Due to the incident involving Fu Mingde, Chen Tingfeng punished quite a few people. For a while, there was an atmosphere of panic in the mansion. The servants all cowered and worked with trepidation.
Qian Tong was extremely busy. It was his men who had been sent to investigate Fu Zhen at the beginning. Since there were such big flaws in the information they had gathered, he couldn't escape the blame.
After receiving his punishment, his back was bloody, but he didn't dare to rest. He just applied some medicine and then went back to the investigation.
Fu Mingde had associated with a rather miscellaneous group of people. Moreover, he often visited brothels and pleasure houses, so he had interacted with all sorts of people from different walks of life. To be cautious, Qian Tong checked each person one by one, which slowed down the progress.
Chen Tingfeng vaguely guessed who this person was. The only one he could think of who had a grudge against Fu Zhen was the fellow who had suffered a loss last time. But he wasn't in a hurry.
He had once suffered because of the information gap and didn't want to experience it again.
These days, it had been raining continuously, making people's moods seem damp and sticky.
Fu Zhen was in a rather bad mood. When she saw Yuanbao smilingly bringing in the pastries, in front of others, she smiled and watched Yuanbao leave. But as soon as Yuanbao was out of sight, the smile on her face instantly disappeared, and her brows knitted tightly. She said impatiently, "Is Chen Tingfeng out of his mind? Sending pastries every day. What's the deal?"
She had been really distracted these days. Under normal circumstances, she would never have called Chen Tingfeng by his name directly.
Cuihuan was massaging her shoulders and consoled her, "Don't be angry, miss. It's just some pastries. If you don't like them, you can give them to Biyu, that glutton. Her stomach can hold any amount of pastries."
Biyu pouted and said, "Look at her, miss. Cuihuan is getting more and more fond of teasing me!"
Fu Zhen was amused by the two of them, and her expression gradually relaxed. She also joked, "Isn't what your sister Cuihuan said the truth?"
Biyu blushed from being teased by the mistress and the maid. She stamped her foot and ran away, saying, "Even the mistress is becoming naughty. I won't talk to you anymore. I'm going to the kitchen to see if the mistress's bird's nest is ready!"
Fu Zhen let out a soft laugh. Cuihuan stopped massaging and poured her a cup of scented tea, saying, "Mistress, your mood has been fluctuating quite a bit these days. I think your menstrual period is coming soon."
Fu Zhen used to be in poor health, and her menstrual cycle was irregular. Sometimes it would be several months before it came. After staying in the marquis's mansion for a while and eating medicinal diets and bird's nests every day, her menstrual cycle had been regulated.
She thought for a moment and said, "It should be coming soon. It's really annoying."
It was annoying when it didn't come, and even more annoying when it did.
Cuihuan covered her mouth and chuckled, "It's the same for all women. Mistress, calm down. If you're going to be annoyed about this, you'll probably be annoyed for quite a few days every month. How can you bear it?"
Fu Zhen let out a sigh. What bothered her the most was still Chen Tingfeng. This man always did things in a way that was hard to fathom. Recently, she didn't know what had gotten into him. It seemed that he had so much kindness to give and just stuffed it all on her.
But she didn't need it!
She rubbed her temples in annoyance. She had never seen Chen Tingfeng like this in her two lifetimes. For a moment, she felt a bit creeped out and couldn't help but miss the Chen Tingfeng who ignored her.
In the kitchen.
It was almost noon, and the kitchen was bustling with activity. The old women were all busy cooking. When they saw Biyu coming, they didn't dare to be negligent. They immediately greeted her with smiles on their faces and said, "Miss Biyu is here! Some tender green vegetables were sent from the manor today. Miss Second will surely like them!"
Biyu smiled and said, "That's great. Thank you for your trouble."
"It's no trouble at all. We all know Miss Second's taste. Miss Biyu, please wait a moment. It'll be ready soon!" the old women said attentively while their hands kept moving.
Biyu looked around and was a bit surprised not to see Granny Zhou. Granny Zhou was always honest and upright. Usually, she wouldn't go anywhere but the kitchen during meal times. Why wasn't she here today?
Just as she was thinking, Biyu took two steps outside and stood under the corridor looking at the rain. Suddenly, she saw Granny Zhou running over in a hurry without even an umbrella.
"Hey, Granny Zhou, come here," Biyu quickly called out to her.
When Granny Zhou saw her, her eyes lit up as if she had found a backbone. She rushed over and grabbed Biyu's hand, saying, "Miss Biyu, I have something to tell you!"
As she said this, she glanced inside and saw someone looking over. She quickly pulled Biyu to a corner and then looked around.
Biyu was a bit confused by her actions but wasn't angry. She just asked curiously, "What's going on? You're in such a hurry. Did you see a ghost in broad daylight?"
Granny Zhou swallowed hard and said, "It's worse than seeing a ghost!"
Biyu raised her eyebrows and smiled, "Don't try to fool me."
Granny Zhou said anxiously, "I might lie to my old man and say I'm having an affair, but I won't lie to you! This matter is disgraceful. I... I really..."
Only then did Biyu look serious. Seeing that she didn't seem to be joking, she frowned and asked, "What on earth is going on?"
"My husband used to wash the horses in the stable. After he recovered from his illness, he went back to work. This morning, he was just about to wash the horses with a bucket in his hand when a maid came and said she needed the horses and there was no need to wash them. She just said that the horses would be harnessed to a carriage in an hour and then they would go out on the street. My husband had just recovered from a serious illness and didn't know many things in the mansion. Seeing that she was a stranger, he just bluntly asked her which courtyard she was from. That maid then sank her face and scolded him. She didn't explain clearly but just said that the mansion needed the horses and told him not to ask so many questions. Then she left," Granny Zhou said. "Just now, I went to deliver lunch to him, and he mentioned it to me. As soon as I heard it, I felt something was wrong. I quickly asked him what the maid looked like. He couldn't describe it clearly. He just said she was tall and thin but had a round face and very fair skin."
"I couldn't think of which maid it was for a moment, so I asked him which way the maid had gone. He just said it seemed she was going towards the garden. This incident happened just a moment before I delivered the lunch. She had just left when I arrived. I really felt there was something fishy about it, so I followed her all the way. After going around the garden, I saw her going into Miss Huanyun's courtyard. I immediately knew it was Qing'er, the maid brought by Miss Huanyun!"
Granny Zhou rattled on in one breath. Biyu listened with a frown. When she stopped, Biyu quickly asked, "And then?"
"Then I saw her supporting a woman wearing a veil hat and walking straight towards the gatehouse. The horses were harnessed to the carriage. I followed and took a look. I saw Qing'er being very respectful, so that woman must be Miss Huanyun. At this point, I just thought Miss Huanyun was going to take the carriage out on the street. But if she was going out on the street, she could just tell my husband directly. Why did she have to be so secretive? There must be something wrong! I looked around and quietly followed behind the carriage. Who would have thought that after the carriage had gone a few steps, it suddenly stopped at the entrance of Baiyin Alley on East Street. Qing'er looked around and seeing no one, she waved into the alley. Then a man got on the carriage!" Granny Zhou's eyes suddenly widened as if the scene was still in front of her eyes. "If I hadn't suspected her, I might not have discovered this!"