As Su Qingyu had expected, after the nanny took the wooden box and left the Pingyang Marquis Mansion, on her way back to the palace, she took out the ten silver ingots that Su Qingyu had had placed in the box. Immediately, her face split into a wide grin.
She carefully tucked the silver ingots close to her body. When she returned to the Phoenix Palace of the queen, the nanny knelt in front of the queen, holding the wooden box with both hands, and said, "Your Majesty, these are the copies of *The Admonitions for Women* that your servant collected from the Pingyang Marquis Mansion recently. Your servant counted the number on the spot. With this copy in my hand, Miss Su Qingyu, the eldest daughter of the Pingyang Marquis Mansion, has completed copying five hundred copies of *The Admonitions for Women*."
Queen Wang lazily lifted her eyes. It took her a while to remember that she had ordered the young lady of the Pingyang Marquis family to copy three hundred copies of *The Admonitions for Women* at the Autumn Banquet. The extra two hundred copies were exchanged by the Pingyang Marquis for his daughter with the emperor.
The queen lifted her chin slightly and motioned to Chen Fang.
Chen Fang took the wooden box from the nanny, opened it, and presented it in front of the queen.
The queen used her jade finger painted with red nail polish to pick up the paper stained with ink in the wooden box. She glanced at it casually, then waved her hand disinterestedly and said, "Since she has finished copying, send someone to the Pingyang Marquis Mansion to tell them to lift the restriction on that girl."
The nanny lowered her head and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."
After the nanny left the palace hall, Queen Wang frowned and said to Chen Fang, "Hasn't the caravan returned to Shengjing yet?"
Compared to the troublesome young ladies in Shengjing City, the whereabouts of the caravan clearly interested her more.
Chen Fang replied, "Your Majesty, not yet. But judging from the time, they should be back soon."
"Humph." Queen Wang snorted. Fiddling with her long nail guards, she said, "I really want to kill that bitch directly."
Actually, Chen Fang didn't know why Queen Wang had sent her out of the palace in the middle of the night to look for the caravan, nor did she know who the "bitch" the queen was referring to. She intuitively felt that this was not something she should pry into, but she still couldn't hold back her curiosity and whispered:
"Who exactly is the person Your Majesty is talking about?"
Queen Wang's cold and sharp gaze instantly swept towards her. Seeing a trace of fear on Chen Fang's face, after a while, she said, "A person who no longer exists in this world. Not worth mentioning."
Chen Fang summoned up her courage and said, "Since she's not worth mentioning, why not just kill her?"
"Enough. Don't pry too much into things that don't concern you. Just do as I say," Queen Wang said.
Chen Fang bent down and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."
The news that Su Qingyu's restriction had been lifted was quickly sent to the Pingyang Marquis Mansion. Knowing that his daughter had finally completed the queen's punishment and hadn't caused any more trouble during this period, the Pingyang Marquis heaved a sigh of relief.
He specifically called Su Qingyu to his study and said earnestly, "I hope you remember this lesson. Don't do anything stupid in the future. You are the eldest legitimate daughter of the Pingyang Marquis Mansion. Outside, you represent the face of the Pingyang Marquis Mansion. Be smarter and think more long - term. You won't be limited to this."
Su Qingyu lowered her eyes and quietly listened to the lecture. She didn't refute a single word from beginning to end, which satisfied the Pingyang Marquis greatly.
After the Pingyang Marquis finished speaking, Su Qingyu curtsied and said, "Yu'er will always remember Father's teachings."
Just as Su Qingyu was about to get up and leave, the Pingyang Marquis suddenly asked, "By the way, what has your elder brother been doing lately? Why haven't I seen him in the mansion when I come back?"
Su Qingyu pretended to be surprised and said, "Doesn't Father know? Didn't Mother and Brother tell Father?"
Hearing something from Su Qingyu's tone, the Pingyang Marquis frowned tightly and said, "What on earth is going on?"
At this moment, Su Qingyu seemed to have accidentally let something slip. With a panicked look and evasive eyes, she quickly changed her words and said, "It's nothing. Yu'er said the wrong thing. Father, don't mind. Brother should be reading in the study lately, right?"
However, Su Qingyu's behavior made the Pingyang Marquis even more suspicious. He was sure that she was hiding something for Lady Tong and Su Zeqian.
Anger welled up in his heart. The Pingyang Marquis raised his voice slightly and roared, "You should know that I hate being hidden from the most. Tell me the truth—"
"What has your elder brother been doing lately?"
Su Qingyu knelt down in front of the Pingyang Marquis with a thud. Lowering her head, her voice trembled, "Father, please promise not to get angry after you hear this."
The Pingyang Marquis' patience was almost worn out.
"Speak!"
Su Qingyu said, "About a month ago, Yu'er was worried about Mother's health and went to visit her. By accident, I heard the conversation between Mother and Brother outside Mother's door..."
Su Qingyu told the whole story of how Lady Tong and Su Zeqian had discussed going to the mass grave to find Su Yuanyuan's bones, bury them properly, and set up a memorial tablet for her in the ancestral hall.
"...Brother said that he took the coroner from the Ministry of Punishment to the mass grave for three days but didn't find Second Sister's bones. Mother and Brother both suspect that someone took Second Sister's bones from the mass grave."
"But we don't know who this person is. In order to find Second Sister's bones, Mother asked Brother to ask the Grand Secretary to calculate the location of Second Sister's bones. But it's said that Lord Cang is in 'seclusion' and refuses to see any visitors. In order to see Lord Cang smoothly, Brother goes to Lord Cang's mansion every day in the hope that one day Lord Cang will take pity on his sincerity and calculate a divination for Second Sister..."
Su Qingyu thought that after she revealed this matter, the Pingyang Marquis would fly into a rage.
After all, Su Yuanyuan's reputation had been completely ruined before, and even the Pingyang Marquis had been implicated and ridiculed for his poor upbringing of his daughter. He hated Su Yuanyuan so much that he didn't even want to look at her. She didn't believe that he wouldn't be angry after hearing that his wife and son had planned to find the bones behind his back.
However, when she looked up expectantly, she saw the Pingyang Marquis standing there in a daze.
This reaction, completely different from what she had imagined, made Su Qingyu's heart sink suddenly.
Why was the Pingyang Marquis reacting like this? Shouldn't he have roared angrily, rushed out of the door to question Mother, and ordered them not to look for that little bitch's bones?
Su Qingyu tentatively called out, "Father? What's wrong with you?"
Only then did the Pingyang Marquis suddenly come to his senses. With a solemn expression, he said, "I see. You can go back first."
That's it? Su Qingyu was a bit unwilling, but she was afraid that saying too much would backfire. In the end, she had to agree and left the Pingyang Marquis' study.
After Su Qingyu left, the Pingyang Marquis staggered and slumped into the chair behind him. He raised his hand and pressed hard on his chest.
His second daughter was stubborn and unruly. When he first heard the news of her sudden death in the Lu Mansion, the Pingyang Marquis only felt extremely relieved. Even when he knew that her bones had been thrown into the mass grave, he didn't feel the slightest bit of pity.
Bringing back the bones and setting up a memorial tablet in the ancestral hall was out of the question.
He thought that might be the best destination for that rebellious girl.
But why, why did his heart ache so much when he learned that her bones had disappeared from the mass grave and had been taken away by someone else and could never be found again? The pain was so intense that he could hardly breathe. Every breath made his soul tremble in pain.
Perhaps the pain was too great. Vaguely, he heard a sweet and melodious voice in his ear:
【Father, Father, Yuan'er wants to ride the big horse—】
【Father, will you hug Yuan'er?】
The Pingyang Marquis let out a heavy sob, "Yuan'er..."