Chapter 190
Mo Qianxue nodded slightly, “Thank you, mom . ”
She wasn't broad-minded, so she would remember well who were enemies .
Mrs . Jia held her hand, glanced at Princess Jing with a smile, extending her hand, “This is Princess Jing . I guess you already know her . ”
Princess Jing nodded, smiled, and sat back to the main chair .
Mrs . Jia pointed to the madam sitting next to her and introduced, “This is Mrs . Chang, wife of the Imperial Tutor . ”
This woman was the first that mom introduced and sat next to her, so she must be in good terms with mom . Mo Qianxue curtsied and said respectfully, “Nice to meet you, Mrs . Chang!”
Mrs . Chang stood up, looking a little awkward, “Nice to meet you, Miss . Mo . ”
As she spoke, Mo Qianxue understood . Since meeting her, Mrs . Chang only said this one sentence out of courtesy . There was neither hostility or warmth in her voice, so she intended to be neutral .
Since mom introduced her first and she sat closely to mon, she must be a friend of her . It was fine as long as she didn't turn her back on mom, so that mom wouldn't be embarrassed when Mo Qianxue began to deal with those women .
Mo Qianxue thought about it to herself, when Mrs . Jia introduced her to another madam, “This is Mrs . Qin, wife of the Imperial Coach . ”
Mo Qianxue still greeted with respect, “Nice to meet you, Mrs . Qin . ”
Mrs . Qin nodded to greet back, in the same attitude as Mrs . Chang .
Mrs . Jia didn't look surprised, turned around and pointed to the two madams who had been taunting since she showed up, “This is Mrs . Xie, wife of the Imperial Mentor, and this is Mrs . An, wife of the Prime Minister…”
Mrs . Jia was a little angry at their attitude towards Mo Qianxue, so now when introducing, she was less passionate and even a little perfunctory .
Since mon had expressed her attitude, then Mo Qianxue just followed suit and greeted quickly, “Nice to meet you . ”
She didn't look at them while saying it and then, following mom, sat into the chair next to Mrs . Jia . She wasn't afraid of them picking fault since she had done what she should .
Mrs . Xie and An were master hands in this regard . They certainly could tell the overtone of the relations . Yet, they simply shouldn't make a fuss over it .
Could they blame Mrs . Jia for ignoring them? Mrs . Jia was wife of Mr . Jia, the first academician of the Imperial Academy . Her rank was akin to the wives of the Elders .
The introduction session should have been done by juniors, but now she helped with it after getting an acquired daughter . Hence, they couldn't find a fault in it .
Mrs . Xie snorted, and Mrs . An put down the teacup, “Alright . Now we’re all here and know each other . I’m afraid the Emperor and officials are waiting impatiently for the result . Let’s get down to business . ”
It was she who was impatient . She wanted to tear up Mo Qianxue’s face right now to show her who was cheap, and then to enjoy Mrs . Jia’s colorful old face!
The Imperial Coach and Imperial Mentor didn't get along all the time, so it wasn't surprising that Mrs . Jia decided to stay neutral . Mr . Jia hadn’t cared about political affairs for years, so Mrs . Jia had been believed to just join in the fun . Unexpectedly, she got a daughter .
Mrs . Qin could have been won over . However, she came with Princess Jing who would protect Mo Qianxue . Hence, Mrs . Qin wouldn't disregard Princess Jing’s face .
Originally, she believed Mo Qianxue would play a lone hand and she could humiliate her as much as she wanted . But now it turned out they were neck and neck .
Mrs . Xie pondered and then quickly echoed with Mrs . An, “We have plenty of time for kinship and chatting . Don't forget we come on Princess Yuhe’s invitation to help Miss . Mo prove her chastity . Of course we should get down to business first . ”
Mrs . Jia was kind but not a pushover . At the moment, she was tough too as her face darkened and voice lowered, “Alright . Then, please, Mrs . Xie and Mrs . An, come here and help prove my daughter’s innocence . ”
It was early summer when the weather got warmer, so Mo Qianxue only wore three layers of thin clothes . At this point, she didn't talk much, rolled up her sleeve on her own, and revealed the touch of red cinnabar in the middle of her arm .
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Mrs . Jia was naturally the first to see it, nodding, sitting back and taking up her tea leisurely .
Princess Jing also saw it . With a smile, she took another sip of tea . Mrs . Qin and Chang coughed and quickly sat back .
Mrs . Xie and An also saw it . However, there wasn't surprise on their faces . Instead, there was looming gloating and disdain .
As the Empress had told them, there was truly a cinnabar in Mo Qianxue’s arm . Unluckily, this cinnabar was fake, but she was too stupid to know . Poor girl!
Losing chastity and making a fake cinnabar to deceive the Emperor and the world… If so, she would face severer punishment and at the same time be criticized of misbehavior, dishonesty… Mrs . An already couldn't fight back her contempt and ordered to the maid, “Fetch some clear water…”
“Yes . ” The maid took the order and soon brought over the clear water prepared in advance .
Taking over water certainly meant disbelief and suspicion .
Mrs . Jia looked indignant but didn't stop it . Someone just wouldn't stop until the last of the last! She wouldn't easily let go until she was convinced with the truth .
Mrs . Jia wasn't stupid and had smelt a rat from the expression of Mrs . An and Xie . But when she looked back at Mo Qianxue, she was confident and gave her a comforting smile .
With a little analysis, she knew something was wrong . Yet, everything had been solved by her acquired daughter .
The maid held the basin and stood on the side . Mrs . Xie took out a handkerchief and dipped some water, when a smile loomed on her lips . Her movement was slow and strange, as if she was enjoying something and as if she was waiting for a good drama . Mrs . An was all smiles, which, in the eye of Mo Qianxue, was malicious .
Mrs . Xie gently wiped on the cinnabar and took a second look . There wasn't the slightest changed in it . The smile froze on her face . She couldn't believe her eyes and gave a glance to Mrs . An, rubbing harder on it .
When she carefully moved away the handkerchief again, the red cinnabar was still there . Only the skin got reddish from rubbing, making the cinnabar more vividly and dazzlingly red . Mrs . Xie’s eyes hung big . The confidence in her mind vanished out . She, a little forgetting herself, shouted, “Impossible!”
Mrs . Jia thumped the cup on the table, glimpsing at Mrs . Xie and scolding, “How is it impossible?”
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Mrs . Xie no longer had the energy to argue with Mrs . Jia . She hurriedly dipped more water and wiped again and again on Mo Qianxue’s arm .
Mo Qianxue’s fair-skinned tender arm instantly turned red, the skin almost peeled off .
However, Mo Qianxue didn't move but smirked, “Are you going to skin me, Mrs . Xie?”
On hearing the irony, Mrs . Xie stopped in astonishment .
Obviously, Mrs . An didn't believe this result, dipping her handkerchief with water and wiping again . Mo Qianxue drew back her arm, rolled down the sleeve and scolded, “Do you get enough, madams?”
Mrs . Xie’s face already began to distort . She yelled at the several maids, “You come here and change clothes for Miss . Mo . ”
Change clothes? She wanted to strip her?
Before Mo Qianxue said anything, Mrs . Jia already pissed off and stood up to scold the two nannies, then turned back to gaze at Mrs . Xie, asking in a harsh voice, “What do you mean, Mrs . Xie?”
Mrs . Xie was flustered by her gaze, while Mrs . An replied, “I think Mrs . Xie’s method is right . Since Princess Yuhe has asked us to prove Miss . Mo’s innocence, then certainly we should perform our due diligence, in case some unchaste person get away through tricks . ”
Tricks? Evidently, these two were after another scheme when their original dirt-throwing failed!
Mrs . Jia was almost speechless from anger, and Princess Jing also found it inappropriate . She stepped forward for justice and reprimanded them in a cold voice, “Mrs . Xie and Mrs . An, you’re going too far! Mo Qianxue is a lady . How could you do that to her?!”
The raw material of virgin cinnabar was rare . It was made from geckos, fed with cinnabars, that turned entirely red . After seven kilograms of cinnabars were eaten, the geckos were smashed into grains which then mixed with other special medicines . Finally, it was spotted on the arm of a virgin and it wouldn't disappear for a long time .
If the virgin got married or lost her chastity, her cinnabar would no longer appear . Hence, it was called ‘virgin cinnabar’ .
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On the birth of a noble lady, her mother personally painted the cinnabar for her . It was so rare and hard to gain that not ordinary folks could have this .
A folk girl didn't have a virgin cinnabar, so the way the check whether she was a virgin was to take off her clothes and check there . But to check a lady, taking a look at the cinnabar was enough .
Stripping a lady to check her chastity would be an insult .
The calmness on Mo Qianxue’s face suddenly turned into a look beyond description . These people really took things to an extreme .
Was it their plan that if there hadn’t been people supporting her, even if she was a virgin, they would use the most disgusting way to ruin her? Mrs . Jia also realized this and snorted heavily, “Princess Jing is right . A lady’s body shouldn't be seen by others . ”
She stared at the two nannies who were coming on order . She didn't talk but the gaze was fierce .
The two nannies had served in the imperial palace for a long time . They understood that anything bad happened if they really did what they were told, they would definitely be the final victim of the scheme in the name of offending a lady . They two didn't look up and stepped back at the same time out of certain tactic understanding .
Seeing the nannies stepping back, the maids stepped away too .
This was a matter between those madams . If they are at odds, then the servants also had an excuse for not obey…
In view that these servants were meek, Mrs . Jia, less angry, took a glance back at Mrs . Xie and An, saying seriously, “If you dare to act unruly, I’ll report it to the Empress and let her uphold justice . ”
Despite which side the Empress took, when such a thing was made public, the Empress had only handle it with justice . Mrs . Xie’s expression was spectacular . She looked down, the coldness suppressed deep down to the thousand-aged well in her eyes which was full of hatred .
This thing mattered a lot . If she made a mistake, a huge trouble would be dropped on the Empress, Princess Yuhe and even the Xie family .
Mrs . An’s face was equally complicated . If the Xie family was in trouble, the Prime Minister wouldn't have a good time either .
The two looked at each other, eyes turning cruel suddenly . Giving each other a look, they planned to do it personally .