There was no curfew in Shengjing today. Pedestrians and carriages came and went in an endless stream. The carriage of the Duke of Yong's Mansion happened to be on the same road as that of the Marquis of Pingyang's Mansion. As the two carriages passed by one after another, many passers - by stopped to take a good look.
The rank of a duke in the Great Chu was higher than that of a marquis. Therefore, the duke's carriage was more spacious and comfortable. Even the number of horses pulling it was two more than that of the Marquis of Pingyang's Mansion, looking extremely imposing.
In the past, whenever Su Qingyu lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked out, she could always see many common people casting envious looks at them. But today, when she lifted the curtain as usual, showing her fair and beautiful face, what she heard were remarks quite different from the past.
"The carriage in front is so imposing! It's actually pulled by three horses. Who is the noble person sitting inside?"
"Did you see the patterns carved on the carriage? Only a duke can use them. I once saw them on the carriage of the Duke of Qi! But judging from the clothes of the coachman, I guess the person in the carriage should be the newly - enfeoffed Duke of Yong by His Majesty!"
"Is the Duke of Yong the invincible General Su Qing who has never lost a battle?"
"Exactly! When General Su, no, the Duke of Su and his whole family came to Shengjing, I also went to the city gate to welcome them. His coachmen were wearing such clothes."
"So the Duke of Yong is General Su! Great! From now on, we don't have to worry about the security in Shengjing! With General Su around, which scoundrel would be so blind as to cause trouble in Shengjing?"
"You're absolutely right!!"
Su Qingyu yanked down the curtain forcefully, her pretty face turning pale with anger.
The Duke of Yong, the Duke of Yong! Why was this Duke of Yong's Mansion, which had just come to Shengjing from the northern border, so annoying? Not only did they ruin her good deed, but they also stole the limelight from their Marquis of Pingyang's Mansion!
Her action of pulling the curtain was a bit too forceful, and the noise caught the attention of Su Zeqian on one side. The doubt in his eyes was very obvious.
Su Qingyu quickly smiled at him and said, "It's nothing."
Fortunately, the two carriages soon went their separate ways at the fork in the road, getting away from the busiest market in Shengjing. The noise in her ears gradually subsided. A moment later, the carriage slowly stopped outside the Marquis of Pingyang's Mansion.
When Su Qingyu got out of the carriage with the qin in her arms, Su Zeqian was already waiting below and reached out his hand to her.
The successive events at the Qianqiu Banquet not only shattered the mask of gentleness, talent and excellence that Su Qingyu had always created, but also brought severe punishments to both her and Su Zeqian.
Since it was exposed that she had played a flawed piece of music, Su Zeqian had not said a single word to her.
On the way back, Su Qingyu was extremely nervous. She thought that Su Zeqian would surely question her in the carriage. However, until now, he had not blamed her. And now he was still willing to help her get off the carriage. This made Su Qingyu secretly heave a sigh of relief.
It seemed that although her elder brother was angry, he still loved her in his heart.
Su Qingyu smiled and handed her hand to him. With Su Zeqian's help, she got off the carriage smoothly and followed him into the marquis's mansion one after another.
But when they reached a deserted place, Su Zeqian in front suddenly stopped and turned back to look at Su Qingyu.
"Yu'er, don't you have anything to explain to me?"
His inquisition had finally come! Su Qingyu thought to herself.
Facing his inquisitive eyes, a layer of mist immediately welled up in her eyes. She counter - questioned, "Brother, do you also think that I stole that piece of music from Second Sister?"
Su Zeqian didn't answer but just looked at her silently.
Su Qingyu was extremely annoyed. She never expected that even half a year after her death, that person could still stir up such a big storm in Shengjing. She was really a lingering ghost.
Su Qingyu said, "Brother, have you ever thought that Second Sister once taught me how to play the qin? Naturally, my style of playing would be similar to hers. And her style also had a touch of Mr. Shanyin's. The world doesn't say that she stole Mr. Shanyin's music, but they say that I stole hers. Where is the justice in this world?"
Su Zeqian couldn't help but say, "But how do you explain the wrong notes you played? You told me that you had practiced this piece of music over and over again, and you even played until your fingers cracked. Didn't you notice that there was something wrong with the music? Do you think it's glorious to let the Prince of Xuan point it out in public?"
Before Su Qingyu could say a word, her tears fell first. "Brother, I know that I lied to Her Highness several times at the banquet. Now no matter what I say, you will still doubt me. I also know that seeing is believing and hearing is deceiving. But is what we see really the truth?"
Su Zeqian frowned and asked, "What do you mean by this?"
In front of him, Su Qingyu rolled up her sleeve.
Under the clear moonlight, a fair arm was revealed.
Su Zeqian subconsciously averted his eyes, but the corner of his eye caught a strange sight on her arm. He immediately turned back, his eyes fixed on the red and blistered skin.
"Brother, actually I didn't push Young Lady Yuanbao into the water on purpose. While looking for my jade pendant, I accidentally bumped into her by the lake. I didn't expect that she was holding hot soup in her hand. All the hot soup was spilled on me..."
She stopped there, but Su Zeqian could already imagine the following scene according to her words.
Because she was scalded by the hot soup, in great pain, she subconsciously pushed the young lady from the duke's mansion into the water.
She didn't recognize the girl. She only thought she was a maid in Qingyi Garden. Moreover, the scald on her arm not only ruined her clothes but also might prevent her from playing music due to the pain. So in anger, she said those words.
Su Zeqian even thought that she endured the pain and played a piece of music for the queen. Her arm must have been extremely uncomfortable. Maybe she wasn't unable to play that piece of music, but made mistakes because of the injury on her arm.
Thinking of this, all his doubts about her had completely disappeared, leaving only full - fledged heartache.
"Why didn't you tell Her Highness that you were injured at the banquet? If you had, Her Highness wouldn't have punished you."
Su Qingyu shed tears silently and said, "If I had told Her Highness, I would have had to show my arm in front of everyone. But there were so many men at the banquet. How could I do that? What about my reputation as a young girl?"
By now, there was no more doubt in Su Zeqian's heart, only heartache. "Your hand is so badly injured, and you still have to copy the 'Admonitions for Women' three hundred times. What shall we do?"
Su Qingyu pretended to be relaxed and said, "Brother, don't forget that I'm also a doctor with some skills in private. This injury will heal in a few days. It's you, brother. You tried to plead for me, but you were demoted by His Majesty because of me. Yu'er should say 'sorry' to you."
Su Zeqian sighed and said, "You're my sister. It's my duty as an elder brother to protect you and help you gain opportunities to show your talents. Don't blame yourself for this. I'll also explain what happened tonight to our parents. I'll never let you be wronged."
Su Qingyu curtsied and said, "Then Yu'er will go back to her room to rest."
Su Zeqian nodded and went his own way at the crossroads with Su Qingyu.
Su Qingyu watched his figure disappear, then pulled down her sleeve to cover the burn and walked towards her own courtyard.
After passing through the moon gate, she entered her Lingxiao Courtyard. When the maids saw her, they immediately put down what they were doing and welcomed her.
Su Qingyu handed the qin in her hand to them and said indifferently, "You don't need to serve me. Go away."
The maids could tell that she was in a bad mood, so they didn't want to provoke her. They bowed their heads and said "Yes", then retreated one by one.
Su Qingyu returned to her room. After closing the door and making sure no one was approaching, she quickly walked to the table, took out a small cloth bag from her body, and poured out all the broken jade inside. Then she tried to call out:
"System, are you there? I want to exchange for burn medicine."
The next moment, a strange electronic voice rang in her mind:
[System malfunction. Under maintenance.]
This electronic voice response made the color drain from Su Qingyu's face.