“Madam…” Feng Ruilan stared at her blankly, opened her mouth, but couldn’t say a word for a moment.
Only two words came to my mind: It's over!
"Fine, very well!" Madam Pan looked at her and sneered, "I was entrusted with running around for you, arranging marriages for you, and this is how you repay me?"
"No, that's not how it is..."
"Stop making excuses! I heard everything you said. It's all your own fault, you have no one else to blame. My Liu family and your Feng family are distant relatives. We've already done more than enough by letting you live in our mansion and providing you with good food and drink. Not only are you ungrateful, but you've also caused my daughter to be unable to walk freely and even cursed our whole family. You're truly ungrateful and repay kindness with enmity!"
"No, Madam, I was just angry and that's why I spoke rudely... No, it's all her fault, she's the one who caused it!" She pointed at Qingying and explained anxiously.
Qingying quickly said, "Aunt, how can you say that? It was clearly you who looked down on the Wen family and took the initiative to ask me for advice. I offered this plan out of consideration for our relationship, but I never dared to guarantee that the result would meet your expectations."
Feng Ruilan never expected that she would be able to distance herself from the matter so cleanly, and in the end, all her scheming had come to nothing.
"Liu Qingying, you..."
At this moment, she was so frightened by the cold, warning look in Shang Qingying's eyes that she immediately choked up.
As her reason returned somewhat, she suddenly realized that she had already been abandoned by the Pan and Feng families. If she offended Liu Qingying again, who knew what miserable fate awaited her...
Pan was no fool. The moment Liu Qingying discovered that she was squatting outside the door eavesdropping, she understood that this matter would be Feng Ruilan's fault no matter what.
She then went along with it, saying, "Feng Ruilan, from now on your affairs have nothing to do with my Liu family. Don't come begging me again."
After saying that, she turned and left angrily.
She was genuinely angry. This morning, she deliberately followed Liu Qingying out the door, hoping to take advantage of her arrival at the private residence to put her down. However, she ended up doing all the work for Liu Qingying, being forced into this charade like a duck on a shelf.
Feng Ruilan had already become a pawn, and Shushu's position was not yet secure. She could not openly express her hatred for Liu Qingying at this time.
After all, even a rabbit will bite when cornered, and Liu Qingying is clearly not a docile rabbit.
After Madam Pan left, Qingying smiled with satisfaction, "Auntie is not entirely stupid; she knows that making things too ugly is not good for either of us."
Feng Ruilan glared at her resentfully, "What exactly do you want to do? I have never had any grudge against you, why are you trying to harm me like this?"
"Harm you? I never intended to harm you. I gave you a choice; you were the one who coveted the position of Duchess and willingly allowed yourself to be used by me."
After a pause, she added, "By the way, since Auntie was so obedient just now, I can point you in the right direction."
"What clear path?"
"Wasn't your initial goal to marry into the Duke's family? Now that you've achieved your goal, you should be happy. The Duke of Lu is still alive, and Lu Jingyan is still young. You have a long life ahead of you."
Feng Ruilan suddenly understood, and the gloom in her heart was immediately swept away.
She crawled over, grabbed Qingying's skirt, and looked up at her with a pleading expression, saying, "Qingying, you have to help me. I will never forget your kindness after I marry into the Duke of Lu's mansion."
Qingying raised her hand and stroked the top of her head, a slight smile playing on her lips. "As long as Auntie behaves well, I will continue to offer you advice."
Feng Ruilan lowered her eyelashes, concealing the sharpness in her eyes. She gradually realized that Liu Qingying's real target was not her, but now that she was like an arrow released from a bow, there was no turning back, and she could only let herself be manipulated.
...
The speed at which the Duke of Lu's mansion took concubines could never keep up with the speed at which rumors spread. Besides, the Wen family was no benevolent family; they started spreading the news the moment they stepped out of the General's mansion.
There was no embellishment, because telling the truth was enough to cause a stir—it was considered shameful for an unmarried woman to secretly pledge her life to her lover.
"If you're betrothed, she'll be your wife; if you elope, she'll be your concubine. Such a simple principle, how could Feng Ruilan not understand it?" Xie Jiaoying shook her head, clicking her tongue as she mentioned this.
Qingying smiled and said, "She acted rashly and forgot the teachings of our ancestors."
"That makes sense. With the Wen family's betrothal letter about to arrive, it's understandable that she's a bit anxious."
"It's not just because of the Wen family."
"Huh? What else could it be?"
Qingying pointed to herself and said, "Naturally, it's because of me."
Xie Jiaoying was taken aback for a moment, then asked suspiciously, "Did you drug them?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? I had already returned home long before they secretly pledged their love at Chongfu Temple."
Thanks to that assassin, she had a reason to return to the manor early, so even if this happened, Madam Pan couldn't blame her.
Xie Jiaoying was very puzzled, "Then how can you say it's because of you?"
Qingying beckoned to her with her finger.
Xie Jiaoying leaned closer and Qingying whispered, "The medicine I gave her not only contained aphrodisiac ingredients, but also had a hallucinogenic effect."
She realized, "Could it be... that Lu Jingyan mistook her for you, that's why..."
Qingying nodded.
Xie Jiaoying covered her mouth with a laugh, "As expected of the second son of the Lu family, he really is 'unwavering in his devotion'."
"Alright, stop teasing me later." Qingying gave her a reproachful look.
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about them anymore. This matter is finally over. This time, the General's Mansion was also implicated. Aren't you afraid it will affect your reputation?"
"If I were worried about these things, I should have stayed home and waited to get married. Why go through all this trouble?"
"That's true." Xie Jiaoying ate sunflower seeds casually. "The matter you asked me to investigate last time has yielded some results."
"Tell me about it."
"Most of the people living in Lane 12 of West Street are ordinary people. The full name of the girl you asked me to find out should be Liu Yan. Liu Yan has an older brother named Liu Feng. Last year, Liu Feng got involved in a murder case. An eyewitness claimed to have seen him kill several people and reported it to the authorities overnight. The people who died at the time were several debt collectors. However, when the authorities investigated the case, they found that Liu Feng was also dead, and he died before those debt collectors."
"So mysterious?"
"That's right. The authorities investigated for a long time without any results. All the evidence clearly pointed to Liu Feng killing those people, but the coroner said that Liu Feng did die several days before them, so it became an unsolved case."
Qingying frowned and said, "But Ayan told me herself that she has no father or mother, so how come she suddenly has a brother?"
Xie Jiaoying said, "Liu Yan not only has an older brother, but also a living mother."
"It seems my intuition was right; this Ayan is no ordinary person."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com