Chapter 60

  Worried clouds

  The mansion had not had a child born in many years, so Yin Haicheng and the old lady were still looking forward to this child.

  It was unexpected that a few months later, she had a miscarriage. After inviting the doctor to come and check, it was found that Chen's food had been mixed with safflower, and when further checking, even some intimate clothing had a hint of musk.

  Yin Haicheng's face turned ugly, and the old lady was even more furious.

  "Master Hou..." Chen's wife knelt on the ground with a pale face, "Something like this happened during my tenure as housekeeper, I'm to blame for the tragedy..."

  "It's not easy for you either, get up." Haicheng's face still looked unpleasant, but thinking about how Chen Yiniang had been helping with the household chores without any credit or reward, he let out a sigh and helped her up.

  "Lord Hou, although you don't blame me, I still feel guilty about this miscarriage. I was remiss in my duties," said Chen Yiniang with a sorrowful expression. "I knew that the mistress was pregnant, but I didn't investigate how these things got into her food and drink. Although I'm just an assistant to Second Miss, she's still a young lady who hasn't left the house, how would she know about these things? It's all my fault."

  "Madam's food is all made by the small kitchen in the main courtyard, what does it have to do with you?" Yin Haicheng sighed and saw Chen Niang still wanting to speak, waving his hand, "No need to say more, I will investigate this matter carefully."

  The back house was searched carefully, and Chen's small kitchen was found to have some unclean things. After investigation, it turned out that these things were actually sent over by Second Miss Ruiqi.

  "It's impossible." The old lady was so angry that she trembled with rage. Her daughter-in-law had gotten into trouble, and the culprit was none other than her own granddaughter. This made the old lady extremely furious. "Don't even mention Ruiqi's temperament, which is fundamentally impossible. Even if everyone says it was her who drugged him, what reason would she have?"

  She was a girl about to get married and not one of those concubines fighting for favor in the harem, why did she need to poison her stepmother.

  "My son doesn't believe it either." Yin Haicheng snorted. Among his sons, he was most fond of Jin Yuan, and among his daughters, the one he liked the most was Rui Qi. Rui Qi's nature was open and sunny, and she was a straightforward person. If there was a flaw, it would be that she was too restless and liked to dance with swords and spears. But as for plotting and scheming in the inner courtyard, she probably wasn't that kind of material.

  "This must be some little fox spirit causing trouble behind our backs." The old lady was indignant.

  "What's important now is to put this matter aside for the time being." Rui Qi had just broken off his engagement, and although he was certain that this wasn't something Rui Qi would do, if it were to spread, outsiders wouldn't believe otherwise. Who knows what they'd think about the kind of things the Hou estate was hiding? "Otherwise, it won't be good for Rui Qi's reputation."

  "What have I done to deserve this? This household is full of right and wrong, and when I was in charge back then, although that concubine was also restless and unscrupulous, it never reached this level."

  Yin Haicheng was silent. How could he not know that this matter was caused by the infighting in the harem? In those years when the Hou Mansion declined, even a concubine on the road would jump up and down like that. Now the Zhenjiang Hou Mansion is also considered to be extremely rich and noble, and the harem is even more restless.

  "Who could have done such a thing?" thought Yin Haicheng, who was truly unable to think of anyone.

  Although there were many wives and concubines in the mansion, they could still be counted.

  Kobayashi is still under house arrest, and the people are all newly bought back, few in number and not close to her, so she may be unable to do anything about this matter for the time being.

  The remaining few people, although Chen Yiniang was in charge of the household, she couldn't intervene in the small kitchen of the Chen family. Moreover, Chen Yiniang was a straightforward and outspoken person who wasn't good at fighting, otherwise she wouldn't have been suppressed by Xiaolin for so many years. Her dignity was entirely due to her beautiful appearance, which earned her the favor of Yin Haicheng.

  Chen Yinniang's son, Sanzi Jinhong, is a hot-tempered and arrogant person who thinks highly of himself but has no real abilities, a complete good-for-nothing. Even if he had a legitimate son, or even if he didn't have one, among the six illegitimate sons, it would never be his turn to inherit the family business.

  Madam Chen herself was also aware of this, and she had intentionally or unintentionally expressed her hope to arrange a good future for Jin Hong, so that when Jin Hong got married and moved out in the future, she would have a place to rely on for her old age.

  Yin Haicheng did not comment on this, his son would not let them fend for themselves no matter how foolish he was. Moreover, Chen Niang had followed him for so many years, and he naturally would not mistreat her.

  The suspicion of this Chen Ayi can almost be ruled out.

  Next were Liu Niang and Sun Niang.

  Madam Sun had always been timid, and her two sons, Lao Si Jinming and Lao Liu Jinhai, were not clever. Madam Sun also never competed with Xiaolin Shi and Chen Niangniang, especially since her brother from her natal family was not making a good impression, often coming to their house every three to five days to freeload, and she had cried to him about this many times.

  Aunt Sun can't even handle her own affairs properly, where does she have the brains and leisure to bother with this?

  Liu Yiniang had a miscarriage many years ago, also due to poisoning. Not only was the child not saved, but her body also lost its reproductive capacity from then on. Jin Qinxin was born through a difficult labor that year, and only the child's life was saved.

  Nowadays, the mother and son are very low-key in the mansion. Jin Qinxue attends classes every day and rarely speaks, while Liu Niang is almost never seen outside of her own garden except when paying respects to Old Madame.

  The remaining three are Jiang Shi, Wu Shi and Xu Shi. These three people are the mothers of Si Gu Niang Rui Hua, Wu Gu Niang Rui Xiang and Qi Gu Niang Rui Ya respectively.

  Last time when they were searched, their courtyard was searched out a lot of miscellaneous things, and he severely reprimanded them. These days, they have been trembling with fear, afraid that he would find an excuse to punish them, and dare not show their heads. Moreover, the status of these few people is lowly, and it is even more impossible for them to touch Chen's place. It is likely that the big maid beside Chen has more face in this Hou Mansion than they do.

  Yin Haicheng was pondering at the same time, and Old Lady was also pondering. Meanwhile, Yin Ruofei in the Wang Mansion was also pondering.

  Chen Shi was a concubine, and although the children she bore were also legitimate sons, they were still one level lower than him. Especially since her child was young, even if he was born as a boy, it's unlikely that he could change the way things are done in the Hou estate. Who would want things to be this way?

  In his previous life, he didn't care about this stepmother at all, only knowing that after her child was born prematurely, her body became very weak, and later she did not give birth to any more children.

  It was a past event that Yin Ruofei was certain was done by the Kobayashi family, and Yin Haicheng believed it to be true. Later on, Chen's heart turned cold and she shut herself in, refusing to come out.

  But will it still be in the hands of Kobayashi this lifetime?

  Yin Ruofei was preoccupied and couldn't think it through, and when he came to study, he was very busy and really couldn't take care of this matter. It wasn't until he had a chance to return to the Hou Mansion that he heard from Zi Ling that something had gone wrong with the things sent by Second Miss Rui Qi.

  "It seems you're still coming for me after all." Yin Ruofei secretly sneered.

  After some deliberation, Yin Ruofei went to see Old Madam first, bringing several pastries specially made by the cooks in the Wang Manor.

  "Grandma, have some more of this. It was specially made for you, soft and easy to digest. Don't worry if you eat too much."

  "This tastes good and isn't too sweet." The old lady forced a faint smile.

  "What's troubling grandma? It doesn't matter if you tell your grandson."

  "This mansion is haunted by evil spirits, making it impossible for us to have peace." The old lady's face was filled with worry, and whenever she thought of Chen Shi's lost child, her heart felt suffocated. Although she liked Yin Ruofei, she was determined that her own grandson should inherit the title, but having more children in the family was always better, making it seem more prosperous.

  For the children of the Chen family, the old lady is full of hope to see them soon. Although the Chen family is only a collateral branch, it is also a well-known noble and aristocratic family. With few people and good family education, if Madam Chen had not delayed her age, she might not have married over as a stepmother either.

  "I'll go see my mother." Yin Ruofei smiled, "It just so happens that I brought a few pieces of this dessert, let's send some over for Mother to try."

  "This won't do." The old lady shook her head. "Although the matter in the mansion has been suppressed, I'm sure Ziling knows about it and has told you too. That thing with red flowers was sent over by someone using your sister's hands. If you go now, Chen Shi might not dare to eat it either."

  "It's alright. Mother doesn't believe it now because she hasn't thought it through yet." Yin Ruofei smiled and comforted the old lady.

  In less than a year, this young man has become more and more opinionated. Sometimes even the old lady can't change his mind, she can only nod her head and let him have his way.

  Yin Ruofei walked slowly all the way, and he had already thought of what to say in his heart. When he arrived at the main courtyard, the old woman at the gate saw him and her expression was somewhat tense, but she didn't dare to stop him, so she went in to report.

  Yin Ruofei is the legitimate daughter, the cherished legitimate daughter of Hou Ye, and also a confidant of Ze Wang, who is favored by the imperial court. How dare they say no to her? These people are all dowry servants of Chen Shi, and naturally, they will guard their own mistress's safety here.

  They had long been familiar with the young masters and misses of the Hou Mansion, having seen those who were indifferent, weak, arrogant, and overbearing, but this courteous one, who even smiled at these servants, was a first.

  At the time of the wedding, Yin Ruofei stayed for a short while. Although everyone recognized him, they were not familiar with him. It was only then that they realized that this person, who should be the most noble and legitimate young master, was actually so humble and courteous. Even the famous young masters did not have his gentle and elegant demeanor.

  Yin Ruofei and others waited for the transmission, everyone secretly looked at him, his appearance was one of the best among the men in this Houfu, and his temper was so good. What's more, he is now following Ze Wang, who is second only to the emperor, with such a demeanor... Those with shallow eyes even had thoughts.

  Although the lady didn't allow it to be said, they also knew about the lady's miscarriage, which seemed to be related to the second young miss, who was precisely the elder sister of this seventh young master. Everyone's heart was in a dilemma. They felt that Yin Ruofei wasn't the kind of person to do such a thing, yet they worried that the lady would be hurt again.

  Yin Ruofei followed Xiaoyao into the main house with a smile, Chen Shi had been recuperating well these days and was already able to sit up and receive guests.

  "Mother is well." Yin Ruofei bowed neatly and handed the snacks she brought to the maid beside her.

  The Chen family was a noble and refined family, and Mrs. Chen had been well-read in poetry and books since she was young. Although she was older, she was knowledgeable and reasonable. Yin Haicheng had already reached the age of maturity, but his appearance was still handsome and elegant, which naturally pleased Mrs. Chen. Although Yin Haicheng had lost the impetuous passion of his youth, he was still quite gentle to his new wife, and Mrs. Chen was also a calm and composed person, so their love for each other was already sufficient, and they lived a fairly good life.

  Thinking that every day was better than the last, who would have thought that something like this would suddenly happen. Chen Shi was in a state of panic and the main courtyard was on high alert.

  At this moment, she looked at Yin Ruofei's expression, which was particularly complex. Although Yin Haicheng repeatedly stated that this matter must not have been done by Ruiqi, but who would harm her after all.

  Yin Ruofei smiled and greeted him, but then didn't say a word, which made Chen feel uneasy.

  "You..."

  Yin Ruofei looked at the little girl beside him and knew that she was Chen Shi's confidant, so he didn't avoid her and just smiled and said, "Mother, can you trust me?"

  The author has something to say: I haven't been home for several days, and only replied to messages yesterday, but there are so few messages... Don't you love me anymore?