Chapter 103: Preemptive Strike

Qinglan sat on the soft couch, looking languid and leaning against the big pillow.

After returning from the Regent’s Mansion yesterday, she felt unwell. She slept until noon and got up, looking slightly haggard.

Seeing this, Xiu Qin quickly offered tea to Qinglan: “Lady, are you feeling unwell? Should I call the mansion doctor to check your pulse?”

“No need. I didn’t sleep well last night, and my head is a bit dizzy.” Qinglan lazily took the tea, glancing sideways at Xiu Qin’s face. The finger marks on her face had already faded. She snorted from her nose: “That little wench didn’t cause any trouble in the mansion yesterday, did she?”

Xiu Qin’s eyes changed, and she shook her head, saying, “No.”

Xiu Jian happened to come in with lunch from outside. Hearing this, she sneered: “Xiu Qin, you traitor, the young lady gave you a bottle of ointment, and you betrayed us! Don’t forget, if it weren’t for the Lady, would you be here today?”

“What’s going on?” Qinglan couldn’t help but sit up straight.

Xiu Qin’s face changed drastically, and she quickly explained: “Lady, I didn’t betray you, the ointment was given by the young lady…”

“How dare you say you didn’t take the ointment from the young lady.” Xiu Jian interrupted Xiu Qin, putting the lunch on the table, and gave Xiu Qin a glare: “If you didn’t betray the Lady, why didn’t you mention that the young lady went to the palace this morning?”

“Wretch, how dare you betray me!” A fierce look flashed in Qinglan’s eyes as she raised her hand and threw the cup at Xiu Qin.

“Ah——”

Xiu Qin covered her forehead, with thick blood flowing down.

“Lady, I didn’t. The young lady gave me the ointment because she found my face an eyesore. I am loyal to you and would never have second thoughts!”

Xiu Qin’s face was pale as she kowtowed repeatedly. Her eyes were filled with fear, and tears and snot flowed as she cried: “Lady, please believe me this time. I didn’t betray you, really, I didn’t…”

Qinglan didn’t believe a single word. Since she took power this past year, with the old Lady going to the temple, the mansion was filled with her confidants, and any slight disturbance would reach her ears.

Luckily, someone saw it this time. If Su Wan had secretly contacted and bribed Xiu Qin, she wouldn’t even know how she died.

“I beat and scold you constantly, and you don’t hate me in your heart?”

Qinglan was deeply suspicious, especially with Su Wan in the mansion. They had long been enemies, and it was either her or Su Wan. She couldn’t afford to be careless. When Xiu Qin was no longer useful, Qinglan would never keep her. Coldly and mercilessly, she said: “Xiu Jian, go call the matchmaker.”

Xiu Jian was stunned for a moment, but upon receiving Qinglan’s glance, she understood immediately: “I will go right away.”

Xiu Qin had been by Qinglan’s side for five years, so how could she not understand the meaning of that look? She had done too many things for Qinglan over the years, and there was no way she would be kept alive.

On the surface, they would have the matchmaker drag her away, but she would be dealt with halfway.

Xiu Qin felt a chill all over her body and wanted to beg for mercy.

Two rough-handling maids came in from outside, covered her mouth, and dragged her away.

“Mm-mm…” Xiu Qin’s eyes widened in terror as she struggled and shouted desperately, but it didn’t soften Qinglan’s heart. As she was dragged out of the courtyard, Xiu Qin saw Xiao Tao coming and sought her help.

Xiao Tao lowered her head and avoided her, not caring about the affairs of Wei Rui Pavilion.

Not only would she not save her, but she might even feel schadenfreude.

There wasn’t a single good person in Wei Rui Pavilion; they all helped that mother-daughter duo against the young lady!

“Serves you right!” Xiao Tao spat at Xiu Qin.

Xiu Qin’s intense struggling suddenly stopped. She watched Xiao Tao’s joyful, skipping figure as she walked away, and it seemed as if all the strength had been drained from her body. She gave up resisting and let the maids drag her away.

Suddenly, the two rough-handling maids groaned and fell to the ground unconscious.

With a thud, Xiu Qin fell to the ground.

A pair of familiar embroidered shoes appeared in front of her. Xiu Qin’s pupils tightened as she looked up sharply, she saw Su Wan’s face, smiling brilliantly like the bright sun.

——

Qinglan was so angry that half her head was throbbing, and she had no appetite at all. She leaned back against the big pillow again.

“Lady, Xiao Tao from the young lady’s courtyard is here, saying she has something to discuss with you,” a second-class maid came in to report.

Qinglan’s eyes showed disgust, and she said irritably, “I won’t see her.”

The maid hurried out, but soon came back in, her face slightly pale, stammering: “La…Lady, Xia…Xiao Tao said she…she came under the young lady’s orders to…to ask for her dowry.”

Qinglan’s face instantly turned blue: “What dowry does she have? Her mother died early, and when I entered the marquis’s mansion, I didn’t see a single copper coin. She’s coming to me to ask for a dowry?”

She sneered: “Ridiculous to the extreme!”

“Lady, you know better than anyone where our young lady’s dowry is.”

Xiao Tao burst in from outside, waving a dowry list in her hand: “This is the dowry list left by the late lady. There were two copies: one disappeared after the late lady passed away, its whereabouts unknown.

The other was sewn into a sachet and given to the young lady by the late lady on her deathbed. Just because you deny having seen the dowry doesn’t mean it hasn’t been seen.”

“The young lady values familial bonds and doesn’t want to tear things apart and make a scene, bringing shame to the marquis’s mansion.”

Xiao Tao lifted her chin, looking rather smug: “If Lady doesn’t bring it out, our young lady will file a lawsuit, and have someone go to the Eastern Palace to compare it with the Crown Princess’s dowry.”

“The Crown Princess’s reputation isn’t good. If it gets out that she seized her elder sister’s dowry, do you think she can still hold her position?”

Wretch, wretch!

Qinglan was so angry that smoke almost seemed to come out of her ears, her eyes fixed on the red paper as if she wanted to burn it to ashes with her gaze.

“Don’t try to scare me. The Qi family’s dowry list has long been lost,” Qinglan said through gritted teeth, her face twisted in fury. “Let her file a lawsuit then!”

At this point, Qinglan suddenly stood up and walked quickly outside: “No need for her to go, I will go file the complaint myself right now! Let the Emperor judge this matter. Is it reasonable for a junior to force a senior like this? The master is still bedridden and unconscious, and she wants to force me to death!”

Qinglan planned to take the initiative. That wretch Su Wan had gone to the palace early in the morning to see the Empress and came back demanding the dowry. She must be using the Empress as her backing.

Qinglan could only go to the Emperor. Even if the Empress wanted to help, could she overrule the Emperor?

Seeing Qinglan run out of the courtyard and loudly call for a carriage, Xiao Tao panicked and quickly went to find Su Wan.

The dowry list was fake, and the threat to file a lawsuit was meant to intimidate Qinglan.

If it really came to a lawsuit and the truth was revealed, would it be detrimental to the young lady?

Xiao Tao ran even faster.

“Oh no—” Xiao Tao collided with someone coming around the corner and nearly fell but was caught by the shoulders. With tear-filled eyes, she looked up to see Su Wan standing before her. She urgently said: “Young lady, it’s bad. The stepmother has gone to the palace to file a complaint.”