It was a bit hot on the street at this time of the year. Yi Qing took Ruo Hong for a stroll for a while and then found a teahouse. There was a storyteller inside, and everyone was listening with great interest.
"Waiter, what is this gentleman talking about?" Yi Qing asked the waiter who was serving them tea.
"He's talking about the unknown stories of Lady Xiao." The waiter said with a smile. "This is the most popular storybook in the capital now."
"The unknown stories of Lady Xiao?" Yi Qing thought it sounded a bit like they were talking about her. "Which Lady Xiao?"
"Of course it's the wife of the current first - rank general. In the capital, besides her, who else can be directly called Lady Xiao?" The waiter said proudly. "It seems that the guest rarely goes out. Lady Xiao deliberately killed the Duke of Xie with medicine. Now the whole capital is talking about Lady Xiao's life story. Even the thing that she used to live in Li Family Village and had an affair has been dug out."
Ruo Hong stared sharply at the waiter, which made the waiter shiver and almost drop the tray.
"It's okay, it's okay." Yi Qing looked at Ruo Hong's expression. "Doesn't General Xiao know that Lady Xiao had an affair?" she asked with great interest.
"General Xiao wasn't back at that time, so of course he didn't know. I heard that Lady Xiao knew the Southern Border Empress and put a curse on General Xiao, making him obedient to her." The waiter was a bit afraid of Ruo Hong, so he got closer to Yi Qing. "Guest, listen to the gentleman. If you want to know something, you can give a reward." After saying that, he left.
Yi Qing looked at the storyteller on the high platform who was spitting everywhere. Was she going to give a reward so that others could know her own affairs? Yi Qing just thought about it and laughed.
"If the lady is angry, I'll have the storyteller arrested." Ruo Hong whispered.
"No need. He's just making a living." Yi Qing said indifferently while looking at the storyteller.
When the storyteller came to the part about their trip to the Southern Border, according to his version, it was because she wanted to feed the curse worm in Xiao Jinghan's body, otherwise Xiao Jinghan would wake up.
The storyteller's glib tongue could twist the truth. As long as there was one keyword, they could fabricate an epic story of grievances and hatred. Even Yi Qing almost believed it.
"Ruo Hong, send someone to check how many storytellers in the capital are talking about this matter, and keep an eye on all of them." Yi Qing suddenly said.
"Why doesn't the lady just arrest them and convict them?" Ruo Hong was puzzled.
"Isn't that too lenient?" Yi Qing propped her chin.
Just as the two were talking, the waiter led Miss Mu in. Miss Mu was wearing a water - blue gauze dress embroidered with the pattern of the stars surrounding the moon. The hem of the dress was embroidered with auspicious clouds in gold and silver thread, so that the gauze dress wouldn't flutter and lose its grace when she walked.
Behind her were two senior maids, Dong Yu and Dong Qing, and six attendant maids. Each of them was delicate and beautiful, and their clothes were better than those of ordinary young ladies from noble families.
"Clear the people here. The young lady wants to listen to the storytelling here." Dong Yu ordered the waiter.
"Yes." The waiter bowed. "Sorry, everyone. Please move to the other side."
"Why? Is this teahouse her family's?" A tea - drinker said unconvinced.
"Keep your voice down. Don't you see it's the Mu family? Judging from this grandeur, it should be the eldest miss of the Mu family. This teahouse really belongs to their family." Another person whispered a reminder.
When everyone heard it was the eldest miss of the Mu family, they left dejectedly to the other side.
The seat where Yi Qing was sitting happened to be outside the area to be cleared. But after those people left, Yi Qing's table became the closest one to Miss Mu.
"The eldest miss of the Mu family?" Yi Qing leaned close to Ruo Hong and whispered.
"She's the only daughter of Duke Mu." Ruo Hong explained.
Yi Qing suddenly understood. She didn't know much about the Mu family, only knew about Duke Mu. "Does Duke Mu have many industries in the capital?"
"The servant isn't very clear about this." Ruo Hong lowered her voice. "The Mu family is an aristocratic family. To find out exactly how many industries they have in the capital, one may have to go to the Ministry of Revenue. And that can only find out the overt ones."
Yi Qing sighed. It was really no exaggeration to say that the family was deeply rooted.
Mu Lixue had been shopping for a long time and was a bit thirsty. She was eating snacks, drinking tea and listening to the storytelling.
When the storyteller heard that Miss Mu of the Mu family had come, he became even more energetic. He described Lady Xiao as extremely ridiculous and embarrassing, which made the tea - drinkers laugh.
"These people..." Ruo Hong was so angry that she was about to stand up.
Yi Qing pressed Ruo Hong's wrist. "Keep a low profile. I'm out in disguise. Don't let others recognize me."
"But they're doing this..." Ruo Hong couldn't swallow this anger.
Just as Yi Qing was about to comfort Ruo Hong, she thought it was wrong. She had been so misrepresented, and even Ruo Hong was angry. Instead of comforting Ruo Hong, she might as well let Ruo Hong go and overturn the storyteller's stall directly.
Just as she was thinking like this, she heard Miss Mu laughing merrily, which attracted a lot of people's attention.
"Such a vulgar thing still has the nerve to marry General Xiao." Mu Lixue sneered.
When Yi Qing heard Mu Lixue say this, she wanted to go and argue with her, but was stopped by Ruo Hong.
"Lady, if your identity is discovered, we may not be able to leave today." Ruo Hong reminded.
Yi Qing gritted her teeth and endured it. She would surely settle this score later.
Just as she was thinking like this, she heard the maid beside Mu Lixue scream in panic.
"Miss, miss, what's wrong with you?" Dong Qing looked at her young lady in horror and tried to pat her back.
Mu Lixue was stretching her neck, opening her mouth wide, and trying hard to point at her throat but couldn't make a sound. Her face also began to turn red.
When Yi Qing saw Mu Lixue like this, she thought the retribution came too fast. She made her laugh while eating, and the food got stuck in her trachea.
"Quickly call a doctor." Dong Yu said in a hurry.
"With your young lady like this, by the time the doctor comes, she'll be dead." Yi Qing suppressed her inner delight and walked over.
"How dare you curse our young lady." Dong Yu stared at Yi Qing and quickly thought of an excuse to reduce the punishment.
"Look, she can't even breathe. How long do you think a person can hold their breath?" Yi Qing asked.
Dong Yu and Dong Qing looked at each other. Knowing what was wrong with their young lady, they pleaded.
"This young lady can tell what's wrong with our young lady. She must be able to save her. Please save our young lady." Dong Yu immediately knelt down.
When the other maids saw this, they also knelt down. If something happened to the young lady, they would surely be buried with her.
"It's not impossible to save her, but it's a bit..." Yi Qing pretended to be in a dilemma.
"No matter what, we must save our young lady. We'll surely reward you handsomely." Dong Yu said in a hurry.
"Okay, help your young lady up." Yi Qing said generously.
Dong Qing and Dong Yu quickly helped their young lady up.
Yi Qing rolled up her sleeves and slapped down. Was it funny to listen to others misrepresent her? Could she still laugh now?
Dong Qing was stunned and quickly tried to stop her. "Why are you hitting our young lady?"
"Do you still want to save your young lady or not?" Yi Qing looked at them. "I'm saving her."
Dong Yu rolled her eyes. "If you can't save our young lady, our duke won't let you go."
Yi Qing saw through the two maids' thoughts. "Don't worry." Evil people live a long time.