newbobooks Chapter 30 Debunking Rumors or Proving Them?
Chapter 30 Debunking Rumors or Proving Them?
Before Jiang Luoyu even entered the mansion, several people arranged by Qin Xuanyu surrounded her at the gate.
"Young Master Jiang, I heard that the two young ladies have been kidnapped? Are you leading men to rescue them? Then why are you turning back? Don't you have enough men? We can help you," a commoner said "kindly."
"That's right. Although we are just ordinary people, there is strength in numbers. The bandits will definitely be afraid."
"That's right, that's right."
With those few people egging them on, the people who had been watching the entrance to the Prime Minister's residence suddenly gathered around as well.
Jiang Luoyu's face darkened, and she forcefully pushed aside the person blocking her way, then opened the door and went inside.
"That's so rude."
"That is to say..."
Regardless of their gossip, as soon as Jiang Luoyu entered the mansion, she saw Jiang Chuchu crying, as well as the Prime Minister and his wife and Jiang Luoyun in the main hall.
“Uncle.” Jiang Luoyu knew that he had messed up this time, but he couldn’t figure out how the news got out and how it got involved with Jiang Chuchu.
"Rain, what's going on? Where's Qingyue? Didn't you go out together yesterday?" Jiang An suddenly became agitated.
Jiang Qingyue wouldn't be like Jiang Chuchu, who cries and whine at the slightest thing; she's utterly useless.
"Uncle, I'm sorry, I failed to protect Qingyue. So this morning, I took stock of the men and prepared to rescue Qingyue, but then I heard some rumors and came back quickly."
"What are we going to do now? Chu Chu's reputation is ruined." Madam Lu said, supporting Jiang Chu Chu with a pained expression.
"It must be that unfilial daughter Jiang Qingyue's fault again." Jiang An directly blamed Jiang Qingyue for the mistake, and no one cared about Jiang Qingyue's reputation.
Jiang Luoyun felt inexplicably irritated by the reactions of those around her.
It seems they always exclude Jiang Qingyue.
No matter what happened, their first thought was always that Jiang Qingyue was the one who caused the trouble, even though she was also a victim.
Jiang Luoyun felt a pang of sadness. It was as if he had once been one of them. Now, standing from the perspective of an outsider, he saw many things more clearly. He lowered his head and remained silent, offering no further comment.
Seeing Jiang Luoyun so quiet, Jiang Chuchu had a bad feeling, but she had more important things to do at the moment and couldn't care less about Jiang Luoyun's feelings. She was probably just frightened.
"What do we do now? The rumors are spreading like wildfire." Madam Lu glanced at Jiang Chuchu, then turned her gaze to Jiang An and Jiang Luoyu, hoping they could offer some advice.
"Go out and refute the rumors; we can't let them spread them." After saying that, Jiang An took the lead, and the others followed.
The moment the gates of the Prime Minister's residence opened, everyone who hadn't gone far turned their gazes toward the residence once again.
Seeing that the entire Prime Minister's family had come out, they became even more curious.
"Fellow citizens!" Jiang An called out to the crowd from the doorway. Seeing this, the others slowly gathered around, eager to hear what the Prime Minister had to say.
"Fellow citizens, what I want to say is that those rumors are completely unfounded! My daughter had already returned home to rest yesterday, but then she heard this news, which was a huge blow to her!"
I don't know who spread the rumors, but I hope everyone will watch their mouths. If anyone continues to spread rumors, I will punish them severely!
The prime minister directly used his status to intimidate the people present.
“That’s right. Besides, if what you’ve heard is true, then why would Miss Jiang Chuchu be standing in front of you?” Jiang Luoyu added at the right moment.
The group exchanged glances, all agreeing that it made sense; perhaps someone had deliberately caused the serious injury.
"No, if it's as you say, what about the other young lady? The Prime Minister's biological daughter?" Someone noticed that only Jiang Chuchu was standing in front of them, not Jiang Qingyue.
"Qingyue had caught a cold and was initially feeling better, but upon hearing this news this morning, she became extremely anxious and her condition worsened again. She is currently unconscious!"
Jiang An wanted to say that only Jiang Qingyue had been kidnapped, but he couldn't say that, so he could only choose to protect Jiang Qingyue.
Otherwise, everyone present would surely ask why Jiang Chuchu was unharmed, and how such news spread, which would inevitably lead to complicated and messy situations.
Fortunately, Chu Chu was there.
As for Jiang Qingyue, Jiang An didn't care anymore. Whether she was alive or dead, when she came back, she would always be a "dead person".
"Oh, I see. It seems to be someone's prank."
"That's right, it's really vicious, smearing a woman's reputation so casually."
"If Miss Chuchu hadn't happened to be home and hadn't gone to visit relatives, she probably wouldn't have been able to clear her name even if she jumped into the Yellow River."
Everyone assumed it was done by the prime minister's political enemies, and thus lost interest in further gossip.
Seeing that the people believed his explanation, Jiang An finally breathed a sigh of relief. "So, thank you all for your attention to the Prime Minister's residence." Jiang An even bowed to the people, who were flattered and overwhelmed.
Seeing that the situation had been salvaged, Jiang Chuchu breathed a sigh of relief.
However, reality is never what they expected.
Just as the people dispersed and Jiang An and the others were preparing to return to their residence, the sound of horses' hooves came from afar. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Qin Xuanyu and a veiled woman riding towards them one after the other.
Although she was wearing a veil, Jiang An's intuition told him that this person was Jiang Qingyue!
The common people were not at the birthday banquet, so they had never seen the King of Qin before, and were therefore quite curious.
The moment the reins were tightened, Qin Xuanyu's horse reared up and slammed its forelegs onto the ground. Jiang An felt as if his horse had stepped directly on his heart, making him extremely uneasy.
"Your Majesty..." He wanted to step forward and pay his respects, but seeing Qin Xuanyu's warning look, he surprisingly became clever for once, "Young Master Wang, what brings you here today..."
"It's nothing, just helping you send someone off." Qin Xuanyu said expressionlessly.
"Huh?" Jiang An was completely confused, wondering what the King of Qin was up to.
But soon, he got the answer.
Then, the veiled woman behind Qin Xuanyu stepped forward and slowly lifted her veil.
Everyone gasped in shock.
The woman had a long, gruesome scar on her face, and the wound didn't seem to have fully healed, making some of the women present feel sorry for her.
Not to mention Jiang An and the others, who were so surprised that they gasped in shock. Jiang Qingyue, how did she become like this?
Only Jiang Chuchu felt extremely pleased when she saw Jiang Qingyue's appearance.
“Father…” Jiang Qingyue called out softly to Jiang An, snapping him out of his surprise, “You…you…”
"Isn't this Miss Jiang Qingyue?"
"What? She's Miss Qingyue? Her face is... "
"Didn't the Prime Minister just say that Miss Qingyue is seriously ill?"
The crowd looked at Jiang An with suspicion again, and those who were about to leave turned back. They had a feeling that another big show was about to take place at the Prime Minister's residence.
After the initial pleasure, Jiang Chuchu felt resentment.
Why, why does the King of Qin always help her? Why?!
Jiang An was caught in a dilemma and had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask, "Qingyue, aren't you sick?"
As he spoke, he winked at Jiang Qingyue, trying to get her to agree with him.
However, Jiang Qingyue completely ignored Jiang An, turned to look at the people, and said something that shocked everyone: "The rumors are not entirely wrong, I have indeed fallen into the hands of bandits!"
With a "whoosh," the scene instantly erupted.