"This is flour. The thief was pretending to be mysterious, so she used flour to cover her face. There is also some flour on Lanzhu's purple clothes."
Right after Hua Qiyue finished speaking, the pilgrim pulled Lanzhu's sleeves. "Yes, her sleeves … even between her fingers! "
The room fell silent.
Lanzhu's face turned pale, and she kowtowed heavily, "It's not me … Second Miss, it's really not me … "
Hua Qiyue's eyes were like lightning. "If I don't miss my guess, Monk Yihan accepted a bribe. The Hua family's silver usually has a small inscription on it. Monk Yihan, do you dare to let the male pilgrim search you?"
Sweat trickled down his palms as Yihan looked at Hua Mengshi and straightened his waist. "Abbot! I was wronged!"
His entire body trembling, he was the picture of guilt.
Abbot Hanming's expression darkened. "Someone, search him!"
A monk grabbed Yihan and conducted a quick search. He took out a silver ingot from Yihan’s waist pouch. Indeed, the Hua Family’s emblem was on it.
Everyone gasped. Hua Mengshi's eyes flashed with momentary panic.
Hua Xiaoyi's eyes widened. She looked from one to another and could really not believe what she was seeing, "Lanzhu, you dared to collude with Monk Yihan to frame Big Sister? You deserve to die a thousand times for your crime!"
Lanzhu's face was deathly pale as she trembled.
Hua Mengshi said loudly, "Lanzhu, how could you?"
She then leaned in to glare at Lanzhu and whispered, "Your family is still outside the capital. You know what to do."
Lanzhu widened her eyes. Her eyes turned red and tears were about to fall, but she suddenly laughed out loud. Hua Mengshi pretended being scared and quickly took a few steps back.
"Yes! I did it! I've long disliked Eldest Miss! She was always weak in front of others but bullied us in private. I just wanted to ruin this bitch's reputation."
Lanzhu had confessed, under Hua Mengshi's threat. When Hua Qiyue thought about her son in the capital, she bowed to Hanming and said, "I thank the abbot for proving my innocence, and I’ll leave Monk Yihan to you. Lanzhu… I’ll leave her to my sisiter. Lv Xin, Youshui, I have urgent matters to attend to. Let's return to the capital tonight!”
The abbot nodded to Hua Qiyue. "Benefactor Hua, please don’t worry. Yihan will be punished."
Hua Xiaoyi snorted. "How depressing! I never thought a lowly servant could cause such a ruckus!"
Hua Mengshi calmly looked at everyone and said goodbye to Hanming. She was really curious about the current Hua Qiyue. What made her become so clear and bold, and why was she going home tonight?
Hua Qiyue and the servants got on the horse carriage together, with the Hua family’s guards leading the way. It was difficult traveling on the mountain road, and it was morning by the time they reached the foot of the mountain.
The thin morning sunlight penetrated through the layers of clouds, dyeing the land green and gold. The breeze was soft and gentle, and the official road was winding as it extended into the mountains.
Hua Qiyue laid on the cushion in the carriage, glad that she was still alive. In this life, she wouldn’t let people who tried to bully her get away with it!
Youshui and Lvxin sat at the side and stared at Hua Qiyue curiously. Her expression was a mask of sadness and worry.
Rong Qiyue had been an ordinary girl. She had some knowledge in business, but in terms of Qi Art, she had no skill, whatsoever. Qi Art was not something that ordinary people could cultivate. Only wealthy families had the money to buy medicinal pills to open their Qi meridians and grow their Qi Art.
Hua Qiyue saw the original memories of this body. The Qi meridians of this body were broken when it was three years old, so no matter what kind of medicinal pills she consumed, it would be ineffective.
The original Hua Qiyue was tossed into a lake on freezing winter night, breaking her Qi meridians. After the incident, she had become afraid of contact with others, and had generally avoided people.
The pain of that memory was so strong that Rong Qiyue could feel the pain in her bones. It reminded her of dying at the hands of the princess’ wicked old servants.
Rong Qiyue lowered her head and thought, "Hua Qiyue, rest in peace. I have borrowed your body, and I will do my best to honor you!" The heaviness on her heart lessened, and she sighed in relief.Hua Qiyue looked down as her fingers brushed something cold at her waist. When she pulled it out to examine it more closely, she found it was a green jade gourd pendant. She didn't know why, but she felt attached to it, somehow.When she saw Hua Qiyue looking at the green jade gourd with such a serious expression, Lv Xin couldn't help asking, "Eldest Miss, what are you doing?" Since Hua Qiyue had been knocked unconscious last night, she seemed to have become a completely different person. You Shui and Lv Xin found it very strange, but it seemed that Hua Qiyue's observational skills had greatly improved. Not only had she seen the flour on Lanzhu’s purple clothes, which would be obvious to anyone looking for it, she could even see the powder on Lanzhu's
"You're finally here." The man laughed, his expression filled with emotion. "After 500 years, someone has finally come to see me. The stuff made by those old men were so evil that no one actually dared to take it, but here you are."His eyes overflowed with light as his gaze locked onto Hua Qiyue's body. She did her best to remain calm but couldn’t shake the feeling that he was plotting something.Everything was so strange, and she was unable to explain what was going on."What is this place? And you... who are you? Why am I here?" she asked in a low voice.The man laughed seductively. His footsteps were light, but in the blink of an eye, he was standing in front of Hua Qiyue.His jet-black eyes were shining with strange red light, Hua Qiyue felt her hand being held, and a strange fragrant smell was making her dizzy.The man's husky voice was like a rock thrown into the cold lake of Hua Qiyue's heart.
Hua Qiyue had heard of the Insanity Technique from this body’s previous memories. Qi Artists were rare, and Soul Takers even more so. It was said that there were only three Soul Takers on Tianyuan Continent.One Soul Taker could kill tens of thousands of soldiers in an instant! Just one move of a finger could cause thousands of soldiers to run away in fear!As a result, countless people who attempted to take the Insanity Technique book from them were killed. As time passed, no one dared to challenge them. Eventually, the three Soul Takers moved deep within the mountains. Their families were prosperous, and they had countless treasures, but no one dared to lay a finger on them.But how could this mysterious man in front of her possibly know the Insanity Technique? And if he was really that strong, why would he impart the knowledge to her?What was his purpose? Who was he? What was the truth behind the green jade gourd?
Within hours of Hua Qiyue returning home, the news that she wanted to adopt a foster son spread all over the capital. All of the commoners were talking about it. If a child could be adopted by the Hua family, he would surely have a great future.What happened in the Hanyue Temple was widely spread by storytellers, with embellishments from some of the pilgrims who’d witnessed the scene. It seemed Hua Qiyue’s bad reputation was quickly being forgotten.Hua Qiyue told Youshui to have a master write a notice about the adoption.Once Hua Mengshi returned, she informed the Old Madam that Hua Qiyue had her hairpin stolen in the Hanyue Temple and been framed for flirting with a monk. She also punished Lanzhu with fifty lashes.The Old Madam flew into a rage. A servant framing a noble lady? It was unheard of!For having the courage to confess her servant’s mistake, the Old Madam forgave Hua Mengshi, only fining her two months'
The Madam Dowager was surprised. In the past, when Hua Qiyue came to see her, the girl stuttered and shivered, as if she had seen a tigress who was going to eat her.But today, she looked elegant and beautiful. Seeing her gaunt face, the Madam Dowager thought of how she had neglected her in the past and felt sorry for her."Yue'er, sit down. I know you were wronged. Don’t be scared."The Madam Dowager Hua was a kind-hearted woman, and she felt guilty for how she'd treated Hua Qiyue over the years. The girl had always been scared of her, and she'd just never known how to respond."Grandmother, I’m sorry to make you worry about me. I was unfilial. On my way home, I bought fresh sea cucumbers for you. They were difficult to get, and only the Master Xuanji in the Rongfu Temple had managed to get some. The sea cucumbers can nourish the blood and the face. You have done so much for this family. We should thank you."Hua Meng
The Madam Dowager had always paid little attention to Hua Qiyue, but it didn't mean that others could bully her mercilessly. She hadn't expected that her negligence would cause her granddaughter such a miserable life. No one had told her!Nanny Wang, who worked for the Second Concubine, knelt down immediately when she heard this, saying, "Please forgive me… I was greedy. I saw the eldest miss being bullied by others, so I secretly took away her money… I kept it a secret from the Second Concubine. I didn't expect my crimes to be revealed today. I deserve to die…"The Second Concubine gave her a fierce slap on the face, "Damn servant! How could you treat her like this?"Hua Qiyue looked at all of this coldly. She knew the nanny only took her money because the Second Concubine told her to. The nanny was quite loyal — if Hua Qiyue wanted to get rid of the Second Concubine, she had to get rid of this nanny first, or make her work for her.
Zhou Zhicheng raised his head and saw the woman. He put down the account book with a smile."Princess... It’s you!"Princess Huizhen entered the room, followed by her maid, Cuilian.Princess Huizhen fell in love with Zhou Zhicheng, but the emperor disapproved of their marriage. For one thing, he had an official wife, and for the other, the Zhou family was not rich.Zhou Zhicheng was so handsome that Princess Huizhen fell in love with him at first sight. But the emperor looked down on him, and he did not consent to the marriage. Even though Zhou Zhicheng's wife, Rong Qiyue, had been killed by thieves, the emperor did not change his mind."Zhicheng, I have good news for you!" Huizhen said with a smile. Zhou Zhicheng helped her to sit down. The two of them had been together for a long time and they simply ignored the moral rules between men and women.Cuilian lowered her eyes, not daring to look at them.
"Pa!" Hua Qiyue slapped a stack of letters on the desk and startled Youshui and the servants next to her.She’d received a letter telling her everything about Tianci. His mother, Rong Qiyue, had been killed by some thieves in her room, and Tianci had been poisoned, rendered mute, and abused by a maid.She never thought that just a few days after her death, the ferocious Princess Huizhen would cruelly mutilate Tianci! Hua Qiyue's eyes were ablaze. Lvxin remained silent, not daring to say a word."Wang... thank you. " Hua Qiyue's voice was a little husky. She had been entering the green jade gourd to cultivate the Qi Art these past few nights. She practiced so hard that even Tianpi, the handsome man, was surprised.She had to be strong to protect her son and avenge her parents."Miss..." Lvxin called her softly. Hua Qiyue came back to her senses and the anger in her eyes was replaced by calmness."The thieve