The Queen's words were both soft and hard, and her target was directly Liu Jingyu.
Liu Jingyu had already panicked, and now when he heard her say this again, he became even more panicked, "Mother..."
Seeing her like this, the Queen's expression softened a bit, and she said earnestly, "Crown Princess, you must know that you are the Crown Princess of a country, and you and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince are closely related. If it weren't you... it must be the Crown Prince. I wonder if Crown Princess understands what I mean."
Liu Jingyu shed tears: "I understand."
"What is the whole story? Does the Crown Princess know about it or not? You have to tell me." The Queen said slowly.
“Mother… This matter really has nothing to do with me, but I can’t say it has nothing to do with it… After I returned home that day, I did tell the people around me about it, and then I sent someone to deliver medicine to mother. I don’t know if there is any connection between them.” Liu Jingyu said sadly with tears in her eyes.
"Your mother?" the Queen asked.
"I don't know if this matter has anything to do with mother. The misunderstanding between me and Princess Ying that day was also because of mother... Mother has never liked Princess Ying. If she... She said something to the daughter of the Qu family... I don't know." Liu Jingyu didn't dare not to say it, but had to say it.
The matter has become so serious that it will definitely be investigated, and Qu Luqin will report the people from the Liu Mansion.
"Is it related to your mother?" The Queen frowned.
"I don't know. Even if it is... maybe the people around me misunderstood my mother's intention. My mother has always been kind... there is no way she would do such a thing." Liu Jingyu fell to the ground and cried, "Queen Mother... Mother has always loved me. And what happened to my father, I am the only thing she has in her mind."
The Empress naturally knew about what happened in Minister Liu's mansion, because she felt that Minister Qu was a good-for-nothing who not only harmed her but also implicated her daughter and wife. The fact that the Duke of Qi's mansion and Minister Liu's mansion were neglected might have been due to him.
Put it this way, it seems to make sense.
The Queen Mother had previously put pressure on Liu Jingyu with the intention of testing him, but she didn't expect that this would lead to such a thing, and it sounds very possible.
Madam Liu has intervened!
No wonder the Qu family dared to do such a rebellious thing. The words were half true and half false, and they were reasonable. The Queen Mother believed it. As for the saying that Madam Liu didn't know about this matter, she didn't believe it. If it wasn't for Madam Liu's order, how could her subordinates give such a bad idea to the Qu family.
She used to admire Madam Liu very much, but what happened afterwards showed that Madam Liu might not be a good person. Afterwards, Madam Liu was injured, and the two of them stopped interacting.
"Is your mother better?" Even though she already believed it, the Queen still asked with a serious face.
"Mother's health is not fully recovered yet." Liu Jingyu wiped her tears and shook her head, saying sadly, "Father and mother are now strangers, and because of this incident... my grandparents don't like father and mother anymore."
When talking about sad things, tears couldn't help but fall.
This was a grudge from the previous generation and had nothing to do with her. She seemed to be the most pitiful one. Even the Queen felt that Liu Jingyu was wronged and that her son was also unlucky. After marrying Liu Jingyu, she discovered that the relationship between the Duke of Qi's Mansion and the Liu's Mansion had become cold and they almost had no contact with each other. How could she expect the Duke of Qi's Mansion to support Liu Jingyu
He coughed softly, "Since this matter is related to your mother... I'm afraid it won't end well."
"Mother... what should we do now?" Liu Jingyu panicked. Although she had betrayed Madam Liu, she did not really want to drag her mother out.
"The case has already been reported to Jingzhao Yin. The government won't show any leniency, and the King of England won't let it go so easily. I'm afraid your mother... is already investigating." The Queen Mother said slowly.
Liu Jingyu was shocked and said in a lost voice: "Mother... then... then what should we do now?"
"This matter has nothing to do with the Eastern Palace. If the Liu Mansion is not found, it has nothing to do with the Liu Mansion. But if it is found... there is nothing we can do about it." The Queen had already made a decision in her heart. She laid out the matter and cast a cold gaze on Liu Jingyu. "Since this matter was caused by the Crown Princess, if the Crown Princess cannot handle it well, I don't mind changing the Crown Prince for a new Crown Princess."
Liu Jingyu's face changed drastically.
"Crown Princess, you should go back and deal with things first!" The Queen leaned back and closed her eyes slightly, letting Liu Jingyu do as he pleased.
"Empress..." Liu Jingyu wanted to beg.
The Queen waved her hand.
Liu Jingyu didn't dare to beg anymore. She stood up, wiped her tears, and walked out of the palace in a panic.
“Empress…” The confidant who was guarding outside saw her coming out in a daze and hurried over to her.
"Go back to the East Palace!" Liu Jingyu murmured.
She returned all the way to the East Palace, and without even taking time to sit down and rest, she sent someone out to gather information, and on the other hand, she sent someone to secretly go to Liu Mansion.
Things have changed so much and my mother may still be unaware of it, so there must be some rules.
The Queen Mother wants the Liu Mansion to take over. Can mother handle this matter
Liu Jingyu was very anxious, but thinking of his mother's ability, he felt that this matter should not be a big deal, and his mother would definitely find a way...
Not to mention that Liu Jingyu was in a constant state of panic in the Eastern Palace, the Jingzhao Yin also acted quickly. He didn't spend much effort at all and found a maid from the side of the Second Old Lady Qu. This maid was the one who gave advice to the Second Old Lady, and it was she who suggested to the Second Old Lady that Qu Luqin be sent to Prince Ying's Palace.
While the Princess of England was seriously ill, they sent the person in first to establish friendly relations between the two families. As for the rest, Madam Qu said she didn't know, and the maids around her didn't know either.
On the contrary, Qu Luqin received more information. A handkerchief with medicinal powder was searched out. It was said that the medicinal powder was sent by a maid from the Liu Mansion. It was this maid who said that Princess Ying was weak now. Using the medicinal powder or smelling it too much would not be good for her body and would make her weaker and weaker.
This would not only force the Princess of England to recognize Qu Luqin, but would also kill her.
How could Jingzhao Yin dare to be negligent and hurriedly continued to investigate. Having offended the Prince of Ying's Palace, everyone knew that it would not end well, and it was even less likely to end well this time.
The Jingzhao Yin sent people to the Liu Mansion to look for this old woman, but they found that after searching inside and outside, they could not find the old woman that Qu Luqin mentioned, and no other old woman was missing in the Liu Mansion.
It seemed that the investigation could not go any further at this point, but at this time, the King of England's men actually found the runaway old woman. It was said that she was hiding in a farmer's house. She was the wife of a village head who was married off as a dowry to Madam Liu. She did not often come to the Liu Mansion on weekdays, and only went in occasionally to report accounts.
At other times, he rarely entered the palace.
Qu Luqin said that when she saw this old woman following behind the Crown Princess, who was then Lady Jingyu County, she naturally thought that she was from the Liu Mansion, but she did not expect that this old woman was just the wife of a village head.
After being caught, the old woman was so frightened that her face turned pale. How could she dare to hide anything and told everything. It turned out that a maidservant serving Mrs. Liu, Minister Liu, asked her to do it.
Things happened so fast that Madam Liu had no time to react. She was the one who sent the old woman away, and she had no intention of sparing her life. She thought she would kill her at night. However, the people from Prince Ying's Palace were much faster than she thought, and she was discovered before night.
Mrs. Liu never expected that she would capsize over such a small matter.
But she never imagined that this matter had already fallen upon her.
The Jingzhao Yin sent people to capture the maid beside her. Madam Liu was so angry that she asked the people from the yamen to take the person away. The maid struggled and shouted that she was innocent, but finally she collapsed and died in front of Madam Liu.
Madam Liu fainted from fear, and the entire Liu Mansion was in chaos...
"Fainted?" Qu Moying confirmed.
"Yes, I heard that the blood splashed on Madam Liu's face. Madam Liu fainted before she could say a word, and then there was a flurry of activity before we rescued her." Yuxiu said disapprovingly.
"Master, are we just going to let this matter go?" Yu Chun said indignantly. She felt unwilling to spend so much effort just to deal with a maid.
"Of course it's not over yet." Qu Moying shook his hand. "Such a savage maid actually appeared beside Madam Liu, and the medicine she used was not from the Central Plains. The Liu Mansion had found such a servant before, and there was an accident at that time. This Liu Mansion... is really close to the Northern Frontier."
Madam Liu wanted to get away, and in a hurry tried to push someone to take the blame. However, the village head's wife was suddenly caught. After she failed to respond, her personal maid had to take the blame.
How could an ordinary old woman be so brutal
Thinking about what happened before, the whole Liu Mansion is in trouble. Madam Liu thought she had a good plan, but in fact, she had trapped the whole Liu Mansion. Not only could she not escape, but Minister Liu was also the same...
"Master, I have something to report." An Dong's voice came from outside the curtain. He was the person sent by Qu Moying to keep an eye on the Liu Mansion.
Qu Moying nodded, Yuxiu went out and brought An Dong in.
After An Dong finished his greetings, Yu Chun couldn't wait to ask, "An Dong, is there something wrong at the Liu Mansion?"
An Dong wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled: "Something happened in the Liu Mansion. The entire Liu Mansion is under strict control. No one is allowed to enter or leave casually. All the people in the Liu Mansion must be investigated. It is said that someone in the Liu Mansion must have a relationship with Northern Frontier, and it is not just an ordinary relationship."
That's a spy...
"Did the emperor issue the order personally?" Qu Moying smiled. This was the moment she had been waiting for. If she could take care of both sides of the matter, she could not. If she could protect Liu Jingyu, she could not protect Madam Liu.
In comparison, Qu Moying would rather it was Madam Liu who got into trouble this time...
This Madam Liu was very secretive, and it was difficult for people to suspect her in ordinary ways. But now that she was caught off guard and caused such a thing, the matter could be made infinitely bigger...