“Look, it seems like it really has nothing to do with her!” Song said to Lanqin.
Lanqin just smiled and didn't answer.
A moment later, Liu appeared in everyone's sight, supporting Cuizhu. She hadn't been seen for a long time, and now she looked quite well, without the dejected look one would expect from someone who had been confined for so long.
Liu entered, curtsied to Lanqin, and then exchanged polite greetings with the others, completely unaware of the impending disaster. She was currently confined to Chunhui Courtyard, rarely venturing out, and had no idea whether she had heard of Nian's poisoning.
When Liu saw Fucha scolding Hongqiao, she was stunned. She looked at Hongqiao again and saw two obvious slap marks on her cheeks.
“Princess Liu, I can no longer hide it for you.” Hongqiao saw Liu looking at her and immediately stumbled and rushed to Liu’s side.
"What did you say!" Liu exclaimed angrily. Actually, she had heard rumors, as her maidservant went out to fetch water and meals every day; it was impossible she hadn't overheard. Moreover, she lived across the street from Lady Fucha, and she had naturally noticed when the Fourth Prince sent people to search Lady Fucha's room early that morning. However, Liu never imagined that she was involved in this matter. She had been brought here and assumed the Fourth Prince wanted to question her about Lady Fucha.
Hongqiao knelt down in front of Liu Shi and hugged her legs, saying, "Princess Liu, just admit it. If you hadn't bribed me with jewelry, how could I have done such a thing?"
Liu was horrified. Although she didn't know why Hongqiao was hugging her and saying such strange things, she knew that she couldn't have any relationship with Fucha and her servants at this moment.
Just then, the Fourth Prince and Nian Gengyao came out of the inner room again.
When Liu saw the Fourth Prince come out, she pushed away Hongqiao's clinging and cried out to him, "Your Highness, this girl is acting like a madwoman. I don't know what she's saying at all!"
Looking at Liu Shi, the Fourth Prince had long been disgusted with her. He had already been more than merciful to tolerate this woman who had lost her chastity, yet she still dared to cause trouble. So he said sternly, "Liu Shi, you dared to instruct Hong Qiao to poison Consort Nian. Do you have anything to say?"
Liu stared blankly at the Fourth Master, feeling a chill rise from the soles of her feet. She thought she could finally get out, but the first thing the Fourth Master said to her was something that could lead to her execution.
"No, Your Highness, I did nothing. How could I possibly order her around? She is Lady Fucha's maid." Liu said shrilly, finally understanding the meaning of what Hongqiao had just said to her.
The Fourth Master had grown extremely disgusted with Lady Liu and seemed completely unwilling to listen to any of her explanations.
“Your Highness, all the jewelry and accessories I received were given to me by Consort Liu. Tell me, if she had nothing to do with this, why would she give those things to me? She instructed me to do it.” Hongqiao cried out loudly, lying on the ground.
"You wretched servant, what are you saying? When have I ever given you any jewelry!" Upon hearing this, Madam Liu was furious and wanted to kick him a few times, but she knew that this was not the time to lose her temper.
"Liu, what is this? Come and see for yourself!" The Fourth Master suppressed his disgust and had a servant bring a plate forward to show Liu.
Liu staggered a few steps, walked up to the servant, and stared intently at the contents of the plate.
Impossible, how could it be my own jewelry? And, it was that time, that time, the jewelry I used to frame Mu Qingyang.
Liu was horrified. She had never seen that bag of jewelry again after she tricked Mu Qingyang into eloping with it. How could it be here?
Seeing Liu's stunned expression, Fucha smiled faintly.
“Liu is a vicious woman who poisoned Consort Nian. The evidence is now conclusive. Guards! Take her away…” The Fourth Prince no longer wanted to see Liu and decided to have her taken away immediately.
"Your Highness!"
Just as Lady Fucha breathed a sigh of relief, Lanqin suddenly called out, interrupting the Fourth Prince.
Everyone looked at Lanqin with puzzled expressions.
"Qin'er, what's the matter?" Fourth Master asked, a hint of doubt in his eyes. Lanqin knew about Liu's affairs; why would she save her at this time?
"Your Highness, I feel there are still some suspicious points in this matter. Perhaps we should wait until we have a clearer understanding of the situation before taking any action," Lanqin said.
Liu looked at Lanqin gratefully, but the latter was not there to save her.
"Does Consort Niu find anything else suspicious?" Nian Gengyao asked, slightly displeased.
"Could you show me those pieces of jewelry?" Lanqin felt that Liu Shi was not the mastermind behind this whole scheme. It was clearly Fucha Shi, so why was everyone pointing to Liu Shi, who had already fallen out of favor?
Fucha narrowed her eyes, glanced at Lanqin, and thought bitterly: If I escape this calamity, I will definitely make my father deal with the Niohuru family immediately.
Lanqin picked up the jewelry from the tray and examined it closely. She had seen Liu Shi wear these things before, but Mu Qingyang had mentioned that Liu Shi had given her a package of jewelry. The jewelry had since disappeared; could it have ended up in someone else's hands?
Lanqin felt that a pair of venomous eyes were staring at her, so she looked in the direction of that gaze, but naturally saw nothing.
"Your Highness, I have something I wish to discuss with you privately. May I speak with you in private?" Lanqin said. She did not pity Liu Shi; on the contrary, Liu Shi's ruthlessness towards Mu Qingyang clearly showed how vicious she was. However, Lanqin did not want the Fourth Prince to be deceived, nor did she want the real culprit to escape punishment.
Fourth Master naturally agreed and led Lanqin out of the house. They walked a few steps along the veranda, making sure no one could hear their conversation.
"My lord," Lanqin said, "do you remember I once mentioned that Liu Shi had a bag of jewelry that went missing? Its whereabouts remain unknown. Is it possible that someone found it and is now using it to frame Liu Shi?" Her guess was almost certain, which explained the intense hatred in that venomous gaze she had just received.
Fourth Master naturally remembered what happened at Yuanmingyuan, so he couldn't hear any of Liu's explanations. However, after hearing Lanqin's words, he immediately became much clearer-headed. He knew that he had acted impulsively just now, but when he thought of Liu as such a vicious woman, his heart hardened like a rock.
“Your Highness, I don’t actually want to help her, but if the truth of this matter cannot be revealed, it may affect your relationship with Nian Gengyao,” Lanqin said.
Fourth Master was deeply moved that Lanqin would think of these things for him, and he hugged Lanqin tightly.
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