Listening to her daughter's heartfelt words, the pregnant Lady Hou went on a killing spree.

"What happened?"

When Madam Huang asked, the maid hesitated and couldn't give a clear answer.

"Grandpa, Grandma, you should go and see for yourselves."

Upon hearing this, the two put their outer garments back on and followed the maid to the small courtyard where Aunt Zhang lived.

Aunt Zhang was a concubine that Chief Minister Huang had taken more than half a year ago. Chief Minister Huang met her on the street.

At that time, Aunt Zhang had just lost her daughter and was being dragged by her husband to be sold to a brothel to pay off debts.

Grand Secretary Huang couldn't bear to see her like this, so he paid the ransom and, knowing that Zhang had nowhere to go, took her back to his residence.

Seeing the dense calluses and wounds on her hands, Chief Minister Huang felt compassion and recalled the difficult years when his elderly mother worked as a laundry worker to support his studies.

After returning to his residence, he arranged for the person to stay in his backyard. The Huang residence was not small, and he did not mind keeping another idle person.

If he doesn't bring the person into the house and just keeps them there, it might cause trouble. Keeping the person in the backyard will save him a lot of trouble.

And so, Zhang Shi settled into the Huang residence as the concubine of the Grand Secretary Huang.

Madam Huang knew what kind of person Chief Minister Huang was, and naturally had no interest in Zhang.

Besides, they're both so old now, and the old man already has concubines in his harem. She can't care about having one more or one less. She just wants to enjoy her remaining years in peace.

For over a decade, no new members had joined Huang's household. When Aunt Zhang first arrived, she was somewhat uneasy, but later she settled down and found life rather dull.

When people are idle, they start to have other thoughts and secretly get involved with a stable boy in the mansion.

Zhang Shi knows how to draw flower patterns. Tonight, a young maid came to Zhang Shi's courtyard late at night, wanting her to help draw a flower pattern.

The courtyard gate, which was usually locked, opened easily today. The maid didn't think much of it and assumed that Aunt Zhang was still awake.

Unexpectedly, upon reaching the door, they heard commotion inside the house. The maidservant covered her mouth and hurriedly ran to the main courtyard to report the news.

When Chief Minister Huang and his wife arrived at Aunt Zhang's courtyard with a group of servants, the two inside were deeply in love.

"Cuiyun, tell me, who's more capable, me or the old man?"

"Don't mention that old geezer to me. Ever since I became his concubine, he hasn't stepped into my room once. I guess he's just a pretty face with no substance."

The chief minister, Huang, and his wife, who had just entered the courtyard, overheard everything. Huang felt a sharp pain in his chest, raised his hand to cover his chest, and collapsed to the ground.

"master!"

"Grandpa!"

Suddenly, the courtyard was filled with gasps from Old Madam Huang and her servants.

"Quickly, summon a doctor!"

The two people inside the house were startled by the exclamations outside and quickly pulled their clothes over their shoulders to put them on.

Before the two were even dressed, the door was kicked open by the servants, and they were dragged out of the house.

At this moment, Madam Huang had no time to care about Aunt Zhang; she only looked at her pale-faced husband, who was being helped to sit on the ground by servants.

"Quickly, send someone to see why the doctor hasn't arrived yet!"

The old nanny who went with Madam Huang today slapped her forehead.

"Madam, where is the medicine that Physician Hua gave us today? Where is it?"

When Madam Huang realized what was happening, she quickly reached into her husband's arms, but found nothing.

She then remembered that when she was taking off her clothes to sleep, the old man had casually placed the medicine bottle on the bedside table.

"Quick, put the medicine on the bedside table!"

Immediately, a maidservant hurriedly ran back to the main courtyard to fetch the medicine. Fortunately, the main courtyard was not far from the courtyard where the concubines lived, and the maidservant quickly brought back the porcelain bottle.

Old Madam Huang took the porcelain bottle with trembling hands, poured out a grain, and fed it to Chief Minister Huang.

As soon as the medicine entered the mouth of the already delirious Chief Minister Huang, he felt as if someone was pounding his heart with a drumstick, and his heart began to beat slower.

No one else dared to move him. An old woman quickly went inside and brought out some cotton wadding to spread on the ground. Several people worked together to slowly lift the Prime Minister Huang onto the cotton wadding so he could lie down.

The commotion was so loud that two elderly women living in the adjacent courtyard quickly had themselves helped over.

Upon seeing the appearance of the Grand Secretary Huang, the two wanted to rush over and wail and make a scene, but before they could even get close to the old master, they were scared away by the look in Madam Huang's eyes.

It's true that the two old concubines had been suppressed by Madam Huang for decades, and could only stand aside and wipe away their tears quietly.

The imperial physician rushed over, took Huang's pulse, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Luckily, the old man took his medicine, otherwise today might have been difficult."

The physician didn't say the rest, but everyone present understood.

The family physician gave the old man acupuncture and hurriedly gave him instructions.

"The old master must never get angry again, otherwise it may shorten his lifespan."

After recovering, Chief Minister Huang gradually fell asleep, and his servants carried him back to the courtyard.

Staring at Aunt Zhang and the coachman, who were being gagged and forced to kneel on the ground by servants, Old Madam Huang felt extremely resentful.

Prime Minister Ye has retired to his hometown. The master is at the height of his power in the court. If something were to happen to him now, his two sons would have to return home to observe mourning.

Their Huang family's status in the capital is likely to plummet, and the root of all this lies with that vile woman before them.

"Guards! Drag these two out of the courtyard and beat them to death with sticks. Let all the servants in the manor come and watch. Anyone who dares to do the same thing will suffer the same fate."

Old Madam Huang had been a vegetarian and a Buddhist for many years, but she never expected that these two despicable people would break her vows today.

But not killing the other party is not enough to quell the hatred in her heart.

Aunt Zhang shook her head like a rattle-drum, her eyes filled with terror, struggling desperately to prevent anyone from taking her away.

But no matter how much she struggled, it was all in vain with her hands and feet bound.

As the coachman was being led away, he kept begging for mercy, while Old Madam Huang just coldly watched their ugly behavior.

By the time the other masters of the Huang family heard the news, the two had already been beaten to death. The concubines in the two courtyards were even more on edge.

They were determined not to get involved with any men outside their marriage, otherwise they would suffer the same fate as Aunt Zhang.

Since the palace banquet ended, the emperor's desire to join in the fun has reached its peak.

One night, not only was there a scandal of a concubine cheating on her husband in the Huang family, but the concubine of the Prince of Qingyang was also caught in bed with another man by the Prince of Qingyang.

All the families whose names were mentioned by An'an at the palace banquet today were exposed for having concubines cheating on their husbands within one night.

Before anyone knew it, the news had spread throughout the capital in just half a day, and the people were so busy gossiping about it that they couldn't keep up.

The dozen or so companies that had been embroiled in scandals suddenly seemed less angry. Having someone to share the burden was much better than having only one company involved in a scandal.

Early in the morning, people from the Kyoto Prefectural Government came to the gate of the Marquis of Anshun's residence. The emperor had issued an imperial edict last night, which others might forget, but the people from the Kyoto Prefectural Government dared not forget.

Last night, Marquis Anshun hid in his house all night, but no matter how much he hid, he still had to go out with the people from the Kyoto government office when they came to his door.

On the street, Marquis Anshun was surrounded by several yamen runners.

The head constable struck a gong every so often as he walked.