Chapter 87 Shameless
In the painting hall, Sima Ray stepped over the threshold to discover that the little eunuch who had just led the way was nowhere to be found. The secluded and remote painting hall was surrounded by an intoxicating fragrance, and it seemed to be luring people’s lust. Sima Ray was feeling uncomfortable in his chest. He realized that he had been set up, and he wanted to leave. However, his legs were already powerless.
There seemed to be a lot of tranquillizing fragrance in the infatuation fragrance. Sima Ray’s sight was getting more and more blurred. He only saw a pair of hands that were slowly closing the painting hall door. He tried to struggle, so that Liu Bao who was waiting outside could come and save him, but he didn’t even have the power to shout. His eyelids were as heavy as lead, and he lost his consciousness eventually.
He was awakened by some loud screams.
“Oh my goodness, it’s sister Qin and the Third Prince!”
“It’s so shameless!”
“They actually do ‘that’ in a place like this!”
The unmarried noble girls were saying what only the country women would say. Some younger girls who couldn’t watch the scene anymore had already ran off. Through the carved windows, Qin Yunuan was able to see the situation in the hall clearly.
Qin Yunzhuang, who said that she was going to change her clothes in the painting hall, had her hair all messed up like catkins after being torn by the wind. She was half naked, and the crowd was able to see her bare chest. The autumn skirt she deliberately prepared for the poetry fiesta today was down to her ankles. Her fine long legs were exposed to the air, and there was something at her crotch.
Qin Yunzhuang looked as if she were drunk and confused, like a girl who fell in love. As for Sima Ray who was lying on her, his clothes had been completely torn apart, and his strong back muscles were clearly seen. The heat in his crotch seemed to be reminding him that he had been set up.
Such a sexy scene had made many daughters of the officials blush.
Shangguan Yee was a little surprised. Such a scene seemed somewhat unexpected to her. She looked at Qin Yunuan subconsciously, and saw a vicious and murderous look in her indifferent glance. She immediately understood that no wonder how vicious she was, she was nothing compared to the daughter of a concubine of the mansion of Grand Commandant.
The commotion here alarmed Liu Bao who was waiting outside. He hurried over and saw the scene dumbfounded. He quickly stepped forward and dressed his master who was still unable to move. On the other hand, Qin Yunzhuang was not that lucky. Everyone was looking at the half-naked Qin Yunzhuang as if she were a juggling monkey.
The unrelated people had been driven away. The only people staying were Shangguan Yee who first discovered the scene and Qin Yunuan who was a relative to Qin Yunzhuang.
Later, Empress Chen was also notified and came. Although she came a bit late, as soon as she saw Sima Ray’s disheveled clothes and the tightly shut door of the painting hall, she knew what had happened. She slapped on Sima Ray’s face and scolded, “You are useless thing.”
Meanwhile in the painting hall, Qin Yunuan was picking up Qin Yunzhuang’s scattered clothes one by one. Many of them had been torn, leaving strips as long as an arm.
“What had happened here between sister and the Third Prince was quite fierce.” Qin Yunuan folded the clothes neatly and put them in front of Qin Yunzhuang. But Qin Yunuan had no intention to put them on for her.
Qin Yunzhuang didn’t like Qin Yunuan’s look at her at the moment, as if she were looking at a prey caught up in a trap, or she were mocking an unscrupulous adulteress.
Qin Yunzhuang’s face was beautiful and pleasant. When she was angry, it glowed with a pretty crimson.
“You did it.” If Qin Yunzhuang still had the strength, she would have definitely reached out and grabbed Qin Yunuan’s neck, and buried her with the innocence of herself. “No, no,” Qin Yunzhuang was back to her mind, “It’s not you. You don’t have the ability to bribe all the maidens and eunuchs outside the painting hall.”
“Yes, I did it,” Qin Yunuan admitted boldly, “Aren’t I helping you, elder sister? You have always had a thing for the Third Prince. I’m just helping you here to show my gratitude for you taking care of me all these years. As for the maidens and eunuchs, you still don’t know about it right? They were all settled by your used-to bestie, Shangguan Yee. It’s just that her ideas are too childish. Having you two caught for adultery is a way more direct than just having you two privately seeing each other. All I need to do is to prepare the fragrance in the painting hall in advance. I’d love to do this kind of small effort.”
“Qin Yunuan, you are vicious woman.” Under the traction of hatred, Qin Yunzhuang managed to raise her bruised hand with all her strength. Before she could even wave it, Qin Yunuan softly caught it in her palm.
“Yes, I am vicious,” Qin Yunuan’s eyes suddenly became bloodshot and scary, “but compared to Dou, who added chronic arsenic to my mother’s soup six years ago, I am not vicious enough.”
Qin Yunzhuang suddenly opened her eyes wide, “What… what are you talking about?”
“Qin Yunzhuang, don’t act innocent anymore. Don’t deny it, as you personally bring the soup several times. When my mother saw that it was you, she would drink it all to please you, even though she felt unwell. Qin Yunzhuang, you have always been good at acting, to be innocent, kind, and fair. Now that they are all torn off, are you still trying to act it?”
It was actually a coincidence that she learnt about the cause of death of her mother, Lady Yang. But because of this coincidence, Qin Yunuan finally knew why her mother was healthy after giving birth to Baochuan, but suddenly died within the next month.
“You… how did you know?” Qin Yunzhuang was a little panicked. These secrets happened long ago, and not many people know. Apart from Xiu Gu who was serving her and her mother, there was this Li Qiqi who asked to cooperate with herself and her mother using this secret. Li Qiqi?
“Li Qiqi? It’s her? Isn’t she already dead?”
“Huh, people die, but they could talk before they do,” Qin Yunuan looked at Qin Yunzhuang coldly, “if it had not been for you, Baochuan and I would not have been motherless. If it hadn’t been for you, father would not have neglected Baochuan for so many years. If it hadn’t been for you, Baochuan and I wouldn’t have to suffer so many miserable days.”
“You can’t blame me,” Qin Yunzhuang burst into tears, and her eyes were red, “It was all my mother. It had nothing to do with me. Actually, when the doctor diagnosed Concubine Yang’s veins, he said it was a daughter, so mother didn’t pay much attention. Who knew that it would be a boy. Actually, my mother….”
“Shut up!” Qin Yunuan stood up and looked at Qin Yunzhuang with a predominant attitude. She suddenly stepped forward, stretched out her hand and slapped Qin Yunzhuang with her full strength, “This, is for my mother.” Then she did it again to Qin Yunzhuang’s swollen face, “This, is for Baochuan.” For the last one, Qin Yunuan seemed to drain every last bit of her strength, “This, is for myself.”
After three slaps, Qin Yunzhuang’s face was already swollen. The clear five-finger print on her face was like a seal, smashing all the pride and highness she had.
At that time, there was the urge of a nanny outside the door.
“Third Miss Qin, has Grand Miss Qin got dressed yet? The Empress has some questions for her.”
Qin Yunuan looked at Qin Yunzhuang, who was a bit muddled after getting slapped. There was a bitter smile at the corner of Qin Yunzhuang’s mouth. There seemed to be a hint of provocation in her smile, as if she were saying, “You let your anger out beating me like this, but how would you explain it to the Empress?”
Qin Yunuan just took a few steps back, and suddenly took off the gold hairpin on her cross hair bun, and kneaded her hair till it was messy as a bunch of weeds. She hit herself against the door and shouted, “Elder sister, I won’t touch you if you don’t want me to. But it hurts that you push me.”
Just when Qin Yunzhuang was opening her eyes wide in shock, the door squeaked and was pushed open by the fat nanny who shouted outside. The fat nanny saw Qin Yunuan, who was falling in front of the door at first glance. The messy bun fitted to her face, and she acted well to be much aggrieved.
“Oh, Third Miss Qin, what’s going on?” The fat nanny had quite a good impression on Qin Yunuan, and she helped Qin Yunuan up kindly. It seemed that the little girl was shoved hard enough that there were prints on her body.
She took another look at Qin Yunzhuang, who was not even properly dressed. The fat nanny seemed to be disgusted. Nevertheless, when she saw the fingerprints on Qin Yunzhuang’s face, she couldn’t help asking, “What happened to Grand Miss Qin’s face?”
Qin Yunuan sighed and replied, “Elder sister was so ashamed that she slapped herself in the face fiercely. Yunuan tried to stop her, but I couldn’t. Instead, elder sister shoved me against the door.”
Huh, now that she did it, she knew it was shameful.
The fat nanny thought, but she still urged gently, “Alright, Grand Miss Qin. Now, the Empress is waiting. If you have anything to say, why don’t you say it to the Empress?” After that, she turned to order the two maidens waiting outside the door, “You two, come in and get Grand Miss Qin dressed.”
With the commanding tone, Qin Yunzhuang could no longer resist or struggle.
She knew clearly that it was no different from committing suicide to see the Empress under such situation.
The fat nanny turned and left after she finished her words. Qin Yunuan glanced at the set of goose-yellow gowns held by the maidens. Her glance only fell on Qin Yunzhuang for a short moment. The aggrieved look was long gone, what was instead were all sarcasm and ruthlessness.
“Elder sister, get changed.”
Qin Yunuan was relieved only after she came out of the Chuihua Gate outside the painting hall. The day when Li Qiqi told her about her mother’s death seemed to be echoing in her eardrum.
That day, Li Qiqi was in the prison. When Qin Yunuan was about to leave, Li Qiqi shouted that the Su Chenghai now was not the real Su Chenghai.
“Concubine Li, don’t play any tricks anymore. It’s too late for you to beg me and draw me over. After all, it’s not me who want to kill you. I guess she’s going to do it in the midnight tonight. Just take care of yourself.”
“There’s one more thing,” Li Qiqi was leaning against the cell gate and screaming, “There’s one more thing that Third Miss must be interested in. It’s about Concubine Yang.”
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Chapter 88 Doomed Love
“It’s about the cause of Concubine Yang’s death,” Li Qiqi quickly added. What she feared the most was that Qin Yunuan would really walk away. She knew that she didn’t have much time left. She’d either be beheaded or killed by the vicious woman Dou. Qin Yunuan was the only one who could save her. “Third Miss, you really do not want to know?”
“You’d better not tell lies.” Qin Yunuan turned her head around, only showing a third of her face. The obscure side face was filled with deep forbearance and longing for her mother.
“Qiqi naturally won’t risk my life on this,” Li Qiqi swallowed her saliva, “I accidentally discovered this after I became a part of Qin Family. The other night, I couldn’t sleep so I decided to have a walk in the backyard. I saw Xiu Gu who served Dou burning paper money. While burning, she was saying, ‘Concubine Yang, it wasn’t me who murdered you. I didn’t have a choice. Don’t come back for me like Concubine He.’ That was just after we colluded for the haunting incident in Furong Courtyard. I guessed that Xiu Gu must have done something back then. I only realized later when I saw you, Third Miss, that the day Xiu Gu was burning paper money was your mother, Concubine Yang’s memorial day.”
There was a ten-step distance between Qin Yunuan and Li Qiqi, but Li Qiqi’s words were so powerful that it hurt her heart from the eardrum.
Seeing Qin Yunuan’s silence, Li Qiqi quickly added, “Every word I said are true. Just go verify it by yourself if you don’t trust me. With your ability, you could surely figure out what happened back then.”
“That’s for sure.” Qin Yunuan turned back somberly, and went straight out of the prison without saying much. It was always debatable whether the value of this message was worth for her to save Li Qiqi’s life.
It was only until a few days later, when Huang Dashi found out the address of a retired old nanny of the mansion of Grand Commandant. She then found out what happened. After thinking about it, Qin Yunuan knew that Dou had put Saffron in her mother’s embryo-settling medicine. It was lucky that her mother was allergic and had never used the medicine, so she was able to give birth to the six-pound boy. However, she wasn’t able to escape the chronic poison in the postpartum soup.
It was a small amount of arsenic every day which killed her mother.
Thinking of this, Qin Yunuan took a deep breath and held back her tears. Instead, she grew more hatred and gritted her teeth as she felt that her mother didn’t deserve that.
Shangguan Yee on the side mistook it as the excitement that she would be able to see Qin Yunzhuang’s embarrassment in front of the Empress. She lifted her eyebrows and said with sarcasm, “I admit that you have better tricks than me, and you’re always more vicious than I am. However, when it comes to disguise, sister Qin, I can see your veins bulging on your fists. Even if you’re happy, you don’t have to show it like this.”
Qin Yunuan relaxed her tension and lazily looked back at Shangguan Yee, “I’m not you. I’ve got emotions.”
Shangguan Yee sneered, “I used to have them too.”
Just after they finished talking, a young palace maiden led the haggard Qin Yunzhuang in from the left side of the door. At the same time, Sima Ray was already changed and came in from the right side of the door. When the two were exchanging glances by the door, Sima Ray seemed to give his most vicious look ever. His eyes narrowed slightly, and his glance was like ice cones that he wished to pierce the woman in front of him, who was nothing more than being beautiful.
He had never made such a big mistake, and at such a critical time. His father, the Emperor had already started to consider about letting him coordinate the East Qin affairs. But now, it seemed that everything would no longer be the same for him.
“What are you doing standing at the door?” Empress Chen looked superiorly at the two of them standing like wooden sculptures at the door, and she got more dissatisfied, “Come in.”
There were still tears in Qin Yunzhuang’s eyes. She thought that Sima Ray would at least show her a little pity like any normal man would. She was innocent either. However, as they went into the hall side by side, the only words she heard from Sima Ray were cold, “You’d better watch your mouth.”
After they entered the hall, Sima Ray suddenly kneeled towards Empress Chen and buried his head low, “Mother, sorry that I’ve been unfilial.”
Empress Chen didn’t seem to expect that Sima Ray, who had always been arrogant and unruly, would also be obedient like this. She sent off the unrelated people, including Shangguan Yee, leaving only a few trusted people of hers and Qin Yunuan, who was the sister of Qin Yunzhuang.
Qin Yunuan took a deep breath when she saw Empress Chen. Nothing seemed to be able to disturb the beautiful disguise of such a calm and dignified woman. Such a person was the most terrible kind. No one ever knew what she was hiding, or how deep she was hiding it.
“Lady Shangguan has told me all about it,” Empress Chen sighed. She naturally would not believe the testimony of Shangguan Yee completely, but at the moment, she didn’t want to turn this into a chaos, “Ray, why have I never heard about your crush with Grand Miss Qin?”
Sima Ray was stunned, and he took a quick glance at Qin Yunzhuang kneeling by him. He became more disgusted by her cowardly look. He planned to accuse Qin Yunzhuang for seducing him first. He could say that Qin Yunzhuang wanted to enter the royal family, or Qin Yunzhuang had a thing for him since long ago, which he would be able to find evidence. Even if there was no evidence, he could make some up. In short, the cleaner he was, the better.
But now according to what Empress Chen meant, she wanted to let him….
“Ah,” Empress Chen sighed, “well, feelings between men and women are natural. It happens that Third Miss Qin’s here, she could be a witness for you two.”
Just as Empress Chen paused, the three of them knew what was going on. Sima Ray clenched his fists unwillingly. Qin Yunzhuang’s eyes were mixed with expectations, fears, and shyness, while Qin Yunuan just bowed slightly when Empress Chen called her name. Her expression was faint, as if this had nothing to do with her.
“Choose a date and get married,” Empress Chen’s tone was a little tough, like an ultimatum.
“Mother!” Sima Ray could not help shouting loudly.
“There would be a once-in-a-lifetime day for marriage by the end of next month. I planned to find you some girls to marry on that day anyway. Since this incident happened now, it’s kind of a coincidence,” Empress Chen completely ignored Sima Ray’s powerless resistance.
“Mother, the decision is too abrupt, and it has not been fully investigated, why do you…,” Sima Ray tried to argue.
“What’s done is done! Do you want this to go to your father, the Emperor?” Empress Chen’s tone suddenly got serious. Her voice was so stern that it was completely different from her usual gentleness. She was staring at him angrily. If it weren’t for Qin Yunuan’s presence, she would have stood up and opened Sima Ray’s head to see what was in his mind today that he had made such a low-level mistake. He had never got caught for seducing the Imperial Concubine Xian before.
As soon as she mentioned the Emperor, Sima Ray’s momentum suddenly weakened. His expression was sloppy, like an underdog.
“The twenty-third of next month,” Empress Chen said, a little softer. Then she asked Qin Yunuan, “What do you think, Third Miss Qin?”
When she asked Qin Yunuan, it was the same as asking the Qin Family’s opinion. If Qin Yunuan said yes, she would have to help Qin Yunzhuang and Sima Ray to cover up when she returned. She could just say that the two were in love and decided to get married. Nannies arranged by Empress Chen were sent to the daughters of the officials who saw the incident, to tell them what to say and what not to after they left the palace. Now, the only one left was Qin Yunuan.
Qin Yunuan bowed and said with a light smile, “This is a jubilant thing, and naturally it is entirely up to the elders’ decisions. Yunuan would listen to the Empress.”
Luckily she knew the situation well. Empress Chen slowly kneaded her sore temple with her index finger, and her beautiful fingernail guard occasionally brushed her well-knitted bun, “Then so be it. I’ll discuss with Imperial Concubine Yun and Imperial Concubine Duan tomorrow to arrange the marriage of the princes at the same time, so as not to be too eye-catching.”
Sima Ray had kept silent, kind of accepting the situation. He actually had to marry such a stupid and reckless woman. He raised his head slightly and looked at Qin Yunuan, as his unwillingness grew.
In the silence, Qin Yunzhuang suddenly uttered, “I don’t want to marry the Third Prince.” She boldly said from her heart with tears. From the series of responses by Sima Ray just now, she was sure that Sima Ray didn’t love her at all and he even hated her. She was used to rely on her beauty to think that all men in the world would take care of her and protect her. The huge contrast was even more painful to her than a knife stabbing into her heart. Her days would definitely be more unpleasant if she really got married.
“What are you talking about, elder sister?” Before Empress Chen had the chance to speak, Qin Yunuan took the initiative to step forward and hold Qin Yunzhuang in her arms tightly. It seemed to be a comforting cuddle between sisters, but in fact, what Qin Yunuan said by Qin Yunzhuang’s ears was, “Don’t you know the consequences for not marrying the Third Prince? Your reputation has been ruined, and father will no longer take you. Maybe even Dou will no longer take you. Not a single man in the world will accept you. Do you really think that the news won’t spread as the Empress has told the noble ladies not to say anything? Elder sister, I think you are very clear that you will become the shameless woman people talk about as soon as you leave the palace if I want it this way.”
“Why?” Qin Yunzhuang burst into tears, “I’ve never harmed you. Even if I had, it was in the past.”
“The past?” Qin Yunuan said as she touched the golden hairpin on her head. This was the one she felt strange before entering the palace. She looked for someone to check it later, it was poisoned with the most poisonous seven-step powder. It was the easiest for it to enter the body from the scalp, and it could kill people within two hours. She would have been a dead body now if she hadn’t found out.