Qing He came quickly. Once entering the door, she kneeled and cried loudly, “Lady, Madam, I did nothing. I…”
“Did you come here just now?” Qu Moying glanced coldly at her, interrupted Qing He’s sniveling, and came straight to the question.
“Miss Moying, I…”
“Just tell me, yes or no!” Qu Moying looked serious.
Yu wanted to say something. But seeing the cold eyes of the Old Lady, she lowered her head instantly and didn’t dare break in again. She felt indignant.
“I…” Qing He still wanted to defend herself.
“Slap her!” The Old Lady ordered angrily.
A senior housemaid walked forward and slapped Qing He hard on her face. Qing He’s head was tilted, and her face became swollen at once.
“You came here with a box of cake and told me it was given by my sister just now, didn’t you?” Qu Moying asked composedly again.
She had gone to bed at that time. When Qing He came to see her, she was afraid there was something important, so she got up to see Qing He.
“Yes… Yes.” Qing He answered in a trembling voice, not daring to defend herself again.
She was fearless when she came. However, facing the calm and stepped-up offensive of Qu Moying, she couldn’t help feeling scared.
When did the Fourth Lady become so tricky?
“After you came, you knocked over the cake and said it became inedible, so you asked Yu Chun to fetch another plate from the kitchen, didn’t you?” Qu Moying continued.
“Yes… Yes!”
“Afterwards, you deliberately helped me go to the bedroom for a rest. But when you walked out, you knocked over the oil lamp, set a fire to the outer room, and then left!”
Qu Moying said affirmatively.
Yu’s face became pale. She twisted her handkerchief tightly and had a sense of foreboding. But because the Old Lady was here, she didn’t dare to warn Qing He.
“Miss Moying… No, I… I left early. When I left, everything was fine. I didn’t knock over the oil lamp either. I didn’t know a fire broke out here…” Qing He didn’t dare to admit and began to cry out her grievance loudly, “Miss Moying, even if you kill me today, I can die without regrets, but you can’t make me a scapegoat!”
“Do you think no one knew it because you dismissed the gatekeeper with a lie before that?” Qu Moying sneered, “When you came, it just got dark and was not yet the time for lamps. Where did the oil lamp smell on your hands come from? Not only your hands but also your clothes had such a smell. There are also some oil stains on your cuff. You didn’t find it, did you? Besides, the lamp oil in my sister’s house is different from that in mine, so you can’t defend yourself with the excuse that you had lit the lamp for my sister before coming here!”
Qu Moying sneered. Each word was destroying Qing He’s complacent assertion.
Qu Moying and Qu Qiuyan were both masters in the family. However, the former used the same lamp oil as the servants did, while the one used in the latter’s house was specially prepared for the masters of the family, and it was brighter and less pungent.
She couldn’t see clearly, but she had a good nose. As soon as Qing He entered, she was greeted with her smell. The cause and effect could be made clear easily after she thought about it.
She didn’t have evidence, but she guessed Qing He must have it. That was why she directly asked the Old Lady to have someone call Qing He here.
As a servant, Qing He couldn’t help feeling scared when she tried to murder her master. Therefore, it was normal that her cuff was stained with lamp oil. Besides, her clothes had the lamp oil smell.
Hearing her analysis and seeing Qing He shuddering and keeping silent, everyone else was clear.
The Old Lady flew into a rage and ordered, “Flog the bitch girl to death!”
It was a serious crime anywhere to murder the master!
“Madam, help! Madam, help!” Qing He looked pale. She flopped on the ground, looked at Yu with imploring eyes, and entreated loudly. Now she knew the evidence was irrefutable, and she could only pin her hope on Yu.
“How… How dare you… How dare you do that? Aren’t you afraid that your parents will be implicated?” Yu walked forward and rebuked severely.
Qing He huddled in terror. She knew Yu was dropping her a hint, and she had to confess the crime. Her teeth chattered, and she couldn’t say anything and just looked at Yu with imploring eyes, “Please help me… help me.”
Two senior housemaids came over and intended to drag her away.
“Wait. Grandma, your birthday is coming. Keep her life to accumulate your merits. Just sell her and her family members. Out of sight and out of mind. I don’t want to hear anything more about Qing He nor see her family!” Qu Moying said suddenly.
No one had expected that Qu Moying would intercede for Qing He.
Yu shuddered and realized immediately that Qu Moying intended to keep Qing He’s life. After Qing He and her family were sold, Yu would be unable to control Qing He anymore. It would be a hidden danger.
When did Qu Moying become so sophisticated?
“Mother… We shouldn’t keep the life of the evil servant!” Yu tried to persuade the Old Lady to kill Qing He. Only when Qing He died would everything be finished.
“Well, flog Qing He for twenty times and sell all her family!” The Old Lady thought for a moment and said. Ignoring Yu, she said softly, “Ying, you can’t live here any longer. Live in my warm chamber until your house is well prepared!”
Qu Moying’s advice to accumulate the merits of the Old Lady made the latter have more pity for the girl. It could accumulate the merits of both of them. The Old Lady hoped her eyes would be cured!
Qu Moying made a good point.
“OK!” Qu Moying responded softly. Glancing at Yu who could hardly repress her anger, Qu Moying sneered and then helped the Old Lady move away slowly.
“Your Highness, we have little time left.” The show in the house was over. A guard on the roof reminded.
“Just wait!” The good-looking man curled his thin lips, lifted his noble slanted eyes, and looked at Qu Moying walking away with a faint smile.
The girl was great. She looked delicate but acted decisively, so she was a proper candidate for him. However, it mattered a lot, so he had to know more about her…
The warm chamber of the Old Lady was small but comfortable. It had anything necessary, and her favorite pictures were hanging on the wall.When Qu Moying just came back, the Old Lady wanted to let her live in the room. But Qu Moying was too nervous to see anyone. Therefore, she listened to Yu’s advice and arranged for her to live alone in a remote house. The big house that belonged to her nominally hadn’t been prepared.After changing her clothes, Qu Moying sat before the dresser, removed her veil, and looked at her face carefully.There were not many rumors about Qu Moying in the capital, except that she was blind and not pretty. But was that true?If she was not pretty, most people in the world could be regarded as ugly.Ji Hanyue was one of the most beautiful girls in the capital. However, compared with Qu Moying, she was less beautiful.Qu Moying closed her eyes and opened them again. She could
The woodshed was in the most remote corner. In the dark, Qu Moying told Yu Chun to bring some cake and came to the woodshed with a lantern.Granny Miao who came back with her was locked there.Yesterday, Yu locked Granny Miao in the woodshed with the excuse that Granny Miao offended her.Granny Miao wasn’t a servant of the family. She was rescued by Qu Moying in the village several years ago. At that time, she blacked out at the entrance of the village because of starvation. Qu Moying asked the head of the village to rescue her and intended to send her away with money and food.After Granny Miao came to her senses, she was very grateful. Besides, she was alone, so she stayed in the village to serve Qu Moying.She had been serving Qu Moying for several years. She treated Qu Moying heart and soul and was the most reliable person for Qu Moying.Unexpectedly, when they just returned, Yu locked Granny M
After losing the battle with Qu Moying, Yu didn’t return to her yard. Instead, she went directly to Furong House where her daughter Qu Qiuyan lived.“Mother, how is Qing He?” Qu Qiuyan asked anxiously after she led Yu into the room. She was afraid that she would be involved instead of worrying about Qing He.Qu Qiuyan kept feeling scared after Qing He was taken away by the Old Lady.She did it, so she was clear. She thought when the fire broke out, Qu Moying would die for sure. She was blind, and no one was around her. She couldn’t open her eyes in the strong light. Even if she wanted to escape, she couldn’t. No one knew who did it afterward. Others would believe that the blind girl knocked over the oil lamp carelessly, and nobody would be blamed for her death.“Qing He has been exposed!” Yu dropped on a chair and rebuked nervously, “Why were you so imprudent? I told you to wait for a few more days and act after thinking mo
“Not in our house?”“No!” The servant answered.“Mother, I had someone investigate it just now. Our house can’t be on fire again.” Yu understood what the Old Lady meant and responded with a grievance.“What did you do before that? Why didn’t you investigate it until Ying’s house was on fire?” The Old Lady snorted coldly and was disgruntled at Yu.After Yu heard the question, her face became frozen, and she didn’t know how to answer it.“Ouch. Ah… That hurts. Grandmother, my face hurts.” Qu Qiuyan covered her face with a hand and shouted in the half-genuine and half-sham way to rescue Yu from the embarrassment.“Go to see a doctor!” The Old Lady said coldly. No matter what Qu Qiuyan had done, she was a granddaughter of the Old Lady. Besides, the Old Lady thought Yu was to blame for everything.Yu took advantage of the chance to say worriedly, “Mother, let me take Yan to see the doctor. H
There were many gaily-painted pleasure boats by the lake. In the early spring, flowers were not in bloom yet, but it was enjoyable to see the sights in the boats.After getting off the carriage, Qu Moying boarded a boat.It was just an ordinary gaily-painted pleasure boat. One person was rowing it at the stern, and the other was about to pull the rope.“Boatman, let’s go!” Yu Chun said loudly.“I’m so sorry. Please take another boat. This one is out of business today!” A middle-aged man came out from the stern. Looking at Qu Moying and Yu Chun, he said politely but looked gloomy.“Hey, what do you mean? Passengers have boarded but you refuse to earn the money?” Yu Chun said.“I want to earn the money, but I can’t!” The middle-aged man forced a smile. They observed him and found him sallow and limp.“Boatman, what’s wrong?” Qu Moying asked softly.“Nothing. I’m just not well
“What happened?” Qu Moying grabbed the window to stabilize herself and asked.Yu Chun lifted the curtain and poked her head out for a look, only to see a gaily-painted pleasure boat of the same size parked near theirs, “My Lady, another boat crashed into ours.”Before she was done, another bang was heard. The boat shook. Qu Moying’s hand went limp, almost getting her thrown out.“My Lady, it crashed into us deliberately.” Qu Chun also found something wrong and said angrily.“Tell the boatman to fight back.” Qu Moying grasped the window corner with force and said coldly.Yu Chun nodded and shouted to Zhou An outside, “Fight back!”Zhou An had found the other boat crashed into theirs deliberately. In such a case, he used to fight back regardless, but now he didn’t want to make trouble for Qu Moying, so he tried to avoid the collision.Hearing what Yu Chun said, he knew Qu Moying’s intenti
“Who is your master?” Qu Moying asked casually.“I…I serve the Third Lady and just come back.” The woman servant replied hurriedly.“You wanted to throw me into the water by running into my boat, right?” Qu Moying continued. Though her eyes couldn’t be seen, the coldness in her words was clear. “Who came up with the idea?”“I…I…” The woman servant let her eyes wander and looked around.Suddenly, the rudder to which she clung was pressed into the water, making her sank with it, too. Her head was submerged, so she swallowed much water. Her hands and feet went limp, and she felt again that she would die here.“My Lady, I mean…the Third Lady sent me here…” The woman servant shouted and struggled desperately to get out of the water. She wanted to browbeat Qu Moying by virtue of Qu Qiuyan’s influence.The rudder rose out of the water, and so did the woman servant. She almost lied prone on the rudder and c
Two boats collided. A woman servant fell into the water and was rescued. Afterward, she fell into the water again and was interrogated on the rudder. At last, she was released.It lasted a long time and was noisy. Though people on the bank didn’t see that, many passengers in the boats heard the noise and came to see the fun.Some of them saw the girl wearing a long veil on her eyes and handling things calmly. Though they just caught a glimpse of her, they couldn’t help guessing her identity secretly. A young lady, ranked fourth in her family, had an eye disease. Besides, according to the woman servant, the ringleader was the Third Lady.Various clues led some people to focus on the Mansion of Vice Minister Qu. Qu Zhizhen had a blind girl, didn’t he? He also had an elder girl with a good reputation.And the two daughters were not born of the same mother.Indications showed that it was the Third Lady