Chapter 721 Li Sanqi's Scheme
"Whether it's true or not, we can find out by asking around."
She also wanted to see what had happened at the princess's residence.
After hearing what A Shuang said, her first reaction was that something had happened at the Princess's residence.
But after Ah Shuang voiced her guess, she suddenly felt it was a bit frivolous.
Li Sanqi!
That ambitious Li Sanqi!
That daring and bold Li Sanqi, who dared to poison the emperor and even poison the empress dowager!
You're saying she was sidelined by a powerless, lowly, and unconnected peasant who became the top scholar in the imperial examination?
Haha, this joke is utterly absurd!
Qiao Qinghe instructed, "Send a few more people to investigate. I need to know what has happened at the Princess's residence in the last two months."
"Yes. I'll arrange it right away."
Ah Shuang agreed and quickly went out to make the arrangements. She seemed even more anxious than Qiao Qinghe.
After settling everyone in, Ah Shuang remembered the invitations and reminded her, "Madam, the invitations to the Princess's residence haven't been sent out yet. Should the banquet still proceed that day?"
Qiao Qinghe smiled and said, "Of course we should continue."
The banquet was originally intended for Li Sanqi.
Since Li Sanqi can't come, she'll change the subject and force him to come on his own.
***
It's easy to find out about the affairs of Princess Huaiyang's residence.
In less than two hours, the person who went out to gather information returned.
"Reporting to the old lady, something has indeed happened at Princess Huaiyang's residence."
“More than two months ago, Wenxiu, the head maid of Princess Huaiyang, disappeared. As a result, the princess fell seriously ill and stopped seeing people and managing affairs. All the affairs of the mansion were handed over to the prince consort.”
"In less than half a month, the prince consort replaced all the original two stewards and more than a dozen managers in the mansion."
"Now, everything in the princess's residence is decided by the prince consort."
"It is said that the princess has not left her courtyard for more than two months."
"The people serving the princess were also restricted in their movements and were not allowed to leave the palace without permission."
Upon hearing the servant's report, Qiao Qinghe's expression remained unchanged. After a slight pause, she asked, "Is there any other news?"
The servant thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "There is also some news about the prince consort and his parents and family."
"According to the information we've gathered, the prince consort is currently considering bringing his parents to live with him at the princess's residence."
Before Qiao Qinghe could react, A Shuang exclaimed in surprise, "The Prince Consort really treats the Princess's residence like his own home!"
Qiao Qinghe glanced at A Shuang, who then awkwardly covered her mouth.
There was no way around it; she was just too surprised!
"Continue," Qiao Qinghe instructed the servant calmly.
The servant dared not delay and quickly unleashed a second wave of thunderclaps.
According to information revealed by a servant of the Fu family, the two elders of the Fu family are secretly looking for concubines for the prince consort.
"They say the two have been married for almost a year, but the princess's belly shows no signs of pregnancy."
"Now that he is seriously ill, it's not good for him to be bedridden for two or three months at a time."
"Rather than letting the princess's residence be taken back by the court after the princess's death, it would be better to take a concubine early on, have a child, and raise the child under the princess's name."
"If something were to happen to the princess in the future, her residence would have someone to inherit it, so that it wouldn't benefit the imperial court."
Upon hearing this, not only Ah Shuang, but even Qiao Qinghe couldn't help but frown.
"You may leave."
Qiao Qinghe waved the servant away before turning to A Shuang, "What are you thinking?"
With Qiao Qinghe's permission, A Shuang was finally able to speak openly and honestly.
He immediately exclaimed indignantly, "The Fu family is shameless! The princess hasn't even done anything yet, and they're already plotting against the princess's residence!"
"The prince consort is no better! He rose to prominence by relying on the princess, and now he's trying to usurp her position and abandon her after using her!"
"The princess is such a precious and noble person, how could she have fallen for him?"
"This family is no good!"
Not satisfied with just that, A-Shuang asked indignantly, "Madam, you said the princess used to be a very clever and wise person, how could she be bullied like this by the consort's family?"
"She can't leave the house, she can't see anyone. Her princess residence is under someone else's control, and even her personal wealth and property are being coveted!"
"How long has it been? How did the princess manage to live like this?"
Ah Shuang became more and more emotional as she spoke.
Finally, after much hesitation, she suggested, "Madam, would you like to help the princess?"
Qiao Qinghe watched calmly as A Shuang indignantly denounced the Fu family, cursed Fu Wenqing, felt sorry for Li Sanqi, and even asked her if she wanted to stand up for Li Sanqi.
It was as if Li Sanqi was a pitiful little thing who had been completely taken advantage of by the prince consort's family and desperately needed her, his former close friend, to come and rescue her.
After Ah Shuang finished speaking, she turned her head and realized that the old lady hadn't responded to her at all.
He immediately smiled sheepishly and said, "Madam, I'm sorry, I didn't control my emotions."
"But why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"
Qiao Qinghe smiled and shook her head. "You didn't say anything wrong. I can understand your feelings of indignation on behalf of Princess Huaiyang."
"A normal person would think the same way you do."
"How could a princess of the imperial family be bullied by the consort's family?"
Ah Shuang nodded repeatedly, like a chick pecking at rice, completely agreeing with the old lady's words.
However, Qiao Qinghe looked at her with clear eyes and calmly reminded her, "Before sympathizing with Princess Huaiyang, have you forgotten the deaths of Zhuxi and Wenxiu?"
A Shuang was taken aback. After a long while, she said with a complicated expression and uncertain tone, "Madam, do you think it's possible that the deaths of Zhu Xi and Wen Xiu were actually caused by the Prince Consort, and that the Princess had little to do with it?"
"Ha!" Qiao Qinghe sneered, "Do you think that's possible?"
A Shuang shook her head. "Wen Xiu is, after all, someone close to the princess. Without the princess's tacit approval, even the prince consort wouldn't dare to kill her."
"As for Zhuxi, even if the princess dislikes Zhuxi, killing her is fine, but she would never torture her like that."
"The princess witnessed Ajiu's miserable state firsthand."
Ah Shuang was confused. "So, what exactly is going on?"
Ah Shuang blinked her clear yet foolish big eyes at Qiao Qinghe, waiting for her old lady to enlighten her.
Qiao Qinghe curled the corners of her lips into a sarcastic smile.
Is that so hard to understand?
"She did this simply to show weakness to me, and incidentally shift the blame for killing Zhuxi and Wenxiu onto the prince consort, in order to achieve the ultimate goal of reconciling with me and regaining my support."
"Just like the King of Qi back then, who thought I had been demoted from the capital and lost power, so he imprisoned Xi'er. He thought I would never wake up and would surely die, so he used someone else to kill Xi'er."
"Afterwards, he tried to salvage the relationship between the two families through Qian Ge'er, and even wanted to take the child back and hold him in his hands, attempting to use the child to coerce me into supporting him to take the position!"
"Take a look, isn't it the same approach?"
A Shuang stared wide-eyed in shock, asking incredulously, "So, the princess being imprisoned, the princess's residence being controlled by the prince consort, and the princess being bullied by the Fu family—all of that is fake?"
"Did the princess deliberately put this on for you to see?"
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