Chapter 721: 718: Silly or Not - Part 1

Chapter 721: Chapter 718: Silly or Not – Part 1

Bai Qingyan’s hand tightened around the teacup. She frowned and asked, “Who took the Crown Prince there?”

Didn’t Old Fang dissuade him? Although Old Fang was considered a vile person, before the Crown Prince ascended the throne, he would never let the Crown Prince do such a… bring a courtesan back to the palace. If the censors got hold of this, it would not end well.

Bai Jinxiu was taken aback. “This… hasn’t been investigated thoroughly.”

Bai Qingyan covered the cup with the lid. “Who took the Crown Prince there needs thorough investigation! The Crown Prince couldn’t have suddenly gone to a brothel! Has the background of the person brought into the Crown Prince’s residence been investigated clearly?”

Bai Jinxiu nodded, pulling a thin piece of paper from her sleeve and handing it to Bai Qingyan. “This was sent to be investigated. The girl taken into the Crown Prince’s residence is called Hongmei, a clean courtesan.”

Bai Qingyan set down her teacup and took the paper, unfolding it. Detailed information about Hongmei’s background was recorded on it. It seemed quite clean. It was said that because of her impoverished family, she was sold to a broker. Unexpectedly, the broker saw that Hongmei was clean and pretty and had evil intentions, selling her to a brothel.

But Hongmei was extremely stubborn. She swore she wouldn’t sell her body. The brothel madam, seeing that Hongmei was beautiful and had spent a lot of money training her in the arts, feared this girl might hang herself, so she only let her sell her skills, not her body.

Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince saw Hongmei while in disguise. After a night together, he sent people to take Hongmei into the Crown Prince’s residence. Naturally, the person who redeemed Hongmei didn’t reveal that the redeemer was the Crown Prince.

Bai Jinxiu heard Bai Qingyan chuckle softly and asked, “Eldest Young Lady, do you think there’s a problem?”

“Which brothel madam is so kind to truly let a girl sell her skills, not her body?” Bai Qingyan’s eyes deepened as she recalled her own sister’s past experiences. “Check whether that brothel madam is really a kind person. See if she has had any other clean courtesans besides Hongmei. Then we will know if Hongmei was a deliberate arrangement or truly caught the Crown Prince’s eye by coincidence.”

“Okay, I’ll send someone to investigate right away!” Bai Jinxiu said.

“How has Fu Ruoxi been recently?” Bai Qingyan asked Bai Jinxiu.

“Although Fu Ruoxi rendered meritorious service during the Wude Gate disturbance, she is now idle at home. The household is inevitably cold and quiet. But, following your instructions, I have secretly taken care of the Fu Mansion, so no one dares to trouble them.” Mentioning the Fu Mansion inevitably made Bai Jinxiu think of Dong Tingfang, who had a marriage arrangement with the Fu Family’s eldest son. “Eldest Young Lady, Cousin Dong Tingfang from the Dong Mansion came to see me a few days ago…”

“Tingfang?” Bai Qingyan was a bit surprised. She thought for a moment and asked, “Does she want to break off the marriage with the eldest son of the Fu Family?”

Bai Jinxiu nodded. “Precisely. Cousin Tingfang wants me to ask our mother to help her with the Fu Family marriage annulment. But I refused. If it were our uncle asking, I would certainly ask Mother to help. Cousin Tingfang is a Dong family daughter. She shouldn’t bypass her mother and instead ask our mother to break the engagement.”

“Tingfang is not an unreasonable girl. Why would she do this?” Bai Qingyan sat up slightly, puzzled.

“Cousin Tingfang said that our uncle’s wife values the reputation of the Dong family. She doesn’t care at all about the marital matters of these concubine-born daughters. When the niece from the Fu Family’s madam didn’t want to marry the Fu family’s eldest son, she framed Cousin Tingfang. Even after their mother found out, she didn’t seek justice for her. She only said that since she had been hugged by the eldest son of the Fu family, she should either marry him or take the white silk ribbon to end it.”

In the end, the Dong family was still Bai Qingyan’s maternal family. Bai Jinxiu didn’t want to speak ill of the Dong family’s Madame in front of Bai Qingyan, so she omitted some complaints Dong Tingzhen had about Mrs. Song. “Cousin Tingfang said that the concubine-born daughters of the Dong family have a low status. She had no other choice but to come to me.”

Actually, Bai Qingyan already knew the whole story about Dong Tingzhen and the Fu family’s eldest son.

It was just that the niece from the Fu family’s madam didn’t want to marry the eldest son of the Fu family. So she schemed against Dong Tingfang, who then went along with it. Who would have expected the Fu family to suffer misfortune, causing even the eldest son’s branch to be ostracized?

Could it be that Dong Tingfang thought the Fu family’s eldest son was a good match at first but now thinks otherwise and wants to plan anew?

“Eldest Young Lady…” The maid from Qinghui Courtyard held the curtain and entered the room. After bowing from behind the nanmu and emerald bird screen, she said, “Eldest Young Lady, Mrs. Dong has brought your three cousins.”

Bai Qingyan understood. It was likely that the news of her spitting blood at the Crown Prince’s residence had reached the Dong mansion, causing her aunt and Dong Tingzhen to worry.

“Eldest Young Lady…” Bai Jinxiu got up to help Bai Qingyan over to the bed. “Although the Dong family’s aunt and cousins aren’t outsiders, the fewer people who know about this kind of thing, the better.”

Bai Qingyan nodded, lifting the white fine wool blanket draped over her legs and lying down on the bed with Bai Jinxiu’s assistance.

Bai Jinxiu then had a few braziers brought in, placing them near the bed. She got up to greet Mrs. Dong Song and the three Dong cousins outside Qinghui Courtyard.

She saw Mrs. Dong Song enter the room accompanied by Mrs. Liu. Liu put on quite an act, dabbing at her tears with a handkerchief. Bai Jinxiu hurried forward to pay her respects.

“Cousin, how is she?” Dong Tingzhen quickly stepped forward, gripping Bai Jinxiu’s hand to inquire.

Dong Tingzhen’s eyes were red. She had obviously cried on the way here.

“Eldest Young Lady is fine now. Don’t worry!” Bai Jinxiu’s own eyes were also red with tears. She patted Dong Tingzhen’s hand and stepped aside to let her mother, Mrs. Liu, and Mrs. Dong Song proceed to the inner room.

Mrs. Dong Song entered, unfastening her cloak as she walked into the inner room. She saw Bai Qingyan’s frail arm propping her up as the maid helped her to sit up. Mrs. Dong quickly stepped forward to press her down. “Don’t get up! We’re family. There’s no need for these formalities!”

Bai Qingyan lay back down, her pale lips parting slightly, her breath weak. “Aunt, forgive Kid for not getting up to greet you…”

Dong Tingzhen, holding up her skirt, stepped forward to stand behind Mrs. Song. She saw the pale and thin Bai Qingyan, and her eyes reddened even more. “Cousin…”

“It’s alright!” Bai Qingyan smiled at Dong Tingzhen. “You all worried for nothing!”

Mrs. Dong Song held Bai Qingyan’s hand, turning away to quickly wipe her tears. “You foolish girl! Why did you shield the Crown Prince back then! Do you not know your own condition? If your grandmother knew… wouldn’t it take her life?!”

Only someone very close would say such things to Bai Qingyan.

When the Crown Prince was in danger, only in the eyes of close kin would Bai Qingyan’s safety be more important than his.