"Miss Qiu Chan, have you thought it through?" Su Peisheng walked in carrying a food box and asked Qiu Chan, who was sitting safely in the room.
It turned out that after Fourth Master had Su Peisheng take her out, he didn't actually carry out the torture. He simply placed her under house arrest in a room, where she was guarded day and night, and Su Peisheng personally delivered her meals. Fourth Master had sharp eyes and naturally saw that Qiu Chan was a soft-hearted person, so his method with her was to use gentle persuasion; while Lingxiu was a very stubborn person, so the most extreme method had to be used to force her to tell the truth.
"Eunuch Su, I truly don't know why the Princess Consort has been ill for so long. Lingxiu has been serving her inside, and they always keep their conversations from me. Eunuch Su, please, please speak to the Master for me. I really don't know anything."
Su Peisheng looked at Qiu Chan's honest face, sighed, and placed the food box in his hand on the table in front of her.
“Miss Qiu Chan, I don’t think you’re the kind of person who’s difficult or strange. If you really don’t know, why don’t you think about whether there’s anything our master doesn’t know about the Fujin’s side? If you can tell me something, then I can plead for you. If you just keep saying you don’t know, how can our master show you any mercy?” Su Peisheng saw that Qiu Chan was an honest person and felt pity for her, so he reminded her.
Qiu Chan looked distressed. If she revealed what the Fujin had done, how would she ever be able to face anyone again? Besides, she, Chun Liu, Xia He, and Dong Xue were all maids who had come with the Fujin from the Unara family as part of her dowry, while she herself was a servant born into the Unara household. Her father, mother, and brothers were still working as slaves there. If she betrayed the Fujin, none of them would escape unscathed!
Seeing Qiu Chan's expression, Su Peisheng knew she was struggling with her thoughts, so he quickly advised, "Miss Qiu Chan, I know you're worried about your family. But if you can't even save your own life, why worry about others?"
Qiu Chan shuddered. What Su Peisheng said was indeed true. She was just a girl in her early twenties, and had never been married. When she married into the Ulanara clan, she was barely twelve years old, the youngest of the four maids. Because of this, Ulanara clan never really valued Qiu Chan, and because she was rather dull and honest, she was even less favored, always serving outside the room as a second-class maid. Now that Chunliu and Xiahe had left, she had been promoted, but she was still ranked after Lingxiu.
But was she really going to risk her life for a master who didn't really value her? Qiu Chan was having a fierce internal struggle, and finally she came up with the only feasible solution.
"Eunuch Su, I have a request. If Your Highness can grant my request, I will tell you everything I know." There was no longer a trace of hesitation in Qiu Chan's eyes.
“Alright, go ahead and say it. I’ll talk to the master for you,” Su Peisheng said immediately, seeing that Qiu Chan was finally willing to speak.
Qiu Chan thought for a moment. She truly didn't know why the Fujin had been drinking medicine but her illness was slow to improve. It was because the Fujin and Lingzhi had indeed been doing it in secret. If she were to talk about the Fujin's affairs, should she recount everything that had happened in the past? At that time, Qiu Chan was still very young and hadn't been involved in many things; she had only heard bits and pieces. If she spoke of it all, many things would have changed beyond recognition. Where would she find the evidence from back then? For example, how exactly did Song's first pregnancy end? And how did Li's first pregnancy end in death? Both were related to the Fujin.
Qiu Chan pondered for a moment and decided not to bring up those matters again, as many years had passed. Instead, she decided to talk about recent events. Having made up her mind, Qiu Chan looked up at Su Peisheng and said, “Eunuch, this servant truly doesn’t know why the Fujin has been ill for so long, but I am certain that Lingxiu knows. Because both the Fujin and Lingxiu act behind our backs. However, this servant knows that there is a servant in Master’s courtyard who has close ties with the Fujin. This servant suspects that he is colluding with the main courtyard.”
Su Peisheng was taken aback and asked urgently, "Who?"
Qiu Chan said, "Zhao Quan! He has been informing the Fujin all along."
Su Peisheng opened his mouth in disbelief. His expression immediately turned extremely ugly. Zhao Quan was his own apprentice; wasn't this a slap in his own face?!
"Madam Yin and the Fujin conspired to murder the Third Prince. I only know that they tampered with the Third Prince's bedding, but I don't know anything else," Qiu Chan said.
Su Peisheng's expression immediately returned to normal. Although Zhao Quan was his apprentice, he couldn't care less if Zhao Quan was courting death.
"Father-in-law, my only request is to send me away and tell everyone that I have been beaten to death! I cannot go to meet and confront the Princess Consort. Otherwise, my family will be implicated. I would rather suffer alone than bring trouble upon my family," Qiu Chan pleaded.
Su Peisheng was preoccupied with Zhao Quan and barely heard what Qiu Chan was saying. Seeing that he remained silent, Qiu Chan assumed he refused and pleaded again, "Father-in-law, you promised."
Su Peisheng said, "Don't worry, I'll speak to Master. Your request isn't unreasonable, it should be fine. Now, you should eat your meal properly, I'll go and report to Master right away!"
When Su Peisheng returned to the Fourth Prince's side, he found the prince engrossed in examining something. That day, he had accompanied the Fourth Prince in the palace, and noticed that the prince always had a furrowed brow, as if something incredibly heavy was weighing on his heart.
Su Peisheng hesitated. He wasn't completely without feelings for Zhao Quan; after all, Zhao Quan had called him "Master" for several years. If he were to talk to him now while Fourth Master was in a bad mood, he might very well be dragged out and beaten to death!
"Did those two girls confess?" Fourth Master asked without even looking up.
“Lingxiu is really tough. She endured several tortures but still didn’t give in! Qiuchan, on the other hand, said some things,” Su Peisheng said.
"She's just a girl. Let's see how long she can hold out. How many has Qiu Chan recruited?" Fourth Master said with a stern face.
Su Peisheng pondered for a moment before saying, "Qiu Chan confessed to some things that the Fujin and Yin had done to harm the Third Prince. She said they had tampered with the quilt. She said she really didn't know about the Fujin's chronic illness, and that the medicine was always brought in. Also, the Fujin bribed the servants in our front courtyard to tip her off."
Upon hearing this, Fourth Master's expression immediately changed, and he asked sternly, "Who?"
Su Peisheng's heart trembled. He knew that Fourth Master hated having spies planted around him. If he said that, Zhao Quan's life would probably be in danger.
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