Chapter 20
Xu Lipeng, Young Master Yongning, was the fiancé her mother had chosen for her long ago.
He was considered one of the few talented young men in the capital. A lot of noble madams wanted him to be their son-in-law. Compared to those playboys, he was really a great man.
Qu Moying’s had weak eyesight, but he had never asked to cancel the engagement and had even claimed publicly that he would marry her. The engagement had been settled when Qu Moying’s mother and Madam Yongning had been very close. At that time, Qu Moying hadn’t been born yet. Anyway, the engagement still couldn’t be broken!
Because of that, Young Master Yongning had received more compliments. People praised that he was a faithful guy who was even willing to marry a blind and ugly girl whose mother had died.
Of course, it was merely hearsay. People said Young Master Yongning was a kind and gentle man and the Yongning family had never looked down upon Qu Moying. However, Qu Moying never felt their kindness for once.
For all these years she had stayed in the estate, the Yongning family had never sent anyone to inquire about her condition or given her any gifts. After she had gone back to the Qu’s mansion, she had only met Young Master Yongning once and it was totally by accident. At that time, he was chatting and laughing with Qu Qiuyan and her cousin Yu Qingmeng.
Yu Chun had met him a few days ago, so she told Qu Moying who that was.
The sudden encounter was a surprise for everyone. Xu Lipeng only took a glance at her indifferently and then left with Qu Qiuyan and Yu Qingmeng, seeming not interested in her at all.
And that was the only glance he had given to her.
Also, what he had seen was the top of Qu Moying’s head because the latter had lowered her head nervously.
The disdainful and distant look on his face suggested that he didn’t want to marry Qu Moying at all. The former Qu Moying had assumed that Xu Lipeng was just too shy to talk to her in front of Qu Qiuyan and Yu Qinmeng. However, the Qu Moying now could tell herself clearly that this man just despised her.
The so-called deep love was merely a joke.
What she didn’t understand was that since he didn’t want to marry her, why hadn’t he canceled the engagement. Was it because of his reputation? If so, she might have to guard against a gentle guy like him!
The former Qu Moying would explain for him, but now she would only assume the worst of him.
Since he wanted to cancel the engagement which he despised and kept his good reputation at the same time, he must have planned something evil.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Old Lady Qu!” A tender voice came through. The one who talked was Young Master Yongning who also seemed very tender.
“It’s my pleasure. Young Master Yongning, please sit down!” Old Lady Qu said smilingly.
Xu Lipeng also gave obeisance to Qu Moying. Then Qu Moying stood up to return a greeting. Only after Xu Lipeng sat down did she sit back. After that, she fiddled with the ribbon of her veil with her head lowered while listening to Xu Lipeng’s reason for his visit.
Seeing them greeting each other so naturally, Old Lady Qu nodded secretly. Now she was more satisfied with this Young Master Yongning than before.
“My mom heard that Fourth Lady had come back, so she asked me to say hello.” After Xu Lipeng sat tight, he said that with a smile.
Qu Moying only found it quite ironic. They had already run into each other before, but now he still pretended that this was the first time they met. She had known he was good at acting!
“Please express my thanks to Madam Yongning!” Old Lady Qu smiled.
“My mom heard that Fourth Lady had come back in a hurry this time. She was afraid that Fourth Lady didn’t bring enough clothes, so she wanted me to bring Fourth Lady to Huayi Store to pick some. After all, Old Lady Qu’s birthday will be in a couple of days.” Xu Lipeng said gently while casting his eyes over, smiling.
His veiled words not only showed the good intention of Madam Yongning but also his regards for Qu Moying’s feelings. Qu Moying had been living in the countryside and never had any fine clothes. Even after she had gone to the capital, the clothes Old Lady Qu had given to her were not of the best quality. Because the best ones had already been taken away by Yu and Qu Qiuyan.
Since Xu Lipeng had said those words, it meant his family did think much of Qu Moying.
Old Lady Qu secretly nodded.
With Qu Moying’s eyes blinking, she snorted inwardly. No matter how caring Xu Lipeng seemed, she still remembered he had ignored her indifferently. She just didn’t know what this young master was planning now.
Anyway, Qu Moying would deal with him with caution no matter what was on his mind. This man was not a simple person, since he was able to act like a totally different person when facing Old Lady Qu. Also, he pretended to be affectionate and hadn’t broken the engagement until now. It meant he must have been planning something big.
Hearing Xu Lipeng’s words, Old Lady Qu kept nodding. For all these years, she had always been satisfied with Young Master Yongning.
“Ying, the clothes in Huayi Store are nice. Since Young Master Yongning’s free, you should go with him and buy some clothes.” Old Lady Qu told Granny Wu to take some banknotes to Yu Chun. After Old Lady Qu gave a few instructions to Qu Moying, the latter and Xu Lipeng both left.
Since they had already been engaged and there were a lot of servants following them, it was not a big deal for them to hang out together once, no matter how strict the code of ethics was.
Though Old Lady Qu felt that Xu Lipeng was a good man, she still didn’t know if he and her granddaughter would get along. Now she just wanted them to make more contacts with each other so that they wouldn’t be so distant after they got married and Qu Moying would fit in more quickly.
That was why Old Lady Qu had agreed to let Qu Moying and Xu Lipeng go to Huayi Store together.
Now Xu Lipeng was walking ahead, followed by Qu Moying.
He had wanted to wait for Qu Moying to catch up with him so they could chat. However, as he slowed down, Qu Moying also walked slowly. She seemed to have no intention to join him.
“Fourth Lady… are you not feeling well?” Xu Lipeng coughed slightly and asked.
Qu Moying raised her head to look at him and said with an indifferent look in her eyes, “I’m fine. Why did you say that, Young Master?”
“Since you feel all right, why did you walk so slowly? Are you afraid that you would kill those ants?” Xu Lipeng asked gently with a smile, seeming very friendly.
His joke and attitude were easy to win a young girl over.
Qu Moying lifted the corner of her mouth but the look in her eyes was still cold. As she raised her head and was about to say something, she suddenly paused because she saw someone coming.
“Nice to meet you, Young Master!” A sweet voice came through. Xu Lipeng raised his head and saw a beautiful girl standing among the flowers, then there was a complicated look flashing in his eyes.
That look disappeared very fast, but Qu Moying still saw it. She slightly twisted the handkerchief in her hand. This was quite unexpected for her!
The girl’s light yellow dress fluttered in the wind. She was very slim and charming with a pretty face. Now she was watching at Xu Lipeng with her affectionate eyes and totally ignored Qu Moying who was behind him. Or say, she didn’t care if Qu Moying was there!
Qu Moying knew who that was. It was Yu Qingmeng, Yu’s niece and also Qu Qiuyan’s cousin.
Qu Moying stopped quietly and looked to Lady Yu who had spent a lot of time in Qu’s mansion.
Actually, compared to Qu Moying, Yu Qingmeng was more like a lady in Qu’s family…