Chapter 137 – Vice Minister Of The Dali Temple
Chapter 137 Vice Minister of the Dali Temple
When Concubine Xiang heard these words, it was as if Qu Moying had stirred up huge waves inside her, causing her to almost be unable to return to her senses.
“Fourth Lady Qu, what do you mean by this? What does it have to do with Yanyue? She’s already dead, so there is no need to bring this matter up and investigate anything,” Xiao hissed coldly as she glared at Qu Moying.
Qu Moying turned to look at Xiao. “Second Madam, we can stop talking about letting Concubine Xiang see Uncle one last time. But can we clear up Cousin Yanyue’s matter? I would like to know what kind of illness she succumbed to, which doctor you brought in to treat her, and what the doctor said.”
To the outside, Earl Ling’an’s Mansion said that Ji Yanyue died of illness, but they secretly spread the rumors that Ji Yanyue eloped with someone. Their purpose was to stop others from investigating her disappearance because it would tarnish the reputation of the women of the Ji Family.
Of course, the so-called women of the Ji Family included Ji Hanyue, the Crown Princess, and Ji Youran, who was currently in the limelight and might even become the next Crown Princess.
With these two women of the Ji Family, no one would dare to investigate the matter further even if they were suspicious about it.
However, Qu Moying was not a bystander, she was the reborn Ji Hanyue. She was not afraid to investigate the matter or offend Ji Youran who seemed to be promising. When she thought of her own death and her sister’s death and thought that she was no longer a woman of the Ji Family, she felt a faint sadness in her heart.
Now that she’s off by herself, she should not be afraid of anything any longer!
“Moying, this is Earl Ling’an’s Mansion’s business. You should not interfere!” Qu Qiuyan walked over and reminded Qu Moying. Her expression faintly showed concern for Qu Moying.
“This is Cousin Yanyue’s matter. She had disappeared with no explanation. The dignified young lady of Earl Ling’an’s Mansion, who was also the Crown Princess’s biological sister, has disappeared out of thin air, but the Ji Family simply said that she succumbed to her illness. They didn’t even give her a funeral. Do you think it’s normal, Third Sister? As her cousin, shouldn’t I ask for clarity? Will you not ask if this happens in the Yu Mansion?” Qu Moying said with a cold expression.
She looked at Qu Qiuyan, and a trace of ridicule flashed through her eyes. They had already come to this point, but Qu Qiuyan still insisted on sticking to her good reputation, showcasing her image as a good and considerate sister.
Qu Qiuyan did not expect that Qu Moying would be so direct and harsh to her in front of so many people. She cursed Qu Moying in her heart, for being so tricky and cunning. It was difficult to answer these questions. If she said that she wouldn’t care if something similar happened in the Yu Mansion, others would think that she was cold and indifferent to her family. If she said that she would care, her earlier remarks would be in vain, and she would be seen as not putting herself in others’ shoes.
“Fourth Lady Qu, what you said is really interesting. Everyone knows what had happened to Yanyue, so why do you deliberately say this? Do you feel better by humiliating our Ji Family?” Xiao rebuked coldly, and there was a faint intention of having a fall-out.
Xiao had never been so sullen. She was actually questioned by a young girl in an inquisitorial tone.
For Ji Yanyue’s matter, many aristocratic families heard the rumor that she was sick when the fact was that she eloped. It wasn’t wrong for Xiao to cover up the fact of elopement with Ji Yanyue’s illness.
If something like this happened in the other aristocratic families, they would probably kill her. Therefore, it was reasonable for them to say that Ji Yanyue died from an illness rather than telling the truth that she eloped and disappeared.
Xiao was not afraid of an investigation at this point. Furthermore, Qu Moying was not a member of the Ji Family. All she could do was bring it up today and leave. After all, she couldn’t remain here.
As for Concubine Xiang who had no children, after the matter was settled, Xiao would think of a way to get rid of her. In any case, she was a small-time concubine who had no powerful backing, and no one would doubt Xiao even if Concubine Xiang was murdered.
“Second Madam, did Cousin Yanyue really elope with someone?” Qu Moying looked at Xiao and broke the silence and Xiao’s peaceful facade.
Old Lady Ji, who was sitting on the chair, had a drastic change of expression. Her body went soft, and she almost fainted. She had always been weak. She never thought that an unmarried girl would say such words.
“You… you…” Xiao also did not expect that Qu Moying would directly ask her such a question. How could she be so reckless to say such words when she did not know the whereabouts of Ji Yanyue? Ji Yanyue would be embarrassed if she came back in the future, and the reputation of the women of the entire Ji Family would be tarnished.
Xiao never knew that Ji Hanyue had been reborn as Qu Moying, who had long known the fact that her sister was dead.
“Second Madam, Cousin Yanyue is only ten years old, and she has always stayed in the boudoir. Please tell me how she disappeared. Did anyone see her? Or was it a part of someone’s plan? My cousin is still a child, right? Or does it mean that the security of Earl Ling’an’s Mansion is so lenient that anyone can enter the backyard as they please?” Qu Moying continued to ask.
The Ji Family’s reputation? Earl Ling’an’s Mansion’s reputation?
Why would she care? She didn’t even care about Ji Hanyue’s reputation.
In her past life, she carefully protected her reputation as a Crown Princess. She was afraid that she would implicate Pei Luo’an in some bad ways. Every time she saw that Pei Luo’an was unhappy because of the words of the officials, she would comfort him and say that those were all rumors. She said that he didn’t have to believe them, and all he needed to do was be himself.
Now, at this time, what else was she afraid of?
In order to restore her sister’s reputation, she needed the intervention of the people of the Ji Family. A faint hint was nothing. She just wanted the people of the Ji Family to be nervous.
Her father was supposedly the head of the Ji Family, but the one in charge was the elders of the family, who were her father’s uncles. Today, after such a huge matter occurred, someone from the Ji Family should be here.
It had been a while since she arrived at the mourning hall, so Cousin Yue should be coming over soon. She had told him the matter yesterday. According to Cousin Yue’s temperament, he should have been observing the situation around the mourning hall from time to time to find clues. It was impossible for Cousin Yue, who was nearby, to be ignorant of the situation here.
She was, after all, an unmarried lady. Some things would carry more weight if Cousin Yue, instead of her, said them.
The security of the Ji Family’s backyard was lenient? The people who heard this had a change of expression. This almost implied that the women of the entire Ji Family did not have good reputations, which included the recently deceased Crown Princess and the current concubine of the Crown Prince. Did that mean that the Crown Prince might be…
This thought flashed through everyone’s minds, causing their faces to turn pale with fright.
“What nonsense are you talking about?” An angry roar came from behind everyone. Everyone retreated and saw a few older people roaring as they walked over. What made Qu Moying’s eyes light up was that Yue Wenhan also came in with them.
The elders came a little early than she had anticipated, but fortunately, Yue Wenhan was here.
“Uncles.” When Xiao saw that it was Ji Family’s elders, she immediately stepped forward and bowed.
“Second Madam.” One of the old men, surnamed Ji, glared at Qu Moying furiously and glowered, “Why are so many people gathering at the mourning hall? Those who don’t have business here, please leave! This is General Ji’s last resting place. No more ruckus here. The Ji Family’s matter has nothing to do with outsiders.”
Just now, a few Ji Family’s elders heard the commotion clearly from the outside. Originally, they did not want to show themselves since the matter did sound a bit skeptical. Could it be that Ji Yongming was murdered? However, this kind of thing was extremely terrifying after careful thought. The elders were old and sophisticated, and they did not dare to be involved in such matters.
But now, they had no choice but to show up since Qu Moying was implying that the reputation of the women in their family was not good. This became a matter of their own since they all had several unmarried granddaughters.
They excluded Qu Moying directly by calling her an outsider.
Although they were talking to Xiao, their words and action were to kick Qu Moying out.
Yue Wenhan took two steps forward and stopped in front of Qu Moying. He looked at the elders, and his face turned cold, “I won’t interfere with the Ji Family’s matter. But I won’t let it go if there is another story in Cousin Yanyue’s matter.”
He had indeed been lingering around the mourning hall just now, wanting to unearth something. Originally, Ji Yong’an had accompanied him, but later on, more and more people came to the mansion, so Ji Yong’an excused himself to entertain the guests. After staying in the mourning hall for a while, Yue Wenhan went for a walk. He had returned at some point, but went out again.
When he went out just now, he did not find anything suspicious. When he turned back, he happened to see a few elders led by a housekeeper walk toward the mourning hall, so he followed them. Although the two groups of people came together, they did not greet each other. The Ji Family’s elders did not know who this handsome young man was.
Hearing his confident tone, the elders were angry. One of them glared at Yue Wenhan angrily. “Young man, even if you are related to the family, this so-called matter is not something you can interfere with. If there really are some hidden facts, the government officials will come forward to investigate.”
“I am the Vice Minister of the Dali Temple, so I am indeed in charge of this kind of thing,” Yue Wenhan announced unhurriedly.
The elders were stunned for a moment and shut their mouths in shock. They did not expect the young man in front of them to be the Vice Minister of the Dali Temple.
The clever ones immediately remembered that the nephew of Yue was the current Vice Minister of the Dali Temple. When they recalled the word “Cousin” that he had just said, they immediately understood his identity. For a moment, their faces stiffened. In the capital, everyone knew that there were a few government offices that one could not afford to offend.
Especially those offices in charge of interrogating suspects. They would walk in innocent but come out guilty.
Dali Temple was such a kind of place. No one wanted to go there.
“Mr. Yue, Third Lady Ji really died of illness. There is nothing to investigate, and there is no victim. You can’t just believe her based on some hearsay. This will tarnish the reputation of the women of our entire family.” After coming to his senses, the elder in the middle, who was experienced, put on a serious expression and explained.
“The victim?” Yue Wenhan raised his eyebrows and swept his gaze over the Ji Family.
The current Ji Family was not comparable to what it used to be. In the past, when the Suppressor General, Ji Yongming, was alive, they had been a first-class aristocratic family. But now, apart from the title, Earl Ling’an’s Mansion was considered to have withered. When facing this young Vice Minister of the Dali Temple, there was no powerful person who could defend the family, and they were a little lacking in confidence.
“Mr. Yue, we do not have a victim.” Xiao felt a bit angry, being asked by Yue Wenhan in such a way. She stepped forward and said coldly. Although she had a guilty conscience, she felt confident again when she thought of her daughter who was the Crown Prince’s concubine and was likely to become Crown Princess soon.
Qu Moying slightly pursed her lips and turned her face to look at Concubine Xiang. At this time, it was time for Concubine Xiang to speak…
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