Chapter 46
Chapter 46 Sneak Out on the Old Lady’s Birthday!
In her past life, Ji Hanyue loved reading. For that, her loving father had built an exclusive study in her yard to store many books he collected, including some casual reading ones.
Once in a while, she would put on some neat clothes instead of a dress and practice sword dance as an exercise when no one was there.
As for embroidery, she was not good at it at all. She could, at the most, do some simple embroidery, not letting the thread ends come out of the pattern. But her embroidery could definitely not be considered a decent gift for the Old Lady.
Since Qu Moying had an eye problem in her current life, making embroidery was really harmful to her eyes. People around her didn’t let her spend too much time on it, so the embroidery she made was just average, far from being outstanding.
The Old Lady’s banquet would be the first time for Qu Moying to show up in public as her granddaughter. Many people would attend the event and see every gift the Old Lady received. On such an occasion, Qu Moying couldn’t be the one who caught people’s attention by showing off her brilliance or being laughed at by others.
“My lady, it’s better to change it!” Granny Miao was worried.
“No need. I’ll give my grandmother the embroidered forehead band I made before.” Qu Moying shook her head and explained patiently, “I don’t have any other good choices. Since my eyes will finally recover under grandmother’s care and love, the embroidery represents my gratefulness for her. Everyone knows I have an eye problem, and people shouldn’t expect me to do it well.”
This would be the first time for her to show up in public. For executing Pei Yuanjun’s order successfully, she needed to keep a low profile and caught no attention. But meanwhile, she wanted people to know that her eyes were almost healed.
Then it wouldn’t be too surprising for others when she started to live without the veil.
Besides, it could also prevent Xu Lipeng from using her eye disease as an excuse for breaking off the engagement. Being able to make embroideries meant that her eyes would recover soon.
“My lady, the hand-made forehead band is indeed a good choice!” Yu Dong was a smart man. He understood Qu Moying’s intention immediately and complimented her decision.
Granny Miao couldn’t fully get rid of her concern, but she still nodded since it did sound reasonable…
On the morning of the Old Lady’s birthday, Qu Moying got up very early. After Yu Chun helped her get washed, she put on a light blue jacket with a delicate yellow embroidery pattern, matching her peacock blue swing maxiskirt as a belt outstood her slender waist. The bright colors gave her a slightly childish look but perfectly set off her beauty.
“My lady, you will be the most stunning girl without the veil,” Yu Chun grinned at Qu Moying’s reflection in the mirror, feeling proud.
The Third Lady always considered herself a beauty, but in Yu Chun’s opinion, the Fourth Lady was much more gorgeous than her.
“My lady, how about you take off the veil today?” Yu Chun proposed. She wanted those who spoke ill of the lady to see what they were looking at right now. She bet they wouldn’t dare to say the Fourth Lady was an ugly, blind girl again!
Qu Moying’s eyes had almost recovered under the care of the doctor sent by the Crown Princess. But Yu Chun couldn’t understand why her master kept wearing the veil when she didn’t need it anymore.
“There’s no need to hurry!” Qu Moying shook her head.
Yu Chun pressed her lips into a straight line and helped the lady tie the veil. Then her eyes fell on Qu Moying’s lips, and she suddenly said, “My lady, since it’s the Old Lady’s birthday, do you want to use a brighter color for your lip makeup?”
“There’s no need!” Qu Moying shook her head again.
“Why? A brighter color matches today’s auspicious occasion,” Yu Chun asked, being confused. Qu Moying’s health had been in a relatively bad condition, so her lips tended to look paler. Meanwhile, she was not a fan of lip makeup either. Before, she seldom went out when they stayed in the village, so people never noticed such a tiny detail.
But since they were back in the Qu’s Mansion, Yu Chun believed that it was more appropriate to put on some lip makeup on an auspicious day like this. Otherwise, the Fourth Lady’s pale lips would look weird among all the girls’.
“Judging by Lady Liu’s personality, she will definitely put on some lip makeup!” Qu Moying smiled with an implication in her words. She checked herself through the mirror for the last time, turned around, and walked out of the room. Yu Dong was waiting for her outside already. He and Yu Chun would be the lady’s two companions today.
For the big day, Yu and Qu Qiuyan got up early as well. When Qu Moying arrived, several people were already there, including these two and people from the East Mansion, which were the Old Lady’s first son, Qu Zhilin’s family. Qu Zhilin was an Imperial Censor. He married a woman as his wife named Luo and had one son and two daughters.
His son was named Qu Minghui. The first girl was named Qu Xuexin, and the second was Qu Caiyue. The young master Qu Minghui and the First Lady Qu Xuexin were both given birth by Luo; only the Second Lady’s mother was Qu Zhilin’s concubine, Madam Mei.
Luo was in bad health, and people rarely saw her coming over to the main yard. The Old Lady freed her from visiting her mother-in-law and didn’t hold high expectations for her first son’s children.
It’s been a few days since Qu Moying came back to the mansion, but only till today she got to meet people from Qu Zhilin’s family for the first time.
The Old Lady was in a good mood, chatting with her family while beaming. Soon, people familiar with her started to show up.
The ones who came early were usually the people closest to her.
Qu Moying accompanied the Old Lady to the garden. The view was terrific as all kinds of flowers were blooming, and this was why they chose this place to hold the banquet. The celebration was also easy to operate in such an open space.
The opera group built their stage here as well. A long screen was set up in the middle to separate the seats for males and females.
But the seats set in the pavilions at two sides would be the best spot to watch the opera performance.
The Old Lady and Qu Moying took their seats aside, and the young girl caught everyone’s attention. Seeing her outfit, people could tell that she was the Fourth Lady with an eye problem. Although the veil covered her face, her expression and behavior were still graceful without any timidness, which impressed many people. To some degree, she seemed to deserve more the title “lady” than other girls living in the city.
It was a big shock, especially for the young ladies who once spoke ill of her secretly.
They couldn’t see her entire face, but she didn’t seem ugly. Her soft, ivory skin and light-colored lips gave her a clean aura of grace. The pearl hairpin she wore was simple, but it matched perfectly with her long, black hair. It felt like she was born to be a noble, well-educated lady, making people dare not to look down on her!
A well-educated lady? How come a girl growing up in a village looked well-educated? Qu Moying was out of many people’s expectations.
Didn’t everyone say that she was an ugly, blind girl with a gloomy, weird personality and rarely talked to people because she grew up in a village?
A few madams who came early saw the gift Qu Moying gave to her grandmother. It was a simple forehead band. She obviously put a lot of effort into making it, but it was just a simple one. If the Fourth Lady really made it by herself, then it meant her eye problem was not serious.
The Old Lady also mentioned it implicitly that the Fourth Lady’s eyes would soon recover.
The girl was beyond people’s expectation. They felt it was almost as lucky as winning a lottery for Marquis Yongning’s family.
Many guests were discussing about Qu Moying secretly, but the lady was just sitting there, smiling. Soon, people’s attention was attracted by Lord Jing’s arrival.
For one moment, every single female stared at the pavilion on the other side.
Lord Jing hadn’t been engaged yet. Except for the mild Crown Prince, he could also be considered a suitable heir candidate. His mother had a strong family background related to Empress Yuan, favored by the emperor. Maybe he would be the one who ascended the throne in the future.
The emperor had four princes who had reached an adult age now – the Crown Prince given birth by the empress, the Second Prince Pei Yusheng, Lord Jing, the Third Prince who had been in poor health, and the Fourth Prince who was a bit impetuous. Generally speaking, Lord Jing was not comparable with the Crown Prince but still had a bright future.
Also, he was known for his excellent martial arts skills and handsome appearance among these princes, so he was admired by many noble ladies.
People’s eyes were drawn from Qu Moying to Lord Jing.
Qu Moying grabbed this chance, excused herself to the Old Lady, and left quietly.
The Old Lady had already been worried about her granddaughter’s well-being. She told Qu Moying long ago that she could take a break if she didn’t feel well. Once Qu Moying said it, her grandmother let her leave immediately.
Qu Moying got down from the pavilion quietly and rushed to the back door with her two maids. Right after they passed the first turn, Yu Dong whispered to her, “My lady, someone is following us.”
“Who?” she asked in a low voice, still striding.
“A maid. I kind of remember that she’s from the Third Lady’s yard,” said Yu Dong. With his excellent memory, he had already known lots of people in the mansion. Even though he met some of them only once, he still remembered their faces. “Yu Chun, take the lady to the back door first. Someone will be waiting for you there. Let me get rid of this maid.”
Qu Moying nodded and continued to walk ahead with Yu Chun. When they arrived at the back door, Yu Dong already caught up with them. He took out a key from a pocket near his chest and opened the door. No one was here. The woman in charge was called away by the kitchen staff to help them since there were too many guests today.
Yu Dong got this key from the woman in charge earlier today.
As he said, a typical wooden carriage stopped by the door. Yu Dong helped Qu Moying climb inside as Yu Chun wanted to follow her master, feeling anxious and worried.
“You don’t need to go. The lord has arranged everything well. Nothing will happen to the lady.” Yu Dong pulled Yu Chun back and told the lady inside, “My lady, just go. Mr. Ji Hai will be waiting for you there and help you with the preparation. After you enter the mansion, I will find a chance to pick you up.”
Qu Moying nodded, knowing it was the best solution. Yu Chun and Yu Dong were both her maids. It didn’t make sense to let them accompany “Lady Liu.” Moreover, they still needed to cover up for her in case someone came to look for the Fourth Lady.
After Qu Moying put down the curtain, the carriage made a turn swiftly and headed toward the exit of the alley. Watching her leaving, Yu Chun couldn’t stop worrying.
“Let’s go back first. We must not forget the things that the lady asked us to do!” Yu Dong said to her in a low voice.
Yu Chun had no choice but to go. The two maids were back in the mansion now. They locked the door carefully and headed to the Qianyue House. When they passed a crossing, Yu Dong pointed at the left side, signaling Yu Chun to take a look. Yu Chun bent forward and was startled by the scene – a maid fainted in the bush on the left side. “Will someone notice it?”
“Who cares? We only need to tell people that the Fourth Lady feels unwell. She first took a walk in the garden and then went back to the Qianyue House. As for who attacked this maid, no one would figure it out since so many guests are present today!”
Yu Dong said casually.
Yu Chun nodded at him, and they went to an abandoned, empty house. When they were back outside again, Yu Chun had put on a cape while Yu Dong was leading her and helping her walk. They went back to the Qianyue House according to Qu Moying’s plan, in which Yu Chun disguised as her. As for Yu Chun, no one would care about a maid’s whereabouts on such a big day like this…
