Chapter 1002 Lord Qiu, Did You See it Clearly?
Today, Infanta Yuan’an was here to a.s.sist Shao Wanru. Moreover, she had to make it clear to Shao Wanru that she was on her side.
Unexpectedly, Qiu Yu appeared. After observing the situation for a while, she spoke up and stopped him.
She could see that Qiu Yu was about to leave, but Shao Wanru couldn’t speak at the moment and her personal maid was rebuked. When no one helped her, she could step forward to show Shao Wanru her sincerity.
Seeing that it was Infanta Yuan’an, whom he didn’t dare to offend, Qiu Yu quickly lowered her head and said respectfully, “Greetings, Infanta Yuan’an!”
“You have a close relations.h.i.+p with Secondary Consort Shao, so you helped Madam Jiang. I heard she had asked Marquis Xing’s nephew to frame Princess Chen. There is evidence to prove that. But you said you hid behind the curtain for evidence. Do you have some doubts? Have you found any evidence to prove that Madam Jiang is innocent?”
Infanta Yuan’an spoke freely and frankly.
She had the guts to say things others did not dare to say.
After Yujie, she disclosed more information and was brutally frank about the fact that Qiu Yu and Shao Yanru had a special relations.h.i.+p. Qiu Yu was here to help Madam Jiang, but why would he do that? Of course, it was because Madam Jiang was Shao Yanru’s biological mother.
“Your Highness, please be careful with your words!” Qiu Yu shuddered all over and said in a tearing hurry, hinting that he couldn’t bear the consequences. Shao Yanru was now the Emperor’s Secondary Consort. How could he covet the Emperor’s woman?
Thinking of her beloved woman now living alone in the palace, Qiu Yu felt resentful and painful. At this moment, he was inexplicably more annoyed with Infanta Yuan’an. In the past, Infanta Yuan’an got along very well with Shao Yanru. But now, to please Princess Chen, Infanta Yuan’an delivered Shao Yanru a nasty blow.
What a hypocritical woman!
“Lord Qiu, this girl is just Princess Chen’s maid. Princess Chen is reciting sutra now, so we can’t disturb her here. How about we talk it through? I’d like to know why you’re here and what you heard just now. I hope your efforts will not be in vain.”
Infanta Yuan’an’s tone was diplomatic and polite. Although she was partial to Shao Wanru, she handled this matter with ease and natural poise. Hearing her words, all the Madams nodded approvingly.
They all thought it was a good idea.
Since everyone agreed, Zhao Xiran had no choice but to take Qiu Yu, Madam Jiang, and others to the living room outside. This hall was obviously not a good place to talk.
When they left and the two servant girls of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion went to do their jobs outside, Shao Wanru slowly opened her eyes and looked out of the door coldly.
“Your Highness…” Yujie said angrily in a low voice. “What’s wrong with that Lord Qiu hiding inside? If you hadn’t reminded me, I wouldn’t have known that there was a person hiding inside. First Miss has already married into the Palace. How could he ever dream of being with her?”
Yujie didn’t like Qiu Yu. Anyway, he had helped First Miss a lot in the past, although there were some things that he didn’t mean to do. First Miss wouldn’t have escaped so easily if it hadn’t been for him.
Now he popped up to help Madam Jiang. Yujie would never believe that this matter had nothing to do with First Miss.
Shao Wanru shook her head, and her eyes softened. “Did you smell the herbal medicines on Madam Jiang? How many kinds of herbs can you tell?”
“I can tell that there are four or five commonly used medicines. The smell of these medicines is strong, but they don’t have much effect on healing injuries. Their scents are heavy, and I suppose that was why the Marquis Xing’s Mansion deliberately added them. They wanted others to know that Madam Jiang was seriously injured because of you.”
The more Yujie talked about it, the angrier she became. That was a cheap trick to play on them. It was true that Madam Jiang was wounded, but she didn’t need to use so much medicine. The several kinds of herbs were not for healing her wounds. What they needed was their pungent smell. By doing so, they could blow this matter into a major controversy and make others feel Princess Chen was overbearing and aggressive.
“Let’s invite an imperial physician!” Shao Wanru nodded. Like Yujie, she could also smell several kinds of herbs. Notably, there was a faint but special smell of medicine. If it was really what she guessed, it was worth further investigation.
“Invite an imperial physician?” Yujie did not keep up with Shao Wanru’s thoughts and was stunned for a moment.
“If we discover one trick, there must be a series of them. The smell of these medicines is so strong but they’re of little use to the wounds. I have to doubt the intention of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion. Today, I’m a guest and hence is at a disadvantage, which means I have to accept their arrangements sometimes. But if the Empress Dowager in the Palace intervenes, Old Madam can no longer control this matter no matter how much she wants to. Madam Jiang has other intentions, and different kinds of drugs should be distinguished. Of course, we need imperial physicians proficient in the drug flavors!” Shao Wanru ordered.
Yujie understood and nodded repeatedly. “Your Highness, I will get the imperial physician in a moment!”
“Wait a little longer. I can’t faint as soon as they leave!” Shao Wanru said unhurriedly. The Marquis Xing’s Mansion waited for her with a trap, but she had no choice but to come. It was not that she couldn’t break out of the trap. Infanta Yuan’an was an important part of the whole plan. Even if she didn’t like Princess Chen and even wanted her to die, she had to help her at this time.
With Infanta Yuan’an, she wouldn’t be able to interfere in the matters she had been planning to deal with!
“Ask the imperial physician to distinguish the flavors of drugs on Madam Jiang. Besides, there seems to be one faint flavor. Sometimes, I can smell it, but sometimes I can’t…” Shao Wanru whispered again. The imperial physician of the Imperial Inst.i.tute of Medicine should be able to distinguish it.
A thought suddenly came to her mind and she stopped speaking. “Does Madam Jiang want the smell of medicine on her to be so strong? Or someone in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion also knows well about medicine?” Suddenly, she recalled a habitual gesture of Zhao Xiran.
“Did she want to feel the pulse at that time?
“Could it be that Zhao Xiran also knows medical skills?”
This idea seemed to be odd, but it was rooted in her heart. It was easy to find out the truth through small details.
“Yujie, you made a sachet to help you calm down, right? Do you bring it with you?”
“Yes!” Yujie reached out to take off the sachet hanging on her waist and handed it to Shao Wanru…
In the living room, Infanta Yuan’an was at the seat of honor, for her status was the most distinguished, and Zhao Xiran was sitting next to her. Madam Jiang was the one supposed to sit beside Infanta Yuan’an, but she looked ghastly pale and seemingly couldn’t hold on any longer. In the end, she sat down near Zhao Xiran. The other Madams took the seats for guests.
Qiu Yu wanted to leave, but he couldn’t.
After everyone sat down, the maid served tea and walked out. Then Infanta Yuan’an looked at Qiu Yu and said with a serious expression, “Lord Qiu, please tell me what you saw just now. There are several Madams of n.o.ble character and high prestige here. It’s best for them to bear witness to your words!”
As long as Shao Wanru was not present, Infanta Yuan’an could remain generous and fair when dealing with affairs. At this time, she asked in a deep voice with the same calm demeanor as that of Great Elder Princess.
“Lord Qiu, please tell us the truth!” Zhao Xiran also said with a smile.
“Yes, Lord Qiu. Tell us what you saw and heard just now. The servant girl beside Princess Chen forced me to eat pastries. I had a good intention for them, but… that servant girl took advantage of Princess Chen’s power to humiliate me!” Madam Jiang added.
She had been feeling quite aggrieved just now. Yujie, the d.a.m.ned servant girl, forced her to have the pastries. But why did everyone suspect that she was arrogant?
As long as Qiu Yu could point it out, she could take this opportunity to turn the situation around and put the blame on Shao Wanru. Thinking of this, she was filled with excitement. Despite her injuries, she urged, “Lord Qiu, please tell us the truth. Infanta Yuan’an and several Madams will uphold justice. You arrived early and must have seen everything clearly.”
Seeing her like this, Zhao Xiran was so angry that she secretly pulled her handkerchief a few times. Madam Jiang had been quite clever in dealing with people, but now she looked too anxious to behave properly. Zhao Xiran wondered if she had become foolish after spending too much time in the Yuhui Nunnery. Madam Jiang took this matter for granted as if she had known that Qiu Yu was hiding inside.
“Lord Qiu, please make it clear!” Zhao Xiran had no choice but to interrupt Madam Jiang. If she went on, who knew what horrifying words she would say?
“Madam, I’m sorry. I didn’t see it.” Qiu Yu shook his head and smiled bitterly. He really didn’t see it. At that time, Yujie stood with her back to him, plus she is a humble servant, so he didn’t see everything that Yujie did. Besides, he focused almost all his attention on Shao Wanru because Princess Chen was his main aim. How could he notice the interaction between a servant girl and Madam Jiang?
“You…” It was a heavy blow to Madam Jiang. Her face beaming with joy stiffened. She asked again, word by word, “Lord Qiu, did you see us clearly?”
There was a pleading look in her eyes. As long as Qiu Yu seemed to say “yes”, she could seize the opportunity to exert her strength. Even if she couldn’t do anything to Shao Wanru, she could crack down on her loyal servant girl here. No matter what, she was still the Madam of Marquis Xing and Shao Wanru’s elder. Just because of these two reasons, Shao Wanru’s servant girl could never be rude to her.
However, Qiu Yu lowered his eyes. He understood what Madam Jiang meant, but he really didn’t see it at that time. In addition, he didn’t think a maid would dare to treat her roughly like that. Her words sounded like a lie, and Madam Jiang also asked him to give false testimony. He had already gotten into so much trouble today. At this time, he should stay impartial. As an official in the Ministry of Justice, he could easily figure out what was the most important thing at this time.
Madam Jiang was not Shao Yanru, so he didn’t want to spend too much effort protecting her.
“Madam Jiang, I saw it clearly. That maid only treated you to tea and some pastries. I really didn’t see anything else!” Qiu Yu said apologetically.
If he didn’t see it, he didn’t dare to talk nonsense. Moreover, what he said might involve Princess Chen in trouble. At this time, he should try his best to keep a low profile.
“Lord Qiu, how could you not see it? It was over there. That b.i.t.c.h, at that time, there were few people, and she…” Madam Jiang was not convinced and stood up with resentment.
“Mother, please sit down and talk. Don’t worry. Does your head still hurt? Let’s slow down a little! Calm down.” Zhao Xiran reached out to hold Madam Jiang, who was nearly out of control, and said softly. After pulling her to sit down, she served her a cup of tea and looked at her with soft eyes.
Since Madam Jiang was so muddle-headed, she had no other choice at the moment!
Her words seemed to have a strangely fast effect on the furious Madam Jiang, who then sat down and drank the tea obediently. When she put the teacup down, she looked very calm. She reached out and touched her head. “I have a headache. It seems that my head is messed up. I don’t know what’s going on. I was fine before!”