"Grandma, it was Third Sis." Hua Qiyue replied indifferently, as if she were saying something totally unrelated to her.
The Third Madame, Madame Pan, suffered a huge shock. She stared at Hua Xiaoyi in great astonishment. Hua Xiaoyi"s face was flushed red, her eyes somewhat shifty. Third Madame felt a grave disappointment. She had been telling her to leave Hua Qiyue alone. And yet she still offended her!
Now they were in trouble!
"No! Grandma, Elder Sis is maligning me. I won"t do that!"
Hua Xiaoyi cried, trying her best to bluff her way through. She eagerly squeezed out a few drops of crystal tears from her eyes. Hua Qiyue sneered. Hua Xiaoyi"s maidservants, Bingqing and Chun Xiang, were so frightened that they dared not breathe. First Miss was so scary. Her eyes seemed able to penetrate into their hearts to unearth all their innermost thoughts!
The Old Madame stared at Hua Xiaoyi, hateful that she was such a simpleton. "Xiaoyi, what foolish thing have you done?"
"Grandma, I haven"t... please, believe me, Grandma. I"ve never done such a thing." Hua Xiaoyi was so frightened that she plonked down onto her knees. Well, she was about to implicate the First Prince and that would surely spell trouble.
The Third Madame immediately began to speak up for Hua Xiaoyi. "Old Madame, First Miss, you claimed that Xiaoyi has switched the Sword Leaf Gra.s.s in the sachet for Ghastly Tear Gra.s.s. Show us the proof. You can"t accuse her without any evidence!"
Hua Qiyue did not want to speak directly to her. She had Caining bring in her witness.
"The person who made the switch that day was Bingqing. Bingqing also bought the herb. This is the medicine store"s boss. Bingqing even asked him about the difference between the two herbs!"
Hua Qiyue said coldly. Bingqing was so frightened that her legs went limb, and she slumped feebly to her knees.
Caining brought in the witness, Boss Li. Boss Li bowed his head in trepidation.
"No, no... Grandma, they have bought the boss to malign me!" Hua Xiaoyi was still shouting. She refused to admit the accusation.
The Old Madame glanced quietly at Hua Xiaoyi, and then asked the witness directly. "Boss Li, was our First Miss telling the truth?"
"Old Madame Hua, everything Princess Jinghua has said is true." Boss Li replied. "It was four days ago. The young maidservant went to my store to purchase 50 grams of Ghastly Tear Gra.s.s." When she bought it, she especially asked me about the use of both herbs. I reminded her that she was buying Ghastly Tear Gra.s.s, which is poisonous."
The boss of the medicine store pointed at Bingqing and her face immediately turned ashen. She lifted her eyes a little and saw Hua Qiyue sitting quietly on the couch, her eyes as calm as an old Buddhist monk"s. In them was an unsettling iciness.
"Bingqing, is it true?" The Old Madame asked coldly.
"Yes... it was Third Miss who asked me to do it. Please be lenient to me, Old Madame, I was forced to! Third Miss forced me into it. If I didn"t succ.u.mb, my family will die..."
Bingqing said, shivering. Two streams of clear tears gushed down her eyes.
The Old Madame"s countenance was black and she made the boss step down. Then, she swept a gaze at Hua Xiaoyi who was frantically protesting her innocence. She slapped the table ferociously. "How dare you, Xiaoyi! Are you trying to frame your sister so that you can become Princess Consort?"
The Old Madame had long known what had next. In the cabin, Hua Xiaoyi had accused Hua Qiyue of keeping Ghastly Tear Gra.s.s rather than Sword Leaf Gra.s.s in her sachet. Only after the misunderstanding had cleared did Hua Xiaoyi slinked away dejectedly.
"Grandma, luckily, Qiuyun was careful. She discovered that the Sword Leaf Gra.s.s had been switched and put the Sword Leaf Gra.s.s back instead. Otherwise, I would have been framed for poisoning the First Prince." Hua Qiyue lifted up her teacup indifferently, gazing coldly at the kneeling Hua Xiaoyi.
The Third Madame also knelt, begging for mercy on Hua Xiaoyi"s behalf. Her eyes were mournful. "Please spare Xiaoyi"s life, Old Madame. She"s young and immature. Besides... it was I who didn"t teach her well. It"s all my fault. Please forgive us!"
Hua Xiaoyi glanced at the cold Old Madame and knew there was no way out. She immediately pointed at Hua Qiyue and cursed. "You b*tch!" It was you who had caused all these troubles in Hua"s Mansion in the past months. Because of you, Second Madame committed suicide in her dungeon cell! You made Second Sis and our brother lose their mother! You stole all my limelight. You b*tch..."
"Someone, come and slap her! Hua Xiaoyi, I didn"t expect you to remain unrepentant. You"ve made me so disappointed!"
Nanny w.a.n.g and another maid immediately stepped up and grabbed the cursing Hua Xiaoyi, giving her ten loud slaps!
Hua Xiaoyi"s mouth was bruising from the slaps. Her whole face was terribly swollen as she stared hatefully at Hua Qiyue. Her eyes resembled extremely venomous arrows, trying to pierce through her sister.
The Third Madame"s eyes were red. Although she was fuming, she dared not speak rashly.
"Grandma, Third Sis is indeed young and impatient. She really has to calm herself down..." Hua Qiyue remarked blandly. The Old Madame rolled her eyes.
"Very well. The two of you, mother and daughter, shall practice austerities at Soul Mountain Temple. You don"t need to shave your hair off. That will keep you from polluting Hua"s Mansion." The Old Madame said quietly. Hua Qiyue could easily have exposed Hua Xiaoyi"s plot in the cabin. She did not do it to keep the Hua"s face intact.
Now, they could claim to the outside world that Hua Xiaoyi was suffering from a contagious illness. She must recuperate quietly in a temple. It would be the best excuse.
"Grandma, although Third Sis is wrong, someone else is, too." Hua Qiyue stared at Hua Mengshi who was silent all this time. A cold sneer was hovering on her lips.
The Old Madame started, staring at Hua Mengshi and then at Hua Qiyue. "What really has happened?"
"Didn"t Third Sis offer the pa.s.sion fruit and Tuhua Fish to the First Prince? Actually, these two foods are very rare among the common folk. Yet Third Sis has managed to buy them in two days. Obviously, someone has arranged this." Hua Qiyue brushed her cup with the tea cover. "Second Sis, the Qi Artist you have employed, Xiao Ming, has purchased these two foods a month ago. You have been waiting for this opportunity... When Second Sis tried to deal with me, you got Xiao Ming to buy the foods for her."
Hua Qiyue"s words stunned Hua Mengshi. She pretended to be calm and shook her head. "Elder Sis, you can eat anything you like but you must not speak recklessly. Why would I do such a thing?"
"Bring up Xiao Ming!" Hua Qiyue said coldly.
At this moment, Caiqing frogmarched a thirty-year-old man in. The moment the man saw Hua Qiyue, he put on a mournful face. "Princess Jinghua! I know that I"m in the wrong. I confess... please don"t make the Qi Artists Guild strike off my name!"
"Let me ask you: did Hua Mengshi give you 100,000 taels of gold to buy Tuhua Fish and pa.s.sion fruits from the common folks?"
"Yes!"
Hearing Xiao Ming"s confession, Hua Mengshi let out a cold snort. "Elder Sis, you think too highly of me. 100,000 taels of gold? How could I have so much taels?"
She"s right! Everyone heard her and looked toward Hua Qiyue. They found this too incredible. Second Madame was dead. Although Hua Liting was back in the mansion, he would usually not let his daughter keep any of his money.
Hua Mengshi was only a girl awaiting marriage. She had not performed any transactions to win her any money.
So it was impossible for her to have 100,000 taels of gold.
Hua Qiyue smiled icily. "If I didn"t guess wrong, Second Sis must have p.a.w.ned the Magic Core bracelet Second Madame left you? The Magic Core of a Nine-horned Dragon is very precious. Youshui, bring us the p.a.w.n warranty and the Magic Core bracelet."
The expression in the Old Madame"s eyes changed mysteriously. She stared at Hua Mengshi, looking extremely disappointed. Hua Qiyue was a phoenix among the elite. Although Hua Mengshi wasn"t so outstanding, she shouldn"t have been so bad. She did not expect her second granddaughter to have done such a thing. It made her really disappointed.
Now Youshui immediately brought up a little samite box. Hua Qiyue opened it. In it was the Magic Core bracelet Hua Mengshi p.a.w.ned and her handprint.
When she saw that Hua Qiyue even had her print, Hua Mengshi"s face started to turn ashen.
She had always thought she was only good at Qi Art. She did not expect her to know the p.a.w.nshop owners as well. She could not get these items otherwise!
Old Madame surveyed these items and found they were really the Second Madame"s. She started to sigh deeply. "Mengshi, I"m so disappointed in you!"
Hua Mengshi saw that she had no way to refute and stared at Hua Qiyue arrogantly. "Grandma, two tigers cannot stay on the same hill. Please banish me to the temple and let me serve Buddha for life!"
Old Madame Hua started. She did not expect her mansion to send three ladies out at the same time. Wouldn"t the mansion end up cold and empty?
Yet, after a brief moment, the Old Madame began to nod slowly. "You"ve asked for this yourself. Very well, I shall let you go and cultivate at the Green Mountain Temple. You can return when you have received enlightenment."
Although the old lady had said this, everyone knew that she must openly acquiesce before Hua Mengshi could return to Hua"s Mansion.
Hua Mengshi stared coldly at Hua Qiyue, before turning and leaving with her two maids without any lingering sense of attachment.
Third Madame also left with Hua Xiaoyi. Before leaving, they gave Hua Qiyue a meaningful stare, their eyes full of shock and horror.
They could never understand how the once useless Hua Qiyue had suddenly become so invincible and such a superior, someone who could command the entire mansion.
At this moment, Hua Liting dashed into the hall after hearing the news. "Mother, what really has happened? Where do you want to send Mengshi and the rest?"
The Old Madame looked a little tired. She shook her head, allowing Nanny w.a.n.g to recount the entire matter. While listening, Hua Liting cast Hua Qiyue a few glances, his eyes full of horror and rage.
He had not expected his once feeble daughter to command such authority now.
When Nanny w.a.n.g finished, the look on his face became extremely complex. As the male head of the family, he should be aware of any trouble in his home. Yet he knew nothing. He felt quite ashamed.
"Mother, no matter what, Mengshi, Third Madame and Xiaoyi are all our family. We shouldn"t send them to live a hard life at the temple! How can I rest when they are staying far away?"
Hua Liting"s eyes were full of bitterness as he stared over at Hua Qiyue.
Hua Qiyue was sitting at the side, sipping tea calmly.
The Old Madame looked angry as she shouted harshly, "Cannot rest? But you could when Qiyue was abandoned at Cuihua Court and bullied by the servants there in the past!"
Hua Liting heard her words and his whole body shook. He stared at Hua Qiyue with a complex expression in his eyes, then hung his head without saying another word. In Hua"s Mansion, Old Madame Hua"s words were commands. After all, Hua Mengshi and Hua Xiaoyi did let their servants bully Hua Qiyue frequently in the past. He was the head of the family. Although he had been far away at the borders, he would hear such things this every time he returned.
But what did he do? He was silent and continued to remain silent. Although Hua Qiyue was the daughter of his favorite wife, that wife had died long ago. He must protect his offsprings by his other wives. So he preferred to turn a blind eye to the matter.