Chapter 212
Ji Yuanhai suddenly raised his head and looked at Qu Moying in shock. He asked seriously in his somewhat childish voice, “Fourth Lady Qu, what do you mean?”
“Nothing. I just feel that the status of Concubine Xiang is too low. She can’t protect you in the mansion, right, Young Master?”
Although she was asking him, Ji Yuanhai could tell that her words didn’t sound like a question at all.
Ji Yuanhai’s heart moved, and his eyes became excited. “Fourth Lady Qu, do you have a way?”
Although Fourth Lady Qu was not much older than him, he was inexplicably convinced. And one thing, although he was young, he could see clearly that Fourth Lady Qu had a lot of feelings for his family’s first branch and how she wholeheartedly focused on the matter of his third sister. Ji Yuanhai had also been investigating the issue for the past few days, but unfortunately, he was too powerless to find anything.
“Fourth Lady Qu, that is impossible. The Old Lady won’t agree.” Concubine Xiang shook her head with a wry smile. She had been to the governor’s mansion to complain and caused things to be like this, so how could the Old Lady be satisfied with her? These days, she had been using various methods to deal with her. If the Old Lady wanted to deal with a concubine of her son, naturally there were many ways to do so.
Besides, Xiao was also there to sow discord, and it could be imagined how Concubine Xiang’s situation might be.
“Is the Old Lady going to take you to do a ritual in a few days?” Qu Moying asked calmly.
According to the capital’s rules, whenever there was a death of a loved one, a ritual should be done in the temple. With Earl Ling’an’s status, the Old Lady would definitely show up personally. Moreover, the venue would most likely be Dabei Temple.
The Ji Family had experienced unexpected issues one after another, and now was the time when they needed a good reputation the most.
“Yes, there will be a ritual. It has already been decided. It will be held at Dabei Temple.” Concubine Xiang wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and nodded.
“On that day, can I trouble you to lead the Old Lady to the main hall where the eternal flames are lit, Concubine Xiang?” Qu Moying asked.
“Which hall?” Concubine Xiang thought for a moment and asked.
Dabei Temple was not small, and because of this, there were several halls with eternal flames. The Ji Family had lit up eternal flames for Earl Ling’an before, and they were in the best hall.
“The best hall. I’ll light up two eternal flames for Uncle and Cousin Hanyue there,” Qu Moying said. Those who lit the eternal flames in the best hall were of extraordinary status, and Qu Moying, the daughter of an assistant minister, was barely qualified. As a result, there were not many eternal flames in that area, and there were very few people who came to pay respects. It was the quietest place.
“Fourth Lady Qu, you’re planning to…” Concubine Xiang asked in astonishment.
“Concubine Xiang, don’t ask anything. Just cooperate with me when the time comes.” Qu Moying shook her hand and interrupted Concubine Xiang.
Concubine Xiang was skeptical. She looked up at Ji Yuanhai and saw that he also looked thoughtful. She was a little uncertain. It was not that she did not believe in Qu Moying. It was just that she was really uneasy when she saw Qu Moying’s thin and vulnerable appearance.
“Concubine Xiang, just promise Elder Cousin!” However, Ji Yuanhai was much more straightforward.
Then, he nodded without hesitation and said, “When the time comes, I will also go with you. If Elder Cousin needs any help, you can just call me. Maybe it is more convenient for me to do some things than Concubine Xiang. There are some things that are inconvenient for her to do, but I might be just right.”
Since the Fourth Lady of Qu Mansion was also wholeheartedly helping him, as the Young Master of the Ji Family and now a member of the first branch, Ji Yuanhai felt he should call her Elder Cousin.
Qu Moying smiled and nodded. Back then, Ji Hanyue was indeed Ji Yuanhai’s elder cousin sister. Now, it was really deserving of Qu Moying to be called cousin by Ji Yuanhai.
“Then it’s a deal.” Qu Moying nodded.
“Alright, I understand.” Concubine Xiang nodded solemnly. Since Young Master had agreed to this matter, she would just work hard to cooperate. Granny Zhou had said that Fourth Lady Qu only wanted to find Third Lady. If Third Lady was alive, she wanted to see her in person; if Third Lady was dead, then she wanted to see her corpse. It was just that it was difficult for her to make a move in Ji Mansion. She could not help her regarding Third Lady’s matter at all.
They had no evidence, and there was no trace of usable proof either. In fact, the most important thing was that they did not have any power. They only had a title, and they were being targeted. Even the servants in the mansion did not think highly of them at all. How could they say anything useful to them?
Since the matter had been discussed properly, Qu Moying did not keep the two of them. Concubine Xiang and Ji Yuanhai got up and left together. Qu Moying was not in a hurry to leave. She asked the staff of the bookstore to find some music scores for her. After checking them carefully, she bought a few books that were good and left with them.
The stairs to the second floor of the library were not wide and they were steep. Qu Moying walked very carefully, but the people who rushed up were not careful.
Seeing that the people coming up from below were about to rush up, Yu Chun hurriedly squeezed in front of Qu Moying, and she bumped into the person opposite her. Her body swayed, and she directly fell on her buttocks on the stairs.
“I’m really sorry.” The person opposite her saw that he had bumped into someone and stopped. He looked at Qu Moying apologetically.
Yu Chun was dressed in a maid’s outfit, so he could tell that she was a servant.
However, Qu Moying’s dressing was rather very special. There were not many people wearing eye veils.
A few young masters came over from below. Behind them, young servants were holding writing brushes, ink, papers, and inkstones. One of them raised his voice and asked, “What’s going on? Why did you stop?” When he got close, he saw Qu Moying pulling Yu Chun up. For a moment, he felt embarrassed.
The young man in the lead looked very refined. He was about twenty years old and looked kind. He was gentle and handsome. It was just that he was in too much of a hurry and his forehead was covered in sweat. He cupped his hands at Qu Moying and apologized, “I’m really sorry. I’m really sorry. My lady, if you’re hurt anywhere, we can have you checked by a doctor immediately.”
“It’s fine,” Qu Moying glanced at them and said slowly. She did not panic just because she saw so many young men. She lowered her head and asked Yu Chun softly, “Are you okay?”
Yu Chun moved her arms and legs and nodded. “I’m fine, my Lady.”
“Let’s go then!” Seeing that her expression did not change, Qu Moying knew that there was nothing serious, so she did not intend to stay.
However, the lower section of the stairs was blocked by the people below. They could not move for a minute and could only look at the young man opposite them. “Young master, could you please make way?”
“Sure, sure,” the young man hurriedly said. He leaned to the side and the people behind him also leaned close to each other, making a path out. Qu Moying held Yu Chun’s hand and walked through them gracefully.
After they left, those young masters from aristocratic families began to discuss at the stairs. “Was that the Fourth Lady of Vice Minister Qu’s Mansion?”
Someone raised a doubt. “Maybe not. She might be the Guardian General’s daughter. I heard that she also has an eye problem. From her natural and graceful appearance, she doesn’t look like an ordinary lady.”
“That’s right. The Fourth Lady of Vice Minister Qu’s Mansion lost her mother when she was a child. She did not have much upbringing. Moreover, she had been raised in the village. How can she be so decent and dignified?” Someone agreed.
“But rumors cannot be trusted.” Another person retorted.
“Maybe it wasn’t either of them. There might be other ladies with an eyesight problem.” Someone teased.
Qi Xiuran’s gaze fell on the front. He was Duke Qi’s Mansion’s eldest son, and his father was the current Heir-apparent of Duke Qi. Even though Duke Qi was no longer an active official, he was still ranked as one of the great aristocratic families.
“What’s wrong?” Seeing that he had been deep in thought, a friend beside him asked in a low voice.
“Nothing. Let’s go up and see if the music score is still there.” Qi Xiuran sorted out his expression, turned around, and quickly walked upstairs.
They had heard that there was a music score here that was unique, but it was incomplete, and they wanted to take a look. That was why Qi Xiuran was in a hurry and almost bumped into Qu Moying.
When they heard him say this, none of them had the mood to gossip any longer. These people also liked music scores, so they quickly followed behind him.
When they reached the top, they found that there was no music score they were looking for at all. They called the staff to ask about it and found that they were a little late. It happened to be bought by a lady just now.
It was obvious that it was the lady with the eye veil just now. It seemed that her eyesight was indeed not very good.
The young masters all let out a sigh. They all felt that if they had come earlier, they would have gotten the music score in their hands.
Someone suggested that they could find this lady to buy it off at a high price. Anyway, the music score was incomplete. It was useless in the hands of ordinary people since they did not know how to complete it. Even if they do, it would not be something good.
These young masters all had outstanding family backgrounds, and when they discussed this, they felt right.
Therefore, the next thing they discussed was whether this lady was the Fourth Lady of Vice Minister Qu’s Mansion or the daughter of the Guardian General.
The identities of these two people were completely different. They felt that it would be easier to get the score from the lady of Vice Minister Qu’s Mansion. As for Miss Liu, they heard that she had been refusing visitors after she came to the capital. Even Lord Jing, who went to see her several times, was refused, let alone them.
“By the way, isn’t your mansion going to hold a banquet? I heard that many ladies in the capital will be going. Maybe Fourth Lady Qu and First Lady of the Guardian General’s Mansion will show up too. At that time, you can see which one of them has the music score. Maybe if you ask for it, they will immediately agree to give it to you.”
Someone suggested.
Qi Xiuran was one of the few renowned noble young masters in the capital. There were many ladies from aristocratic families who had taken a fancy to him. There would definitely be many ladies who would be willing to grab the chance to impress him.
“Yes, exactly!” Someone said. Naturally, there were people who agreed and nodded repeatedly.
Then, one by one, they echoed each other. Qi Xiuran had no way to deal with them. He could only say, “Alright, I’ll go take a look when the time comes. If the music score was really bought by the lady we met just now, I will definitely think of a way to get it from her.”
He had really thought about that music score for a long time and had also searched for it for a long time. However, he had never found it. He had thought that it might no longer exist, but unexpectedly, a classmate told him that there was one in this bookstore. Unfortunately, he was still a step too late, and it was difficult for him to give up. After listening to their proposal, he felt that it was not too absurd, so he agreed.
If there really was one, he would definitely think of a way to persuade that lady to sell it at a high price. However, although he had only seen a little bit of her delicate face just now, there was an inexplicable sense of familiarity. It was very strange.
He was sure that he had never seen this lady before…