The Empress Dowager saw that apart from the slight difference in their face shape, their facial features were almost identical, and no one would believe they weren't biological siblings.
"Qi Lan, right? I heard you're from Suzhou. So how did you end up working as a laundry maid in the Marquis of Runan's household?"
Qi Lan knelt on the ground and began to recount how her family had incurred debts. After her father's death, she had no other choice but to sell herself into slavery. She encountered a kind person who gave her silver ingots, but instead of taking her home to work as a servant, he refused.
This part is no different from what Qi Zhu told us.
“At that time, I did not know who those three kind people were. It was Princess Yun Jing who told me their identities and threatened me with my brother’s life, ordering me to find a way to get the third young lady of the Jun family to take me in. For my brother’s sake, I could only try my best to gain sympathy and finally stayed in the Marquis of Runan’s mansion as a washerwoman.”
The Empress Dowager nodded. She had truly underestimated He Yao. She hadn't expected that He Yao, who was only a few years old at the time, would be so cunning and even knew how to plant spies around Jun Wushuang. She wondered what kind of deep-seated hatred she must have accumulated to make such an arrangement.
"Qilan, tell me again, what's the story behind that undergarment?" the Empress Dowager asked again.
"The county princess ordered me to give her the bellyband, just like before, by threatening to take my brother's safety," Qi Lan said. "However, the Marquis of Runan's family is kind-hearted and has been kind to me for so many years. I cannot repay kindness with enmity. So, the bellyband is not the Third Miss's at all. I picked out the best material from my own clothes and made it into a bellyband to impersonate her."
"I heard that the name of the Third Miss Jun is embroidered on that bib. Did you make that too?" the Empress Dowager asked again.
Qi Lan nodded and said, "The Marquis of Runan's family has many daughters. When everyone's clothes are sent to the laundry room for washing and drying together, even the most careful person will inevitably mix them up. To avoid mistakes, both the young ladies' and the wives' clothes are embroidered with marks. However, also to prevent those with ill intentions from using the women's clothes for their own purposes, those marks are naturally not names, but patterns to distinguish them. The people who embroider these patterns are the wet nurses or head maids who serve the women. Each person's embroidery skills are different, and the stitches are also different, so others cannot imitate them. The maids in each room, as well as the laundry maids in the laundry room, are all very clear about these things."
The Empress Dowager, also from a prominent family, was no stranger to the practice of embroidering marks on clothes to distinguish herself from her sisters. However, for the sake of fairness, she still ordered her trusted palace maid, who had accompanied her out of the palace, to bring two laundry maids to the laundry room for questioning.
The result was no different from what Qi Lan had said.
He Yao originally planned to use Wushuang's matter to gain credit in exchange for the possibility of breaking off his engagement with Gesang. However, seeing that things had completely gone off track and his secret plans had been exposed, he was both anxious and angry.
"You...you conspired to frame me!" She jumped up and down, her gaze darting back and forth between Qi Lan and Qi Zhu, then suddenly remembered something and added, "That's it! Back on the grasslands, it was you, Qi Zhu, who led the team to guard outside my tent that night, the night I was inexplicably thrown outside Gesang's tent. You betrayed me long ago, joining forces with the Marquis of Runan and Chu Yao to frame me. You are truly...truly heartless and insane!"
"I think you're the one who's completely lost your mind!"
A man's angry shout came from the east wing of the side courtyard.
As soon as the words fell, the door to the east wing suddenly opened from the inside. Liang Sansheng, supporting Emperor Deqing, led the way, followed by Chu Yao, as they walked out of the room and into the courtyard.
"That day you yourself admitted to being worried about Gesang's injuries and went to his tent overnight to check on him, but now you're changing your story and saying you didn't know anything and were just dumped there." Emperor Deqing was so angry that his beard stood on end. "So fickle! I can't believe a single word you say!"
These few words struck He Yao like a bolt from the blue.
The reason she chose to bring the Empress Dowager was indeed, as she said, because she feared that if something went wrong, there would be no way to turn things around. However, this turning point was not for Wushuang, but for herself.
Despite all her calculations, He Yao could never have imagined that Emperor Deqing would be waiting there before them and overhear the whole thing.
Her knees buckled, and she collapsed to her knees, trembling all over: "Grandfather..."
Of course, she couldn't question Emperor Deqing about why he had been lying in ambush at the Jun family. In fact, just by looking at the people around him, she could tell that it must have been Chu Yao, that Chu Yao was plotting against her!
“Grandfather, it was all Jun Wushuang’s fault. A few days ago, she secretly acted as matchmaker, causing my father to fall in love with someone else and causing my parents to fall out… I was resentful and that’s why I wanted to take revenge,” He Yao argued.
Emperor Deqing retorted, "That's utter nonsense! Did you know during your southern tour that Jun Wushuang would later ruin your parents' relationship, so you took the initiative to kidnap the Qi siblings and arrange everything?"
He Yao was speechless when asked the question. Of course, she couldn't have been so prescient back then. At that time, she was only thinking of keeping the Qi siblings in check from both sides, and would make arrangements after she came up with a brilliant plan. When she left home today, she was still smug and happy with her foresight. Little did she know that this would become irrefutable evidence of her years of scheming against Jun Wushuang.
“Those who aspire to great things should have the ability to plan three steps ahead, and it is truly rare to find someone with such foresight, surpassing many men,” Emperor Deqing snorted lightly. “It’s a pity you don’t use it for the right thing!” He suddenly changed the subject, “I was willing to lose face to let you marry the man you love. It’s a pity you are wicked, doing nothing but harming others! If you were to marry into the Northern Frontier, who knows what kind of mess you would make of my eldest sister’s family!” He sighed, “My eldest sister’s contributions to the Qi Kingdom are unparalleled in the entire country. I must choose a virtuous and kind daughter-in-law for her, not a troublemaker like you! Liang Sansheng, convey my decree: Princess Yunjing is morally deficient and is to be sent to Ci’en Temple to practice Buddhism from this day forward, never to leave for the rest of her life.”
He Yao had been hoping to break off her engagement with Gesang, and now her wish had come true. However, what awaited her was an even worse fate than being married off to the northern frontier.
As the saying goes, you can guess the beginning, but you can't guess the ending.
Unwilling to accept defeat, she rushed over and hugged Emperor Deqing's leg, intending to plead for mercy, but Emperor Deqing kicked her away without any mercy.
“Liang Sansheng,” Emperor Deqing continued, “send Princess Yunjing away now. Also, anyone who dares to plead for her will be sent to accompany Princess Yunjing in her lifelong cultivation.”
A dozen or so uniformed Imperial Guards suddenly appeared out of nowhere and swiftly dragged He Yao away.
Amidst the echoes of He Yao's incessant cries even after he had gone far away, the old steward of the Jun family personally brought a grand chair for Emperor Deqing to sit on.
After taking a sip of tea, Emperor Deqing sighed again and said, "Zixiu, your little princess has been wronged this time. I grant you permission to personally bring her home with a grand procession. When she returns, I will reward you handsomely."
Chapter List 120 | 17.118.119
Chapter 119:
The weather grew cooler day by day. The crops in Moshan Village had long since been harvested, and the villagers, having finished drying the grain, began preparing for their winter rest. [80txt.COM]
Taking advantage of everyone's free time, Ye Mingzhu held classes outside her own courtyard, teaching villagers some simple treatments for diseases, such as the common winter cold and fever, as well as precautions for pregnant women that every family needs.
Wu Shuang volunteered to act as Ye Mingzhu's little helper. When Ye Mingzhu taught everyone to distinguish herbs, Wu Shuang would walk back and forth among the villagers with the corresponding herbs so that everyone could see them clearly up close.
That morning, Ye Mingzhu was talking about how pregnant women shouldn't eat too much seafood or other cold foods when suddenly several children came running over noisily.
"Something terrible has happened!" By the time they got closer, they could hear clearly, "Pirates! The pirates are coming!"
Ren Jiuxiao, responsible for maintaining order and intimidating the villagers with his fierce face to prevent the men from speaking rudely to Ye Mingzhu, casually picked up a six or seven-year-old boy and asked, "How did you know they were pirates?"
The little guy who can't even run three steps as far as him can in one step, would he even survive if he encountered pirates? Of course, unless he encounters him.
"They have a boat! They haven't landed yet!"
"That ship was so big, it was like a sea monster!"
"There was a flag flying on the ship, and there were words written on the flag, but I couldn't read them!"
"..."
The children chattered about what they had seen.
"Boss, why don't we go scout ahead and see who these people are, daring to cause trouble on our turf?" one of Ren Jiuxiao's brothers said.
"No need." Ren Jiuxiao narrowed his eyes. "Haven't you heard that they have a whole ship full of people? We only have a few. If we can't beat them, we shouldn't fight head-on. We should use our wits."