Chapter 201 – Shadow In The Night
Chapter 201 Shadow in the Night
Half an hour later, Qu Moying left the inner room. Granny Yan was already waiting there.
Qu Moying already knew that Granny Yan had been to Furong House. Judging by how she looked now, things should go smoothly.
Learning the rules was very simple for Qu Moying. No matter what excuse Granny Yan gave, Qu Moying was calm and did not panic at all.
At first, Granny Yan was indeed planning to find trouble with Qu Moying. However, every time she saw that Qu Moying was able to push her limits and perform in a neat way despite her raising difficulties, even if Granny Yan wanted to make a fuss, she could not find any excuse. Then, Granny Yan’s expression calmed down. After that, she did not try to make things difficult for Qu Moying anymore.
When the time came, she released Qu Moying as if she did not mind Qu Moying’s rejection before this.
Granny Wu had already come over by now. Seeing that Qu Moying had stopped for a rest, she went up to greet her.
Qu Moying had long noticed that Granny Wu had come over, but it was inconvenient just now, so only now did she stop and ask, “What can I do for Grandmother?”
“The Old Lady invites you over for a while.” Granny Wu smiled good-naturedly. With her status, she could have asked Qu Moying to stop for a while earlier just now.
“I’ll come over after washing up.” Qu Moying nodded.
“Okay, then I will go back now,” Granny Wu said.
Qu Moying washed up again, changed her clothes, and brought Yu Dong with her to see the Old Lady.
Seeing Qu Moying come in, the Old Lady waved her hand. The group of maids and old maids left, leaving only the Old Lady and Granny Wu in the room.
“Grandmother!” Qu Moying stepped forward and bowed. The Old Lady held her to stop her formalities and looked at her face kindly. She saw that Qu Moying’s complexion was not bad and she even showed a little blush due to the walk just now, so the Old Lady felt relieved.
“Come on over and talk.”
Qu Moying obediently walked over and sat beside the Old Lady.
The Old Lady held Qu Moying’s hand and gently patted it. She said directly, “Just now, your Third Sister came over and said that you and Second Sister had a dispute by the lotus pond and happened to be seen by Lord Wei and Lord Jing who visited our mansion…”
The Old Lady frowned at this point. She paused for a moment and then said slowly, “Why did you quarrel with your Second Sister?”
“I didn’t quarrel with Second Sister,” Qu Moying said lightly.
“You didn’t? But it was said that you two had a pretty awful quarrel, so much so that your Second Sister almost pushed you into the lake, but fortunately, you reacted quickly, and only your maid fell?” The Old Lady asked in a low voice, looking very unhappy.
Among her granddaughters, the one she disliked the most was Qu Caiyue. She always felt that she was a little too petty and was a little too unpresentable. But no matter what, she was still her granddaughter. She did not want Qu Caiyue to be ruined. Something like this had just happened not long ago when she was so depressed as to throw herself into the lake, so at this time, the Old Lady could not allow any mistake to occur. Otherwise, Ying would be held accountable.
That was why the Old Lady called Qu Moying over to ask about it. Compared with Qu Qiuyan, the Old Lady trusted her youngest granddaughter more.
“No, it’s just that Second Sister suddenly made a fuss about going to the palace and asked me to talk to you about it, saying she must go into the palace with me. I had no choice but to ask Granny Yan to persuade her. But after Granny Yan came back, she also asked me to talk to you and said that she would think of a way to deal with the subsequent things.”
Qu Moying said calmly and slowly.
“Granny Yan also asked you to bring it up to me?” The Old Lady asked in surprise. She really did not know about this.
“Yes, it is Granny Yan. I rejected her. She looked very angry and then went out. I heard that she went to find Third Sister.” Qu Moying told the truth without hiding anything.
The Old Lady was not an old fool. It was better not to beat around the bush.
Sure enough, when Qu Moying said this, the Old Lady’s face became more and more gloomy. When Qu Qiuyan came over just now, she did not mention Granny Yan at all. She only said that it was not good that the two Lords saw the dispute between Qu Moying and Qu Caiyue because they could not let the two Lords think that the relationship between the two sisters was bad and that they were at odds with each other.
Qu Qiuyan also faintly said that if the relationship between Qu Mansion’s sisters was not good, it would affect the relationship between Lord Jing and her. After thinking for a while, the Old Lady planned to let Qu Caiyue tag along to the palace. She also thought that since the three of them were going, Qu Xuexin might as well go with them.
Qu Mansion’s East Mansion and West Mansion were not separated from each other. It was a good thing for the four sisters of the mansion to appear together harmoniously.
But now, there seemed to be something strange about this.
“Grandmother, why did the two Lords suddenly appear in the mansion? I was stopped by someone sent by Second Sister when I went back and was then brought there. There was no one else there. If not for Yu Dong’s quick reaction, the one who fell into the lake at that time would have been me or Second Sister.”
Qu Moying smiled bitterly.
The Old Lady understood. She was so angry that her face turned pale. She slammed her hand on the table and sneered, “Yue is really good at scheming.”
“Grandmother, it might really be an accident. After all, the matter of the two Lords is not something that anyone can predict,” Qu Moying advised.
It was true that not anyone could expect it, but it was not like no one could expect it either. For example, Qu Qiuyan, who had always been in contact with Lord Jing, was in the know, whereas Qu Caiyue had always had a good relationship with Qu Qiuyan. It could even be said that wherever Qu Qiuyan was, Qu Caiyue would definitely follow her like a shadow. Qu Caiyue was more obedient to Qu Qiuyan than to the First Lady Qu Xuexin.
“It seems that Qiuyan wants Caiyue to enter the palace.” Thinking through the cause and effect, the Old Lady sneered and was furious in her heart.
Yu was really a good-for-nothing. As expected, she did not teach her daughter well. How could anyone be allowed to enter the imperial palace so casually?
“Grandmother, did Second Sister plot to enter the palace?” Qu Moying looked up and asked.
“That should be what happened.” The Old Lady nodded, and her face became more and more gloomy. Qu Moying’s words were straightforward, but she also made things clear.
Previously, the Old Lady had promised Qu Qiuyan, but this had allowed Qu Caiyue to have her way, too.
“Grandmother, why not let her come with us? Since it is Second Sister’s intention, she must be very confident. Even if you don’t allow her to go, she will go secretly. In that case, something worse might happen. It is better to let her go into the palace with Third Sister.” Qu Moying smiled indifferently.
These words made the Old Lady tremble all over, and her back was cold.
That was the royal palace, not Qu Mansion, where Qu Caiyue could kick up a fuss as she liked.
“It’s better not to let her go,” the Old Lady said coldly. She did not dare to take the risk.
“Grandmother, just let her go!” Qu Moying said softly. She reached out to shake the Old Lady’s sleeve and reminded, “If you don’t let her go, maybe something will happen again. Moreover, this matter should have been agreed upon by Granny Yan before. If you insist on not letting her go, Granny Yan would also have a way to let Second Sister enter the palace.”
Qu Moying didn’t say much, and her words were even a little vague. However, the Old Lady was covered in a cold sweat. There was not only the case of the arrival of Granny Yan, who was a female servant sent from the palace. There was also the case of Qu Caiyue jumping into the lake from before. If one thought about it carefully, the lake-jumping could have been premeditated, and the reason was that the two granddaughters of West Mansion were favored by the palace and were invited to enter the palace.
They were all Qu Family’s members and Dowager Consort Qu’s younger generation. West Mansion was the only mansion favored, but what about East Mansion?
Now, to think about it again, was this only Qu Caiyue’s intention?
The Old Lady felt apprehensive in her heart, and her face was as gloomy as ink. She didn’t speak for a long time.
Qu Moying did not rush her. She just waited quietly by the side. She lowered her head, picked up the tea, and drank a few mouthfuls. Then she picked up a piece of pastry on the side and used a handkerchief to catch the crumbs. She took a small bite of it.
When she was almost done eating, the Old Lady finally relaxed. “Okay, they can go together.”
Compared with unknown dangers, the Old Lady felt that it was better to keep the situation under her nose. Moreover, there was Granny Yan. This female servant from the palace did not look simple. Her second son had also told her that Granny Yan used to serve in the Empress Dowager’s palace but she later served Dowager Consort Qu.
It was hard to say whether someone helped her find a Master or if she really liked the Master.
The Old Lady’s second son even said that Granny Yan’s Master might not be just Dowager Consort Qu, but someone else.
The Old Lady could not guess who the person behind Granny Yan was. In fact, she did not believe that Granny Yan was really Dowager Consort Qu’s confidant.
However, she could not tell this to her granddaughter, lest she frightened her.
After reminding Qu Moying a few more times and seeing that it was getting late, the Old Lady asked Qu Moying to stay to have dinner with her before sending Qu Moying back.
Although the sky was not very dark, lanterns had already been lit. A young maid was in front, holding a lantern to lead the way. Qu Moying followed behind with Yu Dong.
When they walked past a corner, Yu Dong suddenly shouted, “Who is it!”
Qu Moying stopped and looked in that direction. It was so dark that she could not see anything clearly.
“Yu Dong, what is it?”
“I saw a figure over there.” Yu Dong frowned and said. She had good eyesight and indeed saw a figure dodging. The most important thing was that this figure was very tall. It was not like an ordinary old maid or young maid. It seemed there were no such tall young maids or old maids in the mansion.
The road they were walking on now was in the inner yard.
Although Qu Zhizhen was tall, he would not hide when seeing them. No matter how Yu Dong looked at it, the figure did not look like someone normal.
“My lady…” Yu Dong still wanted to say something, but she saw Qu Moying secretly shake her head at her. She immediately changed her tone, “My lady, maybe I saw it wrong. I checked again and don’t see anyone now.”
“It’s fine. Let’s go back first!” Qu Moying said calmly.
The young maid carrying the lantern was originally scared to the point that her feet trembled. At this time, she hurriedly held the lantern and looked around. Finding nothing, she heaved a sigh of relief. She didn’t dare to stay any longer, so she turned around and walked forward. She was scared witless. She had heard from a few Grannies previously that there was something freaking in that corner.
She wondered if Yu Dong had seen that thing just now.
As the young maid thought of this, her hands and feet became so weak that she almost fell down. Her face immediately turned pale. She hated herself for thinking too much, and she didn’t dare to think any further. Trembling with fear, she carried the lantern as she walked forward.
Qu Moying had noticed the young maid’s strange behavior, but she didn’t ask anything. She followed behind with Yu Dong, walking toward Qianyue House.
Meanwhile, a figure came out from the rockery behind them, secretly looked in the direction in which Qu Moying was leaving, and immediately turned to leave…
