Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Here it comes...
The thing in her sleeve was soft yet a little rough, probably the traces of embroidery left behind.
Li Shuyao felt it carefully again and confirmed that a strange purse had appeared in her sleeve at some point, and in the purse there was a round and hard object, like a small ball.
Guo Luoluo Qingyao quickly grabbed her hand, preventing her from taking out the things in her sleeves, and said in a low voice, "Don't look at it yet, let's go change clothes."
Li Shuyao suppressed her inner uneasiness and nodded twice.
The two of them sneaked out hand in hand.
After arriving at the side hall for changing rooms and confirming that no one was inside, Li Shuyao almost couldn't wait to throw the purse in her sleeve to the ground.
Guo Luoluo Qingyao bent down and picked up the purse from the ground. When she opened it, she saw a round, white, and delicate oriental pearl inside!
Judging from its quality, it is at least second grade or above.
There were not many concubines in the palace who could use second-grade Dongzhu as jewelry. Almost at the same time, two names clearly emerged in Li Shuyao and Qingyao's minds, Concubine Niuhulu, or Concubine Tong.
Qingyao was still frowning and wavering, but Li Shuyao, who knew the plot well, had already shouted out, "It should be Concubine Tong's pearl!"
"Are you sure?" Qingyao looked at her in surprise. After a moment of silence, she asked, "How are you sure?"
Li Shuyao opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, she suddenly closed it again. Nervousness filled her fair face. She hesitated for a long time, not knowing how to explain to Qingyao.
Qingyao, however, helped her to improve her excuse: "Did you see it just now?"
Li Shuyao thought about it and nodded decisively.
Qingyao held the oriental pearl in her hand, her eyes dim, and she didn't know what she was thinking about.
In a moment, she stuffed the Dongzhu into her purse and said quickly, "This thing can't stay with you."
Li Shuyao was stunned for a moment, then reacted quickly, holding Qingyao's hand and saying, "You can't leave it with me, and you can't leave it with you."
"But what should we do? Should we just throw away this bead?" Guo Luoluo Qingyao asked curiously.
Li Shuyao shook her head, looking thoughtful, and did not speak for a while.
She was recalling the original novel's description of this plot.
In the original novel, the object that Concubine Tong lost was not the Dongzhu, but a five-phoenix hairpin inlaid with gold and jade. The hairpin was a relic of the late Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager. Not long after Concubine Tong entered the palace, the Grand Empress Dowager awarded it to her as compensation for not being able to enthrone her as queen.
Concubine Tong cherished the phoenix hairpin very much and never wore it on normal occasions. She would only take it out on occasions like the Dragon Boat Festival banquet.
Unexpectedly, she lost it while changing clothes. You can imagine how angry she was.
So, to be honest, after Li Shuyao found out that the thing in her purse was a small ball, not the lost phoenix hairpin in the novel, she was not so nervous anymore.
Her mind raced, and she analyzed it with the same shrewdness she'd used to memorizing questions before the final exam. "First of all, Song Fuwen must have slipped this Dongzhu into my sleeve while I wasn't paying attention," she said.
However, she had not expected that Song Fuwen would sneak into the Qin'an Palace to work as a palace maid, and she was not on guard for a while, so she could not tell when someone had tampered with her.
"Secondly, she was trying to frame me."
When the word "framed" came out, Qingyao held Li Shuyao's hand with some worry.
Li Shuyao came back to his senses from his complicated thoughts, smiled at her and indicated that he was fine.
Then he took the purse from Qingyao's hand, rubbed it twice in his palm, and seemed to remember something. He turned around and asked Qingyao again: "What is the crime of stealing Dongzhu?"
Qingyao's voice was deep, and she only said two words, "Death penalty."
Li Shuyao asked her, "What if we secretly put this bead back into Song Fuwen's body?"
She admitted that she was very bad. After being framed like this, all she could think of was: give someone a taste of their own medicine!
After she finished speaking, she pursed her lips nervously, fearing that she would see negative emotions such as surprise and contempt on her friends' faces.
Unexpectedly, Guo Luoluo Qingyao raised her hand and touched her temples with admiration, "That's a good idea!"
Li Shuyao's eyes lit up instantly. "Yeah, you think so too, right?"
Guo Luoluo Qingyao shook her head. "But it's going to be difficult to do. Firstly, this Oriental Pearl has been lost for some time, and Concubine Tong might find it at any time. Secondly, there's a banquet in Qin'an Palace today, and over a hundred palace servants have been dispatched from all over, including seventy or eighty maids. How are you going to find her as quickly as possible and slip the purse into her without anyone noticing?"
Li Shuyao fell into silence.
Qingyao pinched a corner of the purse and took it out of her hand bit by bit.
At the same time, he said, "Let's stick to my previous opinion and find a place to throw this Oriental Pearl away or hide it."
As long as they are not found when the incident happens.
Li Shuyao felt that it might not be that easy. "What if she's already watching us from the dark? What if we find a secluded spot and just as we take out the purse, she jumps out with her men to catch us?"
"If it were up to me, we should return the Dongzhu to Concubine Tong and say we found it by accident."
After hearing what she said, Guo Luoluo Qingyao's eyes suddenly widened. "How can I pick it up? My table and Concubine Tong's table are so far away from each other!" She said in an exaggerated tone, and stretched out her hands to gesture a long distance.
Li Shuyao also realized how outrageous what she said was.
Damn it! After reading so many palace fighting novels, why haven’t I learned any experience in countering palace fighting?
She was so angry that she stamped her feet, puffed out her cheeks, and said in an indignant voice: "Then what do you say we should do?"
Guo Luoluo Qingyao was also at a loss.
She had only been in the palace for less than half a year, and she had already been haphazardly promoted to the position of a court lady. Her mother hadn't had time to teach her the art of struggle, and only sent a few simple instructions through someone, such as keeping a low profile and trying to win the emperor's heart...
None of them can be used at this moment.
The two were silent for a moment, and Qingyao suddenly muttered unconsciously, "If only this bead could grow legs and walk back by itself..."
"Hey, who said it wasn't?" Li Shuyao also sighed, and suddenly, as if realizing something, her eyes lit up, "Hey, I suddenly have an idea..."
*
The Qin'an Hall was still bustling at this time.
After another round of drinking, even the emperor, who boasted that his alcohol tolerance was deeper than the sea, felt a little powerless.
She simply left all the concubines behind and left the Qin'an Palace alone, wanting to cool down in the cool breeze and get rid of the smell of alcohol on her body.
But who would have thought that soon after he came out, he saw two sneaky figures not far away. As if they were afraid that others would not notice them, they crouched down, tiptoed, covered their mouths and noses with two silk handkerchiefs, and ran out of the hall in a hurry.
emperor:"?"
He thought he was drunk and his eyes were blurry, so he mistook one small thief for two.
So he raised his hand and rubbed his eyebrows. After regaining some consciousness, he looked up again.
Only then did he realize that there were indeed two people, and two acquaintances - one was the official girl Guo Luoluo whom he had just married some time ago, and the other was Li Shuyao, the palace maid who served tea in the tea room and could not do anything well and did not want to learn anything.
What are they doing?
Taking cover from the bushes in the imperial garden, the emperor quietly walked to a place not far from the two of them, and then he heard—
"...Qingyao, how was it? Did I roll well just now?" This was Li Shuyao's voice.
"Great, great, you are awesome!" This is the voice of Guo Luoluo.
They were discussing whether to get married or not, and suddenly they started praising each other.
Li Shuyao's reasons for praising Guo Luoluo were very unique and her words were very nice. She looked calm and composed, like a victorious general who was feared by all, reliable and powerful.
Guo Luoluo praised Li Shuyao for her excellent hide-and-seek skills, saying that no one had noticed her at all. Furthermore, her skills were very steady, as she had actually rolled to the right place on the first try...
What a mess! Are they speaking the Qing language?
The emperor frowned and continued to eavesdrop.
Li Shuyao: "By the way, what should we do with this purse?"
Guo Luoluo pondered for a moment and said, "Well, let's keep it for now."
Li Shuyao was curious: "Why?"
Guo Luoluo argued confidently, "It's used to confuse the enemy! Make her think you haven't noticed yet, isn't that a good idea?"
Li Shuyao was quick to admire: "That's a well-reasoned and well-founded argument. Qingyao, you're really smart!"
Guo Luoluo seemed to be very proud. "Of course not."
She added, "Besides, later on, you can say that this purse was given to you by Song Fuwen. Just say that..."
Guo Luoluo seemed to lower her voice and whispered something in a gibberish voice close to Li Shuyao's ear. However, due to the distance, the emperor could not hear clearly.
I only vaguely heard a few unclear words such as "dirty water", "throw it back", and "make her mad to death".
It was almost dusk, and the light in the imperial garden was not very bright. In addition, he was standing in the grass, so his figure was hidden very well. Li Shuyao and Guo Luoluo Qingyao were talking to themselves and did not notice that someone was eavesdropping.
After reviewing the subsequent procedures in a low voice, Guo Luoluo Qingyao took Li Shuyao's hand and leisurely returned to Qin'an Palace.
He walked with a heroic and proud look, as if he was going to fight a big battle!
But the emperor could hardly help laughing.
Just the few words he heard were enough for him to piece together the truth of the matter.
The tall figure continued to stand silently in the grass. On his handsome face, a pair of sharp black eyes gradually became deep and gloomy, his jaw was tense, his lips were tightly pursed, and the aura around him suddenly became cold and oppressive, like the eerie calm before a storm.
*
On the other side, Guo Luoluo Qingyao and Li Shuyao slipped back to Qin'an Palace silently. They first looked around and did not find Song Fuwen in the palace. They guessed that she should still be watching them in a dark corner.
The two men remained motionless and continued to eat and drink.
A moment passed like this, it seemed like a few minutes, or like more than ten minutes, when suddenly a sharp cry erupted from the crowd not far away.
Li Shuyao and Qingyao put down their chopsticks at the same time.
Qingyao silently hinted to Li Shuyao with her lips: Here it comes.
Li Shuyao didn't know why, but suddenly she thought to herself: The dispute has begun!
…
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