Chapter 221
Granny Miao subconsciously felt that something was wrong. “My lady, when Madam was sick, the imperial doctor came to see her. At that time, no one said that she was pregnant. And there were many doctors before, but no one talked about it.”
“Could it be that she was too early in pregnancy at that time?” Qu Moying frowned slightly.
This sentence immediately made Granny Miao realize something. After thinking about it, she nodded. “This is also possible, but… but… if this is the case, this baby probably can’t be in good conditions.”
Qu Moying looked up, not understanding what Granny Miao meant. “What can’t it be in good conditions?”
“Fourth Lady, Madam was very sick at that time and took a lot of medicine. Not only did the imperial doctor prescribe medicine for her, but there were also other doctors who prescribed medicine for her. At that time, she did not know that she was pregnant, so she must have drunk all kinds of medicine. Her illness was very dangerous, and the medicine she used was definitely very strong. Now, if she was really pregnant, with so much strong medicine, there might be a problem with the baby.”
At that time, every doctor prescribed some medicine, and Yu’s yard was filled with a strong smell of medicine. The last time she saw Yu, the latter was very thin and could not even get up. It could be seen that the medicine must be very strong. Even if there was a baby in her belly and it survived, the baby might have a big health issue.
“The child won’t be healthy?” Qu Moying understood.
“Yes, it won’t be healthy.” Granny Miao nodded.
Qu Moying pursed her lips. Her eyes were cold…
It was time for them to attend the banquet of Duke Qi’s Mansion. Early in the morning, Qu Moying washed up and went to the Old Lady’s yard. Qu Xuexin and Qu Qiuyan were also there, waiting with her for the Old Lady to get up. Yesterday, Qu Qiuyan finished copying the Lessons for Women. She woke up early in the morning to greet the Old Lady with Qu Moying. Then, she apologized to Qu Moying.
She said that she was too anxious that day and lost her sense of propriety. As for what happened in the past, she repeatedly guaranteed that it had nothing to do with her, saying that she had always taken Qu Moying as her sister.
Qu Moying did not take these words seriously. She just listened to them. If she had taken Qu Qiuyan’s words seriously, she would have been at a disadvantage. She only responded to Qu Qiuyan in a lukewarm manner, which could be considered a gesture of reconciliation.
The Old Lady looked at her indifferent appearance and knew that Qu Moying was not wrong about this matter. She only sighed softly and did not force the two sisters to be as intimate as before.
She was satisfied as long as they were safe and sound!
Today was the Old Lady brought them to Duke Qi’s Mansion’s banquet. Originally, Luo was also supposed to come, but because of the matter with Qu Caiyue, Luo was suddenly sick due to anger. At this time, she could not bring Qu Xuexin to the banquet, so she sent Qu Xuexin to West Mansion and asked the Old Lady to bring her along.
Qu Xuexin’s marriage had not been settled yet, and she was getting older. Her marriage was like a heavy stone on not only Luo’s, but also the Old Lady’s mind.
The matter of Qu Caiyue had just happened, so Qu Xuexin’s marriage was becoming more and more difficult to settle.
It was rare to have such a chance to go out for a walk, and maybe they could even arrange a good marriage for Qu Xuexin. The Old Lady naturally had to take Qu Xuexin out.
The carriages had already been waiting outside. The Old Lady was old and had more people to take care of her. Therefore, the Old Lady herself took up one carriage, and the three sisters shared two other carriages.
In the past, when the four sisters were together, two sisters would share one carriage. Today, one of the three sisters would have one carriage for her own.
“Moying, I will sit with you!” Qu Qiuyan said to Qu Moying after she helped the Old Lady get on the carriage in the front.
Qu Moying did not reply. She only smiled faintly and held onto Yu Dong’s hand to get into the carriage. After that, Yu Dong quickly got into the carriage, leaving Qu Qiuyan standing to the side awkwardly.
“Qiuyan, come sit with me!” Qu Xuexin looked at the somewhat embarrassed Qu Qiuyan and invited her.
Just now, at the Old Lady’s place, Qu Qiuyan and Qu Moying were indifferent to each other. With one look, Qu Xuexin knew that the relationship between the two was not good.
The matter of the two of them having a ruckus at the Old Lady’s place a few days ago had also reached Qu Xuexin’s ears. At this time, her invitation could also be considered as giving Qu Qiuyan a way out. From whichever perspective, it was not suitable for the two of them to stay in one carriage. Who knew if something would happen to the two of them in the carriage?
In the carriage ahead of them, the Old Lady nodded. Originally, she had wanted to arrange the seats like this. Just as she was about to let Granny Wu send a message, Qu Xuexin took the initiative to do so, saving her some trouble.
“Well then… I will have to trouble you, Eldest Sister. I originally wanted to sit with Fourth Sister.” A trace of an awkward smile appeared on Qu Qiuyan’s face.
Qu Moying turned a deaf ear to her proposal, which really made her feel awkward.
“We are sisters. There is no need to be so polite. Let’s get into the carriage.” Qu Xuexin said softly, indicating for Qu Qiuyan to board the carriage first.
This time, Qu Qiuyan readily accepted her proposal. She held the maid’s hand and got into the carriage, followed by Qu Xuexin. Then, their two maids also got into the carriage.
After they all were seated, the carriages slowly moved and went out of the mansion.
Duke Qi’s Mansion was a distance away from Vice Minister Qu’s Mansion, but it was still early and they were not in a hurry. The Old Lady specially told the carriages to move a little slower. She was old and her three granddaughters were all delicate young ladies. It was better not to make haste.
The three carriages moved slowly. It was still early, but there were many people on the street. Suddenly, a figure rushed out. It looked like a drunkard. No, it was exactly a drunkard, who held a pot of wine in his hand and staggered toward the carriages.
The carriage drivers hurriedly pulled the reins of the horses to slow down.
The drunkard rushed to the front of the second carriage. Just as the carriage driver was about to berate him, he saw the drunkard fall in front of the carriage. The carriage driver had no choice but to stop the carriage and shout, “Get out of the way!”
As he spoke, he wanted to lash out with his whip and chase the drunkard away. The person in the carriage was the Fourth Lady. He would be in trouble if the Fourth Lady was disturbed.
The drunkard raised his head. He had a long beard that obscured his face. Only a pair of fierce eyes could be clearly seen. The carriage driver panicked, and he subconsciously held the whip still, not daring to hit the man with the whip. Such a pair of bloody and fierce eyes did not look like the eyes of an ordinary person.
After calming himself down, he was just about to reprimand the drunkard when he saw the drunkard actually held onto the shaft of the carriage. Then, the drunkard leaped up and jumped onto the shaft of the carriage. He used one hand to pull open the carriage curtain and reached the other hand into the carriage. The carriage driver saw a cold light from the corner of his eyes. He was so scared that his hands and feet were trembling. He only had time to shout, “An assassin!”
Yu Dong was sitting in front of Qu Moying in the carriage. She did not care at first, but when she heard the strange noise, she immediately went on guard. Then, she saw the curtain of the carriage before her eyes was lifted, and a hand reached into the carriage holding a dagger, apparently determined to kill the passenger.
Yu Dong raised her foot and kicked out forcefully, hitting the man’s wrist.
Her strength was too great. The drunkard only knew that there were two weak women in the carriage. Whether it was a lady or a maid, it was easy for him to kill them. As long as he killed the people inside and jumped out to run into the alley, there would be people to help them get away. From then on, his life would change. He would never have to come back to the capital again.
If the persons in the carriage were killed, the scene would inevitably be in chaos. By then, everyone would only be concerned about the life or death of the people in the carriage, and escaping was not a difficult problem. As a desperado, he had killed people before. In the past, he had been able to escape safely. This time, he was only dealing with two women, and killing them was easy as a pie.
Unexpectedly, there was such a strong maid in the carriage. He was kicked so badly that he took a step back and fell directly from the carriage. The dagger in his hand fell to the ground.
Yu Dong jumped out of the carriage and stepped on the hand of the man that was trying to reach the dagger. She shouted loudly, “Quick! Catch the assassin!”
Hearing her shout so hard, the surrounding people finally reacted to offer help. Some pressed the man’s hands, and someone pressed on his feet, completely subduing the man.
The carriage driver used the whip to tie up the man’s hands.
The Old Lady had already received the news in the carriage in front. She anxiously held Granny Wu’s hand and came over. When she saw the man by Qu Moying’s carriage, she was so scared that she almost fainted.
“Old Lady, our young lady is fine!” Yu Dong had sharp eyes and saw the Old Lady coming. She hurriedly rushed over to comfort her.
“What’s happened? Who… Who is this person? Where is Moying?” The Old Lady grabbed Yu Dong. Her face was as pale as snow and her voice trembled.
“Old Lady, it’s okay. My lady is still inside. I noticed this person first and when I saw him stabbing into the carriage with a dagger, I kicked him down. Fortunately, I used to work in the village and had a little strength. Otherwise, it would really be dangerous this time.”
Yu Dong patted her chest with lingering fear.
“Let… let Moying come with me to sit in the front carriage.” The Old Lady was still worried.
Yu Dong nodded. She turned around to lift the curtain and helped Qu Moying off the carriage. Qu Moying’s eyes fell on the man who was pressed to the ground. She was sure that she had never provoked such a person. Usually, she does not go out often and would not offend such a person. A trace of coldness flashed through her eyes.
Needless to say, this must have been specially prepared for her.
Otherwise, why would an insignificant daughter of an assistant minister attract such a desperado to assassinate her?
She just didn’t expect Qu Qiuyan to be so powerful. But was that all? No, she should have more tricks up her sleeves!
“Send him to the government!” Qu Moying looked at Yu Dong and ordered.
There was one thing that Qu Moying knew. Even if this man was sent to the government, they would not find anything. However, this process was inevitable and might be of some help, unless the mastermind really had no flaws and had made a perfect plan and carried it out with strong determination.
At least what she could guess was not the case!
Even if the mastermind had absolute confidence, it was better to make sure that no clue was left behind. So, the assassination case wouldn’t end up just like this, right?
“Someone, come, where did the assassin come from? Take him away.” Some people suddenly came from outside the crowd. The first one seemed to be the leader. He was leading a few court runners.