novel-bin Chapter 397 Framed
Chapter 397 Framed
The old priest shook his head after hearing this.
"The most important thing now is to confirm whether the handwriting on this note is from the Fourth Prince. Before that, all speculations are meaningless."
As he spoke, he found a subordinate and took the note to handle the matter. After the man left, he looked at the mother and daughter again and instructed:
"You two should go back now. Maybe you will get the answer tomorrow."
Madam Yu called her youngest daughter to her yard and asked her about what had happened in detail. She was so angry that she was fuming.
I don’t know which bastard dared to tease her daughter!
The mother and daughter did not sleep well all night, and the old priest did not sleep at all. The servant who was sent out that day came back at night, but the news he brought confused him.
The handwriting on the note actually belonged to the Third Prince!
Even if he racked his brains, he couldn't figure out why the third prince got involved.
Who in the capital doesn’t know that the Third Prince is deeply in love with the Second Daughter of the Shangguan Family?
What's more, the emperor has already issued an imperial decree to grant the two of them a marriage. How could the third prince possibly mess with his own granddaughter under such circumstances?
The next morning, a servant hurried into the mansion to report to his master:
The news that the eldest daughter of the Yu family was molested by gangsters in the street was widely spread!
The news was brought back by the servant in the mansion who was in charge of buying vegetables. The man was taken to the study of the old chief priest by the steward, and Madam Yu and Yu Jiaojiao also rushed over.
As for the fact that Yu Haochu, the eldest son of the Yu family, was studying at the Imperial College, there was no way of knowing about this. However, now that there was a lot of noise outside, it was unknown whether it had spread to the Imperial College.
The old priest had a gloomy face. He looked at the young servant in short clothes and asked:
"Tell me, what rumors have you heard outside?"
The boy wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and said with a stammer:
"Reply, reply to the old master. I went to the morning market to buy the fruits and vegetables needed for the mansion today. Almost every time I met an acquaintance, they would ask me if the eldest daughter of our mansion was well.
I was very puzzled, so I asked someone about it and found out that people were saying that our eldest daughter was in the street yesterday, uh, uh..."
He didn't dare to say such words of teasing in front of his master, and his face turned red from holding it in.
Yu Jiaojiao was looking a little shaky. Her face was pale and with dark shadows under her eyes, she looked haggard.
The boy secretly glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, muttering to himself: Could it be that their young lady was really molested by someone? !
Madam Yu threw the teacup in her hand to the ground and cursed:
"A bunch of gossipy fools! How dare they spread rumors and slander our Yu family's eldest daughter? Are they tired of living?!
Father-in-law, you must stand up for Jiaojiao and make those fools pay the price! If a tiger doesn't show its might, do you think we are sick cats? How dare any lowly thing step on our Yu Mansion!"
The old priest frowned and looked at his daughter-in-law, saying unhappily:
"Our Yu Mansion is a family of scholars, how can you, as the head mistress, speak so foul language?!
There is no smoke without fire, someone must have deliberately stirred up the discussion. I'm afraid we have been tricked this time."
He did not mention the note to his daughter-in-law and granddaughter. Since the matter involved two princes, it was not appropriate to make it public.
After much thought, he decided to meet the third prince in person and talk to him about the matter.
He decided to meet at Yuelai Teahouse. Before he left, his servant brought him a piece of news that surprised him even more:
The boss behind Yue Lai Teahouse is actually the third prince!
Xuanyuan Yan arrived as promised, and Shangguan Qingyue came with him.
The two had originally planned to go to the zoo together today. It was said that there were many ripe wild fruits on the mountains surrounding the zoo, which would make it interesting to have a picnic there.
Also going with them were Shangguan Lan and his fiancée Wan Linglong, so that the girls' families could let their daughters out with peace of mind.
The invitation from the old chief priest was very sudden, so the four of them had to rest in the teahouse first and wait for Xuanyuan Yan to finish his business before they set off.
In the private room, the old priest saw the visitor and handed the note to Xuanyuan Yan directly, saying:
"Your Majesty, please take a look at this note. Is it written by you?"
After only a glance, Xuanyuan Yan threw the note back on the table and replied calmly:
"No."
The word "Jing" on the note made him narrow his eyes slightly, and a chill emanated from his body. He, the fourth brother, thought he was smart, but he didn't know that his cleverness could backfire.
The servants had already reported to him that the girl from the Yu family was molested near his teahouse and then recognized by the common people, but he did not take it seriously.
But he didn't expect that the dirty water was actually directed at him!
He hesitated for a moment and continued:
"My fiancée is in another private room. Sir, do you mind if I call her over as well? I don't want her to have any misunderstandings about this matter, so it's better to explain it to her in person."
The old priest raised his eyebrows in surprise, then sighed and said:
"Your Majesty, what you said makes sense. How can I refuse? Please do as you wish."
Shangguan Qingyue was called over in a daze, and after listening to what happened in a daze, he scratched his head and said:
"What exactly is the Fourth Prince going to do? I don't think I have ever offended him, right? What about you, Ayan?"
Xuanyuan Yan couldn't help laughing, and the coldness around him instantly disappeared. He was afraid that the little girl would be upset and get angry with him, but he didn't expect that he would be mean.
Looking at the other person's clear and bright eyes, he smiled and said:
"You may have forgotten that you saved his mother, right? Normal people would be grateful, but my fourth brother has become dark-hearted because of his good mother. He probably blames you for embarrassing his mother."
Seeing the little girl open her mouth in confusion, he explained one more sentence:
"After all, it sounds very embarrassing that Concubine Rou almost choked to death on grape beads. And because you taught the method of saving people to the imperial physicians in the palace, this matter became known to everyone in the palace."
After saying that, he reached out to help the little girl close her mouth, then looked at the old priest with a complicated expression.
"Old man, please don't waste your time here. It seems that my fourth brother has taken a fancy to the girl from your family.
However, now that Miss Yu's reputation has been ruined, it may be difficult for her to become the Fourth Prince's consort, but being a concubine is still possible."
Shangguan Qingyue couldn't help but quietly pull the sleeve of the person next to her. There was no need to say some harsh words. After all, the Lord Chief Priest was still very respectable.
After Xuanyuan Yan finished speaking, he planned to take the girl away, and he was very dissatisfied that others had delayed his time to accompany his fiancée.
Those dirty plots and calculations are really disgusting. It is most comfortable to accompany the little girl in his family.
Seeing this, the old priest stopped the man immediately:
"Wait a minute, Prince Yong'an. I have had people investigate the handwriting on this note, and it is clearly your handwriting. You can't just say 'no' and expect me to believe it, right?"
Xuanyuan Yan turned back impatiently.
"Master Jijiu, please be patient and wait for a few more days to see if my good fourth brother will come again to ask for your granddaughter's hand in marriage.
As for his plot against me, I will settle the score with him!"