Chapter 305: The Princess Consort’s Fury

Princess Qi’s expression was as cold as ice. "Go. Tell Housekeeper Wu to get to the bottom of this for me, every last detail. Then have him report back."

Ruyu left the courtyard, passed through the second gate, and found Housekeeper Wu in the front courtyard.

When Housekeeper Wu saw her enter, he dismissed everyone else from the room and closed the door.

Ruyu curtsied to Housekeeper Wu. "Housekeeper Wu, I said everything you told me to. The Princess Consort is furious now. She sent me to tell you to investigate the matter thoroughly and report to her in person."

Housekeeper Wu smiled. "Thank you, Miss Ruyu." As he spoke, he handed her a small pouch.

Ruyu tucked the pouch away, smiled at Housekeeper Wu, then opened the door and left.

Housekeeper Wu sat in the room, his expression grim.

He had been sending men to keep an eye on Old Huang. Just last night, the man on watch had come back to report that Lan Zhi and Gu Fei had gone to the government office over an Indenture Contract, and that the Young Master Heir had paid to redeem the girl.

In truth, not many people had heard what happened—just those in the main hall at the time and a few others who were near the entrance.

But as luck would have it, the man he’d sent was standing right at the edge of the hall and heard every single word.

Upon learning this, Housekeeper Wu had secretly sought out Ruyu, the Princess Consort’s senior maidservant, that very night and instructed her on what to say.

Sure enough, it had ignited the Princess Consort’s fury.

’That little lady from the Gu Family had caused him to suffer a huge loss—costing him silver and his reputation. How could he possibly let her off the hook?’

However, wary of the Young Master Heir, he didn’t dare to act against her himself.

’Now, under her protection, that Old Huang was living a more comfortable life than anyone. He even bought a maid to be his concubine! How was he supposed to stomach that insult?’

’He might not dare to deal with Miss Gu himself, but there were certainly others who could!’

’Heh. No matter how powerful the Young Master Heir was, he couldn’t possibly overrule the Princess Consort!’

After seeing Ruyu off, Housekeeper Wu went back to checking the accounts.

In the afternoon, guessing that the Princess Consort was awake from her nap, Housekeeper Wu made his way unhurriedly toward the inner courtyard.

After a maid announced his arrival, he waited at the door for a while before someone came out to summon him inside.

Housekeeper Wu entered and immediately knelt. He then heard the Princess Consort’s voice, as melodious as a warbler’s song, from the head of the room. "Rise and speak. What exactly is going on?"

Only then did Housekeeper Wu rise. He answered with his head bowed, "This servant has investigated thoroughly. Here is what happened."

"A new inn has recently opened here in Ping’an City. The manager is a young lady with the surname Gu."

"This young lady has a maidservant named Lan Zhi, a girl of stunning beauty. She caught the eye of Second Young Master Xu of the Ning’an Marquis Mansion, who wanted to take her as his concubine."

Hearing this, Princess Qi frowned. ’Why are there two young women involved?’

"But the maidservant refused. So, Second Young Master Xu claimed that the maid, Lan Zhi, was a person he had purchased, and he even produced an Indenture Contract."

"However, this Manager Gu claimed that she *also* had the maidservant’s Indenture Contract. So the two of them went to the government office to determine which contract was genuine."

Housekeeper Wu took a breath and continued, "After looking at the Indenture Contract Miss Gu presented, the Lord Prefect asked her, ’How did you redeem this maidservant from the Imperial Music Bureau?’"

"Miss Gu then said, ’It was Xiao Yu, the Heir of Prince Qi, who redeemed her.’"

"That is the gist of the matter. As for whether the Young Master Heir is truly keeping that girl on the side... well, this servant wouldn’t know about that."

Housekeeper Wu’s eyes darted back and forth. "The Young Master Heir, under the Princess Consort’s guidance, has always conducted himself with integrity. But he is young, after all. Perhaps the wiles of those two girls were simply too much for him."