The Grand Secretary has no heir? His concubine gives birth to triplets.

At this moment, in the embroidery room of the Pei residence.

The atmosphere was so heavy it could be squeezed out of you.

Jiang Guo'er picked up the brocade high-soled boot that should have been flawless. There was a small, furry hole on the boot, with the silk threads curling outwards.

"When did this happen? Everything was fine during yesterday's checkup!"

Her voice was deep, and her gaze swept over the group of silent embroiderers.

These are the boots the Prime Minister is to wear for his wedding. They were supposed to be finished in a couple of days, but then this went wrong.

"Perhaps... a mouse got in last night," a seamstress muttered softly.

"A rat?" Jiang Guo'er laughed in exasperation.

"No tea or snacks are allowed in the embroidery room on a regular basis, so where did this mouse come from?!"

She made a decisive decision.

"Open all the cabinets! Fabrics, garments, threads—check everything, one by one!"

"I'd like to see if it's the rat that's bold, or if someone is dishonest!"

The embroiderers dared not delay, and in an instant, the sounds of moving boxes and overturning cabinets filled the air.

Just then, Lotus rushed in like a gust of wind.

His face was completely drained of color, and he was struggling to breathe.

"Guo'er! No...something terrible has happened!"

Jiang Guo'er's heart skipped a beat, and she put down the boot in her hand: "What's the panic? Tell me slowly."

"It's Third Master! Third Master has led his men to the study, insisting that the Prime Minister has left behind some important documents and that Afu must open the door!"

"A-Fu refused, so Third Master... Third Master had him tied up!"

Third Master? Pei Zhang?

Jiang Guo'er's brow twitched.

But what does this have to do with her?

As a mere maidservant, she had no right to interfere in the affairs between her masters.

What's more, this gnawed boot is already giving her enough of a headache.

But the moment she lowered her head, it felt like something had hit her head hard.

That yellowed Xue Tao letter paper.

The words "Xiao Yuzhen" were written on it in bright, clear letters.

Jiang Guo'er's expression hardened, and she no longer cared about the boots.

He pushed aside the embroidered basket in front of him and rushed out.

"Keep investigating. If you don't find anything, go to Granny Qin and receive your punishment!"

Before she finished speaking, she had already run out of the embroidery room.

The cold wind stung my face like knives.

As Jiang Guo'er ran, lifting her skirt, her mind raced.

Third Master Pei Zhang was the Left Councilor of the Office of Transmission, responsible for receiving and reviewing official documents, and was indeed qualified to access the Prime Minister's documents.

However, the Prime Minister was always cautious and careful, so to avoid being taken advantage of, he never allowed anyone to come back to retrieve anything after leaving the mansion.

If any confidential information is lost, the fastest and safest way is to send your trusted bodyguards back immediately!

Why would I trouble Third Master to come and collect it at this hour?

Unless... he wasn't there to pick up anything at all!

Jiang Guo'er's heart sank to the bottom, and she quickened her pace.

When she arrived at the courtyard outside the study, the scene before her made her heart skip a beat.

The courtyard gate was wide open, and Afu was being held down on the ground by two burly servants, still cursing defiantly:

"You can't go in! No one is allowed in without the Prime Minister's badge!"

In the study, Pei Zhang was pulling out books, flipping through boxes, and opening containers one by one.

That posture of theirs doesn't seem like they're looking for a document at all.

Jiang Guo'er's blood suddenly turned cold.

Several things flashed through my mind—

The young woman from Yangzhou, sent by the Third Madam Liu, has not had her face opened since she was kicked out by the Prime Minister last time.

Pei Zhang had been in the Office of Transmission for five years, always serving as a Left Councilor, and had not been promoted for a long time.

Pei Zhang's son, though only three years old, could already recite fifty Tang poems, and everyone in the capital praised him as a child prodigy.

If Pei Yan were to be embroiled in a scandal on the eve of his wedding...

Jiang Guo'er took a deep breath to suppress the turmoil in her heart.

Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced behind the moon gate and saw Lotus huddled there, her face as white as paper.

She immediately raised her eyebrows and winked in the direction of Songhe Garden.

Lotus was taken aback at first, then nodded.

Jiang Guo'er raised her hand to smooth her temples, lowered her eyes, adopted a timid demeanor, and stepped into the study.

"Greetings, Third Master." She curtsied, her voice soft and gentle.

"What are you looking for? Has the Prime Minister lost something important?"

"If it's a document, the Prime Minister usually keeps it in a sandalwood box on his desk. May I take it out for you?"

As she spoke, she took two steps toward the desk, trying to draw Pei Zhang's attention in that direction.

Pei Zhang was startled by the sudden sound, and his eyes flickered.

Turning around and finding it was just a maidservant, he immediately straightened his face and scolded, "What right does a servant like you have to interfere in your master's affairs? Get out!"

Jiang Guo'er became increasingly certain that he was suspicious!

She cannot go out.

If she leaves now, Pei Zhang will turn the study upside down, and what if...

He actually found the ancient book containing the Empress's love poems...

She dared not think about the consequences!

Even if Pei Zhang doesn't make a fuss, he could very well use this to blackmail Pei Yan.

God knows what this ambitious guy will do.

Now, she and Pei Yan are in the same boat.

If one suffers, all suffer; if one prospers, all prosper!

But how could a mere concubine stop the dignified Third Master of the Duke's Mansion?

Pei Zhang was already walking towards the bookshelf with ancient books, flipping through the pages from left to right, and he was about to touch the book!

That's too late!

In a flash, Jiang Guo'er steeled her heart and gritted her teeth.

"Sizzle—"

Grasp your collar with both hands, find the weakest point of the thread, and pull it hard to both sides.

The thin jacket ripped open with a snap, tearing all the way to the chest, revealing a corner of the undergarment underneath.

Before Pei Zhang could react, she staggered back two steps and fell to the ground with a thud.

"Ah—! Third Master! Third Master, please don't do this!"

This shout stunned everyone inside and outside the house.

Pei Zhang's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. He turned around in astonishment, momentarily speechless.

Jiang Guo'er didn't give him a chance to react at all.

Tears, as big as beans, came suddenly, rolling down like beads from a broken string, as she cried her heart out, her voice hoarse and desperate.

"Third Master! This servant...this servant is the Prime Minister's concubine—! How could you... Waaah—"

"Although I am of humble birth, I belong to the Prime Minister in life and in death! You cannot... you cannot treat me like this!"

She wailed and scrambled backward, her face covered in snot and tears.

Jiang Guo'er's heart clenched suddenly.

Oh no, the doll!

The key to the study's secret compartment is still hanging on the doll!

He quickly glanced around, and while Pei Zhang was still in a daze, he flicked his toe—

He kicked the doll under the bookshelf next to him.

Upon hearing this commotion, Afu, who was being held down on the ground outside the door, instantly turned red in the eyes.

She struggled frantically, her roar shaking the heavens: "Third Master! Let go of Jiang Guo'er!! You...you..."

Lotus, behind the moon gate, was so frightened by the piercing cry for help that she almost collapsed to the ground.

Remembering the look Jiang Guo'er had given her earlier, she turned and ran towards Songhe Garden.

"Help! Someone help! The Third Master is trying to force himself on the Prime Minister's concubine, Jiang Guo'er!"

"Someone's dead—!"

The piercing cry shattered the afternoon tranquility of the Prime Minister's residence.

Inside the study, Pei Zhang finally snapped out of his shock.

He looked at Jiang Guo'er, who was disheveled and crying her heart out, and he trembled with anger, his face turning a deep purplish-red.

"You...you bitch! How dare you frame me!"

Jiang Guo'er shrank back and cried even louder: "Third Master... Third Master... This servant dares not..."

"You wouldn't dare?! What are you afraid of?!"

Enraged, Pei Zhang strode forward and slapped Pei Zhang across the face.

"Snapped!"

Jiang Guo'er's face suddenly turned to one side, and half of her face swelled up instantly.

"Third Master... Third Master... Please, please spare this servant..."

"Still dare to howl?!" Pei Zhang roared, and slapped him again with his backhand.

The blow landed on the other side of her face, causing her neck to tilt and her mouth to hit her teeth, leaving a metallic taste in the air.

Jiang Guo'er did not dodge.

That's exactly what she wanted – those slaps.

Before Pei Zhang's third slap could land, Jiang Guo'er used the force of the blow to make her forehead slam into the leg of the rosewood chair next to her with a "thud"!

A warm liquid immediately trickled down his forehead.

It flowed down my brow, down my eyes, mixed with tears, and smeared all over my face.

It hurts, it hurts so much.

The pain made her vision blur, but she gritted her teeth and stubbornly held on until she didn't faint.

While Pei Zhang was stunned by the blood on his head, he grabbed a couple of handfuls of his hair.

Her hair was completely disheveled, and wispy black hair clung to the bloodstains and tear stains. She then ripped open the sash around her waist.

If you're going to put on a show, you have to go all the way!

Just then, a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps approached from afar.

Granny Qin, accompanied by several burly, rough-looking women, was the first to rush in.

When I saw what was happening in front of me, I almost lost my balance.

The usually clean and tidy study was in complete disarray, and Miss Jiang, the Prime Minister's beloved, lay on the floor, her clothes disheveled.

The waist sash came undone, and the skirt was half-fallen off.

She curled up on the ground, trembling all over, like a sparrow that had been violated.

Looking at Pei Zhang next to him, his face was a mixture of blue and purple, and his right hand was raised high, with a few spots of rouge on his fingernails.

"My God!"

Granny Qin stamped her feet anxiously, "Third Master! What...what are you doing?!"