“What the hell is going on?” Dowager Consort Qu frowned tightly and looked at Qu Caiyue, whose clothes were in a mess. Dowager Consort Qu had been called over by the palace maid. When she heard about such a farce, her face had been sullen.

Pei Yusheng and Pei Qingmin were sitting on both sides of the hall. Similarly, their faces were gloomy. The other three Qu sisters stood together by the side. Qu Xuexin moved her eyes around. She lowered her head as she twisted her handkerchief, not daring to move.

Qu Moying’s expression was calm as she stood behind Qu Xuexin. The thin Qu Moying was a little smaller than Qu Xuexin, and therefore, almost half of her body was blocked by Qu Xuexin.

Qu Qiuyan stood in the front. She glared at Qu Caiyue, who was kneeling on the ground, with a face full of hatred and anger.

“Grandaunt… I… I didn’t know… I didn’t know at that time… I just went in like that… After I went in, my eyes became dazzled, and I became dizzy. I didn’t know that there was someone inside, and… and I didn’t see anyone inside.” Qu Caiyue knelt on the ground and cried miserably.

Qu Moying glanced at her from behind Qu Xuexin. She pursed her thin lips slightly and did not say anything.

“You said that you don’t know anything?” Dowager Consort Qu’s face was as still as water.

“Yes, I… I was feeling dizzy at that time. After a cup of tea with Moying, she said that she was not feeling well, so I helped her find a room to rest. I saw that there was one door that was ajar, and Moying said that it might be possible to rest there, so I went to take a look. And then… I didn’t remember what happened next.”

Qu Caiyue was truly flustered. She had never expected things to escalate to this extent.

How did the person in the room become Lord Jing? Shouldn’t it have been Lord Wei?

Was the person she saw in a daze at that time Lord Jing? Why did she think it was Lord Wei? What should she do now? She wanted to marry into Lord Wei Mansion. But it would be even better if it was Lord Jing Mansion. But what about Qu Qiuyan? How should she explain it to Qu Qiuyan?

“Dowager Consort, Second Lady Qu was indeed drugged. I have checked it just now. There is some faint powder in the flower hairpin that Second Lady Qu is wearing. If people inhale it too much, they will feel dizzy and weak.” An Imperial Doctor stepped forward and reported to Dowager Consort Qu respectfully.

The situation just now was urgent. After Dowager Consort Qu received the news, she immediately asked an Imperial Doctor to check it out, and now he had come up with a conclusion.

“Flower hairpin? Second Sister, where did you get your flower hairpin?” Qu Qiuyan took a step forward and approached Qu Caiyue. Her eyes were spitting fire. If there had been no one else at this time, Qu Qiuyan would have slapped Qu Caiyue on the face. It was just a small matter, but she made such a mistake. Qu Caiyue was such a useless thing.

“Flower hairpin? Yes, the flower hairpin. It was Moying who lent me the flower hairpin.” Qu Caiyue turned her head blankly and suddenly saw Qu Moying behind Qu Xuexin. She stretched out her finger and said loudly.

Seeing that she was called, Qu Moying calmly walked out from behind Qu Xuexin. After she walked out, she first bowed to Dowager Consort Qu, who was sitting in the top seat, and she appeared natural and graceful.

Dowager Consort Qu’s expression became better. Compared with this Fourth Lady, the others were much inferior. At this time, she could still be so calm. Was this matter really unrelated to her?

Today, this matter happened in her palace, and it also involved two Lords. Dowager Consort Qu felt a headache. She was just an old Dowager Consort. Now that such a big thing happened, she would not be able to handle it according to her own will.

“Speak,” Dowager Consort said slowly.

“Third Sister was the one who asked for Grandmother’s permission for Second Sister to enter the palace. After that, Second Sister said that she had not worn any jewelry and came to borrow a flower hairpin from me. When she saw the flower hairpins on my table, she asked to borrow them. Those hairpins were not mine. They were given to me by Third Sister. It was just that I did not like them, so I never wore them. When I saw that Second Sister liked them, I gave them to her. As for the rest, I really don’t know much.”

Qu Moying said indifferently.

Since it was someone else who framed her, she would also do the same thing.

From this perspective, Qu Qiuyan was the most suspicious one.

“I did give you the flower hairpins, but it was a long time ago. And they were always with you, Moying. Now that something happened, you pushed it on me. Isn’t it a bit too much?” Qu Qiuyan was already prepared, and she retorted with a sneer.

“This is the first time I came to Grandaunt’s palace. I wouldn’t know that Lord Jing would come here. It is impossible for me to do anything beforehand.” Qu Moying looked at Qu Qiuyan calmly.

“Who knows if you actually did something else? Is the tea still there except for the flower hairpin?” Qu Qiuyan stared coldly at Qu Moying, her eyes filled with uncontrollable hatred and anger.

How could she not be angry? How come Lord Jing was implicated? How come Lord Jing and Qu Caiyue were seen together? Shouldn’t it have been Lord Jing finding out that Lord Wei and Qu Caiyue were together?

“Investigate the matter right now,” Dowager Consort Qu ordered.

“Dowager Consort, when we went over just now, we didn’t see any teapot or teacups.” The Imperial Doctor stepped forward. He had checked Second Lady Qu as soon as possible and immediately pulled the maid over to ask some questions. After hearing that the Qu ladies had drunk some tea, he immediately went to check. However, there was no tea on the stone table over there.

The teapot and teacups could not be seen.

“What?” Dowager Consort Qu could no longer hold her breath. Her breathing quickened. The teapot and teacups were gone. This meant that she was also a suspect.

After all, it was the first time that all those ladies from Qu Mansion had come to her palace. They would not have the ability to plot against anyone. However, she was different. She was the Master in the palace. It was an easy task to ask the palace maid to send a cup of tea with something in it.

“There are no longer teapot and teacups.” The Imperial Doctor shook his head affirmatively.

“Go and find out which palace maid sent the tea!” Dowager Consort Qu said hatefully.

An old maid hurried over from behind and whispered to Dowager Consort Qu. Dowager Consort Qu nodded as she listened. The expression on her face relaxed a little. Her gaze fell on Qu Caiyue, who was kneeling on the ground with tears on her face. Then, she turned to Lord Jing, who was sitting on the side without saying a word.

She calmed down and asked, “Lord Jing, what do you think about this?”

No matter what, she had to ask Lord Jing about this matter. After all, he was also the person involved. Now that someone had found out that he and Qu Mansion’s second lady lying together in rags, he had to give Qu Mansion an explanation no matter what.

No matter what mistakes Qu Caiyue made, she was still the daughter of an official.

Just now, the Granny from the harem came over and told Dowager Consort Qu about something. She found out that the palace maid who sent the tea was related to a palace servant by Lord Jing’s side. It was said that the palace maid, during this period of time, had a close relationship with Lord Jing’s former chief steward in the palace. From this point of view, this matter should be related to Lord Jing, or it should be said that it was Lord Jing who had plotted the whole thing.

But why did Lord Jing plot against her? Dowager Consort Qu did not quite understand. Thinking of her identity, she simply pushed this matter directly to Pei Yusheng.

She was old and had no power to seize. Right now, she only wanted to enjoy a peaceful life. This kind of battle between the children of the royal family was not suitable for her. If she could, she would naturally seek benefits for herself. However, the current situation was a little subtle no matter how she looked at it. If she was not careful, she might be implicated in it.

Dowager Consort Qu felt that she should not investigate the matter first. It was said that “overly perceptive man keeps no friend”. She should not hold such a skeptical attitude toward all people, and she was not optimistic about this.

Pei Yusheng finally raised his head. The teacup fell heavily on the table, making a heavy “bang” sound. Then, he stood up and glanced coldly at his brother. Then, he said to Dowager Consort Qu, “Dowager Consort, since this matter has something to do with me, I naturally should be responsible.”

This meant that he had admitted to this matter and there was no need to investigate anymore.

“Your Highness…” Qu Qiuyan could not help but scream. Her lips trembled, and she could not say a word. Lord Jing wanted to take Qu Caiyue in. But what about her? What did it mean to take Qu Caiyue in? How could he accept such a lowly woman?

Pei Yusheng turned his gaze over, his eyes cold. Then, he flung his wide sleeves and turned to leave.

Now that things had gotten to this point, he felt embarrassed as well.

The idiot that Qu Qiuyan had found actually ruined their plan. If they continued to investigate, it would be impossible for him to obtain the results he had expected. In fact, the more they investigated, the more chaotic it would become. Pei Yusheng no longer wanted to continue the investigation. He would just treat it as having another mouth to feed in his mansion.

Now that things had gotten to this point, Pei Yusheng was even more convinced that this good younger brother of his had interfered.

He did not expect that he had really underestimated this sickly brat. He was actually not that easy to fool. However, he did not want to shed all pretenses with Pei Qingmin. It was not that he was afraid of Pei Qingmin. He was a sickly brat who was nothing. What was there to be afraid of? However, he still wanted to use this sickly brat to show off his brotherhood in front of others.

This sickly brat was a good prop. Compared with his other brothers, only this prop was the most reassuring to be used. After all, his mobility was not good.

However, he did not expect that this prop would also have a chance to counterattack. It caused him to make a mistake in his plan. Of course, Pei Yusheng was also full of resentment towards Qu Qiuyan. If not for Qu Qiuyan repeatedly saying that there would be no mistakes, he would not have helped her.

Looking at the current situation, Pei Yusheng only wanted to suppress the matter to the minimum and not let anyone know. Otherwise, if the Crown Prince knew about it, he would definitely laugh his head off. He would laugh at Pei Yusheng for being stupid and being led on by a woman.

Qu Caiyue raised her head in surprise and joy. She looked at Dowager Consort Qu in shock. Her face, which had been covered in tears just now, even had a smile on it now.

She had originally thought that things were going to be bad and that her plan was useless, but she had never thought that the tables would turn.

Lord Jing would let her marry into his mansion. Compared with Lord Wei, Lord Jing was naturally better. At the very least, not only was Lord Jing healthy, but there was hope for everything in the future. If she could give birth to a child before her third sister, everything in the future might fall into her hands. Thinking about it, it really was a windfall.

“Your Highness…” Her face was covered in tears and red marks from crying, but her smile became clear.

Qu Qiuyan was so angry that she was losing her mind. When she heard Pei Yusheng’s words, the last string in her mind broke. She rushed over and hit Qu Caiyue on the head. “You bitch!”

No one expected that she would make a move. Seeing her slap Qu Caiyue a few times, Dowager Consort Qu finally reacted and said anxiously, “Quick… stop them.”

A few palace servants came over and pulled the two apart…