Old Madam waved her hand to get them to come in. Lin Shi and Yu Miao Qi both looked haggard with bluish-black around their eyes which showed that they had not slept the whole night. Yu Xiang followed closely behind. Her complexion was not much better than theirs, except for her tenderly moist lips that faintly emitted the richly flavored of peach which made others want to take a bite.
On the contrary, Yu Si Yu was glowing as she took the initiative to support the Old Ancestor up.
Sitting upright, Old Madam started writing, âThe Ninth Princess is the one most poisoned. We will go to the Imperial Palace first today to apologize to the Emperor and the Empress. Yanâer is already waiting at the palace gate at this moment, so we will set out immediately.â
Lin Shiâs expression was spiritless but Yu Miao Qi was startled and asked in a sharp voice, âWhy do I still have to go to the Imperial Palace to ask for forgiveness?â Has the matter actually gotten so big? Even the Emperor and Empress knew about it, then how will she marry anyone in the future?
Old Madam glanced at her with cold eyes and wrote, âThe Ninth Princess is the Emperor and Empressâ precious. The poisoned jujubes that you bought had harmed her, do you still think you can get rid of this matter easily and without a word? You are dreaming! Enter the Imperial Palace today, then go to the Crown Prince residence tomorrow and the day after tomorrow the Duke mansion ⌠you and Lin Shi must personally offer humble apologies to every household!â
Ashen-faced, Yu Miao Qi can almost foresee her own infamous scenario. What would others comment about her? Greedy, unfilial, prodigal, stupid ⌠are all the most intolerable bad qualities of a woman in the secular world. Not to mention the royal clan, perhaps even ordinary families will hold her in contempt.
Itâs over, this time sheâs completely done for. Even if Yu Xiangâs origin is exposed, she canât overturn her own similar fate too.
Yu Miao Qiâs body went limp and fainted on the ground. Lin Shi shrieked in fear, but Old Madam did not even twitch an eyebrow as she wrote unhurriedly on the paper, âSplash her awake, change her clothes and set off immediately!â
Ma Momo hurriedly ordered people to carry her away. Yu Si Yu sat down to chat with the Old Ancestor while Yu Xiang went to prepare the gifts. Kneeling outside the courtyard was full of stewards listening to Feng Momoâs admonitory talk which merely summed up to two clauses: First, regardless of whether Miss Xiangâer is the bloodline of Yu manor, she is the master and will not tolerate disobedience. If anyone has disloyal disposition or cannot control their mouth making irresponsible remarks everywhere, the Marquis will personally take care of them; Second, henceforth, the household affairs will still be under the management of Miss Xiangâer while Miss Si Yu will assist and the rules that Second Young Miss abolished will be re-established as of today.
Just yesterday alone, many bondservants had been dealt with and all that remained were those who Lin Shiâs mother and daughter had relinquished at that time. Now they have once again returned to their original positions. They are naturally overjoyed and deeply grateful. Once Feng Momo ended her admonitory talk, they agreed aloud then kowtowed three times to Old Madam before leaving.
Within several quarters of an hour, the scattered-like sand servants were regrouped again. In the past, they thought that Miss Xiangâerâs rules were too strict but when they became headless houseflies scurrying around and frequently infuriating the Marquis, only did they realize that those rules were their guiding lights that absolutely could not be lacked. Just look at the fate of those who precisely did not abide by the rules where they were flogged to death yesterday.
Yu Miao Qi finally woke up listlessly after being splashed successively with three to four buckets of cold water. After changing her clothes and had her hair combed, she went to rejoin Old Madam and the others at the door with a pale face.
Although the poison residual has been cleared, the Ninth Princessâ throat is severely burned by the sulfur that she still canât speak at the moment and can only babble and gesture. Both the Emperor and the Empress are naturally annoyed with the perpetrators. Moreover, Emperor Cheng Kang has a very detailed knowledge of Yu Miao Qiâs origin that he told the Empress about; her causing the death of Mother Shen, her plotting against Shen Yuan Qi and so forth which propelled the Empress to frown with disgust.
As Emperor Cheng Kang has political affairs to discuss with Yu Pin Yan, he hurriedly left Kunning Palace while the Empress sorted out her mood before ordering someone to lead the Yu family in.
Because the Empressâ Little Jiuâer is a mentally impaired child, so the Empress feels tenderness towards the similarly physically impaired Yu Xiang. And Yu Xiang can be said to have grown up right before her eyes. Although Yu Xiangâs temperament is eccentric, her inclination is extremely straightforward, who also strives for the importance of sentiment and righteousness. Without her unprincipled protection, even a little eunuch would dare to deceive Little Jiuâer. Therefore, not only does the Empress not feel that Yu Xiang is unruly but she even indulges her too. Moreover, this incident has absolutely nothing to do with her, so there is no reason to blame her.
Once they arrived, the Empress ordered someone to bring Yu Xiang into the inner room to see Little Jiuâer, leaving Old Madam, Lin Shi and others to talk outside the hall. As Old Madam was poisoned too, the Empress could not bear to be harsh but she did not want to see Yu Miao Qiâs hypocritical face either. So, she ordered the palace maids to take her and Lin Shi into the side hall to listen to the mandate.
The palace maid recited aloud in accordance to the womenâs commandments for eight hours before letting both of them go. Just before they boarded the carriage, both their knees were already swollen.
Old Madamâs anger was hard to dispel as she wrote, âThe Empress has words that the Imperial Palace will conduct a selection of Zhengfei[1] and side consorts on the 6th day of next month for the fourth, fifth and sixth prince. As Yu Miao Qi lacks virtue, her participation is relinquished and will just stay in the manor to properly learn the etiquettes.â
Yu Miao Qi stared at the black words on the white paper in front of her as her facial features gradually twisted. Selection? Why has the selection not come earlier or later and only happened at a time when she had made such a big scandal of herself? Is the Heavens playing tricks on her?
In fact, there is some truth in her thought. According to her original destiny, the selection at this time would have turned out to be the opportunity for her to marry into the Fourth Prince mansion. If not for Yu Xiangâs dream of the mountainâs landslide, the Fourth Prince would have gone to the disaster relief instead of the Crown Prince where he will met her on the way and owed her a favor; if not for Yu Pin Yan putting her in jail, the Shen family would not have decline nor would Father and Mother Shen have died as she would still be the apple of the Shen family. Shen Yuan Qi will naturally bring her to acknowledge and return to her ancestry after obtaining the top scholar title, while Old Madam and Lin Shi will definitely do their best to educate and pave the way for her splendid futureâŚ
As said, once a step is wrong, every step will eventually move out of the way and all of these are eventually lost by the little butterfly effect of Yu Xiang.