Chapter 6
The little maid looked at Li Pingru in fear, not daring to answer without permission.
"Useless thing! This lady from the Yue family will be your master from now on. Why don't you answer the master's questions truthfully?" Li Pingru said coldly.
"My name is Xing'er." The little maid whispered.
Yue Mingming looked at Xing'er carefully. She was indeed a bit cute and naive, but she was definitely not as beautiful as the moon and flowers. Her personality was also timid. If Zhao Congyun expected her to seduce the prince, he would have to be blind.
She suddenly had an idea and thought of the paparazzi system that had been neglected for a long time.
"...Can you check this character?"
The system cooperated very well and gave the results in an instant.
"Xing'er lost both her parents when she was young. A fortune teller said she was destined to be alone and unlucky. While wandering the streets, she was picked up by an old coroner. They lived together for a long time. After the coroner passed away, she used her skill in applying makeup to the dead to make a living by testing makeup for courtesans at the Xinghua Tower in Youzhou."
"What does makeup trial... mean?"
"They would use their own faces as canvases to experiment with popular makeup looks. If the results were good, the courtesans would then look for masters to imitate them."
"So she's really got some skills!"
Yue Mingming was even more confused... Could it be that this woman was unlucky, and Li Pingru intended to send her to kill him?
"Put on your clothes and come in with me." Yue Mingming couldn't bear to see the little maid being humiliated like this, so he simply agreed.
Uncle Dong was shocked: "My lady, you can't do this! The prince will never allow it..."
Yue Mingming waved her jade hand: "It's okay, I'll talk to him!"
Li Pingru's face froze when he heard this, the smug look in his eyes suddenly disappeared, and the raging fire of jealousy was rekindled.
Yue Mingming laughed and said, "Thank you, sister!"
She loves nothing more than adding fuel to the fire.
*
Zhao Congyun is back.
As soon as Uncle Dong reported what had happened, the enraged prince kicked open Yue Mingming's door.
"I allowed you to live here, and you actually take yourself so seriously that you're making all the decisions for me? Who do you think you are?!"
Zhao Congyun was furious, his face flushed slightly, and even a hint of bloodshot appeared in his eyes.
Yue Mingming didn't understand what he was doing, and her face darkened. "Li Pingru forced her to take off her clothes in public. If I don't bring her in, what do you want her to do?"
"It's just taking off clothes. Haven't you taken them off yourself before? If everyone were to do this kind of shameless trick, wouldn't my garden become a brothel?"
Yue Mingming looked at him in disbelief and threw the document in his hand fiercely. "I'm done with this drama! You can find whoever you want! This is clearly Li Pingru's fault. She's the Queen's niece, and you wouldn't dare do anything to her. Yet you're yelling at me! I despise you. You're no different than my father and the others. You're all sycophantic, utterly disregarding human life!"
Uncle Dong said anxiously, "My lady, be careful with your words! That's not what the prince meant!"
The blood drained from Zhao Congyun's face in an instant, his thin lips were pursed into a line, his eyes were filled with anger, and he was as cold as an iceberg.
He ignored Yue Mingming and locked his gaze on Xing'er: "What exactly is Li Pingru's purpose in sending you here? If you don't tell the truth, I'll kill you!"
Xing Er was terrified and fell to her knees. "The Concubine only asked me to do my wife's makeup... I don't know anything else! Please forgive me, Your Highness!"
Zhao Congyun sneered and said to Uncle Dong, "What did you find out?"
"Her background is quite clean. She is an orphan who was raised by the owner of a rouge shop. She is quite accomplished in makeup. She just entered the palace at the beginning of the month. She was sent by the concubine's mother's family to serve the dresser."
"Which rouge shop? Where is the owner?"
"The owner of Yunfangzhai in Luoying Lane, whose surname was Huang, passed away a while ago. But the neighbors have seen this girl following the owner around, so she probably wasn't lying."
"Dead?" Zhao Congyun's eyes flashed: "What a coincidence?"
Uncle Dong lowered his head and said, "I will go and investigate in detail."
Yue Mingming was puzzled by what he heard, and forgot his anger for a moment. He couldn't help but interrupt, "Didn't you grow up with a coroner and later try out makeup at Youzhou Xinghualou? How did this Mr. Huang suddenly appear?"
Is there something wrong with the paparazzi system?
But the next second, she found that everyone was staring at her as if she had seen a ghost.
"What...did I say wrong?" Yue Mingming said in panic.
Zhao Congyun's face was terribly gloomy: "How did you know this?"
Yue Mingming thought to himself, "Oh no! I accidentally let something slip." He had no choice but to pretend to be mysterious: "Ahem... The secret cannot be revealed."
Zhao Congyun shouted, "You're still messing around now! Do you know what you said?"
Xing'er had already turned pale and collapsed on the ground, trembling. Zhao Congyun understood at a glance -
"Have you really stayed in Youzhou Xinghua Tower?"
Xing'er cried, "My lady is right... I used to make a living in Xinghualou, but then that incident happened and Xinghualou was closed down. I couldn't stay in Youzhou City anymore... I fled to the capital and found a job in Mr. Huang's rouge shop.
"After Boss Huang died, someone brought me into the palace. Last night, the concubine found me, gave me a new identity, and asked me to serve Madam Yue... I didn't do anything. I just wanted to survive!"
Zhao Congyun said coldly, "The government checked the list back then and found that of the 329 people in Xinghua Tower, no one survived. How did you escape?"
"My adoptive father is a coroner and knows some autopsies... I disassembled several bodies and pieced together a mutilated corpse to conceal it. Afterwards, I kept applying makeup to disguise myself."
She paused and said, "I don't know how the Concubine found out. She said that as long as I stay by Madam Yue's side, she will keep the secret for me..."
Zhao Congyun and Uncle Dong looked at each other.
Li Pingru was truly mad and heartless. He actually dared to bring up this old matter just to deal with a concubine!
Uncle Dong suggested in a low voice: "Your Highness, this person cannot be kept!"
Zhao Congyun pondered in silence.
Yue Mingming could tell that this little maid had a complicated background, but he couldn't accept the idea of killing her to silence her: "She didn't do anything. Aren't you killing innocent people? I don't agree!"
Zhao Congyun's deep eyes revealed an icy smile: "Do you want to listen to what happened in Xinghua Tower before you try to show off?"
Five years ago, the fame of Youzhou Xinghua Tower spread far and wide, even reaching the capital, attracting the longing of countless princes and nobles, and even the emperor was tempted by it.
Under the pretext of a southern tour, the emperor ignored all objections and stayed overnight at the Xinghua Tower. Unexpectedly, two months later, all his ministers and attendants died suddenly one after another, and the emperor was critically ill several times.
Qilin Guards investigated and found that there was something seriously wrong with Xinghua Tower!
It is said that all the women in the building are proficient in witchcraft and sorcery. Anyone who has interacted with them will either die suddenly or become seriously ill. In short, they will not have a good ending.
The disaster affected the emperor. The empress was furious and slaughtered people in Xinghua Tower and sealed it off overnight. She also asked a high monk to perform rituals for 49 days to save the emperor from danger.
From then on, Youzhou Xinghua Tower became a taboo in the dynasty, and no one dared to mention it again.
Yue Mingming was stunned after hearing this. His first reaction was to curse the system: "Why didn't you tell me such important information just now?"
System: "You did not actively search for relevant terms."
Yue Mingming: “…………”
Zhao Congyun looked at her expression and sneered, "Are you scared? Are you regretting it?"
Yue Mingming does not believe in witchcraft. In her opinion, it is just feudal superstition.
But if Xing'er is left behind, it would be like handing Li Pingru a huge handle, and she wouldn't know how much trouble it would cause.
"Are you afraid?" Yue Mingming's eyes sparkled as he looked at Zhao Congyun seriously and asked, "If I weren't afraid, would you dare to keep her?"
Zhao Congyun obviously did not expect that Yue Mingming would outmaneuver him.
He glanced at Xing'er thoughtfully, then met the girl's expectant gaze. He swallowed the order that was on the tip of his tongue.
"We'll have to think about this for the long term."
In the end, Zhao Congyun just left a few words and left with Uncle Dong.
Xing'er knew she had been to the gates of hell. She was so frightened that she was shaking like a sieve and her tears had dried up.
Yue Mingming put a piece of clothing on her and comforted her, "Don't be afraid. You survived a great disaster, so you will surely have good fortune in the future. I will find a way to help you!"
As if scorched by the passion in the girl's eyes, Xing'er stared at her in amazement: "Madam, aren't you afraid of witchcraft? If I harm you..."
"Will you harm me?" Yue Mingming asked.
"I swear, I will never do anything to hurt you in this life!" The maid's tone was more serious than ever before, and Yue Mingming was stunned.
Xing'er lowered her head after she finished speaking.
No one noticed that although she was submissive from beginning to end, a cold murderous intent flashed across her eyes.
*
The day of boating on the lake and admiring the moon has arrived as soon as it was promised.
That night the clouds cleared and the bright moon rose, it was a rare good day.
An elegant carriage was waiting in front of the mansion gate, and beside it stood a young lady in gorgeous attire, studying documents diligently.
Yue Mingming is still sharpening his sword before the battle.
Zhao Congyun walked out of the mansion and paused slightly when he saw the scene in front of him.
Yue Mingming felt something in his heart. He looked up and met Zhao Congyun's half-smile, so he smiled at him.
The girl's bright smile, mixed with the fragrance of osmanthus, softened the night.
Zhao Congyun silently withdrew his gaze, walked to the front of the carriage, and stretched out a white and slender hand to offer it: "Get in."
When Yue Mingming realized that they were going to help her get into the car, she was so shocked that she almost bit her tongue.
Wow, now the show is starting!
Yue Mingming was also very professional. He grabbed Zhao Congyun's hand and cooperated to get into the car.
The hand was much colder than she had imagined.
Zhao Congyun followed up and sat opposite her, and the carriage slowly set off towards Yu Lake.
The atmosphere in the car was a little subtle. Yue Mingming was hesitating whether to say something, but Zhao Congyun closed his eyes, as if taking a nap.
Yue Mingming thought it was just right and picked up the document to continue reading.
Unfortunately, as I watched, my eyes kept involuntarily glancing at Zhao Congyun.
Today, he looked like a modest young man who had stepped out of a painting, wearing a golden crown and jade belt, exuding an air of nobility. He wore a loose, dark green brocade dragon robe, which made him look tall and straight, yet untainted by the worldly.
Yue Mingming smelled the crisp scent of pine and snow on him, which was exactly the same as the scent of the outer robe he wore last time.
The carriage suddenly jolted. Zhao Congyun opened his eyes and said calmly, "If you keep looking, I'll charge you."
"Nonsense... I didn't..." Yue Mingming denied in panic.
Her hands suddenly felt empty.
Zhao Congyun pulled out the document, threw it into the incense burner beside him, and threw a fragrant incense ball into it to cover up the smell of burning paper.
"No need to look at it anymore, just act accordingly."
Yue Mingming felt that Zhao Congyun was very different today, as if he was a little... gentle.
She hesitated for a moment and whispered, "I'm sorry about what happened last time."
Zhao Congyun raised his eyebrows and looked at her.
Just as Yue Mingming was about to explain, he gagged her with a grape thrown at her. He then pulled out a small sachet from his sleeve, leaned over, and carefully tied it around Yue Mingming's waist.
Yue Mingming stammered, "What... are you doing?"
Since she cooperates with the acting, he should at least know the limits!
"It's a little gadget I got from the temple. Since you don't believe in witchcraft, just consider it a guarantee of safety."
Yue Mingming cursed inwardly.
Because she found that her heart had just skipped a beat.
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