Chapter 229 – Strange Laughter At The Back Door
The curtain of the inner room was quietly pulled open, revealing Wei Yuejiao’s face. She poked out her head and asked cautiously, “Mother, has my father left?”
After she ran out of Wei Luowen’s study, she immediately came to Concubine Dong’s courtyard and told Concubine Dong to make preparations.
“Yes!” Concubine Dong’s expression was cold.
“Mother, my father actually gave all of his gems to Wei Yuewu. What is special about that little bitch that she deserves to be doted by father so much? I grew up beside father.” Wei Yuejiao’s wide skirt twisted uncontrollably, her face filled with unwillingness and resentment. “She can’t even compare with a single finger of mine. Why should father leave all the good stuff to her?”
Thinking back to the glittering gemstones and Wei Yuewu’s determination when she refused to have them, Wei Yuejiao couldn’t control her anger. She felt that without Wei Yuewu, those things would all belong to her. The most hateful thing was that Wei Yuewu actually showed no interest in the gemstones at all. Humph! That bitch was really a hypocrite!
“Concubine, I feel that something is wrong!” Nanny Dong’s attention was focused on what Wei Luowen had just said. With a serious expression, she said, “Only the Second Lady and we know about the brush. The Sixth Young Lady didn’t know anything at all. Why did the situation develop like this?”
“According to our plan, Xie Qingzhao should come to make a proposal to the Sixth Young Lady, and his writing brush was found in the Sixth Young Lady’s brush container. In addition, the two of them met by chance several times. All these things considered, it was evident that Xie Qingzhao had an affair with the Sixth Young Lady. But why were you and the Third Young Lady involved?”
“It’s all because of that Xie Qingzhao. He actually targeted me and said that brush was sent to me!” Wei Yuejiao gritted her teeth and said hatefully.
“How could Xie Qingzhao change like that? Lady Li said that Xie Qingzhao could be trusted, but he changed his words at the critical moment. He even sold Yuejiao and me out.” Under the lamp, Concubine Dong’s face was gloomy. That beauty had long since disappeared and was replaced by bitter resentment and ferocity.
“Mother, what’s going on with that letter? Who wrote it? It was just because of the letter that my father said Xie Qingzhao’s statements were inconsistent.” Wei Yuejiao suddenly remembered these things. She picked up a piece of paper and handed it to Concubine Dong.
The recipient’s name was clearly “Yuewu”, but the original name that was obliterated made people really suspicious. In addition, the writing style of “Yuewu” was totally different from that of the contents of the letter. Needless to say, this letter had been intended as evidence of the affair between Wei Yuewu and Xie Qingzhao. But now, it served to prove Wei Yuewu’s innocence.
Anyone who saw the letter would think that it was a trap for Wei Yuewu.
“Yuejiao, why do you have this brush?” Concubine Dong gritted her teeth and hatefully slammed the letter on the table.
“I don’t know either. Didn’t you send this brush to me today? I felt curious when I saw it. However, I thought that you wanted me to practice calligraphy, so I accepted it without asking why.” Wei Yuejiao thought for a moment and said.
It was really strange for the brush to appear in the gifts to Wei Yuejiao.
“Concubine, could it be done by the Sixth Young Lady?” Nanny Dong asked hesitantly.
“How is that possible? She’s just a little bitch!” Wei Yuejiao found it hard to believe.
“Third Young Lady, think about these things: concubine was blamed for giving you and the Sixth Young Lady different dresses; you were blamed for accidentally pushing the Sixth Young Lady out of the carriage at the city gate. This time, concubine and you were blamed for the brush and the letter! Concubine, don’t you feel suspicious?” Granny Dong was very cunning and she immediately connected all the dots.
Reminded by her, both Concubine Dong and Wei Yuejiao became suspicious. Originally, Concubine Dong could obtain a good reputation as soon as she entered the capital city. However, because of these successive things, not only did she fail to have a good reputation, she and Wei Yuejiao were both suspected of being unkind to Wei Yuewu. After entering the mansion, she was even reprimanded.
This had never happened before!
There must be something they didn’t know.
The root of the problem seemed to lie with Wei Yuewu.
“Go, ask the maids who delivered the gifts about what happened!” Concubine Dong instructed.
Nanny Dong nodded. Not long after she went out, she came back and reported, “Concubine, two maids said that when they were on their way delivering the gifts, they met Sixth Young Lady’s maid, who knocked into one of them and accidentally knocked over Sixth Young Lady’s gifts.”
At this time, Wei Yuejiao had realized what happened to the brush after hearing Concubine Dong’s words. She immediately shouted loudly, “Mother, this seems to have something to do with that bitch. Look, this brush should be delivered to her, but it’s with me now. She must have deliberately let the maid put the brush in my gifts.”
Nanny Dong pointed in the direction of the main courtyard and reminded Concubine Dong, “Concubine, the Sixth Young Lady isn’t easy to deal with. We must not allow her to continue like this. Otherwise…”
The main courtyard used to be occupied by the late Marquise Hua Yang, but it was currently empty.
“She is just a little girl who knows some tricks. Even though I haven’t been in the capital for the past few years, the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang is still under my control. I will definitely keep her at the mercy of me!” Concubine Dong’s expression turned fierce. “I thought this little girl was easy to fool. Since she is such a hard nut, she shouldn’t blame me for being merciless!”
The corners of her bright red lips curled up, and the venom in her eyes seemed to overflow.
She had plotted for that position for so many years and was slowly approaching it step by step. Just as she was about to reach the top, she was obstructed by a little girl. How could she let her get away!
“Prepare ink and brush. I am going to write to the Second Lady. How is she doing in her parents’ house? Her precious daughter died at Wei Yuewu’s hands. I would like to see how she can endure it!”
It was pitch dark. Xie Qingzhao stumbled at the entrance to the alley. Looking at the door in front of him, he suddenly burst into laughter.
He laughed with such defiance and arrogance that he almost couldn’t stop laughing. In the end, he supported himself by holding the tree on one side and bent down laughing.
The door opened with a squeak. An old maidservant came out with a lantern. She looked at Xie Qingzhao who was laughing like a lunatic and hurriedly ran over. She lowered her voice and hurriedly said, “Lord Xie, Imperial Academician Xie, what’s wrong with you? Are you going to let everyone hear you laughing?”
Xie Qingzhao kept on laughing without looking at her. The old maidservant was so anxious that she kept stomping beside him, occasionally looking at the dark entrance to the alley. This was the back door of the mansion, and there were few people here. However, with Xie Qingzhao laughing so loudly, it was likely that he would attract one or two passersby.
Moreover, the laughter in the middle of the night was so hoarse that it really made people feel scared in their hearts!
“Lord Xie, please, I beg you, please stop laughing. This… this is really too scary!” The old maidservant said anxiously when she saw that Xie Qingzhao couldn’t breathe due to the laughing.
After a long while, Xie Qingzhao finally stopped laughing and held the tree trunk to catch his breath. His handsome face had a strange smile in the midst of the light, but it made people’s hair stand on end.
“Tell your Second Lady, the mission has been done. That brush was sent to the hands of Third Miss Wei! This shouldn’t be considered a breach of my promise, right? Please ask your Second Lady to keep her promise and stop using this to blackmail Fourth Miss Wei. This matter has nothing to do with her. It’s obvious that you didn’t arrange it properly, but you asked me to be the cat’s paw.”
Xie Qingzhao’s lips carried a trace of mockery as he wiped away the tears due to his wild laughter and uttered those words coldly.
“What? The brush isn’t in the hands of the Sixth Young Lady, but in the hands of the Third Young Lady? How… how is this possible?” The old maidservant was shocked.
Xie Qingzhao sneered, “How is that impossible? If you don’t believe me, you can ask your Second Lady to investigate it herself. That brush is in the hands of Third Miss Wei. In order not to expose the Second Lady, I specifically said that I like Third Miss Wei and made Concubine Dong a scapegoat. If the Second Lady thinks that what I said is wrong, she can go to the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang to tell the truth. She can admit she is the mastermind behind the farce and it has nothing to do with Concubine Dong or Third Miss Wei!”
“As for Fourth Miss Wei, please ask the Second Lady to keep her promise. Now my reputation has been ruined, but I am still an Imperial Academician. If the Second Lady still refuses to let go of Fourth Miss Wei, she shouldn’t blame me for making public everything that happened today!” Xie Qingzhao’s expression turned fierce as he finished these words.
Then, he waved his sleeve and turned around to leave.
The old maidservant was bewildered by the sudden news. Seeing that Xie Qingzhao was leaving, she wanted to stop him. “Hey, Lord Xie… no… wait a moment. Please…don’t go before you… I…Ouch!”
However, Xie Qingzhao left without turning his head. She could only stamp her feet helplessly. Then, she carried the lantern and entered the mansion. After closing the back door, she hurriedly went to Lady Li’s courtyard.
This was the mansion of Lady Li’s parents!
“Master, Xie Qingzhao went to the mansion of Li Ying, tutor of the Crown Prince and met a woman at the back door. He seemed to have sent a brush to the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang and given it to the Sixth Young Lady. But in the end, the brush was found on the Third Young Lady’s desk. It seemed that their scheme against Sixth Miss Wei didn’t work!”
The guard reported on one knee.
The gorgeous gauze curtains were raised high. Under the layers of snow-colored palace gauze, Yan Huaijing dressed in simple plain pajamas was working on a drawing of a beautiful woman. He wrapped his wide and loose sleeve with one hand and raised his brush seriously in the other. His long and dark hair casually scattered behind his head, making him look more and more elegant, as if he was an ancient cultivator of the flourishing Tang Dynasty.
Hearing the guard’s report, he raised his brush and the corners of his handsome lips hooked up. He seemed to be smiling, but his pair of long and narrow phoenix eyes were icy cold.
“So, it was because of Fourth Miss Wei that Xie Qingzhao was willing to help Lady Li?” A bloodthirsty cold light flashed in Yan Huaijing’s eyes as he asked. This made him look more like a scary Asura. “Since Lady Li has returned to her parents’ mansion and is uneasy, there is no need for her to go back. Someone, find two beauties tomorrow and send them to the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang as gifts to the Lord Minister!”
“Master, aren’t you going to give them to Marquis Hua Yang?” The guard was puzzled. After all, Marquis Hua Yang had just been back, and master should send one or two beauties to him. It was also convenient for them to monitor Marquis Hua Yang.
“Marquis Hua Yang? No need. Someone will grant beauties to him!” Yan Huaijing smiled and looked meaningfully at the guard who was a member of the elite Flying Dragon Intelligence Agency. “Marquis Hua Yang has worked so hard and made great contributions. The Emperor has to reward something to him! What’s more suitable than giving him beautiful women? I heard that Marquis Hua Yang doesn’t have a wife!”
The guard was not stupid, and his eyes immediately lit up. “Master, do you mean that His Majesty will grant a marriage?”
“Just wait and see. The mansion of Marquis Hua Yang will become more and more lively!” Yan Huaijing put down the brush in his hand. He picked up the painting he had just drawn and examined it. He felt very satisfied. Then, he said to the eunuch beside him, “Put it away. Send it to Marquis Hua Yang tomorrow morning. Tell him that all my message is included in the painting!”
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l