NFBE Chapter 126: Drive An Ronger Away
Chapter 126: Drive An Ronger Away
Chapter 126: Driving An Rong'er Away
The next morning, after classes had just ended, Zhen Huan went straight back to her room instead of the dining hall. Seeing that the room was empty, she knew something was amiss. She quickly opened the small box on her dressing table and found a new gold hairpin inside, while her original one was missing.
What was there to be confused about now? However, Zhen Huan did not panic at this time. Instead, she took a hairpin from her head and poked it into a hidden hole on the side of the box. Soon, a narrow space popped out from the side, and there happened to be a golden hairpin inside. Zhen Huan took it out and put it away, then placed the extra hairpin directly into An Rong'er's bedding.
After finishing all these things, she took off her Manchu dress in a few seconds while no one came back into the house, leaving only her inner clothes.
Zhenhuan moved quickly, but the people outside moved even faster. When Zhenhuan was thinking about putting on the clean Manchu dress she had prepared, the door was violently opened from the outside, and then Rong Mama, her team of maids, and several concubines came in one after another.
Zhenhuan subconsciously screamed "Ah", and then quickly wrapped herself with the cloak placed beside her.
The people outside seemed to be shocked by the scene before them. The team, which was originally quite aggressive, became awkward in an instant.
After seeing Zhen Huan wrapped herself up, Madam Rong was the first to apologize: "I am deeply offended, Miss Niuhulu. I didn't realize you were changing your clothes, so I barged in without permission. Please forgive me. Now I will leave. After you change your clothes, please let me know so that we can come in and confirm something with you."
Zhen Huan's emotions had calmed down by now. Hearing what Rong Mama said, she bowed and said, "Mama, you're too polite. I don't blame you just now. I was too alarmed. Please wait a moment, Mama and the other sisters. Rong Zhen Huan will come over after changing her clothes."
Seeing that Zhenhuan agreed, Rong Mama ignored An Ronger's strong objections and Jiayan's unhappy expression, and asked everyone to go out and wait outside the door.
What happened at the door of Zhenhuan and her friends' cottage soon spread to the dining hall, and Ruhui and Tuduo also rushed over quickly.
Ruhui: "Greetings to Madam. May I ask why you brought so many people to our house?"
Ruhui spoke, and Tuduo followed her, waiting for the answer.
Rong Mama saw that it was the two concubines who lived with Zhenhuan who had returned. Since she couldn't enter directly at the moment, she asked Ruhui at the door, "Excuse me, Miss Zhang Jia and Miss Zhalan Nude, did you just come from the dining hall?"
Ru Hui didn't know why Aunt Rong asked this, but she answered affirmatively: "To answer Aunt, yes, I just heard in the dining hall that something happened in our room, so Sister Tuduo and I rushed back together. May I ask, Aunt, what happened in there? Is Sister Zhenhuan still in there? Is she okay?"
Aunt Rong shook her head. "Miss Niuhulu is fine, please rest assured. I just wanted to ask you why Miss Niuhulu wasn't with you just now."
Hearing that Zhen Huan was fine, Ru Hui and Tu Duo were instantly relieved. However, when they heard Rong Mama ask this question, although they were puzzled, they answered honestly: "Just now after class, I was playing with my two sisters, and my sister's dress rubbed against the cockscomb flowers over there. The light-colored Manchu dress that sister Niu Hulu was wearing today was stained with cockscomb juice.
Later, my sister said she would go back to the house to change. If time is short, Tuduo and I can bring her food back and eat in the house.
As soon as Hui Gege finished speaking, Tuduo added: "This incident was witnessed by several concubines present at the time."
After hearing Ruhui's answer, Rong Mama looked at Tuduo Gege again, her eyes full of admiration.
At this moment, Zhenhuan opened the door from the inside. Seeing so many people gathered at the door, she quickly moved aside to let Rong Mama and others in.
Madam Rong waved her hand, motioning Zhenhuan to come out: "This room is too small, we won't go in, let's stay together in the yard." After saying that, she motioned the two maids to guard the door of Zhenhuan and the others' room, and she took Zhenhuan and the others into the center of the yard.
After seeing everyone standing still, Madam Rong spoke, "Today, because everyone is learning to thread the flower pot bottom, their progress is different, so Madam Rong hasn't been supervising many young ladies who have mastered this skill as strictly. Originally, Madam Rong thought that since you are still young, she would give you more time to make friends freely. However, what we never expected was that in such a short time, someone would do something wrong. A gold hairpin belonging to Princess Jia Yan was stolen."
As soon as these words came out, everyone was in an uproar: "Stolen? No way, it's just a gold hairpin?" "That's right, we were all practicing, how could we have time to go back and do something like this?" "That's right, maybe we didn't look carefully enough, if we looked more carefully we might have found it."
At this moment, Princess Jiayan spoke up: "Madame Rong, can I have a few words?"
Seeing the victim speak, everyone's attention shifted to Jiayan. Rong Mama nodded in agreement, and Jiayan Gege was not polite: "This gold hairpin is not expensive, nor is it outstanding, but it was given to me by the old princess of Prince An. I have carried it with me all these years and never dared to put it away.
This gold hairpin was originally placed on Ben Gege's dressing table, but when Ben Gege returned today, she found it missing. Then Ben Gege ran into the sneaky An Gege outside. Ben Gege was anxious and questioned her directly. As a result, An Gege said that the reason she behaved strangely at that time was because the Nian Hulu Gege from their room happened to take out a similar gold hairpin to show them yesterday.
After describing it, An Gege realized it was exactly the same as the one Nianhulu had worn. But that was impossible, because it was the old princess's dowry. The style was unique, and there couldn't be another one like it in the world. So, An Gege found Rong Mama to verify whether it was her own gold hairpin.
As soon as Jiayan Gege finished speaking, Tuduo shouted directly: "Impossible, Sister Zhenhuan's is a new one."
Zhenhuan then seemed to realize what was happening, repeatedly shouting, "Unjust! This is impossible! My mother had that gold hairpin made for me just before I entered the palace. I'm not sure if the design is unique, but you can definitely tell at a glance that it was made not long ago."
An Ronger saw Zhenhuan crying out for justice, and Tuduo and Ruhui also looked like they didn't believe Zhenhuan would do such a bad thing. Although they were angry, they also remembered Jiayan Gege's instructions: "Did Niuhulu Gege do it? We can find out if we go in and investigate."
Such an obvious attitude made even Ruhui, who was usually slow to react, realize that An Ronger was not a good person. Living under the same roof, they all knew that Zhenhuan took out the gold hairpin last night and had seen it before. How could she not know whether the gold hairpin was old or new?
Ruhui also started to get angry: "If you put it that way, shouldn't they search you after searching Zhenhuan's sister? After all, you haven't been studying the rules with us these past two days, so you have plenty of time to commit crimes."
As expected of the daughter of the Vice Minister of War, although she looks very soft and cute at ordinary times, when she really encounters something, she chooses to face it head-on without fear.
An Ronger was speechless. Yes, even though Zhenhuan was the most likely suspect right now, the probability of her, An Ronger, being the suspect was also not low.
For a moment, everyone in the yard looked at An Rong'er with strange eyes. There were four people in the room, one of them was under suspicion, and the other two helped to prove their innocence, but she was the one who directly reported it. If she was telling the truth, then she would not say anything. But if it was false, then living with such a venomous snake, accompanying them day and night, made them shudder.
Upon seeing this, Rong Mama made the final decision: "Since everyone has suspicions and wants to go in to search, then both parties must be checked. I will state in advance that if this matter is really traced to someone, then expulsion from the palace is inevitable. Not only that, your father, brother and family will also be questioned.
Of course, if it is unjust, this old servant apologizes for offending the two young ladies." After saying this, Rong Mama looked at Jia Yan Gege.
Jiayan was excited at the moment, and she quickly completed the task assigned by Bage. This task was too simple for her and could be completed easily. Seeing Rong Mama looking at her, although she was displeased, she also stated: "If I have wronged Nianhulu, I will apologize on the spot and clarify the matter."
Seeing this, everyone looked at Zhen Huan and An Rong'er again. Zhen Huan did not hesitate at this time: "I didn't steal, this is a fact. If this was me, I would accept the punishment directly without Madam coming to explain. If I have been wrongly accused, I am willing to accept Jia Yan's apology. I hope that no one will misunderstand me and slander my innocence in the future."
An Ronger promised immediately after Zhen Huan finished speaking: "It wasn't stolen by me. I pointed to Nianhulu. If I wrongly accused her, I will kneel down and kowtow."
Each one of them was more ruthless than the last, and their tone was more resolute than the last. The princesses watching nearby whispered to each other and expressed their guesses.
Madam Rong didn't waste any time and directly ordered the two maids guarding the door of the cottage to go in and search. After a while, a maid came out holding Zhenhuan's jewelry box. When everyone saw this, they all looked at Zhenhuan with strange eyes.
Zhen Huan didn't even raise an eyebrow, just stood there quietly. Jia Yange was very unhappy to see this, but she thought that she could chase Zhen Huan out soon, so she didn't say anything more and just stood there obediently. Only An Ronger, when she saw the box again, danced with joy: "Yes, yes, that's the box. She took out the gold hairpin last night."
Upon seeing this, Rong Mama went forward and opened it, only to see that there was indeed a golden hairpin on the top. For a moment, everyone started talking: "There really is a golden hairpin." "Yes, yes, it can't be that it really belongs to Princess Guo Luoluo, right?"
Madam Rong took it in her hand and examined it carefully, then a smile flashed across her face: "This is not the gold hairpin of Miss Guo Luoluo."
An Rong'er's originally proud expression froze: "How is it possible? I clearly..."
Before she could finish her words, she heard Jia Yangege coughing loudly. An Ronger reacted instantly and swallowed the rest of her words.
Princess Jiayan also had a bad premonition at this time. Without evidence, Rong Mama would not deny it so directly. Given the current situation, something must have gone wrong.
Princess Jiayan: "Madam, why are you so sure?"
Aunt Rong smiled at Zhen Huan and said, "Please ask Miss Niuhulu to explain it to us."
Zhen Huan didn't hesitate and directly announced the answer: "This gold hairpin was newly made for me by my mother before the attack. Because she was afraid that it would be confused with other princesses' belongings, she specially asked the master to carve my name on the side of the hairpin."
Princess Jiayan couldn't help but step forward and take the golden hairpin from Rong Mama's hand. She turned it over and looked at the side. Sure enough, there was a line of small words on it: "May my beloved daughter Zhenhuan be blessed with everything."
Now the truth was revealed. Not only that, another nanny quickly walked out of the room, went to Nanny Rong and handed the gold hairpin she had found to her.
It was another gold hairpin, but this one was obviously different from Zhenhuan's. The color of this one was obviously a little old.
Madam Rong glanced at the other maid and announced directly: "This was found in Miss An's bedding."
Madam Rong handed the golden hairpin to Princess Jiayan and looked at Jiayan straight in the eyes. Jiayan knew that this was a warning to herself to stop.
Jiayan was just one step away from victory. Even though she was furious, she admitted in front of everyone that it was her hairpin. She also formally apologized to Zhenhuan and quickly left the scene.
Only then did An Ronger understand, and quickly shouted "Unjust" to Rong Mama, "Mama, no, no, that shouldn't be in my quilt. I didn't steal it. It wasn't me."
Rong Mama ignored her and announced An Rong'er's punishment in a serious voice: "An Rong'er stole first, and then slandered the concubine who shared her bed. A concubine with such bad behavior is no longer suitable to stay in the Tiyuan Palace. She will be taken away today. After reporting to the emperor, the punishment will be determined. I hope all concubines will take this as a warning. Okay, everyone disperse, and continue with the afternoon class."
The punishment came down quickly. In the afternoon, the news that An Rong'er was directly kicked out of the palace spread throughout the Tiyuan Hall. For a moment, the concubines in the Tiyuan Hall who wanted to make some small moves suddenly became much quieter.