Seeing that the young master Qiu, who had just been so affectionate with her, was now no longer speaking up for her and had completely shifted the blame onto her, Qinglan was heartbroken by the lack of responsibility in him.
Qinglan raised her hand to wipe away the tears on her face, looked at Ning Zixuan with a firm gaze, and said:
"Don't worry, even if I die, I will find a way to get the Empress Dowager to cancel the arranged marriage for me."
Having said that, she ignored Young Master Qiu beside her, pushed aside Ning Zixuan who was blocking the doorway, and strode out.
Ning Zixuan gave the still panicked Young Master Qiu a faint smile and then left.
Seeing Qinglan run away, Young Master Qiu initially considered chasing after her, but remembering the look she had given him earlier, he lost the courage to go downstairs. He could only slump into a chair, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
"Oh, that scared me to death! But this is also a good thing. If Qinglan can really persuade the Empress Dowager to cancel the engagement, then I can also propose to Qinglan."
As he spoke, Young Master Qiu picked up the wine pot on the table and took another big gulp, then collapsed onto the table and fell into a deep sleep.
Inside the Prince Jing's Mansion,
“Madam, today I followed Qin’er to the rockery outside Diancui Courtyard and saw her and Zhu’er, Lin’s personal maid, whispering about something. When they parted, Zhu’er gave Qin’er a paper package.”
Jiang Yuwei frowned.
"And then what?"
"Later, Qin'er sneaked back to the maid's room with the paper package, and when she came out again, the paper package was gone."
Jiang Yuwei immediately stood up and said to Yun Qing:
"Let's go to Diancui Courtyard!"
After saying that, Jiang Yuwei led Xia Yue and Yun Qing quickly toward Diancui Courtyard.
When they arrived, Qin'er was serving the princess her meal.
Jiang Yuwei glanced coldly at Qin'er.
"I never realized you were so cunning."
When Qin'er looked up and saw that Jiang Yuwei was speaking to her, she was so frightened that her hand trembled and the chopsticks in her hand fell to the ground.
Seeing this, the princess looked up at Qin'er and said in a deep voice:
"What's wrong with you? Why are you so clumsy?"
Qin'er quickly squatted down and picked up the chopsticks from the ground.
"No, no, I was just so focused on serving Your Highness that Madam Jiang came in so quietly and startled me."
Jiang Yuwei raised an eyebrow and looked at Qin'er with a half-smile.
"You've probably done too many bad things, and you can't handle the slightest shock anymore, can you?"
After saying this, Jiang Yuwei bowed to the princess.
"I'm afraid I'll have to disturb the Princess's lunch today. Just now, Yunqing was strolling outside and happened to run into Qin'er and Zhu'er, the personal maid of Consort Lin. The two of them whispered to each other for a while, and then Zhu'er gave her a paper package to take back to Diancui Courtyard."
Upon hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, the princess slammed her hand on the table and looked at Qin'er.
"Qin'er, I've always treated you well, so why are you conspiring with outsiders to scheme against me like this?"
Seeing that the princess was angry, Qin'er immediately knelt down and cried as she explained:
"No, no, it's a misunderstanding. Yunqing must have seen wrong. I didn't..."
Jiang Yuwei interrupted her coldly before she could finish speaking:
"Whether it exists or not, we'll find out by searching your house!"
With that, Jiang Yuwei waved her hand, and Yun Qing and Xia Yue rushed out to search Qin'er's maid's room.
Jiang Yuwei instructed the servant guarding outside the door:
"Lift Qin'er up and let her see with her own eyes what we found. Then she will be convinced."
The two servants looked at Qin'er, then at the princess.
Upon seeing this, the princess frowned and said:
"What are you all standing there for? Madam Jiang has spoken, so hurry up and do as she says!"
The two men had naturally developed some affection for Qin'er since they had spent so much time together in the same courtyard. They didn't quite believe that Qin'er would do anything to harm the princess, since the princess had always treated her people well, and everyone was grateful for her kindness.
The two servants originally did not want to be rude to Qin'er, but since the princess had spoken, they naturally had to obey.
So the two of them set up their zithers on either side and headed towards the maids' room.
Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei quickly stepped forward to help the princess and follow.
Yun Qing and Xia Yue searched for a long time and finally found the paper package that Zhu'er had given to Qin'er today on the bed frame.
Yun Qing hurriedly presented the paper package to Jiang Yuwei.
"Madam, this is the paper package I saw."
Qin'er was immediately horrified upon seeing this.
"No, no, Your Highness, please let me explain. This really has nothing to do with me. I really don't know where this package came from!"
Jiang Yuwei glanced sideways at Qin'er, who was kneeling on the ground crying her heart out, but ignored her. Instead, she carefully opened the paper package to check what was inside.
Inside, the package was filled with incense powder. Jiang Yuwei leaned closer to sniff and detected the scents of borneol and mint. She then rewrapped the package with a grim face and looked at Qin'er coldly, saying:
"Speak, why exactly did you help Consort Lin harm the Princess?"
Seeing Jiang Yuwei's state, Qin'er knew she couldn't escape this time, so she slumped to the ground, shaking her head with a bitter smile:
"I didn't mean to harm the princess. She's always been so kind to us servants. How could I be so heartless as to harm her? It's all my fault. I... I deserve to die!"
Jiang Yuwei didn't want to hear these words, so she stepped forward and stared at her.
"I'm asking you why you wanted to harm the princess?"
Qin'er was stunned for a while by Jiang Yuwei's imposing manner before she stammered out:
"She ordered my mother to be arrested, locked up, and tortured her. If I didn't agree to work for Aunt Lin, she would kill my mother, sob sob..."
After saying that, Qin'er could no longer hold back her tears.
Jiang Yuwei frowned as she looked at Qin'er, who was slumped on the ground.
"As expected, Aunt Lin still prefers to use such despicable methods."
As she spoke, Jiang Yuwei looked at the princess beside her and said:
"Your Highness, things have escalated to this point, it's time we taught Aunt Lin a lesson."
The princess, supported by her maid, leaned against the door and nodded weakly.
"Someone, take Aunt Lin and Zhu'er to the front hall and tell them I have something to ask them!"
As soon as the princess finished speaking, the servants who had been standing outside the courtyard hurriedly went out to carry out the order.
Jiang Yuwei then looked at Qin'er kneeling on the ground and said:
"No matter what, you have made a mistake and deserve punishment. However, if you cooperate with me and confess honestly in a moment, I will have Aunt Lin release your mother and give her a sum of money as compensation from the Prince's Mansion."
Upon hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, Qin'er nodded hurriedly and said:
"Yes, yes, I will follow your arrangements, Madam Jiang. I deserve whatever punishment I receive. Please, you must rescue my mother. She is old and cannot withstand the torment that Aunt Lin has inflicted."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com