Chapter 127 – Another Secret Meeting
Chapter 127 Another Secret Meeting
“What did you find out in the Earl Ling’an’s Mansion, Cousin?” Yue Wenhan directly asked her.
Qu Moying shook her head, “Nothing really. But I ran into His Royal Highness.”
“His Royal Highness was in the Earl Ling’an’s Mansion?” Yue Wenhan was surprised, feeling something was strange.
“Yes, he was there, staying in our cousin’s room,” Qu Moying nodded.
“Why was the Crown Prince in the Earl Ling’an’s Mansion instead of hosting the Crown Princess’s funeral in the Eastern Palace? Also…” Yue Wenhan paused, feeling weird about it. Even though the Crown Prince came for Earl Ling’an, why he was in the Crown Princess’s yard instead of Earl Ling’an’s yard?
Was His Royal Highness really deeply in love with the Crown Princess? Yue Wenhan smelled something fishy but couldn’t figure out the reason.
“Our cousin married into the Eastern Palace with a grand dowry. Shouldn’t the Crown Prince return her dowry to the Ji Family now? I heard Princess Ji moved into the Eastern Palace without anything. Will she take our cousin’s dowry as hers?” Qu Moying let out a sigh and threw out the question that she had considered for a long time.
“I showed the letter to them just because I wanted to see the Ji Family’s reaction. It seemed that they really don’t intend to reclaim our cousin’s dowry since another daughter of the Ji Family is still in the Eastern Palace.”
The truth was so close to them, but people wouldn’t notice its presence if no one mentioned it. This was so-called the darkness under the lamp.
Yue Wenhan immediately understood her as he pulled a long face. “Princess Ji is Second Master Ji’s daughter, but the Crown Princess was First Master Ji’s daughter. They had nothing to do with each other. How could the older sister marry the Crown Prince with her younger sister’s dowry?”
“But if the Ji Family doesn’t mention it, no one can say anything about it,” Qu Moying reminded him.
Yue Wenhan nodded with a sullen face. It was indeed the truth. Then he suddenly stared at Qu Moying, “You mentioned two shops before. Was it for the same reason?”
“Yeah. I actually didn’t care about them before, but then Second Madam Ji said the Crown Prince was involved in this matter and used this reason to reject me. She told me that the shops were part of our cousin’s dowry, and it was inappropriate for the Ji Family to ask them back now. But since our cousin promised me before her wedding, they must belong to the Ji Family instead of the Crown Prince. Second Madam Ji just was unwilling to give them to me,” Qu Moying explained carelessly.
Since Ji Hanyue had written about them in a letter to Qu Moying, she definitely wouldn’t take them with her to the Eastern Palace. Otherwise, she wouldn’t promise Qu Moying in the first place.
So, the two shops must’ve been left by Ji Hanyue in the Ji Family.
Actually, no one knew the truth better than Qu Moying, but she couldn’t say it directly.
She also couldn’t say that Ji Hanyue knew she would die soon, so she left the shops in her dowry to Qu Moying.
“How dare they?!” Yue Wenhan smacked the table with irritation.
“Cousin, I think they have the Crown Prince’s acknowledgment too,” Qu Moying reminded Yue Wenhan again.
Yue Wenhan’s eyes darkened as he nodded. This matter was not a loss for the Crown Prince at all. Moreover, he might even make a big fortune out of it. There must be many valuable items in the Crown Prince’s dowry. Maybe the Crown Prince didn’t even think about returning it. As Yue Wenhan considered all kinds of possibilities, a thought jumped into his mind. People all praised the Crown Prince for his love for the Crown Princess, but what if the Crown Prince wasn’t the same as he looked like?
At this moment, the seed of suspicion was officially planted in Yue Wenhan’s mind…
“Cousin, since our uncle passed away, the position of Earl Ling’an will naturally fall onto Second Master Ji’s shoulder. Without our two cousins, Second Master Ji and his family will be in charge of the whole Ji Family. It actually doesn’t matter that much if our cousin’s dowry is returned or not!” Qu Moying let out a soft sigh, said in sorrow, and lowered her head.
The reality was so cold and cruel that even Yue Wenhan’s firm belief was shaken by it.
Experienced in solving many cases, he knew some things didn’t look related at all on the surface but were actually connected. With the decline of his uncle’s family, the main beneficiary in the situation was definitely Second Master Ji and his family.
Second Master Ji would inherit the position of Earl Ling’an. The hostess in the Eastern Palace had become Second Master Ji’s daughter, and even the Crown Princess’s dowry fell in her hand. After being a brave soldier and the empire’s hero for his entire life, Earl Ling’an didn’t get anything in the end and couldn’t even protect his precious two daughters.
Were these really just accidents?
The thought blew a gust of chill wind into Yue Wenhan’s heart. He quickly calmed himself down and comforted Qu Moying first, “Cousin, you don’t need to think about it too much. Leave this to me.”
“But, our cousin and the others were so pitiful.” Qu Moying shook her head as the bracelets on her wrist bumped into each other and made crispy clangs.
The private room fell into silence. After a while, Yue Wenhan’s voice rang, “Cousin Qu, remember, you are just a lady, and you don’t have the power to control many things. I will take my time and investigate it carefully.”
“I understand. Don’t worry about me, Cousin.” Qu Moying nodded at him. Still feeling concerned, she added, “Cousin, don’t be reckless, or you may cause big trouble to yourself.”
She didn’t say anything more, but she believed that her hint was enough for Yue Wenhan. Intelligent as Yue Wenhan, he had never acted too boldly so far, or she wouldn’t tell him so much information in the first place.
What Yue Wenhan found out was not important for her since she knew the truth anyway. The only thing she worried about was that Yue Wenhan stepped on the trap set by Pei Luo’an or the Ji Family and was forced to become their helper.
No matter what, she would finish her revenge!
But she didn’t want to drag Yue Wenhan down into this dirty swamp with her.
Yue Wenhan left first, but Qu Moying was not in a hurry. She asked Granny Zhou to go outside and buy everything that needed to be sent to the Earl Ling’an’s Mansion tomorrow. Tomorrow was the first day of the official funeral. But after the drama she caused today, Xiao would keep a close eye on her from now on.
After Granny Zhou left, Qu Moying stayed in the private room and carefully reviewed everything that had happened today in her mind. As she thought about Pei Luo’an, who was in her old room before, she couldn’t help but sneer inwardly, impressed by his acting skill. Till this point, he was still spending so much effort maintaining his image as a loving husband.
The Earl Ling’s death was announced when Pei Luo’an was with the Ji Family today, which meant this was his order. He probably decided to stop keeping up with the lie and spread Earl Ling’an’death out.
But as the Crown Prince who just lost his dear wife, shouldn’t he stay with the Crown Princess’s coffin in the Eastern Palace instead of sitting in Ji Hanyue’s old yard? What’s more, the Crown Princess had her own yard in the Eastern Palace. Why did he come all the way to the Earl Ling’an’s Mansion to mourn his dead wife? The more Qu Moying thought about it, the more ridiculous she found it was.
“My lady, the lord invited you to go to the last room down the hallway,” Yu Dong suddenly came inside and reported to Qu Moying in a low voice.
When he was standing outside, he suddenly saw Ji Hai walking over. Both of them were surprised to see each other here. Ji Hai glanced at him but didn’t say anything, and then he entered the last room down the hallway. After a while, Ji Hai came out and whispered the lord’s order to him. So, he hurriedly came inside to tell Qu Moying about it.
“Right now?” Qu Moying asked in shock. What a coincidence to meet Pei Yuanjun again! It seemed that Lord Yun was having an idle life in the capital recently. Qu Moying felt she could run into him everywhere.
When she was Ji Hanyue before, she had attended some banquets held by noble families but never met him. She knew Pei Yuanjun seldomly showed up in the capital. But even if he was, he would stay at his own place and rarely attend any banquets or similar events, including the royal banquets.
“Yes, right now. The lord will arrive soon,” Yu Dong said with a smile.
“Do you mean the lord is not here yet?” Qu Moying stood up but didn’t move forward.
“I heard he went out before and will be back soon. He told you to wait for him, my lady.” Yu Dong nodded. Lord Yun must be in the room before, or Ji Hai wouldn’t go inside the room and come out with his order. But he was not here now, so he might have left through another exit of the room.
“Let’s go now!” Qu Moying nodded at her and started to walk outside.
Yu Dong hurriedly followed behind and led her all the way to the last room down the hallway. Before he lifted his hand to knock on the door, the door opened first. Inside the room stood Ji Hai with the usual beam on his face. He bowed, “Fourth Lady, please come in first. The lord will be back very soon!”
Qu Moying nodded at him, walked in, and sat down on a chair. Then she noticed that this room was much bigger than the one she stayed in just now, with more than twice the size and a curtain hung at one side. This room looked more like a place where a female received her guests.
Seeing Qu Moying seated herself on a chair near the door, Ji Hai pointed at the curtain with a smile, “Fourth Lady, please sit down behind the curtain.”
Qu Moying stood up and walked behind the curtain. The decoration style was softer there, with a more artistic color match, more like a female’s place. She sat down on the only chair behind the table in the center.
There were some plates of nuts and snacks on the table, looking fresh and neat. It seemed that they were just served, and no one had touched them yet.
“Fourth Lady, please help yourself. The lord will be here soon. But before he arrives, you need to meet someone first,” Ji Hai said beamingly.
Qu Moying had figured out Lord Yun’s intention the moment she saw the decoration here. She raised her brow, “Lord Jing?”
“Yes, yes, Lord Jing. Lord Jing has been asking to meet with Lady Liu but kept being rejected. It is rare to see Fourth Lady come outside, and Lord Jing so happens to be nearby. So, the lord asked you to meet him here,” Ji Hai said with a smile.
“Where’s Chun Xiu?” Qu Moying asked and looked at Yu Dong, who was not appropriate to stay here anymore.
“Chun Xiu will be here soon. Please wait for a few minutes, Fourth Lady,” said Ji Hai.
“Yu Dong, you back to our room and stay with Granny Zhou. I will be back later,” Qu Moying ordered.
“Yes, my lady,” Yu Dong answered and left immediately, heading to the room they had stayed in before.
Qu Moying took off her veil and put on the veiled hat handed by Ji Hai on her head. During the quite long waiting, she remained silent and closed her eyes to have a little break while leaning her head on her hand.
After a while, she heard some gentle footsteps coming from outside. After she opened her eyes, the beautiful maid called Chun Xiu was already standing in front of her while Ji Hai was long gone.
“My lady, Lord Jing heard that you are here and asks for a meeting,” Chun Xiu reported to her.
Chun Xiu’s expression and the slightly opened door told Qu Moying that Lord Jing had already arrived. She straightened up and said slowly, “Since fate let us meet here, I have no reason to reject it. Please ask His Royal Highness to come in!”
“Yes, my lady. I will go take His Royal Highness in.”
