Cold-faced Empress

Wei Lanling cried, her face streaked with tears, looking both pretty and pitiful: "Lanling doesn't know what cousin's intentions are. My mother and I are newcomers here and have never met cousin before. Why would cousin go to such lengths to frame us?"

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After Wei Lanling's tearful account, Wang, the old woman who had been standing silently behind Xiao Li and Wei Lanling, could no longer hold back and stepped forward to point at Fu Siying and start cursing.

"Well, you heartless, wicked girl! If you can't stand people, just say so! You don't need to resort to such underhanded tactics! I knew it! Sending clothes for no reason was just a pretense of kindness!"

Wang was the biological mother of Xiao Li, and they were not on good terms. Xiao Li had come to seek refuge with Wang, and Wang had been enduring it all, but now she finally couldn't hold back and revealed her shrewish nature.

Looking at the ill-mannered old woman, Fu Siying gritted her teeth and suppressed her anger.

With Wang's help, Wei Lanling cried even harder, her body trembling.

He knelt pitifully on the ground, as if he had been wronged by a snowstorm in June: "I hope my uncle and aunt can see the truth!"

With a pang of heartache, Madam Li knelt down and held her daughter's shoulders, looking at Prime Minister Fu and her elder sister, tears streaming down her face as well.

Upon hearing Wei Lanling's heartfelt and sincere inquiry, Prime Minister Fu and Madam Li both looked at Fu Siying with surprise and suspicion.

Li held Fu Siying's hand tightly, her voice trembling slightly: "Yingying, you mustn't harm anyone because of this."

Prime Minister Fu frowned deeply and questioned sternly, "You have never met your aunt and cousin, so where did you get the idea to make clothes for them?"

Faced with the disappointed and questioning gazes of her father and mother, Fu Siying cried until she couldn't breathe.

"I didn't mean any good?" She pointed directly at Wei Lanling's nose and said in an extremely arrogant tone, "What does this have to do with me? I kindly brought you clothes, but I didn't expect to end up being disliked by everyone!"

Faced with Fu Siying's continued insistence on using the same words, Wei Lanling gritted her teeth in anger. Remembering something, she quickly turned around and, upon seeing the maid Qingyin, hurriedly pointed her out.

“Uncle and Aunt, this maid was ordered by my cousin to accompany us to the clothing store. You two can ask her. My mother and I have not uttered a single lie!”

Qingyin, the maid who immediately became the focus of everyone's attention, knelt down in a panic and confusion, stammering, "It was...it was the eldest young lady who asked me to accompany...to accompany Madam Wei and Miss Biao to the clothing store to change clothes."

Haruno couldn't understand why the young lady would stage such a clumsy and harmful act.

Upon hearing Qingyin's reply, Prime Minister Fu and Madam Li looked at Fu Siying in astonishment, and even Yunzhi and Rongchen were startled.

Facing the accusing and condemning gazes of everyone, Fu Siying shook off Yunzhi's support and took a step forward.

"These clothes weren't made for them by me!" she cried out in anguish. "Father and Mother would rather believe two outsiders who just arrived than believe me?"

Seeing the hesitation and confusion in her father and mother's eyes, Fu Siying suddenly turned to Wei Lanling, who was kneeling on the ground, and grabbed Wei Lanling's hair, pulling it hard!

At the same time, he trembled and angrily cursed, "I'll tear these two scoundrels apart right now!"

In an instant, Wei Lanling screamed, Xiao Li cried out in alarm, and the Fu family members panicked and tried to drag Fu Siying away, causing chaos in front of the Fu family's gate.

Just then, a carriage drove in from the alleyway. The carriage stopped in front of the Fu residence, and a man in blue robes carrying a bundle jumped out.

When the people got closer, Li noticed that the person was the manager of the clothing store.

Li hurriedly ordered everyone to be quiet.

Seeing the chaotic scene at the Fu family mansion, the clothing store manager was completely bewildered. He quickly walked up to them and bowed repeatedly to the Fu family members.

"This humble servant greets Your Excellency the Prime Minister and Madam Fu."

Li asked angrily, "What are you doing here?"

The shopkeeper presented the bundle in his arms and explained, "The young lady ordered two sets of blue women's clothing from the shop. About half an hour ago, the young lady's maid led a woman and a young lady to the shop to change into the new clothes."

At this point, the shopkeeper looked embarrassed and ashamed: "It's just that the maid in charge of clothing in the shop is new and she was in a hurry, so she sent over clothes that other customers had ordered. What I have in my hand are the clothes that Miss ordered before."

After saying that, he handed the bundle in his hand to Li.

Li was shocked and hurriedly took the bundle. When she opened it, she saw two sets of light blue clothes neatly folded inside. The color was elegant, the pattern was simple, and the style was generous, without the slightest imperfection.

Clutching her clothes, Li looked at Fu Siying with a mixture of shock and regret: "Yingying..."

Fu Siying looked at her mother, then at the two new blue clothes, and her breathing became rapid with anger, her chest heaving.

When she turned her head again, she saw that Xiao Li was looking at her with surprise, while Wei Lanling looked completely incredulous.

"Hmph! Let go!"

Fu Siying broke free from Xiao Li's hand that was gripping her arm, pushed Wei Lanling, and used the momentum to get up.

As he stood up, he still had Wei Lanling's hair in his hand. Under the guise of adjusting his clothes, he deliberately gave it a hard tug, causing Wei Lanling to clutch her head and cry out in pain.

Fu Siying was annoyed that Wei Lanling's scalp was tough enough to prevent her from tearing off a piece of it.

She took the two blue robes from her mother, held them out to her father, then to Xiao Li and Wei Lanling, and said angrily, "These are the clothes I made for you two!"

Having said that, he tossed the clothes down at the shopkeeper's feet: "I don't want these clothes anymore. Take them and burn them. I'll still pay you!"

The shopkeeper nervously picked up the clothes, glanced at the Fu family's expressions, and murmured his agreement.

Li said with great displeasure, "Xianjin Clothing Store is the largest clothing store in the capital. How could it make such an absurd mistake?"

"I know I was wrong, and I will definitely manage the servants and maids better in the future!"

Everyone was annoyed by this absurd scene, and Madam Li urged the clothing store manager to leave quickly.

The shopkeeper, looking troubled, said in a low voice, "If I may be so bold as to ask, Madam Fu, this lady and young lady are wearing clothes that other guests have ordered, and those guests will be picking them up soon, so could we... could we..."

Before Li could speak, Fu Siying retorted sharply, "Wearing clothes like that, don't even think about entering the Fu family!"

Having said that, he turned and went into the mansion.

Yunzhi and Rongchen hurriedly chased after them. Prime Minister Fu, feeling flustered, instructed Li Shi to make arrangements and then went into the mansion.

Seeing her helpless and aggrieved half-sister and niece, Madam Li sighed deeply and ordered the servants to help them up.

"Sister, Lanling, what happened today is too absurd. However, we avoid snakes in our house, so we cannot allow you to enter the mansion to change clothes. Please bear with us and change these clothes in the carriage."

What could Xiao Li and Wei Lanling say in response? They could only suppress their tears and agree.

The two entered the carriage, took off their new clothes which they had worn less than half an hour ago, and changed into the plain linen clothes they had come in with. When they emerged from the carriage again, the slight air of nobility that the new clothes had given them had completely vanished, leaving only a gloomy sorrow and distress.

Along with the new clothes, one also takes off one's face and dignity.

Wei Lanling was filled with shame and indignation, and tears streamed down her face.

After returning to the mansion, Fu Siying went straight to her bedroom and locked the door, ignoring Yunzhi and Rongchen who were comforting her outside.

It wasn't until Prime Minister Fu and Madam Li arrived and pleaded with her outside the room that Fu Siying opened the door with red eyes.

As soon as she entered the door, Madam Li hugged Fu Siying tightly: "Yingying, it was my fault, I shouldn't have doubted you!"

Given his earlier doubts about his daughter, Prime Minister Fu found it difficult to face her and said, "Father was wrong too. Yingying, please forgive me this time. There will be no next time."

Fu Siying pursed her lips, her face filled with indignation: "That mother and daughter only cried and begged, and if they spoke sincerely, you all trusted them completely. In the blink of an eye, I've become the villain!"

Li felt deeply guilty, but was also in a dilemma: "This matter was entirely due to the confusion of that clothing store, and your aunt and cousin were indeed telling the truth."

"Am I lying?" Fu Siying broke free from her mother's embrace. "Why is it that when it's the same truth, you believe her but not me, your own daughter?"

For a moment, Prime Minister Fu and Lady Li were speechless.

Fu Siying stepped back in annoyance: "If it happens once, it will happen twice, and then it will happen three more times. This kind of thing will keep happening!"

When her daughter looked at her with such distance, Li's heart ached so much she could only sob: "No, no, your mother and father will definitely believe in you from now on! Believe in our family!"

Fu Zai Lian echoed, "Yes, yes! I promise you, I will always trust our own family from now on!"

Fu Siying's anger did not subside, and she sneered, "I believe in Father and Mother's promises now, but I do not believe that Father and Mother will be bewitched by the poisonous snake spirit in the future."

The re-emergence of the venomous snake spirit greatly alarmed the Fu family, who had already experienced numerous setbacks.

Fu Rongchen spoke without restraint, asking in confusion, "Why are these two wearing other people's clothes, one black and one white, with snake scale patterns?"

Prime Minister Fu sighed deeply, looked at Fu Siying intently, and said, "This absurd event is too coincidental. If it is not man-made, then it must be a sign from Heaven."

Now that the person has been brought into the home, it will certainly be difficult to send them out again.

Mrs. Li was filled with regret: "This happened before I even entered the house, I'm afraid it will be..."

"Don't overthink it, just take it easy for now," Prime Minister Fu said after a long pause. "The monks from Tianfu Temple will be here soon to perform a ritual to drive away the evil spirits."

Fu Siying glanced at her family members' faces, feeling guilty for their worries and anxieties, but more pleased that they were now wary of Xiao Li and Wei Lanling.

Only by being prepared can one turn misfortune into good fortune.

……

The weather was nice that day, with a gentle breeze blowing.

Seeing a figure walking out of the courtyard, Qingyin hurriedly chased after her: "Miss, where are you going? This servant will accompany you."

Fu Siying didn't stop walking, glancing coldly at Qingyin: "No need."

Harune's face was covered in injuries.

Ever since the incident with the snake-scale patterned new clothes, Fu Siying had been quite cold towards Qingyin. It wasn't that she completely disliked Qingyin, but rather that she simply wanted to teach Qingyin a lesson.

This girl is so inflexible. When it's time to protect her master, a servant should know how to lie!

As I passed through the courtyard, I saw my mother, Xiao Li, and Wei Lanling sitting idly under the eaves.

She intended to ignore it and walk past without looking at it, but her mother called out to her again: "Yingying."

Fu Siying stopped and looked sideways.

When Xiao Li and Wei Lanling saw her looking at them, they both immediately became reserved and uneasy, and put on a timid, ingratiating smile.