Chapter 195 - 194: Scapegoat (Monthly Ticket 380+)
Zhu Qian was completely flustered, tears falling like beads. Apart from saying "I don’t know," she couldn’t make a single argument in her defense, only looking around for help.
Yunluo furrowed her brows as she looked at her, and asked Princess Nanyan softly, "Is she always like this?"
Princess Nanyan nodded slightly.
Princess Yunhua was irritated by Zhu Qian’s crying, and was about to ask for Zhu Qian to be dragged out when Yunluo stepped in front.
"I ask you, after looking for the earring, why did you go to the riverbank?" Yunluo asked her sternly.
Zhu Qian shook, opened her mouth, hesitated for a while, but before Princess Yunhua got angry, stammered two sentences: "Servant, servant turned over the horse feed, the smell on the hand was foul, so I went to wash my hands."
"Did you meet Lu Chun?" Yunluo asked again.
This time, Zhu Qian reacted a bit faster, nodded vigorously, and added at the end, "Was washing hands right next to her."
Yunluo looked towards Lu Chun.
Lu Chun bowed her head and said, "Right next to the servant, so the servant smelled the alcohol."
As soon as the words fell, not only did Yunluo laugh, but Mu Lianhui and Princess Nanyan also laughed.
Lu Chun and Zhu Qian looked bewildered, while Princess Yunhua picked up a piece of mung bean cake and threw it out, this time aiming it at Lu Chun’s face.
Lu Chun jumped in surprise and looked dumbfounded at Princess Yunhua.
Mu Lianhui pointed at Zhu Qian and said, "With such a slow tongue, no wonder she’s picked to be the scapegoat."
Zhu Qian shed more tears, she was indeed slow of speech, and being critiqued like this by Mu Lianhui made her even more afraid to speak.
This turmoil took quite a bit of effort, Princess Yunhua lost her patience, and called someone inside, saying, "Such a foolish one can only sweep the yard, as for Lu Chun, ha... Hand her over to the disciplinary aunt to deal with."
Lu Chun slumped down, knowing she was in trouble when she heard "scapegoat," yet she still bit her lip, just like Mu Lianhui said, without evidence she could deny.
But who knew Princess Yunhua would be so direct, not asking or investigating, just deeming her guilty.
Indeed, evidence or no evidence, when the Princess wanted her gone, what need was there for those things?
Hand her over to the disciplinary aunt for handling?
What good outcome could there be for someone sent to the disciplinary aunt by Princess Yunhua?
Lu Chun suddenly thought of Ah Bi and Lan Qiao.
It was said, after Lan Qiao returned from Guoning Temple, she hanged herself, claiming it was fear of punishment, and Ah Bi was sent to the Laundry Bureau, went mad a few days ago. If there wasn’t some underlying issue, Lu Chun wouldn’t believe it.
These two are her lesson from the past!
She dared to act against Princess Nanyan because she thought this method wouldn’t leave traces, even if someone discovered the issue with the horse feed, there was a slow-talking Zhu Qian as the scapegoat.
With Princess Yunhua’s temperament, she wouldn’t wait for Zhu Qian to calm down and speak slowly, she would certainly act swiftly and drag people away, yet coincidentally...
Coincidentally, Yunluo interrupted.
Just now, Princess Yunhua was clearly about to have people dragged away.
The more Lu Chun thought about it, the more unwilling she became. She tried hard to shake off the two women, shouting, "Princess, it’s not me, servant is innocent! Princess, servant has no reason to do such a thing, servant has no grievance with Princess Rui..."
"And then?" Princess Yunhua sneered, interrupting Lu Chun’s words, "What does that have to do with me? Why you did it, whether you hate Nanyan, has nothing to do with me. As long as I know it’s you who did it, that’s all I care about, I’m not interested in anything else."
The women knew Princess Yunhua was about to get angry, so they dared not delay anymore, and Lu Chun was stunned by her words, stopped struggling, and was directly dragged out.
Princess Yunhua was weary and turned over on the mattress, her back facing everyone.
Seeing this, Princess Nanyan got up to take her leave.
Everyone retreated together.
Mu Lianhui glanced at Yunluo twice, laughing, "Still, Yunluo is detail-oriented, otherwise, Zhu Qian would’ve suffered."
Zhu Qian wiped her tears, her face a miserable sight, muttered, "Servant thanks Miss Du."
Yunluo sent Zhu Qian off, quietly took a deep breath, smiled to Mu Lianhui and said, "Actually, Lady knows clearly, just that I can’t hold my tongue, and speak what I wish to ask."
"Being straightforward isn’t a bad thing," Mu Lianhui narrowed her eyes, said, "Princess has had her drink, probably won’t go horse riding this afternoon, what about you? Should I teach you to ride a horse?"
Yunluo shook her head, "I still have to check on Huang Jie."
Mu Lianhui didn’t insist further and turned to leave.
Princess Nanyan reminded Qing Yan a couple of times, Qing Yan plucked up the courage to ask, "Heir’s wife, will Zhu Qian not be allowed to serve inside anymore?"
Nanyan nodded, "It’s better for her this way."
Serving by the master’s side requires not only cleverness but also a pleasing tongue, and Zhu Qian is one who can’t speak well. Instead of causing trouble by Princess Yunhua’s side in the future, she might as well sweep the yard and fetch water peacefully.
Today’s incident clearly showed Zhu Qian was framed, yet she was anxious and unable to explain the course of events. If she could make it clear, such a simple matter would’ve been settled long ago.
Just as Yunluo said, Lu Chun’s nose was too sensitive.
They had all smelled the leftover small bundle of horse feed, the alcohol smell was extremely faint, how strong could the smell on Zhu Qian’s hands be?
After the act, Zhu Qian knew to wash her hands to get rid of the alcohol smell. The river was winding, Zhu Qian could have picked an unoccupied spot instead of choosing by Lu Chun’s side.
Zhu Qian walked to Lu Chun’s side without any evasion, evidently unaware, what she wanted to wash off was the stable’s smell, not the alcohol.
Moreover, with Zhu Qian’s nature and temperament, unable to articulate a sentence, how could she have the courage to scheme against Princess Nanyan?
But Lu Chun, Princess Yunhua didn’t hear her defense, yet everyone understood Lu Chun’s intention.
She believed Nanyan betrayed Princess Yunhua, causing the Princess to become increasingly difficult to serve, worrying her as a palace maid, over time she began to hate Nanyan.
Lu Chun likely won’t have a good outcome.
Not only did she plot against Princess Rui, more importantly, she violated Princess Yunhua’s taboo.
Disliked things were destroyed by her own hand, broken porcelain dolls smashed personally.
Princess Yunhua carried out these acts personally. Even if targeting Nanyan, she’d personally take action. A mere palace maid daring to act on her own is akin to digging up a grave.
This was the most unacceptable act for Princess Yunhua.
Yunluo and Princess Nanyan went together to see Huang Jie, not truly intending to speak to her, rather to avoid Mu Lianhui’s situation, lest she actually calls to horse ride, and Snow Clothes’ horseshoes still missing.
Thinking of this, Yunluo paused, said, "What’s the name of the eunuch who came to identify?"
"Ma Dehai," Princess Nanyan said, "why do you ask about him?"
"He said people have three urgencies, when urgent how much time is spent? He didn’t see Lu Chun act, that’s understandable, but when someone targeted Caiwei, he surely noticed something," Yunluo explained.