frightfiction Chapter 20: Sentencing
Chapter 20: Sentencing
An Lingrong was stunned at first, not understanding how this matter involved Xia Dongchun again. She lowered her head, thinking for a while, and hesitated. Just when Noble Lady Fucha was about to lose her patience, she said hesitantly: "I really don't know what you are talking about."
Noble Lady Fucha thought to herself that An Lingrong was a sensible person. After all, she did not foolishly argue with her, but instead went along with her wishes.
Yun Ling was shocked when she heard this. How could this be allowed? They wanted to throw all the dirty water on them? An Lingrong couldn't afford to offend Noble Lady Fucha, and she couldn't clear herself of suspicion, so she wanted to drag her mistress into this mess?
That's not possible!
Yun Ling immediately stood up and said to An Lingrong, "What does An agree to mean by this? If it's a misunderstanding, just let Noble Lady Fucha interrogate the people in your room. Why do you say you don't know what happened? Could it be that Baoying really did this, and An agrees to drag our young master into this in order to protect the people in his room?"
Unexpectedly, someone in Xia Dongchun's room heard it. An Lingrong was startled and her legs went weak. She almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Baojuan supported her in time and she managed to stabilize her body.
After An Lingrong stood firm, her eyes were red and her voice was as soft as a mosquito's hum: "That's not what I meant..."
"Then what does An agree to do? We are in the palace, and we have to make everything clear. Otherwise, what if innocent people are implicated?" Qi Ling also stood up, her little round face puffed up with anger.
Even though An Lingrong was of a low rank, she was still the master. Although Qi Ling knew that Xia Dongchun didn't like An Lingrong, she would never dare to say anything bad about An Lingrong. But when it came to the innocence of their family, Qi Ling didn't care much.
"Since An Da Ying said she didn't know, I can't just say it out loud. Otherwise, if An Da Ying is wrongly accused, it will be my fault." Fu Cha Guiren was afraid that Yun Ling and Qi Ling would take advantage of this matter, so she hurriedly said, "Yun Ling and Qi Ling, you two may not be without suspicion. You are so anxious to distance yourself from me now. Are you afraid that I will find out something?"
"What do you mean, Sister Fucha?" Their voices were so loud that it was hard for Xia Dongchun not to hear them in the room. When she heard that Noble Lady Fucha wanted to involve Yunling Qiling again, Xia Dongchun could no longer sit still and came out.
"Sister Fucha and I have never had any grudges against each other, so why would you let your subordinates do such a thing? Even if Sister Fucha is anxious to find the person who did it, she should not wrongly accuse others." Xia Dongchun weighed every word he said, fearing that he would accidentally hurt Yunling and Qiling.
Noble Lady Fucha frowned, and her hands hidden in her sleeves trembled a little. After all, it was the first time she did such a thing, and she was always unsure. Sang'er was standing close to her, and he noticed this and quickly moved aside to block it.
"When I encounter such a thing, isn't it normal for me to be anxious to find out the truth? Or is it that Concubine Xia has some hidden secret... and wants to stop me from investigating it thoroughly?" asked Noble Lady Fucha.
"!" Yun Ling was anxious and wanted to say something, but was grabbed by Xia Dongchun's arm. Xia Dongchun glanced at her, and Yun Ling understood and stood behind Xia Dongchun with Qi Ling.
Xia Dongchun took two steps forward and bowed. In fact, based on her personality, she would have had a big fight with Noble Lady Fucha by now. But with the lesson from her previous life, no matter how dumb she was, she knew that having a fight at this time would not do her any good, and it might even be just what Noble Lady Fucha wanted.
So Xia Dongchun tried her best to be patient and maintain a gentle tone. Others only saw her calm, but they didn't know that her back teeth were almost broken: "Noble Lady Fucha, you and I are both small palace concubines, a noble lady and a maid, neither of us is the main concubine. Although this matter is related to you, isn't it a bit too much for you to investigate it thoroughly?"
Noble Lady Fucha was stunned by her words. In her opinion, Xia Dongchun should have quarreled with her at this time. How could she still speak to her in a gentle voice? So she did not react for a while.
This gave Xia Dongchun the opportunity to continue, "But the nature of this matter is indeed too bad. If we don't investigate it thoroughly, I'm afraid it will be bad for you, me, and An Yingda. So it's better to report it to the Empress and Concubine Hua, and let them investigate it thoroughly. After all, the Empress governs the six palaces, and Concubine Hua assists in managing the six palaces. They will definitely help you investigate it thoroughly."
"Empress Hua..." Noble Lady Fucha was called to the Yiku Palace to practice calligraphy every day some time ago. Concubine Hua was best at using these trivial methods to torture people. She still had lingering fears when she mentioned Concubine Hua, so when Xia Dongchun said it, she felt guilty and hesitated.
"Yes, the Empress has managed the six palaces well, and Concubine Hua has assisted in managing the six palaces for many years. I think she will be able to give justice to you, the noble lady." Xia Dongchun said.
In fact, one of her hands behind her back was also shaking. Yun Ling looked down and saw it. After hesitating for a moment, she reached out and held her hand. Xia Dongchun felt relieved for a moment.
"Ahem..." Noble Lady Fucha's eyes wandered, "This isn't a big deal, why should we alarm Her Majesty the Empress and Her Majesty Hua?"
After a pause, Noble Lady Fucha glanced at Sang'er beside her and said, "Sang'er..."
Sang'er quickly spoke up, "Yes, our young mistress is right. I saw with my own eyes that it was Baoying who was by An's side who did it. There is really no need to investigate further. It was not our young mistress's intention to alarm Concubine Xia."
"Yes, it has nothing to do with you. Concubine Xia should go back quickly. An and I will handle it soon." Noble Lady Fucha also said.
Xia Dongchun smiled back: "Then I won't bother you anymore."
After saying that, Xia Dongchun turned around and went back to the house: "Yunling Qiling, let's go."
"Yes." Yunling Qiling hurriedly followed, entered the house and closed the door.
Noble Lady Fucha stomped her feet in anger and watched Xia Dongchun leave angrily.
An Lingrong was panicking, with only one thought in her mind - it was all over. Not only did she fail to get rid of this matter, but she further offended Xia Dongchun!
Now there is only one way left... An Lingrong's eyes fell on Baoying who was kneeling beside her.
After Xia Dongchun left, Noble Lady Fucha regained her arrogant look. She looked at An Lingrong and said, "An Da Ying, it seems that this matter was indeed done by someone in your room. Do you want me to report it to the Empress and Consort Hua? Or should we solve it ourselves?"
An Lingrong was silent for a long time, took a deep breath, and said in a trembling voice: "It is because I failed to discipline my servants that Baoying did such a thing... Baoying, I will leave her to you to deal with."
“My lady!” Baoying raised her head suddenly, tears streaming down her face, and she grabbed An Lingrong’s skirt tightly. “I am innocent. I am really innocent! I really didn’t do it. I don’t know what happened. My lady, please save me!”
"You...you did such a thing, how can I save you?" An Lingrong closed her eyes and turned her head away from Baoying.
Noble Lady Fucha sneered and said, "Then tell the Queen that Baoying has done something wrong and send her to the Ministry of Punishment."
After saying this, Noble Lady Fucha also returned to the house with her people. Sang'er glanced at An Lingrong, Baojuan and Baoying, and closed the door heavily.