青春期撞上更年期第1部

Both Chu Liuyue and Prince Cheng rejected him. He was the one who should inherit the throne the most. Why did they look down on him as if he were a beggar?

One day, he would show them who was the noblest one and who would have the last laugh.

When Chu Qing returned to his mansion, the officials of the Ministry of Justice were interrogating some servants in the mansion. The Ministry of Justice had informed him about this before. Seeing that the leader was Wen Xichi, Chu Qing calmed down, walked over with a smile, and said to him with cupped fists, “Greetings, Lord Wen.”

“Greetings, Your Highness.” Wen Xichi stood up and bowed to him.

“Have you found anything?” Chu Qing asked in a gentle voice. He had little contact with the noble childes in the capital city, so it was rare for him to have such an opportunity to get close to one of them.

Wen Xichi pointed to the file for interrogation just now and said, “Those men were likely looking for something. Is there anything spectacular in Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion?”

The men in black appeared suddenly and searched the rooms one by one. It was unknown whether they were looking for someone or something. It was also possible that they were looking for Commandery Prince Qing. If they wanted to assassinate him, they had to find him.

Wen Xichi felt that it was not very credible. Since they had made such a big move, they should have some understanding of Chu Qing’s whereabouts. It would take a long time to find him by searching the rooms one by one. According to the places that the men in black had checked, many of them were just servants’ rooms, but they were far away.

It was very strange. It didn’t seem that they were looking for trouble with the master, but more like they were casually looking for something. Something had been hidden by Chu Qing, and it might appear in a remote place.

Did it have anything to do with the missing junior official of the Ministry of Justice?

Chu Qing frowned and said, “My mansion is small, and usually, few people come here. There are only a few people in my mansion. If there is anything spectacular here, those people would have come for it early instead of doing it just now. They weren’t after something important, and they didn’t seem to be looking for something. I think it seemed to be an assassination!”

It was the best way to clear his name with the excuse of assassination.

Wen Xichi raised his eyebrows and asked, “Your Highness, do you think it’s an assassination?” There was a kind of faint meaning in his eyes, making his handsome face look a little mysterious and aloof.

Chu Qing couldn’t figure out what Wen Xichi meant. He could only smile and say uncertainly, “In fact, I can’t tell. It’s true that those people broke into my mansion. Speaking of which, I’m still very confused. Were those men in black after my Mother and Shao Jie’er?”

He would insist that this was an assassination, no matter who those men in black were after.

Wen Xichi was silent for a moment and then said, “May I see Second Miss Shao?”

In fact, Shao Jie’er’s identity had not been clear since she entered Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion. Wen Xichi didn’t know how to address her for a while, so he called her as before.

“Are you going to ask Shao Jie’er about this?” Chu Qing frowned. If possible, he didn’t want Shao Jie’er to get involved. The imperial court was now dealing with the matter of Madam Jiang, and Shao Jie’er was very likely to be a suspect.

“I have something to ask her. If it’s convenient for you, you can listen by my side,” Wen Xichi said with a smile.

“Well… okay!” Chu Qing had to agree and waved his hand to ask his servant to summon Shao Jie’er.

After a while, Shao Jie’er came over behind a servant girl. When Wen Xichi looked at Shao Jie’er, who was quietly lowering her head, his eyes flashed with a dark light.

Compared with the girl he had seen in the past, Shao Jie’er was much more well-behaved. When she was in Marquis Xing’s Mansion, she had never been so well-behaved.

“Greetings, Lord Wen.” Chu Qing asked Shao Jie’er to step forward and salute him.

Shao Jie’er took two steps forward obediently, bowed sideways respectfully, and then stood aside with her head down.

“Second Miss Shao, where were you yesterday?” Wen Xichi asked. The beadle, who was taking notes, hurriedly picked up a writing brush.

“I’ve been in the mansion all the time and haven’t even gone out.” Shao Jie’er said in a low voice. She sounded timid as if she didn’t even dare to raise her voice.

Chu Qing glanced at her unhappily but didn’t take over for her.

When Wen Xichi asked Shao Jie’er, it was inappropriate for Chu Qing to say anything.

“What were you doing when the fire broke out?” Wen Xichi asked.

“When the fire broke out, I didn’t know clearly at that time. I was doing some needlework, and I was quite far away from the fire…” Shao Jie’er said hesitantly.

“Didn’t you hear anything?” Wen Xichi said seriously.

“I did, but I didn’t hear it clearly.” Speaking of this, Shao Jie’er looked at Chu Qing timidly and uneasily.

“When did you know that there was an accident?” Wen Xichi asked again.

“Later… Later, when the fire turned big, someone tried to assassinate His Highness… I was so scared that I hid with my servant girl. After that, His Highness sent his men to tell me that everything was fine.” Shao Jie’er lowered her head.

“You kept hiding and didn’t come out to see what was going on?”

“I have never encountered such a situation at that time… I was so scared… that I hid…” Shao Jie’er shook her head and looked frightened.

“Second Miss Shao, I heard that you are helping Consort Dowager Qing manage the inner court of Commandery Prince Qing. Did you find anything unusual?” Wen Xichi no longer stared at Shao Jie’er to ask about the fire. He changed the subject.

Shao Jie’er suddenly raised her head and said, “Your Excellency, I’m afraid that you’re wrong. I’m not in charge of the affairs of the inner court.”

“If it’s not you, has Commandery Prince Qing been managing it himself?” Wen Xichi asked curiously.

“I…” Shao Jie’er still wanted to say something but was interrupted by Chu Qing with displeasure on his face. “Jie’er is indeed in charge of the inner court, but after all, she has no right to manage it. So please don’t spread it out, Lord Wen.”

He meant that what Shao Jie’er had just said was an excuse.

“I’m sorry to have mistaken, Your Highness. I thought that you would personally manage the affairs of the inner court. Consort Dowager has been living a peaceful life for many years, so she would not be willing to meddle in such trivial things. I didn’t expect that Second Miss Shao’s current identity is not the real master of the inner court.” Wen Xichi nodded with understanding and bowed to Chu Qing to apologize.

Shao Jie’er’s face turned red and then pale.

Her identity was very embarrassing in Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion at the moment. Originally, with her status, she could at least be a consort. Chu Qing had also said so at that time. But in fact, after she entered Commandery Prince Qing’s Manor, her status had been unknown, and this matter had been set aside.

Shao Jie’er had expressed that she wanted to marry someone, and she kept changing her mind, which made Chu Qing very angry and she did not dare to mention it again. Shao Jing was not willing to meddle in Shao Jie’er’s affairs so she did not have a backer. Especially a few days after she entered the mansion, he heard that Consort Dowager had asked the servants to call her Second Miss Shao, as if she were an unmarried girl.

She was addressed as an unmarried girl, but she did things as a married woman, which was a great insult to Marquis Xing’s Mansion. However, Shao Jie’er had to endure it and didn’t even dare to let others know. She tried her best to please Chu Qing and Consort Dowager Qing. Chu Qing’s attitude slowly improved under her flattery, and he also asked the people around him to call her Consort Shao.

But in front of the Consort Dowager, the people of high status around the Consort Dowager still didn’t show Shao Jie’er respect and still called her Second Miss Shao. This kind of address was almost a disgrace to her.

But even if it was a disgrace, Shao Jie’er had to endure it.

She used to think that Consort Dowager Qing was a quiet and peaceful person. When she entered Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion, she knew that she had just escaped one trouble and gotten into another. Consort Dowager Qing was definitely not the kind of gentle woman who was said to have lived in the Yuhui Nunnery for a long time and had a peaceful temperament. She was more vicious than Madam Jiang.

Shao Jie’er had suffered a lot and had been beaten.

She didn’t dare to say a word or interrupt in front of Consort Dowager Qing.

This was also the reason why she looked up in a hurry when she heard Wen Xichi say that she and Consort Dowager Qing were in charge of the inner court together. Consort Dowager was in charge of everything in the inner court. How could she, an insignificant secondary consort who was not officially married, dare to go against her will, let alone compare with her? Consort Dowager Qing was obviously a powerful woman who liked to be in power.

She was in charge of everything in the mansion. It was said that most of the affairs of the outer court were also under her control. In fact, Chu Qing was not in charge of many things.

Shao Jie’er was very afraid of Consort Dowager Qing. She was very afraid that Consort Dowager would get angry. She just carefully flattered Chu Qing and wanted him to protect her.

Recently, her efforts paid off, and Chu Qing spoke for her. Although Consort Dowager Qing still looked down on her, she was not as strict as before. Shao Jie’er thought that she had finally won Chu Qing’s heart.

But now, when she heard Chu Qing say that she had no right to manage the inner court, she felt bitter in her heart and her eyes turned red. She hurriedly lowered her head again, for fear that Wen Xichi would see the tears in her eyes.

As the daughter of Duke Xing, she had looked down on many Misses. But now, she had fallen into such a situation. She felt that she would die in Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion one day without knowing why.

She had seen Miss Mo, the first consort who was going to marry into the mansion, before. This Miss was not easy to get along with. When she came here last time, she took the opportunity to slap Shao Jie’er twice. Consort Dowager Qing was present, but she did not say anything. Chu Qing merely frowned unhappily. He scolded Shao Jie’er and asked her to apologize to Miss Mo.

The daughter of a beadle even got to bully her. Shao Jie’er was very unwilling and deeply resentful. She clenched her handkerchief tightly as if she were using it to vent her anger. Taking advantage of the time when Chu Qing wasn’t paying attention, she looked up and stole a few glances at Wen Xichi, just looking into his eyes. Then, she raised her hand and pointed at a tall tree, which was a little far away from the place they were at.

Chu Qing looked at the officials of the Ministry of Justice and said, “Lord Wen, you’re being too courteous. If there’s nothing else, let Jie’er go back. After all, there are so many people here.”

Wen Xichi nodded and said politely, “My apologies. Second Miss Shao, please go back!”

“Take… Second Miss Shao back now!” Chu Qing ordered the servant girl beside him. The servant girl did not dare to hesitate and left with Shao Jie’er. Except for Wen Xichi, no one noticed that Shao Jie’er had gritted her teeth hard when Chu Qing called her “Second Miss Shao”. “He still calls me Second Miss Shao by now.” Grief and hatred appeared on her face.