Ashu took her to another room to change her clothes, and then took the clothes she had changed out of and went out.
Upon returning, he hid Tongxia behind a tree, then put his arm around Qingying's waist and led her up into the tree.
This place is not far from that room; from this vantage point, you can see everything that's happening over there.
Qingying sat on a thick branch. Being timid as she was, she didn't even dare to look down. She could only hold on tightly to the tree trunk and dare not let go for a moment.
In stark contrast, Ashu, standing nearby, appeared remarkably relaxed, even striking a stylish pose while perched on a tree branch.
"You little coward."
Qingying detected an unusual laughter in his tone, well... more like mockery.
Suddenly a commotion arose, drawing their attention.
“They’ve arrived,” Ashu said.
Qingying saw a group of people walking over. The leader was Wei Huaixu, and next to him was Lu Xingli, followed by Lu Jingyan, then the Duke of Lu and his wife, and several illegitimate sons and daughters from the mansion.
She had anticipated this would happen. Lu Xingli had ordered someone to drug her; it couldn't have been just to let her have a good sleep.
She was still indignant at the moment, thinking, "I should have knocked her unconscious and thrown her inside, so she could experience what it's like to try to steal a chicken but lose the rice instead."
"There's not enough time."
“I know…” she paused, then said, “I just need to make it next time.”
Upon hearing this, Ashu looked at her, and she raised an eyebrow and smiled back.
Ashu immediately understood that she must have already begun planning how to take revenge on the other party.
What a vindictive little girl.
Looking over there, they had already reached the door of the side room.
Lu Xingli spoke with great sincerity and concern: "Sister Liu has always been frail, and her sudden illness is truly unexpected. I was so anxious that I had no choice but to trouble Your Highness."
Wei Huaixu stared straight ahead expressionlessly, ignoring her words.
So that's the reason they used. No wonder the whole family rushed over. If something really happened to her at the Duke of Lu's mansion, they would all be held responsible.
But if she were to lose her virginity here, the General's Mansion would probably be too busy blocking the news to even consider the responsibility of the Duke of Lu's Mansion. Of course, the royal family would not accept a girl with an unclear past as the Crown Princess.
Lu Xingli's plan was really clever.
But she only considered the obvious aspects, not the hidden ones.
Someone had already pushed open the door to the side room, and a group of people filed in. Then a commotion was heard, and soon two servants, barely clothed, were thrown out bound hand and foot.
It was the maid and servant who had been guarding the door just now.
Lu Xingli was trembling with anger, cursing them for being shameless and committing illicit acts in broad daylight in the mansion.
Wei Huaixu was not concerned about this, but only asked about Qingying's whereabouts.
Lu Xingli naturally didn't know, and stammered, unable to answer. It was likely that her anger at the moment wasn't because of the two servants, but because her plan had failed, and she had become a laughingstock in the manor for no reason.
Wei Huaixu scoffed and said, "With such a thing happening at the Duke of Lu's mansion, I shouldn't be staying here any longer. However, since my people have disappeared without a trace, the Duke of Lu must give me an explanation."
The Duke of Lu broke out in a cold sweat and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, please don't worry. I will send someone to find Miss Liu right away."
Seeing that everyone had started searching, Qingying immediately told Ashu to put her down.
As soon as her feet touched the ground, she immediately went around to the side of the wall and then walked out gracefully, displaying a quiet and elegant demeanor.
What's causing this commotion?
She even had a smile on her face.
When Lu Xingli saw that she was unharmed and had already changed her clothes, he stared in astonishment, "You... Liu Qingying? How could you..."
"Sister Lu, what's wrong?" She approached the group with a gentle smile, then turned to look at the two servants who were bound hand and foot and kneeling on the ground, her expression one of surprise and confusion. "What... is this?"
Lu Xingli finally realized what was happening and her expression softened a bit. Although she smiled, it was a little stiff. "It's good that Sister Liu is alright, it's good that she's alright."
Lu Jingyan looked her up and down to make sure she was alright, then patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief, "It's so good that you're alright, Miss Liu."
Qingying feigned ignorance and asked, "What could possibly be wrong with me?"
"Fourth Sister just said that you collapsed due to a sudden attack of your heart disease, which really scared us all."
Before Qingying could say anything more, Wei Huaixu beckoned to her and said gently, "Shushu, come here."
He also called her Shushu in front of outsiders.
Qingying obediently walked up to him.
He took her wrist without hesitation, pulled her to his side, and said, "Miss Lu said you were sick, but you seem fine now. What happened before?"
"Huh? I'm perfectly fine, why did you say I'm sick, Sister Lu?" She looked at Lu Xingli, blinking her innocent big eyes. "Sister Lu, didn't I just say that my clothes were wet and I needed to change them? How come you're saying I'm sick in such a short time?"
"This..." Lu Xingli clenched her hands tightly under her sleeves to keep herself from losing her composure in front of others. She put on a smiling face and said, "Perhaps my maid made a mistake. She heard the vase inside fall over and thought something had happened to you, so she rushed over to tell me. I was so flustered that I didn't check."
"Didn't she go in and check before submitting the report?"
“This…” Lu Xingli turned to glare at the maid and scolded, “That’s right, how do you do your job? You reported it before you even confirmed it, making everyone worry for nothing.”
The maid secretly groaned, but still had no choice but to kneel down and confess, "It's my fault. I made wild guesses based on the noise, but I was just too anxious because I was worried about Miss Liu."
In fact, the maid did go in and take a quick look. She saw Qingying's clothes lying by the bed and assumed that the person lying on the bed was her. Little did she know that she had fallen into a trap.
Wei Huaixu said, "This is a matter within your household, and it is inappropriate for us outsiders to interfere. I will take Shushu and leave now."
Duke Lu felt he had lost face and was very anxious. He smiled and saw them out of the mansion before returning to deal with the aftermath.
Without even asking why, he directly ordered: "Give these two shameless servants thirty strokes of the cane and sell them off!"
Then he pointed to the maid who had been forced to take the blame and said, "You, go and receive twenty strokes of the cane."
Duke Lu was known for his absolute authority in his household. Although he had no outstanding talent or ability to lead troops into battle, he had a terrible temper. His children secretly resented him, but outwardly dared not disobey him in the slightest.
He glared coldly at Lu Xingli and said, "You, come with me to the study!"
He wasn't confused; even in the chaos just now, he had discerned some clues. He knew his daughter's character to some extent.
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