The next day morning, it was a very sunny day. Nurse Liao took out all those bedclothes used in winter and hang out them in the courtyard. The winter was coming, and it was getting dry gradually. Qin Yunuan, sitting in front of her dresser, was penciling her eyebrows carefully. Suddenly, she felt the warmth in her hand. It was Leng Changxi who used his big hands to cover the hands of Qin Yunuan gently. She could feel the familiar smell of the man in her tender-skinned neck, which expressed the boundless sweet love.
Leng Changxi took the eyebrow pencil held by Qin Yunuan and then used another hand to pinch her jaw softly. With a soft smile, he started to fill in the eyebrows of Qin Yunuan unaffectedly.
“Yesterday, I came to the Imperial Palace, and the Queen Mother granted me a bottle of Baihua Yulu. I do not often use such kind of thing, so I thought she must award it to you.” Leng Changxi suddenly took out a green bottle like performing magic and then put it on her dressing box. Just judging by the bottle, it was clear that the thing inside the bottle was definitely valuable.
Qi Yunuan smiled, “Baihua Yulu is the tribute from Jiangnan Yulu Shop, which only generates ten bottles each year. It is so popular in the Royal Palace. I think it was not the award from Queen Mother. Was it you who requested the award from the Queen Mother?”
Leng Changxi shrugged and smiled gently, “Is there any difference?”
Qin Yunuan smiled shyly and was speechless. She just took up the bottle and had a smell. As expected, it smelled so cool and watery.
At this moment, Maner came in and gave a salute to Leng Changxi and Qin Yunuan, “Third Young Master, Third Young Madam, Haitang got insane.”
Yesterday, nanny Li was drowned at the pond in the bamboo woods, and the witness said that Haitang pushed nanny Li into the pond. And then Haitang was taken into custody. Besides, Xie Ruying complaint tearfully to Prince Ning and Princess Ning, those nannies who were responsible for watching were stricter to Haitang. They gave no water and food to her and put several ferocious hounds into the darkroom, which was used to prison Haitang. Though iron chains tied those hounds, Haitang was in a dark room and suffered hunger and cold. She must feel so frightened when she saw the green eyes and sharp teeth of those hounds.
Qin Yunuan raised her hand to pick a crystal soup dumpling and put it into the bowl of Leng Changxi. She indicted Maner to continue.
“I heard from the nannies who were responsible for watching that in the morning. They were about to send food to the room, but when they opened the door, they found that Haitang with tousy hair crouched at the corner, and those seven to eight hounds died. When Haitang turned back, the nannies were almost frightened to death by the look of Haitang. Her eyes were bloody with much blood on her teeth, mouth corner and clothes. They said that those ferocious hounds were bitten to death by Haitang. The master is proud of those hounds, which are so ferocious and dare to fight with tigers.”
Qin Yunuan sneered lightly, “She was not crazy. She was hurt by others. If she had not been poisonous, such a delicate and weak girl would not have become so brave and powerful to fight against those hounds.”
“But, is there any benefit after Haitang becomes crazy? Why don’t they just kill her and blame the death of nanny Li on her? But she is crazy now so that the whole thing will be in a mess.”
“It is too swanking to kill her. It is better to keep her crazy,” Qin Yunuan knew well the tricks her rival always played which were so crack and quick, “Do you remember Dou Qing’e? Once she got crazy, nobody would believe her words any longer. So, from now on, what Haitang says will be nonsense, and nobody will believe her.”
As expected by Qin Yunuan, Qin Yunuan heard the news that Haitang was too insane and had been sent to the Psycho Tower when she was on her way to Twilight Place for greeting Princess Ning. And the issue that the medicine pots of the Old Madam and Qin Yunuan were put nux vomica ended up with nothing definite with the death of nanny Li. The old Madam said she did not want to figure the issue out, so others got relived, and the whole thing got covered to some extent.
But Qin Yunuan still remembered the words of the Old Madam on that day that people should know the inside thought of others when they communicated with others.
When Qin Yunuan walked at the door of the inner room of Princess Ning, she exactly heard the crying sound and the persuasion from Princess Ning inside.
“Ruying, now nanny Li has died. It’s useless to say much. You’d better nurse your health first.”
Humph, Xie Ruying. She came again? Qin Yunuan sneered. But when she raised the curtain, she still showed her pretty and gentle face in front of Princess Ning and Xie Ruying.
“Yunuan, you come.” Princess Ning said with much love. She raised her hand to let the maidservant pass a little box of honey cream to Qin Yunuan, “See, this is the cream purchased by our mansion in the North Di recently. It is suitable for nursing face in winter. The master gave me three boxes, and I want to give you and Ruying two boxes.”
Qi Yunuan curtsied and was about to take it, but the new maidservant Xi’er Qin Yunuan chose said loudly, “Thanks, but our Third Young Master gave a bottle of Baihua Yulu to Third Young Madam this morning, and it was from the Imperial Palace. Better than this one.”
“Xi’er,” Qin Yunuan rebuked her seriously, “Rude! That is the gift my mother gave to me, and Baihua Yulu is the gift my husband gave to me. The two gifts are both precious. Maner, don’t you teach Xi’er how to do things and speak words in front of her master?”
Though Qin Yunuan seemed to be so angry, she still squinted at Princess Ning and noticed the fleeting unhappiness and enviousness on her face, which was hardly seen on the face of Princess Ning before.
“It’s my fault for not teaching the maidservant well and causing her rude words to Princess and Third Young Madam.” And then, Maner pulled Xi’er and quitted at once.
Qin Yunuan was looking at Princess Ning and Xie Ruying with a smile, but Xie Ruying rolled her eyes to Qin Yunuan. Actually, it was clear that the skin of Xie Ruying was very abnormal recently. Though it was as white as snow, it was not so balanced under the sun, and even looked uneven.
“You look so spirited, miss Xie.” Qin Yunuan smiled.
Xie Ruying felt embarrassed. She distracted her eyes and pretended to hear nothing.
“Miss Xie, the tea gets cold. Let me take another cup of tea for you.” The little maidservant who was responsible for making tea held the cup beside Xie Ruying lightly, but for no reason, she raised her hand but suddenly shuddered. And then the full teacup was upset and was poured on the face of Xie Ruying. In a flash, the thick rouge on her face was resolved, just like pieces of flour with water falling on the ground.
Xie Ruying’s thick rouge was removed by the tea, just like a mask taken off suddenly. Now there were many sunken holes, raising pustules and dense red spots on her cheeks and forehead, which were exposed in the air. Such a beautiful face suddenly was turned to be an ugly and disgusting look.
“Ah.” With the screaming of the little maidservant, the other two young maidservants who did not see such kind of scene had been faint. They were likely to have not seen such kind of disgusting face in their whole lives.
“My face.” Xie Ruying crouched painfully with her hands covering her face. She was not willing to let others see her face now.
In a flash, Princess Ning let all maidservants in this room quit, and only let Qingzhu and Moju stay.
“Quick! Help her up.” Princess Ning shouted at Qingzhu and Moju, but the two maidservants hesitated to move and just looked at each other. Qin Yunuan stepped forward quickly, but before she touched the arm of Xie Ruying, the woman turned to be insane, who was waving her arms and shouting, “Stay away from me! Don’t touch me. Qin Yunuan, I know you come to make a fool of me. Everything was due to you! You destroyed me!”
“What are you talking about? Miss Xie. I just want to help you up.” Qin Yunuan looked so innocent and stepped back with the protection of Leng Shuang. Leng Shuang also caused the upset of the tea by the little maidservant who was responsible for making tea. She just used a little red bean to hit the vein of the maidservant.
“It’s you! It’s you!” Xie Ruying shouted in a hoarse voice. She rushed at Qin Yunuan like an insane woman, “You sent me two good maidservants. I felt uneasy when I looked at the gloomy face of Baihe. And as for Haitang, she was just a menial slut. She added something which could destroy my face into my rouge. She made me turn ugly, and then she showed her beauty to seduce men. Without any surprise, what she did followed her master. She learned those tricks from you.”
“Shut up!” Qin Yunuan rebuked her coldly. And at the same time, with the instruction of Qin Yunuan, Leng Shuang slapped Xie Ruying, leaving the clear fingers print. Leng Shuang practiced martial arts throughout the year. Her slap was so powerful and made Xie Ruying feel swimmy. Xie Ruying even could not speak clearly for a long time and then covered her face and said, “How dare you slap me? Princess, you need to hold the scales even!”
Princess Ning was the only support of Xie Ruying in the whole mansion. Now Xie Ruying held the leg of the princess tightly, but Princess Ning felt in a dilemma. She just glanced at Qin Yunuan but only heard her serious and calm words, “I am the Third Young Madam of Princess Ning’s Mansion, and you are just a relative from another family who just stays here temporarily. I am the Infanta Ping granted by the emperor, and you just an ordinary woman without any title. You slander me first, so I slap you. Tell me, can I slap you?”
Xie Ruying felt stunned and heard the words from Qin Yunuan who lowered her body and said near the ear of Xie Ruying, “Think about your unborn child. If you are still stubborn, I think you will be in a dark room with a baby who has not a legal identity, just like Haitang.”
Xie Ruying fondled her still even underbelly by her fingertips. She had never told anybody that she was pregnant; even her close maidservants did not know that. How did Qin Yunuan know that?
Looking at the profound and mysterious eyes of Qin Yunuan, Xie Ruying thought her inside heart was exposed. She loosened the leg of Princess Ning and said tragically, “Forgive my rudeness. I feel not well, and I want to go back to have a rest.”
Princess Ning nodded. Qin Yunuan did not stay here and just talked for a while, and then left the courtyard. Suddenly she found Xie Ruying, who re-tidied her face and hair was standing on the little stone bridge which was a way Qin Yunuan must go through when she came back. Xie Ruying was waiting for her.
