Chapter 14: A Thunderclap on a Clear Day (Part 2)

  Fu Xi saw Qing Sha's complexion was very poor, and anxiously said: "You don't have to be too anxious, the Crown Prince will only stay at Taichu Temple for a few days, and when the Emperor's anger subsides, he will return." Fu Xi had already heard about Qing Sang and the Crown Prince's affair, and now seeing Qing Sha's changed complexion, thought it was because of the Crown Prince, so she said this.

  Qing Sang also knew that he had misunderstood, but at this moment she was not in the mood to clarify, only wanting to quickly understand the cause and effect, but where should she go to ask?

  Yes, Father! Qing Sang suddenly thought that with such a big event happening in the court, Prime Minister must know the reason behind it, and Father might also know something about it.

  Thinking so, Qing Sang hastily set off back to the mansion, without hearing Xiang Xi shouting behind her.

  "Master, shall we return to the manor as well?" The little servant standing beside him with his hands hanging down cautiously asked.

  Fu Xi murmured a sentence "Women are really unpredictable, they can leave at any moment"

  Watching Qing get on a horse carriage not far away, Fu Xi Ba collected his sword in boredom and led the young servant back to the mansion.

  As soon as Qing Sang arrived home, she anxiously asked Uncle Xiang if her father was back. Hearing that he was in the study, she hastily rushed to the study.

  At this time, Qing Sang was so anxious that she didn't even knock on the door before pushing it open. She called out "Father" but her voice got stuck in her throat.

  Only in the study saw that Wu Niang's slender body was half-pressed under Pu Jiannian on the desk, with books and scrolls scattered all over the floor.

  Qing Chen never thought that in front of him was such a vivid and lifelike picture, he was stunned for a moment.

  Pu Jiannian didn't expect to be seen by Qing Xie, and was so embarrassed that he wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into. He hastily put on his long shirt, even forgetting to wear his undergarments.

  Shu Wan was much calmer, casting a sideways glance at Qing Sang, unhurriedly letting down the long skirt that had been pulled up to her waist, covering her pale legs, and then slowly putting on her clothes as if nothing had happened.

  "Sang Er, you... how did you barge in without even knocking?" Pu Ji Nian shouted with a red face and ears.

  Qing Sang frowned and thought it was absurd, turning around to leave immediately.

  "Xiang Er is really so unscrupulous, not even knocking on the door is one thing, but seeing something she shouldn't have and not even apologizing, truly uncultured." Shu Wan wasn't wearing an outer garment either, **exposed her shoulders, leaning against a chair, looking flirtatious, with a sharp tone.

  Qing Sang raised her eyes and coldly stared at Shu Wan. At this moment, she couldn't help but feel nauseated by Shu Wan's shamelessness. She sneered: "Sang Er is a bit rash, disturbing Father and Fifth Daughter's good mood. But surprisingly, Father and Fifth Daughter are so eager that they didn't even lock the door. Although everyone in the mansion follows the rules, on an autumn day with strong winds, it's hard to guarantee that the door won't be blown open. And Fifth Daughter is wearing very little, what if she gets cold?" After finishing her sentence, she glanced at Shu Wan's half-exposed upper body and revealed a scornful smile.

  "You little scoundrel!" Shu Wan slapped her hand on the table and cursed.

  "That's enough! Shu Wan, you go back to your room first." Pu Ji Nian stopped Shu Wan and told her to go back to her room.

  Shu Wan refused to give in and pouted: "Pu Lang..." The coquettish tone made Qing Sang's skin crawl with goosebumps.

  "Alright, alright, you can go back first. We'll talk about it later." Pu Jinyan comforted in a gentle tone.

  Shu Wan pouted, put on her outer garment and stormed off.

  "What brings you here, San?" Pu Jiannian asked extremely uncomfortably. Being seen by his daughter in this situation was truly embarrassing, but he knew Qing Sang's personality well - if it wasn't something urgent, she wouldn't be so flustered.

  Qing Sang was at a loss, crying and laughing at the same time. Her father, who usually acted like an old scholar, was doing such a thing in broad daylight in the study, which made it hard for her to believe. Fortunately, Qing Sha lived in a more open-minded world and could still accept it.

  I had intended to let Father tidy up his clothes before asking him about the matter, but I couldn't wait to know about Tang Huan's situation. After a moment of silence, I still opened my lips and asked: "As a daughter, I shouldn't ask about court affairs, but today when I went out, I heard that the Crown Prince was put under house arrest and the Seventh Prince was exiled, is this true?"

  Bo Jiannian didn't think she would ask about court matters, but soon thought that Qing Sang had feelings for the crown prince and was worried about his confinement. So he told her the truth: "There is such a thing, but you don't have to worry about it, the emperor only slightly punished the crown prince, Taichu is a place for quiet reflection, the crown prince will go there to rest for a few days, and when the emperor's anger subsides, he will return."

  Qing Sang knew that her father, like Fu Xi, mistakenly thought she was concerned about the crown prince, so he only mentioned the recent situation of the crown prince and did not mention Tang Xun. But if she asked directly, it would definitely make her father suspicious, so she had to ask: "I wonder why the Crown Prince was punished?"

  Pu Ji sighed and sat down on the chair, saying regretfully: "It's all because of Seventh Highness"

  Qing Xun's face twitched, and after a detour, he finally inquired about Tang Yun's affairs, but didn't dare to reveal half of it on his face. He pretended to be calm and waited for Pu Jiayuan to continue speaking.

  "Yesterday, the Seventh Prince was injured by a guard while trying to leave the palace, and was blocked by the Imperial Guard. The Emperor's face turned red with anger, ordering the Prince to explain himself, but unexpectedly, the Seventh Prince remained tight-lipped, refusing to utter a single word. The Emperor then stripped him of his title and exiled him to Yucheng. Even when the Crown Prince pleaded for leniency on his behalf, he was also placed under house arrest."

  But Qing Sang felt that this matter should not be so simple, just for breaking the ban, the emperor would heavily order his own son and forbid anyone from pleading on his behalf. It seemed somewhat unreasonable. Therefore, he questioned: "The Seventh Prince disobeyed the imperial edict and refused to marry on the court, which was an insult to the emperor's dignity. The emperor's light punishment was also reasonable, but after all, the Seventh Prince was a prince, how could he be punished so severely for just violating the ban by leaving the palace? Moreover, the Crown Prince was the heir of our dynasty and pleaded for his brother out of deep fraternal love, why should he be punished?"

  Pu Ji Nian heard what Qing Sang said, and deeply felt that his daughter was clever and had a deep understanding of things. He nodded and said: "As a father, I only hear the sacred decree on the court, and order to strip the seventh prince Qing Wang of his title and send him to Yu City for exile. The twists and turns in between are unknown."

  Qing Sang heard this and felt that there was more to it than met the eye. However, if even her father didn't know, then she really didn't know who to ask.

  In a daze, he left the study, walked through the long corridor, and had just reached the backyard when he heard Wu Niang's scolding voice.

  Went over to take a look, and unexpectedly saw Shu Wan dragging her sister Qing He, scolding and cursing, with extremely filthy language, really unbearable.

  Qinghe has been averse to speaking and meeting people since childhood, and his emotional intelligence is also weaker than that of his peers. In modern terms, he is autistic. Qing Song wants to guide him, but it has not been effective so far.

  Xian sees Shu late in anger, about to take action, Qinghe woodenly unaware of resisting Qingsang's urgent breath, stepping forward to hold the wooden-faced Qinghe, indignantly saying: "Why is Fifth Sister so angry, if He'er has done something wrong, Fifth Sister can teach a few words, how can she take action?"

  Shu Wan saw Qing Sang and was even more at odds with her, coldly mocking: "He Er doesn't understand the rules, I'm the fifth daughter-in-law, what's wrong with teaching her a lesson?"

  "The younger sister doesn't understand things, and it's up to Father and Mother to teach her, no need for Fifth Sister to worry about it."

  Saying so, he hugged Qinghe and was about to leave

  Shu Wan was so angry that she couldn't speak, and in a fit of rage, she said: "Your mother is just a concubine, don't use this to pressure me, you two sisters. One is stupid and foolish, the other is shameless. If you continue to disobey me like this, I will report it to your father, and he won't forgive you."

  Qing Sang saw her jumping like thunder, completely unreasonable, and didn't want to get entangled with her, so he took Qing He and left.

  Shu Wan hated Qing Xie's condescending attitude, as if he looked down on her from the very beginning. Infuriated, she rushed forward and grabbed Qing Xie's hair, then slapped him with all her might.

  Qingsang, who had already experienced 45 years of life, but his body was only as strong as a 15-year-old. After many days of insomnia and loss of appetite, he was already weak, and was ruthlessly slapped to the ground by Shulan. A streak of eye-catching fresh blood slid from the corner of his lips.

  Shu Wan was about to move forward, but Qinghe, who was beside her, suddenly sprang up and grabbed Shu Wan's wrist with one hand. She opened her small mouth and bit down hard. Shu Wan felt a searing pain and went mad, pulling out a hairpin from her head and stabbing it straight into Qinghe's thin shoulder. Qinghe cried out in pain and loosened her grip, giving Shu Wan the opportunity to kick her in the abdomen. Qinghe was kicked to the ground and before she could react, Shu Wan kicked her several more times.

  Qing Sang's body was weak, but she couldn't bear to see her sister being beaten. She crawled to Qing He's side with all fours and pounced on Qing He's body to shield her, shouting for help at the top of her lungs. Several servants who heard the commotion rushed over, but were stopped by Lu Jin, Shu Wan's maid. Xue Pen cried and knelt down, hugging Shu Wan's legs and pleading for mercy, but was kicked to the ground by Shu Wan and dragged away by her hair by Lu Jin. Unable to protect Shu Wan, she sneered with pride: "I bet none of them dare to save you!"

  "Ah yo!" Just a loud shout, and Shu Wan, who was fiercely kicking the Qing Sang sisters, suddenly fell to the ground. With great effort, Qing Sang lifted her head and saw Qing Bi's furious face - it was she who had just pushed Shu Wan down.

  "You're all against me!" Shu Wan saw Qing Bi and didn't dare make a move, so he could only shout insults.

  "What are you doing?" The loud noise attracted Mrs. Liu

  "My life is so bitter! Since I married into the Pu family, I've been serving Master with all my heart and taking care of my sisters. Who would have thought that these two little girls would gang up on me? Look, look at my hand... Waaahhh... Why is my life so bitter?! Shu Wan saw this and started wailing on the ground, showing off her hand bitten by Qing He to everyone. Qing Bi was the daughter of the eldest lady, and her uncle was the current prime minister, so she didn't dare to provoke her. Instead, she picked on Qing Tonghe, who had no backing from her mother."

  "Stop arguing, you still have the face to say it. You know you're a senior, how can you treat the younger ones with such disrespect and act so shamelessly? Aren't you afraid of losing your dignity? Even if they are unbearable, it's not up to you... to use violence..." Mrs. Liu was furious, having always doted on Qingtonghe. Seeing the two children beaten all over, she was outraged. However, due to her poor health recently, she couldn't stop coughing and could only say a few words before breaking into another fit of coughs.

  "Sister, calm down, don't get angry and hurt your body." Shu Wan saw Liu's anger and felt a little intimidated, so she pretended to be concerned.

  Although the Pu Mansion had four wives, they all got along with each other and lived in harmony. But after the fifth wife entered the household, every day was a quarrel, and now they've even started using their fists. Madame Liu was also furious about this, but since Shu Wan was the only one that Pu Jiayuan personally chose to marry, she couldn't punish her severely, so she just scolded her a few times and let it go.

  "Mother, how can you be so cheap with her?" Qingbi saw that his mother was being too lenient with Shuluan and felt discontented, blurting out the question.

  "Alright...hmmph...you are a junior, you mustn't be so rude to your elders!" scolded Mrs. Liu

  "Snow basin, quickly support the two sisters back to the house and hurry up to ask Langzhong to take a look. The others dispersed." Liu Shi said to the maid and young servant again.

  "Where's Father and Mother?" Qing Sang asked weakly, supported by Yu Xuepan. She was also unhappy with how Liu Shi had been treated, but at the moment her body felt like it had fallen apart, and she had no strength to argue. Having seen what happened half a day ago, and not seeing Father and Mother, she couldn't help but ask.

  Liu helped her up, wiping away the dirt and blood from her face. His eyes were filled with pain, but his mouth was comforting: "Just now, Father invited your husband over for a chat, and your mother went out early to buy vegetarian goods with Old Ancestor. Sang, Big Madam knows you're the most considerate one. Recently, national affairs have been turbulent, and it's said that the Northern Tribes are making trouble again. Your father is worried day and night, so let's just forget about today's matter and not add to his troubles."

  Worried? Not long ago, I still saw Father having fun in the study. Qing Sang smiled bitterly and didn't say more.

  But after Old Lady and Wang returned, this matter still stirred up some waves.

  As a mother, seeing her two children suffer such cruelty, how could she let it go? The old lady never thought that the fifth daughter-in-law would be so arrogant and domineering after only a few months of marriage, beating her two granddaughters. As a result, she was punished to kneel in the Buddhist hall for two hours. Green Brocade was also beaten with fifty slaps on the palm, while Pu Jiyan didn't return until midnight after attending a meeting at the prime minister's residence and slept in the study.

  I only knew about this matter on the second day (I was busy with something until late at night, rushing to send it out before dawn)