Black Lotus Concubine's Case-solving Notes

"Welcome, Princess! May the Princess live a thousand years and a thousand thousand years!"

As Xie Changrong prostrated herself at Princess Pingchang's feet and shouted loudly, the crowd, who were still a little dazed, immediately came to their senses and bowed down together.

Princess Pingchang wore an eight-treasure colored glaze dress today, with auspicious cloud patterns embroidered on the lapels. Her long hair was slightly tied up, just long enough to cover her ears. A unique hollow longevity lock hung around her neck, and a seven-hole phoenix crown was worn on her head, each hole inlaid with a round and full natural shark pearl. Compared with her usual appearance when meeting ministers in the princess's mansion, this dress was already simple, but it was probably due to her temperament. Even though everything was kept simple, Pingchang still looked so rich and gorgeous, like a piece of carved jade.

Princess Pingchang glanced at the people kneeling down, then glanced at the prince consort standing beside her, and smiled, "Today is a family dinner, everyone doesn't have to be so reserved. Xu Qiao is only the daughter-in-law of the Xie family today, not the Princess Pingchang of the Dali family. Hurry up and get up!"

Only then did everyone stand up.

"Your Highness, you are so beautiful! Just like a fairy from heaven! Prettier than anyone I have ever seen!" Xie Changrong said innocently with her watery eyes open.

Which woman doesn't like to be praised for her beauty, especially in front of her beloved, and Xu Qiao is no exception. She glanced at her husband Xie Zilin shyly, smiling sweetly, and finally noticed Xie Changrong standing next to her.

In fact, Xie Zilin noticed it earlier than Princess Pingchang, and also noticed the clothes on Xie Changrong earlier.

This lotus dress...

The smile on Xie Zilin's face froze. He wanted to stop Princess Pingchang from looking, but Princess Pingchang's eyes had already fallen and it was too late.

"You are……"

Princess Pingchang's clear voice suddenly stopped. She first widened her eyes in fear, then breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Xie Changrong's face. It wasn't her. Then she was furious. The corners of her eyes were distorted and couldn't help jumping up and down. It was as if a fishbone was stuck in her throat and she couldn't make a sound.

Fortunately, Xie Zilin, who was standing next to her, gently tugged at Princess Pingchang's skirt at the right time, so she didn't act too rudely.

The house was silent, and everyone had different expressions. The younger generation didn't know what had happened, and the elders knew but didn't dare to speak out, let alone plead for mercy.

Because none of them could withstand the wrath from the royal family.

Xie Changrong was still immersed in joy and didn't notice that the muscles on both sides of the princess's cheeks were twitching slightly due to the effort. She bowed and said, "Princess, I am Xie Changrong, the legitimate daughter of the third branch of the Xie family, and I am also Brother Zilin's tenth sister!"

"How dare you! How dare you call me 'I' in front of the princess!" the eunuch behind him shouted in a shrill voice.

Xie Changrong then realized that she had been too complacent and quickly bowed her head: "Princess, please forgive me! I was so happy to see you that I forgot the etiquette! Please forgive me!"

"You are the only one who talks too much!" Princess Pingchang, who should have been angry, behaved out of character today. Not only did she not blame Xie Changrong, she even taught a lesson to Eunuch Yun, who was her most favored concubine.

"What did you say your name was just now?" Princess Pyeongchang still had a warm smile on her face, as if the momentary anger just now was just an illusion.

Xie Changrong's eyes lit up, and she felt that the ladder to a high position was right in front of her. She immediately replied respectfully, "Your Highness Xie Zhaorong! My father is Xie Li, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, and my mother is the legitimate daughter of the Qinghe Jiang family."

"Thank you, Changrong," Princess Pingchang repeated the name, and then took a step forward, as if she had just seen the lotus skirt she was wearing, and said with a smile: "Sister Changrong, your skirt is quite interesting. I see that the lotus embroidery on it is so lifelike, it reminds me of an old friend."

Then he said to Xie Zilin, who was holding his arm, "Right, husband."

"Princess..." Xie Zilin hesitated to speak.

"The princess's old friend? Who is it?" Xie Changrong asked with her big innocent eyes.

"Princess!" Prime Minister Xie Qian interrupted at this time. His voice was usually cold and clear. Even when facing the most beloved daughter of the emperor, he did not have many twists and turns or flattery. He said, "Princess, it's getting late, so don't mention any old friends. Let's eat first."

"Forget it! Today we are at Xie Mansion, and I will listen to my father-in-law in everything." Princess Pingchang smiled, and the mermaid pearl on her crown trembled twice.

Princess Pingchang and her husband sat down, and Xie Changrong returned to her seat. She looked at Princess Pingchang sitting in the main seat and felt extremely envious, even a little jealous. Just because she was a princess, even the prime minister's uncle had to kowtow to her three times and nine times when he saw her. Just because she crawled out of the queen's belly, even if her appearance was not outstanding, she could rely on silver carvings and gold ornaments to set off a peerless beauty.

There was toasting at the table, and Princess Pingchang Xu Qiao had a smile as gentle as the spring breeze from beginning to end, as if the previous episode had long been over.

After the banquet, Princess Pingchang was a little tipsy and was surrounded by servants and got on a carriage. When the carriage from the princess's mansion drove away, the smile on Xie Qian's face suddenly turned cold.

"It's getting late, help the old lady to rest first! The third and fourth rooms should also go back!"

At Xie Qian's order, the old lady, who had wanted to persuade them, had to give up and was helped out of the banquet hall by the servants. Xie Hui from the fourth room looked at the third room with a gloating look, and then went back with his wife and daughters. Xie Li from the third room turned pale and wanted to explain something, but faced with his brother's cold eyes, he had to give up, shook his head and went back to the yard.

Only the eldest wife's family was left in the banquet hall.

The leftovers were placed on the table, but none of the servants dared to clean them up.

Perhaps the atmosphere was too depressing, Meng coughed lightly to break the deadlock, walked over and pinched Xie Qian's shoulders: "My husband, the Tenth Miss must be unaware of this, which is why she caused such a huge disaster. I saw that Princess Pingchang did not blame me today, so my husband should not..."

"Do you want to blame others for the good things you have done?!" Xie Qian interrupted her harshly.

Meng was startled. When she saw Xie Qian's eyes, she knew that she could no longer hide this matter. She was terrified: "Husband... I didn't mean to hide it from you! Husband, please forgive me!"

Xie Qian said nothing, but the anger on his face did not fade.

Meng covered her face with her handkerchief and started crying: "My husband, you should also understand me. I have to manage such a huge Xie Mansion. How can I control it without thundering means? Yes, my husband is right. I did this and I asked someone to copy the clothes. But I originally wanted to give it to Ninth Girl! I don't know how it ended up..."

"My dear husband! That girl was not raised by me since she was young, and now I see that she is very thoughtful. I really just wanted to teach her a lesson, so that she would be submissive and stop disturbing the harem! I am doing this for my husband's good!"

Seeing that Xie Qian had no intention of being persuaded, Meng immediately turned to look at her son. Xie Siyan understood and was about to step forward to plead for mercy, but was scared away by a look from Xie Qian.

The Sixth Young Master had always been favored by the Master, and if even his plea was not accepted, then there was no turning back. Xie Yunyao and Xie Shulan, who had originally wanted to plead together, had no choice but to give up.

"Do you know why I asked you to stay here?" Xie Qian looked at his son and two daughters and pointed at Meng and said, "It's to let you see how stupid your mother is!"

Meng raised her eyes in disbelief. She was the mistress of the house, and she was actually called a fool in public? An indescribable sense of shame crawled up from the soles of her feet. It was all because of that Xie Lanzhao! That damned concubine! Meng's teeth were chattering.

"Do you know where you are wrong? It's because you are stupid! You are ignorant! You take yourself too seriously!" Xie Qian's voice was not loud, but it was full of majesty: "Do you think that your son married Princess Pingchang and you are the princess's mother-in-law? Do you think that you can say a few words in front of the princess and use her to eliminate dissidents? Foolish woman!"

Xie Qian said to the two sisters, "The mansion has cultivated you so much so that you can fly up to the top and become the superiors! No matter which one of you is like your mother, who only sticks to the small world of this mansion and is stupid and unaware, then even if you climb up, you will fall down! Remember, the king is the king! The minister is the minister! Even if you enter this Xie Mansion, Princess Pingchang is still the most favored princess of the emperor. You must know what you should and should not say!"

Xie Qian said to Meng again, "She is just a concubine's daughter. Why can't we deal with her? You actually dared to use the princess' pain to punish a concubine's daughter! Aren't you stupid? Princess Pingchang didn't blame you in person just now because of Zilin's face. Otherwise, not only would the girl from the third room be punished, but the future of the entire Xie Mansion would be ruined by you alone!"

"You should reflect on your mistakes in the ancestral hall these few days. If you do it again, you will no longer be the legitimate mother of the Xie family!"

Meng's face was pale, and her eyes were full of fear. The more she felt this way, the more she hated Xie Lanzhao. She almost wanted to rush out and skin her alive to vent her anger.

Just as Meng was about to plead for herself, the door suddenly creaked.

A woman in blue walked in from outside the door. It was Feng Jia who was absent today.

"You evil spirit! How dare you come here!" Xie Siyan was the youngest and the first to lose his temper. He pointed at Feng Jia's head and cursed.

Why don't you dare to come? Feng Jia sneered in his heart.

Not only did she come, but she had been listening in the corner of the banquet hall for a long time. When she heard the eunuch with a hoarse voice shouting that the princess had arrived, she wanted to come in and take a look. Unfortunately, she was just an unfavored concubine in the Xie family, and the difference in status between them was too great. It was not appropriate for her to show her face too early. Otherwise, she really wanted to see the expression of the always dignified and self-restrained Princess Pingchang when she saw the lotus skirt. Was her nose crooked with anger?

When Feng Jia heard that Meng was speechless after being scolded, he felt very happy.

When she heard Xie Qian say that it wouldn't be a good thing for a little concubine's daughter, she felt that the hatred in her blood was ignited. He was still the selfish prime minister who regarded other people's lives as worthless. No matter whether it was Feng Jia in the previous life or Xie Lanzhao in this life, they were like ants in his eyes. The result of being worthless was to be ruthlessly abandoned and sacrificed.

It was a pity that Princess Pingchang disguised herself too well. If she had not seen this person's viciousness and madness in her previous life, Feng Jia would have thought that this matter was over, just like Xie Qian. However, after experiencing the previous life, Feng Jia knew that there must be something else going on. However, she didn't know who would bear the wrath of the princess. Would it be Xie Changrong, who was manipulated as a pawn? Or would it be the instigator Meng behind the scenes?

"What? Are you speechless?!" Xie Zilin's fingers were about to poke into Feng Jia's head.

Feng Jia said nothing, but looked at Xie Qian aggrievedly: "Father, did Zhaoer do anything wrong?"

Zhao'er? Xie Lanzhao, the concubine's daughter who had been away from home for thirteen years?

Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Xie Qian could not help but take a few more glances. He saw Feng Jia standing there in a green dress with undried tear marks on her face. Her long hair reached her waist without any decorations, but it made her face look even more pitiful, like a piece of natural, uncarved jade.

The more he looked at the Prime Minister, the more shocked he was. His aunt married her because of her beauty that amazed the people of Bianzhou. Even though she was a prostitute in a brothel, he would have taken her in. And Xie Lanzhao had actually inherited his aunt's beauty completely. At the age of thirteen, she had already begun to take shape as a graceful and charming beauty from the south of the Yangtze River. However, what surprised Xie Qian even more was that although she looked like his aunt, the look between her eyebrows was actually three points like... Feng Jia?

Unlike Xie Yunyao who is as beautiful as a rich peony, and unlike Xie Shubai who is dignified and elegant, Xie Lanzhao has a cool temperament, like a snow lotus blooming in the snow.

If such beauty could be utilized...

Xie Qian originally looked down on a little concubine's daughter and thought that he would just deal with her, but now his expression softened a bit. Looking at Feng Jia's wet body, he asked, "Let me ask you, there was an honored guest in your mansion today, but you didn't show up for a long time, and why are you here now?"

Feng Jia immediately knelt down and said, "Father, I was going out early, but I met my tenth sister on the way. She saw the gorgeous dress I was wearing and said she liked it. But this dress was given to me by my mother. It is something I cherish. How could I give it to my tenth sister so easily?"

Xie Qian glanced at Meng with cold eyes, and Meng lowered her head in panic.

Feng Jia continued, "Who knew that when Tenth Sister saw that I didn't give it to her, she would..." She choked up a little, and it seemed that she mustered up the courage to speak out, "She kept beating and scolding me, saying that I was a lowly concubine's daughter and didn't deserve the dress, and then she forcibly snatched the dress away!"

Feng Jia wiped her tears and said, "My daughter could only go back to find an old piece of clothing to wear, but she was already late. She was anxious and didn't know the way. In addition, it was dark, so she ran around in a panic and didn't know where she was. She only knew that it was an abandoned house..."

"You're lying! If you don't know the way, can't you ask the servants in the mansion? Where is the nanny who leads you?" Xie Siyan started to get angry again.

Matron Liu's legs trembled and she almost fell to her knees.

Mrs. Meng coughed. She had mobilized all the servants for today's banquet, even those who were cleaning the courtyard were on standby in the banquet hall. Naturally, there were no other servants in the mansion. As for Madam Liu who led her... naturally, she was deliberately transferred away because she was afraid of alerting the other party. If this matter was questioned further, it would be that she had ulterior motives or she was not good at employing people. No matter how you look at it, it was a mistake.

So Meng interrupted and asked, "What happened next?"

"Later, I was going to walk out of the garden as quickly as possible, but I tripped over a rock and fell into the pond next to it. Fortunately, the pond was not deep, and my daughter only got her shoes and socks wet... Please punish me, father and mother!"