"When I went to Beijing to participate in the imperial examination, I stayed at the home of Grand Secretary Qiao. His second grandson, Qiao Jingzhou, was my classmate at the Jiangnan Academy."
Marquis Yong'an recalled.
"Not long after we moved in, a cousin of the Qiao family, whose parents had both passed away, came to stay with us."
This young lady was beautiful, articulate, and insightful. She quickly won the favor of several of Grand Secretary Qiao's grandsons, including Qiao Jingzhou.
Princess Zhaoyang's gaze towards him immediately changed.
She knew how high the standards were for the Marquis of Yong'an; anyone who could earn his praise for their "good looks" must be exceptionally beautiful.
Marquis Yong'an quickly tried to cover it up: "That definitely doesn't include me. I was busy preparing for the exam, how could I have the mind to look at girls?"
"Yeah?"
Princess Zhaoyang glanced at him.
"I seem to remember that someone went sightseeing before the imperial examination and then took a fancy to my sister."
Marquis Yong'an: "..."
This is a question that could cost you your life.
He pretended not to hear and continued speaking.
"Lord Qiao was very strict. Qiao Jingzhou and his brothers dared not speak to that young lady alone. They would always find excuses to go on spring outings, enjoy the flowers, recite poems, and drink tea with their brothers and sisters."
I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I always feel like that lady is staring at me, but when I look at her, she's looking at something else.
Qiao Jingzhou also noticed this and said that I had stolen her away.
To avoid suspicion, I stopped going out with them.
On the occasion of Grand Secretary Qiao's sixtieth birthday, a grand banquet was held for guests, and an opera troupe was invited to perform.
While listening to the opera at night, the servant who served tea accidentally spilled tea on me, so I left my seat and planned to go back to the outer courtyard to change my clothes.
As I passed through the corridor, I encountered that young lady.
She collapsed to the ground, looking like she was in great pain.
There were no maids or servants around him.
I turned and left, intending to call for help.
But she begged me not to call anyone else over, saying that she had been drugged and didn't want anyone else to know, otherwise she might be kicked out of the mansion by the old lady.
I've heard a little about this. I heard that because her grandsons all doted on her, Old Madam Qiao was very dissatisfied with her.
She asked me to help her and take her back to the guest quarters.
I wanted to help her, but I felt it was inappropriate to support her.
And at that moment, I felt very hot, and my blood was boiling.
He then suspected that he had also been drugged.
I immediately took out the Thousand Medicine Elixir that my father had bought at great expense and given to me before he left. After taking one pill, I immediately felt clear-headed and bright-eyed.
I gave her a pill and told her that it might work and suggested she try it.
She hesitated for a while before taking the medicine.
But instead of getting better, the symptoms got worse, and it stumbled and lunged at me.
I was terrified. I didn't care about anything else at that moment and quickly found Qiao Jingzhou, asking him to find one of his sisters to help this cousin.
Qiao Jingzhou called his second sister over, but she went to the corridor and couldn't find him.
She couldn't be found at the guesthouse either.
After the opera troupe finished their performance and the guests left, she went back to the guest quarters by herself, completely soaked.
She said she accidentally fell into the lotus pond. The water wasn't deep, but because there were guests around, she didn't dare to come out of the water and stayed in it for half the night.
After this incident, I rarely went out to the Qiao residence anymore, and basically just studied in my room.
This young lady did send me things a few times through intermediaries, saying it was to thank me for my help, but I didn't accept them, so she stopped sending them.
After the imperial examination, my father bought me a house in the capital, and I moved out of the Qiao family home. I never saw this cousin again.
According to Qiao Jingzhou, she later returned to the south, saying that her grandparents had arranged a marriage for her.
After Marquis Yong'an finished speaking, he cautiously glanced at Princess Zhaoyang.
"I guarantee that I am telling the truth and I have never touched a single hair on her head."
Do you remember what this young lady looked like?
Princess Zhaoyang asked.
Marquis Yong'an: "..."
"You know, I have a photographic memory..."
He didn't remember it on purpose.
Princess Zhaoyang gestured with her chin toward the desk: "Draw it, let me see if I've ever seen her before."
Marquis Yong'an obediently spread out the drawing paper, ground the ink and began to paint. In less than a quarter of an hour, a lifelike beauty appeared on the paper.
"You remember it very clearly, you even know how many eyebrows she had."
Princess Zhaoyang said indifferently.
Marquis Yong'an: "..."
I'm probably going to be kneeling on the abacus tonight.
Looking at the beauty on the paper, Xiao Qingyin vaguely felt that her appearance was somewhat familiar. After thinking for a moment, she finally realized who she resembled.
Just as he was about to blurt it out, he heard Yi Shuihan say, "How come she looks somewhat similar to Bai Musheng?"
"Bai Musheng?" Princess Zhaoyang asked in surprise, "That new top scholar?"
"Yes."
Yi Shuihan nodded.
Suddenly, I realized that Bai Musheng and the old man actually shared the same character "Sheng" in their names.
She looks like that cousin, and her name is Mu Sheng. He doesn't believe she has nothing to do with the old man.
Marquis Yong'an also realized this and quickly clarified, "I swear, I really didn't touch that young lady even a hair!"
Princess Zhaoyang pursed her lips.
“But,” Xiao Qingyin asked doubtfully, “I have met Bai Musheng’s mother, and she does not look like this cousin.”
What does she look like?
Yi Shuihan asked.
Can you draw it?
"My drawing skills aren't very good; I can only draw roughly."
She replied.
"It's okay, just describe it and I'll draw it."
Yong'an Marquis Dao.
Xiao Qingyin then described it to him, and to her surprise, the Marquis of Yong'an drew a portrait of the real person based solely on her description.
"That's amazing!"
Xiao Qingyin gave a thumbs up.
The Marquis of Yong'an's skill surpasses that of later painters who assisted the police in drawing criminal portraits; she had never seen one so lifelike.
And he drew it so quickly.
The three compared the two portraits and indeed found nothing in common.
"Could it be that Bai Musheng's mother wasn't his biological mother?"
Yi Shuihan guessed.
"have no idea."
Xiao Qingyin shrugged.
“He never told me, but he and his mother have a very good relationship.”
Otherwise, he wouldn't have given his mother away when someone threatened him with her.
Bai Musheng thought she didn't know about this, so he often acted aggrieved in front of her.
"Let's put this aside for now."
"The Marquis of Yong'an said in a deep voice."
"The important thing is not whether Bai Musheng and that cousin are related by blood, but whether she has the ability to take revenge on the princess. Assassins are not something that ordinary people can raise."
Yi Shuihan nodded.
"And Linlang, why does she look like her mother's twin sister? What's with all these worms in her body? What is her purpose in coming to the Marquis's mansion?"
By this point, he was quite clear that the poisonous blue pigment was merely a pretext; the other party's real purpose was to draw their attention and send Linlang to the Marquis's residence.
While they were discussing, Xiao Qingyin took a look at the insects under a microscope and discovered something that surprised her quite a bit.
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