Chapter 74
“Fourth Lady Qu, are you happy now?” Yu Qingmeng’s first sentence was still peaceful, but the following words she said carried all her anger and hatred as if she was the deceived one.
“Concubine Yu, why do you say that?” Qu Moying stared at Yu Qingmeng with an indifferent look on her face.
“If you want to cancel your engagement, just break it off. Why did you have to dirt my name, frame Young Master Xu to make him marry that shrew? You malicious woman!” Yu Qingmeng’s eyes were bulging in rage. She wished she could run up to Qu Moying and shatter her into pieces.
She should be Young Master Xu’s wife, but now she had to be a concubine, bullied by that aggressive woman – it was all thanks to Qu Moying. Yu had told Yu Qingmeng everything. If Qu Moying didn’t mess up their plan, Yu Qingmeng’s situation wouldn’t be as bad as right now.
Thinking about this, Yu Qingmeng clenched her teeth as her eyes turned red.
If she knew this blind bitch was so hard to deal with, she would convince her aunt to kill her when she was still in the village. Then Qu Moying wouldn’t get any chance to mess up with their life.
Qu Moying looked at Yu Qingmeng, who was almost losing her mind in rage, and she curled up her lips, “Concubine Yu, you were born in a decent family as a noble lady. Before Young Master Xu’s engagement was broken off, you had already hooked up with him and acted intimately in public. Do you really believe Young Master Xu will marry you as his wife for your past behavior? Or to say, Lady Yu, do you ever suspect why Young Master Xu, who cares about his name more than anything, was willing to disobey etiquette in public for you?”
Qu Moying didn’t care about Yu Qingmeng, so she just said whatever she wanted to her.
Their positions had been exchanged when Yu Qingmeng held Xu Lipeng’s hand in public.
“Qu Moying, I knew it was you who framed Second Lady Duan and me.” Hearing her careless words, Yu Qingmeng quivered furiously.
“You should be the most aware one about who framed who, Lady Yu! Just accept reality. If Young Master Xu really loved you so deeply, he would’ve broken off his engagement much earlier and married you as soon as possible.” Qu Moying looked into Yu Qingmeng’s eyes as her sharp words revealed the truth of Xu Lipeng’s so-called love for Yu Qingmeng.
The doubt should have been in Yu Qingmeng’s heart since long ago, but she just didn’t want to accept it.
Qu Moying and Yu Qingmeng had become enemies long ago, so no matter what happened, Yu Qingmeng wouldn’t give up on getting rid of her. Qu Moying’s intention was not to make Yu Qingmeng believe the truth but to destroy her hypocritical ego. Yu Qingmeng had always thought highly of herself and looked down on Qu Moying. Right now, Yu Qingmeng dared come to her room alone to scold her because she still thought Qu Moying was just a weak, blind girl.
If it was Qu Qiuyan, Yu Qingmeng wouldn’t dare to say anything.
She actually fell under the same category as Qu Caiyue, but she knew how to act pitifully, weakly, and innocently to earn people’s sympathy better than Qu Caiyue.
From this perspective, she was a bit like Ji Youran too.
“Qu Moying, you…” Now, Yu Qingmeng’s face turned pale as she was irritated so much by the girl she always disdained. She walked up, trying to slap Qu Moying across her face. Even if she beat Qu Moying, she believed nothing would happen since she still had her aunt’s support.
Yu Dong reacted swiftly. He grabbed Yu Qingmeng’s hand and threw her hard onto the ground.
Yu Qingmeng lost her balance and staggered away. If her maid didn’t go up to support her, she would’ve fallen on the ground already.
“Yu Qingmeng, haven’t you known your identity clearly? You were just a usual official’s daughter who became a noble lady in the capital due to your relationship with my family. Now, you are just nothing. As a concubine, how dare you beat Vice Minister Qu’s daughter?”
Qu Moying snorted, her voice full of disdain. Even though her eyes were covered by the veil, her curled lips showed enough sarcasm, which was extremely irritating for Yu Qingmeng.
“Qu Moying…”
“Concubine Yu, please leave. It’s not appropriate for a concubine to meet a noble lady. People who know about your situation will think you have a good relationship with the Fourth Lady. However, people who don’t know will think Young Master Yongning send you here to threaten the Fourth Lady. The Marquis Yongning’s Family is fully responsible for the broken engagement, and everything is already over. If people think the Marquis Yongning’s Family sent a low-life concubine to insult the Fourth Lady, Young Master Yongning will feel ashamed,” said Yu Dong in a disdainful tone.
After years of working for Pei Yuanjun, Yu Dong had become bold enough to say anything he thought was right. He didn’t care if Yu Qingmeng was a wife or a concubine and didn’t regret what he said.
He was not an ordinary maid. He was not even a woman. So, he naturally acted more boldly than typical maids, and his words tended to be more straightforward.
Feelings offended by a maid’s words, Yu Qingmeng’s face turned red in rage, “How dare you say this to me, you little bitch.”
“I can say whatever you want to hear, Concubine Yu, but you’d better go back now. You are not a wife but just a concubine. Visiting the Fourth Lady is too inappropriate for your current identity.” Yu Dong didn’t take any step back.
So many different emotions were boiling inside Yu Qingmeng that she pointed at Qu Moying but couldn’t say anything. It was her first time being insulted by a maid, not to mention Qu Moying’s maid.
Then she turned around and strode out.
But she heard footsteps coming from behind. “Concubine Yu, let me walk you out to thank you for your visit this time. We can’t let people think the Fourth Lady and her maids mistreat you, right?”
It was Yu Dong, who was beaming.
Yu Qingmeng wished she could rush up to slap this rude maid, but her wrist was still hurting, reminding her not to do so.
When they finally arrived at the yard door, Yu Qingmeng walked faster, trying to leave this place as quickly as possible.
However, Yu Dong’s pitiful voice came from behind again, “Concubine Yu, take care! The Fourth Lady really doesn’t have anything to do with your situation. Please don’t blame it on her. Her engagement has already been broken off. What else do you want? Please don’t find her trouble anymore.”
Yu Qingmeng shivered in rage.
Some guests of the Dabei Temple passed by and looked at her with a weird look, while others heard Yu Dong’s words, pointed at her, and whispered with each other.
She almost lost control of herself and vented it all out. Then she suddenly remembered what Yu said to her before she went here. She tried hard to suppress the boiling emotions and even had a taste of blood around her throat. With her maid, she continued to walk outside.
Ever since Qu Caiyue made a big scene, more people showed up around the Qu Family’s yard, trying to get the newest update of this drama. Whenever a stranger showed up here, they would discuss with each other and look at the stranger curiously.
Seeing many people around, Yu Qingmeng gave up on heading to Qu Qiuyan’s yard. She turned right and returned to Xu Lipeng and her yard.
Upon her entry, Yu Qingmeng’s eyes turned red immediately as tears formed inside. She ignored her servants’ greetings, slowed her walking pace, and used a hanky to wipe her eyes. The anger on her face turned into sadness and grievance.
When she stepped into the room, she was already sobbing.
“What happened? Didn’t you go to visit Third Lady Qu? Why are you crying right now?” Xu Lipeng asked her in shock. He walked closer and gently pulled her down on a chair.
“I-I met Fourth Lady Qu. She…she…” Yu Qingmeng couldn’t even finish her words. She leaned on Xu Lipeng’s chest and started to cry out loud.
Xu Lipeng waved his hand to signal every servant in the room to leave.
“What happened? What did she do to you?” Xu Lipeng asked in a soft voice, frowning.
“She…she… She and even her maid insulted me, saying that… They said that…I lowered myself…to…to be your concubine…” Yu Qingmeng choked while sobbing, her hand grabbing Xu Lipeng’s coat.
“How dare they!” Xu Lipeng said coldly as a trace of rage flashed across his eyes. Then he comforted Yu Qingmeng gently, “It’s alright. Don’t cry. Just don’t even go meet her again. I don’t think she can have the chance to marry into a decent family anymore. Maybe you don’t even need to deal with her in your entire life.”
In Xu Lipeng’s eyes, Qu Moying was just a girl with an eye problem and no talent. After her engagement with him was broken off, no decent man would be willing to marry her. Moreover, Yu wouldn’t allow her to marry into a good family either.
“But I will visit my cousin and my aunt from time to time. If she keeps…keeps doing so, what should I do?” Yu Qingmeng sniffed, raised her eyes, and looked into Xu Lipeng’s. Even while crying, her eyes were full of affection for Xu Lipeng.
Xu Lipeng always enjoyed the feeling of being admired by a woman like this.
Yu Qingmeng had occupied an important spot in his heart for years, so he naturally treated her differently than other women. He felt guilty for making her marry him as a concubine and treated her even more nicely after their marriage.
“I’ll go with you next time when you visit the Qu Family.”
It meant he would go support her.
That was good news for Yu Qingmeng. She nodded and straightened up, but a few seconds later, she started to wipe her eyes again as if she had thought about something else.
“Why are you crying again? If there’s anything else, just tell me. Don’t bear it by yourself. I know Qu Moying mistreats you, and we will have chances later to make her pay for it,” Xu Lipeng reassured Yu Qingmeng.
“Young Master… Does Qu Moying fall in love with someone else, and that’s why she…she set you up? I heard it from my cousin. Qu Moying is such an annoying girl. After all the years you had kept the promise and been laughed at by everyone else, you still didn’t even think about breaking off the engagement. But how dare she forced you to break it off and marry…marry that shrew because of a tiny little thing?”
Yu Qingmeng looked at Xu Lipeng and said with aggrievance and sadness.
Yu Qingmeng acted so pitifully and showed her full support for Xu Lipeng, which pleased him, but her words aroused his anger. Qu Moying was such a shameless woman! If it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t try to set up the lady of the Duan Family. But the one he wanted was First Lady Duan instead of Second Lady Duan, who had a bad reputation for being vixenish.
Thinking about himself being forced to marry a shrew, Xu Lipeng felt annoyed. Even though he had a good reason to break off the engagement because he had to save Second Lady Duan, who fell into the lake, some people still suspected his true intention, such as the young masters who were with him together that day. They even jokingly asked did he save another lady because he didn’t want to marry the blind lady of the Qu Family.
Because of this, he was no longer the perfect Young Master Yongning in people’s eyes and brought big trouble into his own life. He could foresee his unpeaceful marriage life after marrying Duan Jinxiang.
Noticing the stiff look on Xu Lipeng’s face, Yu Qingmeng knew she successfully made him angry. Then she said with her teary eyes, “I heard from my cousin that there seems to be something between Fourth Lady Qu and Second Young Master Yan. They almost made a big scandal before…”