Chapter 170 – Intimidating Old Lady Ji
Chapter 170 Intimidating Old Lady Ji
“Old Lady, I heard that Uncle wants to have an heir. I wonder if you have any recommendations.” Qu Moying smiled and looked at Old Lady Ji in front of her. Her smile was a bit cold. Under her eye veil, she was now Qu Moying, but even so, she still felt a dull pain in her heart.
The Old Lady Ji in front of her looked not much different from before. The Grandmother, who sent her off to the bridal sedan chair that day, who repeatedly exhorted her, did not change that much. However, this, for Qu Moying, was a distance of life and death.
When they met again, things were different, and they were no longer the same as before.
The family affection between them had long been gone, and when they met again, their relationship was full of wounds and was broken.
“Fourth Lady Qu, this is a private matter of our mansion, so there is no need for you to worry about it.” Old Lady Ji frowned unhappily, feeling that Fourth Lady Qu was getting more and more unlikable.
“Old Lady Ji, just now, Concubine Xiang has taken the eunuch from Lord Yun Mansion and some other people to Uncle’s yard, saying that she has Uncle’s will as proof. Do you not want Uncle to have an heir who would show up at his anniversary and worship him in the future?” Qu Moying was still smiling and her voice was soft.
The meaning behind her words shocked Old Lady Ji. She did not have time to scold Qu Moying for being rude, and she sat up straight, her eyes nervous.
“The eunuch from Lord Yun Mansion?”
“Yes, I heard that it was Lord Yun’s personal eunuch. This matter should be reported to Lord Yun soon, and it is likely that Lord Yun will take it over. Uncle’s status was not ordinary, and he had always been loyal to the Emperor. Since something like this happens, the Emperor will definitely get to the bottom of this matter and make decisions for Uncle.”
Qu Moying was all smiles. There were thousands of thoughts in her eyes under the eye veil. However, what revealed on her face was only a faint smile rather than any of her thoughts in her deep eyes.
Old Lady Ji’s face turned pale. She grabbed the chair railing and pursed her lips tightly. If it were anyone else, the Old Lady would not be so nervous, but this person was Lord Yun. She could not help but be fidgety.
Although the Crown Prince was going to be the Emperor in the future, at this time, his position was not yet stable. Lord Jing was uncertain, and the Emperor seemed to be hesitant. Meanwhile, Lord Yun was highly regarded by the Emperor and sometimes was even valued more than the Crown Prince. It was said that only Lord Yun dared to disobey the Emperor, and the Emperor would not blame him.
Just from this point alone, one could know that Lord Yun was deeply favored by the Emperor. Besides, he had the command of armies. He was powerful and had a high position. Thus, he was only inferior to the Emperor but superior to everyone else in the country. Compared with the Crown Prince, Lord Yun seemed to have a higher position.
When the Ji Family was faced with such a person, it went without saying that they could only avoid him. Even the Crown Prince had to do it as well.
“Why did Lord Yun Mansion’s people come today?” Old Lady Ji did not believe that her family would invite this Lord Yun today. On one hand, it was because the two families did not have a kinship, and on the other hand, it was because this Lord Yun had such a high position and huge power that the Ji Family could not afford to develop a connection with him.
If it were in the past when her eldest son was in charge of the mansion, they might have been able to gain some connections with him. However, at this moment, Old Lady Ji was very clear that they were way inferior to him.
I heard that Lord Yun is very respectful to Uncle and especially sent someone to send Uncle’s coffin off. Now, he should have already returned with the letter that Uncle left behind. Since this letter is in Lord Yun’s hands, it will definitely be sent to the Emperor. Perhaps the Emperor will send people to investigate Earl Ling’an’s Mansion. After all, all of Earl Ling’an’s Mansion’s glory is gained by Uncle himself.”
Qu Moying’s gaze fell on Old Lady Ji’s face, and her smile was as light as a lotus.
Although Earl Ling’an’s Mansion originally had a title, this title had already declined. If it weren’t for her father, the family would have long declined. It was impossible for it to be one of the large aristocratic families. The so-called title remained because of her father’s military achievements.
Originally, this generation would be the last one to inherit the title of Earl Ling’an. However, because of her father’s contribution, the Emperor issued a decree, allowing the title to be passed on to the next three generations, which began from her father’s next generation.
Old Lady Ji became nervous after hearing Qu Moying’s words, and her expression became flustered. She pressed her hand on the chair railing and moved it again. After repeating this several times, she looked at Qu Moying and said unhappily, “Everything of Earl Ling’an’s Mansion is naturally accumulated by the ancestors. How can it be the accomplishment of Yongming alone?”
Qu Moying ignored Old Lady Ji’s defense and continued to say with a smile. “If Lord Yun were to investigate this matter, he would definitely investigate it very clearly. He would investigate every little detail in the past, and he might even ask to open Uncle’s coffin and examine it. He would definitely get to the bottom of this.”
Opening the coffin and examining it?
The Old Lady’s heart fiercely jumped a few times. The corners of her mouth tilted, and she opened her mouth in shock. However, she found that she could not speak. Was this something that could be investigated? If those things were found out, the entire Ji Family would be wiped out. The Old Lady was very clear about this. This was also why she had no choice but to pretend that nothing had happened.
Her eldest son and the first branch were all dead. What could she do? Did she need to sacrifice the entire Earl Ling’an’s Mansion for her eldest son?
No, the investigation must not start.
“Old Lady, I heard that Princess Ji has brothers. Can’t they just give Uncle one? Even if he becomes Uncle’s heir, he is still related to Princess Ji by blood. He is also your biological grandson. It is actually the same.” Qu Moying looked like she was just chatting as she suggested with a smile.
Yes, yes, the second branch had two grandsons. It was not a big deal to offer one.
For the Old Lady, the grandson of the first branch was her grandson, and the grandson of the second branch was also her grandson. No matter what, it was not a loss, but it could avoid the disaster that would wipe out the whole family.
She could not let Lord Yun investigate this, let alone open the coffin, absolutely not.
There was some cold sweat on her back. She composed herself and looked at the smiling Qu Moying. As she narrowed her eyes, she found herself in no mood to pay attention to Qu Moying. Her face turned cold. “Fourth Lady Qu, send my thanks to your grandmother for her gifts to me.”
Qu Moying came to see Old Lady Ji in the name of sending gifts on behalf of Old Lady Qu!
“Old Lady Ji, you are too polite. Grandmother said that the Ji Family and Qu Family are in-laws. Although my uncle’s family is gone now, we are still relatives. So she asked me to visit you more.” Qu Moying smiled and knew that it was the right time.
Ji Youran understood Old Lady Ji’s character, and she also understood it. In fact, she could see more clearly as an outsider.
Between Concubine Xiang and the letter, Ji Youran would definitely choose to keep Concubine Xiang. It was dangerous for Concubine Xiang to fall into Ji Youran’s hands.
Ji Hai was a smart person. It was impossible to take both of them away. It was already good enough to take away the letter. After all, Ji Youran was Princess Ji of Eastern Palace, and he was only Lord Yun Mansion’s servant.
Even though he was a favored servant, on the surface, he had to let Ji Youran choose first.
As for whether Ji Hai was willing to help or not, Qu Moying already knew that he would interfere when he was willing to follow Concubine Xiang over. It just so happened that way, and she could get away and come to Old Lady Ji’s place first.
There were some things that Xiao could not tolerate but were acceptable to Old Lady Ji. Having an heir in either of the two branches made no difference to her. The heir was her descendant anyway. Why would she provoke Lord Yun Mansion to interfere in this matter and ruin their plan?
In Old Lady Ji’s heart, Earl Ling’an’s Mansion’s matter was a big matter. For this reason, she could bear with the news of her son’s death and suppress it until now to say that her son was gone.
At this time, they didn’t share the interests; there were differences.
Old Lady Ji’s heart was in a mess. She leaned back and looked tired. Her eyes slowly closed. This meant that she wanted the guests out and that she was drained.
However, Qu Moying seemed to not understand it. She just sat at the side with a smile and did not speak to disturb Old Lady Ji. She had a leisure look on.
Old Lady Ji looked at Qu Moying from the corner of her eyes with annoyance. She really did not have a good impression of this Fourth Lady Qu. Her words just now were aggressive. She was merely the Fourth Lady abandoned by Qu Mansion since childhood, but she actually thought of her as somebody.
This girl actually was not sensible at all. She had already hinted that she was tired, but Fourth Lady Qu was still sitting there, without the slightest intention of leaving.
Old Lady Ji coughed softly and was about to drive Qu Moying away rudely when she suddenly heard Qu Moying say something.
“Yu Dong.”
“Yes, my lady!” Yu Dong hurriedly replied.
“When we were at Crown Prince’s Mansion, did you see… those things of Crown Princess’?” Qu Moying paused here, and Old Lady Ji’s ears pricked up, trying to listen to what they said.
“I didn’t see it, but someone seemed to have seen it.” Yu Dong continued the conversation with his lady with some meaningless words. He took the opportunity to look outside and calculated the time. Those people should be coming over soon. If they didn’t come over now, Old Lady Ji would really drive them off. The impatient attitude on her face was very obvious.
“Who is that?” Qu Moying turned her head to ask.
“I think she is Crown Princess’ maid!” Yu Dong answered casually, knowing that his lady was stalling for time.
“Can you recognize her?” Qu Moying asked casually.
“Well… I might have to study her face properly. If I see her, I might be able to recognize her.” Yu Dong’s words were meaningless. The only use was to wait for those people to come over.
Footsteps were already coming from outside. A series of hurried footsteps were heard. Yu Dong gave Qu Moying a look. His hearing was very good. He could hear from afar.
Qu Moying nodded with a smile, her smile as calm as ever.
An old maid ran into the room in a hurry. “Old Lady, a few elders have brought Concubine Xiang here. They say that they have something important to discuss with you.”
“Let them in!” Old Lady Ji shivered and quickly said. She couldn’t help but sit up straight. She no longer paid attention to Qu Moying and only looked at the door in a panic, afraid that something she couldn’t deal with would happen.
The old maid went out and soon brought a group of people in. The elders were in the front, followed by Concubine Xiang. Several relatives involved were also by the side.
After everyone came in and greeted, they sat down on the side. Some people saw Qu Moying and recognized that she was Fourth Lady Qu. Seeing her sitting next to Old Lady Ji, they thought that she was specially asked to stay by Old Lady Ji, so they did not say anything and only let Concubine Xiang come forward.
“Old Lady, Earl Ling’an left me a letter. It reads that he wants to have an heir. The letter has been sent to Lord Yun Mansion. After Lord Yun Mansion checks it, we will know if what I said is true.”
Kneeling in front of the Old Lady Ji, Concubine Xiang raised her head and said.
