Chapter 160 – A More Distinguished Person In Eastern Palace?
Chapter 160 A More Distinguished Person in Eastern Palace?
In the end, Qu Moying was persuaded by Ji Youran to stay!
Realizing that she couldn’t refuse, Qu Moying could only agree. After she exchanged a few words with Ji Youran indifferently, the latter left.
Once the others were sent out of the room, Qu Moying took out the jewelry box in her sleeve. It was the same jewelry box that Ji Youran had given to her before. Although it looked exquisite, it was considered way too ordinary in the Crown Prince’s Mansion.
After opening the box, she saw a broken blood jade bracelet. As her gaze fell on one of the small pieces, her hands trembled slightly. Qu Moying had worn this bracelet for years, so even if it was just a small part of it, she could still recognize it. She was certain that it was a part of the blood bracelet that she had once worn on her wrist.
Moreover, this was the only small piece that was real. Ji Youran had indeed gone to Linyuan Pavilion to fish for it, but she didn’t obtain much. This was the only piece that was real.
It was a broken piece of her bracelet. Other than this small piece, the rest weren’t from her bracelet. The color was different. Although it looked blood-red, it was actually not the same blood jade bracelet. Ji Youran wanted to use this broken bracelet to fool and convince Qu Moying that she had broken the bracelet.
The bracelet was carried by Yu Dong at that time. Qu Moying managed to take advantage of the situation and snatched it back. After that, Yu Dong fell and collided with a young servant, who was Lord Wei’s young servant! Ji Youran must think that even if Qu Moying found that the bracelet on Yu Dong was broken, Qu Moying wouldn’t dare to say anything. After all, she was going to deal with Lord Wei, Pei Qingmin, at that time.
Ji Youran believed in the end, Qu Moying could only admit that she was unlucky, whereas Ji Youran could swap her blood jade bracelet without batting an eyelid.
The corner of her lips curved silently, and her smile was bone-chilling. She had long known that when Ji Youran saw her bracelet, the latter would definitely make a move. It was not because of the high value of the bracelet, but because Ji Youran had an indescribable sense of liking and care for this pair of blood jade bracelets. It was obvious when Ji Youran had snatched her younger sister’s bracelet and wore it.
Picking up the small piece of the blood jade bracelet, Qu Moying forcefully pursed her lips. Her slender fingers trembled as she caressed that piece. It was a tiny and delicate piece, which was the size of the tip of her little finger. The broken part wasn’t smooth either, and there was a gap in the bracelet. It was broken badly, and her eyes were filled with a bloodthirsty chill.
It seemed that even if she died, they didn’t let her go.
After she was pushed into the lake and died that day, Pei Luo’an must have sent some people to salvage her body. This small piece of the blood jade bracelet should have been retrieved at that time.
The blood jade bracelet was very tiny, and it was even more difficult to find after breaking into several pieces. It was lucky to be able to find such a small piece.
Although this piece was small, there was a small flower bud with five petals on it. The original green gem on it was no longer there, and there were another three green gems about the same size in the corner. This was the tactic that Ji Youran used to confuse her.
Unfortunately, Qu Moying could tell at a glance that these green gems were not hers.
Ji Youran took it for granted that as long as Qu Moying saw that the bracelet was broken, the latter wouldn’t further check it. After all, the jewelry box was the exact one as before, and it couldn’t be wrong.
Unfortunately, Ji Youran was wrong. Her identity wasn’t only Qu Moying, but also Ji Hanyue.
There was suddenly a sharp pain in her fingers, which was caused by accidentally gripping the broken part of the bracelet. Blood immediately gushed out of her pale finger.
“My lady!” Yu Dong cried out in shock.
Qu Moying shook her hand, indicating Yu Dong that there was no need to panic. She put down the blood bracelet that was stained with her own blood as the feeling of pain surged like a tide in her heart.
Looking at the blood bracelet, Qu Moying felt pity for her younger sister. Her younger sister was killed at such a young age, and even her arm was chopped off. All for this bracelet?
Today, this bracelet was in Ji Youran’s hand. For the sake of having a matching pair of them, Ji Youran even plotted a scheme to get the one in Qu Moying’s hand.
“My lady…” Yu Dong called her in a low voice again.
Qu Moying looked depressed. At this time, she even didn’t care about her injured hand. Yu Dong instantly felt a heavy and solemn atmosphere.
“Put it away!” Qu Moying put the bracelet away and closed the lid.
“My lady, why did Princess Ji want to switch your bracelet?” Yu Dong took it and asked carefully. He was still quite confused about this matter.
“Yue also has this pair of bracelets. She gave it to the Crown Princess.” Qu Moying covered her finger with a handkerchief and answered in a hushed tone. Her head hung low, so no one could see the expression on her face.
“So does this piece of the bracelet belong to the Crown Princess?” Yu Dong thought for a moment before his expression changed greatly.
Although the small piece of the blood jade bracelet looked the same as the others, it was still different when looked at carefully. There was also a flower bud below, which was very similar to the flower bud on the blood jade bracelet of Qu Moying’s.
Did that mean that there was another reason behind the Crown Princess’ death? Thinking of that, Yu Dong no longer remained calm. He turned to look at Qu Moying in panic, only to see that Qu Moying’s side profile was as calm as still water. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief. It was definitely not what he had thought. His lady was the Crown Princess’ cousin, so she might know something else.
“It should be. Put it away.” Qu Moying nodded. She had brought over the blood jade bracelet today just for this small piece.
In fact, it might not really be there, but she would still do it even if she was just trying out her luck.
She didn’t expect to be lucky enough to obtain it. This small piece of the blood jade bracelet didn’t seem to be useful at the moment, but if she used it as evidence in the future, it would be a trump card. At the most critical moment, it could make a comeback. Moreover, there was a clear flower bud on this small piece.
This would be enough!
As for the bracelet that was sent to Ji Youran, it was just a bait…
“Yes, I’ll put it away!” Yu Dong didn’t dare to ask further and carefully hid it in his sleeve.
“How did your investigation go just now?” Qu Moying was silent for a while. When she calmed herself down, she inquired Yu Dong softly. Just now, she had asked Yu Dong to find out what had happened previously.
Bumping into Pei Yuanjun was something she had never expected. What was even more surprising was that Pei Yuanjun didn’t stop in his tracks but took a few steps forward instead. She subconsciously took a step back and stepped on a piece of gravel. She lost her balance and she fell to the ground. At that time, Pei Yuanjun had a strange expression on his face.
It was indescribable!
It felt strange. Qu Moying had an intuition that there was something going on.
“Yes, I went to ask around. They said that it was surprising that Lord Yun came to Eastern Palace. Today is Crown Princess’ funeral. Lord Yun is an elder, and his status isn’t ordinary. Before this, he said that he wouldn’t come, but he did come eventually for some reason. Moreover, he did not go to see the Crown Prince directly but came to the backyard instead.”
Yu Dong reported. This was all of the information he could gather. As for the rest, it wasn’t something that a little maid of Vice Minister’s Mansion could find out.
In fact, Yu Dong was more willing to ask Eunuch Ji Hai about it directly, but this wasn’t a convenient timing to see Eunuch Ji Hai given the fact that he was now in Eastern Palace.
He thought that it was a strange matter. Lord Yun’s behavior was really a little out of the norm.
“Lord Yun did not go and see Crown Prince but directly went into the inner yard?” Qu Moying paused and was somewhat puzzled. She casually pinched her fingertips, and she felt a dull pain.
“Yes, that’s what I heard.” Yu Dong nodded. No matter how much he tried as he beat around the bush, it was useless. He couldn’t find out about anything else.
“Were there other people in the Crown Prince’s Mansion’s backyard today?” Qu Moying frowned and asked a new question.
“Yes. I heard that County Lady Jingyu was also here. There were also a few other ladies.” Yu Dong had inquired about the news in detail. Even though he felt that it was useless, he asked about it as well. Now that Qu Moying asked, he could answer her swiftly.
“Today is the day of Crown Princess’ funeral. Why are there so many ladies coming over?” Qu Moying pondered for a moment and inquired. She had seen County Lady Jingyu earlier, who turned around and left upon seeing Qu Moying. County Lady Jingyu’s gaze, which was filled with disgust and annoyance, swept across Qu Moying. It could be seen that County Lady Jingyu was truly unwilling to see her.
Although she didn’t know how she had offended County Lady Jingyu, the latter’s appearance itself was already surprising.
When they were delivering Crown Princess’ coffin out earlier, she didn’t see any other ladies nor County Lady Jingyu. By reason, since they were in Crown Prince’s Mansion, they had to join the procession no matter what. After all, it was the Crown Princess’ funeral. Her status was noble. Even if they weren’t close relatives, they had to send her off as a sign of respect.
“I couldn’t get any news about this.” Yu Dong lowered his head and responded.
Qu Moying had a thoughtful gaze. There was something going on in Crown Prince’s Mansion today, and that was the reason why County Lady Jingyu and the other ladies had visited. But on such a day, what else was more important than the Crown Princess’ funeral?
“The Crown Princess’ procession is a huge event. What other matters could be more important than that?” Qu Moying was puzzled and mumbled to herself. Although she no longer felt reluctant to part with her original body, namely Crown Princess’, she understood the importance of this identity.
It made no sense!
This kind of thing shouldn’t have happened!
“Could there be someone else with an even more noble status?” Yu Dong muttered from the side. After he finished speaking, the master-and-servant duo suddenly raised their heads and looked at each other in shock.
Yu Dong’s lips trembled a little, but in the end, he did not say a word.
As for Qu Moying, she exhaled deeply. The corners of her lips curved up silently into a sardonic smirk. She finally understood what was going on. How impatient were they that they couldn’t wait any longer for such a thing to happen?
“My lady…” After a long while, Yu Dong finally came to his senses and called out to Qu Moying.
Qu Moying shook her hand, indicating that he did not need to say anything. Her eyes were filled with ridicule. They presented themselves with the most honorable status, but they lacked the least bit of dignity. How ironic.
“My lady…” Yu Dong wanted to say something more but suddenly heard a low voice coming from outside, “Fourth Lady Qu.”
After the master-and-servant duo looked at each other, Yu Dong walked to the door and asked, “What is it?”
“I’m here to escort Fourth Lady Qu to lunch,” the maid outside the door responded respectfully.
“Can’t you bring it over? It’s inconvenient for my lady to walk around,” Yu Dong replied unhappily. He walked out of the door and saw a maid from Crown Prince’s Mansion standing in the corridor.
“It’s in the courtyard next door, and it’s just a short walk from here. Princess Ji has already asked to prepare it,” the maid continued with a smile.
“Wait here. I will ask my lady.” Yu Dong raised his head and looked like a proud maid who relied on someone powerful.
“Okay, I shall wait outside,” the maid from Eastern Palace responded politely.
