Just after dinner, everyone in the Marquis's mansion knew that Miss Biao had been found.
The maid Yuqing pushed open the door, took a basket of silver charcoal back into the room, and the cold wind outside made her hands stiff.
Even so, it couldn't dampen her good mood.
She lifted the lid of the bronze stove and added charcoal, footsteps approaching from behind her.
So she quickly filled the charcoal fire, put down the basket in her hand, and turned around.
"What's making you so happy? Did you find some gold or silver?"
Yuqing's smile remained undiminished; in fact, the corners of her mouth curled up even more.
She smiled, her eyes crinkling, "Miss, news came from Luzhou Prefecture today that your younger sister, Lu Qiqi, is not dead. Not only has she become the head of the village, but she has also been found by Manager Yang of Tongfu Pawnshop!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Changping's expression froze. Then she realized that her reaction was inappropriate and deliberately forced a smile.
She heard the news outside the study, only a few days ago.
Even if the eldest uncle had sent someone to Luzhou Prefecture that day, it would have been impossible for the news to be relayed back to the Marquis's residence so quickly. Where exactly did things go wrong?
After pondering for a moment, Lu Changping still couldn't figure out the reason.
However, she was certain of one thing: she had to speed up her departure from the Marquis's residence.
"Miss, why do you seem unhappy?"
When Yuqing saw Lu Changping staring blankly, her expression didn't seem happy; instead, it looked as if some sorrow was lingering on her forehead, causing her to furrow her brow.
Lu Changping hadn't expected Yuqing to be so observant, so to avoid arousing suspicion, she put on a smile again.
Fearing that Yuqing wouldn't believe him, he told others about Yuqing's expression and reaction after learning that Lu Qiqi had been found.
Lu Changping then kindly explained, "Too many people starved to death on the way to escape famine. I never expected that after a year, we would still be able to find them. I am so happy."
Upon hearing this, Yuqing comforted her, "Miss, it's wonderful that the person has been found."
From now on, you won't be alone in the Marquis's mansion. With the village headwoman by your side, Miss Biao and the others won't dare to bully you anymore.
For the first time, Lu Changping found Yuqing's smile irritating. She had never heard anything more vicious in her life, especially not something that was so utterly flawless.
Lu Qiqi was found by the Marquis's mansion. The two sisters from the second branch of the Marquis's mansion would no longer bully her, but she was about to be killed!
After Chen died, she bullied the Lu sisters quite a bit.
Not only did they take over Lu Qiqi's house and mule, but before fleeing the famine, they also planned to sell the two sisters to buy food for their journey.
With so many things exposed, not to mention what will happen to the Marquis's mansion, the god of death Lu Qiqi will not let her off easily.
Suddenly, she remembered something. "Yuqing, do you still have a way to get the fourth young master of the Anchang Marquis's mansion out of the mansion last time?"
Upon hearing this, Yuqing's eyes widened instantly, and she looked at Lu Changping with disbelief.
She said, "Miss, Qu Zikun, the fourth young master of the Anchang Marquis's Mansion, is a notorious playboy in this new capital city."
We absolutely must not provoke them again!
Fearing that Lu Changping wouldn't believe her, she quickly recounted everything to her in detail.
"The Earl of Anchang had four sons. Except for the eldest son who entered the capital as a guard, the other three sons accomplished nothing."
These four young masters were even worse; they spent their days teasing cats and dogs, and drinking and carousing.
The young ladies of the various mansions in the new capital city avoided him like the plague.
Now he can only rely on his family background to deceive naive merchant daughters.
Qu Zikun, relying on his good looks, deceived quite a few women.
The emperor, seeing that Anchangbo was a veteran of two reigns, knew that even if Anchangbo was impeached by officials because of his troublesome sons, as long as his life was not in danger, he would only be reprimanded and have his salary reduced, and the matter would not be investigated further.
The fact that even a lowly maid like her could hear about such things shows that the Anchang Marquis's mansion is rotten to the core.
After hearing Yuqing's words, Lu Changping felt even more that her plan was feasible. No ordinary young master would marry her in a short time.
On the contrary, it is precisely such a playboy who is most likely to do such a thing.
Moreover, it's too late to back down now.
On the day she went to Linggu Temple to burn incense, after descending the mountain, she went to a teahouse and sent Yuqing away to chat with Qu Zikun. What should and shouldn't have been done, what should and shouldn't have been said, had all already happened.
Even if Qu Zikun was just a fleeting affair, she couldn't let him go. But now it seems that he is the one with the best chance of saving her life.
Left with no other choice, Lu Changping lied and said, "Yuqing, have you seen my pale yellow handkerchief embroidered with my name?"
A handkerchief embroidered with a name?
Yuqing was about to say that she hadn't seen it, but then she realized something was wrong and changed her tone, "Miss, do you suspect that Young Master Qu picked up the handkerchief?"
Upon hearing this, Yuqing instantly broke out in a cold sweat.
The room was filled with charcoal, but she still couldn't help shivering.
If Young Master Qu finds a handkerchief embroidered with a name and spreads the word, the young lady's reputation will be completely ruined!
After calming down, Yuqing said, "I will go to the Marquis of Anchang tomorrow and see if I can get him out of the manor for further questioning."
Lu Changping quickly added, "I'll go with you tomorrow, otherwise I'm afraid the Fourth Young Master won't pay any attention to us."
Yuqing found this reasonable and said, "Tomorrow morning, I will go and ask the Second Madam for permission to obtain the mansion's nameplate."
The next day.
With the year-end approaching, news broke yesterday that Miss Biao had been found. The entire Hou family was busy, with lanterns and decorations everywhere, making it look like they were preparing for a happy occasion.
Seeing this scene, Lu Changping felt it was an eyesore.
When she was brought back to the Marquis's mansion, her maternal grandmother was still ill and had not yet recovered. She heard that the coffin had already been prepared.
When she stepped into the Marquis's residence, she didn't see a single red cloth, let alone a large red lantern.
When she thought about how Old Madam Chen saw her, instead of bursting into tears as she had imagined, she calmly instructed her to go back to her own courtyard with her aunt. With the help of her nanny, she returned to her own courtyard.
Immediately, Lu Changping's expression turned ugly.
When Yuqing received the pass to leave the mansion, she assumed Yuqing was worried about not being able to find her handkerchief, so she went up to her and offered a few words of comfort.
To avoid being recognized, Yuqing specially found two hats and asked the coachman to choose an inconspicuous carriage before heading to the Marquis of Anchang's residence.
Throughout the journey, Yuqing was preoccupied with her thoughts. She looked at Lu Changping and said, "Miss, the fourth young master of the Anchang Marquis's mansion is unreliable. If he hadn't picked it up, we would have gotten into trouble instead."
"Why don't we go back to the manor and let the Second Madam think of a solution for us?"
Now that they were just one step away from success, Lu Changping naturally wouldn't let the opportunity slip by. She said, "Let's hurry back. There are so many people coming and going in front of Anchang Prefecture, they probably won't dare to act recklessly."
Since Lu Changping said this, Yuqing, being just a maid, naturally dared not refute her.
She just didn't know why, but there was always something nagging at her heart.
It made her extremely uncomfortable!
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