"It's not even March yet, and it's still cold. I wonder if you'll get sick if I pour a bucket of cold water on you like this?" He Yue asked with a smile, but her eyes were icy cold.
Ussu's face turned deathly pale, and she kept shaking her head.
He Yue showed no sympathy whatsoever, her face suddenly darkening: "You used cold water to bathe the eldest princess. In this weather, I don't think you were unaware of the consequences, were you?"
Suddenly, Wusu cried out in a shrill voice, "No! I didn't! I didn't! She's my child, how could I do such a thing?" She then crawled to Heyue's knees, hugging her legs and sobbing, her face streaked with tears, "Your Highness, you can't wrong me! How could I possibly do such a thing? I love her dearly, she's my own flesh and blood..."
Hailan and Chunya, fearing she might harm Heyue, quickly stepped forward to pull her away from Heyue.
Heyue looked at her fearful and flustered appearance with disdain: "Do you think you can keep your secret? I already know that the eldest princess is not the master's child, but I haven't had any evidence, which is why I haven't punished you. As for whose child this is, I think you know in your heart, and I don't need to remind you."
Oh, by the way, Qiu Ling is dead, you know that? Otherwise, you wouldn't have been so afraid that you immediately wanted to get rid of the child. Before she died, she confessed how you plotted against Master, making him believe that you were pregnant with his child, but you didn't expect that even God wouldn't help you, and you ultimately failed to give birth to a son.
By letting the palace know, you temporarily saved your life and your child, but do you think you'll be so lucky forever? It's so easy for a princess like you to die quietly without a sound, without arousing anyone's suspicion. Surely you know that. Do you think you can escape this calamity by killing the eldest princess?
"You know how you made the eldest princess sick; surely someone saw it. I can easily find out by questioning the people in your household. So, are you still going to deny it?"
Ussuri's eyes glistened with tears as she shook her head in disbelief: "Impossible, she couldn't have confessed, she couldn't have confessed, I didn't do it, I'm innocent."
"Oh? You think it's impossible? That's just your opinion. You think that when facing life and death, who would think about others? Who wouldn't want to live? She only begged me to spare your lives, and then she confessed everything."
He Yue suddenly smiled, a smile that stung Wu Su's eyes: "It seems you two have a good relationship. She is still thinking of you and wants me to spare your life, but she is too badly injured. How can she survive? I will not allow her to live. As for you, when I return, I will deal with you and send you down to see her. You should be satisfied."
Suddenly, Wusu woke up, fear flashing in her almond-shaped eyes. She shook her head like a rattle-drum: "No, no, I don't want to die. I didn't do anything. I'm innocent. She forced me to. I didn't want to. I don't crave your favor. I just want to be with her peacefully."
But she said I couldn't live without favor forever, and that I should fight with you all. She said that if I had a child, my life would be better, and our affair wouldn't be discovered. It's all her fault, she forced me into this, she forced me into this. And that child, I don't like her, she's a testament to my sins, I don't want to keep her..."
Heyue listened to her words without any emotion, but Hailan and Chunya were increasingly shocked, as if they could not believe what they were hearing, yet they dared not utter a sound because of Heyue's previous warning.
"Oh? She forced you? Are you sure?" He Yue asked calmly with a smile on her lips.
Wusu's eyes suddenly lit up, and she nodded through gritted teeth: "Yes, it's her, it's Qiuling, it's her who forced me to this point step by step, and she also..." She stopped abruptly, as if she couldn't bring herself to say it, her almond-shaped eyes flickering.
“He found you a man, and you got pregnant with his child, but you claimed it was my child, right?” He Yue said it for her.
Wusu's face immediately turned ashen, and she instinctively shook her head: "No..."
“If I’m not mistaken, that person is Ah Wang.” He Yue ignored her rebuttal and gave the answer directly.
Ussuri collapsed to the ground, her face filled with despair, tears streaming down her face.
It seems my prediction was correct," He Yue sneered.
Qiu Ling and A Wang were having an affair, so why wouldn't she take advantage of him? Perhaps Qiu Ling and A Wang were just using this as a cover, and their real purpose was simply to cover up A Wang's affair with Wu Su Shi.
They just didn't expect to be exposed so quickly.
It's a pity that Qiu Ling was so loyal to her, so devoted to her, and so unwilling to admit it even at the cost of her life, yet she betrayed her so easily.
Such feelings had long transcended the bond between master and servant, or the affection between sisters. He Yue couldn't help but wonder if there was some secret affair between them, but she never expected it to be true.
However, Wusu ultimately failed to hold onto this relationship, choosing instead to protect herself and shifting all the blame onto the "dead" Qiuling.
He Yue gestured to Hai Lan, and Hai Lan went out.
A moment later, Hailan led a person in.
The person was Qiu Ling, her eyes filled with affection, yet also with disbelief and sorrow as she gazed at Wu Su Shi.
When Wusu saw her, she was stunned: "Qiu... Qiuling?"
Seeing her alive and well before him, he was momentarily at a loss for whether to feel joy or resentment.
Qiu Ling knelt before her, looking at her with tears in her eyes: "Princess, how can you say such a thing? I did all this for you. You wanted to secure your position in the manor, but the master never even glanced at you. That's why I planned for you. Why are you putting all the blame on me?"
Wusu looked at her and suddenly laughed: "You're still alive, but you betrayed me too, didn't you? You chose to betray me just to survive, so what right do you have to blame me?"
At this point, a hint of hatred gathered in his eyes: "You said you would protect me, that you would help me, but it was all a lie. You betrayed me first. Why did you do this? What have I done to wrong you?"
Hearing her questions, Qiu Ling lowered her eyes and slowly shook her head: "This servant didn't say anything. Even if this servant dies, I will not betray you, Princess. We grew up together since childhood. Don't you know how I have treated you?"
Wusu was stunned, tears clinging to her eyelashes like pear blossoms glistening with dew.
Qiu Ling kowtowed to her, then turned to face He Yue, straightened her back, and looked directly into He Yue's eyes: "It was all my doing. I deliberately seduced A Wang in order to make the princess pregnant, but secretly replaced the princess with me. If you want to punish me, then punish me alone."
"The princess has already fallen to such a state. Even if she were alive, it wouldn't affect the master and the wife in any way. In the eyes of outsiders, the eldest princess is still the master's daughter, and the princess is the eldest princess's mother. The eldest princess cannot live without her mother. Moreover, if the princess were to die, it would be harmful to the wife. We beg the wife to spare our princess. Let her live a life of seclusion, a life without favor, it doesn't matter."
Ussuri covered her mouth and cried out, but could not utter a single word.
Looking at Qiu Ling's resolute gaze, He Yue couldn't help but sigh that no matter what kind of relationship it is, there is always something admirable about it.
Sometimes, however, certain feelings are never accepted by the world, and wrong feelings can never have a good ending.
Because they know it's wrong, they always retain a sense of clarity in their hearts. This clarity leads to selfishness in each other, making it impossible for them to give their all. And this selfishness is precisely the last straw that breaks the camel's back in this relationship.
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