Jiang Bailu's Plum Blossom Pavilion was burned down, and she temporarily stayed in Jiang Songlu's Orchid Pavilion.
In five days it will be her coming-of-age ceremony. These past few days she has been busy learning the procedures and rules of the ceremony, and she is extremely busy.
Because she was the Crown Princess appointed by the emperor, the palace attached great importance to this matter and specially assigned officials from the Ministry of Rites and palace tutors to teach Jiang Bailu the procedures and rules.
She studied all day long, not to mention slacking off, she didn't even have time to sit down and have a cup of tea.
The officials from the Ministry of Rites and the palace tutors did not finish their lessons until after sunset.
Jiang Bailu dragged her tired body back to the Orchid Pavilion. As soon as she entered the room, she asked someone to change out of her heavy formal dress.
"Where are Green Bamboo and Redwood? Call them over." Jiang Bailu was still concerned about Yuan Qi. She always felt that the magpie pooping incident was orchestrated by Yuan Qi behind the scenes.
Green Bamboo and Red Fir used to serve in their mother's courtyard, but they came to Peony Residence specifically to keep an eye on Yuan Qi. She couldn't wait to find out what Yuan Qi had been doing these past two days.
Green Bamboo and Red Fir arrived shortly after. Green Bamboo's face had improved a lot after the medicine was applied, and the redness and swelling were barely visible. She was also in a much better mood.
Jiang Bailu was exhausted and didn't even want to talk, so she asked her maid to massage her muscles and joints to relieve her fatigue. Another maid brought her a cup of tea at just the right temperature.
Seeing how tired she was and feeling anxious, Jiang Songlu simply asked on her behalf.
"What has Yuan Qi been doing?"
Sequoia wanted to speak, but she opened her mouth several times and couldn't get the words out. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she just couldn't say them.
Green Bamboo, standing nearby, said, "Yesterday, and this morning, the Seventh Miss wanted to go out early. I stopped her, saying that Granny Wang was coming to teach her manners, but she wouldn't listen to me. She even said that the Ninth Master of the Xiang family was looking for her at the door. Then the Seventh Miss left."
Jiang Songlu's eyes flashed with a fierce light: "Didn't you report all this first thing this morning? What about yesterday? What did she do last night?"
Green Bamboo also served last night and recounted what Yuan Qi had done: "After dinner, the Seventh Miss drew a talisman with cinnabar. When the Plum Blossom Pavilion caught fire, the Seventh Miss did not wake up."
"They're all useless." Jiang Songlu was very angry, and turned to ask Hongshan, "What about you? When Lvzhu wasn't around, you were serving her. What did she ask you to do?"
Sequoia ran through it in her mind: the Seventh Miss asked her to dig a hole to bury talismans and set up a spirit-gathering array, and also asked her to find a wooden box to hang under the corridor for the magpie to build a nest. The Seventh Miss also reached some kind of cooperation agreement with the magpie and asked the magpie's name. The magpie could even talk.
Of course, she overheard the Seventh Miss talking to the magpie.
She wanted to tell all of this to the fourth and sixth young ladies, but when she opened her mouth to say it, it was as if her voice had been muted, and she couldn't utter a single syllable.
Jiang Songlu was furious when she saw her hesitate, and even doubted her loyalty: "You've only been with her for three or five days, and you're already so loyal to her?"
Redwood shook its head like a rattle-drum: "That's not how it is, this servant, this servant..."
It was the Seventh Miss who cast a curse on me...
She couldn't even say that, and she was getting really anxious.
She felt like she was encountering a ghost and couldn't control herself. She was terrified and frightened.
Unfortunately, Jiang Songlu and Jiang Bailu had never heard of any magic that prevented people from saying certain things, so they assumed that Hongshan didn't want to talk about it.
Jiang Songlu wanted someone to teach Hongshan a lesson, but Jiang Bailu looked exhausted and wanted some peace and quiet: "I'm asking you, does that magpie listen to Yuan Qi?"
Sequoia nodded emphatically.
Jiang Songlu and Jiang Bailu were extremely shocked.
Jiang Bailu asked incredulously, "How is this possible? How could a hairy beast be ordered around? How can this be?!"
Could it be that Yuan Qi can control beasts and understand the language of birds and beasts?
Sequoia's expression was very strange. She tried her best to open her mouth to speak, but she couldn't utter a single word.
Even if Jiang Bailu and Jiang Songlu had never heard of people being silenced, they could still sense that there was something strange about Sequoia.
Jiang Songlu asked, "You don't not want to say it, you just can't say it?"
Sequoia nodded eagerly again.
Jiang Bailu and Jiang Songlu exclaimed in unison, "Monster!"
Both of them felt that this was a serious matter; how could they be allowed to have such a monster in their house?
Jiang Songlu said, "I'll go tell Father and Mother right away. Fourth Sister, you should rest for now."
Despite her exhaustion, Jiang Bailu said, "I'll go too. This is no small matter."
Jiang Bailu instructed Green Bamboo and Red Fir to keep an eye on Yuan Qi to prevent her from running away.
Jiang Zhengqing was discussing matters with his retainers, and Jiang Songlu and Jiang Bailu dared not disturb them, much less force their way in. Their father was strict with rules, so the two could only wait.
When it was completely dark, several retainers came out of the study.
“Father, Xiao Qi is a monster. She can control what people say and don’t say. How can our family tolerate a monster?”
Jiang Zhengqing was knowledgeable and experienced. Although he had never personally witnessed people from the Xuanmen sect using magic, he had heard of it to some extent.
Furthermore, given the skill Yuan Qi displayed in rescuing the old lady, he had long suspected that Yuan Qi possessed genuine abilities. Even Master Xuanji praised Yuan Qi highly, commending her as a promising candidate for cultivation.
Jiang Bailu and Jiang Songlu took turns slandering Yuan Qi, and even embellished the story of Hongshan's strange behavior.
The two waited for Jiang Zhengqing's order to expel Yuan Qi and send him back to Fusang Temple.
But Jiang Zhengqing remained calm, as if what he had heard was nothing out of the ordinary.
"Is there anything else?"
Jiang Bailu said indignantly, "Father, Xiao Qi knows sorcery, and you don't care? You just let her harm the servants in our manor?"
Jiang Songlu chimed in, "Yes, Father, servants are people too. You can't just ignore them."
Jiang Zhengqing could tell that the two sisters looked down on Yuan Qi. Yuan Qi also knew that Green Bamboo and Red Fir were someone else's spies, so he used magic, right?
"She's from the Xuanmen sect, so it's perfectly normal for her to know some magic."
Jiang Bailu was unwilling to accept it: "But that's a heretical and evil practice, Father..."
Jiang Zhengqing said sternly, "Alright, stop talking. That's not some kind of evil or heretical practice. You just haven't seen it before. You'll encounter many more strange things in the future."
Today he heard from his colleagues that an evil spirit had been discovered in the Xiangli family. It was discovered by a young Taoist priest who was not even ten years old. It is estimated that Kyoto will be thrown into chaos and bloodshed, and countless people will suffer as a result.
There aren't many ten-year-old Taoist priests in Kyoto, and he felt that Yuan Qi was the one who did it.
Jiang Bailu and Jiang Songlu knew their father was very strict, so they didn't dare say a word and could only leave.
During dinner, Yuan Qi could tell from the looks in Jiang Bailu and Jiang Songlu's eyes that they were in a bad mood.
When they're in a bad mood, she feels better.
She had just interrogated Hongshan, who confessed everything she had said at the Orchid Pavilion. Yuanqi knew that Luzhu had betrayed her, so she also cast a silencing spell on Luzhu.
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