Revised by Men Shunde
Li s.h.i.+fu is stunned. She couldn"t believe her eyes. How could Li Wanrou lie here on the bed safe and sound?
Where is my cousin Qin Qianshan! Where is the useless guy?
Li s.h.i.+fut tries hard to hold back her shock, manages to be calm and says with a gentle smile: "Yu"er, send somebody to have my newly-obtained hundred-year-old ginseng and the golden bird"s nest stewed, and then bring them here. They are good for my sister"s health." She says this in a natural and graceful manner.
Li s.h.i.+fu"s slender eyelashes look like feather fans and her clean and clear eyes roll coquettishly. Her thin lips are red and cute and her white neck is as bright and smooth as jade. With the most engaging eyes, her whole body is full of n.o.ble temperament.
Li Wanrou saw such an elegant and exalted appearance of Li s.h.i.+fu for too long a time in her previous life. However, it makes her sick now.
"How can I afford it? I am extremely flattered since you all have come to see me. If I accepted such a favour from my sister Li s.h.i.+fu, I would have been …," says Li Wanrou.
Li Wanrou looks around and she knows quite well that it is Li s.h.i.+fu who invites all the young ladies to come here in order to catch adultery in the act, for it is a trap that she made for Li Wanrou and Qin Qianshan, the concupiscent cousin of hers. It seems that they are all kept in the dark.
Just then, a servant girl rushes into the room, yelling out of breath: "Bad news! Miss! Bad news!"
On hearing of that, Li s.h.i.+fu"s heart sinks and her face darkens. A little fear comes over her and she reproaches: "How dare you shout in public? Don"t you know the rules that you have learned here?"
In a daze for a second, the servant girl meets Li s.h.i.+fu"s cold eyes. Kneeling down terrified with a pale face, she says: "The childe is missing…."
"What!?" Li s.h.i.+fu is so astonished that she moves back a step, her face turning pale. Holding her head with her hands, she says: "Sorry. Please you all move back to the hall. I have something urgent to deal with."
The young ladies are in panic when they hear the word "missing". They are all in a hurry to leave the room with one another without any interest in staying for fun.
Then, Li s.h.i.+fu takes a deep breath and says coldly, "How is my cousin Qin Qianshan missing? I saw him in the garden a moment ago. He said he was coming to visit his sister Li Wanrou. How can a living man disappear? Is Dad informed of it?"
The servant girl is Qing"er, Li s.h.i.+fu"s confidant, who knows what is at stake today, so she replies immediately: "Yeah, I have seen the childe going towards this house, too…"
Qing"er watches Li s.h.i.+fu"s face and sees that there is a rage in her eyes, so she speaks more cautiously: "The childe is the apple of the eye of the madam of the Marquis Mansion. She went to Lord, the Prime Minister, as soon as she found her son was missing. Now, our Mansion has been searched thoroughly except…"
Seeing the looks in the eyes of both of them, Li Wanrou sneers in her heart. What a cunning trick! "Do they really think that I myself have hidden him? Obviously, they intend to search my house."
She pretends to be in a panic and says eagerly: "How could my cousin Qin Qianshan come to see me? We have not seen each other for quite a few years. He may have come to see you, my sister, or he may have gone back to the Marquis Mansion."
Li s.h.i.+fu"s heart is filled with joy. The corners of her mouth curve into a mysterious smile as she looks at Li Wanrou"s pretty little face, which is now full of fear.
Li s.h.i.+fu has been waiting for this day for a long time! Li Wanrou should have died a long time ago, for the most beautiful girl in the Mansion should be no others but Li s.h.i.+fu herself. The only person Li Wanrou should blame is herself. Why should she have such an engaging face which blocks her way!
"Your house has not been searched yet. To be cleared of suspicion, you have to tolerate it," says Li s.h.i.+fu with a soft and gentle voice showing her sincere carefulness as if she is really a good sister.
However, Li Wanrou knows clearly that Li s.h.i.+fu"s heart is black. But she is not as good as she was in her previous life in hiding her real intention, for she is too young now.
"How should I have believed Li s.h.i.+fu"s words easily in the previous life? Maybe because I had been lonely with no one to rely on since my childhood, I was longing for warmth and kins.h.i.+p. In the end I died in tragedy only because I had trusted the wrong person!"
Li Wanrou sighs slightly and lowers down her eyebrows to hide her sneer. She says helplessly: "If it is known to the outsiders that every corner of the Mansion is turned over just for a man, how should Dad face others? What consequences we should take?"
Even Li s.h.i.+fu, who looks like the most dignified and graceful lady, cannot help but be frightened if the blame comes. It is not that she doesn"t know the consequences, but no one will care about the details as long as Qin Qianshan is to be found out here.
At that moment, there is a sudden sound of footsteps outside. Furong is pushed into the door and falls on the ground without standing firmly. It is the first madam who comes in on her little feet.
The first madam turns her head, saying respectfully: "My Lord, servant girls all say that they have seen Qianshan coming here. There is no reason that this place is not to be searched."
"She really cannot wait to put me to death", thought Li Wanrou.
"It"s great of you to come here to see me, Dad. I am so sorry for not being able to rise to greet you due to my poor health. Please forgive me!" says Li Wanrou, and then she coughs unceasingly. She takes out a square handkerchief and wipes the blood off her mouth.
Seeing that Li Wanrou tries hard to get up to curtsy him, Prime Minister Li feels his heart aches. However, his eyes quickly fall on the face of Li s.h.i.+fu, whose brows knit. And then the words that finally come out of his mouth are:
"Search, search thoroughly the whole house!"
Then comes the madam of Marquis Mansion with a frozen look on her face. She goes to Li Wanrou, looking at her up and down and says sneeringly: "Sure enough, you have a seductive face. It is you who seduces my son Qin Qianshan. Tell me where have you hidden him?"
The madam knows very well that her son Qin Qianshan is such a man who could not move a step further when he sees a pretty girl and she has been used to seeing that beautiful women flatter and seduce his son. But now with her son"s safety as the top priority on her mind, she has no regard for the feeling of the Prime Minister.
The madam of the Marquis Mansion turns into a rage when she sees that Li Wanrou says nothing with a face of timidity.
She becomes so impatient as she speaks that a cruel and loud slap falls on the face of Li Wanrou. Her pretty little face is. .h.i.t to the side so that Prime Minister Li sees clearly the marks of five fingers left by the slap.
It is just like the slap on his own face!
Prime Minister Li frowns and says in a deep voice: "Very good! The businesses in my Mansion should be intervened by an outsider. Do you really think I am dead?"
What he says is so harsh for her that the madam of the Marquis Mansion cannot help but cringe. Though the Marquis Mansion has a history of over 100 years, it is declining now as compared with the promising Prime Minister"s Mansion. The t.i.tle of the Marquis Mansion today is merely a succession of the previous generation"s glory, which is hard to carry on. She murmurs and stammers, winking eagerly at the first madam.
"My Lord, she is a little out of her mind in what she says and does due to her worries about her son"s safety, which is understandable. There is no need to castigate her for that," says the first madam.
"Shut up! What is my Mansion is her eyes? Is it that Qianshan is her son and Wanrou is not your daughter? How do others think of my Mansion if what happens today is known to all? How do I face my fellow officials?" berated Prime Minister Li.
Prime Minister Li does not really care about whether Li Wanrou lives or dies in his mind. What he does care about is his reputation. If it is known to the outsiders that a daughter of his concubine is tormented by the first madam, the consequences are imaginable!
"Dad, I don"t mind them searching my house for nothing evil or dirty has ever been hidden here. Let them do it if they want to," says Li Wanrou. Her voice is soft but it is like a whip on the madams.
In a deep voice, the first madam gives an order: "Search! Search the house carefully!"
Prime Minister Li gives a glance at her coldly and then sits on the side of the bed with frowned brows.
Old Maid w.a.n.g, a servant of the first madam, searches the whole room thoroughly in front of everybody"s eyes, and then she goes out to ransack the yard. Her face turns pale when she comes back. Looking at the ferocious-looking minister, Old Maid w.a.n.g reports in a tremulous voice: "Nothing…, Nothing is found!"