"Master, Princess Fucha has arrived!" Grape came in and reported to Lanqin, who was combing her hair.
Lanqin was preoccupied with Mu Qingyang's matter and had no mood to deal with Princess Fucha. She couldn't help but ask unhappily, "Why is she here?"
“Princess Fucha said she wants to talk to Master about Mu Qingyang,” Grape said.
Lanqin was taken aback, and quickly said, "Please let her in, and let her wait a moment."
After Grape left, Lanqin reached out and fiddled with the jewelry in the jewelry box, then said to Sihua, "Let's dress more formally today, wear this set!"
Si Hua saw Lan Qin pick out a very elegant set of jewelry from the jewelry box, which was basically a complete set of headdress that she didn't usually wear.
“Yes, Your Highness has been too lenient with them before, even waiving their greetings. These princesses and young mistresses don’t respect Your Highness at all. Your Highness should show some authority from now on and let them know who the mistress of this household is.” Si Hua said quickly when she saw that Lan Qin was willing to wear these pieces of jewelry that symbolized her status.
"You're becoming more and more like Cui Niang. I wonder how Cui Niang is doing. Has she given birth already? I sent someone over with some things; I think I'll go see her," Lanqin said. She had the deepest affection for Cui Niang; to her, Cui Niang was like a sister and a mother, the warmest person Lanqin felt in this space. Even though the Fourth Master doted on her so much, Lanqin still felt a sense of oppression from his superior position. Only with Cui Niang did she feel absolutely no pressure.
“My lord, why don’t you ask for leave from the master in a few days, and I will accompany you to see Lady Cui?” Si Hua said.
“Yes. In a few days, the autumn imperial examination will be held. The master will probably be busy in the palace. We won’t have to serve him, so we can go and see Cui Niang,” Lanqin said.
After getting ready, Lanqin, supported by Sihua, walked out of her bedroom wearing an orange-red cheongsam with a white fur collar. She saw Fucha sitting upright in a chair drinking tea. She noticed that Lanqin was dressed as a concubine, which was quite different from her usual casual and carefree demeanor.
"This concubine greets Consort Lanqin!" Lady Fucha stood up, flicked her handkerchief, and gave Lanqin a curtsy.
Lanqin wore tortoiseshell nail guards, and her makeup was dignified and elegant, giving her the air of a concubine.
"Get up, Lady Fucha. What brings you here so early in the morning?" Lanqin asked, looking at her.
As Fucha looked at Lanqin, she thought of her past life. It was the same face, but she was never so favored by the Fourth Prince.
"Your Highness, there is something I have been wanting to tell you. I heard that Lord Mu suddenly fell into a coma last night. I deeply regret that I should have come to inform you sooner, and perhaps this would not have happened," said Lady Fucha.
"What is it? Tell me quickly." Lanqin's heart tightened, wondering what Fucha wanted to say.
"Yes. Once, when I went to Changchun Garden to watch a play, I noticed that Lady Liu was frequently there. That day, as soon as I entered, I saw Lady Liu staring intently at Master Mu, who was singing Liu Mengmei on stage. At that moment, I became suspicious. So, I secretly sent someone to follow Master Mu, and sure enough, I discovered that his relationship with Lady Liu was unusual; they... they knew each other before. After discovering this, I intended to report it to the Consort, but then I thought that Lady Liu was already pregnant with Master's child, and saying this might be detrimental to the child. So I didn't say anything. However, I discovered that Lady Liu had been in contact with Master Mu all along. Some time ago, she even gave him a package. Later, it was said that many of her gold and silver jewelry had gone missing, and then someone searched Master Mu's room. I found the whole thing increasingly strange, until I heard that Master Mu was poisoned yesterday, so I hurriedly came to report to the Consort." Lady Fucha finished speaking in one breath.
After listening to her story, Lanqin's heart began to pound. From her words, it seemed that Liu and Mu Qingyang knew each other before, and their relationship was definitely problematic. Liu was infatuated with Mu Qingyang's operas, and she even gave her jewelry to him? And then she claimed to have lost it?
A multitude of thoughts immediately popped into Lanqin's mind; Fucha's words were indeed packed with information!
"Consort, I am late. If I had told you earlier, perhaps Prime Minister Mu would not have been in this predicament." Seeing that Lanqin remained silent, Lady Fucha lowered her head and feigned sadness.
"Are you sure they're related? It seems impossible to be certain just because Liu often goes to the theater. Also, did anyone witness Liu giving the package to Mu Qingyang?" Lan Qin asked.
Seeing that Lanqin was asking such detailed questions, Fucha knew she was concerned about the matter, so she quickly replied, "To be honest, Consort, I have already written to my father and had someone investigate Liu's background. I heard that she eloped with an actor before the imperial concubine selection. I suspect that this actor is Mu Qingyang. They didn't expect to meet again here, and Liu couldn't control herself and had an affair with Mu Qingyang. Afterwards, fearing that she would be discovered by others, especially by Your Highness, she resorted to this framing to try and drive Mu Qingyang away."
Lanqin stared at Fucha for a long time and said, "It seems that Princess Fucha had planned this all along. She wanted to bring up Liu's past." Lanqin was disgusted by Fucha's behavior. Why dig up someone's past? Everyone has a past.
"Consort, I only discovered that Liu's relationship with Mu Qingyang was unusual, so I asked my father to investigate," Fucha quickly explained.
Lanqin glanced at her a few times and said, "Did you see Liu personally hand over the package containing her jewelry to Mu Qingyang?"
Lady Fucha shook her head, then nodded.
“Fucha, you keep shaking your head and nodding. What do you mean by that?” Lanqin asked, frowning.
"Consort, I did not personally witness her taking revenge on Master Mu by giving him the bag full of jewelry. However, I did ask Master Mu privately and told him that Lady Liu actually wanted to get rid of him, and he admitted it to me personally." Lady Fucha had no choice but to tell him this after being forced by Lanqin.
"You've even met with Mu Qingyang in private?" Lanqin finally understood. Fucha was hiding so many secrets, and her private contact with Mu Qingyang was probably aimed at forcing him to break ties with Liu, so she could then take the opportunity to strike at Liu.
"Yes, I just can't stand that Lady Liu is already pregnant with Your Highness's child, yet she's still having such an ambiguous relationship with someone else. It's a disgrace to our Prince Yong's Mansion," said Lady Fucha.
"Did Mu Qingyang tell you where the jewelry bundle was hidden?" Lan Qin asked. So there were so many twists and turns involved; no wonder so many things happened on Liu's side.
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