The Empress's natal family was hosting a flower appreciation banquet, and the Empress was certain to attend.
As the Empress's daughter and the model noblewoman among the young ladies of the aristocracy, Li Qingwu naturally couldn't decline the invitation.
For the young ladies fortunate enough to receive an invitation, it was an honor. After all, it was not only a recognition of their individual status but also a reflection of their family's standing in high society.
Moreover, these noble daughters were confined to their residences most of the year, seeing fewer sights than even the servant girls. Such rare occasions were something they eagerly looked forward to.
And this was no ordinary invitation, it was from the Grand Duchess herself.
Li Qingwu, accompanied by Fu Ling, went to the princess's estate to personally select a suitable gift.
Yu Ming held the warehouse inventory list, checking each item carefully as Li Qingwu browsed. Yet, after a long search, she still hadn't found anything to her satisfaction.
It wasn't until Fu Ling picked up a finely wrapped small box and, puzzled by the inscription on the lid, read aloud word by word:
"A Red Sleeve House product... guaranteed to be of the finest quality?"
Li Qingwu tilted her head, the name Red Sleeve House sounding somewhat familiar. "What is this?"
Yu Ming was also uncertain at first, but upon hearing the name, her expression shifted drastically.
"Where did this come fro—ah."
"What's wrong?"
Yu Ming hesitated before stammering, "I remember now… this belongs to my mistress. She left it here a few days ago, saying she wouldn't be needing it…"
Just as the words left her mouth, Fu Ling said, "Then let me see if we can take it as a gift for the Grand Duchess—"
"Wait—" Yu Ming blurted out instinctively, but she was a step too late.
Fu Ling had already opened the box.
She stared at the contents inside, completely uncomprehending.
Li Qingwu didn't recognize them either. Seeing Fu Ling's unusual expression, she tentatively asked, "What is it?"
With lightning speed, Yu Ming snatched the box back from Fu Ling's hands, forcing a guilty smile. "It's just… nothing valuable. My mistress said there was no need for Her Highness to concern herself with it…"
Fu Ling, still confused, frowned. "But Her Highness hasn't even seen what it is yet."
Li Qingwu fixed Yu Ming with a steady gaze.
After a long moment, she finally looked away and murmured softly, "Forget it."
Since Qiu Che didn't want her to see it, then she wouldn't.
Yu Ming exhaled in relief, clutching the box as she wondered what to do with it. But just as she was lost in thought, Li Qingwu suddenly asked, "Did this come from Yao Tai?"
Yu Ming instinctively responded, "Yes."
Li Qingwu stood in front of her, not turning back, her tone calm, just a casual question.
Having received an answer, she gave no further reaction.
Yet Yu Ming felt oddly unsettled.
After some hesitation, she cautiously added, "It was a wedding gift from Miss Yao Tai. My mistress saw it, found it inappropriate, and decided not to show it to you…"
What kind of wedding gift consisted of two exquisitely carved jade pleasure rods and a manual of bedroom techniques?
She still remembered the moment Qiu Che opened the box. At first, she was puzzled, then picked up the booklet and glanced at it, only to immediately shut it, her expression utterly dumbfounded.
She probably hadn't expected Yao Tai's gift to be so bold and scandalous.
Thinking of this, even Yu Ming couldn't help but blush on her mistress's behalf.
Li Qingwu simply nodded, asking no more questions.
Once she had finally selected a suitable gift and left with it, Yu Ming hurried to report the matter to Qiu Che.
Qiu Che, holding a book in her hands, stiffened slightly. "Did you tell her what it was?"
Yu Ming quickly shook her head. "No. But… it's really not appropriate to keep this in the warehouse. Should we just throw it away?"
Qiu Che looked mildly exasperated. After a moment of silence, she said, "Give it to me."
Yu Ming handed over the box with a knowing look, as if she had expected this outcome.
But Qiu Che, taking the box, suddenly added, "By the way."
"Li Qingwu is one of us now. If there's any information, you don't have to deliberately keep it from her."
"For situations like today, minor and insignificant matters, if she really wants to know, it's fine to tell her."
After a pause, she added, "But if you're ever unsure about something, report it to me first."
Yu Ming understood exactly what Qiu Che meant. She bowed and acknowledged the order.
Qiu Che then raised her voice slightly, "Did you hear that?"
From the rooftop outside, a figure suddenly dropped down, a stalk of wild grass dangling lazily from her lips. She answered in a muffled voice, "Got it."
It was Yu Yan.
She had reached a crucial stage in her martial training lately and had become as restless as a bird, flitting about everywhere. She had also developed an obsession with practicing acrobatic stunts like the "hanging golden rooster" and had started mimicking the stoic shadow guard, Fu Feng, by constantly chewing on something.
She called it "style."
Yu Ming called it "insanity."
As the sisters joked back and forth, Qiu Che simply watched with a faint smile. Suddenly, her right eyelid twitches.
She paused, then lifted her gaze toward the direction where Li Qingwu had left.
All she saw was a darkening sky, heavy with impending rain.
For the rest of the afternoon, an inexplicable unease lingered in Qiu Che's heart.
Yet the spies she had stationed to watch over the Qiu family father and son reported back that they were behaving themselves and hadn't made any moves.
And with Fu Feng by Li Qingwu's side, there shouldn't be any danger.
So why this unsettling feeling?
As dusk fell and a torrential downpour began, her premonition came true.
Fu Feng arrived, drenched in rain, kneeling before her as he reported, word by word:
"Something has happened at the Grand Duke's estate."
By the time Qiu Che arrived, groups of noblewomen were huddled under their umbrellas, whispering in twos and threes, gathered around a secluded courtyard.
At the center of the veranda, the Empress and the Grand Duchess sat side by side. The Grand Duchess looked exhausted, but the Empress's face was dark as ink.
Before them, Li Qingwu stood poised and graceful, while the commander of the Imperial Guards, Yuan Fu, stood with his clothes in disarray, head bowed in silence.
Inside the inner room, Yao Tai sat with only a robe draped over her shoulders. She looked disheveled yet oddly entertained as she gazed out at the scene.
Qiu Che instantly recognized the outer robe she wore, it belonged to Li Qingwu.
As the famed head courtesan of Red Sleeve House, Yao Tai was known for her virtue of selling art, not herself. It was not unusual for distinguished guests to invite her to perform at such elegant gatherings, entertaining the noble ladies with dance and music.
But what on earth was she doing with the commander of the Imperial Guards…?
But the news Fu Feng brought her only mentioned that when Li Qingwu arrived at Yao Tai's place, she saw the two of them entangled together, stark naked.
She was the first to discover them, but before she could make any arrangements, someone had already brought the Empress and a group of noble ladies over.
The moment they arrived, the atmosphere turned unbearably awkward.
Li Qingwu had no choice but to send Fu Feng back to the Princess's residence to inform Qiu Che.
Though, in truth, informing her wouldn't change much, Qiu Che was currently presenting as a man, and it wouldn't be appropriate for her to suddenly appear at the banquet.
But Li Qingwu's intentions were clear.
A perfectly respectable flower-viewing banquet had turned into a scandal, the commander of the Imperial Guards was caught in bed with a courtesan, an undeniable disgrace.
Li Qingwu wasn't particularly close to Yao Tai, but since she was allied with Qiu Che, her first instinct was to protect her.
The problem was that the Commander of the Imperial Guard, Yuan Fu, had ties with the Empress, while Yao Tai was merely a courtesan.
If the Empress wanted to shield her lover by placing all the blame on Yao Tai, even Li Qingwu couldn't guarantee she could protect her.
So for now, her only hope lay with Qiu Che.
But until they fully understood the situation, there was little Qiu Che could do.
In the crowd, Qiu Che silently met Li Qingwu's gaze, offering her a reassuring look before subtly lowering her head and shrinking into a corner.
She needed to listen carefully to figure out what was really going on.
At the moment, she was dressed as a maid, her makeup no longer accentuating masculine features. She looked completely different from her usual self.
Even if her own mother, Madam Wang, stood right before her, she would hesitate to recognize her.
Li Qingwu must have spotted her too, as she briefly froze in place. She only snapped out of it when the Empress's reprimand rang out.
"You claim this woman is innocent. So you mean to say all the blame falls on Commander Yuan?" the Empress asked coldly. "Then perhaps you can explain, why were you here in the first place?"
Li Qingwu bowed gracefully and replied calmly, "I meant no such thing. I am merely stating the facts—as everyone knows, when a man is intent, a woman has little power to resist."
"How boldly she speaks. Almost as if she has personal experience."
"Isn't she married to that young, handsome top scholar? I heard they're deeply in love. Perhaps she does have experience."
Li Qingwu clearly heard the noble ladies whispering, her ears flushing slightly. But she remained composed.
"As for why I was here," she continued, "it was because my mother's personal maid, Ying Yue, informed me that Her Majesty had been waiting for me here."
At a flower-viewing banquet, the guests were spread across different areas. Li Qingwu had only briefly greeted the Empress at the start. When she was told the Empress was waiting, she had naturally come over.
And indeed, Ying Yue was nowhere to be seen beside the Empress now.
"My maid can confirm this," she added.
Fu Ling stepped forward, nodding hurriedly. "It's true! Your Majesty—"
But the Empress, growing impatient, cut her off with a wave of her hand.
"If you claim to have no involvement in this matter, then why go out of your way to defend a courtesan? She is right here—why not let her speak for herself?"
Yao Tai, who had been waiting for her turn, smiled and was about to step forward when Li Qingwu bowed again and interjected, "Mother, she is but a weak woman who has just endured such an ordeal. Please do not push her too hard."
The Empress let out a cold snort.
Yao Tai immediately understood Li Qingwu's underlying message. Her eyes flickered, and she quickly put on a pitiful expression, like a delicate flower ravaged by the storm. Sniffling, she stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, I have been wronged!" She knelt on the ground, voice trembling. "It was raining, and I felt cold, so I came to the rear courtyard to fetch an extra layer. I never expected this vile man to appear out of nowhere, I was powerless to resist, and that's why—"
"Don't spout nonsense!" Yuan Fu's eyes widened in fury. "It was you who seduced—"
But he suddenly choked on his words, glancing at the Empress's darkening expression before swallowing back the rest of his protest.
Seizing the moment, Yao Tai resumed her sobbing, painting herself as the helpless victim.
With both sides locked in a heated argument, Li Qingwu, after listening for a while, found the whole situation oddly familiar.
Her gaze flickered toward the crowd, Qiu Che had already blended in, nowhere to be seen.
Yet just knowing Qiu Che was here gave her a sense of reassurance.
Taking a quiet breath, Li Qingwu spoke before the Empress could erupt in anger.
"Both of you," she said softly.
"When you entered the room, did you both feel a slight heat in your bodies?"
Her words were subtle, but the two of them immediately reacted in unison.
"Yes."
Yuan Fu looked at her in surprise. "How does Your Highness know that?"
Li Qingwu simply smiled.
The Empress had also caught on. Sitting up straight, she gestured for another maid, Lianyi, to inspect the room.
Moments later, Lianyi returned, carrying a small incense burner. Bowing, she reported, "Your Majesty, it contains rosemary."
While the gathered noblewomen looked puzzled, the Empress's expression grew serious.
Qiu Che's gaze discreetly shifted toward the incense burner.
This method… it felt eerily familiar.
Could this be another of Prime Minister Wu's schemes?
But why would he do this?
As she pondered, she noticed Li Qingwu swaying slightly as she approached the incense burner.
Before she could dwell on it further, a sudden, piercing scream rang out from outside the courtyard, sending a jolt through everyone present.
"Something terrible has happened!"
A maid stumbled in, drenched from the pouring rain, her face pale with fear.
"Th-there's a dead body in the garden!"