Chapter 282
“Are you talking about the matter that happened today?” Liu Jingyu asked seriously. “Yes, today’s matter.” Mrs. Liu leaned back and nodded.
“That can’t be done by Qu Moying.” Liu Jingyu said with certainty, gritting her teeth.
“Why?” Seeing that she was so sure, Mrs. Liu was surprised.
“Today, Duan Jinxiang went to that shop to make a scene. Young Master Yongning also went there. Mother, it’s impossible for her to plot against Crown Prince’s Mansion. She’s just a lady of Vice Minister’s Mansion. How can she be so capable?” Liu Jingyu said, twisting the handkerchief in her hand.
“I don’t know. Maybe you are wrong. If this girl was easy to deal with, Second Madam Qu wouldn’t have fallen to this state.” Mrs. Liu reminded Liu Jingyu.
Liu Jingyu’s eyes widened, and her face darkened. “Mother, I don’t think she is so capable. She has been suppressed by Yu for so many years. What happened now is just a coincidence.”
Mrs. Liu said gently to her daughter, “I don’t know about this either, but if you are not the target, then it should be the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince has many opponents, and Lord Jing is one of them. It is possible that it was done by Lord Jing Mansion if it had released the news that Lord Jing wanted to marry you.”
Liu Jingyu fell silent.
It might be Lord Jing. He had a higher status than Qu Moying. After all, to powerful people like him, Qu Moying was just an insignificant person.
Liu Jingyu was going to marry Pei Yusheng before, so she was close to Pei Yusheng at that time. Every time Pei Yusheng asked her out, she would agree. However, she changed her mind later, so she didn’t accept Pei Yusheng’s invitation anymore. Although Pei Yusheng did not ask her out later, he might have known something.
Since he was not on good terms with the Crown Prince, it was possible he did this to ruin her and the Crown Prince’s reputation.
Back then, she did think that she would marry Lord Jing.
Lord Jing might have been so angry when he heard that she was going to marry the Crown Prince that he made a move on the Crown Prince and her.
After pondering for a moment, Liu Jingyu calmed down and said, “Mother, it should be done by Lord Jing, but Qu Moying is also a suspect. I have done something to her before, she might have noticed it. What should we do now, mother?”
“If it is Lord Jing, you can’t do anything about it now. The Crown Prince will deal with it. Besides, you can’t rush your personal affair. You have to wait for the Crown Prince to mourn the ex-Crown Princess for another two months. You have to beware of Fourth Lady Qu. There are many ways to deal with her. Don’t throw yourself into the mess because of her. She is a broken bottle, and you are a precious jade. How can she compare with you?”
Mrs. Liu comforted Liu Jingyu.
Liu Jingyu nodded. “Mother, I understand. I will be more careful. Don’t worry, mother.”
Mrs. Liu nodded with a gratified expression on her face. “I’m glad that you think it this way.”
“Mother, can I have someone from you?” Liu Jingyu suddenly asked.
“What do you want to do? Do you still want to have another try after Granny Qing’s matter? Although Granny Qing is just an insignificant old maid, it would not be good if people knew that she was our mansion’s servant. Although I don’t care about this kind of thing, you have been too careless!” Mrs. Liu said unhappily.
“Mother, I didn’t expect Qu Moying to be so difficult to deal with.” Liu Jingyu said angrily. She reached out to hold Mrs. Liu’s hand and shook it coquettishly, “Mother, please lend me another person. Send the person to Qu Qiuyan. I want to do the thing through her hand, but she is indeed useless.”
“I can’t lend my people to you anymore.” Mrs. Liu rejected flatly, but then she said, “If you want someone, go to your grandfather’s mansion!”
“Is there anyone I need there?” Liu Jingyu widened her eyes and then asked in surprise, “Mother, do you also have someone in Duke Qi’s Mansion?”
“Of course there is, otherwise…” Mrs. Liu smiled and paused for a moment. Then, she changed the topic and said, “You should be more careful this time. Don’t make any mistakes again in case others suspect you. You will have an extraordinary status in the future. How can such a woman compare with you?”
“Mother, I got it.” Liu Jingyu said gently.
Seeing that Liu Jingyu had calmed down, Mrs. Liu gave her a few more instructions before leaving with her people. Minister Liu should be back home soon. She had to go to the kitchen to see if the cook had prepared the food she had ordered before, and she had to personally make a pastry and send it over.
She was Duke Qi’s wife-born daughter and the only wife-born daughter. Her identity made her proud, and she thought she deserved it. She thought some people had to pay her back…
The Liu Family calmed down as if everything had nothing to do with them. However, things were different in the Ji Family. The Ji Family made a big deal out of the case. Qu Moying knew the details after receiving Madam Duan’s letter.
Madam Duan wrote it clearly in the letter. After Ji Youran went back, she cried and made a scene in the mansion. After that, she discussed with Old Lady Ji, Xiao, and the others for a long time. In the end, she called Madam Duan and Ji Yuanhai over and gave them the list of the ex-Crown Princess’ dowry. Then, she returned the deeds of the shops to them. As for the other property, she told them to receive them in a few days.
Madam Duan secretly looked at Ji Youran and saw that although she had let her hair down to cover her face, her swollen face could still be seen. She must have been beaten, and it must be the Crown Prince who had beaten her.
This must be the most important reason why Ji Youran quickly returned the ex-Crown Princess’ dowry!
Madam Duan took the dowry list according to Qu Moying’s instructions. Then, Old Lady Ji drove her away, leaving only Ji Youran and Xiao.
When Madam Duan wrote the letter, Ji Youran had just left. It was said that when she was about to leave, she hugged Xiao and kept crying, reluctant to leave. She was not as domineering as when she returned to the Ji Family last time.
Putting down the letter, Qu Moying smiled silently. At this time, Pei Luo’an couldn’t pretend to be ignorant. If he wanted to keep his position as the Crown Prince, he must have a taintless reputation. Since he had to pretend to be affectionate to Ji Hanyue, he had to settle the matter related to Ji Hanyue’s dowry.
Pei Luo’an had a lot of opponents, both in public and in secret. Many people were waiting to see something happen to him and add fuel to the fire. Therefore, Qu Moying only needed to set the fire. As for the rest, she would not have to worry about it.
Was Ji Youran beaten?
But this was just the beginning. Qu Moying couldn’t forget the burning hatred in her heart when she fell into Linyuan Pavilion’s deep lake that day.
She could recall every word that Ji Youran said to her at that time. Qu Moying’s eyes were gloomy with unfathomable hatred. She reached out and pressed on her eye veil, not saying anything for a long time.
“Miss.” Yu Dong called her.
Qu Moying removed her hand from the eye veil so that Yu Dong could tie it up for her. Old Lady Qu had sent someone to call her over, so she freshened up again.
After freshening up, Qu Moying brought Yu Dong together to Old Lady Qu’s Kangming House. When she entered the room, she found that there was a middle-aged woman. Seeing Qu Moying coming in, the middle-aged woman smiled and sized up her. She said to Old Lady Qu, “Your Ladyship, this must be Fourth Lady Qu. She is indeed beautiful and extraordinary. Even ladies from a centennial noble family could barely outdo Fourth Lady Qu.”
Qu Moying didn’t like her gaze because she felt like an object under her gaze.
“Madam Li, you overpraised her.” Hearing Madam Li’s praise for Qu Moying, Old Lady Qu smiled and shook her hand, but there was a hint of joy in her eyes.
She also thought that her granddaughter was outstanding and that her granddaughter’s eye disease would heal sooner or later, but she couldn’t say those words herself.
“Ying, come over and greet Madam Li, wife of Earl Fengyang.”
“It is the wife of Earl Fengyang. What is she doing here?” Qu Moying’s heart skipped a beat, but she did not show it on her face. She took two steps forward and bowed sideways. “Greetings, Madam Li.”
“Get up. Get up. You are indeed a good girl, unlike my daughter. She is indeed naughty.” Madam Li said with a smile.
“Madam Li, you are too kind. Your daughter must be better. How can she compare with your daughter?” Old Lady Qu said with a smile. Then, she asked Qu Moying to sit down on the bench.
“Your Ladyship, you are too kind. I came here today to see Fourth Lady Qu. Now that I see her is as outstanding as it is said, I have good news to tell you.” Madam Li looked at Qu Moying with a smile, her eyes friendly.
However, her friendliness made Qu Moying inexplicably uneasy. She pursed her lips silently. She did not think that Madam Earl Fengyang would bring good news.
Xu Lipeng came to her today because of Yan Yujiao, and Qu Moying was sure that Yan Yujiao had a very bad impression of her. The purpose of Madam Li’s visit was suspicious, but no matter how suspicious she was, Qu Moying could not speak at this moment. She lowered her head and gently pinched the handkerchief, looking shy, but at the same time, she was paying attention to Madam Li’s words.
“What good news?” Old Lady Qu asked curiously.
“I came here to make a match for a young master. He heard that Fourth Lady Qu is beautiful and clever. Although she has an eye disease, she has almost recovered, and his family does not care too much about it. He said that he wanted to marry a virtuous woman, and Fourth Lady Qu seems to be really virtuous. Even if her appearance is imperfect, it doesn’t matter.”
Madam Li had a glib tongue. She bragged about the family that had taken a fancy to Qu Moying in a few words.
Old Lady Qu listened carefully and nodded as she listened. Although she had chosen her grandnephew for Qu Moying, it had not been decided yet. It would be better if there was a more suitable option. Moreover, she was dissatisfied with her grandnephew because of a few words he said to her a few days ago.
She picked her grandnephew for her fourth granddaughter, but now her grandnephew actually had a liking for her eldest granddaughter. She asked Granny Wu to inquire about it, and she learned that her grandnephew had gotten really close with her eldest granddaughter recently.
“Madam Li, which young master are you talking about?” After Li finished speaking, Old Lady Qu could not help but ask anxiously. If it was really a suitable person, Old Lady Qu was willing to accept it.
“The young master is Noble Consort He’s nephew. He is Lord Jing’s cousin.” Madam Li said with a smile.
Qu Moying pressed her hand on the handkerchief. There was only coldness in her eyes. She knew that the matter was not over. Madam Li did not come with good intentions…