Chapter 119 Rumors Spread
Two nannies who had strong arms acted immediately. However, it seemed that they were unable to stop Qin Yunzhuang who burst out. Getting rid of the constraint of these two nannies, she turned around to run to Qin Yunuan and kept yelling, “I know it was you! You, a shameless b.i.t.c.h! Because of you, my mother was locked up in the Psycho Tower. Because of you, my mother got infected with the leprosy. Also because of you, my mother committed suicide. Qin Yunuan, what do I owe you? Why did you treat my mother and me like this?”
What did she owe her? Qin Yunuan took a light glance at Qin Yunzhuang. In the past when she just came back to life, she indeed bore a strong hatred for Qin Yunzhuang. Now, however, she didn’t even want to waste time to hate her. In Qin Yunuan’s eyes, Qin Yunzhuang was just a mad dog, a cornered dog that bit people at will. At present, Qin Yunuan didn’t have to do anything to humiliate Qin Yunzhuang and simply the gossip could kill her.
“Sister, what are you talking about? Yunuan is also unwilling to see this happen. It was our father who sent mother to the Psycho Tower. After all, mother went mad at that time. Everyone in the f.u.xi Courtyard had seen how mother took me down to the ground, hit me and scolded me. The old princess of Prince Ning’s Mansion also saw that. Mother was as mad and crazy as you now, which scared me a lot.” Qin Yunuan took a step back and Leng Shuang guarded her closely. Although she thought she could easily hold down Qin Yunzhuang who acted like a virago, Leng Shuang still stayed close to Qin Yunuan owing to Leng Changxi’s order.
Qin Yunuan seized the opportunity to get the old princess of Prince Ning’s Mansion involved in. The old princess of Prince Ning’s Mansion who saw what happened was the most convincing witness and Qin Yunuan had deliberately planned to expose it to everyone. After Qin Yunuan finished her sentences, the gossip spread at once.
“Oh, G.o.d. So is it possible that sister Yunzhuang also goes crazy?”
“It’s hard to say. Maybe the madness is hereditary.”
“I’m not crazy! I’m not!” Qin Yunzhuang tried hard to explain. However, the harder she tried, the crazier she looked. Even those nannies who came to hold her stepped back unconsciously.
“Come here to drag her down,” Empress Chen shouted at nannies who scattered.
Hearing this, Qin Yunzhuang burst out and waved her arms to evade “malicious people”. In her eyes, everyone in this world except Qin Linfeng was hostile to her.
Empress Chen frowned. She remembered that Qin Yunzhuang was a polite and discerning girl despite her later inappropriate behaviors. She had never imagined that Qin Yunzhuang could be as crazy as a virago. Thinking of the terrible dead look of Dou Qing’e, Empress Chen couldn’t help worrying whether Qin Yunzhuang also went crazy, just like her mother.
Besides, the Dou Family fell from power suddenly. Before this, she could still take advantage of Qin Yunzhuang to work closely with the Dou Family. But now, the marriage of Sima Ray and Qin Yunzhuang became useless. Moreover, Qin Yunzhuang was mad. The more Empress Chen thought of, the more indifferently she looked at Qin Yunzhuang. The look in her eyes was as cold as a frozen ice house and nothing but spooky chillness could be felt.
Qin Yunuan carefully observed the look of everyone at the banquet and she thought now was the right time. Receiving the signal Qin Yunuan sent, Leng Shuang threw out a silver needle directly to Qin Yunzhuang’s acupoint to make her faint.
Qin Yunzhuang who was fiery just now suddenly stared blankly, thought nothing and fell down to the ground. Then, the scattered nannies dared to step forward to hold her arms and wrists, asking Empress Chen about instructions on how to deal with her.
“Queen Mother, how do you think she should be dealt with?” Empress Chen turned around and lowered her head to ask Queen Mother.
Queen Mother squinted and said, “Now that Grand Miss and Ray have engaged, she is already our family. When still having to mourn for her mother, she wears flamboyant clothes. Obviously, she isn’t rational or well-educated and needs more training. Send her to the Yeting Palace and let nannies there teach her how to be tolerant and polite.”
People in the Yeting Palace specially undertook rough work such as washing clothes of eunuchs and maids. Losing a part of their bodies, eunuchs had urinary problems, so all their clothes were dirty, having a strong and awful smell. In general, only maids and eunuchs who made mistakes would work in the Yeting Palace as a punishment. Now, Qin Yunzhuang, the exalted daughter of the Grand Commandant and the future wife of Prince Ray, was going to work there too.
Empress Chen was shocked. Originally, she intended to take this opportunity to break off the engagement between Ray and Qin Yunzhuang. Although they two had been seen naked by many people and gossiped, they still could cancel the wedding if Qin Yunzhuang were deemed crazy. It was because Qin Zhi definitely was not that thick-skinned to ask his mad daughter to marry Prince Ray, regardless of the emperor’s decision.
But now, Queen Mother not only accepted Qin Yunzhuang as the wife of Prince Ray but also ordered to send her to the Yeting Palace. Wasn’t she disparaging Empress Chen?
“What’s your opinion?” Queen Mother slowly turned to Empress Chen and asked.
“Queen Mother, that’s fine.” Empress Chen had no choice but to agree.
Queen Mother turned her head back with satisfaction and smiled. She well knew Empress Chen who would always behave as a good daughter-in-law in public.
“Speaking of the engagement,” Queen Mother changed a topic and said to Qin Yunuan, “I have heard of that General Leng proposed a marriage in the court. The emperor hasn’t permitted it considering your status gap. Third Miss, thanks to your sincere pray in Xiangguo Temple, I can recover soon. Now that you are honored with the infanta t.i.tle, I think it’s time for you two to choose a good day for wedding.”
Full of shyness and blush, Qin Yunuan lowered her head slightly and replied, “Queen Mother, could you choose a date for us?”
Queen Mother didn’t turn her request down and said with a smile, “The 23rd day of this month is good. Empress Chen also plans to hold wedding on that day for Ray and Grand Miss. But it’s a pity that Grand Miss now has to learn manners in the Yeting Palace. To make full use of the good omen, General Leng and you can get married on that day.”
The 23rd day indeed was a good day, but there were only 7 days left for wedding preparation. In such a hurry….
“As for the complex wedding preparation,” Queen Mother seemed to know what Qin Yunuan worried about and said, “General Leng started it long time ago. I also prepare something for you. Seven days is enough.”
Right. If Leng Changxi was determined to marry her at the very beginning, he must start to prepare for the wedding long time ago. Thinking of this, Qin Yunuan was so happy and delightful as if she had eaten a large spoon of honey.
After this episode, the banquet went on. When she woke up, Qin Yunzhuang already found herself in the smelly Yeting Palace. She struggled to get out of this place, but the nanny aside told her in a cold voice that it was Queen Mother who sent her here.
Used to be a graceful lady who did no rough work, she now had to wash clothes for disgusting eunuchs.
Wait. Where was Qin Linfeng, her big brother? Didn’t he say that he would go into the palace to protect her?
At the same time, Qin Linfeng was no better than Qin Yunzhuang. As planned, he would disguise himself as a eunuch and get into the Palace through the token bought from the black market. Then at the banquet Queen Mother organized, he could closely protect Qin Yunzhuang, his true and only love, from the bullying of Qin Yunuan, a lowborn girl whose mother was a concubine.
However, when he just put on a eunuch suit….
“Are you awake?” feeling dazed, Qin Linfeng heard a clear female voice. Suddenly, he shivered and opened his tired eyes. He knew well about this ghostly voice. It was from the malicious daughter of a concubine in the f.u.xi Courtyard.
“It’s really you.” At his first sight, he saw Qin Yunuan sitting opposite on a temple chair and leisurely drinking tea. Qin Linfeng wanted to move but only found out that his arms and legs were tied tightly with a hemp rope on a cross-shape wooden pole. He couldn’t move at all.
“You, wicked woman! Set me free!”
Qin Yunuan smiled and put down the lukewarm tea cup, “I don’t think you now have the right to order me.”
“How can you treat me like this?” Qin Linfeng yelled. He still thought he was the exalted son of the mansion of Grand Commandant while Qin Yunuan was just a humble girl whose mother was an embroiderer.
“Because of this.” Qin Yunuan pulled out a small sealed blue-and-white porcelain bottle, “Brother, I remember how you threatened me before. You said you had traveled to many places so you knew many methods to torture people. You could get venomous insects from southwest areas or North Di to torment me. To be honest, I thought you were kidding at that time. But now, I truly see how powerful these methods are.”
Qin Linfeng turned away, trying to ignore Qin Yunuan. He was wholeheartedly worried about Qin Yunzhuang. Qin Yunuan was fine, so Qin Yunzhuang was not; because….
“This is called Qinghua Powder.” Qin Yunuan held the bottle and showed it to Qin Linfeng, “You planned to put it in my food. Such powder can drive people extremely crazy and they behave as if they really went mad. I tricked Dou Qing’e and locked her up in the Psycho Tower so you want a revenge. You want me to experience how it feels when I am clear-minded but deemed crazy.”
Qin Linfeng snorted and said, “Set me free if you are sensible.”
“I haven’t finished my sentences.” Qin Yunuan blinked and wore an innocent look, “I found out your trick. Brother, can you guess what I did then?”