The most beautiful lady in the harem

Chapter 308 Come Prepared

Qiu Gui came prepared. She told everyone what she saw on the city wall during the Lantern Festival.

"On the Lantern Festival that day, I followed Concubine De and the Emperor up to the city wall, and I stood next to Concubine Xiao De."

"When I was looking at the citizens below the city wall, I saw General Yan Shouyu. The woman he was hugging was probably his mistress."

Even if I can't recognize the concubine, I can at least recognize Yan Shouyu.

"Moreover, I often go out of the palace to help Her Majesty with work, and I have heard rumors that General Yan has taken a concubine. Thinking about this, I think that person must be the one."

"Today at the Jiming Temple, I listened to what the concubine and the old lady who accompanied her to the Jiming Temple said."

"I can confirm that the person is most likely General Yan's mistress. If your Majesty does not believe it, please invite the mistress into the palace and explain it to her face to face. This will also clear your name."

When Qiu Gui said this, Concubine Li and Qin Huaijin were stunned for a moment.

In an instant, the two men's eyes seemed to be poisoned as they looked at the father-in-law next to them, as if they wanted to execute him on the spot.

The eunuch shook his head slightly, expressing his grievance. The lady from the gold shop clearly said that she saw Concubine De. Even if he didn't believe himself, he could still believe the lady from the gold shop!

After several eye contact exchanges, Qin Huaijin took a deep breath, at least he had not lost for the time being.

After hearing what Qiu Gui said, Emperor Yongjia ordered, "Go and bring in the concubine."

Tianshui Lane, where Yuan Jiuer lived, was not far from the imperial city. The eunuchs rode at full speed, making it faster than going to Duke Dingguo's Mansion.

After going back and forth for a while, the lady from the gold shop still hadn't come in yet.

Everyone looked at Yuan Jiuer who came in timidly. She was pretty and fair, and indeed much prettier than Shi Qiuwu.

Of course, what’s more important is that the aqua green skirt that Yuan Jiuer is wearing is indeed similar in color to that of Concubine Xiao Defei, except that the color is lighter and the texture is worse.

But at first glance, from a distance, you can't tell much difference.

The two do not look alike. Yuan Jiuer has a rounder face with two dimples, and looks sweeter than Xiao Defei's cold and aloof appearance.

It was Yuan Jiuer's first time entering the palace and she didn't know the palace rules, so Zhu Wanxi taught her to pay her respects to Emperor Yongjia and the empresses first.

Yuan Jiuer bowed and looked at everyone in confusion and puzzlement. Under the guidance of Concubine Ning, she slowly told them what had happened today.

"Today, I went to Jiming Temple outside the city to pray for blessings. After having a vegetarian meal, I went down the mountain."

"After returning to the city, I indeed went to the Duke Dingguo's Mansion..."

After all, she was a concubine and not from a wealthy family. Facing such a situation alone, and talking about going to the Duke Dingguo's Mansion, the more she spoke, the more empty her tone became. She always felt that she was not in the right position.

Although Yuan Jiuer wanted to visit Yan Shouyu at the Duke Dingguo's Mansion after she knew that Yan Shouyu was injured, she never dared to do so. Today, when she arrived at the second gate of the Duke Dingguo's Mansion and waited for someone to pass on the message, Shi Qiuwu hurriedly brought people to drive her away.

Yuan Jiuer felt a little aggrieved about this matter. Although she was worried about Yan Shouyu, she was not the kind of person who would go out of her way to anger others just to save face.

She wanted to visit Yan Shouyu and was worried about him, but she knew that her identity was not popular, so she naturally would not go to see Yan Shouyu openly, so she chose to go to Jiming Temple every day to pray for him.

The reason she went there directly today was because someone from Duke Dingguo's Mansion came to report that Yan Shouyu was terminally ill and the master of the Yan family asked her to go see the second son of the Yan family. Yuan Jiuer was very sad, and thinking that this might be the last time she would see him, she mustered up the courage to go there.

Who knew that after he went there and sent someone to pass the message, he would be met with a lot of cold stares while waiting at the second gate.

There are many men in this world who have mistresses and wives and concubines. Yan Shouyu also has concubines and maids in his mansion. Yuan Jiuer originally thought that if she listened to Yan Shouyu and behaved herself, she could live a good life.

But I only realized today that Shi Qiuwu couldn't tolerate me.

While waiting at the second gate, Yuan Jiuer's face was as hot as the wedding candles on her wedding night.

But since he had been called here, there was no point in just turning around and leaving, so he gritted his teeth and waited.

After waiting for a long time, Shi Qiuwu came out with a group of servants and maids and drove her out.

Yuan Jiuer was immediately puzzled and asked, "Didn't Madam Shi send someone to call her?"

Shi Qiuwu immediately scolded her harshly, using names like "secret prostitute", "bitch", "slut", and "whore" to spew out curses.

Yuan Jiuer then realized that today's incident was probably a setup.

It’s a pity that things have come to this point, and she can only leave in shame and tears.

Unexpectedly, not long after she returned to Tianshui Lane in a dejected manner and was still crying in the yard, someone from the palace came to invite her into the palace.

Yuan Jiuer didn't believe it at first. When would she have anything to do with the palace?

She was afraid that this was another trap, so she didn't dare to agree.

It was not until the eunuch took out the palace token that Yuan Jiuer followed him in.

After finishing her itinerary for today, Yuan Jiuer was still a little confused and didn't know what she was doing here.

There were many people in the hall. She was not from the palace, so she didn't know who was who or what was happening. Naturally, she was very confused.

What's more, the person sitting at the top was the emperor of the dynasty, with such imposing aura that Yuan Jiuer didn't even dare to look up at him, for fear of being disrespectful.

But when she saw Concubine Xiao De, Yuan Jiuer's heart skipped a beat again.

She didn't know the palace's roots, nor did she know the turmoil below. She was unlike the women in the palace who would hide their true colors.

So when she saw Concubine Xiao De for the first time, Yuan Jiuer couldn't help but be surprised. "Today, when we were on the mountain, that woman wearing a veil, was she the queen?"

Yuan Jiuer's originally nervous expression suddenly relaxed a lot because she finally found someone who looked familiar among the crowd.

Although Concubine Xiao De was cold, she was not the kind of person who was arrogant and superior. Seeing Yuan Jiuer like this, she smiled and nodded to her, "It's me."

Concubine Xiao De said "I" instead of "this palace", which instantly made Yuan Jiuer feel that there was no sense of distance.

And the fact that Yuan Jiuer recognized Concubine Xiao De, doesn't that just prove that what Concubine Xiao De said was not a lie?

She really went to Jiming Temple.

For a moment, the expressions of Qin Huaijin and Concubine Li could only be described as ugly and confused.

"But since we met at Jiming Temple, there's no way to prove that the one from Duke Dingguo's Mansion isn't..." Qin Huaijin quickly found the loophole.

But because there were outsiders like Yuan Jiuer present, she was embarrassed to point out Concubine Xiao De's name directly, fearing that it would bring shame to the royal family and let others know that such a thing had happened to the emperor's woman.

Qin Liuse sneered in his heart. He knew he had to hide it now and pretend to be ignorant in front of Emperor Yongjia.

If he really cared about the royal family's reputation, why did he make such a big fuss about it? He looked like he wanted to kill Concubine Xiao De.

Just then, someone came to report that the lady from the gold shop opposite the main entrance of Duke Dingguo's Mansion had arrived.

Qin Huaijin immediately became energized and looked at the gold shop lady with hope in his eyes.

The lady of the gold shop had worked in the palace before. As soon as she arrived, she performed all the etiquette fluently and kowtowed to Emperor Yongjia and several concubines without being reminded.

The lady of the gold shop had seen the turmoil in the palace, so she did not show her joy on her face. She just talked about what she saw and answered the questions of the concubines honestly.

Concubine Li Xian looked at her, pointed at Concubine Li Xian and Yuan Jiuer, and asked, "Who did you see at the main entrance of Duke Dingguo's mansion this afternoon? Was it this person or this person?"

Everyone wrung their hands for a moment, looking at the gold shop lady nervously.

The gold shop lady looked at Yuan Jiuer, then at Concubine Xiao Defei, frowned, looked at Yuan Jiuer, thought for a while and said, "I was at the main gate and indeed saw this lady. Later, this lady was driven out by the second young lady of the Duke Dingguo's mansion, and many people went to watch! I remember it clearly, and it was not just me who saw it, the neighbors all saw it."

For a moment, Qin Liuse and Concubine Ning both breathed a sigh of relief.

Qin Huaijin and Li Xianfei's faces darkened and they glared at their father-in-law.

The father-in-law had cold sweat on his head and back, and felt that his entire back was wet with sweat.

"Madam Shopkeeper, didn't you say you saw Concubine De?!" The eunuch felt that the head on his neck was a little loose.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, the gold shop lady frowned and looked at Concubine Xiao De, glanced at her, and then said confidently: "Concubine De, I saw it too. But it was not at the main entrance, but at the side entrance."

As soon as these words came out, the expressions on the faces of the few people just now suddenly turned upside down.