The mistress has no feelings, why do you provoke her?

Ruyi Residence.

As Zhou was resting with her eyes closed inside, she heard Jiang Miaoyin's voice from outside: "Mother, help! Help me..."

Ignoring the nanny's attempts to stop her, she rushed in and knelt at Zhou's feet.

Zhou was startled, opened her eyes with displeasure, and said in a deep voice, "What happened that you're in such a panic? What kind of behavior is this?"

“Mother…” Jiang Miaoyin hesitated, glancing at the maids and old women in the room.

Knowing that she had something to say, Zhou waved for everyone in the room to leave.

"What exactly happened?" she asked.

Jiang Miaoyin knelt on the ground, crying with tears and snot streaming down her face. Her hesitant expression infuriated Zhou Shi: "What is it? Tell me quickly!"

"Mother, I have made a terrible mistake, please forgive me." After saying this, Jiang Miaoyin kowtowed repeatedly to Zhou Shi.

Seeing her expression, Zhou felt a pang of unease, and couldn't help but recall the incident a few days ago when she and Gu Huaizhou both fell into the water.

She leaned closer, frowning as she asked Jiang Miaoyin, "What exactly did you do wrong?"

"I, I..." Jiang Miaoyin gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and looked like she was ready to go all out: "Huaizhou and I have been together for a long time."

After hearing this, Zhou was stunned, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Looking at Jiang Miaoyin, he felt like he was dreaming, and asked again, unwilling to give up, "What did you just say?"

"Huaizhou and I are truly in love. Please grant us your blessing, Mother." Jiang Miaoyin kowtowed repeatedly to Madam Zhou.

bang bang bang...

Each kowtow felt like a blow to Zhou's heart.

It took Zhou a long time to regain her senses.

She slapped Jiang Miaoyin hard across the face, her eyes blazing with fury as she pointed at her nose and cursed, "You shameless slut! Not only did you kill my eldest son, but now you're trying to seduce my Huaizhou! What are you up to? A slut like you should be drowned in a pig cage!"

Jiang Miaoyin had long anticipated this outcome. She knelt forward a few steps and grabbed Zhou's trouser leg, pleading, "Mother, I know you hate me, but Huaizhou is in imminent danger. Please, save him. Even if I die, I can die in peace."

Mentioning Gu Huaizhou brought Zhou back to her senses: "What's wrong with my son? Tell me."

“Huaizhou has been hiding under the floorboards in my room for a day and a night, and there’s been no movement all day. I feel like he’s about to give up…” Jiang Miaoyin sobbed.

Then, she told Zhou about how Song Wenjun had stayed in her room and refused to leave.

After hearing this, Zhou felt her vision go black and she almost fainted.

"Mother, I know I was wrong, but I truly love Gu Lang. Please, Mother, save him."

"You..." Zhou was so angry that she couldn't say a word. When she saw Jiang Miaoyin grabbing her clothes again, she slapped her hard across the face again.

Jiang Miaoyin's mouth was bleeding from the beating, but she didn't dare to utter a sound.

Zhou took a few deep breaths to suppress her anger, then stood up: "I'll go save Huaizhou first, and then I'll deal with you after I've rescued him."

No matter what, her son was her own, and she was saved.

Jiang Miaoyin nodded repeatedly, crying. As long as Zhou Shi intervened, Gu Huaizhou would be saved.

The two left Ruyi Residence together and headed towards Jiang Miaoyin's courtyard.

As she was leaving, Madam Zhou dismissed the old women and maids who tried to follow her, saying, "None of you are allowed to come along."

The old woman and the maidservant retreated with puzzled expressions.

Soon, Zhou arrived at Yunlan Courtyard.

Inside the courtyard, the maids and old women were cleaning. Upon seeing Madam Zhou, they hurriedly stopped what they were doing and bowed, saying, "Greetings to the First Madam."

Madam Zhou glanced at the courtyard and said in a deep voice, "Stop! Get out! No one is allowed to come in without my order."

The servants all looked at each other, not knowing what to do, when Song Wenjun came out of the house.

Zhou was taken aback, clearly not expecting Song Wenjun to be there as well.

A hint of panic flashed across her face, but she quickly regained her composure: "Wenjun, what are you doing here?"

"Your room was dark and cold, so I had the servants clean it and bring in some new things." Song Wenjun glanced at Zhou Shi, then at Jiang Miaoyin, whose expression seemed somewhat unnatural, and asked feigned ignorance, "Yes, does your sister-in-law not like it?"

Jiang Miaoyin quickly waved her hand: "No, no, I like it very much."

"Then, is there something I did wrong?"

Madam Zhou hurriedly denied it, saying, "How could that be? You've always been the one to handle things in the Xiaoshun household, and I trust you completely."

Seeing that Song Wenjun was not leaving, Zhou was extremely anxious.

She exaggeratedly rubbed her forehead and reached out her hand to Song Wenjun: "Wenjun, come and help me, my head hurts again."

"Someone, quickly help the old lady back to her room." Song Wenjun didn't help her herself, but instead called a servant to help her.

Zhou knew this wouldn't do; she had pretended to be dizzy so that Song Wenjun would leave.

If she doesn't leave, how will Gu Huaizhou get out?

In her haste, she winked at Jiang Miaoyin, who understood and quickly stepped forward to stop Song Wenjun: "Wenjun, Mother is alright. I'd like to find some leather to use as cushions. Could you help me find some?"

“But my mother…” Song Wenjun looked troubled.

Zhou quickly lowered her hand, cleared her throat, and said, "I'm fine, you two sisters-in-law should go quickly."

Jiang Miaoyin forcefully dragged Song Wenjun away.

After they left, Zhou hurriedly ran into the house.

On the way here, Jiang Miaoyin told her where Gu Huaizhou was hiding.

So Zhou went straight to the wardrobe and forcefully pushed it open.

Unexpectedly, the wardrobe was too heavy, and she strained her back with a snap.

Zhou clutched her aching back, sweating profusely, but she ignored her injury and hurriedly tried to lift the floorboards: "Huaizhou, Huaizhou, how are you? Please answer your mother!"

The floorboards were lifted, revealing Gu Huaizhou, who was curled up inside, nearly frozen to death.

He was covered in dirt and grime, and his face was pale and sickly.

Hearing Zhou's voice, he struggled to lift his eyelids to look at her, then crawled towards her on all fours: "Mother, Mother, save me..."

After two days without food or water, Gu Huaizhou's lips cracked and split open.

My lips were frozen and turned blue, and my hands were covered in chilblains.

If Zhou had arrived an hour later, he might have frozen to death.

After shivering as he crawled out of the hole, Gu Huaizhou drank three large cups of tea.

There were leftover snacks on the table from yesterday, but he didn't mind them and grabbed them to put in his mouth.

They ate so ravenously that not a single crumb was left.

Zhou was heartbroken and tears streamed down her face. She wanted to scold him for the foolish things he and Jiang Miaoyin had done, but she swallowed her words back.

Never mind, let's wait until he's feeling better before we talk about it.

Once Gu Huaizhou had regained some strength, Madam Zhou had him cover himself with a cloak from head to toe and return to his study through the back door.