Chapter 64
Chapter 64 Lord Jing’s Late Visit
“Where is your master?” Qu Qiuyan asked Yu Chun, looking displeased.
“The lady went out for a walk,” Yu Chun lowered her head and responded.
“When did she leave?” She hadn’t fully cleared the Old Lady’s suspicion, so she came to visit Qu Moying to show her grandmother their good relationship. However, Qu Moying was not even in her yard! Having her effort wasted, Qu Qiuyan flew into a rage.
Qu Moying should feel honored to be visited by her and be waiting for her obediently. Qu Qiuyan couldn’t believe that she was given the cold shoulder by that blind girl.
“It was not long ago. When we arrived at the yard door, the lady didn’t even enter and left immediately,” Yu Chun lowered her head and said. Of course, Yu Chun was not going to tell the Third Lady that Qu Moying left because Lord Yun asked her to meet him.
“In which direction she went?” Qu Qiuyan still couldn’t accept it.
“I’m sorry that I didn’t see it clearly, my lady,” with her head still lowered, Yu Chun sounded pitiful. However, her words implied her intention of rejecting Qu Qiuyan.
The flame of rage was burning in Qu Qiuyan’s chest, but she couldn’t vent it out. She really wished she could give this maid a hard slap, but it was not the time for her to make a scene again. The crowd of onlookers just scattered, but some people were still wandering around their yard, pretending they were taking a casual walk. However, Qu Qiuyan could still feel their eyes peeking at them while standing in front of Qu Moying’s yard.
She came here to prove her innocence instead of causing more trouble. After all, she didn’t want to get involved with Qu Caiyue’s situation anymore.
She swallowed hard with annoyance and turned around to leave. She had already tried her best to suppress her anger.
After Qu Qiuyan returned to her yard, she asked a servant to shut the yard door tight and then slapped her maid Qing Lian hard, who was following behind her. “You useless low-life bitch!” she yelled at the poor maid.
Knowing her master was venting her rage, Qing Lian didn’t dare to talk. She covered her face and followed the lady into the room.
“Help me send a message to Second Young Master Yan,” Qu Qiuyan seated herself, pulled a long face, and said coldly.
“My lady…” Qing Lian exclaimed with shock.
“What? I can’t do that?” Qu Qiuyan gave an icy glance at Qing Lian.
Startled by Qu Qiuyan’s shout, Qing Lian shivered and said reluctantly, “My lady, Second Madam said no matter what happened, you can’t intervene in the plan, let alone directly communicate with Second Young Master Yan. If someone notices you are involved with him, there’s no proper explanation we can give to Lord Jing. What’s worse…”
Qing Lian could feel the increasing pressure from Qu Qiuyan, but she had to say it for the sake of her master, even though she was almost crying out of fear.
People regarded her as the Third Lady’s private maid, and more than half of the servants in the mansion were afraid of her. She could literally do anything she wanted to those people, but in front of the Third Lady, she was the one getting bullied. She had to do everything discreetly, but even so, being cursed and beaten by her master was still her daily life. She would also find someone to vent her grievance on afterward. Still, she couldn’t do anything about Qu Qiuyan except for tolerating her abuse.
She had to say it because if something happened to Qu Qiuyan, the Second Madam wouldn’t go easy on her. By then, the consequences would be way more than what she was bearing right now.
“Slap!” She was hit on the face again, and the impact made her fall to the ground. Her fair face now became red and swollen.
However, Qu Qiuyan hadn’t had enough yet, and she gave the maid another kick.
“Send a message to mother. Tell her our plan failed, and Qu Caiyue, that stupid girl, took all the blame instead of Qu Moying. Ask mother to contact Yu Qingmeng again,” Qu Qiuyan let out a deep breath in anger, with her voice full of hatred.
“Yes, I’ll send a man to do it later.” Qing Lian put her hand on the ground, wanting to support herself up, but she fell on the ground again because of Qu Qiuyan’s kick.
Meanwhile, Qu Moying entered a yard in a dark cloak. “My lady, please have a seat and wait for a minute. The lord just went out,” Ji Hai welcomed her beamingly.
The yard she stood in was spacious, with servants in black guarding at the entrance. It was located in a remote corner of the Dabei Temple. Even though she had been in the temple many times in her past life, this place was totally strange to her.
It was different than the ordinary yards for guests, in a league of its own. The gate she just went through had a pair of bronze door knockers with ancient beast heads carved on top, exuding a solemn and dignified temperament.
“Is this Lord Yun’s yard?” Qu Moying took the teacup served by Ji Hai, had a sip, and asked softly.
“This place has been the lord’s since he was a child. The old lord, his father, said the lord is surrounded by too many evil spirits. So, he built a yard for the lord here in the Dabei Temple. The lord often came here in his childhood. After being assigned to the border, he still stays here once in a while whenever he comes back to the capital,” Ji Hai explained beamingly.
“So, this place is outside of the Dabei Temple?” Qu Moying recalled the gate she went through just now and was surprised by Ji Hai’s words. Was that solemn gate the temple’s backdoor or side door?
“We are still in the temple but on its edge. The old lord didn’t want the lord to be disturbed by ordinary guests here, so he built a gate nearby to separate the other part of the temple from the lord’s yard.” Ji Hai was still smiling.
As the chief butler working for Pei Yuanjun, Ji Hai was not old but very intelligent, experienced in reading other people’s minds. Once Qu Moying asked, he immediately understood her intention.
Qu Moying blinked, deep in her thoughts. She now realized that this place should be more like a mansion built next to the Dabei Temple. Judging by the outline she saw from far away before her entry, ordinary yards like the one they stayed at were not even comparable to this place. When she was at the gate, she could even see a multiple-story tower built far behind. This was a mansion with at least two or three yards.
She had never heard that Lord Yun had a mansion built in the Dabei Temple.
“Where did the lord go?” Qu Moying cleared her thoughts and asked.
Yu Dong sent her a message from Pei Yuanjun, asking her to come here to meet him. But she hadn’t seen anyone except for Ji Hai. It was getting late, and with the dark cloak she wore, Qu Moying was not worried about being recognized by people.
Moreover, Lord Yun’s place must be well protected by secret guards. She doubted if ordinary guests of the temple could even get close to this yard. Yet, she couldn’t help but wonder what this meeting with Lord Yun was for this time.
“Lord Jing asked the lord to go meet him,” explained Ji Hai with a smile.
“Lord Jing? He’s here at the temple too?” Qu Moying’s heart missed a beat as she raised her brow and asked.
“He’s here to ask about you.” Ji Hai didn’t intend to hide the truth from Qu Moying.
“Ask about me? Why?” Qu Moying was shocked by his words. She only met Lord Jing once at her grandmother’s birthday banquet. It was just a glimpse at a distance, and they didn’t even talk to each other. Why was he interested in her?
After a second, she realized something and asked with caution, “Do you mean he’s asking about Lady Liu?”
“Yes, he’s here for Lady Liu. Because he has tried to visit Lady Liu many times, but the lady says she doesn’t want to see any guest and has rejected him every time,” said Ji Hai.
Rejecting Lord Jing was the only option they had since the person he wanted to visit didn’t even exist. Now Qu Moying felt more confused about Pei Yuanjun’s intention. The real Lady Liu didn’t come to the capital, but why did he ask Qu Moying to disguise as her and cause so much trouble?
“Since the lord came back to the capital, most of his time was spent at the Dabei Temple. The day before yesterday, Lady Liu arrived at the temple to pray for her father. Luckily, you are here as well, Fourth Lady,” added Ji Hai, still beaming.
Qu Moying glanced at him, “Does the lord want Lady Liu to meet Lord Jing?”
“Yes, that’s the lord’s intention. Lady Liu only showed up once at the Old Lady Qu’s birthday banquet but has rejected all the invitations and visit requests sent by other people. Even Lord Jing has been rejected many times. It’s time for Lady Liu to meet him again, or people will start to get suspicious,” Ji Hai grinned and said.
Frowning, Qu Moying fell into silence. She still couldn’t figure out why Lord Yun asked her to impersonate Lady Liu. However, this was not something she should try to figure out. It was an honor for her to have some value for Lord Yun and to have Yu Dong as a helper sent by him. Otherwise, with her current power, she couldn’t even stand a chance against Yu and her daughter, let alone revenge for herself, her father, and her sister from the past life.
Now, she started to worry about another thing. “Mr. Ji, will Lady Liu come to the capital?”
If there were two Lady Lius in the city simultaneously, that would be a very awkward situation for her.
“Fourth Lady, don’t worry. Lady Liu won’t come to the capital recently,” Ji Hai responded with a smile. “Lady Liu doesn’t have any relatives or friends here, so she can feel free to reject all the visits during her stay. However, Lord Jing is a different story. Lord Yun wants Lady Liu to treat Lord Jing in a better way.”
Qu Moying bit her lip subconsciously, making it even paler than usual and leaving a white mark on it. After she stopped biting, the white mark gradually faded. However, her lips still maintained a color of light pink, reminding people of the color of an elegant, fresh flower petal. “I see,” said Qu Moying.
She understood what Pei Yuanjun wanted her to do now.
“Fourth Lady, do you really understand?” Ji Hai asked, looking jolly as he peeked at Qu Moying’s expression. Ji Hai had been proud of his own sharp eye, and he could tell Fourth Lady Qu was a stunning beauty even though half of her face was covered by the veil. She was probably even more gorgeous than Third Lady Qu, who was known for her appearance.
That was wonderful!
Secretly, Ji Hai felt more and more pleased, looking at the bright and pretty lady in front of him.
“Yes, I understand!” Qu Moying nodded at him, took a sip of the tea, and put the cup down in a decent manner.
“Alright, the clothes have been prepared for you inside, my lady. Please get changed so that people won’t recognize you from your outfit.” Ji Hai signaled with his arm and pointed in one direction. Following his signal, Qu Moying stood up.
Meanwhile, a pretty maid entered the yard from the gate and bowed to her respectfully. “My lady, please follow me!”
Qu Moying had never seen such a stunning maid like this one. She was even more beautiful than many noble ladies, making her unsuitable to be a maid. After all, which lady would be willing to hire a maid who was even more eye-catching than her master?!
“Fourth Lady, this is Chun Xiu. She will be your maid from now on and help you handle everything when you are not available,” Ji Hai implied.
Did he mean that this maid would be Lady Liu’s representative when Qu Moying couldn’t disguise as her? It’s good news for Qu Moying since this told her that she didn’t need to sneak out to do the impersonation too often…
