Chapter 558 The Topic Misled by the Servant Girl
“Your Excellency, Your Excellency, there are many ants like this on the mountain. They must have smelt the sweet flavor on the pastries!” A man from the Ministry of Justice ran over and reported to Qiu Yu.
Qiu Yu coughed in a low voice. Now, it was not appropriate for him to come over and salute the Shao sisters.
“There also had pastries before, but why weren’t there so many ants? And these ants are quite big, and much bigger than those at the foot of the mountain!”
He asked with a frown.
“Maybe because they had not been put there for a long time, or maybe the pastries before were not very sweet. As for such big ants, they are endemic to this mountain and much bigger than those at the foot of the mountain!”
The officer from the Ministry of Justice came to report.
Hearing their words, those who knew this matter couldn’t help discussing it. Originally, they had not guessed in this way, so obviously they couldn’t think of the reason for this. Now that the same thing had happened, everyone would naturally follow this line of thought, especially because the person who said this was a member of the Ministry of Justice.
Shao Wanru glanced at Qing’er, and Qing’er understood. She stepped forward and squeezed to Qiu Yu’s side, and then said angrily, “Sir, can you help our Miss investigate into this matter? Why did our Miss’s silver bracelet have much sugar to attract many ants coming over, but the other Misses’ and Childes’ bracelets didn’t have? Is someone trying to frame up our Miss?”
Qing’er still looked like a little servant girl. She looked not tall but a little naive, and had a quite loud voice. As soon as she said that, many people who had been discussing the matter stopped talking and looked at Qing’er.
“Who is your Miss?” Qiu Yu coughed in a low voice and had to ask.
“Our Miss is the Fifth Miss of Duke Xing’s Mansion. The silver bracelet belongs to our Miss, which was dug out the day before yesterday and was covered with ants. Your Excellency, you are from the Ministry of Justice, so you must know a lot. Can you help our Miss find out who wanted to frame up her and apply honey on her bracelet?”
With a hint of innocence and persistence, Qing’er looked at Qiu Yu expectantly, as if he could certainly say some points.
Qiu Yu turned his head uneasily and smiled awkwardly in the direction where the Shao sisters stood. He felt that he still could not recognize which one was the First Miss Shao.
“Sir…” Qing’er called him again when she saw that he was absent-minded. After hearing her continuous questioning, everyone’s attention fell on Qiu Yu, hoping that he could give a reason.
Being stared at by so many people, Qiu Yu felt more and more uncomfortable and he could only say, “Well… I may have to go to your mansion to check it out. Since this just happened after being buried for a long time, it should have been applied with honey when it was still in the mansion!”
On one side, there were so many people looking at him, and on the other side, the beautiful woman he favored was still waiting for the answer. So, Qiu Yu definitely couldn’t say that he didn’t know at this time, and he could only say it vaguely.
But he didn’t know that Qing’er had given a tricky question to mislead him and already confirmed that there must be honey on the silver bracelet.
So this was true?
Many people had secretly discussed that the Fifth Miss of Duke Xing’s Mansion had some perverse trends. Maybe she was really a jinx? They all thought that they should stay away from her, otherwise it was hard to know when they would also get into trouble.
At this time, the official of the Ministry of Justice said that the Fifth Miss’s silver bracelet had been secretly rigged by someone in the mansion. So they immediately understood that it was really someone who wanted to ruin the reputation of the Fifth Miss, and according to the words, one seemed to be from Duke Xing’s Mansion.
Who could be so vicious as to do such a thing to this filial daughter who had lived on the mountain for so long to observe mourning for her parents!
Qiu Yu’s words were to justify Shao Wanru to the public.
Shao Yanru trembled with anger and glared at Qiu Yu fiercely. She felt that the person in front of her was really stupid. He even helped Shao Wanru to clarify this matter.
Most people on the mountain were nuns, but there were also many pilgrims. Because of something that had happened before, pilgrims had some taboos and only a few of them went up to the mountain. However, due to the good reputation of the Yuhui Nunnery, there were still some pilgrims going up to the mountain. After hearing this, everyone began to talk about it, guessing who had framed up the Fifth Miss of Duke Xing’s Mansion.
Maybe Old Madam of Duke Xing’s Mansion? It didn’t seem to be her. After all, even a vicious tiger will not eat its cubs. Even though the Fifth Miss was not her son, she was her biological granddaughter. She couldn’t be so vicious, could she?
Then it must be Madam of Duke Xing. It was said that this Madam of Duke Xing had not gotten along well with Fifth Miss Shao, but it was so vicious of her to do so. An orphan without parents was forced out of Duke Xing’s Mansion and had to live in the nunnery to observe mourning for her parents. What else could she do? Was such a person really worthy of being a Madam of Duke Xing?
After many rumors had come out, they matched the previous rumors. After that, the more people thought, the more they agreed and felt that this was the truth.
Shao Yanru was so angry that her face turned livid. She twisted the handkerchief in her hands into a mess and almost tore it. She did not expect that Shao Wanru’s servant girl, who was rough and usually looked stupid, would ask such a tricky question. However, Qiu Yu would step into the trap stupidly.
Needless to say, Shao Wanru must have early taught her well!
“Fifth Sister, what do you mean by this?” Shao Yanru lowered her voice and asked coldly.
“Big Sister, what do you mean?” Shao Wanru asked gently as she watched Qing’er pestering Qiu Yu endlessly.
Qing’er, who had cleaned the courtyard that day, was a rough servant girl. Even now, Qiu Yu didn’t know which Miss Qing’er belonged to!
“Fifth Sister, although my mother has never raised you, she treats you well, right? When you were in the Qin’s Mansion, my mother had repeatedly shown kindness to you. Later, she gave you the best courtyard to live in our mansion. But now, is your servant girl deliberately framing up my mother, isn’t she?”
Shao Yanru said coldly, and she was so angry that she could hardly suppress her anger.
“Big Sister, what are you talking about? I just let Qing’er ask the officer of the Ministry of Justice to see what was going on! Why is it changed into the matter related to Second Aunt in your words? Does Big Sister know something? Or does it Qing’er ask something that cannot be said in the mansion?”
Shao Wanru said calmly. Under the veil, the corners of her mouth lifted silently. It was such a good opportunity to justify herself. She would be too stupid if she did not seize this opportunity.
This clarification also became an official one because of Qiu Yu’s ident.i.ty, which was different from the rumor spread outside.
Since the official of the Ministry of Justice had clarified this in front of everyone, even if Duke Xing’s Mansion would suppress the message and not deal with it formally, the truth of this matter would be revealed.
Old Madam was too ill to get out of bed now, so the previous matter of the bracelet had been put off. Even if she could get up later, she would only find a scapegoat and then give a statement for clarification, showing that they would deal with this matter and give her justice, but it actually had no practical effect.
Because of the low status of the scapegoat, there would even have some rumors that people from Duke Xing’s Mansion deliberately asked someone to hide the truth for her.
She had originally come up with a later plan, but now she didn’t need it.
“Sir, this bracelet has been handled by Old Madam and Madam of our mansion. Who do you think has done something to our Miss?” Qing’er still stared at Qiu Yu and asked with a blank face.
Qiu Yu also felt something wrong now. He took two steps back and his face turned slightly serious. “You can go back to your mansion to investigate it. I have to deal with the case here. You’d better leave!”
Even though Qiu Yu was unhappy, he felt that he had to care about First Miss Shao’s face. Although this servant girl was asking for Fifth Miss Shao, he could not make sure whether she was First Miss Shao’s servant girl but came to ask for Fifth Miss Shao.
But thinking in detail, he felt that this conversation was a little weird.
“Sir, this…” Qing’er still wanted to say something, but Qiu Yu waved his hand and two people from the Ministry of Justice came over and pushed her away from Qiu Yu.
Now that they had found out that nothing unusual was going on here and only some ants climbed on sugars, there had nothing important for Ministry of Justice to deal with. Qiu Yu waved his hand and led the rest of the people from the Ministry of Punishment to leave.
When pa.s.sing by the Shao sisters, Qiu Yu stopped for a little while to recognize them again. Then he bowed deeply to Shao Wanru and turned to leave.
Shao Yanru’s face turned pale, and then green. She would not forget how Qiu Yu had flattered her and protected her before.
Although she disliked Qiu Yu, it didn’t mean that Qiu Yu could ignore her in this way.
When the onlookers saw that the people from the Ministry of Justice had left, they began to talk about it and left in groups of twos and threes. The matter had been made clear. Someone wanted to frame up Fifth Miss Shao, and this person was the one in charge of Duke Xing’s Mansion. According to what the servant girl had asked, the person who had handled the offerings was either Old Madam of Duke Xing’s Mansion or Madam of Duke Xing.
But which one? Some guessed this while others guessed that.
Because they were guessing excitedly, many people brought the topic down the mountain so that other people could help them guess it. As for whether there was any doubt about the truth of this matter, every onlooker thought that the doubt was ridiculous. The official of the Ministry of Justice had said that it was someone who had framed up the Fifth Miss, so of course, it was true!
Shao Yanru glared at Shao Wanru coldly, and her eyes were sharp. “Fifth Sister’s servant girl is really bold. How dare she frame Grandmother!”
Shao Wanru smiled and asked gently, “Big Sister, you must be joking. I just asked this servant girl to come forward and ask about it. How could it be a frame? If it was really a frame, why didn’t Big Sister explain just now?”
If Shao Yanru stepped forward and explained in person just now, she could certainly explain for Old Madam and Madam of Duke Xing with her cunning.
However, this would also cause others to suspect her, and then her flawless reputation might be affected. How could the selfish Shao Yanru dare to gamble on her good reputation?
Shao Wanru knew that she wouldn’t do that.
If she had not said it before, what was the point of saying that Qing’er framed someone now? Shao Wanru silently raised the corner of her mouth and asked meaningfully, “Big Sister, I have something else to do and have to go now. I won’t accompany you to enjoy the scenery here!”
After that, she turned around, and was about to leave with two servant girls!
“Shao Wanru, stop!” Shao Yanru said with hatred. Her voice was not loud but sharp. Fortunately, there were only a few nuns left here. They only glanced at her in surprise, but did not look at her anymore.
Shao Wanru stopped and turned around slightly, “Big Sister, is there anything else?”
Shao Yanru looked at Shao Wanru sharply and said, “This… Is this your idea?” It seemed that she had to force Shao Wanru to give an answer.
“Big Sister, you must be joking. My servant girl just wanted to ask the truth. Big Sister, don’t you want me to ask the truth?” Shao Wanru asked as she reversed the pa.s.sive situation.