Chapter 195 – What Exactly Was The Goal?
Chapter 195 What Exactly Was the Goal?
The so-called first-sight attraction referred to Qu Moying!
WIth Qu Moying’s identity, she could at most be a Princess. What the Empress meant in her words was very clear. If Pei Yuanjun did not decide on a Princess Consort, Qu Moying, as the so-called Princess, would not be able to marry into the mansion.
Even if Pei Yuanjun was attracted to Qu Moying at first sight, it was impossible for her to marry into the mansion without Pei Yuanjun marrying a Princess Consort first.
Obviously, the Empress was probing Pei Yuanjun by saying these words. Was the woman who could make Pei Yuanjun stop refusing marriage just a casual excuse?
“Thank you, Your Grace. However, I don’t know who my Princess Consort would be. I’m afraid I might not be able to find one so soon. Fortunately, I am not in a hurry to marry. So I’ll have to trouble you, Your Grace.” Pei Yuanjun stood up, smiled, and cupped his hands slightly. He said with an unknown meaning, “When I went out just now, the Emperor asked me to leave early so that I can go back early. He said that there is an important discussion about the border.”
After saying that, he waved his sleeves and turned to leave.
Behind him, the Empress’ face was livid with anger. No matter how good her self-restraint was, she almost couldn’t control herself at this time.
Pei Yuanjun was really as bold as brass. In front of so many people, he actually gave the Empress such a reason. The Emperor clearly told her that no matter what, she had to make Pei Yuanjun decide on a Princess Consort, no matter out of his own will or as an excuse.
“Lord Yun!” The Empress couldn’t help but call out.
“Your Grace, is there anything you want to say to the Emperor?” Pei Yuanjun stopped and turned around with a smile.
The Empress forcefully suppressed her anger and suddenly smiled. “I don’t have anything to tell the Emperor. I just feel that the Emperor is the one who ordered you to do this, Lord Yun. If you don’t do it well, the Emperor will be dissatisfied.”
“Thank you for reminding me, Your Grace. I will personally apologize to the Emperor later.” Pei Yuanjun smiled lazily, blocking all the other meanings in the Empress’ words. However, it was not rude, as it sounded very polite.
The Empress’ face turned livid for a moment, but then she took a deep breath, and a smile reappeared on her face. She waved her hand and said, “In that case, Lord Yun, please take your leave!”
At least one thing was certain. Qu Mansion’s Fourth Lady did not really catch Pei Yuanjun’s eyes. She was just an excuse. This was good, anyway. As long as there was a chance for Fourth Lady Qu to marry into Lord Yun Mansion, which was agreed by Pei Yuanjun himself, the Empress could win over Fourth Lady Qu and make the latter stand on her side.
The Empress’s malicious eyes watched Pei Yuanjun leaving, and then she calmed herself down and collected the gloom in her eyes. She smiled at the three Princes who were sitting on both sides with their heads lowered. Her voice became gentler, “You Father also said that you should think about what kind of noble lady you want to choose. I will help you take a look. You are not young anymore. None of you married a Princess Consort yet. The Emperor is really worried!”
Meanwhile, Qu Moying did not know that the dispute within Pepper House Hall would eventually implicate her.
She was on her way to visit Qu Caiyue.
Something had happened to Qu Caiyue. The Old Lady had asked Granny Wu to inform her of this news. The Old Lady asked her and Qu Qiuyan to visit Qu Caiyue when they were free. Qu Caiyue was now living in West Mansion’s yard and had not gone back to East Mansion.
What exactly happened yesterday? Everyone in the mansion was tight-lipped. Even though Granny Miao went to investigate, she did not find anything. It was only said that Qu Caiyue accidentally fell into the lotus pond and almost drowned. At that time, Luo of East Mansion was not around. After such a thing happened, the servants could only report to the Old Lady.
The Old Lady was furious. After that, she scolded Luo, who had hurried back, and then kept Qu Caiyue in West Mansion.
The Old Lady didn’t tell them the details. She only called Qu Qiuyan and Qu Moying over and asked them to comfort Qu Caiyue when they were free.
The so-called comforting Qu Caiyue naturally meant that what happened to Qu Caiyue was not just an accident.
Qu Moying was not too surprised about this speculation. It could be said that when Qu Qiuyan chose to stay to have a talk with Qu Caiyue, Qu Moying had prepared for this in her heart.
The yard where Qu Caiyue lived was not big. It could even be said that it was a little remote. However, it was one of West Mansion’s big yards. Qu Moying stood outside the yard and looked at the traces outside the entrance, which showed that it had been cleaned up. Her eyes were obscure.
This yard had not been in use before. West Mansion did not have many Masters, and this yard had always been empty. But now, it was occupied by Qu Caiyue. It seemed that all the daily things had been replaced. After all, it had been so many years, so how could the old things still be in use?
This yard had been empty since Qu Moying’s mother passed away. The Old Lady meant to keep a trace of Qu Moying’s mother, but in fact, apart from the outside where it seemed to be well-kept, all the objects inside were no longer the same as they used to be when Yue lived here.
Even though there was some furniture, they were not frequently used. They were casually placed here like how things were piled up in a storeroom.
But now, this yard had a new Master justifiably. It seemed that the Old Lady planned to let people of East Mansion come often and live here in the future.
Qu Moying took a deep breath and slowly walked in.
When a maid saw Qu Moying coming over, she hurriedly went in to report. In a short while, another maid came to invite Qu Moying in.
The curtain was raised high, and all the furniture inside was new.
The curtain in the inner room was also raised, and Qu Caiyue should still be resting inside.
Qu Moying went in and walked inside. She saw Qu Caiyue lying in bed with a pale face. No matter how she looked at it, it did not look like Qu Caiyue had recovered.
Was this the utmost reason why Qu Caiyue wanted to live in West Mansion?
“Second Sister, how are you?” Qu Moying looked up and down at Qu Caiyue, who was lying in bed, and said indifferently.
“Moying, sit down first.” Qu Caiyue coughed weakly.
Qu Moying nodded and sat down on a chair. “Did something happen to you, Second Sister?”
“No… Nothing happened.” Qu Caiyue lowered her head and said that nothing happened, but her expression made people feel something serious had happened.
“Second Sister, when you’re here, if there is anything you need, just tell Third Sister directly.” Qu Moying’s gaze fell on Qu Caiyue’s face, and she said after a long time.
She actually didn’t ask for any reason and even pushed everything onto Qu Qiuyan.
“Moying, I heard that you and Qiuyan are in charge of West Mansion now.” Qu Caiyue lowered her head and said after a long time.
“That’s what Grandmother said, but actually, it’s Third Sister who is in charge. I haven’t officially learned from her how to manage things yet.” Qu Moying straightened her body, and her smile became more and more flippant.
She had indeed not taken charge of anything yet. Although Qu Qiuyan had asked the manager to come over to report to her since yesterday, she had only listened casually. She still let Qu Qiuyan make the decisions.
“You two are really good.” Qu Caiyue murmured with an envious face.
These words were not said very loudly, but they were heard by Qu Moying.
“Is Eldest Sister not good to you, Second Sister?” Qu Moying smiled slightly.
“Eldest Sister is naturally good to me, but…” Qu Caiyue tried to explain, but when she said this, she immediately knew that she shouldn’t have said this. She hurriedly shook her head, “No, I’m not talking about Madam…”
“Since you are here, Second Sister, you should rest well. If you need anything, just tell Third Sister.” Qu Moying stood up, looking like she was about to leave. She had only been here for a while and had only spoken a few words. She did not even ask Qu Caiyue what had happened.
“Moying, do you have something else to do?” Qu Caiyue raised her head, her pale face carrying a trace of begging, which looked especially pitiful.
“Yes, there is something I need to do. I need to learn the etiquette.” Qu Moying nodded.
“Are you going to learn from the Disciple Granny sent by the palace?” Qu Caiyue moved the corners of her lips and asked.
“Sent by Dowager Consort Qu. The Disciple Granny said she wanted to educate me. Then she’ll take me and Third Sister into the palace to see Dowager Consort Qu,” Qu Moying said generously.
This matter could not be hidden from East Mansion’s people.
“How nice. You two can go together…” Qu Caiyue looked at Qu Moying with a face full of envy. She wanted to say something, but she stopped.
“Second Sister, have a good rest!” Qu Moying seemed to not understand the other meaning behind Qu Caiyue’s words.
Seeing that Qu Moying was about to leave again, Qu Caiyue got anxious. She hurriedly said, “Moying, can… can you do me a favor?”
“What is it?” Qu Moying stopped and asked.
“When you go to the palace… Could you… bring me along? Can I… I follow you into the palace?” Qu Caiyue blushed and lowered her head.
“Follow us into the palace?” Qu Moying raised her eyebrows.
“Yes… I want to go to the palace with you and Qiuyan.” Qu Caiyue nodded vigorously.
“Does Grandmother know that you want this?” Qu Moying asked in surprise.
“The Old Lady doesn’t know… but… but I just want to go into the palace with you two… If I didn’t go into the palace this time, I might never have such a chance in my life.” Qu Caiyue’s expression became sad. She grabbed onto a corner of the quilt, rubbed and smoothed it, and then rubbed it again.
It could be seen that her feelings at the moment were very complicated.
This time, from her current situation and her words, Qu Caiyue could be said to appear much weaker than before.
It was as if she was no longer the Qu Caiyue who used to be aggressive to Qu Moying.
“This is not something I can decide,” Qu Moying said after a moment of silence.
“You don’t need to do much, Moying. You just need to bring it up in front of the Old Lady, and then I will tell the Old Lady everything else myself.” Qu Caiyue looked up at Qu Moying eagerly. She reached out and gently pulled the corner of Qu Moying’s dress. “Moying, can you help me just for once this time? If… If there was another way, I… I wouldn’t be asking you to do such a thing.”
The so-called “such a thing” referred to what had happened to her this time.
Qu Moying’s eyes became deep. It could be seen that this incident Qu Caiyue got into was caused by Qu Caiyue herself. Moreover, she was able to make Luo get reprimanded. It could be seen that Qu Caiyue was quite capable.
Qu Caiyue, who was quite capable, was actually begging for Qu Moying’s help in such a pitiful manner?
“Second Sister, if you really want to go, go find Third Sister. In front of Grandmother, Third Sister has the greatest say. Moreover, everything in the mansion is under Third Sister’s control now. Even if she doesn’t bring it up, there will be someone else who goes to Grandmother to help her mention your thing. At that time, regardless of whether it will work or not, Third Sister will be able to deal with it easily.”
Qu Moying smiled slightly and came up with an idea for Qu Caiyue. However, she saw Qu Caiyue’s slightly stiff smile.
