Chapter 104 – The Whereabouts Of The Two Private Maids
Chapter 104 The Whereabouts of the Two Private Maids
Soon after, Yue Wenhan came back. He came in and sat down on a chair quietly with a sullen face.
“Cousin, did you find out anything?” Qu Moying raised her eyes to look at him and asked, feeling a bit nervous. The two maids they were investigating were Wei Yu and Xie Feng, and Xie Feng was the one who took her to the Linyuan Pavilion on the night she died.
“The Crown Princess brought two private maids with her when she married into the Eastern Palace. One of them went missing on the wedding night when assassins sneaked into the Eastern Palace and caused chaos. No one knows if she is still alive. The other one had been helping Princess Ji take care of the Crown Princess. After the Crown Princess passed away, she said she was willing to work for Princess Ji,” Yue Wenhan said in a flat voice.
“Which one went missing?” His words made Qu Moying feel unsettled. She didn’t even notice her voice was trembling.
“The one called Wei Yu. The Crown Prince’s wedding was very chaotic since assassins sneaked into the Eastern Palace and hurt the Crown Prince. The Crown Princess was even severely injured for protecting the Crown Prince. No one could notice a maid on a night like that. However, some other people said that she fell into the lake and got drowned that night.”
Yue Wenhan nodded.
“Fell into the lake and got drowned?” Qu Moying had to clench her fists to suppress the shock and anger in her heart. The one who fell into the lake and got drowned was actually her. But, did that mean Wei Yu also died on that night?
“Yes, that’s what I was told just now. But someone also said Wei Yu was killed by an assassin, and some said she died outside the Eastern Palace. Anyway, no one has a certain answer,” said Yue Wenhan. At first, he talked to several servants, but no one dared to answer his questions. After he told them he was the Crown Princess’s cousin, they finally started to say something.
However, everyone has a different answer. Yue Wenhan couldn’t tell if they were telling the truth or a lie.
But at least one thing was confirmed – something bad happened to that maid. Since these servants dared to tell him that, it was surely approved by the Crown Prince.
“Then the other maid called Xie Feng now is working for Princess Ji?” Qu Moying sneered inwardly. No wonder when Xie Feng took her to the Linyuan Pavilion, she so happened to run into Ji Youran. Because they had set up everything to kill her there.
She had suspected it before but still found it not very possible. Now, everything was connected together.
This was the truth!
When she was still a child, she met Wei Yu one day, who was an orphan, and took her back home. They had grown up together, and Wei Yu had always been very loyal to her. Xie Feng was born in the Ji’s Mansion, and her whole family had served the Ji Family loyally for many years. This was why Xie Feng was assigned to serve Ji Hanyue.
But she never expected Xie Feng to be someone else’s pawn. No wonder every time when she started to suspect Ji Youran, Ji Youran would behave better to clear her doubt. She had been kept away from the truth all the time while Pei Luo’an and Ji Youran had hooked up since long ago. It was all thanks to this maid.
A trace of coldness showed up in Qu Moying’s eyes.
“Cousin, what’s wrong?” noticing Qu Moying’s strange reaction, Yue Wenhan hurriedly asked.
“I…I just feel it was so unfair for our cousin. I can’t believe one of her private maids immediately showed her loyalty to someone else right after she passed away. Does it really make sense?” Qu Moying gnashed her teeth, tasting blood in her throat.
Yue Wenhan frowned, hearing her words. Indeed, it didn’t make too much sense.
“Cousin, what about Old Lady Ji?” Qu Moying tried hard to hold back the boiling hatred in her heart, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. Since the whereabouts of the two maids were clarified, her primary focus should be on Ji Youran now.
Her current status was too low to confront Ji Youran directly, so she had to do everything discreetly.
“Old Lady Ji agreed to meet us,” said Yue Wenhan.
“Let’s go now!” Qu Moying stood up.
“Cousin, you don’t need to bring anything. I’ve sent a gift over already under our name.” Yue Wenhan knew Qu Moying stayed in the Eastern Palace because of an accident and probably didn’t have anything proper to give Old Lady Ji as a gift.
“Thank you, Cousin!” Qu Moying said softly, “I only took one thing with me, which was a gift given by our cousin. I wanted to keep it as a memento before, but since I brought it here, I can give it to Old Lady Ji as a gift!”
The Crown Princess? She didn’t want to address Ji Hanyue as the Crown Princess anymore. When she revealed the truth to the world one day, she would make people remember her as Ji Hanyue, not the Crown Princess.
After finishing her words, Qu Moying took out an item wrapped by a hanky from her sleeve. She unfolded the wrap to show Yue Wenhan the exquisite accessory box lying inside. In the box was a pair of earrings.
The design was simple but very elegant. The base of the earrings was made of jade, inlaid with some delicately carved plum flowers.
“The Crown Princess gave them to you before?” asked Yue Wenhan.
“Yes, she sent someone to give them to me before. I’ve kept them well restored and didn’t want to wear them. I brought them here, thinking that I could offer them as a sacrifice on her altar. Then I forgot it because of what had happened before. I heard our cousin loved wearing them when she was alive. I think it can be an appropriate gift for Old Lady Ji to show my mourning,” Qu Moying said softly.
Since Qu Moying insisted on giving Old Lady Ji another gift, Yue Wenhan didn’t say anything else. The two of them then headed to another yard with their servants. The Ji Family didn’t stay at a guest yard but a side yard, showing that the Crown Prince treated them differently than normal guests.
That meant the Ji Family had a close relationship with the Crown Prince.
The side yard was spacious, even comparable to the main yard of the Eastern Palace. As they walked closer, Qu Moying recognized this place. A trace of anger flashed across her eyes – she knew this yard better than anyone. When she came to the Eastern Palace before, she always stayed here to have some rest.
She had only been to the maid yard a few times, but with this side yard, she couldn’t be more familiar.
She didn’t expect they would let Old Lady Ji temporarily stay here. No wonder Ji Youran was Old Lady Ji’s favorite granddaughter, offering her the best she had.
Upon entry, they saw an old maid waiting there. Seeing them walking in, she hurriedly welcomed them with a beam, curtsied, and said, “You are Fourth Lady Qu, right? What a pretty lady! You remind me a bit of the Crown Princess. I bet you are a kind girl like her. Please come in, Mr. Yue, Fourth Lady Qu. The Old Lady has been waiting for you!”
This sophisticated maid was the most competent servant Old Lady Ji had, also her most-trusted subordinate, Granny Wu.
It had been a long time since Qu Moying met her last time. Yet, she was no longer Second Lady Ji.
“It’s very nice of you, Granny,” holding back the coldness in her eyes, Qu Moying said in a flat tone.
They followed Granny Wu into a room where many young and old maids stood on the two sides. An old woman sat in the center, looking pretty chubby and amiable. It was her grandmother in her past life. But Old Lady Ji actually didn’t have a good temper at all. Moreover, she never used her brain and always trusted other people blindly.
Next to her sat an elegant middle-aged woman named Xiao, who was Ji Youran’s mother, the Second Madam of the Ji Family. Now Xiao’s face only looked annoying and cunning in Qu Moying’s eyes. As Ji Hanyue, she treated her aunt genuinely as her mother after her own mother passed away. But who would’ve known they were just a nest of evil snakes who took advantage of her and her father’s kindness!
Qu Moying stood next to Yue Wenhan, curtsying to them calmly as if she met them for the first time.
Old Lady Ji looked a bit haggard. After Qu Moying and Yue Wenhan sat down, her eyes first fell on Qu Moying and sized her up. Then slowly, she said, “You are the Fourth Lady of Vice Minister Qu’s family?”
“Yes, madam,” Qu Moying said softly.
“Your eyes…haven’t recovered?” Old Lady Ji stared at the long, wide veil covering Qu Moying’s eyes.
“Almost. It’s just better not to use my eyes too much now since I still feel a bit uncomfortable when the light is too strong,” Qu Moying explained.
Old Lady Ji’s eyes fell on her face again. She had heard about Fourth Lady Qu before but never paid too much attention. All she knew was that Fourth Lady Qu had returned to her family’s mansion and almost died once. Moreover, the cause of the accident was the same as the one that happened in the Eastern Palace, which was Yu, her step-mother who used to be her father’s concubine.
Old Lady Ji had met Yu a few times before and thought she looked like a tender woman. No one expected that she couldn’t even tolerate such a weak girl.
In Old Lady Ji’s opinion, Qu Moying was just a powerless girl who could be easily dealt with. All Yu needed to do was prepare a dowry for her, and Qu Moying would soon leave the family forever after she got married. It was so unnecessary to make such a big scene because of a girl like her. Now, everyone in the capital was talking about the Qu Family’s scandal. People all thought Yu’s life was doomed this time.
Although the wide veil covered more than half of Qu Moying’s face, Old Lady Ji believed in her own judgment – Fourth Lady Qu should be a good-looking girl. At least, she was far away from the ugly image in the rumors.
Maybe she was indeed not a smart and well-educated one since she grew up in a village. In her condition, learning a few words should be good enough. Still, there was no way she could be comparable with those noble ladies who were carefully raised in the capital.
This was probably the main reason why the Marquis Yongning’s Family broke off the engagement between her and Young Master Yongning.
“How long it will take for your eyes to fully recover?” Old Lady Ji asked.
“Probably around a couple of months!” Qu Moying gave her an ambiguous answer. Then she turned back to cast a glance at Yu Dong, standing behind her. Receiving her signal, Yu Dong walked up and presented a small accessory box to Old Lady Ji. He said politely, “Madam, this once was a gift given by the Crown Princess to the Fourth Lady. Now, she wants to return it to you so that you can keep it as a memento.”
Then he lowered his head and moved the box forward.
The Crown Princess’s memento?
Old Lady Ji’s face turned a bit pale, same as Xiao’s. Everyone was staring at the little box in Yu Dong’s hands, but no one dared to take it without Old Lady Ji’s approval.
The whole room suddenly fell into an awkward silence.
“Fourth Lady Qu, since the Crown Princess gave it to you as a gift, you don’t need to return it to us. You can keep it as a memento. We still have a lot of the Crown Princess’s personal belongings remaining in our mansion.” Xiao reacted quickly. She pressed the corner of her lips with her hanky, stood up, and helped Old Lady Ji refuse Qu Moying with a polite smile.
“I heard the Crown Princess loved to wear it before. She even brought it to a temple to make it have the Buddha’s blessing. She gave it to me before to wish me good luck. I think she would be happier to let Old Lady Ji have the good luck now!” Qu Moying said softly.
Xiao’s hands trembled for a second when she held her hanky. Then she smiled at Qu Moying, “Since the Crown Princess gave it to you, it should be yours now, Fourth Lady Qu. How can we ask it back? Please, just keep it.”
Old Lady Ji remained quiet, looking down on the ground.
Qu Moying was observing their expressions during the whole time, and her eyes turned colder and colder. Xiao must stand on the same side as Ji Youran, which meant she knew the truth of her death. Also, judging by Old Lady Ji’s expression, she seemed to know about it as well. The pain in Qu Moying’s heart was so much that she even started to feel numb. The only feeling left was a bloodthirsty rage that she brought back with her from hell.
They all felt guilty, and that was why they didn’t dare to keep Ji Hanyue’s personal item, let alone one that was blessed by the Buddha.
Qu Moying’s eyes were bulging in rage, but luckily, they were covered by the veil. She looked at these people from the Ji Family coldly and then suddenly chuckled, “Madam, since you don’t want it back, I will keep it. However, would you please let me meet with my other cousin Ji Yanyue?”
