Chapter 265 Yu Qingyan's Appearance
Reminded by the old woman's words, Yu Qingyan stopped crying abruptly, composed herself, and introduced herself to everyone:
"This is Granny Chen, who serves my mother. My mother specifically instructed her to accompany me back."
Qiao looked at the people Yu Qingyan had brought back but couldn't find the person who was supposed to be there, and couldn't help but show anxiety:
"Why didn't your son-in-law come back with you?"
According to the customs of this dynasty, a married daughter should be accompanied by her son-in-law when she returns to her parents' home. This is Yu Qingyan's first time returning since her wedding, and her son-in-law should accompany her. Moreover, Li Chen and Yu Qingyan have been married for less than a month and are still newlyweds who should be inseparable. However, Li Chen is nowhere to be seen at this moment.
Yu Qingyan choked up, unsure how to answer. It was best not to mention her husband.
In the first few days after their marriage, her husband was quite considerate to her and even stayed in her room at night. But after a few days, he disappeared.
She received a letter from her maternal grandmother today, but she didn't have time to send someone to find her husband, so she could only ask her mother-in-law, Consort Min, for help.
When Consort Min heard that she wanted to go back to her parents' home, her face turned cold. She only agreed after Consort Min knelt down and begged. However, Consort Min ordered her maid Chen to accompany her back, which was considered a dignified gesture.
Standing there, Granny Chen said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Our fourth young master was summoned to the palace by the third prince early this morning and is not in the Prince's residence. Besides, who would have expected that your family would suddenly come to deliver a letter without explaining what it was about? Fortunately, our concubine has a gentle temperament and asked the fourth young mistress to come back without saying a word. If it were any other family, they would not have been so easy to talk to and would have questioned the rules of the Earl's residence."
How could the Earl of Nanping not understand the meaning behind Granny Chen's words? He frowned and asked his daughter:
"Who told you to come back?"
With a forced smile, Madam Wen interjected, "It was me. My eyelids kept twitching when I received the invitation from the Earl's Mansion early this morning. I thought something had happened to Ru'er, and in my panic, I thought I would call Qingyan back as well, hoping that the Prince of Cheng'an's Mansion could help if anything happened. I didn't expect that Your Highness would misunderstand. It was my fault."
Wen quickly took responsibility.
Yu Qingyan, impatient with the explanation, stood up and looked at her father:
"Father, what exactly happened? What did Mother do wrong that you have to humiliate her like this? Is this some kind of interrogation?"
Yu Qingyan pointed to the people in the room, finally fixing her gaze on Yu Qingci.
"What's she doing here?"
Yu Qingci ignored her, glanced at everyone in the room, and finally waved to Butler Lu, who was standing at the door. Butler Lu understood, stepped forward, and recounted what had happened. He then added:
"If you don't believe me, Miss, you can ask Granny Wu, Madam Tian, and other people at will, as well as these testimonies."
Yu Qingyan looked incredulous after hearing the testimony. She reached for the testimony on the table, but Xuan Bing snatched it away with lightning speed.
"Fourth Young Madam, this is evidence and cannot be damaged. If you want to see it, I'll hold it for you."
Yu Qingyan was furious that a mere guard dared to challenge her. She was about to grab it when Chen Mama coughed behind her, and Yu Qingyan was frozen in place. She could only glare at Xuan Bing fiercely.
"No! My mother would never order someone to do such a thing. There must be some misunderstanding. Mother, please speak. Are they framing you? How dare these treacherous lackeys do such a disloyal thing? Tell me, who instructed you to frame my mother?"
Yu Qingyan pointed at the several servants kneeling on the ground and questioned them sharply. After speaking, she looked at Yu Qingci with a fierce gaze.
Granny Wu and the others kept their heads down and remained silent.
Seeing that no one answered her, Yu Qingyan angrily stepped forward and grabbed Wu Mama's collar:
"Say something!"
Granny Wu lowered her head even further, and the others also lay low, not daring to utter a sound.
The room fell silent for a moment, mainly because no one felt the need to say anything to Yu Qingyan, who was like a firecracker.
Yu Qingyan pointed her finger at Yu Qingci: "It must be you, you bitch, who conspired with the Su family to frame my mother, and now you're turning around and trying to kill her, aren't you?"
Yu Qingci didn't even bother to roll her eyes.
Upon hearing this, Granny Chen frowned and said solemnly, "Fourth Young Madam, please be careful with your words. What kind of behavior is it to shout like this in front of so many elders? This old servant is ordered by the Consort to protect the dignity of the Prince's Mansion. Fourth Young Madam, please do not lose your composure, lest word get out and outsiders laugh at the Prince's Mansion for not knowing how to restrain its people."
Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried an inherent air of authority, causing Madam Wen's heart to tighten. She quickly wiped away her tears and stepped forward to grab Chen Mama's sleeve:
“What you say is true, Granny. This matter should not have alarmed the Prince’s Mansion today. But my daughter has been wronged. She is always virtuous and would never do such a thing. Qingyan lost her sense of proportion because she was too eager to protect her mother. Please, Granny Chen, show her some leniency.”
As she spoke, she took off a jade bracelet that was entirely green from her wrist and was about to put it into Chen Mama's hand, but unexpectedly Chen Mama turned aside to avoid it.
"Madam Wen, you are too kind. This old servant only follows the rules of the Prince's Mansion and has no right to interfere in other people's affairs."
Everyone looked at Granny Chen again, only to see that her face was as rigid as a stone sculpture, and she seemed unwilling to say anything more.
Minister Qiao and the Wen family, seasoned foxes, could not possibly fail to see through this subtle maneuver, and their hearts sank.
Consort Min sent such an unyielding old nanny to accompany Yu Qingyan back, clearly indicating that she was keeping an eye on Yu Qingyan. The old nanny's attitude at this moment represented Consort Min's intentions, and Consort Min's intentions could also represent the Prince's intentions.
That is, the Prince Cheng'an's Mansion does not intend to meddle in other people's business.
Vice Minister Qiao's hopes were dashed, and he could only force himself to say:
"This matter isn't urgent. Why don't we hold off for a while and ask Ru'er more questions? What if there are any hidden secrets you don't know about?"
Wen's eyes lit up and a smile returned to her face. "That's right. We've come all this way, and we haven't even visited our in-laws' mother yet. That wouldn't do."
"How about I take Ru'er and Qingyan to see the old lady first, and let Ru'er kowtow to her? We can discuss this later."
Wen thought that as long as she saw Zhang, she would have to persuade the old woman to step in and protect her daughter.
Yu Qingci smiled sarcastically: "Old Madam Wen may be disappointed. My grandmother has been claiming illness since the day before yesterday and has not left the Shouyin Hall. She will not see anyone."
"If Madam Wen really wants to visit, that's fine. By the way, Father hasn't paid his respects to Grandmother since he returned. Why don't we go and see her together?"
Wen's: ...
The Earl of Nanping waved his hand and said, "Then let it all go. I'll also pay my respects to my mother."
Yu Qingyan immediately said, "I'll go too. My grandmother has always doted on me the most. As long as I beg her, she will definitely seek justice for my mother! Then, hmph!"
She looked at Yu Qingci with a defiant gaze.
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