Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 470 A Case (1)

Both Yue Man Lou and Qi Meng Ge are brothels that have always competed for customers in Pingkang Fang. This incident clearly shows that they want to use the pretext of "imperial gifts" to overturn each other's reputation.

Upon receiving the case, the Dali Temple dared not delay and immediately dispatched officers to Qimeng Pavilion to arrest and question the person.

To everyone's surprise, as soon as the constable stepped into the room, he saw two men fighting in a private room on the second floor, with tables and chairs overturned and teacups shattered all over the floor.

Further questioning also uncovered a scandal involving a father and son patronizing prostitutes.

And it concerns Consort Qu in the palace.

Even more crucially, after being examined by craftsmen from the Imperial Treasury, it was confirmed that the hairpin was indeed one of the gifts bestowed upon Consort Qu by the Emperor.

The root of this case can be traced back to Su Lian'er.

She was a rising star in Pingkangfang, possessing delicate and refined features. She was most skilled at playing the pipa and especially loved setting scholars' poems to music and singing them. Having arrived in the capital for only a month, she had already made a name for herself in Pingkangfang with her poem "Rainy Alley," with listeners saying that "her singing conveyed rain in the words and wind on the strings." Scholars from all over the capital flocked to her, submitting their poems to Qimeng Pavilion, hoping to be chosen by her and gain fame through her pipa playing.

The first poem that caught Su Lian'er's eye was "Farewell to the Autumn River" by Qu Wenxuan, Qu Jieyu's elder brother.

Qu Wenxuan was a well-known pedantic scholar in the capital. When he saw Su Lian'er sing the poem's imagery of "a lone sail in the distance, a broken flute piercing the autumn" so beautifully, he was filled with infatuation for his confidante and went to Qimeng Pavilion every day.

Sending poems and discussing tonal patterns, sometimes sitting idly for half a day, I would feel content just listening to her play a tune.

Qu Jieyu's father, Qu Mingyuan, had lost both of his concubines, who were sold off by his elder brother, and his illegitimate sons and daughters were also sent back to their hometown. These days, he felt like he had a fire burning in his heart, so he often came to Qimeng Pavilion with a few colleagues to socialize and relieve his boredom. As soon as he heard Su Lian'er sing, he was captivated by her melodious voice and began to visit the pavilion frequently under the pretext of admiring the talented woman.

And so, the father and son, one infatuated with his confidante's talent and the other yearning for romance, both fell for Su Lian'er.

As luck would have it, on the very day the messenger came to the door, Qu Wenxuan happened to be delivering his newly written poem. As soon as he entered the private room, he saw his father holding Su Lian'er's hand, with several silver notes scattered on the table.

Qu Wenxuan felt a buzzing in his head; the poetic inspiration he had just been cultivating vanished, leaving only shock and shame. He immediately trembled with rage, pointing at his father and shouting, "Miss Su is pure and virtuous; how dare you treat her with gold and silver!"

Qu Mingyuan, embarrassed by his son's public rebuke, sneered, "She's just a prostitute. She sang two of your crooked poems and suddenly she's a confidante? She's even wearing the gold hairpin I gave her! Not just the hairpin, I brought silver notes today to redeem her and take her as a concubine!"

The father and son argued more and more fiercely, pushing and shoving each other all the way from the private room to the stairwell. Qu Wenxuan was pushed so hard that he stumbled and fell down the stairs, landing right at the feet of the Dali Temple bailiffs.

·

Lord Xu put down the dossier, feeling a throbbing pain in his temples. Before the censors could hear of it and submit their reports, he presented the dossier to the emperor that very night.

The news quickly reached the palace.

Under the eaves of Lingcui Palace, Meng Shu was bending down to tease Yu Nu'er, who was in her arms.

Upon hearing Green Willow's report, she said with regret, "This matter was exposed a few months early, so I'm afraid it may not achieve the effect originally estimated."

Green Willow whispered, "Your Majesty, the imperial physician was just summoned from Chunxi Palace. It is estimated that Consort Qu has already suffered a miscarriage after hearing that her father and brothers have been imprisoned. However, Cuiping is unable to get the news out yet."

The copper bells hanging from the eaves swayed gently in the wind. Meng Shu said calmly, "She is not worried about her family. Sending palace items back to her maiden home without permission is already a violation of palace rules, but to end up in such a place is what she is truly terrified about."

Qu Jieyu had previously sent Ruixue a lot of things with the intention of helping her mother, but without exception, all those silver and jewelry ended up in her father's hands.

Green Willow said, "This servant originally thought that, given Consort Qu's usual caution, it would have been fine for her to send out the items she received from Consort Qi, but she would never have sent the Emperor's gifts out of the palace. After all, those gifts all bear his mark, and the slightest mistake could lead to disaster."

"No one is without weaknesses. As the saying goes, 'It's like wearing fine clothes at night if you don't return home in glory.' The more she tries to climb up the social ladder, the more she cares about how humble she was before. She has to let others see the respect she earned in the palace before she's satisfied."

......

A faint medicinal smell permeated the Chunxi Hall.

Physician Lu's voice rang out right in front of the bed, but when those words reached Qu Jieyu's ears, they were as if they were coming through a thick layer of cotton wool, becoming a buzzing noise.

Only a dull, aching pain in my lower abdomen, sharp and clear, tugging at my nerves.

At this moment, she lay on her back on the soft couch, her face unusually pale, and a strong sense of powerlessness spread from her limbs and bones.

After writing down the prescription for preventing miscarriage, Physician Lu pulled Cuiping aside and gave her detailed instructions for a long time before quietly leaving with his medicine box.

After the soft sound of the palace doors closing faded, Chunxi Palace fell completely silent.

Two hours later, the sun outside the hall had climbed to its zenith, casting bright, shimmering spots of light through the window screen onto the blue brick floor.

It was already noon.

There was no imperial decree, no words of condolence, not even a familiar concubine sent someone to inquire about the situation.

Qu Jieyu stared blankly at the top of the tent for a long time. She had always been alone. Before, she had Ruixue with her, but now even Ruixue was gone.

"Help me up so I can do my hair," she suddenly said, her voice a little hoarse.

Cuiping was carrying in a bowl of medicine that had just been warmed up. Upon hearing this, she quickly put down the bowl and stepped forward: "Your Majesty, you just had a miscarriage. Physician Lu repeatedly instructed you to rest. The medicine has just been brewed, please drink it while it's hot..."

"Help me up so I can do my hair."

The repetitive tone added a touch of coldness and hardness.

Cuiping dared not say anything more. After she finished dressing, Qu Jieyu pointed to a moon-white palace dress. Once dressed, she straightened her clothes in front of the mirror and said softly, "Go to Renming Hall."