Chapter 358 – Damaged Clothes And Fire
“Miss, what do you want the scissors for?” Jin Ling took the scissors and handed them to Wei Yuewu.
“Go and cut a few holes in the dirty clothes!” Wei Yuewu pointed at the clothes that had been taken out earlier and instructed Jin Ling indifferently.
“Those that are too dirty to wear?” Jin Ling asked again, thinking that she had heard wrongly.
“Yes.” Wei Yuewu nodded. She casually picked up a piece of dress next to her, glanced at it, and pointed at the stain in the middle of the dress. “Right here. Cut a few holes, but make sure you don’t make a big hole.”
“Miss!” Jin Ling looked at Wei Yuewu in shock.
“Go and cut them, or they will blame this on you!” Wei Yuewu looked at her and blinked. “It’s most likely because the maids do not do their jobs that the clothes have been dirtied.”
It meant to push all the blame on maids. Due to the maids’ carelessness, the clothes had been stained.
After Wei Yuewu’s remark, Jin Ling quivered and immediately understood. She walked over and cut a few holes on the clothes that had been stained. The clothes now looked like they were deliberately destroyed.
Sunlight streamed in from outside the window, shining on those gorgeous yet ruined clothes, creating a heartbreaking fragmentation. Wei Yuewu looked down, hiding her cold and indifferent eyes under her long eyelashes.
“Miss, what about those two sets?” Jin Ling put down the scissors and pointed to the clothes that Wei Qiufu had given to her.
“The eunuch who had sent the pastries just now must not be from Imperial Concubine Shu’s palace. He should be from the royal family’s small ancestral hall, and the so-called pastries were just his excuse to come here. Even if I don’t wear those dresses, they will find a way to check my room. By then, the pastries will be evidence against me.”
Wei Yuewu raised her head, and her gaze slowly fell on the two sets of gorgeous clothes.
No one would be able to bear the responsibility of the missing items that were supposed to be used for the Third Princess’ praying ceremony.
Jin Ling felt a chill down her spine and became nervous. The ceremony was so important and grandeur. The four heirs-apparent would be there, which indicated the Third Princess was highly regarded by the royal family. It was simply a great humiliation for such a theft to happen!
“Miss, did you lure the eunuch to Fourth Young Lady just now so that she can’t get away with it when this matter is exposed?” A thought abruptly flashed across Jin Ling’s mind, and she asked with her eyes wide open.
Wei Yuewu nodded and pondered for a moment before slowly saying, “Later, go and put the clothes in Fourth Elder Sister’s room. Put them in an inconspicuous corner.”
“Yes, I know!” Jin Ling knew the seriousness of the matter and hurriedly nodded. “But what if the Fourth Young Lady doesn’t leave her room?”
After being reprimanded by the Empress, Wei Qiufu had been very low-key for the past few days and rarely went out. Jin Ling rarely saw her outside her room.
“She will go out today!” Wei Yuewu smiled coldly.
Of course, Wei Qiufu would go out, and she would definitely go out today. Since there are people who paid close attention to the rooms here, they must have kept an eye over here. If something happened here, someone would come over immediately…
But she didn’t know who might be most concerned about these two rooms!
“Are there any withered leaves behind our room?” Wei Yuewu asked.
The place they lived in had always been cleaned up. Even if there were some leaves in the small patio, they would be immediately disposed of.
“Yes, there are some outside the room. Not far from the room, there is a small road with trees on both sides. Because there are leaves falling from time to time, the palace maids did not clean up these withered branches and leaves every day. Miss, why do you ask this?” As a former dark guard, Jin Ling paid attention to the surrounding environment the most, so she often noticed what others did not notice.
But she still found it strange that Wei Yuewu suddenly asked this question.
Wei Yuewu pondered for a while and queried without answering Jin Ling’s question, “Can you bring some over and put them in the small patio behind Wei Qiufu’s room? Be careful and not let Wei Qiufu and her maid find out about it.”
“Uh… This shouldn’t be a problem. The small patio behind your room has never been closed for the sake of cleaning. I think it is the same with Fourth Young Lady’s room. It is winter now, and they basically won’t open the windows. Even if Fourth Young Lady and Ming Yan are in the room, they will not notice me.”
Jin Ling thought for a while and answered. With these two points, she was sure that no one could see what she would do.
“Go over there a little later. When the eunuch brings the dinner over, you go out quietly, collect some withered branches, and leave them in the small patio behind her room.” Wei Yuewu nodded and had an idea in mind.
When the kitchen had prepared the dinner, someone would send it over. Then eunuchs would wait outside the door and take the plates back after they finished eating. At that time, it seemed that there were many people, but it was actually the least possible time to catch people’s attention.
Because the young ladies were not the formal Masters in the palace, the two eunuchs would often sit in the pavilion not far ahead, resting and chatting to pass their time. When the ladies finished eating, the maids would take the food box out and give it back to them.
During dinner, Wei Qiufu naturally would not open the window to look outside. Ming Yan would be busy because she needed to serve Wei Qiufu by her side and have dinner herself. Hence, although there were more people, it was actually safer for Jin Ling to take action than when there were fewer people.
Jin Ling only needed to sneak out. Moreover, even if the two eunuchs saw her, they would only think that Wei Yuewu sent her away to do something. They would never expect that in such a short time, Jin Ling would place some withered branches and leaves in the small patio behind Wei Qiufu’s room…
“Yes, I know!” Jin Ling nodded and understood. “What about our place?”
“Put some here too!” Wei Yuewu said with a smile, but an idea inexplicably flashed through her mind. Jin Ling’s and her mind were almost in sync now. Even if Yan Huaijing wanted to take Jin Ling back, she would never return her to him!
In the evening, not long after dinner, thick smoke suddenly emerged from one of the rooms in Chu Xiu Palace. It immediately alarmed the supervisors in the Palace. Some people hurriedly went to report, while others brought all kinds of pots and pans and rushed over to extinguish the fire.
Unexpectedly, it was just a false alarm. The dried leaves and branches that fell from the bamboos outside the patio behind Wei Qiufu’s room caught on fire, and the fire almost burned the bamboos.
Fortunately, no one was injured. Wei Qiufu ran out of the room with Ming Yan, their faces as pale as ghosts.
Wei Yuewu and Jin Ling were asked to evacuate their house. Although it was Wei Qiufu’s place that was caught on fire, Wei Yuewu’s room was very close to hers, so there was a possibility that the fire would spread to Wei Yuewu’s room.
Both of them were frightened. They didn’t speak much after they walked outside the door and heard that the maids and eunuchs had extinguished the fire.
“Fourth Miss Wei, Sixth Miss Wei, Her Grace Zhaoyi invites you to her palace.” A eunuch hurriedly ran over and bowed at Wei Qiufu and Wei Yuewu who were standing outside the door with horrified expressions.
“Her Grace invites us over?” Wei Qiufu asked in surprise.
The eunuch explained, “Yes. Her Grace wants to know what happened. This palace is close to the Crown Prince Mansion, so she can’t allow any accidents to happen.”
“Alright, let’s go then!” Wei Qiufu nodded.
Everyone knew how important the Crown Prince was, and nothing could happen to him. It was only right for Her Grace Zhaoyi to invite them over to inquire about the situation here.
Wei Yuewu silently followed behind them. Only a trace of concentration flashed through the depths of her eyes. Shouldn’t the Empress, the head of the harem, investigate this matter? Was it possible that the Empress was not aware of this incident, or she didn’t care about it because it wasn’t a big matter?
This time, Zhaoyi Tu didn’t prepare soft sedans for them. The two of them took their maids and hurried to Jinxiu Palace, where Zhaoyi Tu lived.
When they entered the palace, they saw that Zhaoyi Tu, who was sitting at the main seat in the hall, had a gloomy face and a bit of exasperation on her face. Anyone could see that she was very angry now.
The two of them respectfully stepped forward and bowed.
“Fourth Miss Wei, why is the patio in the back of your room on fire? That place is usually very clean. Where did the withered branches and leaves come from?” Zhaoyi Tu asked in an aggressive tone and glared at Wei Qiufu with a burning gaze. She was not as gentle as she used to be.
Wei Yuewu automatically retreated behind Wei Qiufu and lowered her head. She looked very respectful and reserved, but she pricked her ears and observed Zhaoyi Tu’s response secretly.
“Your Grace, I didn’t…” Wei Qiufu didn’t expect that Zhaoyi Tu, who had always been kind and friendly to others, would be so angry. She was so flustered that she didn’t know what to say, and she didn’t know why there were so many withered branches and leaves in the patio.
The patios behind the two rooms they lived in had always been clean and tidy. Even in the autumn and winter seasons, there had never been a pile of branches and leaves.
“You didn’t what? I heard that you were displeased because you felt the palace maids went to clean up the patio too frequently, so you asked your maid to stop them from going there so often.” Zhaoyi Tu conceded in a gloomy expression.
Wei Qiufu had indeed disliked the fact that the palace maids were too diligent in cleaning up and felt that it disturbed her. Therefore, she had specially asked Ming Yan to speak with Chu Xiu Palace’s butler. Because of this, the palace maids did come less frequently.
“Your Grace, I just feel that there is no need to specially clean the small patio so often. It is already very clean.” Wei Qiufu hurriedly explained.
“If it was clean, why would there be so many withered leaves and branches?” Zhaoyi Tu sneered coldly and asked.
This question rendered Wei Qiufu speechless. The back window was always closed, and she rarely opened the window. Sometimes, she would hear the sound of sweeping at the back, which she found annoying, but she didn’t open the window to take a look. Therefore, she didn’t know that the leaves and branches were there. Moreover, she was caught unawares by Zhaoyi Tu’s attitude. It was clear that she wanted to denounce her.
Speaking of which, Zhaoyi Tu had little to do with this matter.
However, Zhaoyi Tu’s aggressiveness sent a chill down Wei Qiufu’s spine. In the Palace, Zhaoyi Tu was only second to the Empress when it came to influence and power.
Wei Qiufu did not want to offend Zhaoyi Tu inexplicably. Her eyes darted around nervously and suddenly fell on Wei Yuewu.
“Your Grace, please ask my Sixth Younger Sister!”
Wei Yuewu suddenly raised her head…
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