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  Madam Hou forced herself to get up, took the blue sapphire earrings and said with a puzzled face, "This is indeed something that belongs to Madame Dingguo. On the day she got this rare and precious sheep fat white jade, she went to the Treasure Pavilion to make a hairpin and earrings, one pair each. One of the hairpins was given to her elder sister. I saw her wear these earrings several times, but later they disappeared. I asked her about it, and she said that she lost one of them, so they were no longer a pair, and she put the remaining one in the Eight Treasures Box."

  She slowly raised her head, with a puzzled look in her eyes, "Xuan sister, where did this thing come from?"

  Ming Xuan gazed at her quietly for a moment before speaking in a low voice, "Does the Grand Aunt still remember that my mother had a hairdressing maid before she passed away? This earring was given to me by her on her deathbed. She said that the owner of this earring is related to my mother's death. Since this earring belongs to Madame Dingguo..."

  She paused slightly, "Auntie, think carefully, before my mother passed away, didn't the Madame of Dingguo Gong come to Yongning Hou Fu and even visit my mother?"

  "Madam Hou furrowed her brow and thought for a moment, 'Our Hou Mansion and the Dingguo Duke's Mansion are both meritorious families who followed the Taizu Emperor to conquer the empire. Over several generations, we have had interactions with each other, and our Gu family and their Yu family also had marital relations two generations ago. Moreover, my elder sister recognized the Dingguo Duke's wife as her godmother, so they often came and went. Four years ago, after the current emperor ascended to the throne, my third sister even discussed marriage with the fifth son of the Dingguo Duke's Mansion. It just so happens that it was during that time that our two families had a lot of interactions.'"

  She hesitated and continued, "When my mother fell ill, she had also come to visit. To mention it, I mistakenly thought that the news of Father's passing was something she specifically brought up when she came to our house to see me."

  Just then, Madame Hou suddenly let out a loud and urgent cry, "Rui Ya, come in quickly!"

  The old lady hurried into the inner house in a flurry, thinking that something big had happened, and asked busily, "Madam, what's wrong with you? What do you want?"

  "Madam Rui, help me think," said Madame Hou, gripping her arm tightly. "Four years ago, on the day Third Madam passed away, did Duchess Dingguo come to Yongning Marquis's residence? My mind is a complete mess right now and I just can't seem to remember. Quickly, think for me. Did Duchess Dingguo come?"

  All these years, she had always thought that she was indirectly responsible for Lu's death. The death of Lu would have had a huge impact on Gu Changping, who was imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice, which led to his hanging himself to death. Similarly, Yuan Fei in the palace must have been heartbroken after her parents' successive deaths, and she ended up starving herself to death with determination. Although she concealed the secret in her heart with a cold and calm demeanor, how many times was she awakened by fear and guilt in the middle of the night?

  But now, this sapphire earring in front of her brought back those overlooked facts.

  Rui's arm was tightly grasped by Madame Hou. Her body swayed and she stumbled a bit, but with one hand, she gently patted Madame Hou's back to comfort her, saying, "Ma'am, please calm down first, come, lean against the pillow and get comfortable, let me think about what happened back then carefully, and I'll answer you after I've thought it through."

  She bowed her head and hesitated for a moment before speaking. "At that time, the Dingguo Gongfu and our house were discussing marriage arrangements, and Madam Yu had a very close relationship with you. When she found out about the trouble in the third branch of the family, she almost came every day. Although Concubine Hui had not yet been officially appointed at the time, as someone who lived within the palace walls and was close to the Emperor, she could somewhat sense his intentions. Whenever Madam Yu received news from Concubine Hui's side, she would immediately come to tell you."

  Rui's mother paused for a moment and said very certainly, "On the day of Third Madam's passing, Madame Yu also came."

  She asked Mrs. Hou, "Madam, have you forgotten? That day, the news of San Fu Ren was not good, and you immediately sent someone to invite Tai Yi because Douzhu delayed for a while, and you even scolded her in person. Later she said that it was Yan'er beside Dingguo Gongfu who asked her to find something. Since Yan'er is in our yard, then Dingguo Gongfu must have been there at the time."

  Madam Hou seemed to have thought of something and hastily nodded, saying "Exactly."

  She smiled wryly at Ming Huan and said, "I misspoke. I was anxious in my heart to begin with, and then when I saw that no one in the household had spread the news of Father's hanging himself, not even Uncle and Brother when they returned from the yamen, I thought there might be some misunderstanding. Then I heard Mother was unwell, and the imperial physician came to announce she had lost all her strength and passed away. My heart was in such a panic that I didn't notice Madame Dingguo was present."

  In fact, even if the two families were on good terms, when Madame Dingguo came to visit, there would definitely be an announcement at the door. It's impossible for Madame Hou not to know. Moreover, since Xi'er, Madame Dingguo's personal maid, was searching for something in Madame Hou's courtyard, it means that Madame Dingguo was also in Yi'antang at that time. However, during tense moments, people tend to only notice things that concern them and overlook some details they consider unimportant.

  Her long eyelashes drooped down and she said in a low voice, "It seems that Auntie no longer needs to blame herself for my mother's death."

  She slowly raised her head, and her cold gaze fell on Madame Hou's thin and weak body. "Most of the hairpins that fell from the wife of Dingguo Gong were probably dropped on the day my mother passed away. My mother's hairdressing maid was a person from the third house, and she had been serving in my mother's courtyard all along. It's unlikely that she would run to Yi'antang to pick up Madame Yu's hairpin. These years, it has been hidden in the box until just before her death, when she dared to take it out to identify it. So, I'm afraid it was something Madame Yu said to my mother, and my mother suddenly became angry and...".

  According to the secret letter from Han Xiumi, the Emperor wanted to establish a new Empress, and regardless of whether it was the Pei family or the Gu family, they all knew that the Emperor would find an excuse to demote the original Empress, Gu Mingrong, and establish a new one. Whether it was Gu Changping or Lu Shi, even Yongning Hou was very clear about this. The so-called conspiracy with the two previous princes was just a fabricated excuse, because there was no real evidence, so after the dust settled on the Empress's position, the truth could be quickly cleared up.

  Then, the Emperor fulfilled his agreement with Pei Xiang and compensated the Gu family additionally.

  Han Xi, for his own selfish reasons, chose to annul the marriage with Ming Xuan on their wedding day, in front of all the guests, and took away Gu Changping. Before this, Ming Xuan had no idea that there were so many underlying reasons behind it. She was a proud and strong-willed person who would not tolerate such humiliation, which is why she ended up taking her own life by hitting her head against a pillar.

  It thus became a variable in the carefully planned event, and it was precisely this that allowed those with ulterior motives to seize the opportunity and find a small gap, guiding things towards an irreversible direction, ultimately leading to this tragic and sorrowful drama.

  So, although reality was much more cruel than Lu's imagination, she always believed that Gu Changping would return home safely. This extremely real and tragic situation was just a carefully designed step. As long as the emperor established the Empress of the Pei family, her husband could be released without guilt, and her daughter, although losing the throne of the empress, could enjoy peace for the rest of her life.

  How could she easily believe what Madame Hou said when she was so convinced in her heart?

  Ming Xuan's heart ached as she spoke, her tone somewhat stiff. "If Auntie had spoken out about Madame Dingguo's suspicions back then, whether it was to Uncle, Grandmother, or even my brother, perhaps... perhaps Father could have avoided his fate, and Sister wouldn't..."

  A strong smell of blood surged up to his throat, and the corners of his eyes were gradually moistened with tears.

  She raised her head, her eyes fell on the top of Madame Hou's head, and she said coldly, "My father did not die by hanging himself, he was murdered. Now that I know about my mother's affairs, I suddenly feel that maybe my sister's death is also suspicious. And all this could have been avoided, even if it couldn't be avoided, knowing the suspicion of Madame Yu, the Duke of Dingguo, my father and sister would at least have a bottom line to guard against, right? Eldest maternal aunt."

  Madam Hou's face was shocked, she seemed to know nothing about these things.

  After a long silence, she nodded heavily and said, "I was wrong."

  Ming Xuan slowly stood up, she had no idea how to face this dying woman. To be honest, Madame Hou was not the murderer who harmed her parents and elder sister. However, what Madame Hou did was so despicable that she couldn't help but feel angry, she wasn't a saint, she would still fulfill the promise she made earlier to hand over the letter in her hands to her uncle, Duke Yongning, but at the same time, she was certain that she never wanted to see Madame Hou again.

  On the way back to the Zhen Guo Gong Fu, Ming Xuan asked Dan Hong, "Do you still remember when Madame Yu of Ding Guo Gong passed away?"

  Danhong used to work in Antaiyuan under Old Lady Zhu, because of her cleverness and diligence, she was assigned to serve Mingyu who was confused at that time. As soon as she went to Xuyuge, she and Xuesu were promoted together by two ranks to become a first-class maid.

  Although Yu Ge was despised by others at that time, Dan Hong maintained a good relationship with the maids and servant girls from other courtyards in the mansion. She had access to all sorts of information and knew about the rumors circulating among the servants in the mansions of the nobles in Shengjing City. She was much more aware of important news than Ming Xuan.

  Dan Hong thought for a moment before answering, "It seems that the third madam passed away not long ago, only two months apart. It was said that she suddenly fell ill, but there were also rumors in the streets that it was because the birth mother of Concubine Hui had gained power and had literally bullied Lady Dingguo to death."

  Rumors circulating among the people are unreliable, but it is a fact that Madame Dingguo was originally in good health and suddenly died.

  Ming Xuan's heart sank, "It seems that the wife of Dingguo Gong is just a pawn after all."

  Someone wants to make the alliance between the Emperor and the Pei family appear problematic, so they used Madame Dingguo's hand to harm Lu Shi, then designed to harm Gu Changping, and soon after that, Yuan Fei also died of starvation. This series of tragic events happened one after another, making it seem natural, creating a false impression that Lu Shi and Gu Changping had died together in a double suicide, and making Yuan Fei's death from starvation even more believable.

  This person is so wicked in his intentions, but what is he actually after?

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