Chapter 283: Misfortunes Never Come Alone for Qin Shaojing

Chapter 283: Misfortunes Never Come Alone for Qin Shaojing

Several incidents had occurred in succession. The very next morning, Old Lady Lin took the Tong sisters back to Tong Er Ye's residence in the Imperial City, deciding not to stay at the Marquis's Mansion any longer.

Lady Qin didn't have much energy to deal with these matters, as she had been preoccupied with Qin Shaojing's situation these past few days.

"Why hasn't there been any news from Duke of Liu's residence yet?"

It had been four or five days since Qin Shaojing fell into the water, and Cheng Yunshuo had paid a visit three days prior, yet there was still no word from the Liu family.

Lady Qin's heart was in turmoil. Just then, Cheng Yunshuo returned.

Lu Lingyun had just seen off Old Lady Lin and her party. As soon as she returned to the mansion, she heard the news from the servants.

"Young mistress, there's news from Duke of Liu's residence," Nanny Wan reported.

"What did they say?"

"They said their young master was just saving someone and doing a good deed, so we shouldn't take it too seriously. If we want to show gratitude, sending some gifts would suffice."

Upon hearing this, Lu Lingyun's heart sank.

Well, Duke of Liu's residence was clearly shirking responsibility!

Every prominent family in the Imperial City was aware that Qin Shaojing had fallen into the water and was saved by Liu Ye, leading to physical contact between them. Although it was a good deed, if Liu Ye didn't marry Qin Shaojing, who else would marry her?

Duke of Liu's residence was clearly disdainful of Qin Shaojing and Ningyang Marquisate!

After hearing this news, Lu Lingyun rushed straight to Ningxin Courtyard. Sure enough, as soon as she arrived, she heard Qin Shaojing weeping to Lady Qin inside the room.

"Duke of Liu's residence is going too far! Shaojing, I'll go and demand justice for you!" Cheng Qi said urgently.

"Stop right there," the old Marquis called out to him, his face cold. "They did save Shaojing after all. What justice are you going to demand?"

"But Duke of Liu's residence is clearly bullying Shaojing!" Cheng Qi said angrily.

As his voice fell, Qin Shaojing's sobs grew louder.

Lu Lingyun walked in at this moment. Upon seeing her, Cheng Qi couldn't help but direct his anger at her. "If sister-in-law had kept a closer eye on her cousin, this wouldn't have happened."

Lu Lingyun: "..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Cheng Yunshuo, who was sitting nearby, immediately retorted, "How is this Lingyun's fault? How old is Qin Shaojing? A young lady from a Duke's residence, yet she spends her days loitering around temples and Taoist shrines, flaunting herself and mingling with male guests. Lingyun has advised her multiple times, but did she ever heed her advice? She has only herself to blame for this!"

"Yunshuo, how can you say such things about Shaojing!"

"What else should I say? If she had stayed quietly at home, would this have happened? If Liu Ye refuses to take responsibility, she'll have to bear the consequences herself!"

"You're her cousin, yet you insult her like this."

"Enough!" The old Marquis slammed the table, interrupting their argument.

Cheng Yunshuo glanced at Cheng Qi and pulled Lu Lingyun to his side, telling her to sit quietly.

After all, this matter had little to do with Lu Lingyun.

Throughout it all, Lu Lingyun had never been involved in Qin Shaojing's matters. Qin Shaojing had even reported to Lady Qin and obtained her permission.

What does this have to do with his wife now that trouble has struck!

Today, anyone who dares to mess with Lu Lingyun, he’ll deal with them.

Lu Lingyun looked up and glanced at Cheng Yunshuo standing before her.

Well, Cheng Yunshuo might be a mess in his personal life, but he’s still a decent guy.

It wasn’t for nothing that she’s always been there to clean up his messes.

Lady Qin then glanced at Lu Lingyun and the others and spoke up, "Right now, the focus isn’t on pointing fingers—it’s on all of you working together to figure this out! Shaojing is your sister, and with something this huge happening to her, what’s she supposed to do now?"

At that moment, a servant hurriedly ran in from outside.

"Something awful has happened!"

"What now? What else could possibly go wrong?" Lady Qin looked quite annoyed at the servant who came to report.

The servant knelt down with a thud in the room, "A bunch of servants from outside are here, asking for young miss Shaojing!"

"Why are they looking for Shaojing?" Lady Qin frowned.

"They said their young miss took some divine elixir from Abbess Miaoyin, and now their faces are ruined. They went to the mountain temple to find Abbess Miaoyin, but she’s already vanished. Now they’re all coming to find young miss Shaojing!"

As the servant finished speaking, Shaojing, who had been crying, froze, and everyone turned to stare at her.

Lu Lingyun thought to herself, Shaojing just can’t catch a break.

"Shaoqing, what exactly is going on?" Lady Qin quickly asked.

"I—I don’t know!" Shaojing's eyes dodged.

"Who is this Abbess Miaoyin, and what’s this divine elixir she’s peddling?" the old Marquis asked with a frown.

"Shaoqing recently met some abbess who claimed to have a magical elixir that could cleanse the marrow and keep a woman’s beauty intact. She started worshipping that abbess," Lady Qin said with a deep frown.

At Lu Lingyun's request, Shaojing had reported everything to Lady Qin.

Lady Qin had her suspicions back then, but Shaojing swore nothing would go wrong, saying the abbess was her benefactor who’d find her a good match, so she let it slide.

How was she supposed to know it’d end up like this...

Shaoqing burst into tears, "I didn’t know, Aunt, Uncle—I was tricked by that abbess too! She told me the elixir was amazing—how was I supposed to know it’d ruin everything!"

"This is completely insane!" The old Marquis felt overwhelmed.

"First, Shaoqing falls into the water, and now this? What is going on!"

"I should just die! If I’m gone, I won’t be a burden to anyone anymore!" Shaoqing suddenly jumped up and, in front of everyone, tried to kill herself by slamming into a pillar.

"Shaoqing!"

"Shaoqing sister!"

Everyone rushed to stop Shaoqing, and Lady Qin screamed, "Shaoqing! What are you thinking!"

"You’re a victim too—how could anyone blame you? The blame lies with that fraud Abbess Miaoyin! She tricked you, she tricked everyone! This isn’t your fault!"

Lu Lingyun stayed silent.

Lu Lingyun, who had been watching the commotion the whole time, felt a wry smile tug at her lips. Her mother-in-law was usually level-headed and sensible, but when it came to issues concerning Qin Shaojing and Cheng Yunshuo that hit close to home, her judgment became clouded.

No, she was playing dumb while fully aware.

"What are you all waiting for? Go out and get rid of those people! Tell them our young miss was also deceived and has now collapsed. We are also going to have it out with that Nun Miaoyin!" Lady Qin snapped.

"Yes!" The servants scurried off.

With Lady Qin soothing her, Qin Shaojing gradually calmed down, weeping as she leaned on Lady Qin's shoulder.

"Shao Jing, my poor dear!"

But now, what's the use of crying?

When it rains, it pours. The Liu family refused to own up to their obligations toward Qin Shaojing, and she was caught up in the 'divine elixir' scandal, which had managed to piss off the entire Imperial City.

Now, she was truly done for.

Just as everyone was at a loss, unsure of what to do next, Cheng Qi spoke up.

"If it comes to it, I'll marry Shao Jing!"