Chapter 384 In the Life-and-death Struggle, I Would Be the One Who Lived!
When Yujie chased after Qin Wanru, she was still on the way back to Zhifang Pavilion, and was waiting for Yujie in particular.
“Miss, First Young Master of the Qi Family wants to marry you!” As soon as Yujie found Qin Wanru, she immediately told her the news, clenching her teeth in anger.
First Young Master of the Qi Family had an affair with First Miss, but he even dared to plan to marry her lady! Yujie was extremely angry and almost wanted to rush out and hit the indecent couple.
“What did they say?” Qin Wanru looked quite calm.
“You know about it, Miss?” Astounded, Yujie asked.
“Yes.” Qin Wanru nodded and stopped, looking into the distance. It would be a sleepless night for many people. The mansion was brightly lit, lighting up the night sky. “Tell me, what do they want from me?”
Yujie was stunned. A strange feeling overwhelmed her. Those who had no parents had to save themselves, even if they were plotted against by others.
Staring at her lady’s beautiful profile, Yujie felt too woeful to say anything. The longer she had been with Qin Wanru, the cleverer she felt her lady was. Sometimes her lady was much more decisive than any other ladies. Sometimes she even looked vicious! However, considering her lady’s condition, she would have been trampled by others, if she had not been so smart and cold.
“Do they still want to keep in touch with each other privately, but pretend to be estranged, in front of others? They must think that everyone will deep quiet regarding their affair out of courtesy, but actually he wants Qin Yuru to help him arrange this engagement!” Qin Wanru said. She turned around gracefully. Her eyes were as dark as the night sky, while her smile made others feel cold and afraid. “It is a life-and-death struggle and I will be the one who lives at last!”
Yujie was shocked by her words and stared at her lady in astonishment, without saying anything. She had been raised in a temple, so she had always heard only pleasant and kind words. It was the first time that she had heard such ferocious and bloodthirsty words, which overwhelmed her with its vehemence.
However, she knew that was the best way!
It was the law of the jungle! The weak will always be the prey of the strong. If Second Miss made a concession, she would definitely be ruined by those people, mercilessly and completely.
“Miss, don’t worry. I will always support you!” Yujie blurted out without thinking. Once she finished speaking, Yujie quickly felt it was improper, lowered her head, and blushed.
There was a wide gap between her lady and herself.
Qin Wanru chuckled. Her voice sounded mild and pleasant, dispersing her hostility and indifference.
Although Yujie was good at working and had always been loyal to her, Qin Wanru was worried that Yujie was not strong enough. Her future would not be easy. If Yujie who grew up in a temple, could not become ferocious and strong, Qin Wanru thought it would be better for her to send Yujie away, as early as possible.
She would only be a stepping stone for others if she was not strong enough.
“Yujie, Mingqiu Nun will be arriving in the capital city. We have to find a temple.” Walking forward, Qin Wanru smiled and said.
Although Qin Wanru looked small and weak, the shadow she cast over Yujie’s body made her feel at ease. “Even though Second Miss is still young, she can still protect herself.”
Following Qin Wanru, Yujie was confused by her words. “Miss, Mingqiu Nun needs to live in a temple when she arrives, but why do we also need to live there?”
“I am still young and I don’t want to live in Duke Xing’s Mansion now!” Qin Wanru answered pointedly.
No matter what Madam of Duke Xing and Qin Yuru were thinking, she was sure that she could not allow their plan to work. Her real background would be uncovered soon, and she would ascertain the truth about her parents. However, now, she would not live in Duke Xing’s Mansion.
But the problem was that it would be inappropriate and unreasonable for her to refuse to live in Duke Xing’s Mansion.
If she went there, she would be restricted in many ways. Even Grandma Rui’an Great Elder Princess could not take her back if she wanted to, because her ident.i.ty was different from Hao’er’s. Besides, since Rui’an Great Elder Princess had taken Hao’er back, it would be inappropriate for her to want Qin Wanru back as well.
Thus, she needed to wait for an opportunity. She needed an excuse for Duke Xing’s Mansion to let her leave. Qin Yuru was a good choice and she might even be able to push things forward…
Well, she was in no hurry to deal with Qi Tianyu. Moreover, since such a serious event had happened tonight, n.o.body would be in the mood for holding a wedding…
If she was right, then the person whom Qin Yuru met tonight must be that woman!
After Qin Wanru had been reborn, she did not expect they would meet again so soon.
The a.s.sa.s.sination against Prince Cheng on New Year’s Eve angered everyone in the royal court. Those who were in charge of security had been scolded severely and were told to find the a.s.sa.s.sin quickly.
Another reason why the Emperor felt so angry was because Prince Chen, who had always been weak, had witnessed the scene and was scared. When he went back to his palace, he had fainted and he was still in a coma, till this morning.
Everyone knew how the Emperor favored Prince Chen. Since Prince Chen was affected by this incident, how could the Emperor not get mad!
Among those who were scolded were Qin Huaiyong and Chu Liuyue.
Chu Liuyue had not recovered completely so it was his subordinate officers who helped him deal with those affairs. Chu Liuyue was just in charge of the comprehensive dispatchment, which could be considered as a sinecure actually.
However, n.o.body had expected such an incident to happen, so he was also scolded.
Following Chu Liuyue, Qin Huaiyong walked out of the Emperor’s study room. Standing in the corridor, he found Chu Liuyue looking quite livid. Thinking for a moment, he continued walking toward Chu Liuyue and bowed to him. “Your highness, what should we do next?”
“How? We must ascertain everything! Uncle Prince Cheng and my third brother have been affected, so we must figure out the whole incident. The Emperor has asked you to take charge of everything!”
Before Chu Liuyue answered, a solemn voice could be heard behind them. Qin Huaiyong turned around and found Prince Zhou walking toward them, with several eunuchs following behind.
“Second Brother!” Chu Liuyue looked relieved and called out to him softly.
“Brother, I just visited uncle and third brother. Uncle is well as he suffered only slight cuts and bruises but, but third brother is not as well as uncle. Luckily, he is now awake. He is taking a rest and n.o.body should disturb him today.” Chu Liuzhou came to them slowly, with a serious look.
“Any news?” Chu Liuyue asked.
“Not yet. I just heard that our third brother had a date with a beauty last night. I am just wondering who she was.” Chu Liuzhou replied, “Moreover, third brother was acting very secretively. He wrapped the beauty up tightly and sent her away. Is he afraid of being discovered by others?”
“What do you mean?” Taking a deep breath, Chu Liuyue asked, with his usual calm look.
“Well, nothing. I just heard that the First Miss of Duke Xing’s Mansion came back to her mansion last night, but left quickly this morning!” Chu Liuzhou answered with a weird half smile.
The whole capital city was in doubt whether Chu Liuyue once had an affair with this First Miss of Duke Xing’s Mansion, which was started by Chu Liuchen, once.
A trace of anger appeared on Chu Liuyue’s face. However, he suppressed the anger and said, “I was in the palace and knew nothing about that!”
“Well, so she didn’t do that for you? I thought it was you before! It is my fault, sorry.” Chu Liuzhou responded casually, and seemed to be bantering with him.
He seemed to be evading the issue intentionally.
Chu Liuyue looked calm this time. “If there is nothing, I think I should deal with those affairs.”
“Go ahead, brother!” Chu Liuzhou stepped back and made way for him.
Chu Liuyue strode forward and gave a sign to Qin Huaiyong, as they still had some details that needed to be discussed.
Qin Huaiyong understood. After bowing to Prince Zhou, he then followed Chu Liuyue and left.
Behind them, Chu Liuzhou squinted and fixed his eyes on Chu Liuyue’s back. He murmured, ” Who the h.e.l.l is that? How did he know when Uncle Prince Cheng would come back to the capital city? Or was it was a coincidence that Uncle was unlucky and encountered this incident.”
When he visited Prince Cheng, it was Prince Cheng who told him this. Prince Cheng seemed to want to make concessions in order to avoid any other trouble, and he did not want to investigate into the whole incident any more.
If only Prince Cheng was involved, the Emperor would not urge them to find out more about this a.s.sa.s.sination after he heard what Prince Cheng said. However, Chu Liuchen, the invalid was also involved, which made the whole thing complicated!
Chu Liuzhou did not leave the palace last night, but only took a walk around. Since there was nothing interesting, he came back very early. However, when he got back, he knew something had happened. When he went out to see what was happening, the a.s.sa.s.sination had been foiled. Thus, Chu Liuzhou was not sure now, who was the intended target last night.
If Prince Cheng was the target, Prince Cheng was not seriously hurt. His cuts and bruises were not severe. What they had suffered before was much more serious than what Prince Cheng suffered last night.
If Chu Liuchen was the target, the invalid was dying and he might die at any time. It was unnecessary to a.s.sa.s.sinate him!
However, Chu Liuzhou became nervous too. When Chu Liuchen had an accident before, Chu Liuzhou had planned it such that he managed to avoid being responsible for that. Now Chu Liuchen had fainted again. Was there someone who was trying to plot against him by making use of Chu Liuchen?
It seemed to make sense when you thought of it this way.
“Chu Liuchen is not important. His position in Imperial Grandmother’s and father’s heart is the important factor. In fact, we are the person’s targets, while he pretends to plot against Chu Liuchen.”
“The woman? It is hard to tell whether the news was true or not. The invalid has always been ill and how dare he want a woman to be with him. He is really playing with fire!”
However, the news that the First Miss of Duke Xing’s Mansion had arrived in the capital city, was true, as he received the note. When he said this to Chu Liuyue, he was testing him to some extent.
“Send some medicine to Prince Chen. Just tell them it has been sent by my mother and me. Don’t give them to Prince Chen’s servants directly, but to Imperial Grandmother as I heard that Imperial Grandmother has invited a nun, who is good with medicine, to the palace. It is because of her skill that third brother was able to awaken from his coma today. Let her scrutinize the medical herbs and then let Prince Chen take them!”
Chu Liuzhou instructed his servants.
His decision was reasonable and proper. This would please the Empress Dowager and make her feel secure about these medical herbs and it would also prove his innocence. Even though he was the Empress’ eldest son Prince Zhou, he had to behave in this way. He could not be too hospitable, and at the same time, he could not be too indifferent either!
“Yes, your highness!” A eunuch answered…
Qin Wanru received the news that Madam Dowager needed to see her, after having breakfast. Her Old Grandma was worried that Qin Wanru had slept late last night, so she particularly told her not to greet her in the morning. When Qin Wanru arrived in Madam Dowager’s courtyard, she saw a group of people standing about in a threatening manner. She bowed to them calmly and walked behind Madam Dowager slowly.
Duke Yong’s Mansion were here on a punitive expedition against Qin’s Mansion…