Chapter 141 – Bring Some Pastries To Visit Her
Chapter 141 Bring Some Pastries to Visit Her
“The box?” Taken aback, Yu Chun denoted, “My lady, what’s wrong with the box? I specifically asked for it.”
“Where did you get it?” Qu Moying asked.
“I-I took it from outside, but I asked someone to do it. I couldn’t find a suitable box in here when I wanted to tidy up the things, so I asked an old maid at the embroidery workshop to fetch a box for me,” Yu Chun answered.
“Did you specifically ask for it? Did you tell them what you were going to use it for?” Qu Moying asked after a pause.
“I think so. When I asked someone to find a box, I told her to look for a slightly prettier one to keep your old things. When she brought it back, she told me that it was specially made by the embroidery workshop. It was pretty and well crafted but a little small, so I personally sent it back to the workshop to make it bigger.”
Yu Chun replied.
“When you did it, did you tell them about what you would keep in it and how you would place the items?” Qu Moying stepped forward and looked at the box. Although the box was not gorgeous, it was very exquisite. There were a few tiny compartments in the box that were made into small drawers using satin. It was adorable and fancy.
“Yes. In order to be more precise, I told them what I wanted to put here and there and how big I wanted the compartments to be. Then, the maid at the embroidery workshop also gave me some suggestions, which I felt were good ideas. Oh yes, I talked to one of the maids in the workshop. She was the one who gave me the suggestions, and she even told me… Oh right, my lady, I remember now!”
At this point, Yu Chun suddenly widened her eyes in shock and quavered anxiously, “She told me that when I put away the old stuff, it was best to put them in a well-ventilated place, by the window, for example. Otherwise, it might ruin the items, especially something like the sachet. Some incense might have been added into the sachet. If I kept the sachet in an enclosed place without dissipating the scent, it might go bad quickly.”
Qu Moying reached out to touch the box and then looked at the window. It was spring when the flowers bloomed and the air was refreshing. As long as it was not raining, the maids would keep the back window open.
“The embroidery workshop? Again?! Last time, it was the maid from the embroidery workshop who plotted against Miss with Second Madam!” It dawned upon Yu Dong. “They must have a motive behind the suggestion.”
Yu Dong was the first to realize what had happened. Following Qu Moying’s gaze, Yu Dong looked at the slightly ajar window and immediately understood. “My lady, someone must have come from the back and secretly took the sachet away. You hardly use the sachet, so we didn’t soon realize that it was gone.”
Qu Moying nodded. She wouldn’t have checked her items so thoroughly had she not met Qu Qiuyan’s wet nurse. Although now she knew Yu used the couple against her, she didn’t expect that Yu had already taken the evidence from her.
Needless to say, Granny Gu might have been kept in the dark since the beginning. There was something wrong with the sachet, but Qu Moying had never opened it when she took the sachet from Granny Gu, so she did not know what was inside.
Yu had never stopped trying to harm Qu Moying. Yu inflicted her eye disease when she was young. Later, the accident happened in the village. Had Qu Moying not been lucky, she would have died countless times. Then, the fire broke out in the mansion. It looked as if Qu Qiuyan did it, but actually, the real culprit was Yu.
Granny Gu’s sachet might have been a part of Yu’s plan before Qu Moying returned to the mansion.
Yu was like a poisonous snake hiding in the dark, ready to eat her at any time.
“Granny Miao, check the people in the yard, check…” Qu Moying paused for a while before continuing in a deep voice, “Check if there is anyone who will not cause suspicion when he or she goes to the back.”
Only those who would not cause any suspicion as they walked to the back of the house was likely to take away the sachet.
“Okay, I’ll do it right away, and please rest assured that I’ll be even more careful.” Granny Miao reprimanded herself too. She thought that since the people working in the yard were newly hired, they wouldn’t have been Second Madam’s people. Unfortunately, Second Madam’s people were everywhere, and they had already infiltrated this place.
“After finding the person, there is no need to alert them. Just keep it to ourselves,” Qu Moying reminded.
“Okay.” Granny Miao nodded repeatedly and retreated. She quietly went to investigate this matter.
“Yu Chun, put the box back to where it belongs. Just make sure everything is the same as before. If someone asks you about the box when you go to the embroidery workshop, just pretend as if you don’t know anything,” Qu Moying instructed Yu Chun, who felt even guiltier. Compared to Granny Miao, Yu Chun felt that she was the careless one.
If her lady had not been prepared, she would have become Second Madam’s accomplice to harm her lady this time.
Yu Chun nodded, her eyes turning red. “Don’t worry, my lady. I understand. No one will find out anything from me!”
“Has Second Master been to Second Madam’s place recently?” Qu Moying asked Yu Dong, who was very well-informed of such things.
“No!” Yu Dong answered with certainty. “Second Madam has been sick ever since she came back from Crown Prince’s Mansion. Moreover, she is seriously ill. Second Master injured his leg previously. Since then, he has been staying at his concubine’s place and has never been to the Second Madam’s place.”
Qu Zhizhen had a few concubines, but they all looked honest and reserved, and they never stirred up any trouble against Yu. There were quite a few concubines, but none of them had any children. In the past, Qu Zhizhen rarely went to their places, and these concubines were easily subdued by Yu.
However, it did not mean that it would be the same now. When Qu Moying went to see her so-called father, he didn’t seem to trust her. Not to mention that Aunty Hai Lan, who was on Yu’s side, was smart. She would definitely not let go of such a good opportunity…
“Yu Chun, do we still have pastries here?” Qu Moying nodded, turned around, and walked out while asking.
“New pastries?” Yu Chun asked in puzzlement since she did not understand what Qu Moying wanted to do.
“Yes, new pastries,” Qu Moying said.
“I don’t think there are any new ones, just some ordinary pastries. The chef made some,” Yu Chun hurriedly said.
“Go and get a few plates of newly made pastries. It is best if they are new varieties. If there are really no new ones, the old ones are fine too. Bring them over immediately. I want to go visit Yu later,” Qu Moying ordered in a faint tone. She had not visited Yu after returning to the mansion.
It was good to visit her. It wasn’t dinner time yet, but it would be soon!
Qu Moying couldn’t always be passive. Sometimes, she had to make the first move!
“My lady, are you going to visit Second Madam?” Yu Chun asked in surprise.
The keen and clever Yu Dong immediately understood Qu Moying’s intention. No matter how awful Yu was, she was still Qu Zhizhen’s official wife, and she was Qu Moying’s senior.
“Yes, let’s go and visit her, so as not to let others reprimand me for being disrespectful,” Qu Moying asserted indifferently.
Yu Chun wiped the corners of her eyes, nodded, and went to the kitchen to prepare pastries.
Yu Dong helped Qu Moying redo her makeup. After she was done, Yu Chun also came back with a food basket. “My lady, the chef made some pastries, and he also made some new ones, saying that he had just received the recipe. He only started to make it these days, and it is very tasty. He just tasted it this morning. When the Masters from each yard go there, the chef will give them some to try.”
Qu Moying nodded indifferently and stood up. Yu Dong took the food basket from Yu Chun’s hand and opened it to take a look. There were four plates of pastries inside, and it seemed that there were quite a lot of them.
Closing the food basket again, Qu Moying smirked slightly and instructed Yu Dong, “When we leave Madam’s room later, block the way with the food basket!”
The pastries were just an attempt. It wouldn’t matter if they were useless.
“Alright!”
Yu’s yard was considered to be the most central yard in the Qu Mansion, and was also one of the best yards in the entire mansion. However, the place that was bustling in the past seemed much quieter at this moment.
When the old maid, who was guarding the door, saw Qu Moying coming over, she gestured to a maid behind her with her eyes and hurried out to greet Qu Moying, “Greetings, Fourth Lady.”
“How is Madam? Is she feeling better?” Qu Moying stopped and asked indifferently as if she did not see the maid who rushed in to report.
“M-Madam is… is… is doing fine,” the old maid stuttered hurriedly.
Qu Moying looked around the yard. Perhaps because there were fewer people walking around, the yard looked rather empty today. However, the pungent smell of medicine lingered in the air. It was so strong that it choked her nose, causing discomfort.
It went without saying that someone in the yard was taking medicine. Based on the strong smell of the medicine, that person must be either seriously injured or seriously ill.
“I came to see Madam.” Qu Moying smiled slightly.
“Fourth Lady, t-this way, please!” The frightened old maid quickly stepped aside and said while trembling with fear. When the Madam was disfavored, even her servants had a hard time.
The servants in Yu’s yard never expected that they would be beaten up one day. There were many maids and old maids in the yard who had been implicated and were beaten up by Old Lady’s men. They knew that the Fourth Lady was the reason why they were beaten, so they did not dare to be cocky in front of her like they did before.
Now, even Second Madam was lying inside. If these servants did not know how to adapt to the situation, they would not know how they would end up being.
Qu Moying walked in. The maids who were cleaning the yard and other old maids were all very respectful, as if Qu Moying had returned to her own yard.
No one dared to look down on Qu Moying as they did in the past.
Perhaps they still despised Qu Moying, but they hid their real emotions inside and pretended to be extremely respectful to Qu Moying. They did not dare to be as indifferent as they had been before.
At the door of the main room, a young maid had already come out and lifted the curtain.
Qu Moying walked in. There was no one in the outer room of the main room, but the smell of medicine inside was even stronger, revealing a faint strange smell. Qu Moying had a good sense of smell, so she could tell the difference. It was a really strange smell, unlike the smell of medicine outside, but it was very faint. It was probably because of the mixture of different kinds of medicine.
Qu Moying frowned slightly. This smell was quite awful.
“Fourth Lady, Madam is resting inside.” Hai Lan came out from inside and greeted Qu Moying.
“Aunty Hai Lan, is Madam awake?” Qu Moying asked softly with a smile.
She came to see Yu, Yu should also want to see her.
“Yes, she is awake. She just mentioned you. She can’t get up due to her deteriorating condition. Otherwise, she would have visited you,” Hai Lan explained. She welcomed Qu Moying inside and then led the way in the front.
Yu’s main room was very big, about half the size bigger than Qu Moying’s main room. Even her inner room was bigger than Qu Moying’s. When Qu Moying walked in, there was a wide folding screen with eight folds inside which blocked the sight of the bed entirely. It was impossible to see Yu clearly, but she could vaguely see through the transparent part of the screen that Yu seemed to be sitting.
Hai Lan led Qu Moying to the back of the screen, and then the latter saw Yu lying in bed…
