Chapter 202
The night was dark. Under the light, Qu Moying was not sleeping yet. She was wearing a thin outer garment and was half-lying in the front part of the bed. Her long black hair hung casually, and she was flipping through a painting book. It was a painting book with excellent paintings. She was very energetic now after browsing through the book.
She had already sent Yu Chun to sleep. At this time, she was not sleepy. She got up from the bed and lit a candle to continue reading.
The sky was getting hot, and the window was not fully closed, leaving a small gap.
The candlelight on the table tilted to one side in the wind and then titled back. The window was opened wide, and Pei Yuanjun, who was dressed in a purple brocade robe, appeared in the room.
A few golden threads stood out from the pale purple iris flower, making the originally inconspicuous iris flower look noble and enchanting. The neckline was of a dark blue edge, matching the night sky.
“My lord.” After a moment of surprise, Qu Moying reacted and sat up slightly, about to get up.
Pei Yuanjun sat down at the edge of the bed and leaned back against the thick cushion, blocking Qu Moying’s path.
“My lord?”
“I heard that Pei Yusheng and Pei Qingmin came today.” Pei Yuanjun said lazily, his handsome eyes sweeping across Qu Moying’s face with a slight smile.
“Yes, Lord Jing and Lord Wei came to the mansion together today, but they left not long after. They came in a hurry and left in a hurry.” Qu Moying sat up straight with a serious face. Her slender body was straight.
“Do you know why they came?” Pei Yuanjun asked lazily.
Qu Moying shook her head. “I’m not very sure. Perhaps…”
Qu Moying paused at this point. Seeing Pei Yuanjun’s beautiful eyes sweeping over, she slowly said, “I don’t know if it’s true, but I think it has something to do with Qu Qiuyan.”
Qu Qiuyan’s matter was related to the inner yard. No matter how big the matter was, it was not a big deal for Pei Yuanjun.
“What is it with Qu Qiuyan? Pei Yusheng is so concerned about her. Could it be that he wants to marry her as his Princess Consort?” Pei Yuanjun smiled. Under the candlelight, his pair of almond eyes smiled beautifully. Even though there was a hint of ridicule, it was as pleasing to the eyes as ever.
This Lord Yun seemed to be in a good mood today. His eyes were no longer ruthless and bloodthirsty. His beautiful eyes were burning.
“I-I’m not sure,” Qu Moying said cautiously.
“Pei Yusheng wants to marry Liu Lanxin, and he has already sent a letter to Liu Xiangshan,” Pei Yuanjun said lazily. His slender eyes were closed, revealing a bit of laziness.
Qu Moying’s eyes fell on his hair. He was not wearing a crown, and his hair was casually scattered. He should have been lying on bed by now, but for some reason, he suddenly came to her home, Qu Mansion, on a whim.
It seemed that the appearance of Lord Jing and Lord Wei together today attracted the attention of Lord Yun.
Qu Moying thought in her heart. Her long eyelashes fluttered twice. Her eye veil was removed only at night. “Didn’t he want to marry County Lady Jingyu?”
“The position of Crown Princess was taken before, but now the position is empty.” Pei Yuanjun seemed to find her question interesting. The corners of his lips curled up slightly. Even with his eyes closed, he was still smiling beautifully.
Qu Moying’s heart was struck by something. Her hands suddenly clenched tightly. She fixed her gaze on Pei Yuanjun’s angelic handsome face. She somehow felt she could hear something heavily hitting somewhere in her chest. Suddenly, her heartbeat sounded very obvious.
The blood was clearly rushing up, and the pressure made her speechless for a moment. She only held the thing in her hand tightly and pinched it hard.
After a long while, she heard an elegant and calm voice with some doubt. “Has County Lady Jingyu long taken a fancy to the position of Crown Princess?”
This was her voice. It did not sound different from the past. Only she knew that her palms were tightly clenched, and there was cold sweat on her palms.
“Maybe, or maybe not.” Pei Yuanjun’s words sounded more like he had not said anything at all. Then, his eyes suddenly opened and met Qu Moying’s slightly nervous eyes.
Qu Moying subconsciously wanted to avoid his eyes, but then she remained motionless, allowing their eyes to meet. She did not dodge, and her eyes were clear and full of desire as if they could speak.
“Was Cousin Hanyue the Crown Princess at that time?” Qu Moying forced herself to be calm.
“So what? Even the Empress can be replaced in this world. Why can’t the Crown Princess be replaced?” Pei Yuanjun smiled, but the smile in his eyes was like a cold snake crawling, looking treacherous and cold. “Ji Yongming is a loyal person, and his loyalty may exceed the Crown Prince’s imagination.”
Qu Moying’s hand trembled. After shaking violently a few times, her hand fell, and she pressed down on one side to borrow some strength. “So… the Crown Princess… did not actually die from illnesses?”
These words were very difficult to utter, so difficult that she almost said them word by word. It took a lot of effort.
In fact, although there were not many people in this world who knew the truth, she understood it most. Was there anyone who knew better than her how Ji Hanyue died?
When she plummeted from Eastern Palace’s Linyuan Pavilion, she had placed a curse.
Perhaps the gods and Buddhas in the sky heard her curse and felt pity for the tragic deaths of her entire family, so they gave her a chance to be reborn. Carrying the life of Qu Moying, she lived as a hybrid of two persons, becoming a Qu Moying who wanted to avenge Ji Hanyue.
“It seems you are very concerned about the matter of the Crown Princess?” Pei Yuanjun seemed to find her reaction interesting. The corner of his handsome eyes twitched, and his gaze slowly moved down.
Qu Moying followed his gaze and looked down. She saw that on the purple brocade robe, there was a white and tender hand pressing down on it. The brocade robe on the other side was crumpled into a ball. There were clear marks of it being kneaded.
The hand suddenly retracted, as if it had been scalded by something. The wrist then felt something—Pei Yuanjun’s soft yet firm muscles.
“The Crown Princess is my cousin and Earl Ling’an is my uncle. There was also Cousin Yanyue who died horribly… I must find out about this matter.” Qu Moying said calmly, as if she was not the one who had just pressed down on Pei Yuanjun and was kneading his robe.
“Aren’t you afraid of dying an ignominious death?” Pei Yuanjun raised his eyebrows and asked.
“No!” Qu Moying shook her head.
“The Crown Prince’s methods are not something a young lady like you can resist,” Pei Yuanjun kindly reminded her. But no matter how she looked at his expression, he only looked like he was waiting to watch a good show.
“I will slowly get to the bottom of this. The person in charge of Earl Ling’an’s Mansion now is not the Ji Family’s second branch.” Qu Moying shook her head and did not hide the fact that she had intervened in the matter of the Ji Family taking an heir.
“What an honest child.” Pei Yuanjun reached out and touched Qu Moying’s hair. Her black hair was soft. Qu Moying had smooth black hair, which felt very good to the touch. Pei Yuanjun took the opportunity to touch it again. He narrowed his eyes and looked very relaxed.
His hand naturally rolled up a strand of her black hair, and he wrapped it around his slender fingers and then caressed her hair tip.
His action looked extremely abrupt, but it was very pleasing to the eye. He looked extremely elegant, and it did not make people feel the least inappropriate to see him treat such a young girl in such a manner.
Qu Moying looked at him expressionlessly as he twirled her hair. She did not move at all. Her pink lips were pursed. It was obvious that she was a little annoyed. With her hair being twirled in Pei Yuanjun’s hand, it made her look even more indecent.
“Nice hair.” Pei Yuanjun loosened his fingers, and the hair slipped from his fingers and fell onto Qu Moying’s snow-white cheeks, adding a bit of gentleness to her.
Pei Yuanjun raised his head and looked at Qu Moying’s annoyed face. He laughed. “This is not bad. It looks better.”
From his perspective, the elegant and beautiful Qu Moying looked a little cute. The feeling of caressing her hair was like caressing a cat, very soft and tender. Because she was a little annoyed, her eyes under her long eyelashes were a little misty. Compared with the eyes of ordinary women, hers were glassier and had more vitality.
She was like a cat with hair sticking up.
“Thank you, my Lord.” Qu Moying tilted her head back. She could no longer hold on to her original posture of sitting up straight, and her entire body leaned back, creating a distance.
The corner of Pei Yuanjun’s eyes narrowed, and he very naturally dropped his hand and landed on the corner of Qu Moying’s skirt. There was a ribbon hanging down from the collar, and he casually reached out to pull it.
The corners of Qu Moying’s lips tightened even more. The originally steady corners of her cheeks were also a little bulging, and she looked like a fish spitting bubbles. There was a faint blush on her fair and tender cheeks, but it was not shyness. She was definitely angered by Pei Yuanjun’s presumptuous actions.
“No need to thank me. Since you want to find trouble with the Crown Prince, probably I can offer the position as my Side Princess to you.” Pei Yuanjun lazily pulled the ribbon again.
Qu Moying’s eyes blinked a few times. She focused her attention on his face and said seriously, “My Lord, what do you mean?”
Previously, Pei Yuanjun had mentioned that Qu Moying could just take on a title, and it was not necessarily a success yet, but they were to wait and see how things developed later.
“Nothing much. It’s just that I heard that you are going to enter the palace. I’m afraid that even the Empress will think that it is better for you to enter my mansion.” Pei Yuanjun smiled evilly, with some presumptuous malice.
“The Empress?” Qu Moying was stunned. She raised her glassy eyes in surprise. She had long felt that Dowager Consort Qu’s matter was too mysterious, and now, the Empress was actually also involved in it.
“Maybe, or maybe not.” An enchanting smile appeared on Pei Yuanjun’s handsome face, and his eyes flickered with uncertainty.
Qu Moying took a deep breath and said with a serious face, “What do you want, my Lord?”
She didn’t ask herself what she wanted nor ask herself how she would be in the future. Instead, she asked about what Pei Yuanjun wanted. How ridiculous!
“What do you want?” Pei Yuanjun asked back as he raised his eyebrows.
“I’m fine with anything,” Qu Moying said without hesitation.
“Why?” Pei Yuanjun’s gaze swept over those glassy eyes that were filled with the desire to speak, and he asked slowly.
“Because of family love!” Qu Moying’s curled-up eyelashes trembled twice. When she raised her head again, her soft eyes were piercingly cold. “The Crown Princess and Cousin Yanyue are my relatives. They are relatives that I respect and care about.”
In this life, there were not many people who could be called her relatives…