Chapter 52 The Yellow Bird Behind
The two of them helped their master into the carriage, and the old servant then escorted them to the door.
Xu Shuyao looked back, but did not see Xiao Mo and his guard.
The carriage was silent for a moment. Qiao Wei and Hui Xiang were both worried about the girl's future, while Xu Shuyao was thinking about the situation at the Shen Mansion at that time.
She didn't think there was anything wrong with the food and drinks that came with the river before. After all, the guests from both sides were selected randomly.
Even if someone in the Shen Mansion wanted to harm her, how could it be such a coincidence?
That would only be a matter of tea and pastries later on.
"Where are the pastries?" he thought to himself and reached out to Qiao Wei.
Qiaowei didn't say anything, but Huixiang beside her blushed.
"Master! You still... still need cakes?" He was so surprised that his voice stuttered.
Xu Shuyao leaned on Qiao Wei and didn't have the energy to talk to this silly girl.
"She ate the pastries." Qiao Wei next to her added.
Xu Shuyao raised her eyebrows, which meant that there was something wrong with the tea in the Shen Mansion.
Is it Shen Jingshu?
She really doesn't seem to like herself very much.
Xu Shuyao was also helpless. She thought she had done nothing to offend the eldest daughter of the Shen family.
Besides, are they familiar with each other?
Apart from helping the Crown Prince pass on his message that day at Songhe Hall...
Is it because of this?
She frowned and said nothing for a while until the carriage stopped in front of the side door of Duke Cheng's Mansion.
Originally, he should have gone to Songhetang in person to report his safety, but Xu Shuyao's medicine had just worn off and she was still weak, so he decided to let his maid go and tell her after returning to Jiyunzhai.
However, not long after they returned, Old Madam Xiao sent Chunsheng over.
"I'm here to see my cousin on the orders of the old lady. The old lady heard that the young lady was not feeling well and went to the clinic, so she's worried now! She won't feel at ease until she asks me to come and see her." After she said that, she saw that Xu Shuyao was indeed pale, so she told her to have a good rest and not to go to Songhe Hall to pay her respects in the next few days.
Xu Shuyao thought about it and realized that she had indeed told her cousin Liu when she hurriedly left the Shen Mansion, but the other party would definitely not say that she would go to see a doctor.
It must be the prince who helped her cover up something in front of the old man.
Thinking of Liu Qingwan, she naturally thought of Xiao Jinshan, so she asked again: "Are my third cousin and cousin Liu okay? When did they... come back?"
Unexpectedly, when Chunsheng heard her mention these two people, he said unnaturally: "The third lady has returned home, and Miss Liu has also...also returned home."
Seeing her running so fast, Huixiang muttered, "Strange, why did she react so strongly when the girl mentioned the guy from Rose Courtyard?"
"You don't know since you are not in the house..." said Nanny Zheng who had just walked into the house.
Xu Shuyao, who had been leaning against the pillow with a gloomy look on her face, also raised her head. "What's going on?"
"Something happened. I'm afraid that girl will have to marry into our second house." Nanny Zheng looked at them and said with a sigh.
As soon as these words came out, Xu Shuyao's sleepiness disappeared, and even the two maids Qiaowei and Huixiang opened their mouths in shock.
Seeing their behavior, Madam Zheng laughed. "It's because something happened in the Shen Mansion. Miss Liu was poisoned, and the Second Young Master wanted to save her... so..."
She spoke hesitantly, but everyone could guess what happened next, so there was no need to elaborate.
But, Liu Qingwan was also poisoned by the drug?
Xu Shuyao exchanged glances with the two maids, both of them with subtle expressions.
Xu Shuyao frowned, but the more she thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong.
She had just thought that perhaps Shen Jingshu had asked the maid to put drugs in the cup of tea with the cakes, but now she no longer thought so.
Even if Shen Jingshu wanted to harm her, she at least had a purpose, right?
She took most of the guests to Zhaixingtai, but ordered the maid to drug the two cousins of Duke Chengguo's Mansion. What was her purpose?
If it were Shen Jingshu, the three of them, master and servant, would not have been able to come out of the Shen Mansion without any obstacles.
According to normal practice, there should be someone waiting for her on the road to ruin her reputation!
But, it didn’t?
Xu Shuyao suddenly thought of the piece of cake that Liu Qingwan had inexplicably asked Qiao Wei for, and a sneer gradually appeared at the corner of her mouth.
The calculations step by step are clear and understandable.
What a good trick!
They even found a scapegoat.
But does she want to put the blame on the Shen family or herself?
In Jinhua Hall, Chen's face was also gloomy at this time.
Besides her, there were Liu, the Second Master Xiao, the Third Master Xiao, the Second Young Master Xiao who had gotten into trouble, and Liu Qingwan, whose face was covered in tears.
A servant came running over hurriedly, "Master! The cousin has returned home!"
The cousin the servant was referring to was naturally not Liu Qingwan who was present, but the one from Jiyunzhai.
"How is she?" She heard that her niece was getting medicine at the clinic on the street. It was her mother-in-law who sent someone to tell her.
Although Chen was the servant who asked the question, his eyes were staring coldly at Liu Qingwan.
"Miss Xu looks fine, but her face is a little pale." The servant replied.
Liu Qingwan lowered her eyes.
"Didn't you say that it was because of eating her pastries? You said she was the same as you. How come she knew to go to the clinic to detoxify, but you were involved?" Chen was obviously a little angry at this point.
Because it is a fact that his stepson had sex with Liu Qingwan, and he himself is willing to admit this confusing account.
If the girl came from a small family, she could be carried in through the back door in a sedan chair.
But Liu Qingwan was not like that. If Chen dared to say that, neither Liu nor Ningxia would agree.
Therefore, Chen was just taking advantage of her current unfair status to embarrass her future daughter-in-law.
Liu Qingwan looked shaky, but she still cried, "Qingwan only said that she used cousin Xu's cakes. She never dared to doubt cousin Xu in her heart. What's more, Qingwan... Qingwan also used the food and tea from the Shen family."
"Oh, so you're blaming the Shen family now? Then you said that the girl from the Shen family has no grudge against you, so why would she want to harm you?" As Chen listened to what the girl from the Liu family said, she felt more and more that she was a cunning person.
Her eyes fell coldly on Xiao Jinrong, but a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
Liu and the third master were both present, so she couldn't go too far.
But after looking around, Chen realized that it was not that she was biased, but marrying Miss Liu would be worse than marrying her own niece!
Liu Qingwan stammered, "Maybe... maybe she's dissatisfied with the Xiao family and thinks that Cousin Xu and I have seduced the Prince."
Chen sneered, "You really are good at flattering yourself."
"Mother! Not only are cousins Liu and Xu feeling unwell, but didn't you hear what third sister said? Miss Shi, who offended Miss Shen at the banquet, has also been poisoned. It's very possible that the Shen family drugged her." Xiao Jinrong, who was sitting on the side, couldn't help but defend Liu Qingwan.
The second and third masters were already on pins and needles at this time. It was uncomfortable enough for two grown men to be forced to listen to the verbal battles between these women, not to mention that one of them was a young lady.
Master Xiao Er couldn't bear to watch any longer. "What's the point of pursuing this now? We can't find any evidence. Now that things have come to this, let's discuss the marriage!"
Chen almost vomited blood again. She had taken all kinds of precautions but in the end she still married a daughter-in-law she didn't like.
But what can she do?
Liu spoke very little throughout the whole process, only occasionally glancing at Liu Qingwan, and no one knew what she was thinking.
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