Zhu Yao had only agreed to appease Qiu Shu and stop her from pestering, so she had casually agreed. But naturally she wouldn’t be foolish enough to actually speak well of her before her father—that kind of thing, she wouldn’t do.

Better to avoid bringing trouble upon herself!

After all, it wasn’t a private matter. If it blew up, Minister Zhu would probably face more than just dismissal from office. If it angered the Emperor’s authority, the Emperor might even behead Minister Zhu with one decree—that was entirely possible.

Trading small for large—no one dared take that risk.

Neither would Zhu Yao!

She glanced over there a few times. Luo Yang had already left. Only Qiu Shu remained, still sitting wretchedly on the ground, her beauty completely lost, her bearing entirely gone. Her usual sharp and domineering appearance had become utterly ugly. The people around her were pointing and whispering, quietly mocking her, covering their mouths as they laughed in ridicule.

At this moment, Qiu Shu was like an animal in a zoo being observed and discussed by people, while she had no energy to bother with those people. She only wanted to quickly find a hole to crawl into, not wanting to continue making a spectacle of herself here.

Zhu Yao shook her head, sighed lightly, and said to Cai’er: “Forget it, this matter isn’t something we can manage, and it has nothing to do with us. Let’s go.”

She didn’t want to go over and join the commotion!

And thereby invite trouble upon herself.

As Cai’er supported her preparing to leave, she looked around once more and asked with slight confusion: “By the way, Miss, didn’t Master Luo come together with the Young Master? Why don’t we see the Young Master?”

Actually, after asking, Cai’er regretted it.

Right now, in front of her young lady, the two words “Young Master” were the least appropriate thing to mention.

Yet she had to bring up the sensitive topic.

Zhu Yao’s expression didn’t change. She only said lightly: “Where the Young Master is has nothing to do with you, and nothing to do with me either.”

She had taken everything lightly. Now that she and Li Shiyan had canceled their engagement, they were friends—extremely ordinary friends. So whatever he did or wherever he went had nothing to do with her.

But Cai’er’s expression became somewhat awkward. After swallowing, she quickly said: “Yes, it naturally has nothing to do with Miss. It’s just that this servant thought…”

Zhu Yao immediately interrupted her: “Stop with what you think. Don’t be talkative about matters you shouldn’t concern yourself with, and don’t inquire further.”

“Yes, this servant understands.”

“We’ve seen enough on this outing. Let’s go to the rouge shop to buy some things and then return.”

“Oh.”

After they left, the thoroughly bedraggled Qiu Shu also hurriedly had the maid beside her help her leave this place.

As soon as she got on the carriage, the maid found a blanket to cover Qiu Shu.

“Miss, are you still cold?”

Qiu Shu was now trembling all over, her complexion having gone from pale to greenish. She tightly wrapped the blanket around herself, exhaled a puff of cold air from her mouth, glared viciously at the maid, and scolded: “Useless thing, when that beast pulled this young lady into the water, where did you run off to? Didn’t you know to block in front?”

“…”

“Now it’s come to this—all face completely lost. You useless thing.”

“…” The maid didn’t dare refute a single word, a trace of grievance in her eyes.

Clearly this matter had nothing to do with her, and moreover, when Luo Yang suddenly emerged from the water, even the fastest person probably couldn’t have reacted in time, let alone her, just a maid. In that situation, even if she had wanted to pull her young lady, it would have been too late!

Seeing her head lowered with a grieved expression, Qiu Shu snorted coldly: “What? Did I scold you wrongly?”

“This servant wouldn’t dare. It’s this servant’s fault. Young lady may scold as she pleases!”

“Useless thing. When we return, I’ll definitely teach you a proper lesson.”

A beating with the plank was unavoidable.

The maid pursed her lips, then muttered quietly: “This servant will bear the punishment!”

Though the voice was small, Qiu Shu still heard it. Although her strength was nearly exhausted, fire rose in her heart. She raised her hand and slapped the maid across the face—the sound was extremely loud.

“Lowly maid!”

“Uh…” The maid was struck so her face turned to the side, the handprint immediately appearing on her cheek. She quickly knelt on the ground, lowering her head and sobbing quietly: “This servant knows her wrong. Young lady, spare me.”

“If you’re being punished, then be punished. Where does all this talk come from?”

“This servant wouldn’t dare.”

“Kneel there and don’t get up!”

Qiu Shu vented all the grievances she had suffered onto the maid.

And the maid just knelt like that, secretly shedding a few tears.

So aggrieved!

Who told her to have such bad fate!

Qiu Shu wrapped the blanket tightly around herself, leaned to one side, and still rebuked: “Why isn’t the carriage going faster? Trying to freeze this young lady to death?”

Soaked through, her body felt cold.

She absolutely could not get sick. If she fell ill, she couldn’t participate in the courtesan competition—the losses would outweigh the gains.

The maid stuck her head out to order the driver to hurry.

The carriage accelerated, galloping wildly through the main street…

They say good news doesn’t leave the house, but bad news travels a thousand miles. This incident spread through Yanjing City like a rolling wind in less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick.

Everyone said that the Empress’s younger sister Qiu Shu had thrown a strange man into the lake and nearly drowned him, only to suffer herself, falling into the lake in a wretched state and nearly dying.

This matter spread from one to ten, ten to a hundred, and became increasingly outrageous, fabricating many nonexistent details.

For instance, some said the man had already drowned to death!

Others said Qiu Shu had also drowned to death!

Even—

Some said that man was actually Qiu Shu’s old lover, but because he wouldn’t marry her, she threw him into the river in a fit of anger. Or that Qiu Shu looked down on the man, so heartbroken, he jumped into the lake himself.

Of course, there were even more outrageous versions—saying the man was a married man, Qiu Shu had secretly carried on an affair with him behind her family’s back, ended up pregnant, but he refused to acknowledge it, which led to that scene!

Rumors always spread fast and grew increasingly wild. People didn’t care whether it was true or false—they just listened, just discussed, just spread it.

The matter reached the palace that very day.

The palace maid Weilan, upon learning of this, relayed everything she had heard word for word to the Empress.

Empress Qu Jiang—beneath one person, above ten thousand!

She enjoyed almost all the honors women dreamed of!

Empress Liu Qu’er was extremely beautiful and gorgeous, with the appearance of Xi Shi and the gentleness of clear water. She possessed an extraordinary, refined quality. Already in her early thirties, not a trace of time’s grinding wheels could be seen on her face. Dignified and graceful, noble and aloof—in her presence, people couldn’t help but feel a sense of reverence.

She was Prince Qujiang’s second Empress. The former Empress Liang had died from chronic illness. She had won Prince Qujiang’s (hereafter referred to as the Emperor) exclusive favor and leaped to become the subsequent Empress. The Emperor cherished only her, and this favor naturally brought the entire Qiu family full honors and continuous rewards.

In almost just one year’s time, those capable members of the Qiu family had all squeezed into positions in the court. Though they weren’t high officials and didn’t have power to control the overall situation, they were after all the Empress’s faction, so there were still some benefits. The ministers in court also had to give them some face.

As the saying goes, when one person attains the Dao, even chickens and dogs ascend to heaven!

That’s roughly what it meant!

At this moment, Qiu Shi was lying with eyes closed on the imperial concubine’s couch in the inner hall resting. In the outer hall, several women were playing the qin. The music surrounded the ears, melodious and pleasant to hear, making one’s heart feel very comfortable. Combined with the afternoon hour, it made one feel somewhat drowsy and weary.

Weilan beside her had already finished reporting what had happened outside, then said: “Now many people are discussing this matter. The impact is quite significant.”

Qiu Shi’s beautiful phoenix eyes suddenly opened. A trace of slight annoyance flashed across her pretty face, her brows furrowing. She asked to confirm: “When did this happen?”

Her voice was fine, soft, and pleasant to hear.

Gentle and soft, like fists beating against clouds.

Weilan said: “It happened early this morning. This servant heard it from Xiao Guizi who went out of the palace on an errand. Now many people in the city are discussing this matter. However, Xiao Guizi only heard it secondhand, so whether it’s true or false, this servant doesn’t know. Perhaps others are spreading false rumors and creating trouble.”

“If such a thing hadn’t occurred, who would dare fabricate it out of thin air?” Qiu Qu’er’s tone carried slight rebuke. Then she fell silent for a moment, seeming somewhat disbelieving, and pondered aloud: “A’Shu has always been a sensible child, can distinguish important from trivial, and knows what she should and shouldn’t do. This matter happened so suddenly—how could she commit such a foolish act? And in front of so many people? There must be something suspicious about this.”

Something suspicious?

How did this involve something suspicious again?

Weilan asked, confused: “Your Majesty means?”