Chapter 248
“Brother Qian, how can there be a beauty in such a place?”
“You’ll know when you see it. Maybe there is one!” Brother Qian said with a smile. “If there is a beauty, you can’t snatch her away from me.”
“It depends on how beautiful she is. If she is gorgeous, I won’t let you have her for yourself…” Another scoundrel teased.
They were playboys. They always went to brothels together, so they could say all kinds of nonsense.
“That’s right. If it’s really a beauty, you can’t keep her for yourself. You should share her with us…” Another scoundrel said with a dirty smile.
“Alright, if we see a beauty later, we will share her.” Brother Qian laughed out loud. He entered the door and casually walked up to the corner as he talked nonsense.
As they chatted and laughed, they did not see anyone.
“What’s the smell? It is so strong.” A scoundrel sniffed and asked.
“It must be the smell of mugwort. It is so strong. A lot of mugwort must have been burnt.” Another scoundrel sniffed and said with a smile.
Brother Qian’s heart skipped a beat. He followed the smell.
When he walked to the front and turned around, he suddenly saw a figure in the front. When he got closer, he saw an old maid and an old lady. Concubine Xiang was kneeling on the ground with her head down, and her face could not be seen.
“Is there really someone?”
“Maybe she really is a beauty.”
“Why are they motionless? Let’s go take a look.” The scoundrels had been talking about beauties before. Now that they saw the motionless figures over there, they were immediately excited.
Brother Qian frowned. He was told that there would be a young lady with two maids. But what was the situation now? However, he did smell the mugwort. That place should be here.
But the woman he saw now didn’t seem to be the right person.
He wanted to stop them, but the few scoundrels had already walked forward excitedly.
“Stop!” A low and cold voice came from behind them.
The scoundrels were stunned and quickly turned around. They saw a young lady followed by a middle-aged monk with two maids on her both sides.
The young lady’s eyes were covered with a wide eye veil, and her palm-sized face was half covered. However, judging from the outline, she should be a beautiful young woman.
“Miss, why are you stopping us?”
“That’s right, miss, do you know anyone among us?”
“Tell us who he is. If you like him, he will be all yours…” The scoundrels laughed out loud, and their words were frivolous and disgusting.
“How dare you! How dare you harm Old Lady Ji!” Yu Dong took a step forward and stood in front of Qu Moying, shouting loudly.
“Who is Old Lady Ji? What nonsense are you spouting?” Brother Qian’s heart skipped a beat. He had a bad feeling. When he saw Qu Moying just now, he knew that thing had gone wrong.
The woman they were supposed to deal with had an eye veil on her eyes, so she was easy to recognize.
“This is Old Lady Ji, the ex-Crown Princess’ grandmother. How dare you harm her?” Yu Dong pointed at Old Lady Ji and shouted.
“Master, please call someone over quickly. If something really happens to Old Lady Ji, it will be serious.” Qu Moying said to the monk coldly.
Just now, Qu Moying, Yu Dong and Yu Chun entered through the main door and went out through the side door. They found this monk and told him that they saw Old Lady Ji faint here. Just as they entered the hall through the side door, they saw the few scoundrels coming over.
Old Lady Ji often came to Dabei Temple, and the monk knew Old Lady Ji. At this time, he was so frightened that his face changed dramatically. Old Lady Ji was no ordinary person. If something really happened to her here, Dabei Temple could not bear the consequences.
“This is Old Lady Ji. What are you trying to do?” The monk had to stand out.
Qu Moying winked at Yu Chun.
Knowing what Qu Moying meant, Yu Chun turned around and ran out. As soon as she reached the door, she put her hands on her mouth and shouted, “Someone, help! Help!”
It was still early, and the surroundings were quiet. Moreover, her voice was loud, so when she shouted, some monks and pilgrims immediately heard her and ran over one by one.
Qu Qiuyan, who had been waiting at the side, was overjoyed and relieved. Looking at Yu Chun’s panic-stricken appearance, she knew that she had succeeded.
“Great! I finally trampled Qu Moying under my feet!”
Qu Qiuyan walked out from the folk and asked, “Yu Chun, what happened? What happened to Moying? Is she alright? It can’t be something serious, right?”
“Third Lady…” Yu Chun cried in panic.
“Don’t cry. Tell me clearly, what happened to Moying?” Qu Qiuyan pulled Yu Chun with a serious face and asked with concern.
The monks and pilgrims who came over were all confused, not knowing what had happened here.
“Third Lady… Third Lady…” Yu Chun pointed at the door, but she could not say a word.
“I’ll go inside to see Moying.” Qu Qiuyan was so happy that she almost couldn’t hold it in. She coughed hard to hide the excitement in her eyes. She reached out to push Yu Chun away and rushed into the hall, wanting to see Qu Moying in an embarrassing state as soon as possible.
There must be many scoundrels groping Qu Moying, and she must be conscious and seem to be flirting with them. With this, Qu Moying could never clear her name.
Qu Moying’s situation was not like Qu Caiyue’s. At that time, Qu Caiyue faced Lord Jing alone, but now, Qu Moying was being groped by several scoundrels. Her reputation would be completely ruined.
Even Old Lady Qu couldn’t protect Qu Moying.
Being pushed back, Yu Chun retreated and almost stumbled on the steps. Fortunately, a woman beside her supported her, so she did not fall down.
“Third Lady, why… why did you push me… what… what are you trying to do!” Yu Chun murmured and followed Qu Qiuyan in.
The few people behind her also followed in.
Qu Qiuyan walked the fastest. When she entered the hall, she saw Qu Moying and a few scoundrels. She was overjoyed, but she pretended to be righteous. “Moying, what happened to you? Did these scoundrels molest you? Don’t worry. Father will not let them go.”
“What do you mean, Third Sister?” Qu Moying turned around and said coldly.
“Moying, don’t be afraid. Don’t worry. No matter who they are, Qu Mansion will not spare them. What… what did they do to you?” Qu Qiuyan was complacent in her heart, but she still shouted anxiously, trying to let everyone hear her.
She did not notice that the monk from before was looking at her strangely.
“Third Sister, what do you think they have done?” Qu Moying sneered calmly. Qu Qiuyan seemed to think that her plan had worked as scheduled, so she was acting brazenly.
“Moying, don’t be afraid…”
“Third Sister, why should I be afraid? What is there to be afraid of? Why do you think I am afraid? Do you know something?” Seeing the smug look in Qu Qiuyan’s eyes, Qu Moying sneered in her heart. Qu Qiuyan seemed to be sure that she had been molested by these scoundrels.
The group of people behind them looked at Qu Qiuyan blankly and then at Qu Moying. They felt that there was something going on here. It seemed to them that Qu Qiuyan was too anxious, but why?
A monk saw Old Lady Ji lying on the ground and his expression changed drastically.
“Junior brother, what’s wrong?” A reception monk stepped forward and asked the monk who was originally here.
“Master, those people want to harm Old Lady Ji. Please catch them. If Earl Ling’an’s Mansion comes to investigate, they will be the evidence.”
Yu Dong pointed at the several scoundrels in front of him and shouted.
“She had already fainted when we came here.”
“It has nothing to do with us. We are just passing by.”
“We didn’t do anything.” The few scoundrels were already panicking. They did act shamelessly on normal days, but if they were to blame for such a big deal, perhaps even the elders in their families would not be able to protect them. Earl Ling’an’s Mansion was the ex-Crown Princess’ parents’ family. How could they afford to offend them?
Although these scoundrels’ families could be considered rich, they were nothing compared with ordinary aristocratic families, let alone Earl Ling’an’s Mansion, a big power among the aristocratic families.
However, they couldn’t argue now. Dabei Temple’s monks had already held them in custody, not letting them leave.
Brother Qian looked at the people around him and then at the monks. He knew he could make no defense at this time. He could only stand aside with the few scoundrels and quietly wait and see.
Fortunately, the matter with Old Lady Ji had nothing to do with them!
“Moying… you… are you alright?” Qu Qiuyan was so shocked. She couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t help but look at the scoundrels and then Qu Moying.
“Third Sister, why am I not alright? Did you see anything wrong with me? Or is today’s matter related to you? Is that why you keep saying that something must have happened to me?” Qu Moying said impatiently and glanced coldly at Qu Qiuyan. Then, she ignored her and walked toward Old Lady Ji, who was lying on the ground.
“You… you…” Qu Qiuyan was tongue-tied. Her face turned red and then green. She glanced around the people, only to find them looking at her suspiciously.
She immediately panicked, and her face turned pale again. Her lips trembled, and she could not say a word.
She felt like falling from the sky, which made her panic. She looked at the few scoundrels on the other side and then at Qu Moying.
Qu Moying walked up to Old Lady Ji and reached out to help her up. She called Old Lady Ji softly, “Your Ladyship… Please wake up. Please wake up.”
Yu Chun helped Concubine Xiang up from the side and massaged the space between her eyebrows. She also called out in a low voice, “Concubine Xiang… Concubine Xiang, wake up…”
After a series of actions, Old Lady Ji slowly woke up. She had fainted because of fear. After hearing someone call her, she slowly opened her eyes. She saw a familiar face wearing an eye veil. It was not her granddaughter, Ji Hanyue. With a glance, she knew it was not Ji Hanyue.
She was fully relieved.
“It’s not Hanyue. It’s not Hanyue…” Old Lady Ji’s voice sounded like she was crying, and she couldn’t come back to her senses for a while.
“Old Lady Ji… are you okay? I am from Vice Minister Qu’s Mansion. Do you recognize me?” Qu Moying sneered in her heart, but she looked gentle as she spoke in a low voice.