Chapter 53
Chapter 53 Yu Qingmeng Got Married as a Concubine
The birthday banquet held for the Old Lady from the Qu family had finally ended in a buzz with joy.
People all considered the Old Lady’s life pleasing and satisfying. The Qu Family didn’t have a long history, but the Old Lady’s two sons had remarkable career development and lived decent lives.
Her first son Qu Zhilin worked as an Imperial Censor, while her second son Qu Zhizhen was the Vice Minister of Works. They were still young with a bright future, so many people attended the banquet to celebrate the Old Lady’s birthday.
As people left with satisfaction, rumors started to spread. They said the Marquis Yongning’s Family must break off the engagement between Xu Lipeng and Qu Moying because Second Lady Duan and Young Master Yongning had intimate body contact in public. If he didn’t marry her, Second Lady Duan had no choice but to marry someone else as a concubine. Otherwise, her life would be ruined.
As everyone expected, a few days later, the engagement was officially broken off by the Marquis Yongning’s Family, and Young Master Yongning got engaged with Second Lady Duan. Fourth Lady Qu was the only one who suffered. After losing her engagement, no one would want to marry this blind lady.
Some people thought it was meant to be like this, while some people felt sorry for her.
However, no one noticed that Yu Qingmeng was taken into the Marquis Yongning’s Family and married Xu Lipeng as a concubine.
This was the agreement they reached with the Duan Family. Xu Lipeng broke off his engagement with Lady Qu for the sake of Duan Jinxiang. About Yu Qingmeng, he made up a different story, saying that he had no choice but to hold her in his arms to save her, which disgraced her name.
Since he married Duan Jinxiang because of saving her, it was the same for Yu Qingmeng. He claimed that he had no choice but to marry her as well. The Duan Family couldn’t disagree with his reasoning, and they had to let Yu Qingmeng marry him as a noble concubine. There was only one thing they disapproved of – holding a wedding ceremony for Yu Qingmeng.
Since the Yu Family had already agreed to let Yu Qingmeng be a concubine, she could only secretly move into the Marquis Yongning’s Family, carried by a sedan. Before Xu Lipeng married his wife, it was inappropriate to hold a ceremony for a concubine.
Originally, the Duan Family didn’t agree to let Yu Qingmeng move in first because the marriage between Xu Lipeng and Duan Jinxiang was still in discussion. It was absurd that a noble concubine moved into the mansion before a wife. However, the Marquis Yongning’s Family already made their decision, and it was a crucial reason that let the Qu Family approve of canceling the engagement. According to Yu, Qu Moying also agreed before that Yu Qingmeng could marry Young Master Xu as a noble concubine. So, the Duans couldn’t say no to it since their daughter was saved by Young Master Yongning, and they owed the other two families.
Since Xu Lipeng was willing to marry Duan Jinxiang, the Duan Family owed the Marquis Yongning’s Family a favor and even felt guilty for the Qu Family. Yu proposed to let Yu Qingmeng move into the mansion first, and Xu Lipeng agreed. The Duans didn’t have any proper reason to reject them. Then, Yu married into the Marquis Yongning’s Family as a noble concubine without having a wedding ceremony.
The breaking off of the famous engagement drew everyone’s attention away, and only a few people noticed it.
There was another small thing that only a few people knew about. The Xifu Opera Group, which lived in the Eastern Palance and was hard to book, went to perform at the Old Lady Qu’s birthday banquet. Some guests even met Ming Xian’er, one of the stars in the group, in person. She was a stunning beauty, and everyone was surprised by how attractive she was.
The madams liked her singing a lot and asked her to perform one more show. But somehow, she tumbled on the road later and couldn’t perform anymore. The group arranged for another performer to finish the show as planned before, while Ming Xian’er excused herself to the host family and left early.
Some people said she was a pampered performer who became too arrogant, while others saw Ming Xian’er left the Qu’s Mansion with a red, swollen face, and she was not lying.
This was not a big deal, not even comparable to Yu Qingmeng’s matter, let alone the canceled engagement and sudden marriage among the three families. However, rumors about the relationship between Ming Xian’er and the Crown Prince started to spread in the city. They said the beautiful performer had a secret affair with the Crown Prince, and that was why she had the guts to reject the madams’ request and left directly.
People all thought the Crown Prince was a loyal, honest husband who deeply loved his wife because of the behaviors he showed when the Crown Princess was heavily sick on the bed. Now the rumors about Ming Xian’er broke his perfect-husband mask, and all kinds of stories arose…
Some people even started to suspect the cause of the fire in the Eastern Palace, and the rumors about the Crown Prince’s private life became more and more absurd.
“Grandma, you want to do fasting for a few days in the Dabei Temple?” Qu Moying raised her brow, looking surprised.
“Yes, you can go there to do fasting and relax. Don’t stay at home all the time. Since you just came back, it’s time for you to take a look there!” Yu rubbed her hands and said with an amiable smile.
Qu Moying’s eyes fell onto Qu Qiuyan, who was sitting further away, and darkened.
“Relax? What do you mean? No one is stressed here. We are just going there to enjoy the view and good weather.” The Old Lady glared at Yu sternly. She didn’t want Yu to mention anything about the Marquis Yongning’s Family again.
The Old Lady was still in a sulk. She couldn’t have a hand in her granddaughter’s last engagement, but this time, she would be more careful and find her a brilliant fiance. She bet she could find another young man better than Xu Lipeng.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s my fault. Ying, Grandmother will bring you and Qiuyan together. Enjoy your time there. I heard the peach forest behind the temple was famous for its beautiful view. The peach blossom should be stunning right now,” Yu said solicitously, acting surprisingly passionate.
After seeing this, if people didn’t know their relationship, they would think Yu was Qu Moying’s real mother.
“I’ll follow whatever you said, Grandma,” Qu Moying lowered her head and said softly.
Yu kept nodding, feeling pleased. Her eyes met Qu Qiuyan’s, and a sophisticated smile showed up on their faces.
“Ying, go pack your clothes first. We will leave tomorrow morning. The earlier we go, the fewer people there will be so that we can enjoy the peace and tranquility,” said the Old Lady.
Qu Moying nodded at her. She accompanied her grandmother for some more time, then left to pack her stuff.
She didn’t have too many things to bring with her, but she still needed some time to organize them.
Qu Qiuyan’s voice came from behind and stopped her when she just walked out of the door.
“Moying.” Qu Qiuyan caught up with her, showing a bright smile on her face as if they never argued before. “Moying, wait for me.”
“Sis, what’s the matter?” Qu Moying asked in a flat tone.
“Can you do me a little favor?” Qu Qiuyan said in embarrassment, “I have too many things I want to bring with me, but I’ve already packed a lot. If I take them all, I’m afraid grandmother will scold me. Can you help carry a small bag of mine?”
She didn’t want to be refused, so she added, “it’s just a small one, a piece of clothes of mine. Can you help me, Moying?”
“A piece of clothes?” Qu Moying asked, not showing any expression.
“Yes, it’s just a piece of clothes, which I like a lot, but all my packages were full. And it’s a new one. Can you help me keep it, Moying?” Qu Qiuyan asked again smilingly.
She acted like a totally different person than the one who claimed to destroy Qu Moying’s eyes and pretty face.
This was probably her usual attitude to people. Otherwise, she couldn’t have such a good reputation outside. She acted so rudely to Qu Moying before because she always looked down on her, regarding Qu Moying as a low-life girl with whom she could do anything.
But right now, she finally realized Qu Moying was not just an abandoned girl who grew up in a village.
“If grandmother knows that I have your clothes, I will be scolded by her too,” Qu Moying rejected her in a calm voice.
“But… But it’s just a piece of clothes, not a big deal. If we don’t tell anyone, grandmother will not know about it. If she notices it and asks, you can say it’s yours!” Qu Qiuyan was too angry that she almost wanted to laugh. She couldn’t believe Qu Moying would reject such a small request from her.
“Sis, please go back. You can ask grandmother to help you carry it,” Qu Moying said. She turned around and left.
“Aye, why do you take it so seriously? It’s just a piece of clothes!” Qu Qiuyan felt displeased and pulled a long face.
Qu Moying ignored her and directly left with Yu Chun and Yu Dong.
The look on Qu Qiuyan’s face was sullen. She gritted her teeth, suppressing the urge to rush over and slap on Qu Moying’s face. What a shameless girl! If her mother didn’t tell her to hold back her temper, she would never show any respect to Qu Moying.
“Let’s go!” Qu Qiuyan turned around furiously as a group of maids followed behind.
When Yu came to her room, Qu Qiuyan was still in her rage. The madam waved her hand, signaling all the maids to leave. Auntie Hai helped them close the door considerately, and she guarded right outside.
“What’s the matter? That blind girl disagreed?” Yu sat down, picked up a cup of tea, took a sip, and asked.
“Yes. How dare that little bitch reject me! Does she really think she’s still something after she lost her engagement? So shameless! In my opinion, we should do as Father said, send her to our family’s temple and let her live her whole life with monks and Buddha. Her existence is literally our family’s shame.” Qu Qiuyan cursed her angrily, “Mother, why do we need to spend so much effort on this bitch? She doesn’t deserve to let me lower my manner and beg her.” Qu Qiuyan pouted.
She was a noble lady who would soon become Madam Jing, something totally different than a little low-life bitch.
“If she isn’t willing to do so, we can still get around with it. The two daughters from the East Mansion will go with you this time, right? We can let Qu Caiyue give it to her!” said Yu.
The Old Lady invited all her granddaughters this time to do fasting in the Dabei Temple.
So, the First Lady, Qu Xuexin, and the Second Lady, Qu Caiyue, from the East Mansion would go together. Qu Caiyue was given birth by Madam Mei, the First Master’s concubine, so she had the lowest status among all the ladies. As for her mother, Madam Mei, the First Master wasn’t very fond of her, and she got a decent life all because of her daughter.
As a concubine’s daughter, Qu Caiyue didn’t have the confidence as other ladies in the family, who were given birth by wives. Qu Qiuyan was notorious for her arrogance, while Qu Caiyue always acted obediently in front of her. Although people from the two mansions didn’t often gather, on the few occasions when they met each other, Qu Caiyue always followed behind her cousin Qu Qiuyan. Strangely, people rarely saw her staying with her older sister.
“Let her do it?” That sounded a good idea for Qu Qiuyan. Qu Caiyue was just a concubine’s daughter, and she would never reject Qu Qiuyan’s request.
“Yes, let her do it. There will be two carriages for four people, and Qu Moying wasn’t qualified to sit in the same carriage as you. She’s more suitable to stay with a concubine’s daughter.” Yu sneered, “I will never allow a little bitch to think of herself as a real lady in this family.”
“Will grandmother disagree?” Qu Qiuyan was hesitant.
“Don’t worry, your grandmother has to agree!” Yu’s words were meaningful. The Old Lady wouldn’t have time to worry about others by then.
