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

"What are you afraid of?" Hu frowned.

"Princess, that day, when we checked the account books, I really thought a lot about what the eldest lady said to me. I am afraid that the Second Master will target me. I am not afraid that the Second Master will do anything to me, even if he grabs me and hits me a few times, I am not afraid. What I am afraid of is that the Second Master will send someone to follow me privately. If so..."

Mrs. Hu nodded. She also remembered Zhou Yingrong's attitude and words towards Mother Hong that day. She looked as if she wanted to tear Mother Hong apart.

Over the years, Mother Hong has been second only to one person and above a hundred people in the inner courtyard. Even Zhou Yingning would not easily turn her face away from Mother Hong.

To be honest, even Zhou Yingrong, who was not married at that time, was not taken seriously by Mother Hong. It can be said that she could walk sideways in the inner house of the palace. And for so many years, as the number one thug of the Hu family, she had been involved in some small fights and even killed people, but she had never felt this way.

It always seemed as if there were a pair of eyes watching her in the dark, as if she was stripped naked. She wanted to hide but couldn't, and couldn't pull herself away. Especially at night, she could even hear someone whispering under the window.

She didn't dare tell these to Mrs. Hu. She could only say that someone was following her and asked Mrs. Hu not to ruin her business because of her. Only by saying this would Mrs. Hu take it seriously. If there was any accident or something she didn't want to happen, she had to let Mrs. Hu know that everything was for her.

"This is the inner residence of the palace. Don't worry. Even if Zhou Yingrong and Zhou Yu want to do something to you, they don't dare to do it, nor do they have the ability to do it. But you are right. For now, leave the outings to Lu Pozi or Yunxiang."

Mother Lu, who was called Mama Lu by everyone in the palace, was another useful servant of Mrs. Hu. However, she did not come with her from the Hu family. She came to her side after arriving at the palace.

Mother Hong breathed a sigh of relief, "Guan Wei's daughter-in-law has been going to the back street every day these days to look for the old slave."

"She had the nerve to send people to look for you. If she hadn't been careless, would I have lost so much? She lost such a big figure in front of the prince?" Mrs. Hu pulled off the scarf on her head and threw it to the ground.

Mother Hong stood up and picked it up. "I thought, it's not good to leave her alone like this. To the outside world, our accounts are fair. The eldest lady and the second young master have moved the dowry of the former princess out of the warehouse. If Guan Wei's family just gave up their job... when we were checking the accounts a few days ago, many people in the clan were not on the side of the princess. "

Mrs. Hu frowned, "They don't know the current situation. They are greedy for more while they have already had what they want. I want to see what good results they will get if they keep greedily seeking more."

Mrs. Hu thought for a moment and said, "No matter what, Guan Weijia can't escape the blame for her dereliction of duty. If I don't punish her, other people in the mansion will be dissatisfied. So, let her come back to work, deduct her monthly salary for a year, and during this period of time, check all the accounts of the inner house for me, don't let her be idle. Also, her daughter-in-law should resign from her job first."

Mother Hong agreed that this was the best result Guan Wei's family could get, and they hoped that their persuasion would be successful.

"Has Xiaohuan been quiet these past two days?" Mrs. Hu asked somewhat unhappily.

"No, I felt pain for a while that day, but the midwife took a look and after I took some medicine, I've been quiet for the past two days."

Mrs. Hu nodded. "She must be so lazy. Bring Mrs. Zhong to her side and don't let her interfere in the accounting department. I will punish her after I have dealt with these important matters."

Mother Hong didn't dare to respond to the words directed at Mrs. Zhong. The prince would be staying with Concubine Huan for the next two days, so who would dare to touch Mrs. Zhong at this time?

Zhu said happily, "If it's really a daughter, it would be a blessing for her."

"But we can't just let the issue of Wang's dowry go. Although there are more important things waiting for us now, we still have to investigate it thoroughly." Mrs. Hu slammed the table fiercely.

The veins on Mother Hong's forehead jumped twice. Ever since the incident with Wang's dowry book, Hu's temperament has changed greatly. In the past, even if she was angry, she would just sneer or compete secretly, but now, she is increasingly unable to control her temper.

Apart from being somewhat dignified in front of the prince and somewhat friendly in front of the third young master, she was quite polite to other people. Even yesterday, when the third young lady came over and said that she didn't like going to the second young lady to please her, the princess rarely scolded her.

They said that she was not cunning or scheming, and could not even humble herself to the slightest degree, so how could she achieve anything great in the future? The third young lady ran back feeling aggrieved.

"Yes, I also think there must be something hidden in this matter. Even if it was a trap set by the Second Master and the Second Mistress, there must be someone in the accounting office who was in contact with them. In my opinion, Mrs. Zhong could not have done it alone."

Mrs. Hu nodded. Yes, Mrs. Zhong could help tamper with the account books, but there were so many of them that if they had to change them one by one, they would need to take them out one by one. Also, they had to be on guard against temporary audits by her or Guan Wei's family. All of this required someone who had access to the account books to act as their insider.

"It just so happens that you feel like someone is following you these days. You don't have to go out to deal with the things outside. Take a few people with you and dig out the traitor for me."

Mother Hong thought about the maids and old women in the accounting office, and carefully checked everyone who could enter the yard. She had a plan in mind, but she did not tell Mrs. Hu. Given Mrs. Hu's current temper, if she was not 80% sure before telling him, and the result was not the same, she would be the only one who would suffer.

------

"Miss Third, I really can't find out. The princess told them to keep their mouths shut." Guyu stood there with an embarrassed look on her face.

"What? Did my mother sew their mouths shut? Aren't you usually very nice to them? I don't believe they won't say a word." Zhou Yingning slammed the table hard, looking exactly like Hu.

"The people I can talk to in Junyueju are not the ones who serve the princess closely, and it seems that only Madam Hong and Yunxiang know what is going on when the princess asked you to get close to the second young lady. Third young lady, I really have no way to deal with these two people..."

Zhou Ying stood up and waved her hands irritably, "Alright, alright. What's going on? What is mother going to do? Why are you putting in so much effort?"

Guyu stepped forward and whispered, "I think it must be a good thing."

"Good thing?"

"Yes, think about it, everything the princess does is for you and the Third Young Master. She told you the details before because she thought she could make you happy in advance. This time she didn't tell you, maybe she wanted to give you an unexpected surprise? And..."

"And what?" Zhou Yingning asked impatiently.

"Moreover, the princess suddenly asked you to be on good terms with the Second Miss, and did not allow you to have conflicts with the Second Miss recently, especially when there were many people around, and asked you to show the deep sisterly love. I'm afraid she is planning to embarrass the Second Miss?"

Zhou Yingning clapped her hands and said, "Yes, I thought mother wanted me to get closer to Zhou Yinghan because she had arranged a pretty good marriage for her and she was afraid that she would end up like Zhou Yingrong after marriage and cause her to be talked about by people in Beijing.

"Yes, your analysis is correct. My mother would not think so highly of her. Mother once said that she was just a legitimate son without an official position. Even if there was an academy, the successful candidates and jinshi graduates were not surnamed Ding. Moreover, Mr. Ding only said that he was good at studying. Third brother found out that his family had an academy, but he was a successful candidate. Humph, it is not that easy to pass the jinshi exam."

Zhou Yingning became happier as she spoke, "It's a pity that I don't know what mother will do. Mother is the same. It would be great if you could tell me. I can help her."

"You should get closer to the Second Miss as the Princess wishes, so that she can relax her vigilance towards you. It would be best if she could follow your advice. No matter if she is afraid of you or for some other reason, as long as the Princess needs the Third Miss to guide the Second Miss to do something, you can do it. This will be a favor to the Princess, and the Princess will be even happier."

Seeing Zhou Yingning sitting back and nodding with satisfaction, Guyu breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, this person is not a smart person. Yunxiang told him that day that the princess's plan must not be known to the third lady.

Guyu knew of course that the matter was extremely important. For this Third Young Lady whose head was filled with straw, the less she knew, the better.

Thinking about several things that happened after the New Year, if it weren’t for this person’s “help”, there would not have been those unexpected “effects”.

However, Guyu thought of what Yunxiang said about the princess's intention to target the second young lady who was already engaged. Although he didn't know what she was going to do specifically, Guyu knew it must not be a good thing, and it must be something that would prevent the second young lady from marrying Master Ding.

Alas, looking at Zhou Yingning who was looking through two new sets of clothes, Guyu sighed, hoping that she would not end up losing the opportunity while trying to gain the advantage.