In the Duke Qin Mansion, everyone was in panic after being surrounded by troops.
At this moment, someone from outside came to report, saying that His Majesty had deprived the Zhou family of their nobility title and military power, gave Consort Huai the death penalty, and exiled the former Duchess Wu.
When Mrs. Qin heard this, she could not help clenching Qin Miaomiao’s hand.
Duke Qin’s concubines all cried in fright. “The murderer is not in our Qin family. Why are the soldiers still surrounding our house?”
“Boohoo, I don’t want to die here!”
“Will the Qin family be deprived of the nobility title just like the Duke Wu Mansion?”
Qin Miaomiao scolded the concubines. “Shut up. Don’t cry. We’re still safe and sound, okay?!”
Qin Miaomiao walked up to Qin Shu, looked at him and asked, “Brother, did you kill Sister-in-law?”
Mrs. Qin said in shock, “Miaomiao, what are you talking about? Can’t you see how sad your brother is?! How can you suspect that your brother killed your sister-in-law?”
Qin Miaomiao said with tears. “If Brother isn’t the murderer, why did the Crown Princess do this to us? Brother, have you reached some agreement with Fourth Sister?”
“If you have really colluded with Fourth Sister, go admit your mistake as soon as possible. Don’t implicate our whole family!”
Mrs. Qin slapped Qin Miaomiao angrily. “What nonsense are you talking about? How is it possible for your brother to do such a beastly thing? Besides, everyone knows how much your brother loves Ruoyun!”
Qin Shu said to Qin Miaomiao, “I didn’t, I didn’t kill Ruoyun. How could I kill her!”
Qin Miaomiao said coldly, “Alright, Brother, I hope you are really innocent.”
Qin Miaomiao walked to the door and said to a guard, “Would you please go to Princess Shou’an’s Mansion and ask Princess Fulu to come here?”
“Third Miss Qin, wait a moment.”
…
Fulu hadn’t seen her parents for a long time, and she was showing off to her mother the Southern special products she brought back.
After hearing the report from the guard, she went to the Qin Mansion.
Qin Miaomiao ordered the maids in her room to leave and asked Fulu, “Tell me, is the murderer of my sister-in-law my brother?”
“How did you know that?” Fulu asked Qin Miaomiao.
Qin Miaomiao said, “I’m not stupid. Since Fourth Sister married Prince Huai as his concubine, she often returned home to discuss with my father and brother, and I guessed that my brother might have cooperated with Fourth Sister.
“But I didn’t expect him to be so stupid. As a brother-in-law of His Royal Highness, the Duke Qin Mansion would definitely become more and more prosperous, but he chose Fourth Sister over his own wife!”
Fulu said, “But Qin Shu looked so devastated along the way. I think maybe I wronged him, and he might not be the murderer. Do you know that he even slept with that charred body every night!”
Qin Miaomiao didn’t take it seriously. If his brother was really so affectionate towards her sister-in-law, then why did he fail to protect her?
More importantly, Ruoyun never had any feuds with anyone.
…
Inside a wharf in Luoyang.
Qiao Ruoyun came out of the boat with a pale face. She had never traveled such a long waterway, but she had to travel all the way by boat for fear of being discovered.
Along the way, she vomited a lot.
When she got off the pier, she heard the chatter of the people beside her.
“The Duke Wu Mansion lost their nobility title the first day they came to Luoyang! Equal Consort Huai was directly sentenced to be executed this autumn. The Duke Wu Mansion is doomed!”
“The Qin family is surrounded by the soldiers of the Qiao family, but His Majesty doesn’t blame the Qiao family at all. Is the murderer of Young Madam Qin from the Qiao family?”
“I heard that Young Master Qin isn’t even in the mood to shave and his eyes are swollen like two eggs from crying. How can he be the murderer?”
Qian Yin stood by Qiao Ruoyun’s side, supported her and said, “You are in such a hurry to come to Luoyang. Are you going to meet Duke Anyuan first?”
Qiao Ruoyun said feebly, “Just now they said that the Qin Mansion is being surrounded by soldiers, I want to see Qin Shu. I don’t want him to be so sad anymore. There must be a misunderstanding. Perhaps it was just a robbery?”
Qian Yin sneered. “Robbery? Then why were they hunting you down? There are so many wealthy businessmen in Lin’an. Why did they target you? Do you think those bandits are so stupid as to try to rob Duke Anyuan’s daughter?”
“Forget it. You came here in such a hurry. Since you want to see Qin Shu, then go see him!”
It was already dark. Qiao Ruoyun was so weak, and Qian Yin didn’t want to argue with her. Maybe she would just give up after seeing Qin Shu.
The Qin Mansion was surrounded by soldiers and no one could go out, so the accommodation and meals for the many guests became a problem.
Then some high-ranking officials became impatient. They didn’t dare to scold the Crown Princess, so they could only scold the murderer.
Seeing that Qin Shu couldn’t hold on any longer, Mrs. Qin had servants send him into his room to rest.
Qian Yin took Qiao Ruoyun to the Qin Mansion, only to see the soldiers and horses surrounding the house layer by layer, and they couldn’t enter, so he could only order someone to report to the East Palace first.
Hearing that Qiao Ruoyun had arrived in Luoyang, Qiao Jinniang hurriedly summoned her. Seeing her wearing a thick veil, Qiao Jinniang was relieved.
“Your Highness.”
Qiao Jinniang took Qiao Ruoyun’s hand and said, “Sister, you are finally back.”
Qiao Ruoyun looked at Qiao Jinniang and said, “Jinniang, I want to see Qin Shu. I heard that he has become very skinny and haggard.
“Maybe it was Concubine Qin or Prince Huai who wanted to kill me in order to break the relationship between Qin Shu and the Crown Prince, but the murder should have nothing to do with Qin Shu…”
Qiao Jinniang said, “I hope he is innocent too. If you want to see him, I will have someone call him to the East Palace.”
“Okay.” Qiao Ruoyun looked at Qiao Jinniang gratefully, and then said guiltily, “I’m sorry. I failed to keep your cabin in the South.”
Qiao Jinniang said, “It doesn’t matter. I just want you to be safe.”
Qiao Jinniang took Qiao Ruoyun to Lu Chen’s study, and when she saw Qian Yin, she frowned and said, “Master Qian, it’s been a long time, but unfortunately, Nuomi has already been sent back to the South by me.”
Qian Yin bowed to Qiao Jinniang. “I have offended you many times in the past. Please forgive me, Your Highness.”
“Forget it. For the sake of your life-saving grace to my sister, I won’t care about it anymore.” Qiao Jinniang said, “Thank you for taking care of my sister all the way.”
Qian Yin said, “You’re welcome. It’s just a small favor.”
Qiao Jinniang said to Lu Chen, “Sister wants to meet Qin Shu. Can you have your secret guards bring Qin Shu here secretly?”
“Okay.” Lu Chen replied, “But are you sure Qin Shu is not the murderer?”
Qiao Jinniang said, “I’m not sure. After all, without the permission of the Qin family, why would Concubine Qin and Prince Huai bother to kill the next Duchess Qin? If the Qin family finds out about this, they will only become Prince Huai’s enemy!”
Lu Chen asked, “Then why do you want to bring Qin Shu over? What if he tells others that Qiao Ruoyun is still alive?”
Qiao Jinniang glanced at Qiao Ruoyun who was so weak, looking as though a gust of wind could blow her away.
Since she wanted to see Qin Shu, just let her. If Qin Shu was really innocent, he would not act rashly and alert the murderer.
But if he leaked the news that Qiao Ruoyun was still alive, then there was no doubt that he was behind this murder.
