was the point of them doing that?" Meng Wan was really puzzled.

"Who knows? Maybe Concubine Xiang is dissatisfied with the late Empress Dowager's dislike of her. The affairs of the harem cannot be explained in just a few words." Zhou Yu shook his head.

Meng Wan nodded, "What about Concubine Xiang?"

"I don't know yet, but I think there will be news in the next two days. We also learned about the news that Prince Duan was imprisoned last night, and he has been taken to the clan residence now."

"The Ministry of Clan Affairs?" Meng Wan nodded. The head of the Ministry of Clan Affairs was Prince Li. Of course, he was just a figurehead.

"Well, in Prince Duan's mansion, all those who have given birth will stay, and those who have not will be dismissed, leaving only the personal servants. In addition, the emperor has also ordered Princess Duan to move out within three days."

"Ah? You don't want them to continue living here?"

"Yes, so, my brother-in-law analyzed that Prince Duan's imprisonment was just a statement to the outside world. It may not be long before news of Prince Duan's sudden death spreads."

Meng Wan sighed. The imperial power in ancient times was truly terrifying. They were father and son. She truly experienced how insignificant human life was.

Without asking, you know that all this was arranged by King Rui, no, it should be said that it was arranged by the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince started to act with the help of King Rui, and Meng Wan had reason to believe that Meng Qi played a big role in those old things and the box.

It was not until the end of the first month of the year that news came from the palace that Concubine Xiang had passed away. It was said that she had died of an acute illness. The funeral was extremely simple, and even the ladies of the imperial court were not invited to mourn.

While people were discussing this matter on the streets, word came out that Prince Duan was so filial that he was going to the imperial mausoleum to mourn for the imperial concubine for three years.

The downfall of Prince Duan seemed so sudden and yet so inevitable in the eyes of the major families.

Meng Wan didn’t know much about Prince Duan. No matter from which aspect, she always heard people mention Prince Jing and Prince Cheng. She wondered who the prince’s next target would be?

But none of this had anything to do with Meng Wan. She had originally thought that after the first month of the lunar year, Hu would use Chuntao to attack her, but she didn't expect that Hu actually raised the knife and stabbed Xie Fen.

------

Xie Fen took Guan Wei's family, Fuchun's family and Mrs. Zhong to Junyueju and put the account books for the Spring Festival on the table.

"It's finally over. I'm glad I accomplished my mission." Xie Fen said with a smile.

Mrs. Hu nodded. "Thank you for your hard work, but you have helped me a lot. Look at it this way, from now on, all of our family affairs will be in your hands."

Xie Fen was delighted when she heard this, "Thank you, Princess, for giving me the opportunity. Please check it out."

"What are you checking? I just don't trust those three any more than I trust you." Mrs. Hu waved her hand.

"That won't do. How can I feel at ease if the princess doesn't investigate?" Xie Fen said.

Mrs. Hu wanted to refuse again, but Zhou Yingning spoke up, "Mother, there's an old saying that brothers should settle accounts clearly. If you don't take a look, how can I feel at ease? It just so happens that the nanny you hired for me is very good at checking accounts. Why don't you ask her to take a look?"

Xie Fen was a little surprised. She knew that after the first month of the year, Mrs. Hu had formally invited a nanny from the palace to govern Zhou Yingning. She thought it was just normal etiquette teaching, but she didn't expect it to be this?

Xie Fen suddenly had a bad feeling. Fu Chunjia wanted to look up at Xie Fen but didn't dare. Sweat was already breaking out on his lowered head.

At the beginning, she deliberately asked Fuchun's family to record a few mistakes, some big and some small. Guan Wei's family was indeed picked out, but only three small mistakes were picked out. At that time, Fuchun's family proudly told herself that the big mistakes were marked by her special method, because the real objects had been put into the warehouse and mixed together, and it was impossible to check them out.

Just like that, Xie Fen felt relieved, especially after the New Year, when there were many people coming and going. Although the New Year gifts had been given out before the New Year, some families, especially those from the same clan, would take away large and small bags when they came to pay New Year's greetings.

In this way, in one year, Xie Fen became much more well-off and made a lot of money.

Last night, looking at the neatly arranged account book with the seals of Guan Wei's family, Fuchun's family and Mrs. Zhong on it, Xie Fen felt very satisfied.

Now I feel like I have fallen into Hu's trap.