"A scheme to sow discord?"
Lin Ziqi roughly wiped the blood from the corner of his lips, glaring in grief and rage at the good companion who had still been calling him brother only days ago.
"Am I really that easy to fool in your eyes?
Ha!
Heaven is unjust. I, Lin Ziqi, with talent filling a carriage and learning enough for five, was meant to stand in the court and share the Emperor’s burdens, yet I’ve fallen to this state—this is all because of you and the Qin Family!"
A scholar who has lost his reputation has no future to speak of.
The Gu Family and Qin Family’s retaliation was likely still to come.
King Jin and the others, not having gotten the result they wanted, probably wouldn’t let matters rest either.
Lin Ziqi now hated everyone indiscriminately.
Gu Baoshu couldn’t help spitting, "If you hadn’t had evil intentions, who could have harmed you? Didn’t you bring all of this on yourself?"
Lin Ziqi ignored her and stared straight at Qin Siyuan.
"Big Brother always prides himself on being a gentleman. Do you dare say a fair word?"
Qin Siyuan was somewhat baffled.
"What do you want me to say? This matter was stirred up by the two of you to begin with.
He harbored ill intent, but you were hardly..."
Lin Ziqi gnashed his teeth.
"Why pretend to be confused when you understand perfectly well? Young Master Nantang keeps urging me to tell the truth—when have I ever not wanted you all to tell the truth—let’s just say it plainly then. That poem, how exactly did it end up in Qin Wan’s hands? And how was it then passed on by way of Qin Wan to me?"
Qin Siyuan: ...
How was he supposed to know that.
Marquis Gu was very displeased. "Why don’t you ask your wife?"
Lin Ziqi was just about to snap back when a piercing pain suddenly swept through him; half his head felt as if it had been split open with a knife.
He clutched his head with one hand, sucking in cold breaths again and again, his body swaying as though he might collapse at any moment.
Yu Xiaolian hurriedly stood and supported him when she saw this, letting out a shrill cry. "Husband, husband, what’s wrong with you? Is your head hurting again?"
Qin Yuan couldn’t help but knit her brows at the sight.
In her previous life she had invited Doctor Li to perform acupuncture, and had served with great care. In less than a year, the ailment had been cured at the root.
How could it be this serious now?
Didn’t Qin Wan’s dowry make up quite a bit for the Lin Family...
The frail Yu Xiaolian struggled to hold Lin Ziqi up, glaring angrily at Qin Siyuan and the others. "Will you only be satisfied when you’ve hounded my husband to death?"
Others might hold back, but Gu Baoshu would not. She immediately let out a cold laugh. "Now you decide to play the devoted wife..."
"Baoshu."
Qin Siyuan hastily called her to a stop, lest she blurt out something harmful to her reputation in public.
Though unwilling, Gu Baoshu did shut her mouth, only she inevitably turned away to vent her anger by giving Xu Tang and that old eunuch a few kicks.
Xu Tang struggled to lisp out a few words with his injured lips and tongue.
"Miss Gu, the Xu family and the Gu Family are in-laws after all. For the sake of your departed Sixth Sister-in-law at least, you shouldn’t treat me like this."
"You yourself said we’re in-laws—so why do such conscienceless things?"
"What’s it got to do with me?" Xu Tang eyed Gu Baoshu’s raised foot and grew anxious. "Besides, isn’t breaking my leg enough for you?"
Gu Baoshu paused, thought for a moment, then said, "I heard Mr. Songshan talk about the law. You incited others to falsely accuse a court official—by statute that’s a beating with the rod, at least twenty strokes.
After twenty strokes, would you still have breath enough in you to bellow at me, Miss Gu?"
Xu Tang bared his teeth in a grin, then immediately sucked in a breath of pain, but still forced himself to finish speaking.
"Even if we do end up in the Capital Governor Mansion and Lord Qing Tian gives me twenty strokes, that’s after a formal hearing. He can’t rely on nothing but your one mouth, saying it’s me makes it me.
You’re an unmarried girl slandering people at will and injuring an innocent citizen—that too is breaking the law."
The old eunuch’s drooping, triangular eyes stared gloomily at Gu Baoshu’s foot, poised to fall or not; afraid she might, on a whim, drop it on him, he strained to lift his grizzled head and cried out in a shrill, trembling plea.
"This servant has followed King Jin for many years; when have I ever seen such overbearing behavior from a minister’s daughter—rushing in with fists and feet flying, binding people and throwing them here to condemn them.
This servant may be a useless old man, but even a dog’s master must be given face. Could it be the Dingbei Marquis Mansion bears some grudge against King Jin, that you’d lay such a vicious hand on this servant?
I beg Your Highness Prince Qi and Your Highnesses the two Princesses to give this old slave justice. Wuu, wuu, wuu, wuu, wuu..."
The Ninth Princess had long since been unable to hold herself back.
"Gu Baoshu, you’ve gone too far. Old Huang has followed Brother King Jin for many years. In a few more years he’ll retire in honor, yet you treat him like this—where does that leave Brother King Jin’s dignity?"
Princess Fuyun frowned. "Little Nine, calm yourself. Didn’t Gu Baoshu just say she has witnesses? They conspired in secret on how to use Wu Qin to smear the National Academy Sacrificial Officer and the Dingbei Marquis. This is no trivial matter. If Father Emperor were to learn of it..."
The two Princesses faced off, neither willing to yield.
Accompanied by the old eunuch’s grief-stricken sobs, Prince Qi sat off to the side saying nothing, now and then flicking open his folding fan for a cooling breeze, then snapping it shut again.
That posture of not wanting to meddle in other people’s business was conspicuously obvious.
All the onlookers could see Prince Qi’s helplessness and disgust.
Once Lin Ziqi had somewhat caught his breath, he impatiently shoved Yu Xiaolian away and staggered a few steps toward Qin Siyuan, where he steadied himself. His face was pale, his eyes bloodshot, his expression mulish. "I still deserve an explanation about that poem..."
Qin Siyuan couldn’t help frowning in agitation.
He truly couldn’t figure out what role Qin Wan had played in any of this.
Shen Changle had delivered the poem draft with extreme caution; he himself had also been very careful. How then had Qin Wan learned of it?
Could it be that Lin Ziqi was planting this on Qin Wan’s head?
But if that were the case, it wouldn’t make sense that Wu Junren could hide this poem draft while Lin Ziqi knew nothing of it.
He didn’t dare speak rashly and thus couldn’t help looking once more at Qin Yuan.
"Let me speak. Husband, don’t make things difficult for my cousin," a cluster of maids and nannies crowded in around Qin Wan, squeezing their way in with difficulty and making the already packed crowd even more cramped.
But everyone wanted to watch the spectacle, so while complaining, they craned their necks and pricked up their ears, afraid of missing a single word or syllable.
"So you’ve come," Lin Ziqi looked over this woman who had personally pushed him into the abyss, with not a trace of tenderness.
Women, hah!
Aside from his mother, who had only ever had his interests at heart, there wasn’t a single decent one among them.
Qin Wan seemed not to hear the cold sarcasm in his tone. After saluting everyone, she turned and gave Qin Yuan a deep bow. "Young Master Nantang, this matter is all my fault."
"Tsk, tsk." The Ninth Princess let out a cold laugh. "I’d like to see how the daughter of Qin Jijiu will patch up this lie."
Wu Junren, meanwhile, stood with his hands tucked into his sleeves, a faint smile at the corner of his lips, watching the Qins struggle with cold detachment.
Everyone now was stuck in the same mire.
No matter how they flailed, they’d all be covered in mud. Want to come out clean? That was a pipe dream!
He was curious to see whether this Qin Family’s daughter would choose to save her husband or save her father.
Xu Tang and the old eunuch lay prone on the ground, slanting their eyes up with mocking looks.
The sight made Gu Baoshu’s temper flare; she raised her foot threateningly. "In a bit I’ll let everyone know what vicious little scheme you’ve been hatching! If you’ve got time to laugh at others, you’d do better to worry about yourselves."
The old eunuch started sobbing again, wuu-wuu, only much more softly this time.