Chapter 290
Qu Moying and Qu Xuexin left Old Lady Qu’s place after greeting her. Just as they were about to separate at the yard’s gate, Qu Xuexin suddenly called out to Qu Moying, “Moying, let’s go and see Qiuyan, okay?”
In the past few days, Qu Xuexin came to West Mansion almost every day, and she met Qu Moying more often. Every time she met Qu Moying, she would greet Qu Moying with concern, and occasionally she would go to Qianyue House with Qu Moying. The two of them seemed to be much closer to each other in the Old Lady’s eyes.
Old Lady Qu felt relieved to see this. She was always worried that Qu Moying would feel lonely after returning to the mansion. Her sisters were not that kind to her. After all, they had not grown up together.
She was relieved to see Qu Xuexin getting along well with Qu Moying. She thought Qu Xuexin was kind.
With a faint smile on her face, Qu Moying shook her head and said, “Eldest Sister, I won’t go to see Third Sister. Even if I go, Third Sister will not be happy to see me.”
She couldn’t maintain even a seemingly peaceful relationship with Qu Qiuyan as before.
Others might not know about this matter, but it was impossible for Qu Xuexin not to know.
“Moying, everything could be made clear. The matter of the seniors has already become history. Nobody will keep picking on it. After all, we are sisters. Qiuyan has thought things through recently. Let’s go to see her now. Even if she doesn’t talk with you, she will definitely be happy.”
Qu Xuexin advised.
Qu Moying looked at Qu Xuexin coldly. Qu Moying found this gentle and kind eldest sister more and more meddlesome recently.
Was it because of the improper marriage?
Qu Moying didn’t know how Qu Xuexin used to be, but she was sure that Qu Xuexin was really not simple because she actually dared to meddle in such a thing.
“Eldest Sister, since you said so, let’s go.” Qu Moying said lightly. No matter what Qu Xuexin meant, she should go and see Qu Qiuyan.
Recently, Qu Qiuyan had been very quiet. It was not like her at all.
Hearing that Qu Moying agreed, Qu Xuexin was very happy. The two of them headed towards Furong House together.
There was no old maid guarding Furong House’s door. Ever since Qu Qiuyan finished copying the scriptures, Old Lady Qu had asked the guarding old maid to leave. However, Qu Qiuyan rarely came out. She still stayed in the yard for most of the time. She seemed to be quite obedient, which was another reason why the Old Lady let the old maid leave.
Without supervision, Qu Qiuyan was extremely obedient.
The previous rumors were unfavorable to Qu Qiuyan. Both the Old Lady and Qu Zhizhen were very troubled. Now that Qu Qiuyan was so obedient, the Old Lady and Qu Zhizhen both felt happy.
Lord Jing was noncommittal, and Qu Qiuyan’s reputation was not good now. It was hard to tell what position Qu Qiuyan would have. Qu Zhizhen did not dare to ask too much about this issue.
Qu Qiuyan seemed to be obedient, but she sent a letter to Lord Jing Mansion secretly almost every day. However, she rarely got a reply. Even though she got a reply, there was only a simple sentence in the reply, which seemed to be written casually. She was asked to wait slowly, and there was nothing else. Lord Jing’s words were not as enthusiastic and affectionate as before.
Hearing the maid report that Qu Xuexin and Qu Moying had come, Qu Qiuyan impatiently put down the letter in her hand. Qing Lian hurriedly took it over.
“Invite them in.” Qu Qiuyan said coldly.
A maid hurried out and invited the two of them in.
Qu Xuexin and Qu Moying entered the room and saw Qu Qiuyan, who had just stood up. Her face was very pale and much thinner, which made her look more pitiful and somewhat gloomy.
Seeing them enter, Qu Qiuyan stood up and said with a very indifferent expression, “Eldest Sister, Fourth Younger Sister.”
Qu Xuexin took two steps forward and held Qu Qiuyan’s hand. After carefully looking at Qu Qiuyan’s face, she said attentively with a smile, “Qiuyan, how are you? I have been wanting to see you since I heard that you are sick. Moying also wanted to come, so we came together.”
Qu Moying sat down on a chair at the side. At this time, there were no outsiders. Everyone present was clear about her relationship with Qu Qiuyan.
Yu Dong stood behind Qu Moying and looked at the “gentle and dignified” Qu Xuexin. If he had not seen what had happened before, he would have thought that she was exactly how she appeared to be.
He was a eunuch serving Lord Yun. Although he knew a lot of dirty things in the palace, he dealt with things like killing and punishment under the command of Lord Yun. He had never seen this kind of drama queens.
Whether a woman was in a normal family or in the palace, she who acted like this might be the most ruthless one!
Fortunately, Qu Moying was smart. Yu Dong felt lucky about that, and he thought only Qu Moying was worthy of Lord Yun.
Since Yu Dong began to serve Qu Moying, he had regarded her as his master from the bottom of his heart.
Just as he stood still, a maid beside her suddenly bumped into him. He looked up and saw that it was an unknown maid. She looked very innocent, about fourteen or fifteen years old.
Seeing that Yu Dong was looking at her, the maid waved at him gently and gestured for him to come out.
Yu Dong looked at Qu Moying and saw that she was sitting there and watching Qu Qiuyan and Qu Xuexin talking. He shook his head at the maid, indicating that he would not go out.
The maid had no choice but to stand still. When she looked at Yu Dong, there was a kind smile on her face. She was a new maid here. Yu Dong had never seen her in Qu Qiuyan’s place before.
Was she a new maid in the mansion?
Yu Dong thought and remained motionless behind Qu Moying.
On the other side, Qu Qiuyan and Qu Xuexin had already sat down together. The two of them were sitting close to each other, while Qu Moying was sitting further away. Qu Qiuyan and Qu Xuexin seemed to be one party, which Qu Moying didn’t seem to fit in at all.
This was what Qu Moying wanted. Since she was in the same mansion as Qu Qiuyan, she couldn’t avoid seeing her, but she would try not to meet her or stay away from her when meeting her.
Sure enough, Qu Xuexin also saw the distance between them and Qu Moying. She smiled and waved to Qu Moying, “Moying, sit over here. You sit so far away. It’s not convenient for us to talk.”
“Eldest Sister, it’s fine. I can hear you here.” Qu Moying said. She could hear them, but she didn’t want to talk with them.
Qu Moying’s meaning was very clear.
A trace of displeasure flashed through Qu Xuexin’s eyes. Qu Moying made her embarrassed. However, she quickly concealed her mood with a smile. “Since you feel comfortable sitting there, just sit there.”
Qu Qiuyan glanced at Qu Moying and did not say anything else. They had nothing to say anymore.
The maids served them tea and snacks.
Qu Xuexin looked at the maids around her and suggested with a gentle smile, “Qiuyan, Moying, let the maids leave so that we can have a private talk.”
Qu Qiuyan looked at the maids around her. Most of them were her maids. She waved her hand, and all her maids left. Qing Lian hesitated for a moment and also left.
Qu Xuexin said something to the maid beside her, and the maid behind her also left.
Since both of them had done so, Qu Moying naturally had to do the same. She turned around and glanced at Yu Dong. Yu Dong understood and went out as well.
When he retreated to the door, Yu Dong stopped. Here was the closest place to the room. Even if something happened, he could quickly rush in.
Just as he stood still, he suddenly felt a tug on his sleeve. “Sister Yu Dong.”
He turned around and saw the previous maid looking at him with a sweet smile. Although she was not very beautiful, her smile made people relax.
“Who are you?” Yu Dong took a few steps back and asked in a low voice. This maid had deliberately bumped into him before. Yu Dong sized her up and found that she was well dressed. She wore two hairpins. Although they were not big, they looked like solid gold hairpins. It was too luxurious for a maid.
“I am Qing Mei, a new maid in the mansion. I am Third Lady’s senior maid.” Qing Mei said proudly.
She looked somewhat simple-minded.
“You are Third Lady’s new senior maid?” Yu Dong was very surprised. He had not heard that Qu Qiuyan had a new maid recently, nor had any server-seller come to the mansion.
“Yes, Second Young Master chose me in East Mansion and specially sent me to Third Lady. He said that Third Lady didn’t have enough servants. Sister Yu Dong, you look really tall and beautiful.” Qing Mei looked up and down at Yu Dong with envy and then continued, “I heard that the one who followed the Fourth Lady the most was you, so I could recognize you at first glance.”
This was to say that East Mansion asked a server-seller to pick a maid and then sent the maid to West Mansion. No wonder he had never seen her here.
Looking at this clever and enthusiastic Qing Mei, Yu Dong smiled. “I am not beautiful. You are beautiful.”
Yu Dong did not like people saying that he was beautiful. He did not need to be beautiful!
As for his height, he was originally taller than ordinary maids. Moreover, Qing Mei in front of him looked very small.
“Sister Yu Dong, I have just arrived in the mansion. I don’t know much. I might have to trouble you in the future. This is a token of my appreciation. I hope you like it.” Qing Mei pulled out a hairpin from her head and handed it to Yu Dong with a very warm smile.
Although the hairpin was small, it seemed to be solid gold, which was quite valuable.
Yu Dong shook his hand and said, “How… How dare I accept it?”
Qing Mei reached out to hold Yu Dong’s hand, put the hairpin in his hand, closed his hand, and said sweetly, “Sister Yu Dong, I like you at the first sight. If you don’t accept it, then you are looking down on me. I just entered the mansion and don’t know anything. I will definitely have to trouble you in the future. Sister Yu Dong, please accept my gift.”
After saying that, she pointed at Qing Lian, whose face darkened, and said in a low voice, “Sister Yu Dong, I’ll leave first. Otherwise, Sister Qing Lian will be angry. I just entered the mansion. I don’t dare to make Sister Qing Lian angry.”
Then, she turned around and ran towards Qing Lian, leaving the hairpin in Yu Dong’s hands. Apparently, Yu Dong had to accept it!
A maid could not afford to buy such a hairpin even with her whole year’s salary. But Qing Mei was quite generous. A hint of ridicule flashed in Yu Dong’s eyes. He was not a woman and did not like such kind of jewelry. Moreover, he was not short of money…