Chapter 140 – The Lost Amulet
Chapter 140 The Lost Amulet
Qu Moying walked over. The old maid retreated to the side and bowed respectfully. What a coincidence, she was Qu Qiuyan’s wet nurse.
Qu Moying silently curled up her lips. This wet nurse was the one who wanted to plot against her but ended up falling into the river.
“What is your business here?” Qu Moying stopped and looked at the old maid indifferently.
Panicked, the old maid quickly lowered her head. She did not want to say anything, but now that they met face to face, she had to say something. Thinking of Fourth Lady Qu’s ruthlessness, the old maid could not help but shiver in fear. Since the incident, she avoided Qu Moying every time she saw her from a distance away in the mansion.
But this time, the old maid had something to report to Second Master. She was absent-minded and filled with fright. She wasn’t aware that the person coming in her direction was the Fourth Lady. When she saw her, it was too late to turn around.
“I-It’s about Madam,” the old maid blurted vaguely.
“What about her?” Qu Moying continued to ask.
“I…” the old maid stuttered, not knowing whether to say it or not.
“I heard that you were the one who said that Third Lady wanted to harm our miss?” Yu Dong had heard about this matter from Yu Chun. After being in the mansion for so long, of course, he recognized Third Lady Qu’s wet nurse.
“I…” The old maid panicked and was about to kneel down when the nimble Yu Dong stepped forward and grabbed her hand.
Yu Dong had a smile on his face, but his tone was extremely cold when he said, “Nanny, are you afraid that Second Madam won’t know? That she won’t kill you?”
No one would hear the three of them talking, but someone might spot them here.
The old maid hurriedly shook off Yu Dong’s hand and stood up straight. She did not dare to do anything else. As she looked around and was certain that no one was near them, she lowered her voice and said, “Second Madam found a couple who claimed that Fourth Lady is their daughter and wanted to see her.”
After the old maid finished speaking, she bowed to Qu Moying and did not dare to stay any longer. She turned sideways and went to the study room.
The old maid had to spill the bean as she knew that if they continued to stay together, Madam and Third Lady would be suspicious even if she was innocent. She was very clear of their ruthlessness. Should that happen, not only her but her family would also be implicated. Her entire family would be punished because of her.
After hearing this, Qu Moying did not make things difficult for the old maid. She turned around and went back to her room with Yu Dong.
In the evening, Yu Dong received the news and came back to report the matter of the couple to Qu Moying. The couple truly existed, and they were from the village.
They used to have a daughter who was slightly younger than Qu Moying. When their daughter was a child, she suddenly disappeared.
Until now, they had no other children.
After Yu Dong finished telling Qu Moying the news, the former asked, “Miss, their daughter is gone. Why are they here to claim their child? Do they want to drag you into this matter?”
He wasn’t with Qu Moying from the beginning, so he was not clear about some things.
Yu Chun’s face became serious when she heard this. She grew up with Qu Moying since she was a child. Originally, she did not care about it, but she recalled the young scholar whom they met at the Dabei Temple. The man also hinted that their miss had an affair with him because he stayed overnight at the village for one night.
Fourth Lady would have been in trouble had it not been for the hairpin. Second Madam and Third Lady were behind that matter too, and in the end, they pushed the blame on Miss Yu. However, after analyzing Second Madam’s method, Yu Dong knew that Second Madam was the person who did those things. But it was quite difficult to prove it.
The matter was always a mixture of truth and lie. But if one investigated, they could always find some hints to the truth.
The current situation seemed to be somewhat similar. Yu Chun was really worried that Qu Moying would take it lightly, so she reminded, “Miss, the man at the Dabei Temple really existed, and the thing really happened!”
Knowing what Yu Chun was worried about, Qu Moying nodded, and her eyes were cold. “Yu Dong, you asked someone to investigate. Did they find out if the couple has anything to do with the people around me before?”
Yu Dong thought about it. He did ask someone to investigate the matter and find a lot of things. The information was a little messy, but he still remembered it, so he nodded. “Yes, Miss. They seem to be related to Granny Gu, who was looking after you, and they seem to be her distant relatives. They occasionally interact with each other, but they are not close.”
“Not too close, but not too distant either?” Qu Moying asked, not surprised.
“Yes, you’re right. They don’t keep in touch on usual days, but they will when something is up.” Yu Dong nodded, feeling that his miss’ analysis was very accurate.
Granny Gu was Qu Moying’s wet nurse. She had been by Qu Moying’s side since the latter was a child. Qu Moying’s mother had chosen Granny Gu as her wet nurse long ago. She was a relatively gentle person and had a good character. Moreover, she was from the same village and she had been looking after Qu Moying since she was a child.
However, because Granny Gu was from the village, she was not very knowledgeable. Although she was soft-spoken and hard-working, sometimes, her behavior was inappropriate. She was not as capable as Granny Miao who worked for her later. When Qu Moying recently returned to the capital, she left Granny Gu in the village. On one hand, it was because Granny Gu was unwilling to come to the Qu Mansion. On the other hand, Qu Moying felt that she was old and it was better for her to stay in the village and live her life in retirement.
Now, Granny Gu was still in the village.
“When their daughter disappeared, I should still be in the village, right?” Qu Moying already had a plan in her heart and asked calmly.
“Yes, I heard that you happened to be ill at that time, seriously ill. When the child disappeared, everyone in the village was alarmed. However, Granny Gu was taking care of you and only went to take a look later on. She didn’t go to the scene when the incident occurred,” Yu Dong illustrated in detail. He secretly felt relieved that the investigator was quite able, and that he asked him clearly too. Otherwise, he would know nothing when Miss asked him now.
However, Yu Dong could predict these questions because he had always done this kind of thing. He didn’t expect that such a weak girl like his miss would also be so meticulous. The more he looked at her, the more he admired her. Why did they say that she was dimwitted and ugly? If she was, so was every woman in the capital!
Qu Moying was silent for a moment. When she was a child, she was very weak and would get sick from time to time. At that time, the doctors even said that she could only live for a few years, and it was impossible for her to live to adulthood. Unexpectedly, she managed to survive time and time again.
It was the right timing.
“Is there anything else… that is related to me?” Qu Moying picked up the tea on the table and took a sip before asking slowly.
“Uh… no, I didn’t find any.” Yu Dong shook his head. He thought of it, but he really couldn’t figure anything out. “Miss, are there any other clues around you? Something easily identified?”
“Miss, did you take the sachet that Granny Gu gave you when you came to the capital? I remembered that Granny Gu liked to give you some things like amulets,” Yu Chun cried out as something suddenly crossed her mind.
Ever since Granny Miao worked for Qu Moying, Qu Moying would take Granny Miao with her every time she returned to the capital. However, the benevolent Granny Gu could not be at ease. She would go to the temple to ask for something like an auspicious amulet to protect Qu Moying’s safety, and she would put it in a sachet and give it to Qu Moying.
“Yes, I brought one. Go and find it.” Hearing her say this, Qu Moying also remembered and ordered Yu Chun.
Yu Chun nodded. After going in and looking around, she returned empty-handed. “Miss, it’s gone!”
“It’s gone?” Qu Moying’s expression changed. It was not a small matter for something to be missing in her room. She had so much precious jewelry in the room, and what was more, someone breaking into her room could even ruin her reputation and life!
“Yes, it’s really gone. Miss, please wait a moment, I’ll call Granny Miao over.” Yu Chun also panicked. Only her miss and a few of her trusted aides could enter the inner room. How could such a personal item like a sachet suddenly disappear? If it wasn’t for them to mention it just now, no one would have found the matter either!
Granny Miao came very quickly. After entering the room, she sensed the heavy atmosphere in the room. After the courtesy, she went and stood aside.
“Granny Miao, did anyone enter the room?” Qu Moying asked softly.
“Is something wrong, Miss?” Granny Miao’s expression changed drastically as she immediately understood Qu Moying’s implication. She thought that she had guarded the courtyard well. It was impossible for anyone to enter Miss’ room, let alone her inner room.
“The sachet that Granny Gu gave Miss is missing, the one with the amulet,” Yu Chun grunted with a heavy expression. Granny Miao also knew Granny Gu’s habit.
Qu Moying stood up, and a few of her trusted maids followed her into the inner room. Yu Chun was usually the one who put away the sachet and other things. Qu Moying didn’t bring many things to the capital. Previously, Old Lady Qu had sent some things over and asked Qu Moying to change some old accessories, saying that it was not suitable to wear them in the mansion.
After Qu Moying asked Yu Chun to put them away, Yu Chun put these unused ornaments into the box.
“Miss, I swear that no one has entered the main room. Every time you are not here, I warned the maids and old maids in the courtyard. I also told them to drive the person away if they saw anyone suspicious. They would be punished if they saw someone but didn’t report to me!” Granny Miao asserted with a serious face.
Granny Miao had always been very clear about Fourth Lady’s situation in the mansion, and she was very cautious. She would pay extra attention every time Qu Moying was not around, so it was impossible for outsiders to come in.
“But the sachet inside is really gone!” Yu Chun was so anxious that her eyes turned red. She opened the box that was packed with the old things and pointed to the things inside. “The rest are still here, but the sachet is gone. I remember clearly that I put everything in here. Miss always kept Granny Gu’s amulet carefully.”
It was not because of the function of the amulet that Qu Moying cherished the sachet, but because of Granny Gu’s kind intentions. Granny Gu had been doing her best to take care of Qu Moying, so Qu Moying had always been very respectful to her.
The object was placed in the inner room, but now it was gone. Moreover, it was impossible for other outsiders to come in. The people in the room had worked for Qu Moying for many years and were loyal to her. It was impossible for them to take the sachet away.
Qu Moying looked thoughtfully at the box that Yu Chun opened. After a moment of silence, her eyes suddenly became cold and she asked, “Yu Chun, where did you get this box?”
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