“Miss, that…” Tong Xia walked in from outside, but before she got close, she stopped herself from speaking when she saw Wei Dongchen.
Qingying waved to her and asked, "What's wrong?"
“This…” Tong Xia stepped forward to the bedside, hesitating whether or not she should speak.
Wei Dongchen got up and walked outside on his own, saying, "I'm going outside for some fresh air."
Once everyone had left, only the two of them, the mistress and her servant, remained in the room. Tong Xia then lowered her voice and said, "As you predicted, Miss, Feng Ruilan was only imprisoned for three days before being bailed out by Madam."
"She shouldn't have left the capital yet, right?"
"No, Pan Hongyu came to the capital originally to find a good marriage for her sister-in-law and pave the way for her children's future. Who would have thought that such a disaster would happen as soon as she arrived? Now she can't explain it to her husband's family. How can she accept this?"
“As long as people have greed, things become much easier.” Qingying thought for a moment, smiled slightly, and said, “Since she wants a husband, let’s arrange one for her.”
Tong Xia smiled and said, "With such relatives, and with such blatant protection, it's only a matter of time before she gets into trouble."
Liu Yu has never been involved in household affairs. Ever since Madam Pan took over the household, she has been in charge of everything in the mansion. The old lady rarely gets involved either, so if anything happens, she will naturally be implicated.
"I was just deliberately showing weakness, and she thought I was letting her have her way."
Underestimating the enemy is a cardinal sin in warfare.
...
This time, Qingying recovered almost completely after a few days of rest. The illness was caused by medicine, so it came on quickly and went away quickly.
"Miss, everything is arranged." Yu Yue whispered in her ear.
Qingying nodded, then put on a fox fur cloak and went out through the side gate of the General's Mansion.
Feng Ruilan was placed in one of Pan's private residences, and the carriage arrived shortly afterward.
Yu Yue went over and knocked on the door, and a strange little maid came out.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
To cover up the matter, Madam Pan hired several new maids to take care of Feng Ruilan, so it's not surprising that she didn't recognize Qingying.
"Our young lady is from the General's Mansion, and we'd like to discuss something with Miss Feng."
Feng Ruilan thought it was Liu Shushu who had come, so she hurriedly had someone welcome them in. However, when she saw Qingying, the happy expression on her face instantly disappeared.
"What are you doing here?" she asked in an unfriendly tone.
Qingying showed no dissatisfaction with her attitude. After having Tongxia bring a chair to sit down, she looked at her calmly and smiled, "You didn't think it was Liu Shushu, did you? I'm so sorry to disappoint you."
"What? Are you here to laugh at me?"
"You've really misunderstood me. Actually, I should be the one calling you 'Aunt' like them. How could I, as a junior, mock my elder?"
Although there was nothing wrong with what she said, Feng Ruilan found it particularly grating. "What exactly do you want?"
"Why is Aunt so hostile? It's clearly Liu Shushu who caused you to end up in this situation. Why do you still pin your hopes on her, while you glare at someone like me who truly cares about you?"
"You care about me?" Feng Ruilan was suddenly amused by her words and sneered, "Liu Qingying, don't pretend to be kind like a cat. I know very well what you're up to. You just want to sow discord between me and Shushu. Let me tell you, no way!"
“I underestimated Aunt Feng’s intelligence.” Qingying smiled. “But why does Aunt trust Liu Shushu so much? Is it because you are like sisters with her? I don’t think so. You met her and I only around the same time.”
She paused, as if thinking, and continued, "Is it still because of the Pan family? What did she promise you? Did she tell you that she would definitely find you a good marriage? Did she also say that not many people in the capital know you, and that once this storm passes, everything will go back to normal?"
Feng Ruilan was stunned for a moment, "How could you..."
"You ask me how I know? Hehe~ Although I am not her biological daughter, I grew up by her side. Compared to Liu Shushu, I am the one who understands her the most."
What exactly are you trying to say?
"Don't you understand? Everything she said was a lie."
"Impossible! She spoke so sincerely to Pan Hongyu's face, how could she..."
Qingying looked at her, her smile gradually turning sarcastic. She slowly untied the silk ribbon wrapped around her left hand, interrupting her, "Look at this."
Feng Ruilan frowned as she looked over and saw a long, thick scar across Qingying's slender and beautiful wrist. Although it had healed, the uneven, wrinkled new flesh looked quite ugly, especially on such a fair wrist. Feng Ruilan couldn't help but feel sorry for her and found it hard to imagine how Qingying could accept it.
"This is……"
"Because Liu Shushu asked me to play the piano for her, and I refused, thus embarrassing her in public, my mother had my tendons severed." She tilted her head slightly, her smile clean and harmless. "Tell me, you almost caused Liu Shushu to break her leg, how will she retaliate against you?"
Feng Ruilan's eyes widened in shock as she looked at her smile. A chill ran through her body, and she trembled slightly, utterly incredulous. "Impossible...impossible..."
“I have no reason to lie to you about this. If you don’t believe me, you can go and ask someone if they know about this. As long as Madam Pan is willing, this wound of mine will not be related to her even if I am buried in the ground.”
"No wonder no one has ever mentioned such a big thing before..." Just thinking about it made Feng Ruilan tremble all over. Perhaps because she was too scared, her wrists even started to hurt slightly.
She shook her head vigorously and hurriedly explained, "I didn't inflict Liu Shushu's injuries. I don't know anything about Soul-Losing Grass, nor do I know Zhang Hong! The reason I killed him was because he admitted that he had deliberately framed me. I asked him to explain to His Highness the Crown Prince, but he refused and even said he would drag me down with him. He was the one who originally intended to stab me with that dagger. I was too scared and killed him in a moment of panic."
"You've probably said this more than once before, haven't you? Did they believe you?"
Feng Ruilan fell silent.
“I tried to explain to her, I begged for mercy, but she still had my tendons severed. I’m not her biological daughter, but I’m still a member of the Liu family, and she watched me grow up. How could she be so ruthless?” Qingying blinked and looked at her with a smile. “Do you think she would let you off so easily just because you’re Pan Hongyu’s sister-in-law?”
"But……"
Qingying could tell that she was clearly wavering, so she added fuel to the fire, saying, "You've been left here these past few days. Besides me, has anyone else come here?"
Feng Ruilan was stunned, and the fortress she had firmly believed in crumbled little by little.
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