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

Meng Wan was surprised again. It had only been such a short time and Meng Qi had already found out the news. The people Zhou Yu sent to Shandong to investigate had not returned yet.

"It's just that the information I got may not be complete. After all, she has been gone for more than ten years, and she has no children. Almost all the elderly people who took care of her are gone. I don't know if it can be of any help to you."

Meng Wan nodded, "It doesn't matter. Whatever you have, it's fine. Yan Yun has already sent someone to Shandong to inquire about her hometown."

Meng Qi was stunned. "Is this person so important? Can I know who is involved?"

"Your Majesty."

"Zhou Yiheng?"

"Yes, it's because of this woman that the prince is so hostile and hateful towards my mother-in-law."

"Hostile? Hatred? Not just dislike?" Meng Qi paused as he was about to continue pouring the fruit wine, and Meng Wan took it over. "Don't drink anymore, don't make the prince unhappy."

"Him? Haha, there are many times when he is unhappy, but it's not because of me." Meng Qi waved her hand, but did not take the wine glass obediently. Instead, she took a small steamed dumpling handed to her by Meng Wan and ate it.

"Oh, could it be that Zhou Yiheng likes that Concubine Hui?" It was originally a teasing remark, but when Meng Wan nodded, Meng Qi opened her mouth wide, "No way, doesn't your prince like Lady Hu?"

Without waiting for Meng Wan to reply, he stood up abruptly and said, "I see. So that's how it is."

"What's wrong?" Meng Wan asked.

"Hu should look like Huipin."

Meng Wan looked at Meng Qi in disbelief, "What do you mean?"

"I heard from Concubine Lian. You know she only reappeared in public last year, so she hasn't seen Hu very often. During the New Year, she saw her twice and told me that she thought Hu looked familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before. Her features were very similar to those of an old friend she knew, but that old friend is no longer around."

Meng Qi walked up to Meng Wan and said, "Second sister, if Zhou Yiheng likes Huipin according to what you said, then the Hu that Lady Lian Fei mentioned looks like an old person, so it should be Huipin."

Meng Wan nodded. Yes, this made sense. Why did Zhou Yiheng have such deep feelings for Hu? It turned out that she was like his old lover. In addition, Hu was used to being humble and submissive to win people's hearts, so whether it was because of her appearance or her means, she had been able to keep Zhou Yiheng around for so many years.

"How did that Huipin die?"

"He told the public that he had contracted a serious disease, but in fact he was sentenced to death by the Emperor."

"Ah? Is that so? What's the reason?"

"It seems that evidence of her having an affair with a man was found in her palace, and it was exposed by the palace maids around her."

Meng Wan was speechless. Could it be that, as Zhou Yiheng said, the late Empress Dowager had done it? Was it to get rid of Wang's "rival"? Was Zhou Yiheng right, but Wang was just unaware of it?

"This Concubine Hui is very beautiful and knows how to read people's expressions. Especially when she wants to please or take advantage of someone, she always says things that people like to hear. She is not stupid." Meng Qi pointed to her head.

"At first, she was taken in by the then Prince Jing because of the favor of the late Empress Dowager and was made a concubine. But once she was favored, she forgot her duty and became very aggressive. Sometimes she even dared to offend the late Empress. After being punished several times by the other women in Prince Jing's mansion and losing two children in succession, she became obedient.

"After the emperor took the throne, all the old people in Qiandi were given titles, but she was the only one to be called Zhaorong. Maybe she was panicked at that time. After all, her family became prosperous because of her entering the Prince Jing's Mansion. Her father also donated money to become an official, and her uncle also became a fourth-rank official. Seeing the newly selected beauties of the emperor entering the palace one by one, she set her sights on the late Empress Dowager who had raised her up in the past."

Meng Qi clapped her hands when she got to this point. "I see. I was wondering how she managed to do this. Now that you've said this, it's certain that she must have asked Zhou Yiheng for money to do this."

Meng Wan nodded. That's right. To gain a foothold in the harem, there are only two things: one is to have a strong family, and the other is to be favored. Qin'er has nothing but money, but her family doesn't have that much money, so she naturally looks for her old lover. This also indirectly confirms what Zhou Yiheng said, why he can meet his Qin'er often.

Qin'er must be pretending that she can't forget Zhou Yiheng, using her past to seduce him, and even constantly bringing up the fact that she lost her virginity to him, in order to make Zhou Yiheng feel guilty and unwilling to give in.

"Perhaps the late Empress Dowager was soft-hearted, or perhaps she really liked him in the past. With the help of the late Empress Dowager, Huipin attracted the Emperor's attention again and was promoted to the rank of concubine. But after she was promoted to the rank of concubine, the Emperor completely put her aside."

"Could it be that she is really with the prince?" Meng Wan asked.

Meng Qi shook her head. "No, it's not like that. Her testimony in the palace at that time was that the man was someone who often came in and out of the palace. How could Prince Zhou go there so often? But I heard that Concubine Hui never said who the man was until her death. Those who knew about it in the palace said that he must be a guard or..."

Meng Wan looked at Meng Qi who was staring at him, thought for a moment and said softly, "Could it be some prince?"

Meng Qi nodded, "I think so too. Think about it, Huipin followed the emperor when she was a teenager, and she was neglected when she was only in her early twenties. How could she be willing to accept this? If she can't win the emperor's heart, it would be good if she could win over a prince. She must choose a way out for herself and find a support for her family."

Meng Wan understood, but who was this adulterous prince Huipin?

"Unfortunately, the emperor should have ordered an investigation back then, but for some reason the late empress dowager dissuaded him from doing so, and the matter of Huipin was left unresolved. Until now, almost everyone in the palace has been discussing it, and no one knows about that man anymore."

Meng Wan stood up. The late Empress Dowager must have known about this, and she also knew about the relationship between Zhou Yiheng and Huipin. The person who had attributed Huipin's death to Wang must have also known about this, but what was this person's purpose? It was really hard to find out now, but one thing was certain, he was going after the late Empress Dowager.

"If she really had an affair with the prince, then the Crown Prince, Prince Jing, and Prince Duan are all possible."

Meng Qi nodded, "Their maternal family is related to the late Empress Dowager..."

Meng Wan turned to look at Meng Qi, and after watching Meng Qi think carefully, he said two words.

"Could it be the late queen..."

Meng Qi clapped her hands, "Let's assume that the rumors about the late Empress Dowager and the Emperor were true, then who would you least want to see?"

"Queen."

"That's right, but the Queen can't stop them. She can only watch them doing it right under her nose... Maybe sometimes the Queen needs to step forward to cover for them. If what we think is correct, how can the Queen bear it? Over time, it will be a great torture both mentally and physically." Meng Qi analyzed slowly.

Meng Wan followed Meng Qi's thoughts, "If that man is really the prince, then when he first started dating Huipin, it should have been a simple love affair. It should be that when the two of them got to know each other better, the prince knew that Huipin and the prince were old acquaintances, so he simply took advantage of this. Later, their affair was discovered by the late empress dowager. In order not to upset the emperor, the late empress dowager did not reveal that it was the prince who had an affair with Huipin. Her concealment did not make the prince grateful, but instead used this to cause the prince to misunderstand and torture Yanyun's mother, because she was the late empress dowager's favorite junior."

Meng Qi nodded, "Yes, yes, I feel our analysis should be correct. Unfortunately, we can't get any valuable information from the palace. If my second brother-in-law can get news from Shandong to prove that it is the prince, then everything we analyzed will be reasonable."

Meng Wan frowned. "Even if, I mean, even if the rumors about the Emperor and the late Empress Dowager are true, then the late Empress's death would not be due to this, right? Is it worth it for the Crown Prince to bear a grudge?"

In fact, Meng Wan was more worried that if he was really the crown prince, then even though Wang was dead, there was still Zhou Yu. He needed Zhou Yu now, and if he took that position, would he bring up the past and attack Zhou Yu again?

Meng Wan was sweating when she thought of this. Meng Qi looked at her and hurried forward, "Second sister, what's wrong? Did you think of anything?"

Meng Wan took Meng Qi's hand and said, "Sister Qi, answer me honestly, does Prince Rui have any thoughts about that position?"

Meng Qi was stunned at first, "What do you mean, sister?"

Meng Wan expressed her worries, "If the crown prince keeps blaming the death of the late queen on the late empress dowager, and then extends it to my mother-in-law, then when he sits in that position, do you think Yan Yun will have a good life?"

Meng Qi was stunned. Yes, why didn’t she think of this problem?

"So, I need to know what Prince Rui's arrangement is and what his goal is. If he is just a brother who assists the emperor, then, can he protect Yan Yun in the future? If not, do we need to plan ahead to protect ourselves? Or do we need to plan and help Prince Rui achieve his wish?"

Meng Qi looked at Meng Wan. The two sisters did not avoid each other at all. They stared at each other for a long time. Meng Qi sighed softly, "I know what my sister means. The prince is indeed doing his best to ensure that the prince can successfully ascend to that position. And I also believe that even if the prince sits on that position, he cannot do without the help of the prince. There will be no problems for at least ten years. I think ten years is enough for my brother-in-law to take control of the Prince Shen's Mansion. As for the changes in the future, no one can predict them. We can only take it one step at a time."

Is Meng Qi telling herself that her life in her previous life was also short and she didn't see the end?

But no matter what, Meng Qi said this, she could rest assured for the time being. Yes, ten years was enough for Zhou Yu to run the Shenjunwang Mansion, and if he was lucky enough, he might even be reused by the prince, and then he could turn the page and forget about it.

It seems that Meng Qi did not become the most noble woman in the world in her previous life. But she also said what it would be like in ten years. Yes, what would it be like in ten years?

Meng Wan thought so and said casually, "Yes, I heard that the prince's only son is not in good health."

Meng Qi was stunned at first, then smiled, "That's right, so the prince can say anything in front of the prince, but he can't mention his two sons."