"Father!" When the Duke of Qi came over, his second son had already been beaten and carried away.
The fire was put out, and the eldest son was there cleaning up the mess. The house was in chaos.
"Check which servants had contact with your sister today. How did the yard of your wife suddenly catch fire? Who brought your wife here?" asked the old Duke in a deep voice.
Now that I suspect Qi Xiejiao, many things are no longer what they seem.
"Father!" Duke Qi raised his head in shock. He didn't understand what his father meant by this. Xie Jiao had always been his father's beloved sister. What had happened to her that made his father so taboo
"Some things are known by many people, and they may break out in the future. You are the eldest son of the mansion, and I should talk to you out of both emotion and reason." The old Duke waved his hand, and all the servants withdrew.
He originally didn't want to tell his son about this matter, as he wanted him to be buried with him after he died. But now he realized that even if he didn't tell his son, people who knew would still know. Rather than having his son be clueless and get tricked when something bad happens in the future, it would be better to tell his son the truth as soon as possible.
I didn’t say anything at first, even hiding it from my wife, but now I have to tell it!
The old Duke told his son everything, including the cause and effect, even Qu Moying's previous speculation and the rumors outside. After Xiao Yue's death, who would be the final beneficiary? Compared with Yu's position as the second wife of Qu, Qi Xiejiao's interests were higher.
A matter of life and death!
The Duke of Qi could hardly believe what he heard. He looked at the old Duke in astonishment, unable to recover for a moment.
The sister that he had doted on for so many years turned out not to be real. Xiao Yue, who had nothing to do with him, became his biological sister who was replaced. This biological sister might even die at the hands of this fake sister. Now, this sister might even want to harm her biological sister's daughter...
There were so many unbelievable things that the Duke of Qi couldn't say a word. He just stared at his father who was sitting there.
"Today, Miss Qu Si told me the whole story, and I realized that there was something fishy going on. Then, your wife's resting place suddenly caught fire, and Xie Jiao went to save her and fainted. Then, when Miss Qu Si went over, something almost happened. I went to see, and if Miss Qu Si had fallen over like that, she would have either stabbed her face or lost her life. But she had to decisively reach out to the porcelain shards, and even I would have thought about it, but it might be too late by then!"
The old Duke went to check the place where Qu Moying was injured, which was covered in blood. He also asked the servants who were nearby at the time, and they all said that they were stunned at that moment.
No one expected that Miss Qu Si's first reaction was not to stretch out her hands to protect herself, but to take the initiative to stretch out her hands to block and delay the castration.
Then Yudong rushed over and grabbed her hand.
If he just stretched out his hand, the maid behind him would not have time to rush over and Qu Moying's hand would be crippled on the spot.
If there was only the maid, and she hadn't delayed it herself, the maid's hand would not have been able to hold her back.
In that scenario, even the old Duke couldn't have done better.
"This child's ability to judge the situation is heartbreaking. If he hadn't been alone all this time, without anyone to love him, how could he have done such a thing? How could he have such a clear mind!" The old Duke's eyes were filled with tears.
"If she had gotten into trouble in our house at that time, the Prince of Ying's Mansion would definitely not let us go. As for the nun thing she mentioned before, it would be even more impossible to do so, and it would even implicate the entire Duke of Qi's Mansion. So far, our mansion has no ability to investigate your sister's affairs anymore!"
When Duke Qi heard this, he was startled and finally reacted: "Father is saying that all this was ordered by my sister... Xie Jiao?"
"Don't you think it's too much of a coincidence? I was just about to ask about this matter when your wife got into trouble. After she desperately saved your wife, she fainted and the doctor followed her. Then something happened to Fourth Miss Qu. She injured her palm and it looked like she was not as good as your sister. She was not sure whether she was alive or dead. At this time, we could only let Fourth Miss Qu wait. What if her injury got worse?"
At this point, the old Duke felt that he had calmed down.
No matter how reluctant I was before, it all turned cold because of this incident. I no longer look at the issue from the perspective of a father who dotes on his child infinitely.
"And the pot of grass on your mother's windowsill. I just had someone check it out. If it's left there, your mother, who was already ill, will become seriously ill and die after she becomes weak. If something happens to your mother, it will definitely be the fault of this child in the Qu Mansion."
There are too many disputes between the two mansions, even concerning life and death. By the time the Qu Mansion and the Qiguogong Mansion officially break up, it will be impossible for them to communicate with each other at any news. They may even cause various misunderstandings and even become enemies.
"At that time, who would care about the things that happened more than 30 years ago?" The old Duke looked at his son, sighed deeply, and asked, "What do you think?"
Now that his son is the head of the Duke of Qi's Mansion, he must let his son think about how to resolve this matter.
This is no longer just a matter of one family or one office. It is about the crime of deceiving the emperor and the affairs of the northern border...
The Duke of Qi sat in a chair with his head in his hands, having a terrible headache. He didn't know that there was such a big disaster hidden in his own mansion. Once this kind of thing was really investigated, it would be a disaster for the entire Duke of Qi's mansion. But it was not possible to surrender to the emperor at this time. He had deceived the emperor for so many years, and the emperor was not a good-tempered person.
"Father, I think I should slowly cut off contact with my sister... and the Liu family!" Duke Qi finally expressed his thoughts!
"Do you believe what the kid from the Qu Mansion said?" the old Duke asked hesitantly.
"I believe it!" Duke Qi said affirmatively, more determined than the old Duke.
“Why… why?” The old Duke believed it intellectually, but he was still a little uncertain emotionally. After all, she was the daughter he had raised and doted on for so many years.
"Some things happened many years ago. My father may not know about them, and my mother probably doesn't care about them either. But my son has seen them. I have seen that Xie Jiao knew how to win people's hearts and minds when she was very young. She was also very good at doing things, and she knew how to place people everywhere. She learned how to be a housekeeper from her mother very early on."
The Duke of Qi recalled some old stories about Qi Xiejiao and told them to the old Duke.
He was not married at that time, and he was very surprised that his little sister took the initiative to ask to be a housekeeper. It was uncommon for such a young girl to help as a housekeeper in other families. But his father and mother didn't say anything, so he naturally just thought it was strange. Later, someone sent people over, and his sister took the initiative to select the people.
And there is more than one batch.
It was all arranged by his sister, and even when he got married, the new house
There were also people who were placed by my sister.
I didn’t pay much attention to it before, but now I think about it and it’s terrifying.
"If there is still someone who can deliberately create a fire in the mansion, no one else can do it except Xie Jiao." Duke Qi concluded with one sentence.
"Is it true?" The old Duke suppressed the bitterness in his heart.
"It should be true. As for the final conclusion, let's interrogate the nun first. But you'd better not get close to Xie Jiao for now. My son will go and tell Xiu Nan about it." Duke Qi said. How to resolve the current chaos and find a way out is of vital importance to the entire Duke Qi's Mansion.
We must not act on our emotions at this time and need to think carefully. If this is true, Qi Xiejiao's ambition is not small, and the Duke of Qi's Mansion should have been divested long ago.
"Xiu Nan was too close to her before, so he might have been involved this time. I beat him up, and now he's lying down. On the one hand, it will teach him a lesson, and on the other hand, it will make him move around less. He doesn't know anything, and if he just runs into it headfirst, he won't even know how he died."
The old Duke said angrily.
The Duke of Qi looked at his old father helplessly. Such a big thing was concealed by his father alone. If he didn't tell him this time, he would definitely be involved. In the end, he might even drag the entire Duke of Qi's Mansion into it.
But he is a father, and he can't say anything. He just feels inexplicably distressed when he thinks of Xiao Yue and Qu Moying. These are his own sister and niece.
If what the child from the Qu Mansion said was true, then Qi Xiejiao would not only not be her sister, but also her enemy, an enemy who would repay kindness with enmity.
"Okay!" The old Duke nodded in agreement, "I will also make sure your mother is well. If she is sick, she should just take good care of herself!"
After the father and son had discussed and agreed, they went about their business.
Before Qi Xiejiao woke up, she was sent back to Minister Liu's residence in a sedan chair. After that, Duke Qi's residence underwent another major cleanup.
This time was even more severe than the previous time. Almost all those who had any relationship with Qi Xiejiao, or were servants bought by Qi Xiejiao, were unwanted, regardless of whether they had a clean background or had never committed any bad deeds. They were all executed.
Qu Moying's hand injury was not serious. Fortunately, Yu Dong acted quickly. If it was just an ordinary maid, the doctor said that her hand would have been crippled.
Yudong was terrified. He watched the doctor apply medicine and bandage him, but he still couldn't breathe.
"Miss, it's all my fault. I just thought that he was nearby and could come over quickly even if I wanted to. I didn't expect someone to block my way." Yu Dong said with a pale face.
"It was all planned from the beginning. It's useless even if you try to hide." Qu Moying shook his head and said indifferently.
Her complexion had never been very good, and now it was even paler without a trace of blood. Even the corners of her lips were almost transparent. She looked very haggard, as if she would fall down at the slightest breeze. Although her palms were medicated, the stinging pain made her brows furrowed. Her long eyelashes fell, wearily lingering on her pale eyelids, hiding the bright color in the corners of her eyes.
The blood on her clothes made her look even more pitiful...
The door suddenly opened, and a man walked in eagerly. Before he could say anything, he looked at Qu Moying sitting quietly on the chair in astonishment...