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“Emm…” Xiao was stunned by Qu Moying’s sudden change of the topic.

“The Crown Princess has deceased. Earl Ling’an and Cousin Yanyue are the only two people left in her family. Please allow us to meet her, Madam,” said Yue Wenhan as his eyes fell on Old Lady Ji’s face. He started to feel weird about their attitude, so he supported Qu Moying.

“Please, Madam,” Qu Moying immediately followed.

Behind the veil, her eyes were cold and sharp. She knew her father and younger sister probably had passed away already. Still, she wanted to see the Ji Family’s reaction. Now, she was sure that Xiao and even Old Lady Ji both knew what had happened to her father and younger sister. She couldn’t believe why Old Lady Ji could be so cruel to let her own son get killed!

Old Lady Ji fell into silence for a few seconds. “Yanyue passed away.” Then she lowered her head and wiped her tears with a hanky.

“What?” Yue Wenhan was truly shocked by this answer that he didn’t expect at all. He pulled a long face. “Why did I never hear of it? How did she die? Why didn’t you even hold a funeral for her?”

Ji Yanyue was also Earl Ling’an’s daughter given birth by his wife, but no one knew she was dead. There was no funeral, no death announcement. If Qu Moying didn’t ask today, Yue Wenhan would only think Ji Yanyue didn’t feel well. It would not be strange for a little girl like her if she had a mental breakdown after what happened to her older sister and father.

Ji Yanyue didn’t show up, maybe just because she was taking care of Earl Ling’an at home, who was heavily sick, or she wasn’t feeling well. However, Yue Wenhan never considered the possibility that she was dead.

Qu Moying had known about her younger sister’s death long ago, but the pain of hearing it again could still tell her heart apart. Suppressing the grief, she stood up with Yue Wenhan and asked Old Lady Ji sternly, “Madam, how did Cousin Yanyue die? Why have we never heard of it before? Did someone murder her?”

Startled by her questioning, Old Lady Ji’s hand trembled as tears formed in her eyes. “Yanyue had been feeling unwell for a while. She died of sickness on the day before the Crown Prince’s wedding. The whole empire was ready to celebrate the big day. How could we let her death affect the Crown Prince’s wedding? We had to decide to cover up her death and bury her quickly, which was approved by the Crown Princess too.”

“Yeah, we were all in a panic after it. Both Earl Ling’an and the Crown Princess thought it would be better to not announce it. So, we held a private funeral in our family for Yanyue and didn’t even dare to wear mourning clothes. Earl Ling’an took some people to bury Yanyue in the end. However, no one knew bad things would’ve happened to the Crown Princess at the wedding. Suffering from sudden anxiety and worry, Earl Ling’an himself broke down too,” Xiao explained while wiping her tears.

So, Earl Ling’an’s sudden sickness was not only because of the heavily injured and dying Crown Princess but also his little daughter Ji Yanyue’s death. This seemed to explain well why Earl Ling’an, who had always been a robust man, suddenly fell sick. It would be weird if it was only because the Crown Princess was heavily injured in the assassination.

But actually, it was because of his two daughters.

“We didn’t expect something would happen to the Crown Princess too. Our initial plan was to announce Yanyue’s death after the wedding. But then the assassination in the Eastern Palace took place, and the Crown Princess had been at death’s door. We had to delay the announcement, fearing that it would bring bad luck to the Crown Princess’s recovery… So, it ended up like this…”

Old Lady Ji couldn’t stop sobbing as tears kept dripping down from her eyes.

“Mother, you can’t cry anymore. Otherwise, you will hurt your eyes. Everything has happened already. If the Crown Princess sees you like this in the underworld, she will feel sad too,” Xiao hurriedly comforted Old Lady Ji and didn’t even have time to wipe her own tears. Anyone who saw it would think of her as a filial daughter-in-law.

Watching their acting, Qu Moying slightly curled up her lips. She had seen this kind of scene in the Earl Ling’an’s Mansion many times before.

Her mother passed away very early, and Old Lady Ji had been not in good health condition for a long time. Consequently, the responsibility of managing family affairs fell on Xiao’s shoulder. Although the Second Master of the Ji Family was not an earl like his older brother, his family was quite influential in the entire Ji Family.

Ji Youran was right. After Ji Hanyue and her father’s deaths, everything in the Earl Ling’an’s Mansion fell into Second Master Ji and his family’s hands.

Of course, if they didn’t have Pei Luo’an’s support, they would never dare to do so.

“Let me meet Earl Ling’an,” Yue Wenhan said in a cold voice.

He felt more and more suspicious. Since they couldn’t see Ji Yanyue anymore, they had to meet Earl Ling’an, who was said to be heavily sick and lie on his bed.

“I’m afraid he can’t see anyone now. After hearing the Crown Princess’s death, Earl Ling’an threw out blood and is still in a coma now,” Xiao sighed deeply and said.

“Is everyone from the Earl Ling’an’s Mansion here for the Crown Princess’s funeral?” Qu Moying tried hard to hold back the boiling hatred in her heart, looked around, and asked.

“Yes, everyone is here. The Crown Princess’s death is such a big matter. No one dares not to come!” said Xiao.

Occupied herself with crying, Old Lady Ji couldn’t even talk but also avoided answering Qu Moying’s question.

“While Earl Ling’an is still in a coma, lying on his bed, everyone in your family came for the funeral, leaving him alone at home. Do you not care about his life at all, or do you think he will recover soon, so it’s okay to leave him alone?” Qu Moying’s voice was icy.

Xiao didn’t expect Fourth Lady Qu, the useless, ugly girl in the rumors, to dare to say such sharp words in front of the Ji Family. For a second, she felt very flustered since she knew better than anyone the situation of the Ji Family.

Xiao had discussed every detail with her daughter. But Qu Moying just came out of nowhere and kept poking them by questioning things Xiao had to lie about.

If Qu Moying was alone here, Xiao could just scold her to make her shut up. But with Yue Wenhan here, she didn’t dare to do so. Ji Youran had reminded her many times that Yue Wenhan was not easy to deal with.

No matter how scared Xiao felt, she was still a sophisticated person. She raised her head and stared at Qu Moying with her red eyes, “How can you talk like that, Fourth Lady Qu? The Crown Princess’s funeral is more important than anything else, so our whole family must be present. But it’s just today, and we will go back soon after. We won’t just leave Earl Ling’an alone at home.”

She didn’t directly tell them Earl Ling’an’s health condition, only saying that the Crown Princess’s funeral was the most important right now. They had to drop everything on hand to attend the funeral and would go home after a little while.

Hearing Xiao’s explanation that couldn’t be more discreet, Yue Wenhan twisted his brows into a frown.

He was not an innocent lady like Qu Moying. His years of experience in interrogating criminals told him something was wrong. Xiao’s answer was too perfect as if she had prepared it in advance in case people would question her.

Usually, this type of perfect answer was designed to cover up the truth.

However, he still couldn’t understand some things, so he decided to stay quiet and observe the Ji Family’s reaction.

Qu Moying looked around the whole room. This yard maintained the same layout and decoration as when she stayed here before. Every corner had been cleaned up. Then her eyes fell on the young and old maids standing aside, and she recognized some items that Old Lady Ji would use in her daily life. Qu Moying couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. Apparently, the Ji Family planned to stay in the Eastern Palace initially. But they were alerted by her questions, so Xiao changed her mind on the spot.

“Since then, I will go to visit Earl Ling’an with my father tomorrow,” Qu Moying continued. It was better to use Qu Zhizhen’s name now since the Ji Family had no idea whether he would really agree or not.

The Crown Prince delayed the announcement of her death till he found the best timing. Then what about her father? Would they announce her father’s death at the best timing too?

Her intention was to force them to announce her father’s death as soon as possible. Then people would find Earl Ling’an and his family literally died one by one, which didn’t look like accidents but a man-made incident. People’s suspicious would put a lot of pressure on them.

“Yeah, I will go with you tomorrow.” Yue Wenhan had seen everyone’s reaction, and he chose to stand on Qu Moying’s side.

“But…Earl Ling’an is really sick now. I’m afraid he can’t see anyone,” Xiao refused with a sorrowful look on her face.

“I just want to let my father see him once. Moreover…even if…we have to see him for the last time, right?” The look on Qu Moying’s face was grieved, but her words showed her insistence. Even if Earl Ling’an was really at death’s door, he had to meet his relatives for the last time.

The way she said it successfully prevented the Ji Family from rejecting her again. Xiao gnashed her teeth secretly, thinking she could never believe rumors again. Who said Fourth Lady Qu was just a poor orphan who lost her mother and got abandoned by her family? She was obviously a tough one to deal with!

“Alright, allow us to go back home and ask Earl Ling’an about it first. We will reply to you later,” said Xiao.

Old Lady Ji was still wailing, and her crying sounded very sorrowful.

Qu Moying stared at Old Lady Ji for a while, and then she turned to look at Xiao again. “Since then, we will take our leave first.”

She curtsied to them as Yue Wenhan bowed. Then the two of them turned around and left together.

After they left, Xiao waved her hand, signaling all the servants in the room to go. The one staying behind was Granny Wu, who sighed faintly and closed the door for them. Then she stayed outside to guard the door.

In the room, Xiao was convincing Old Lady Ji, “Mother, stop crying. No one wanted this. But…but who would’ve known… If we didn’t do it, the whole family would be killed…” Xiao’s voice was choked.

Old Lady Ji looked up at Xiao with her red, swollen eyes. “This is all my fault! I owe them! This…this is all my fault!”

Her wailing made Xiao feel more anxious. But immediately, she started to wipe her eyes hard, making them look as red and swollen as Old Lady Ji’s eyes. “Mother, we had no other choice. You don’t owe them. They chose to do the wrong thing on their own. We tried to convince them, but they didn’t listen to us. They got themselves killed and even…even made you so worried and frightened.”

With a thud, Xiao knelt in front of Old Lady Ji. “Mother, it’s my fault. I didn’t handle it well enough and caused Fourth Lady Qu’s suspicion. Mother…”

Xiao started to sob again.

“Then…then what should we do?” Old Lady Ji started to tremble in fear.

“Don’t be afraid, Mother. Her sharp tongue won’t be powerful enough to affect us. Maybe she just wants to get some benefits from us. When the Crown Princess was alive, she never visited us. Why does she show up now?” said Xiao while clenching her jaw.

She had never heard that Ji Hanyue had such a close relationship with this cousin.

“But…but what’s your plan?” Old Lady Ji didn’t know anything else to say. She didn’t dare to take Ji Hanyue’s personal belonging just now, nor did she want Qu Moying to keep investigating.

“Mother, don’t worry. We still have ways to deal with her.” A trace of ruthlessness flashed across Xiao’s eyes. Indeed, it seemed that Qu Moying was suspecting them, but so what? She had her way to make this young lady stay quiet permanently…