Madam Qin saluted the Queen Mother with a solemn face: "Greetings, Her Majesty the Queen Mother."
Then he quickly walked over to Gu Yanrou and nervously helped her up from the ground. He asked with concern, "Rou'er, are you okay? Is it hurting anywhere?"
Gu Yanrou fell into Madam Qin's arms, her beautiful eyes blinked, and crystal tears fell like jade beads from a broken string.
Mrs. Qin felt even more distressed when she saw this.
Gu Yanrou lifted up a corner of her sleeve and said aggrievedly, "Mom, my arm hurts."
Mrs. Qin looked at Gu Yanrou's exposed arm, and sure enough, it was slightly red.
She immediately frowned and looked gloomy. She turned around to look at Gu Yanyue and the Queen Mother, and calmly put Gu Yanrou behind her.
Madam Qin looked at Gu Yanyue coldly and said, "Your Majesty, I wonder what fault did Rou'er commit that you have to punish her like this?"
Gu Yanyue's beautiful eyes were calm as she stared directly at Madam Qin and replied, "Noble Concubine Rou accused me of stealing the Phoenix Hairpin and even made a bet with me that if I didn't find the Phoenix Hairpin in this palace, I would be willing to accept the punishment according to the palace rules."
"I am merely fulfilling my bet with Concubine Rou."
After hearing what Gu Yanyue said, Mrs. Qin understood the reason. She turned her head to look at Gu Yanrou who was hiding behind her. Gu Yanrou lowered her head guiltily.
She sighed imperceptibly, turned around to meet Gu Yanyue's clear and frank gaze, and said, "Rou'er may have simply believed the slander of someone with ill intentions. Why is the Empress so aggressive?"
Gu Yanrou heard the hint in Madam Qin's words and quickly stood up to defend herself, "Yes, yes, someone told me that they saw you stealing from me."
She quickly turned her head and looked around, and a palace maid was frightened by her and quickly lowered her head, not daring to look at her.
Gu Yanrou noticed her, and a hint of a triumphant smile flashed across her eyes.
She walked over, grabbed the little palace maid's arm and pulled her forward.
The maid was dragged to the center of the hall by her, and she stared at Gu Yanrou with wide eyes in fear, trembling, "My Lady?"
Gu Yanrou suddenly stretched out a jade finger, pointed it at her from a distance, and said in a clear voice: "I found it, it's her."
The little palace maid stared at Gu Yanrou who was pointing at her with wide eyes, and stood there in a daze as if she had been struck by thunder.
She couldn't believe that her master would accuse her of such a crime. Even if she had done nothing, her master could just arbitrarily put a false accusation on her just because he wanted to get rid of his own guilt.
"It's not me, I didn't." The little palace maid protested weakly.
"Still quibbling? Did I wrongly accuse you?" Gu Yanrou looked at the little palace maid and shouted.
The little palace maid looked at Gu Yanrou in a daze. She had not understood the look in Gu Yanrou's eyes just now. Now that she was scolded, she remembered that she had received a favor from her and came to the palace to repay her.
When she was a child, she begged people on the street for money to save her father's life. She happened to meet Gu Yanrou who was shopping with her sisters on the street. Only Gu Yanrou gave her the money with pity in her eyes.
It is difficult to reconcile the Gu Yanrou who had pity in her eyes and saved her father's life with the Gu Yanrou who now accused her of a crime and wanted to distance herself from her.
She suddenly seemed to have no strength left. The little maid knelt on the ground and whispered, "I told Concubine Rou that I saw the Empress stealing the Phoenix Hairpin."
The Queen Mother looked wearily at the little palace maid in the center of the hall, her head bowed, and said in a deep voice, "Why are you slandering the Queen?"
The little palace maid gritted her teeth and replied, "She bullies my queen repeatedly on a daily basis. I just can't stand her!"
Gu Yanrou looked at Gu Yanyue proudly.
Gu Yanyue watched all this in silence. She didn't understand why the little palace maid, who was clearly wronged, turned around and framed herself.
The Queen Mother waved her hand wearily and said solemnly, "The harem is not a place where you can act recklessly. Take that maid out and execute her as a warning to others."
Then she stood up, and the maid beside her hurried over to support the Queen Mother: "I am tired, if you are fine, please leave."
Then he returned to the hall.
Gu Yanyue silently looked at Mrs. Qin, who was very concerned about Gu Yanrou and always asked about her well-being. Somehow she wanted to ask a question.
"If I lose this bet, will you still protect me like this, mother?"
Madam Qin paused, and when she turned back to look at Gu Yanyue, the expression of concern for Gu Yanrou on her face had completely faded, leaving only an expressionless face as she replied to Gu Yanyue: "Your Majesty, since you didn't steal, you naturally won't lose. Now that the truth is out, Your Majesty, don't dwell on it."
Gu Yanyue lowered her eyes, suppressed her emotions and said nothing. She suddenly no longer had any expectations of Madam Qin. She didn't know why she asked these questions. Perhaps she herself had never received much maternal love, or perhaps it was the original owner's inner desire.
What Mrs. Qin said completely shattered her, or the original owner's, fantasy about her mother.
At this moment, Gu Yanyue deeply understood that Mrs. Qin was Gu Yanrou's mother, the Gu family was Gu Yanrou's Gu family, and she, Gu Yanyue, was nothing.
She glanced coldly at the mother and daughter, then turned and left.
As soon as she turned around, she saw Yu Wenran behind her.
Yu Wenran's beautiful eyes and eyebrows were cold, and he looked at Gu Yanyue, who seemed a little lost, and said calmly: "A foreign country presented an item as tribute today. I thought you would like it, so I brought it to you."
Gu Yanyue hadn't reacted yet: "What?"
Yuwen Ran raised his hand, and Eunuch Gao behind him came to Gu Yanyue with a wooden box inlaid with pearls and said.
"Your Majesty has granted the Empress a set of twelve hairpins." He said as he opened the lid.
The twelve hairpins inside are extremely gorgeous, and each phoenix is lifelike. Although small, they are very delicate. They are made of pure gold and embellished with various treasures. The treasure box is suddenly shining.
Gu Yanyue stood there in a daze. She looked at Yuwen Ran who seemed to be smiling at her. She knew in her heart that Yuwen Ran had learned about what happened to her in Shoukang Palace and came to support her.
Suddenly she felt very uncomfortable, and a feeling of being touched filled her heart.
Madam Qin and Gu Yanrou both stayed where they were. These twelve hairpins looked more than twice as gorgeous as the phoenix gold hairpin. They had never seen such rare items before.
Gu Yanrou was shocked and jealous at the same time. She stared fiercely at Gu Yanyue and Yuwen Ran, who were in a tense atmosphere. Why, why was Yuwen Ran so nice to Gu Yanyue? Was she any worse than Gu Yanyue?
Yuwen Ran walked closer to Gu Yanyue, looked at her and asked, "Does my queen still like you?"
Gu Yanyue's cheeks immediately turned pink, and she hurriedly looked away and said, "Yes. I like it. Thank you, Your Majesty."
Then, as if she had just remembered something, she walked up to Gu Yanrou and said, "No matter what the truth is, the bet is real. You owe me twenty lashes of the palace rules. You can't avoid it."
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