In the quiet room, Xiqiu lowered her face, sipping tea slowly. The Grand Dowager sat with a stern expression, turning to Ziwei to give so instructions.
About half an hour later, Tong Quanzi and Tong Minzhi arrived.
The two greeted the Grand Dowager, and she smiled, saying, "Sit down and let’s talk!" Tong Minzhi then smiled and walked over to Xiqiu, taking her hand and asking, "Sister, what do you want to talk to us about?"
Xiqiu also held his hand and smiled, "You sit down first, sister has so questions for you."
Tong Minzhi nodded with a smile towards Xiqiu and sat down with Tong Quanzi in their chairs.
Ziwei served them tea!
Xiqiu then looked at Tong Minzhi and asked, "Where were you yesterday at three o’clock?"
Tong Quanzi and Tong Minzhi were stunned, exchanged glances, and replied, "Sister, what happened?"
Xiqiu turned to Madam Hu and said, "Yesterday Miss Hu’s carriage was startled. At the ti, the woman driving saw you upstairs at the Anxiang Pavilion... Where were you then?"
She spoke slowly with a gentle tone, but her face was rather displeased.
Upon hearing this, Tong Quanzi and Tong Minzhi imdiately understood what Xiqiu was referring to. Tong Quanzi answered without thinking, "That’s right. Yesterday at three o’clock, my seventh brother and I were indeed upstairs at the Anxiang Pavilion."
Madam Hu’s eyes flashed with a look of triumph.
The Grand Dowager looked at Xiqiu, only to see her continue asking, "Madam Hu said the woman driving from the Hu Mansion saw you with a slingshot hitting Miss Hu’s carriage. Is there such a thing?!"
"What!" Tong Quanzi, who had always been quick-tempered, put the tea cup on the tea table beside him and stood up angrily, "Who says we took a slingshot and hit Miss Hu’s carriage? We just happened to hear the commotion and were standing upstairs." Tong Quanzi, tall and strong, stood over everyone with an imposing presence. He shifted his gaze to Madam Hu, glaring, "How can you say we hit the horse, causing it to be startled, and throw such dirty accusations on us!"
Startled, Madam Hu instinctively shrank back!
After regaining composure, she felt indignant at being intimidated by a junior and put on a cold face, "Third Master Tong, at the ti, slingshot stones were found near the carriage. What do you have to say to that?"
Tong Quanzi replied, "Just because slingshot stones were seen doesn’t an we hit Miss Hu’s horse!" With that, he waved his sleeve with a flutter.
Tong Minzhi also nodded, "Madam, we bear no grudge against Miss Hu. If we hadn’t seen her at the Governor Mansion’s gate yesterday, and the carriage hadn’t had the Hu Mansion’s emblem, we would have had no idea who Miss Hu is, let alone plot against her. Madam Hu’s accusations are unreasonable!"
Tong Minzhi’s seemingly unintended words caused a visible change in those present. Yesterday, Miss Hu was waiting at the Governor Mansion for Fourth Master Xiao?
No wonder the carriage was seen around the bustling market.
As Xiqiu listened, her eyes narrowed slightly with surprise that Miss Hu would go to the Governor Mansion gate.
Could it be she lacked the chance to speak with Fourth Master Xiao inside the mansion, so she thought to wait at the gate for an opportunity to et him?
A cold sneer arose in her heart.
Madam Hu was taken aback and angrily said, "Seventh Young Master Tong, it doesn’t matter what you say, you cannot just erase what’s been done." She flushed with anger, "The carriage and the woman from the mansion saw everything clearly. We can bring them here for a confrontation, everything will be clear."
"Indeed!" Before Tong Quanzi and Tong Minzhi could respond, Xiqiu looked at Madam Hu and agreed coolly, "Madam Hu is right, nothing should be dismissed by denial or casual statents."
Hearing this, Madam Hu’s expression softened slightly, but Xiqiu’s face turned cold imdiately, "However, their status is not sothing that anyone confronts at will!" She left no face for Madam Hu.
Madam Hu’s expression shifted, filled with embarrassnt.
Xiqiu didn’t look at Madam Hu but turned to the Grand Dowager, "Mother, Madam Hu says the Capital City Governnt has already intervened. I think we should let them investigate this matter!"
What?
Everyone in the room was stunned, never expecting Xiqiu would suggest letting the governnt investigate.
The Second Madam thought Xiqiu had called her brothers-in-law just to go through the motions to clear her na, not expecting she would hand the matter over to the governnt to investigate.
She was secretly shocked, staring at Xiqiu in a daze.
The First Madam looked at Xiqiu, her eyes filled with admiration.
Madam Hu hadn’t intended for the matter to escalate to the governnt office. After all, if the matter grew, regardless of the outco, Hu Suqing’s reputation would inevitably suffer in her maiden family. Hence, Xiqiu’s suggestion caught her off guard, leaving her in a dilemma.
The Grand Dowager looked at Xiqiu with so surprise, only to see her sternly saying, "Mother, although they’re my brothers-in-law, we can’t shield them without giving Madam Hu an explanation. Besides, should this spread, it reflects poorly on either the Marquis Mansion or the Tong Mansion. It’s better to have the governnt investigate, whether they did it or not, let the Capital City Governnt give us an answer!"
Concerned with the bigger picture.
The Grand Dowager nodded quietly, her eyes full of satisfaction.
"Sixth Sister, we didn’t do it!"
Tong Quanzi laughed slyly, signaling towards Xiqiu’s hand, smiling, "Seventh Brother gave you a note; how could you know its contents without looking?"
As Tong Minzhi entered, he placed a note into Xiqiu’s hand.
Xiqiu smiled, "Even without looking, I know neither of you would do such a thing." She paused, then said, "Tell what actually happened."
Tong Quanzi exchanged glances with Tong Minzhi, both breaking into smiles, and Tong Minzhi explained, "Actually... actually, we did intend to hit Miss Hu’s horse, but seeing there were many people around the carriage, we thought that if the horse went wild, it could hurt the nearby citizens, so we held back and hit the stones to the roadside instead."
"You!" Xiqiu was caught between laughter and tears, "Why on earth would you want to hit her carriage?"
Tong Quanzi furrowed his thick brows, full of disdain, "When we ca to the mansion that day, we saw that Miss Hu, the way she looked at the Great Governor was inappropriate. Yesterday, when we went to the Governor Mansion and saw her again, she was waiting at the gate for days. My seventh brother and I detest such won, so we thought to warn her secretly..."
So, it was for this reason.
When they first saw Miss Hu in the mansion, they sensed sothing peculiar about her. Then, encountering her at the Governor Mansion’s gate, after she had waited for days!
They were worried she might cause Xiqiu so grievance.
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