Marrying into a rich family by mistake, it is difficult to be a mistress

"Thank you, mother. You are my strongest support." Ji Chuhe said thank you softly, hiding all his emotions in the deepest part of his heart.

"He'er, I have already confined the prince to his house, and he is also on a hunger strike to fight me. If I suddenly give in now, wouldn't it be a joke? Who knows how proud Xu Yan'er will be."

Ji Chuhe glanced towards the inner room. Doctor Zhang had not come out yet, so she lowered her voice and communicated with the princess.

"I estimate that the matter with the Concubine will be resolved in two or three days at most. She won't keep me for too long. It's no problem for the Crown Prince to starve for three days. Mother, don't worry about him. Wait until I have dealt with the Concubine's matter and then I will communicate with him."

"Okay, I'll do as you say." The princess nodded.

"Mother, don't be too angry about the matter between the prince and Xu Yan'er, lest you get sick from anger. If things really get bad, it will hurt the prince's reputation. In the future, if someone brings it up, it will be a joke."

This sentence made the princess suddenly realize.

"He'er, you've thought so carefully. It's the prince's blessing in his previous life that he can meet you." The princess thought to herself that she must love He'er even more in the future, as a way of making up for her son's bad behavior.

With the treatment of Zhang's doctor, Concubine Xu finally woke up.

This dizziness was so severe that I couldn't get up from the bed.

"Doctor Zhang, how am I doing? Am I seriously ill?" Concubine Xu was more afraid of death than anyone else.

She has only had a few years of good life, she can't die so early!

"Don't worry, Madam Concubine. It's just a case of impatience. I've already given you an acupuncture injection. You'll be fine once you wake up. I'll prescribe you another dose of medicine. You'll need to take it for a few days to recuperate. Also, Madam Concubine, remember to keep your emotions stable and not have big ups and downs."

"I understand." Concubine Xu nodded cooperatively.

Doctor Zhang went out with the medicine box.

Concubine Xu closed her heavy eyes, feeling completely exhausted and without any strength left in her body.

The princess learned about the dowager concubine's condition, gave Doctor Zhang a few instructions, and then left. Doctor Zhang also went to get medicine.

Nanny Wang and several of the dowager concubine's confidants were guarding the dowager concubine in the inner room.

Ji Chuhe is still in Changning Palace, but no one cares about her anymore.

"Mianzhu, come with me to Changning Palace." Ji Chuhe couldn't sit idle, he had to see for himself what the Changning Palace was like.

She first went to the north courtyard where the servants lived.

There were people dressed as servants in the corridor outside the door. Although they did not make any sound, their expressions and actions showed that they were very excited.

Ji Chuhe walked over and found that these people were actually gambling with dice!

One of them discovered Ji Chuhe and was so scared that the dice in his hand fell to the ground.

The other people also looked up, and when they saw that it was Ji Chuhe, they quickly got up and knelt in front of Ji Chuhe.

"Your servant greets the Crown Prince's wife."

"You guys go directly to Uncle Changhua to receive punishment." Ji Chuhe said with a cold face.

"Madam, we were just playing with the dice because we were bored. We were not gambling. Please forgive us this time. We will never dare to do it again."

Ji Chuhe gave Mianzhu a look, and Mianzhu immediately stepped forward and pulled out a purse from someone's arms.

The purse was bulging with some copper coins.

"If we're not gambling, where did you get so much money?" Ji Chuhe took the purse and weighed it. It was quite heavy.

Several people looked ashen and dared not utter a word.

"Mianzhu, give this to Uncle Hua as well."

"Yes."

Uncle Hua was extremely efficient. He immediately arrested those people and interrogated them thoroughly.

The palace stipulates that no one is allowed to gamble!

Anyone who breaks this rule will be punished with thirty strokes of the cane at the very least, or sold out at the worst!

No one in the palace dared to gamble.

Unexpectedly, a few servants were gambling with dice in the Changning Palace in broad daylight.

When this news spread, it shocked the entire palace.

Ji Chuhe continued to walk around Changning Palace and came to the kitchen.

The cook, who was so fat that she was almost as wide as the door, was gnawing on a pork elbow. When she saw Ji Chuhe, the elbow in her hand fell to the ground.

Ji Chuhe picked it up with a smile and handed it to the cook.

The cook turned pale with fright and moved her lips as if to explain.

"The Queen Dowager suddenly fainted today, so I came to the kitchen to see what meal was prepared for her today." Ji Chuhe said softly.

"Madam, these are prepared for the Queen Dowager today." The cook handed over a menu directly.

"How do you serve the Concubine Dowager?" Ji Chuhe suddenly became angry.

The cook was so frightened that she fell to her knees.

The kitchen servants and maids also came over and knelt down.

"The elbow just now should have been made into a crystal elbow for the Concubine Dowager, right? How come you ate it?" Ji Chuhe looked at the cook and questioned in a cold voice.

"Madam, what I am eating is not today's. It was given to us yesterday as a reward by the Queen Mother because she had no appetite." The cook explained quickly.

"Really?" Ji Chuhe glanced at the people in front of him.

Whoever her eyes fell on immediately lowered their heads, and they didn't even dare to look at her out of guilt.

She thought that the management in Changning Palace must be very chaotic.

The monthly expenses were several hundred taels of silver! They must have raised a lot of rats, but I didn't expect it to be so chaotic!

She didn't get angry right away, but looked around the kitchen.

The kitchen is not small and is filled to the brim. One can tell at a glance that the family is wealthy and has no worries about food and drink.

Just the things she saw today are enough to support an average family of five for a month!

You have to know that all the expenses of the palace were earned by the princess through business, and the prince of Huaiyang did not take a penny!

The princess has always advocated frugality and not extravagance.

These people didn't take the princess' words seriously at all!

"All of you get up. I came here today to cook some light dishes for the Concubine Dowager. Please help me prepare the ingredients."

"Yes." Several people responded in unison.

Ji Chuhe moved his mouth and mentioned a lot of ingredients.

These people immediately started searching around the kitchen.

Suddenly, Ji Chuhe saw a secret compartment in a cabinet where rice and flour were stored.

She immediately stood up and walked over, pushed the secret compartment, and the simple wooden door opened. Suddenly, several bags of rice and flour appeared inside.

"What's going on? Why are these things hidden here?" Ji Chuhe asked coldly.

"Madam, there's no room for it, so we put it here," the cook explained hastily.

"Can't fit it all? How many people are there in Changning Palace? How much rice and flour can they eat? I saw several bags just now, why are there still so many here? Could it be that one of you stole these things, hid them here first, and then found a way to move them?" Ji Chuhe's voice suddenly became sharp.

A few of them were so scared that their shoulders trembled and they knelt down again.

"If you confess voluntarily, there is still a possibility of forgiveness. If you don't confess voluntarily, you will be severely punished!"

"Madam Prince, please spare us. These things have nothing to do with us. They were all hidden by Cook Feng alone! Not only did she hide these things, she also hid other things!" Someone immediately pointed at the cook and started to report her.