Chapter 208 – Should Both Sisters Marry Into The Same Mansion?
Chapter 208 Should Both Sisters Marry Into the Same Mansion?
No one could stay any longer in such a mess. Dowager Consort Qu no longer had the initial mood. She asked someone to help Qu Caiyue and Qu Qiuyan go to the side to rest and sort things out. Then, Dowager Consort Qu also left with a gloomy face. Only Qu Xuexin and Qu Moying were left in the hall, along with Lord Wei, who was still sitting indifferently on the side.
Seeing that the hall was almost empty, Pei Qingmin finally raised his head. There was a smile on his pale face. His eyes fell on Qu Moying’s face. The long eye veil still covered most of her face. Her skin was like marble, and the corners of her lips were still. She was calm and indifferent.
“Fourth Lady Qu, can we talk for a while?” Pei Qingmin said gently.
It was completely different from Pei Yusheng’s flustered and exasperated performance just now.
“Moying, I’m going to see Caiyue and Qiuyan,” Qu Xuexin said softly.
Qu Moying nodded and looked at Lord Wei without fear.
Qu Xuexin left with her maid.
“Fourth Lady Qu, can you tell me what happened?” Pei Qingmin smiled and politely led her to the chair opposite him, indicating her to sit down and talk.
“I don’t know either.” Qu Moying smiled and shook her head. Since she didn’t have much to say, she didn’t have to take a seat. “The either day, when you two Lords came to our mansion, I heard that when you were strolling in the garden, you should have seen the dispute between me and Second Sister. In fact, I was stopped by Second Sister that day and was brought there, and I was very surprised. What was even more surprising was that you two Lords suddenly came.”
“I didn’t know what Second Sister meant at that time. Coincidentally, Your Highness, you came. In order to protect myself, I especially asked to meet you. I just wanted to remind Your Highness that this matter seemed more like to be a plot against you.”
Qu Moying said slowly. She didn’t hide anything at all. Those that she knew about it, she just said it.
“Second Sister asked me to bring her into the palace. I was afraid that something would happen, so I didn’t promise her anything. Second Sister almost pushed me down the lotus pond at that time, but she might also fall in herself. If Your Highness looked over, wouldn’t you feel that Second Sister was extremely pitiful? Like she was being bullied by me? If something happened to Second Sister, people’s first thought would be that I wanted to harm Second Sister, right? Everyone would naturally feel pity for Second Sister.”
“The flower hairpin was given to me by Third Sister, and she gave it to me way before this. Only Third Sister knows about this matter. Then, Second Sister specially came to borrow flower hairpins from me. When I went for a walk, Second Sister especially stayed to accompany me. I was the last one. When we walked to that place, it was also Second Sister who suggested that we should have a rest. As for the tea, I didn’t drink it, but the tea fragrance was too strong and it made me very dizzy…”
Qu Moying paused at this point and glanced at Yu Dong. Yu Dong took out a handkerchief from her pocket. It had a faint fragrance. “Your Highness can take a look at this handkerchief. This was thrown under the table by Second Sister when we were drinking tea. If Your Highness doesn’t believe me, please directly ask Second Sister about it.”
After saying this, Qu Moying bowed to Pei Qingmin and then left with Yu Dong. As for what happened next, it had nothing to do with her.
She had already made things clear and provided clues for investigating the case. The reason why this handkerchief did not disappear with the teapot and teacup was that Yu Dong had picked it up early.
The fragrant powder on the handkerchief was not the most important thing. The taste of the tea mixed with the fragrance was what made people dizzy and powerless.
Of course, the flower hairpin was smeared with two kinds of powder. It was just that the time was a little long, so the fragrance on the flower hairpin became faint. The effect was not very powerful. Except for Pei Qingmin who was weak, otherwise, it would not have much impact. This also proved that the person who had been targeted was Pei Qingmin.
Watching Qu Moying’s slender figure slowly leave, Pei Qingmin frowned tightly. He actually understood the cause and effect at that time.
Except for his Second Brother, no one else would have been able to calculate it so clearly at this time.
The last time he went to Qu Mansion and this time he came here were both because of Pei Yusheng.
Pei Yusheng said that there was a special variegated peony in this place that bloomed at this time, and because it was variegation, it caused Pei Qingmin to make this trip.
Now it seemed that it was indeed planned by Pei Yusheng. His goal should be to send Second Lady Qu into Pei Qingmin’s mansion, and then push this matter onto Fourth Lady Qu, saying that this matter was planned by Fourth Lady Qu, and the victim was Second Lady Qu. Then, when Pei Qingmin remembered the pitiful look of Second Lady Qu when she was bullied that day, he might let Second Lady Qu marry into his mansion. What a good plan!
As for the teapot, it was naturally taken away at Pei Yusheng’s order, because he did not want Dowager Consort Qu to investigate this further.
With a chuckle, Pei Qingmin’s pale face revealed a trace of a smile. This time, what happened to his Second Brother could be considered as “go for wool and come home shorn”.
It seemed that Third Lady Qu also had a part in this matter. Otherwise, she would not be so agitated and even hit Qu Caiyue.
“Let’s go back.” Shaking his head, Pei Qingmin stood up supported by the young eunuch’s hand. What happened next had nothing to do with him. His health was not good and he could not afford it, especially this kind of thing. As for women, it was better for such a woman with ulterior motives to enter Second Brother’s mansion. His body was weak, and he could not handle such a…
“Have they all left?” In the depths of the inner palace, Dowager Consort Qu was lying obliquely. She closed her eyes slightly and was resting. She looked completely different from the angry and annoyed person she had before. She looked as if nothing had happened.
“They have all left. When Lord Wei left, he asked someone to bring a wheelchair. He said he felt a little uncomfortable. The Imperial Doctor followed him.” A palace maid reported from the shadows in the inner hall.
“Go and deal with that palace maid. There is no need for those who betray the master to live,” Dowager Consort Qu said lazily.
“Yes, I know what to do,” the palace maid answered. She knew that Dowager Consort was talking about the palace servant who sent the teapot and teacups. She clearly had a connection with Lord Jing. This was the kind of person that Master disliked the most.
In the past, this palace was considered bustling and lively. Recently, there were fewer and fewer people. It was not because there were no people assigned from the palace, but because the hearts of the people were all over the place…
The Qu Mansion’s sisters returned to their mansion in a hurry. Seeing that they had returned so quickly, the Old Lady called them over. Knowing that something had happened to Qu Caiyue in the palace, the Old Lady was so angry that her hands and feet went cold. She almost fainted. Originally, she knew that Qu Caiyue had tried to enter the palace to curry favor with Dowager Consort Qu of the palace and then seek a marriage for herself.
She did not expect that such a thing would happen now.
After asking about the ins and outs, she asked about what the two Lords said. The Old Lady was so angry that her chest felt stuffy. She asked someone to ask Qu Caiyue alone to stay and asked her what happened in detail. Then, she sent Qu Caiyue back to East Mansion and ordered Luo to teach her well and to get a strict Discipline Granny to educate her.
No matter what, Qu Caiyue was now the woman Pei Yusheng recognized. In the future, she would be a member of Lord Jing Mansion. The Old Lady was annoyed when she thought about how her third granddaughter was also involved with Lord Jing. Two sisters entering Lord Jing Mansion together? How ridiculous was this?
When Qu Zhizhen was summoned, he didn’t know what happened. When he heard the Old Lady’s words, his face sank.
Pei Yusheng admitting Qu Caiyue as his woman almost indicated that he could not marry Qu Qiuyan as the main wife.
Although Qu Caiyue was a daughter of a concubine, she was a daughter of an official. Moreover, under the circumstances that Qu Qiuyan’s position was still not clear, it was very disrespectful to recognize Qu Caiyue first.
“Zhizhen, does Qiuyan like Lord Jing so much?” Seeing that Qu Zhizhen was calm and did not speak, the Old Lady could not help but ask.
“Mother, Yan and Lord Jing are considered in love. Lord Jing mentioned Yan in front of me several times and said that Yan is an outstanding lady.” Qu Zhizhen frowned, his expression was very bad.
“Then what should we do now? Caiyue will definitely marry into Lord Jing Mansion. There must be news in the palace, and Qiuyan was not officially recognized yet.” The Old Lady felt a headache. “We can’t just let the younger sister enter Lord Jing Mansion with the elder sister, can we? How does this make people think of our family?”
Two sisters were going to marry into the same mansion, and both were only concubines. It was even possible that the younger sister had a higher status than the elder sister. No matter how one looked at it, it only made people despise them.
“I’ll go and ask Lord Jing.” Qu Zhizhen was also at his wit’s end. After turning around a few times, he said.
“So what if you go and ask? Back then, I already said that it is impossible for Lord Jing to marry Qiuyan. But she wholeheartedly wanted to be Princess Jing. Is it so easy to be a Princess? I heard that the Liu family is also weighing this matter. It’s obvious that the Liu family’s daughter is not to be trifled with. If she becomes the Princess, and Qiuyan only a Side Princess, Qiuyan’s future will not be easy.”
The Old Lady reminded.
These words made Qu Zhizhen fall silent. How could he not know about the matter of his immediate superior, Minister Liu? Not only was he powerful, but his father-in-law was also Duke Qi. His only daughter, County Lady Jingyu, was peerless in talent and was very extraordinary. Previously, he had heard that even the Crown Prince wanted to marry her and make her the Crown Princess.
If she really became Princess Jing, how could his daughter fight with her?
Qu Zhizhen also had a headache for a moment. He reached out and rubbed his head. “Mother, I’ll ask Qiuyan what she wants. If she doesn’t want to join Lord Jing Mansion that much, I… I’ll think of another way.”
“That is the only way.” The Old Lady waved her hand helplessly.
Qu Zhizhen turned around and left, heading straight for Qu Qiuyan’s courtyard. Halfway there, he met Qu Qiuyan.
“Father.” The rims of Qu Qiuyan’s eyes were swollen, and it could be seen that she had cried very badly.
“Why are you here?” Qu Zhizhen stopped in his tracks.
“Father, I… I was waiting for you here. I knew that Grandmother would definitely ask for you.” Qu Qiuyan looked extremely sad. She knelt down on the road and reached out to pull the hem of Qu Zhizhen’s robe. “Father, I beg you to help me.”
“Help you? How can I help you? So that you can plot against Moying? What kind of grudge does she have with you that you can’t tolerate her, and now you have become the chess piece of the two Lords?”
Looking at Qu Qiuyan kneeling in front of him with a grievance, Qu Zhizhen suddenly became furious and scolded harshly.
“Father… Father…” Qu Qiuyan panicked…
“You didn’t think that I don’t know anything so you want to defend yourself by saying that this has nothing to do with you, did you?” Qu Zhizhen raised his foot and gave Qu Qiuyan a kick, his face extremely gloomy.
At this moment, Qu Zhizhen’s reaction scared Qu Qiuyan. She had never seen her father treat her like this before. She was so scared that she fell to the ground and couldn’t stand up. She could only call out sorrowfully, “Father, father!”
