Xiao Xia lowered her head and said nothing, but she was thinking about how if it was not for Heir Presumptive Lu who stopped the crook, Prudence Consort would have been in true danger.
Even if by some luck, she was able to return from her abduction, her unsullied reputation would have been tarnished.
After all, if news of her being abducted in the middle of the night got out, it would create much hurtful gossip.
Ji Lingxiu questioned, “The Palace is tightly guarded. How did the crook manage to barge in here to abduct you? Besides, you have always been friendly with others. Who would want to harm you?”
Ji Linghui glanced at Ji Lingxiu as she rubbed her temple and said wearily, “I have no idea, but I could tell that the crook was a woman.”
Ji Lingxiu frowned when she heard this.
From what she knew, her older sister was kind, gentle, and had never offended anyone. There seemed to be something fishy about her sister being almost abducted.
How was the crook able to evade the guards without being noticed and go straight for her sister?
Could someone be aiding the crook in secret?
Ji Linghui pulled at Ji Lingxiu’s hand and sighed. “Stop thinking about this. It must have been an accident.”
Ji Lingxiu turned to look at her and her gaze immediately fell onto the jade bangle on Ji Linghui’s wrist.
A thought suddenly flashed in Ji Lingxiu’s mind.
It must be Lu Liangwei!
The only person in the Palace who would want to get rid of her sister was Lu Liangwei and no one else.
Lu Liangwei had snatched her sister’s beloved bangle previously, and even used her status as the future Empress to threaten her sister. There was nothing her sister could do, and in the end, she was forced to hand the bangle over to Lu Liangwei. If not for their father spotting the bangle, Lu Liangwei would never have returned it.
Her sister had told her all about this previously. However, if not for Ji Lingxiu forcing it out of her sister, she would never have talked about it because of her personality.
Her sister was someone who would swallow her own blood if someone had beaten her till her teeth fell off, but would never mutter a word of complaint when suffering any grievance.
At the thought of this, Ji Lingxiu’s view of Lu Liangwei fell even further.
She thought Lu Liangwei had changed and was different from before but, in reality, all that had changed was Lu Liangwei’s ability for pretense.
Lu Liangwei had caused so much grief for her sister even before entering the Palace. Where would her sister stand once Lu Liangwei officially entered the Palace?
Lu Liangwei had crossed the line!
She knew why Lu Liangwei would target her sister in such a way.
It was because her sister was the youngest among the three concubines in the imperial harem. Her sister was only nineteen this year and was only a few years older than Lu Liangwei, unlike the Virtuous Consort and the Pure Consort, who were more than ten years older than Lu Liangwei.
That was why her sister was the one who posed the biggest threat to Lu Liangwei, which pushed that woman to immediately work on getting rid of her sister. Lu Liangwei was afraid her sister would stand in her way.
Lu Liangwei was truly vicious.
No wonder the crook was able to get into the Palace so easily to abduct her sister despite it being so heavily guarded.
It was because someone was helping the villain from the shadows.
Once a concubine from the imperial harem was abducted out of the Palace and news had spread about it, she would lose her reputation.
Although…
Lu Tingchen had saved her sister at the crucial moment.
She pursed her lips.
If Lu Tingchen really did help Lu Liangwei to abduct her sister from the Palace and destroy her sister’s reputation, why would he save her sister at the very last minute?
Ji Linghui seemed to guess the doubt in Ji Lingxiu’s mind and a look flashed in her eyes. She pretended to mention unintentionally, “It was all thanks to Heir Presumptive Lu last night, as well as Chu Qi and Chu Yi. If they hadn’t rushed over and scared that crook away, I would have been…”
“What? Aside from Lu Tingchen who found you being abducted by the crook, Chu Yi and Chu Qi were also at the scene?”
Ji Linghui nodded. “Yes.”
Ji Lingxiu immediately understood.
She had been doubtful about her guess and thought she might have misunderstood Lu Tingchen and Lu Liangwei. After all, if they were the ones who had arranged for this to happen, they would not have stopped the crook at the last minute.
However, if Chu Yi and Chu Qi were at the scene with Lu Tingchen, it would be a different story.
