Gossip

The Duchess's scream reverberated throughout the entire palace and everyone covered their ears from the shrill hysterical scream.

Qingli was still sleeping at that time and she was shocked awake by the scream. Glaring at the direction of the scream, she put on a cloak and opened the door.

The servants standing guard outside were whispering. The moment they heard their mistress's door open, they immediately shut their mouths and bowed towards Qingli.

"What happened?" Qingli asked them.

Seeing the servants tremble at her question, it seems like no matter how much she acts like Qingli, she could not replace her. That night when she stood against Qingli's mother had instilled a fear so strong that nothing could overwrite it. Qingli sighed internally. This was not the result she had wanted. If the servants are so fearful, they would be too cautious to say anything and information will get to Qingli slower.

Since there is nothing she could do, there is no point pretending any further.

"Do not make me repeat myself," Qingli narrowed her eyes.

Seeing that their mistress has gotten angry, they immediately kneeled down and kowtowed. Their lives are in the hands of this young girl. If she felt unhappy, she could have them dragged out and killed without batting an eyelash. The previous kind Qingli would never have such a thought or treat them in such a way but ever since that night, it seems like their young miss has changed. Maybe she finally realized that her mother and sister were not as kind as they appear to be and wanted to harm her which woke her up from her naivety. The servants in Qingli courtyard were all happy for their young mistress to mature but they were sad at the same time because they could no longer return to those happy times where Qingli had treated her servants as a family instead of having a master and servant relationship.

"Please have mercy, eldest young miss." They begged as they knocked their heads against the hard concrete.

"I said, do not make me repeat myself," Qingli stated coldly again.

The servants stopped their kowtow as they thought what their mistress asked before they hastily replied.

"Young miss has just woken up and might not know but recently everyone has been gossiping about the second young miss," one of the servants slowly said while eyeing her reaction.

It is known to all that Qingli adores and pampers her sister. For them to speak ill of her sister in front of her, isn't that asking for death?

"Oh? What kind of gossip?" Qingli raised an eyebrow. She had been busy bringing soup to that little brat so she did not have much time to hear the gossip going around. Her main source of gossip, Yu Ling, had been very careful around her these days ever since she sensed the change in Qingli. This had made Qingli cut off from the gossip around the palace these days.

"The servant dares not say because the rumors of the second young miss are really not nice to hear," the servants averted their eyes away awkwardly.

"Stop wasting my time. This young miss is the one asking you to tell me the gossip going around among the servants, you are not allowed to miss a single detail." Qingli rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"The thing is, us humble servants are not too sure how true this rumor is but there were servants who have personally seen that the second young miss's appearance has changed. She used to be very beautiful with pale skin and big bright eyes but recently, the servants have seen her pale skin becoming yellowish and her eyes slowly becoming shrunken. It was truly a shock." One of the servants immediately spilled the beans.

"Yes, indeed. It was as if the second young miss aged 30 years over the course of a week," the other servant nodded along.

Qingli hid her smile behind her sleeve and she appeared to be thoughtful of this piece of information. 30 years? Looks like the poison had worked quicker than what Qingli foresaw. There is only one explanation and that is Qingle had a weak body.

If a normal person drank the same amount of soup for the same period of time as Qingle, it would take at least 2 weeks for such obvious symptoms to show. Qingle took half of the usual time, most likely because she was kept inside her room to copy those books as punishment. Without sunlight exposure, the poison will spread even faster. Seems like Qingli could only speed up her plans.

"That scream that was heard a few minutes ago must be the Duchess finding out the second young miss's appearance. After all, she had always favored the second young miss, saying she is more beautiful than eldest young miss. Seeing her appearance must have given her a big shock!" the servants spoke gleefully.

Nobody in this palace likes the Duchess and Qingle as they had always thrown their weight around and was bossy and demanding. Their attitude made the servants dislike them but being servants, they cannot complain and could only bottle up in their hearts. Now that something bad has happened to them, how can they not be happy?

"Alright, I'll head over to younger sister's courtyard to take a look. Where is Yu Ling?" Qingli looked around, trying to find her personal maidservant. Yu Ling would normally be the first person she would see in the mornings but today she is not around?

"Second young miss had been wanting to drink the soup that eldest young miss always sent and demanded Yu Ling to send it to her. I think she has departed around half an hour ago?" One of the servants recalled Yu Ling holding a pot and reminded them to tend to eldest young miss before she headed towards the second young miss's courtyard.

"She went to younger sister's courtyard?" Qingli had a bad feeling. She immediately walked towards Qingle's courtyard to take a look.