Chapter 257 Reencounter with Lady Yongning
Seeing that Min Qiao was willing to put in the effort to plan these things, Wei Jia's eyes and brows were filled with joy.
Upon hearing Min Qiao's instructions, Wei Jia responded cheerfully, "Yes. I'll go and deliver the message to the palace right away."
He was about to get to work when Min Qiao called him back.
"etc."
"Does Madam have any further instructions?"
Madam Min pondered for a moment before saying, "When you go, have Doctor Mu remove the poison from that painting."
Originally, she wanted the Seventh Princess to find an excuse to get the painting back, but after thinking about it, she realized that it would attract too much attention.
It would be better to quietly erase the moving hands and feet from the painting.
If left unattended, there's no guarantee that someone won't discover something from the painting later.
As the saying goes, there are always people more capable than you, and there is always something beyond your understanding.
The people in the Imperial Medical Academy may not notice the trickery in the painting now, but what about in the future? Who can guarantee that no one will ever see the problem with that painting again?
“The Dowager Madam is very thoughtful. I’ll go to Doctor Mu’s place right away and explain these matters to her personally,” Wei Jia replied with a smile.
Sure enough, as long as the old lady cheers up, she is the wisest and most thoughtful old lady in the world!
The following day, each household received the obituary from the Crown Prince's residence and went there one after another to pay their respects to the Crown Princess.
Min Qiao also packed up and went to get ready.
Whether it was a coincidence or fate, when Lady Min Qiao arrived, she happened to run into Lady Yongning.
As soon as her carriage stopped, Lady Yongning quickly came to greet her.
"Greetings, Madam." Marquis Yongning bowed respectfully before apologetically saying, "I originally intended to visit you a couple of days ago, but I heard that you were busy moving and that the Crown Princess's matter had also occurred, so I was too embarrassed to come. I hope you won't blame me for breaking my promise."
He promised to visit and apologize, but he failed to do so.
Lady Min Qiao warmly took Lady Yongning's hand and led her inside. As they walked, she said, "Don't say such formal things anymore. You treat me sincerely, so naturally I won't treat you like an outsider. In the future, whenever you have time, just come and talk to me."
"Yes. Then I'll have to visit you often from now on." Lady Yongning smiled, but realizing the occasion was inappropriate, she quickly composed herself. She then casually changed the subject: "The body of the assassin who killed the Grand Madam that day has already been taken away by the authorities."
"The matter has been investigated and found out that it was Tang Yunshi who held a grudge against the Grand Madam because of her son's matter, which led her to impulsively attempt the assassination."
"The officials said the assassin was dead, and there were no other members of the Tang family, so the case could only be closed."
"It was all due to the negligence of our Marquis's residence in protecting the Grand Madam that she suffered such a fright."
"I have had some nourishing medicinal herbs prepared, which I will personally deliver to the Grand Madam's residence later. I hope the Grand Madam will not find them offensive."
Madam Min Qiao glared reproachfully at Lady Yongning, "I just told you not to be so polite, and you're doing this again. I really don't know what to say about you."
Lady Yongning smiled faintly, "Speaking of which, it was thanks to the little maidservant by the Grand Madam's side that day that the assassin was stopped. But why haven't I seen that little maidservant today?"
"I wanted to thank her in person. If it weren't for her timely intervention that day, and if something had really happened to the Grand Madam at the gate of our Marquis's residence, I would have been in a very bad position."
"Madam, may I ask what that little girl's name is? How old is she? Where is she from? Does she have parents or family? When may I see her again?"
Seeing the questioning look from Madam Min Qiao, Lady Yongning quickly tried to cover it up, saying awkwardly, "I just wanted to thank her in person. I was also inquiring about her situation so I could give her or her family some things that might be useful."
In the past, Lady Min Qiao would not have thought much of it. After all, what Lady Yongning said made perfect sense.
But now, Min Qiaoshi subconsciously thinks twice more about everyone and everything.
Upon further thought, Madam Min Qiao discovered the clue.
First of all, the Lady of Yongning was too enthusiastic towards her.
Secondly, it seems that Lady Yongning's elaborate scheme was all a prelude to mentioning Zhen Huan.
Finally, if Lady Yongning simply wanted to thank Huanzhen by redeeming her from her servitude, giving her silver or good things, or asking Madam Minqiao to give her the person, or even saying a few good words for Huanzhen so that Madam Minqiao would treat Huanzhen better in the future... what wouldn't be a way to express gratitude?
Is it really necessary to ask about his age, family background, and relatives?
Seeing that Lady Yongning looked guilty and uneasy, Madam Min suddenly had a flash of inspiration and subconsciously turned her head to carefully examine Lady Yongning's appearance.
They have the same oval face and almond-shaped eyes; they do look quite alike.
However, Lady Yongning was accustomed to greeting people with a smile, while Zhen was always cold and unsmiling. Their completely opposite temperaments, coupled with their age difference, made the two almost unrecognizable.
More importantly, the gruesome scar on her face was simply too conspicuous. Anyone who saw her was instinctively frightened by the scar and dared not look at her for long, let alone pay attention to her true appearance.
Having a guess in her heart, Madam Min Qiao did not show it on her face. She just sighed and said with pity, "That little girl used to be called Er Ya. I bought her on the way back from Jiangnan."
“I named her Zhen Huan. She’s twelve years old this year. She has no parents and was said to have been abducted when she was young. She has been wandering around for years, suffering a lot and almost losing her life several times. If you’ve been paying attention, you should have seen the scar on her face, right?”
Lady Yongning was pale, her eyes filled with heartache. She tried her best to hold back her tears, which prevented her from bursting into tears on the spot.
Seeing the distressed yet restrained expression on Lady Yongning's face, Madam Min Qiao understood everything and immediately continued to pierce her heart: "It is said that the scar on her face was drawn by herself."
"Why!?" Lady Yongning asked almost out of the mouth.
She didn't understand why a little girl would scratch her own face, and she couldn't understand where a little girl got the courage to hurt herself like this.
Madam Min sighed and explained, "It is said that some villains took a liking to her good looks and intended to do something indecent to her when she was only seven or eight years old, so she took such drastic measures against herself."
"Alas, what a pity that the child's naturally beautiful face was ruined in order to protect himself."
Ah Jiu told her all of this, and even asked if Doctor Mu could treat the scar on her face.
Earlier, she had also planned to have Doctor Mu treat Zhen Huan. However, Zhen Huan herself refused. In addition, Doctor Mu was too busy. Madam Zheng needed her to recuperate, and the children on the estate who were poisoned also needed her help. Later, Doctor Mu opened a clinic, which made her even busier.
So, the matter of treating Zhen Huan's facial scars was left unresolved.
She originally intended to tell the story to hurt Lady Yongning's feelings.
The more heartbroken Lady Yongning is, the more compensation she will receive when she is actually recognized and her life will be better.
But when she actually spoke of these past hardships, Min Qiao felt a little uneasy.
Upon hearing this, Lady Yongning could no longer suppress the bitterness in her heart. She covered her mouth and silently shed tears.
"Madam..."
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