Chapter 655 The Schemes of the Prince Qi's Mansion
Su Rongrong remained silent. Her attitude spoke volumes. She clearly felt that the maid's crime did not warrant death.
Aqi, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but say, "Madam, that Zisu was never one to behave herself. She deserved to die."
Why would you want to get angry with the Marquis over someone like that?
After hesitating for a long time, Su Rongrong finally spoke up: "I just feel that the Marquis is too bloodthirsty. It was fine before, but now that we have a child, we should not kill people so easily, even if it is for the sake of the child's good fortune."
Qiao Qinghe sighed helplessly, "You're right, but what Marquis Enping did wasn't wrong either. Perhaps his methods were a bit extreme, but it was because he cared about you too much and didn't want anyone or anything to hurt you."
"I'll go talk to him in a bit and tell him to tone down his temper."
"Don't get angry with him. Having a child is a joyous occasion. Don't let a random girl cause discord between you and your husband. That would be a loss."
Su Rongrong touched her flat stomach and nodded obediently, "Yes, I'll listen to Grandmother. As long as Brother Yan doesn't kill people indiscriminately in the future, I won't hold this against him."
Qiao Qinghe patted Su Rongrong's head, and seeing her yawn, she smiled and said she would go see Yan Jin and let her get some rest.
Once outside, Qiao Qinghe had someone lead her to the outer courtyard.
Actually, meeting Yan Jin was not a spur-of-the-moment decision for her. When she first arrived, the steward of the Marquis's mansion had told her that the Marquis had invited her to meet him in the front hall after she had met with the Marquis's wife.
Although the housekeeper didn't explicitly say what Yan Jin wanted to see her about, Qiao Qinghe knew it must be something important.
With her mind wondering if it was about Xia Linyuan, she went to Yan Jin's study in the outer courtyard.
When the two met, Yan Jin greeted her respectfully.
After the two were seated, a servant brought them tea.
After dismissing all the servants and leaving only the two of them in the study, Yan Jin took the initiative to speak, "I invited Grandmother here because there are some things I need to discuss with her."
Qiao Qinghe guessed, "Xia Linyuan?"
“No.” Yan Jin shook his head.
Qiao Qinghe was taken aback, suddenly remembering what happened yesterday, "Could it be because of Rongrong?"
Yan Jin frowned slightly. "Yes and no."
Before Qiao Qinghe could ask any more questions, Yan Jin quickly said, "Grandmother must already know what happened in the manor yesterday."
Qiao Qinghe nodded: "I just heard Rongrong and her maid talking about it."
Seeing Yan Jin's serious expression, he then asked another question: "Is there some hidden story behind this?"
Yan Jin paused for a moment before looking at Qiao Qinghe and said with a solemn expression, "Rongrong is soft-hearted, and the maids in charge of her household are too young. I'm afraid they won't be able to handle things. So after I was granted the title of Marquis, I invited an old nanny from the palace to manage the household."
"As a result, after that old nanny entered the mansion, she began to sow discord among the servants, stir up trouble, and even encouraged Rongrong's maid to compete with her for favor."
"I suspect that the old nanny was bribed to deliberately cause trouble in the Marquis's residence."
"So, yesterday I deliberately let that old woman go. I also sent someone to follow her, to see who she would turn to after she had nowhere else to go."
At this point, Yan Jin paused, then looked at Qiao Qinghe with a serious expression, "Grandmother, guess whose house that old nanny went to?"
Qiao Qinghe's heart skipped a beat, sensing that this was not the answer she wanted to hear.
But she steadied herself and asked in a deep voice, "Who?"
Yan Jin's lips curled slightly, and he softly uttered a few words: "Princess Huaiyang's residence."
"This is impossible!!!"
Qiao Qinghe's denial came out unconsciously.
"Impossible! How could that old woman have been sent by Princess Huaiyang?"
"Princess Huaiyang knows perfectly well what kind of relationship exists between our two families. There's no reason for her to do this!"
Yan Jin just watched Qiao Qinghe quietly without saying a word.
Qiao Qinghe gradually calmed down. "What do you think about this?"
Yan Jin said calmly, "To frame someone."
Qiao Qinghe understood Yan Jin's meaning almost instantly.
"You mean, someone deliberately made you discover that Granny Gui and Princess Huaiyang were connected, thus making you dislike Princess Huaiyang?"
Yan Jin nodded, "It is common knowledge that Princess Huaiyang and my grandmother are close."
"And the relationship between my grandmother and our household is well known."
Qiao Qinghe nodded: "The other party's purpose in framing you is to prevent you from siding with Princess Huaiyang, or rather, with the King of Chu, because of me."
"The person who would do this is most likely..."
Yan Jin smiled and stated his conclusion: "The Prince of Qi's residence."
Princess Huaiyang was the younger sister of the King of Chu. Being close to Princess Huaiyang meant being close to the King of Chu.
Although Qiao Qinghe had stated that she would remain neutral and not take sides, would Prince Qi easily relinquish the power of the Marquis of Enping's family?
Will they just stand by and watch the Marquis of Enping's family side with the Prince of Chu?
Of course not.
Everyone knows that Yan Jin loves his wife dearly, and Su Rongrong is his Achilles' heel.
Therefore, the plan is very simple: as long as Su Rongrong is hurt, Yan Jin's anger can be easily provoked.
However, he couldn't actually hurt Su Rongrong, lest they become mortal enemies.
This also explains why Granny Gui targeted Aqi and even tried to drive Aqi away from Su Rongrong.
Qiao Qinghe scoffed, "With Consort Zhao dead, Consort Liu has stepped forward. It's quite easy to bribe an old nanny who has left the palace."
Yan Jin responded: "That's what I think too."
"In that case, let's play along and let the King of Chu and the Marquis of Yongchang's family deal with the King of Qi and the Liu family."
Qiao Qinghe smiled and said, "Perfect timing, next month is Qian Ge'er's first birthday. I'm going to give him a proper first birthday celebration."
Yan Jin smiled knowingly, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Grandmother. Please don't hesitate to ask if there's anything you need me to do."
"Okay," Qiao Qinghe replied with a smile.
Upon returning to the Qiao residence, Qiao Qinghe wrote a letter to Li Sanqi, recounting the events at the Enping Marquis's residence and the matter concerning Granny Gui.
As for what Li Sanqi will do, Qiao Qinghe doesn't intend to care.
After all, the Qi Prince's Mansion was setting a trap for Li Sanqi by targeting the Enping Marquis's Mansion; everyone else thought she represented the Chu Prince. But only she knew that she only represented herself.
The King of Chu was merely a pawn she used as a shield.
After sending the letter, Qiao Qinghe called Wei Jia, Feng Yuerou, and He Shi to arrange the grand first birthday banquet for Liu Yiqian next month.
"Speaking of which, Zhen'er will be one year old in a few days. Although we agreed beforehand that we wouldn't have a big celebration, we can't take it lightly."
"We'll invite people from both sides of the Qiao family over then, and we'll all have a lively meal together."
"The first birthday ceremony should not be omitted. The items for the ceremony should be prepared in advance."
The group all smiled and agreed to Qiao Qinghe's arrangements.
After everyone left, Qiao Qinghe changed her clothes and went to the east wing to see Li Yiqian.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com