Chapter 40 Repeated Failures
Impossible! Dou Qing’e rushed down the stairs with Qin Yunzhuang. Squatting down, the girl even took a look into Li Qiqi’s eyes. “Gosh, it’s Concubine Li.” Qin Yunzhuang cried and put her hand at her heart.
Li Qiqi sat on the ground with a distressed look. Rubbing her swollen ankle, she found creases of all over her new layered dress after the pulling and dragging. There was also an opening in the hemline that was about a finger long and half a finger wide. However, it seemed that the opening was torn before this incident.
Dou Qing’e was so surprised that she couldn’t speak. It was not until a moment later did she open her mouth and stuttered, “Sister Li, how are you? Why didn’t you say it out clearly?” Dou Qing’e knew it well that Li Qiqi meant a lot to Qin Zhi in his heart, so she had to calm Li down, “Aw, if you said it just now and came out, everything wouldn’t be like this….Come, let me see if this left any scars?”
Li Qiqi was not pushover. After so many years in the pleasure quarters, she understood what Dou Qing’e was thinking about. She just pulled her out of the carriage this time, maybe she would pull her off the stage the next time. She came to the Royal City alone and made a living on her own. Like many incidents, she had to deal with them in another way. “It’s okay, you are my sister. I’m inferior to you. How dare I blame you?” Li Qiqi struggled to stand up but immediately collapsed on Xiu Gu’s side with eyes full of grievances, “Sister, it seemed that my ankle could no longer support me to walk.”
If the injury were serious to this extend, Master would know about it anyway. Dou Qing’e gritted her teeth and suddenly turned around to yell at the girls who were pulling, “Which one of you showed ignorance of etiquette and hurt Concubine Li? Are you all tired of being alive? Xiu Gu, lock them up in the woodshed. I will deal with them later.”
Following Dou Qing’e’s order had become the ignorance of the etiquette for those little girls. It was almost too easy for her to shift the blame.
“Oh, my mother is here.” A clear female voice came from behind Dou Qing’e. “My father called someone to Cui Xuan courtyard and waited for you to pick up a congratulatory gift for my second uncle. It turned out that my mother was not in Cui Xuan courtyard but at the gate. Are you going out?”
Dou Qing’e turned her head quickly and found Qin Yunuan, who she tried every means to frame, came to her. Her sweet and soft smile was like sticky amber that glued the embarrassed and astonished face of Dou Qing’e.
Concubine Chang who came along seemed to notice what happened just now and shouted in surprise, “Isn’t that sister Li? Why are you sitting on the ground? You servant girls, help her up.”
Even though Concubine Chang said so, the servant girls didn’t dare to move. The bolder one of them came out and said,” Concubine Li couldn’t move. It looks like her ankle was hurt.”
“Is that serious? Why not send for a doctor?” Qin Yunuan frowned, looking worried. She blamed Tong, who stood beside her, “Why don’t you act according to circumstances? Concubine Li was my father’s sweetheart. Hurry up and go to tell him.”
Tong turned her eyes and ran to Shunchang Courtyard in seconds. Dou Qing’e couldn’t have a chance to stop her.
Dou Qing’e’s face turned white like paper, and she still couldn’t believe it. Impossible, she sent people to follow all the way. Qin Yunuan took the carriage with blue curtains and went out of the mansion. She also had eyes on the alley. Only one carriage returned during the time she was out. Why was the person inside Li Qiqi?
She glared at Qin Yunuan, feeling that this daughter of a concubine was filled with unbearable things and schemes. She had no idea how she returned, but there was one thing that Dou Qing’e was sure about–she was framed by this filthy daughter of a concubine!
Li Qiqi couldn’t stay at the gate for long. While a few stout nannies were helping her into the Furong Courtyard, they met with Qin Zhi, who was rushing to the front. Some wet ink was on his neckline. When hearing about Li Qiqi getting pulled off the carriage at the gate and stomped, he was so anxious that he dropped the weasel hairbrush into his arms.
“Master.” Dou Qing’e hurried to greet him, trying to explain first.
Qin Zhi ’s eyes were as horrifying as those of the black demon. He turned around and said, “We will talk about this later when Qiqi recovered.” Even though the message didn’t involve the incident was related to Dou Qing’e, Qin Zhi understood everything by seeing Li Qiqi’s terrified look at the sight of Dou Qing’e. Li Qiqi was so like Lian, they both had a pair of eyes that could talk.
After a while, the servant sent for Doctor Chen ran back, sweating heavily and reported, “Doctor Chen went out for personal urgency.”
“Then take my name card and ask for an imperial doctor in the palace.”
For a concubine, her husband called for an imperial doctor. Hatred filled up Dou Qing’e’s eyes, mixing with jealousy. Qin Zhi had always been a man careful of his reputation, but he broke his rules twice for a courtesan.
“Father, I’m afraid this isn’t suitable,” Qin Yunzhuang stopped the servant who was about to leave hurriedly. “The Qin Family is now in the teeth of the storm. If making such a blunt move, the emperor would probably blame you for putting up pageantry for your concubine.”
But the faint groaning in the room was likely killing Qin Zhi and reminding him how painfully Lian had been waiting for him before her death. It happened when he was not by her side.
Qin Zhi hesitated for a while before he heard Dou Qing’e’s idea again, “I thought that the Doctor Zhang Ruting, who came to treat Yunzhuang the other day, has excellent skills. Today happens to be the last visit for Dr. Zhang. He might have arrived at the Caizhi Courtyard. If we invite him here, then there would be less trouble.” Qin Yunzhuang and Dou Qing’e looked into each other, both understood their thoughts.
“Why didn’t you say it earlier,” Qin Zhi said hurriedly, his eyes glanced at Dou Qing’e with a slight dissatisfaction, “Send for Dr. Zhang quickly. Yunzhuang’s face is almost recovered, it’s okay to postpone.”
Dou Qing’e agreed outwardly and seemed to care about the situation inside, but she saw it clearly. She had a more penetrating insight to see through the chaos of pulling. Li Qiqi fell stroke a pose and fell from the shaft by herself. It was her play when she lay on the ground, screaming her pain. Her ankle was fine with no sprain at all.
It’s just a mean woman who turned the trick to her own use. She pretended to be pitiful so that the Master would care about her.
She was worried about whether Li Qiqi would scheme her downfall by this incident. But now her doctor would be the famous Zhang Ruting, who closed his ears to everyone but the truth. Compared to any sophisticated doctors. The youngster was more energetic, stubborn and perseverance. Countless maidens and princesses had revealed their real intentions before Dr. Zhang. How could a person, who was not even afraid of princesses, be bribed by a concubine of the mansion of Grand Commandant?
As she thought of this, Dou Qing’e became more relaxed. She looked at Qin Yunuan and then glanced away quickly, feeling that the coldness and calmness on the girl’s face stung her eyes.
After what seemed no longer than a tea break, a little servant girl led Zhang Ruting, who was travel-worn and weary came in from the gate of the courtyard.
Qin Yunuan and Zhang Ruting hadn’t seen each other for a while. She just heard that the princess of East Qin who had just arrived in the palace days ago was unacclimatized and she has been lying in bed ever since. The emperor issued a death order, which was tricky for the imperial doctors. Within seven days, the princess of East Qin’s condition had to be improved. The doctors buried their heads into finding good treatment. Zhang Ruting seemed to have lost a lot of weight from the last time of meeting, and his skinny body looked more distressed than usual.
“Please, Dr. Zhang.” Qin Zhi joined his hands together in salute.
“Dr. Zhang, please be earnest about the diagnosis and treatment, do tell me everything truthfully.” Dou Qing’e emphasized the latter sentence.
Zhang Ruting responded quickly to the salute, nodding his head. Then he saw Qin Yunuan, who stood quietly behind Qin Zhi. His eyes narrowed immediately with full disdain. The despise in his eyes condensed into a beam of light so strong as if it could penetrate the heart, hitting on Qin Yunuan’s calm pupil. Then Zhang Ruting returned to his normal self, lifted his clothes and walked into the door.
The wait seemed endless. Qin Zhi was very anxious, and he spoke to Dou Qing’e in a very bad mood, “You have been housekeeping for only one day or two before everything became messy again. If you couldn’t manage the house well, I’d better take it back as soon as possible.”
“Yes, yes. My master is right.” Dou Qing’e’s temperament had become mild these days. She understood how to kill with kindness. Lifting her eyes, she said with her face full of sincerity. “I admit that I was wrong and offensive. It’s just that I received a report from the concierge, saying that at three o’clock in the afternoon, Third Miss left the house without telling anyone. She didn’t say where she went, so I had people waiting at the door. What I did was to let the person in the carriage come down so as to avoid afterclaps. But my servant girls were too reckless to hurt Sister Li inside.”
Dou Qing’e made a clever remark. On the one hand, Qin Zhi was informed about Qin Yunuan leaving the house secretly. On the other hand, she made those powerless servant girls the bad guys for hurting Li Qiqi.
As expected, Qin Zhi turned to look at Qin Yunuan the next moment, “What your mother said was true?”
Dou Qing’e raised her neck, she had certainty about Qin Yunuan’s secret leave. It didn’t matter if she refused to admit it. She had witnesses, anyway.
“Father, mother,” Qin Yunuan looked up, “I know that leaving the house without your permission would lead to serious punishment. But I have been staying in the mansion of Grand Commandant the whole afternoon. I didn’t go out.”
Dou Qing’e asked two dodge masters to follow Qin Yunuan’s carriage, and they also confirmed that Qin Yunuan went to the First Boite of the Royal City. But somehow the person inside became Li Qiqi when it returned. Dou Qing’e lifted her foxy eyes gently, “But I sent Cui’e to look for you a moment before, and you weren’t in the Fuxi Courtyard.”