in2ebook Chapter 45 You guys have some nerve!
Chapter 45 You guys have some nerve!
With the palace banquet turning into such a mess, there was no point in continuing, so Cheng Yan simply escorted Qin Yizhen back to the Marquis of Pingxi's residence.
He escorted the person to the door, then rode back to handle the follow-up matters.
Qin Yizhen watched him leave, and only returned to Chunxie Courtyard after everyone had gone far away.
The moment Qin Yizhen stepped into Chunxi Courtyard, her expression changed immediately. With a flick of her sleeve, she said, "All of you, kneel down in the courtyard for me!"
Granny Jin, Granny Gui, and Lü Qiao had no choice but to kneel down at the foot of the main courtyard steps, heads bowed, not daring to utter a sound.
Hearing Qin Yizhen's footsteps enter the main room, Lü Qiao quickly waved for two maids to go in and serve her, while she sighed worriedly, "Grannies, is the princess angry?"
Granny Jin glanced at her and said, "Anyone with eyes can see that."
This is more than just being angry; it's enough to make you want to hit someone.
"Then... what should we do?"
"What are we going to do? I think you all have a death wish!" Qin Yi was so angry that she turned back out of the house.
Seeing the three people kneeling in the courtyard, she was furious. "How dare you cause trouble at the palace banquet!"
Qin Yi was so angry that she suffered a heart attack.
When Fang Shixin suddenly went mad, she had some suspicions in her mind. Later, Fang Shixin insisted that she was the one who did it, so how could she not know where the problem lay?
People of her status are always careful when eating and using things outside. Testing for poison is just a routine matter for her. She also checks all the utensils used at various banquets.
For example, if the utensils used at palace banquets are portable, a spare set will be prepared, and if anything is found to be amiss, they will be replaced immediately.
Even more so, she had a layer of fine cotton cloth sewn inside her large sleeves. This fine cotton cloth was particularly absorbent, so if she had to drink alcohol, she could use her large sleeves to cover herself and pour the liquid directly onto the fine cotton cloth.
When Fang Shixin touched her and Cheng Yan's wine glasses, Jin Mama and the others naturally became wary and replaced the wine glasses.
I just don't know how they ended up putting the wine glass at Fang Shixin's place.
The three men lowered their heads and dared not utter a sound as they listened to the reprimand.
"Granny Jin, you speak!" Qin Yizhen had a round-backed chair brought over for her to sit down and interrogate them.
“You’ve been by the Empress Dowager’s side for many years. It’s one thing for the two of them to act foolishly, but you’ve also joined in their foolishness.”
"I never expected there was something wrong with this wine cup," Jin Mama thought with regret.
If she had known it would really cause trouble, she definitely wouldn't have dared to do it.
Although Fang Shixin was malicious and wanted to harm Qin Yizhen, today was a victory celebration banquet for Cheng Yan and others, and it was also a royal banquet hosted by the imperial court, inviting all the officials and their families. If something went wrong and ruined the banquet, it would be bad for everyone.
They can settle accounts with Fang Shixin later; that's the best solution.
Granny Jin said, "At the time, we had our suspicions, but after looking again and again, we found nothing wrong. And thinking about it, although Miss Fang has been a bit annoying lately and has tried to take advantage of the princess, she wouldn't do something like poisoning someone."
Green Jade added softly, "I just spat a little on that cup and handed it to her..."
Their only intention was to punish Fang Shixin, nothing more.
But who would have thought that Fang Shixin would be so vicious as to drug Qin Yizhen's wine glass, which led to all the subsequent events.
"If you ask me, it's her own fault. If she hadn't had the intention to harm others, how could she have ended up like this? Princess, you don't need to pity her."
"Do I pity her?" Qin Yizhen's almond-shaped eyes slightly reproached, her brows furrowed with anger. "I think you're all courting death!"
Qin Yi truly wished Fang Shixin were dead, so how could she possibly have any pity for her?
But what if they caused all this trouble and ruined the palace banquet? If Empress Dowager Cheng or Emperor Jing'an were to blame them, how many lives would they have?
Even Qin Yizhen might not be able to protect them.
"Kneel here for now. If the palace sends someone to look for you, I can plead for your life."
Qin Yi was so angry that she didn't want to see them. She turned around and walked into the house. The maid next to her glanced at the three people kneeling in the courtyard and then quickly followed.
Green Qiao watched anxiously, and only after the person left did she show worry. She asked Granny Jin, "Granny Jin, do you think the Empress Dowager will really find out about us?"
“It’s not a question of whether or not, it’s a certainty.” Granny Jin knelt upright. “The person I found earlier works for the Empress Dowager. It was already quite good that he didn’t stand up and testify against us at the time. He will definitely report to the Empress Dowager afterwards.”
Granny Gui was also panicked and said worriedly, "Indeed, people shouldn't do bad things. Now, disaster is imminent."
Granny Jin said, "It's hard to say whether disaster is imminent, but we'll definitely have to suffer. Green Qiao, send someone to call Red Tassel back."
"Huh? Why did we call her back? To be punished with us?"
"Are you a pig? Of course you should call him back to plead for us and let us suffer less."
"Oh, oh." Green Qiao was scolded so badly that she quickly called over a maid and asked her to go to the outer courtyard to find someone to see if Hong Ying was in Qin Du, and if so, to ask her to come back.
After Qin Yizhen entered the bedroom, she had someone change out of her jeweled hairpins and formal dress and into a pomegranate red dress. Then she sat in front of the dressing table and removed the phoenix crown and hairpins from her hair.
However, these two maids usually only assisted Lü Qiao in the courtyard and were not skilled in this art. They pulled her scalp twice while removing her hairpins, which made her even angrier.
After washing his face with a towel, he asked them to step back and wait to the side, so that he wouldn't lose his temper.
The weather in March has warmed up, and the afternoon sun is getting a bit hot.
Although Granny Jin and the others were servants, they did little more than serve their masters and manage the affairs of the inner courtyard. They didn't have much to do, so they weren't exactly pampered, but they also didn't have to work hard.
Sure enough, after kneeling for a while, I started to sweat.
Especially Granny Gui, she felt a little dizzy and lightheaded.
Just then, a maid came out of the main room and said to them, "The princess has ordered that you still have to kneel, but don't get in her way. Kneel in the west wing corridor."
"Thank you, Princess." The three quickly expressed their gratitude, and then Lü Qiao helped up Granny Gui. The three of them went to the west wing corridor and knelt down.
The sun was setting in the west, and the west wing barely blocked the sunlight, leaving a patch of shade. A gentle breeze blew, bringing a refreshing coolness, and soon the heat on the three of them dissipated.
Granny Gui felt sleepy and wanted to go to sleep after kneeling for a while.
About half an hour later, a young woman dressed in a maple-red, waist-length, cross-front ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) hurried over.
She arrived in a hurry, with a few beads of sweat on her forehead. She walked quickly through the courtyard, and after a dozen steps, she suddenly remembered something and stepped back, her eyes fixed on the west wing corridor.
Seeing the three of them kneeling there, he actually smiled and raised his eyebrows: "Oh, hello there, you three, all kneeling here..."