Chapter 188: Secret Meeting (98.3)

“How are Qing Luan and Qing Yu? Are they allowed to go out now?” Ye Li asked in a small voice.

Mo Xiu Yao smiled slightly. “They are all right. I didn’t let them out for their safety. Now that you are back safe, I’ll let them out later.”

Back in her yard, Qing Luan and Qing Yu looked well. It seemed that nobody gave them a hard time in the past two months. They kept themselves busy around Ye Li, bringing her tonic as well as new clothes, as if she had suffered a lot when she wasn’t in the manor. Having no alternative, Ye Li let them be. After they finally stopped, she asked others to leave except Qing Yu and Qing Luan.

“We haven’t fulfilled our obligations. Please punish us, My Lady.”

Silence fell in the room with both maids kneeling.

“Get up.” Ye Li looked at them with a frown and said: “How have you been for the past two months?”

Both maids couldn’t help but wipe their tears. Qing Luan nodded repeatedly as she answered: “We’ve been good, but we were worried about you, My Lady… Had anything bad happened to you, we wouldn’t have wanted to live to see old lady and Lord Ye.”

Judging from the apparent joy and ease on their faces, Ye Li knew they had been worried about her. She sighed slightly and said: “What have you been hiding? I know His Highness. You work for me. If you didn’t hide things from him, he wouldn’t have put you under house arrest for two months. If you don’t want to tell His Highness, tell me.”

The two looked at each other, then turned to Ye Li with hesitation.

Ye Li didn’t urge them. Instead, she just looked at them calmly.

After a good while, Qing Yu turned to Ye Li as if she had made up her mind and opened her mouth: “We… we did neglect our duty. In fact… I left Yaohua Palace before the fire started. Qing Luan also left to come to my rescue. That was why the secret guards didn’t find us.”

Ye Li nodded. “Then… where were you?”

“I saw someone and followed her,” said Qing Yu in a small voice.

“I left because I heard Qing Yu scream.” Qing Luan chimed in.

Ye Li frowned. “Who did you see?”

Qing Yu answered: “Su Zui Die and… His Highness.”

“Su Zui Die and His Highness?” Ye Li blinked in surprise. “Are you saying that you saw Su Zui Die with His Highness in the palace so you followed them? Are you sure it was Su Zui Die?”

Head down, Qing Yu searched her memory then answered: “I have seen Reigning Beauty in the Capital of Great Chu on your wedding day, My Lady. The person I saw that day was 70 to 80 percent similar to the woman in the painting. Even in the palace, there weren’t many women as beautiful as her. Besides, there was His Highness… so I…”

Ye Li nodded slightly. Now she finally understood why they wouldn’t tell Mo Xiu Yao about it. “In a word, you saw His Highness with a woman who looked like Su Zui Die while I went missing in the fire so you didn’t want to tell him the truth.”

Qing Yu nodded, biting her lips.

After some thought, Ye Li asked again: “Have it ever crossed your mind… that it was a bit too conspicuous for His Highness to meet a woman in the palace given that he couldn’t walk around as he wanted? Besides, considering His Highness’s martial arts, you wouldn’t have been very close to him. Then, how could you be sure that it was him and Su Zui Die?”

Qing Yu answered: “I’m not sure that woman was Su Zui Die. But that man sounded exactly like His Highness.”

Ye Li’s brows knitted. She knew Qing Yu’s hearing had always been good, better than Qing Luan’s, who had practiced martial arts since childhood. She wouldn’t forget any voice she heard, especially not Mo Xiu Yao’s, who she saw daily.

“How about you, Qing Luan? What happened?”

“I heard Qing Yu scream and hurried over since Qing Yu didn’t know martial arts. But I passed out as soon as I saw her back.”

With a frown, Qing Yu answered: “I was startled when I heard His Highness then I was knocked off. But… I didn’t scream so I wouldn’t have alarmed Qing Luan.”

Ye Li smiled and said: “You’ve done a good job for the past two months. Tell me what you have in mind.”

The two looked at each other. Qing Luan cast a careful glance at Ye Li before she spoke: “I… I have nothing in mind…”

Qing Yu said: “On that day, I doubted that… His Highness and other woman… Then I heard you went missing, so…”

Ye Li chuckled. “So, you thought that His Highness conspired with another woman and had me killed?”

Qing Yu reddened. Qing Luan stared at her with wide eyes, terrified.

Ye Li understood they were telling the truth since they didn’t have a chance to get together for the past two months. Besides, secret guards found them in different places. They were honest unless they had agreed on the testimony beforehand.

For the past two months, Qing Luan had been quiet, though she cried day and night at the beginning. Qing Yu, who used to be quiet, acted out of character and tried to escape while holding people in the manor with hostility. That Qing Yu saw Mo Xiu Yao but Qing Luan didn’t explained that.

Having given it some thought, Ye Li nodded and spoke: “I see. Qing Yu, don’t mention it again. I trust His Highness.”

With a slight frown, Qing Yu seemed as if she wanted to say something.

Ye Li opened her mouth calmly: “Sometimes, what you hear might not be true. Have you thought about it? If His Highness were there on the day when I went missing, would you have lived till today? You said you were knocked off because you found His Highness… Then, why are you still safe? You are in Prince Ding’s Manor, if His Highness wants to kill someone to prevent that secret from being disclosed, even I won’t be able to escape from it, let alone you guys. Do you understand?”

Qing Yu turned pale. “My Lady, you mean…”

Qing Luan said, still confused: “If that person wanted to provoke us, he must know you were okay, right?”

Ye Li nodded with a smile. “Very likely. But if something did happen to me, His Highness would have set you free as soon as he knew you were innocent. What would you do if you were free, Qing Yu?”

Qing Yu said with conviction: “I would tell Master Xu, Lord Xu and your brothers and seek justice for you, My Lady!”

Qing Luan cried out in surprise: “Those people wanted to sow discord between Prince Ding’s Manor and Xu Family!”

With her hand supporting her forehead, Ye Li said: “Whether to incite me against His Highness or Xu Family against Prince Ding’s Manor depends on whether they knew about the fire at Yaohua Palace. In the end, it is the same. If I nurse a grudge against His Highness, Xu Family won’t be on good terms with Prince Ding’s Manor either.”

Still pale, Qing Yu said: “I… I doubted His Highness… Have I messed up?” However, she still wondered who that person was. She believed more in her ears than her eyes.

“Don’t worry about it. Fortunately, His Highness put you under house for he knew you were in danger. It didn’t lead to any bad consequences either. As for the man you heard on that night… I’ll look into it later.” With a faint smile, a cold glint flashed across Ye Li’s eyes. Getting in trouble as soon as she was back, as expected. She really wanted to know whether there were a second Mo Xiu Yao and Su Zui Die in the capital.

Qing Yu nodded seriously and said: “I want to see who fooled my ears, too.”

Ye Li smiled slightly. Seeing is not believing, let alone hearing. But… she was curious about who knew her and those around her so well.