Chapter 361
The Old Lady slammed her hand on the table and snapped, “Tell me what exactly happened! Why did you instigate Xiao Hanyuan to cause trouble for Moying?”
Qu Xuexin was so scared that her eyes turned red, and she almost knelt down in grievance.
Qu Mingcheng’s reaction was relatively calm. He looked at the Old Lady calmly and said, “Grandmother, you know I grew up with Eldest Sister. I take her as my elder sister, and Qiuyan is my only younger sister. I don’t have any other younger sister.”
“You…” The Old Lady was so angry that she trembled. Qu Mingcheng meant that between Qu Xuexin and Qu Moying, he chose to be on Qu Xuexin’s side.
He also meant that he had never taken Qu Moying as his younger sister.
“Grandmother, don’t blame me for this. It was father who sent Moying to the village. For so many years, Moying did not take the initiative to contact us. We siblings didn’t know her before, but then she suddenly appeared. How can we accept the situation at once?”
Qu Mingcheng’s eyes turned red as he looked at the Old Lady.
The Old Lady pressed her hand against the armrest, trembling and unable to say a word for a moment.
“It was my fault regarding the trouble caused by Cousin Xiao. I shouldn’t have said those words to him, but I really was too angry. Grandmother, if you want to punish anyone, punish me alone. I will definitely apologize to Moying in the future and try to treat her as my younger sister. But right now, I… I still feel more intimate with Eldest Sister’s side.”
Qu Mingcheng fell to his knees with a thud.
Qu Xuexin couldn’t stand still. She also immediately knelt down. It was a good chance for her to explain something, “Grandmother, it’s my fault. I… I always thought that Cousin Xiao was arranged for Moying… Before, I was good to Cousin Xiao because of Moying. But now… now, he was said to be my… I was too angry and wanted to deal with Moying.”
Qu Mingcheng was also anxious to confess, “Grandmother, it’s my fault. I saw that Eldest Sister was angry, so I wanted to help her vent her anger. Previously, it was me who instigated Cousin Xiao to cause trouble for Moying.”
“Mingcheng, this is my business. You did it for me… Grandmother, I was wrong, but I really don’t want to marry Cousin Xiao. I always thought that he would marry Moying…” Qu Xuexin cried and wiped her tears with a handkerchief. She was resentful inside. Just now, she was having a private talk with Qu Mingcheng, and she didn’t expect Granny Wu to come.
Granny Wu came over and stopped the lad servant from reporting her arrival to Qu Xuexin and Qu Mingcheng, and she overheard their conversation.
If not for Qu Mingcheng’s vigilance, Qu Xuexin would have said something even more outrageous.
When Qu Xuexin saw Granny Wu leave, she knew something bad would happen. Fortunately, Qu Mingcheng was calm and helped her analyze the situation. Otherwise, she would not know what to do now.
She secretly gritted her teeth and felt endless hatred for Granny Wu.
In the inner room, Qu Moying sneered. “Qu Mingcheng was really quick to react. He showed his close kinship with Qu Xuexin and indicated that I was more like a stranger to him. But this could not be blamed on them since I didn’t grow up with them.”
She pursed her pink lips and lowered her eyes so that her gloominess could not be seen.
“How could they be so righteous after framing others? They seemed to mean that it was someone else’s fault, whereas they were both innocent!”
“Qu Xuexin even took this opportunity to express her thought about the marriage with Xiao Hanyuan. How clever!”
The Old Lady was not easy to fool. She looked at Qu Xuexin with disappointment and snapped, “Who said that Xiao Hanyuan entered the mansion because of Moying?”
She used to think highly of Qu Xuexin. Even if Qu Xuexin couldn’t get married for the time being, she didn’t look down upon her and believed that Qu Xuexin would live a good life in the end.
But right now, she was deeply disappointed. She even felt that her previous thoughts were wrong.
“Is Xuexin really so despicable? Did I really mistake her?”
“I… I heard it by chance… from my mother.” Qu Xuexin guiltily looked away and mentioned Luo.
“Why didn’t I know that your mother knew about this?” The Old Lady sneered. She did not say much to Qu Xuexin but ordered an old maid beside her, “Go and invite First Madam over.”
The old maid nodded and was about to leave. Seeing this, Qu Xuexin panicked and said, “Grandmother… I… I didn’t hear it from my mother. I… I guessed it.”
She had no choice but to bite the bullet and reply.
“You guessed it? Why did you guess so? Moying is not the only unmarried lady in the mansion. You are also unmarried. Moying doesn’t need to worry about her marriage, but you should. However, you didn’t guess that Xiao Hanyuan was arranged for you but for Moying. Since you have guessed it, why did you get so close to Hanyuan? You said you were close to Hanyuan for the sake of Moying. But even Moying herself kept a distance from him, so why did you get so close to him? You even made Hanyuan hate Moying because of you. Why?”
The Old Lady asked coldly with anger on her face. She glared at Qu Xuexin, causing the latter to feel guilty and blush.
The Old Lady didn’t hold back anything at all. She bluntly pointed out that Qu Xuexin deliberately got close to Xiao Hanyuan, but now Qu Xuexin blamed it on Qu Moying.
“Grandmother…” Qu Xuexin started crying out of shame and embarrassment.
“Don’t feel like you are wronged. If you didn’t take the initiative to bump into Third Young Master He, nothing would have happened to you. Why would Third Young Master He still insist on marrying you? Do you think this matter is also Moying’s fault? Do you think that we are partial to Moying that we sacrifice your reputation for Moying?”
The Old Lady’s face was full of disappointment. She looked at Qu Xuexin without a trace of a smile.
These words were hidden in the Old Lady’s heart and also in Qu Xuexin’s heart. At this time, the Old Lady bluntly said it out. Except for Granny Wu, there was no other servant in the room. Even Qu Mingcheng and Qu Xuexin’s personal attendants were asked to wait outside the door.
“Grandmother, you are too partial to Moying. At that time, the proposed marriage was between Third Young Master He and Moying.” Qu Xuexin couldn’t control her resentment and contradicted the Old Lady with tearful eyes.
“But we didn’t come to an agreement in the end. Moreover, that blind date was arranged by your Second Uncle and me. Moying didn’t know about it, so what did you mean by running into Third Young Master He? As an unmarried lady, you should stay in your room to avoid causing trouble. Why did you take the initiative to bump into Third Young Master He?”
The Old Lady snapped, feeling distressed when she looked at Qu Xuexin.
She had already made it so clear, but Qu Xuexin was still pretending to be innocent, and she even contradicted her. The Old Lady was really annoyed.
Her words were even more merciless.
“Grandmother, it… it was an accident…” Qu Xuexin felt so ashamed.
The Old Lady said coldly in anger, “If it really was an accident, why did Third Young Master He say that he chatted happily with you? If nothing really happened, why did Third Young Master He insist on marrying you but not Moying? I didn’t let him say so, right?”
“Grandmother…” Qu Xuexin was speechless and fell to the ground crying.
The room quieted down. Only Qu Xuexin’s sorrowful cries could be faintly heard in the inner room.
In the inner room, Qu Moying’s eyes were filled with coldness. She would not be soft-hearted by Qu Xuexin’s show. She would repay kindness with kindness and also go in for revenge. She wouldn’t swallow her own sufferings to forgive someone like Qu Xuexin, nor would she sympathize with her. If she fell into the trap of Qu Xuexin and Qu Mingcheng, the one who was crying would be her.
The Old Lady said coldly, “You can go back. Forget about your marriage with Xiao Hanyuan. From now on, you should stay in the mansion and cultivate yourself. Forget about the marriage.”
“Grandmother!” Qu Xuexin cried out in grief. She was afraid that her grandmother would lock her up for the rest of her life, but she still had to get married. She wanted to enter Crown Prince’s Mansion. She couldn’t let her grandmother do this.
The Old Lady ordered, “Send First Lady back!”
Granny Wu walked over and helped Qu Xuexin up. She whispered, “First Lady, please come with me.”
“Get lost! It’s all your fault. You damn old maid.” Qu Xuexin shouted angrily and rudely as she pushed Granny Wu away.
Granny Wu was caught off guard. She staggered and almost fell down. She stabilized herself by holding the pillar by the side and looked at Qu Xuexin in shock.
The Old Lady shouted angrily, “Someone, send First Lady to the Eldest Master. Have him look after her.”
Hearing the Old Lady’s order, two lowly old maids came in from outside the door.
Seeing that the Old Lady was so angry, Qu Xuexin did not dare to make any more noise. Covering her face with her sleeves, she whimpered as she turned around and ran out. The two lowly old maids followed her out.
“Mingcheng, you have disappointed me too.” The Old Lady looked at her grandson in the room. Qu Mingcheng was one of an auspicious boy and girl twins. The Old Lady had long thought that Yu was not good, so she specially asked Qu Zhizhen to have Qu Mingcheng raised in East Mansion, hoping that Qu Mingcheng would be different from his mother.
“Grandmother, I was wrong. I treated Eldest Sister as my own sister but didn’t treat Moying the same. I only saw her as a relative.” Qu Mingcheng lowered his head in shame, his face full of regret.
Hearing his words, Qu Moying sneered in her heart. “Qu Mingcheng is much cleverer than Qu Xuexin. His words are really watertight. Everyone has their own close relationship. He didn’t grow up with me, so it is natural that he doesn’t treat me as his family. I can’t compare with Qu Xuexin in this case, so it is normal for him to stand on Qu Xuexin’s side.”
“As for the fact that I didn’t grow up with him, he is not to be blamed.”
“Mingcheng, get up. I only hope that you won’t disappoint me in the future.” The Old Lady said slowly. There were some unfathomable emotions in her eyes.
“Don’t worry, Grandmother. I will never do this again. I am sorry for Moying.” Qu Mingcheng said shamefully, and his expression showed that he did seem to feel regretful.
His action seemed to be blameless.
Granny Wu went over and helped him up. He stood up and thanked Granny Wu. He was extremely respectful to the people around the Old Lady. Although Granny Wu had overheard his conversation with Qu Xuexin, he did not resent Granny Wu. He respected her as always.
“You can go back now! Have a good rest and study hard. Don’t bother to care about any other things.”
The Old Lady said.
“Yes, Grandmother!” Qu Mingcheng answered meekly. He turned around and left without saying anything else. He acted calmly. But Yu Dong, who was bending behind the curtain at the door of the inner room, clearly saw the resentment in his eyes…