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This guqin looked very ordinary. It was not even as special as the guqins that Qu Moying had seen in those music instrument stores. Even though the dust on it had been wiped away, it still looked grayish and insignificant.

Qu Moying sat in front of the guqin and stretched out her hand to pluck the strings a few times. Her eyes lit up. Upon first sight of this guqin, she did not have any thoughts about it, but now she immediately determined that this guqin was a good one. Moreover, it was a rare one. This kind of guqin was even better than the one she used to play with before.

How could such a good guqin be nameless?

Qu Moying carefully examined it. However, no matter how she looked at it, the guqin did not have a name. But at the bottom of the guqin, she saw a spot that was scratched. There was a tiny spot where there should have been words. It seemed that the name of the guqin had been deliberately crossed out by someone.

“It was not crossed out by Madam.” Granny Zhou saw Qu Moying’s actions, and she hurriedly said.

Now, it was even stranger. Who would send a person a guqin with its name crossed out to Mother? Why didn’t the person send a more ordinary one that looked beautiful?

Qu Moying cast away the doubts in her heart, put away the instrument, and asked slowly, “Before Mother got married, did she see anyone? Anyone outside the family whom she met alone?”

This instrument was too strange, and she couldn’t help but ask about it.

“No, Madam has never seen an outsider before she got married.” Granny Zhou shook her head with certainty.

“How is that possible? Had Mother never been to the streets before?” Qu Moying was shocked to hear the answer. Although typical noble ladies would be made to stay at home and not step through the gates, rules were rules. With elders accompanying them, or when it was necessary to go out, one could also go out.

For example, she had been allowed to leave the mansion today.

As long as one was careful with one’s words and actions, occasional outings were allowed.

“No, Madam never went out on the street. Even Yue had been out of the mansion, Madam didn’t.” Granny Zhou shook her head, and a trace of sadness flashed in her eyes. “Madam had been quiet since she was a child and didn’t like to go out. Old Madam and Old Master were strict with Madam, so she had never been out. Even if other mansions sent invitations to her, Madam wouldn’t go.”

“And the other people went?” Qu Moying became more and more surprised. This matter did not make sense.

Even if she enjoyed the quietness, it was impossible for her to not attend the banquets of other mansions. Was she not afraid of making people feel that she was not respectful enough?

“Yes, every time there was an invitation, the mansion would say that Madam was unwell and would not go out. Later on, there were even rumors that the Liu Family did not have any Second Lady at all. It was just that when Old Madam gave birth, the Second Lady did not survive. That was why this was especially said to appease Old Madam’s feelings of missing her daughter.”

Granny Zhou said.

Qu Moying’s long eyelashes fluttered. This time, she was truly shocked. There were even such rumors outside. It could be seen how strange it was for Mother to never go out at that time.

Since that was the case, this issue was even stranger. Who would specifically give Mother, who had never seen an outsider, a guqin?

She plucked the guqin strings twice. The sound was beautiful, showing that it was definitely not an ordinary guqin.

“Mother had never been out of the mansion before she married Father?” Qu Moying asked.

“No, she never went out. When she got married, it was the first time that Madam went out. At that time, Madam was very happy and full of imagination about the future…” When Granny Zhou said this, her eyes were tearful and she choked up.

That day, Madam, who was wearing a big red wedding gown, was as happy as a child. In the past, she looked happy and carefree. She was gentle to the Old Master and Old Madam, but in fact, who would really like being locked up in the mansion? It was true that Madam had always told the Old Master and Old Madam that she was not willing to go out.

But in fact, every time the maids talked about the new things they saw outside, Madam would stand still and listen. Granny Zhou felt that Madam was willing to go out, but Old madam and Old Master did not allow her to go out. After that, she became accustomed to it.

It was also because there were few people in her life. When she happened to meet this young master Liu in the mansion, she fell in love with him at first sight. She did not expect that in the end, she got married with almost indecent haste and even lost her life.

“After Mother married into Qu Mansion, did she not like to go out too?” Qu Moying pondered for a moment and asked again.

“After marrying into Qu Mansion, Madam rarely went out, but she occasionally went out to socialize. It’s hard to change her habits after so many years.” Granny Zhou wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and nodded.

Qu Moying muttered to herself. This matter sounded strange, very strange.

It was no wonder she thought so much about this issue. At that time, Ji Hanyue was hailed as a rare noble daughter in the capital, and all the teachings she received were in accordance with the etiquette. Whatever she spoke or did complied with the rules, but there was never such a rule saying that a young lady must stay in the mansion all the time and should not go out. As the future Crown Princess, Ji Hanyue was well protected and did not need to be locked in the backyard.

So why did Grandfather and Grandmother keep Mother locked up all the time?

But Ji Hanyue’s mother was not locked up. Was it because she was more strong-willed, or was it because of other reasons?

Qu Moying could not figure it out for a moment, so she could only let it go and ask Granny Zhou to leave first. She told Granny Zhou to find the old maid whom Yu Qian had contacted before and ask her to send a message.

Granny Zhou expressed that she understood. Then, she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and left…

Yu Qian came over late in the afternoon. He drank a lot of wine and got drunk in the private room of the teahouse. Later, the waiter of the teahouse woke him up. After sitting down again, he ordered a pot of cold tea. Yu Qian drank a few cups in a row before slowly regaining his senses. The previous scenes when he was half asleep made him wonder whether they were real.

Fortunately, he saw a pouch on the corner of the table, which made him believe what he thought had happened was real.

The material of this pouch was the same as the one he had sent to Qu Mansion before. This batch of cloth was also brought from the South. It was dyed quite well, but the quantity was not large. Moreover, the cloth was of small sizes and could only be used for small items. Yu saw that the cloth could not be used to make clothes, so she asked him to use the cloth to make some handkerchiefs, pouches, and the like for the maids and old maids in the mansion.

There were a few pieces of silver notes in the pouch, but they were not enough to pay for his debt.

Yu Qian sat in the private room, thinking about the issue for a long time, and finally figured it out.

It turned out that the shop that he had been in charge of belonged to the deceased Mrs. Qu. After Yu married into Qu Mansion, this shop fell into her hands.

Originally, after so many years, no one would think of this matter again. But now that Fourth Lady Qu had returned to the mansion, and it seemed that this Fourth Lady was not as useless as she was rumored to be, and she was even fighting with Madam. In the current situation, Madam’s situation did not seem very good.

Previously, it was said that Madam harmed this Fourth Lady Qu and even made a scene before the coffin of the Crown Princess. These were all serious things. After that, Madam fell ill and outsiders were not allowed to see her. It seemed that there was another reason behind all these.

At this time, if this shop was sold, not only could it solve his predicament, but it could also make Fourth Lady Qu unable to find any clue. It could also be considered a favor for Madam.

Could he really help Madam by selling the shop? Yu Qian still had some doubts. After all, this was a big matter that involved a shop. Moreover, it was a shop that had been operating for so long.

After thinking about it, Yu Qian could not help but tidy up his clothes. He came out of the teahouse and hailed a carriage to Qu Mansion. If he did not get the words from Madam herself, he could not be at ease.

Although he felt that this matter should have been ordered by Madam, he was drunk at that time, so he was not sure.

Yu Qian had always been loyal to Yu.

The carriage stopped beside the gate of the backyard of Qu Mansion. Yu Qian got off the carriage and went up to knock on the door. An old maid, who was guarding the back door, opened the door and saw that it was Yu Qian. She was not surprised. In the past, Yu Qian would come over from time to time. Sometimes, he would go through the back door. The old maid in the backyard got a lot of benefits. Naturally, she would not stop him.

However, the situation had changed. Madam was not seeing any guests now.

Yu Qian said that he wanted to see Third Lady, so the old maid was generous enough to let him in. As long as he was not looking for Madam, everything could be discussed. Of course, even if he wanted to see Madam, he could not see her. She heard that there were people guarding the door of Madam’s courtyard. It was the Second Master who forbade others to see Madam.

However, the old maid did not bother to tell Yu Qian about this.

Yu Qian walked on the familiar small path as usual. After walking for a while, he saw an old maid bending her back and sweeping the floor. At a glance, he could tell that it was the one he was looking for. He was overjoyed.

“Go and ask around if someone by the Madam’s side went out of her courtyard today?” Yu Qian took out a piece of broken silver from his pocket and handed it to the old maid who was looking up.

This old maid was the one he had previously asked to inquire about Madam.

The old maid smiled so widely that her teeth were showing. She nodded repeatedly, threw away the broom in her hand, and ran off. After a while, she ran back panting.

“Shopkeeper Yu, I saw Aunty Hai Lan.”

“What did she say?” Yu Qian said excitedly. Hai Lan was the person close to Madam. As long as she said something, it would definitely be accurate.

“She asked you to do as Madam said,” the old maid said vaguely. Then, she asked curiously, “What did Madam say? Shopkeeper Yu, what did Madam ask you to do? If I hadn’t almost bumped into Aunty Hai Lan just now, I wouldn’t have said that you were outside the mansion and wanted to see Madam.”

The old maid said proudly.

“It’s nothing. I’m leaving!” Yu Qian was a little doubtful at first. But when he heard the old maid’s words, his doubts disappeared. At this time, he had no mood to say anything more. He cupped his hands and turned to leave.

It was still inconvenient for Madam to see him, but Aunty Hai Lan’s meaning was very obvious. Since Aunty Hai Lan said so, he should do his best to sell the shop as quickly as possible. Selling such a shop was no small business and he had to make sure that everything went on properly.

Yu Qian left in a hurry. All his doubts were gone. He turned around and rushed to the back door. When he was far away, Yu Dong appeared behind a big tree. He looked at Yu Qian’s back and smiled coldly at the old maid. “You did well. I will tell the Fourth Lady when I go back. You will be spared this time.”

“Thank you, Fourth Lady. Thank you, Yu Dong.” The old maid nodded repeatedly. That was a weight off her mind. If the Master knew that she sent messages to outsiders for Madam, he would definitely beat her to death…