Chapter 350 – Scars Of The Past
Speaking of which, Wei Yuewu did take the lead in this matter.
“Don’t worry. The Empress will suppress the matter.” Wei Yuewu closed her eyes and shook her head. Judging from Wei Qiufu’s expression and what she had just said, Wei Yuewu knew the Empress had reprimanded Wei Qiufu directly without giving her a chance to explain herself.
If the matter, as well as the past incidents, were exposed, Empress Tu would definitely be implicated, and the Grand Perceptor Tu Mansion might be dragged into it too.
A woman who had a broken betrothal had actually become the Empress. It was a great humiliation for the Emperor. Therefore, the matter should end here. Not only would no one investigate this, but the Empress would even stop other people from investigating. Furthermore, there must be a reasonably “happy ending” to this matter.
Wei Yuewu believed there would be such a happy ending to justify the Empress’ reactions.
Of course, Wei Qiufu would not let this matter slip so easily…
It seemed that tomorrow would be a lively day!
Seeing that Wei Yuewu was so sure, Jin Ling relaxed and quietly blew out the lights for Wei Yuewu.
At the Feng Yi Palace.
All of the palace maids and eunuchs had left, leaving only Empress Tu and Crown Prince Wen Tianyao in the main hall.
“Mother, what happened to you just now? Is there something wrong with the hairpin?” Wen Tianyao looked suspiciously at the hairpin on the table with a frown. He still didn’t understand why Empress Tu suddenly became angry.
Unexpectedly, she ordered her maids to hold Wei Qiufu down and directly pulled the hairpin from her hair.
“This hairpin belonged to your second aunt!” Empress Tu glowered with a gloomy face. Under the light, her face was still a little pale.
“Second aunt?” Wen Tianyao was befuddled for a moment.
“Madam Tu!” Empress Tu rubbed the space between her eyebrows and said tiredly.
This was the first time that Wen Tianyao had heard that Madam Tu was his second aunt.
“Since it belongs to Madam Tu, why is it in Wei Qiufu’s hands now?” Wen Tianyao asked in confusion, addressing her as Madam Tu out of habit.
“I don’t want to talk about it. It was something hateful that happened in the past. Now that she is dead, there’s nothing to talk about.” Empress Tu gradually eased up, and there was a hint of sadness on her face. “I was too worked up just now. When I saw the hairpin, it reminded me of the past, and I did what I did.”
“You mean…” Wen Tianyao knew what the Empress was implying and confided.
“Just say that Fourth Young Lady of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang offended me, and I reprimanded her for it!” Empress Tu leaned back, and her face was hidden under the dim light. Wen Tianyao couldn’t see her expression clearly.
“And the hairpin?” Wen Tianyao nodded and looked at the hairpin on the table. Of course, offending her mother was a sound excuse, and they didn’t have to come up with a specific explanation behind it.
“Just say that the palace maid accidentally dropped it. Take this hairpin away and return it,” Empress Tu ordered with her eyes closed.
“Yes!” Wen Tianyao nodded.
“It’s getting late. You can go back now!” Empress Tu huffed.
Wen Tianyao stood up and picked up the hairpin on the table. After saying goodbye to the Empress, he left in large strides.
In the main hall, Empress Tu sat there alone with her eyes closed. She was as still as a statue. The maids would have thought that she was asleep had it not been for her right palm that was clenched into a fist from time to time.
“The past… The past…” Empress Tu suddenly mumbled in a low voice. Despite her soft voice, the resentment and sadness in her voice was enough to make people who heard her tremble.
The next day, at dawn, Jin Ling woke Wei Yuewu up and helped her wash up.
The breakfast had already been sent over. Wei Yuewu ate a little and took Jin Ling out of the door. When they reached the door, they saw that Wei Qiufu also pushed the door open and walked out.
When the two of them met, Wei Qiufu was stunned for a moment before taking the initiative to come forward and give Wei Yuewu a deep bow. “Sixth Younger Sister, I’m sorry. Last night… I-I was too worked up and disturbed you.”
After a night of thinking, Wei Qiufu decided to temporarily back down. The bitchy Wei Yuewu had ruined her plan time and time again. She would definitely not let her go in the future, but for the time being, it was not a good idea to have a fallout with Wei Yuewu.
“It’s fine.” Wei Yuewu nodded and bowed too. Neither she nor Wei Qiufu wanted to have a fallout in the Palace, or they would fall into Concubine Dong’s trap. Both Concubine Dong and Wei Qiufu plotted against her in the Palace, but the latter fell into Concubine Dong’s trap by accident. In that case, it was better for her to see the ensuing fight between Wei Qiufu and Concubine Dong!
“Sixth Younger Sister, was the hairpin really from Concubine Dong?” Wei Qiufu took two steps forward and asked, but her voice was not light.
“Yes. Concubine Dong gave it to me, asking me to wear it in the Palace.” Wei Yuewu nodded and continued to walk out. Her long eyelashes flickered, and the corners of her lips curled into an almost imperceptible sneer.
As expected, Wei Qiufu refused to back down. She was going to make Concubine Dong the scapegoat…
“Sixth Younger Sister, Concubine Dong has been indifferent to you for so many years. In the past, when you were in your maternal grandparents’ family, it was Grandmother who sent people to see you. Concubine Dong never cared about you. What happened this time? Why did she give you such a fine hairpin?” Wei Qiufu continued to ask.
Along the way, there were more palace maids and eunuchs on both sides of the path.
Although Wei Qiufu did not speak loudly, it was audible to the palace maids who passed by to hear her.
“I-I don’t know why!” Wei Yuewu shook her head and continued to walk.
“Should we tell Eldest Uncle that there is something wrong with the hairpin that Concubine Dong gave you? Thankfully, I was the one who wore it. Had you worn it last night, you would have been reprimanded. What exactly is Concubine Dong thinking?” Wei Qiufu bellowed furiously as if she tried to get to the bottom of it.
She sounded as if she was taking Wei Yuewu’s side.
“Fourth Elder Sister, I’ll tell Father when he comes, but we’d better not say anything for now.” Wei Yuewu stopped and glanced at Wei Qiufu.
Even if she wanted to deal with Concubine Dong, she couldn’t let Wei Qiufu do as she wished. Both Concubine Dong and Wei Qiufu were sly and malicious, and they wanted to harm her.
After Wei Yuewu finished speaking, she quickly walked out.
Behind her, Wei Qiufu gritted her teeth and looked at Wei Yuewu’s back hatefully. She had no choice but to follow her with Ming Yan.
At this moment, the soft sedans were parking at the gate of Chu Xiu Palace. Several young ladies of aristocratic families had come early and been waiting at the gate. When they saw Wei Qiufu appear at the gate of the palace, a few of them were judging her. Their faces were full of disdain.
News in the Palace spread like wildfire. The young ladies, who had joined the Third Princess to pray, were very well-informed. They already knew that Wei Qiufu had been reprimanded by the Empress last night.
At this time, they looked at Wei Qiufu with ridicule on their faces.
Wei Qiufu was resentful, but there was nothing she could do. She lowered her head and was about to get on the soft sedan when a shrill voice came from behind.
“Fourth Miss Wei, please wait a moment!” Wei Qiufu stopped and looked at the eunuch who was rushing over.
“What is it?”
“Fourth Miss Wei, this is the hairpin His Highness asked me to send to you. Yesterday, His Highness heard that you dropped your hairpin, so he asked us to find it and return it to you.” The eunuch handed over the box in his hand to her with a polite smile.
She dropped her hairpin? Wei Yuewu stood in front of a soft sedan, deep in thought.
Just as she had expected, Empress Tu didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. Therefore, Empress used the excuse of Wei Qiufu dropping the hairpin by accident to hide the real reason why she was angry.
“I dropped the hairpin?” Wei Qiufu was equally taken aback. She clearly remembered that she did not drop the hairpin, but it was pulled away by the Empress’ palace maid.
“Yes. Please take a look at it, Fourth Young Lady. Is it this hairpin?” The eunuch handed the box in his hand forward again.
Ming Yan, whom Wei Qiufu gestured at, hurried forward to take the box and open it. Indeed, it was the wooden hairpin that her Miss wore last night.
“Miss, it really is yours!” Ming Yan looked at Wei Qiufu, not knowing whether to take the box or not.
“Take it!” Suddenly understanding the Empress’ intention, Wei Qiufu gritted her teeth and said to the eunuch, “I offended the Empress last night, and today, I have to trouble the Crown Prince to deliver my hairpin. I’m so sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused.”
Although Wei Qiufu didn’t know why the Empress didn’t make a move against her using the hairpin, she was sure that the Empress would do something from another perspective. “Offend” seemed to be the right word to use here. After all, she was facing the Empress now. Whether it was reasonable or not, the Empress could be justifiably “offended” by whatever Wei Qiufu did without giving any specific explanation.
Since she couldn’t say this in private, she should simply be frank and say it openly. Anyway, she had the Crown Prince as her backing, so the Empress’ reprimand would be suppressed to the minimum.
Wei Yuewu, on the other hand, was secretly impressed by Wei Qiufu’s quick understanding of the situation. Under her long eyelashes, her sparkly eyes became profound. Wei Qiufu was indeed a tough opponent. Just by relying on the hairpin, Wei Qiufu could understand the Empress’ indication and take advantage of the Crown Prince’s power to suppress the matter.
The Crown Prince’s gesture of sending the hairpin over demonstrated that he thought highly of Wei Qiufu. Getting the Crown Prince’s favor was also of utmost importance even if she couldn’t get the Empress’ favor. In fact, getting the Crown Prince’s favor was even more significant than getting the Empress’ favor.
After all, the Crown Prince was the future ruler of the country. Even though the Empress was the most powerful woman of the country and the Crown Prince’s birth mother, she could not be too overbearing towards the Crown Prince.
“Fourth Young Lady, His Highness asked me to tell you that everything is fine. Last night’s incident had passed, and you don’t have to worry about it,” the eunuch replied in a polite manner, even with a hint of comfort.
Since the eunuch was delivering the Crown Prince’s message, the message represented the Crown Prince’s stand. If so, the Crown Prince thought very highly of Wei Qiufu.
Hence, the way the young ladies of aristocratic families looked at Wei Qiufu changed from mockery to hatred.
“Please thank His Highness on my behalf!” Wei Qiufu was touched.
The eunuch nodded with a smile and retreated. Everyone went up the soft sedan and headed to the palace where the Third Princess held her prayer session.
Inside the soft sedan, Wei Yuewu frowned slightly. Crown Prince Wen Tianyao’s reaction was really too strange. It was as if he was here to help Wei Qiufu out.
What exactly did the Crown Prince mean by doing so?
However, this was not the only commotion. Even though the Empress was the master of the harem, she was spied on by many eyes!
It was fine if she hadn’t revealed herself, but now that the hairpin incident had occurred…
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