He Yao poured out her prepared explanation: "It's a long story. As you probably know, Great-Grandma, A-Yao goes to the Marquis of Runan's residence three times every ten days to learn cooking from the young ladies. This includes, of course, Aunt Wushuang, the future princess consort of Uncle Yao. However, about a month ago—I can't remember the exact date—Aunt Wushuang stopped appearing in class. I thought she was ill, so I asked her cousin, but she was evasive and vague, as if she was deliberately hiding something. I wisely didn't press the matter. The day before yesterday, early in the morning, I took the carriage to the Marquis of Runan's residence as usual." "On the way, I overheard people loudly gossiping on the street, saying that a young lady from the Marquis of Runan's residence was having an affair with a man. Even if our princess's residence and the Jun family weren't related, out of consideration for our friendship these past few days, I couldn't allow such slander against the Jun family's daughter. I ordered the guards accompanying the carriage to confront them, but when they returned, they told me that the two men were adamant, saying many people had witnessed the man causing trouble outside the Marquis of Runan's residence, carrying a young lady's undergarment. Apparently, he had pledged his love to the young lady only to find out she was already engaged, and the guard, unwilling to be fooled, had come to demand an explanation."
The Empress Dowager narrowed her eyes: "After all this talk, there are so many daughters in the Jun family, which one is it?"
He Yao lowered his head slightly, as if he had encountered a difficult secret: "I thought so too, so I ordered the guards to inquire again, and I only got the news this morning. It is said that... that the person was later arrested and locked up by the guards of the Marquis of Runan's mansion. When he was arrested, he kept shouting and said a name, it was... it was Aunt Wushuang."
"What utter nonsense!" the Empress Dowager roared. "If such a thing were true, how could the palace not have heard a single word about it?"
“That’s what I think too. However, the Marquis of Runan loves his daughter dearly, and Uncle Yao is a rare and promising son-in-law. It’s not impossible that he would try his best to prevent the news from spreading for these two reasons,” He Yao added, embellishing the story.
The Empress Dowager remained skeptical: "If it's true, it's utterly despicable. However, even the emperor can't silence public opinion, let alone a mere marquis."
He Yao said, "It is said that the person is still being held in the Marquis of Runan's mansion. I think that to find out whether it is true or not, we should send someone of influence to ask him. However, if we ask my maternal grandfather, it would be too much of a fuss and there would be no room for maneuver. You, my great-grandmother, are the most suitable."
The Empress Dowager did not immediately express her opinion, but sat there quietly, sipping her tea thoughtfully.
Only after finishing a pot of rock tea did she say, "If that's the case, then let's make the trip. I have to be worthy of your tenth uncle and can't let his only son marry the wrong princess."
The Empress Dowager did not want to make a big fuss, so she did not set up a ceremonial procession and rode out of the palace in the same carriage with He Yao.
Upon arriving at the Marquis of Runan's residence, things went surprisingly smoothly. Jun Shu didn't even offer a word of excuse and directly led the Empress Dowager to a side courtyard.
The steward of the Jun family bent over and unlocked the chain on the door of the west corner room. Two black-clad guards under He Yao's command went in, grabbed a man, pushed him in front of the Empress Dowager, and forced him to kneel on the ground.
The man's clothes were of decent quality, but they were very dirty, and his stubble on his chin was unkempt, making him look like he had indeed been detained for many days and was quite disheveled.
The Empress Dowager looked closely and saw that he was strong and handsome, with neat features, and was a rare good-looking young man—but he was still far inferior to her beloved grandson Chu Yao back then.
"What is your name? Where are you from? What do you do for a living?" the Empress Dowager asked.
The man hesitated slightly and did not speak for a moment.
He Yao then said, "This is the Empress Dowager. When she asks you questions, just answer truthfully. If you feel wronged, the Empress Dowager will definitely stand up for you."
The man seemed to be very knowledgeable about court etiquette and immediately performed a deep bow.
"My name is Qi Zhu. I am from Suzhou and I am a third-class guard who was newly recruited into the Imperial Guard this spring."
If the Empress Dowager originally only believed 30% of the matter, after hearing him say this, she would inevitably believe it 20% more.
When the emperor went on his northern tour, all the Imperial Guards accompanied him in armor. If she remembered correctly, the unmarried daughters of the Marquis of Runan also went along.
In this way, the two could be considered to have met.
"Alright, Qi Zhu, I heard that you are acquainted with the third young lady of the Jun family, Wushuang, is that right?" the Empress Dowager asked again.
Qi Zhu nodded in agreement.
Upon hearing this, He Yao smirked smugly.
The Empress Dowager's face darkened, and she asked, "Then how did you two meet?"
"It happened many years ago. I was only seven years old at the time. My father had just passed away, and the family was in debt. My sister was only five years older than me and had no ability to earn money to pay off the debt and support the family. So she came up with a last resort: she wrote a petition and went to Guanqian Street, the busiest and most crowded street, hoping to get help from kind-hearted people to sell herself into slavery and support my studies and life on a monthly salary. Perhaps my sister and I were lucky, because His Majesty's fleet on his southern tour docked at the port of Suzhou. His Highness Prince Ying, along with Princess Yu Rong and Miss Jun, disembarked and went sightseeing. They met my sister, and the kind-hearted princess gave her silver ingots to help her in her time of need."
"Oh, so you and Miss Jun can be considered childhood sweethearts?" The Empress Dowager said, accepting the teacup handed to her by the black-clad guard, with displeasure.
"On that day, only my elder sister met with the three Princes of Ying. I did not go with them because I had to go to school," Qi Zhu said. "I have never met Miss Jun San. I have only heard my sister say that she is a kind and good girl. We can barely be considered to have a spiritual connection."
Chapter List 119 | 17.118
Chapter 118:
The Empress Dowager nearly spat out the tea she had just drunk. [To read the latest chapters of this book, please visit Qiushu Novel Network www.Qiushu.cC]
Spiritual communion?
She had lived for decades and only knew that sexual intercourse could produce offspring; she had never heard of sexual intercourse leading to adultery.
Is this some kind of twisted way of playing tricks on people?
The Empress Dowager was somewhat annoyed, and her tone became stern when she spoke again: "It's just a spiritual connection, yet you go to someone's door to cause trouble, use that girl's clothes as proof, and get arrested and locked up by the girl's father?"
Qi Zhu kowtowed sharply: "Your Majesty, everything I have said today is true. I have never met the Third Miss Jun, so there is no way I could have had any improper relationship with her. The reason I caused trouble outside the Marquis of Runan's mansion that day was because I was forced to do so."
The Empress Dowager glared and said, "Tell me, who is so audacious as to force a dignified imperial guard to do such a despicable thing?"
“Your Majesty,” Qi Zhu raised his head, “the one who is forcing me is Princess Yun Jing.”
"You're talking nonsense!" He Yao snapped. "I've never even seen you before!"
“I grew up in the Grand Princess’s residence and trained in martial arts with the Black-Clad Guards. If the Empress Dowager doesn’t believe me, she can go to the Grand Princess’s residence and ask someone there,” Qi Zhu said.
After considering it for a moment, the Empress Dowager felt that Qi Zhu would not dare to speak carelessly about something that could be so easily exposed.
"Don't rush to ask that. I'm more interested in how Yun Jing pressured you."
"This story begins when I was young. As I just mentioned, my sister was lucky enough to receive a favor from Princess Yu Rong. She happily returned home and discussed with me about buying land. However, before she could even finish speaking, a group of men in black rushed into my house and kidnapped us without saying a word."
From that day on, I never saw my sister again. I never knew who those men in black were; on the day I was arrested, I was taken to see a little girl who looked about six or seven years old. She called herself the Princess of Yunjing County. She arranged for me to practice martial arts, constantly monitoring my progress, and kept telling me that only if I worked hard enough and could pass the imperial examination to join the Imperial Guard when I grew up could I reunite with my sister. But after I finally achieved my goal, the princess said that my sister had been arrested by the Marquis of Runan and that she didn't know where she was being held. She said I had to find something to hold against their household in order to have a chance to negotiate with the Marquis of Runan. The princess was very considerate of me; she had even prepared a personal garment embroidered with the name of the Marquis of Runan's youngest daughter, and told me to take it and cause trouble in front of the Marquis of Runan's residence..."
"You...you're talking nonsense!" The situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and He Yao could no longer contain herself, shouting angrily, "I never said I didn't know where Qi Lan was. She's always been in the Jun family's laundry room, and that undergarment was given to me by her..."
Her voice stopped abruptly, but the Empress Dowager now fully understood that the so-called affair was completely fabricated by He Yao.
She even went so far as to pretend to care about her uncle when she went to the palace.
The Empress Dowager glared at He Yao, then turned to Jun Shu and said, "Marquis of Runan, is there a girl named Qi Lan in your laundry room? If so, please bring her here. I'd like to speak with her."
Qi Lan arrived very quickly.