Chapter 218

Chapter 218 – The Eloquent Old Maid

Chapter 218 The Eloquent Old Maid

“You… Go back and reflect on your mistakes. Copy the text from Lessons for Women a few times.” The Old Lady slammed the table angrily.

“Grandmother… I… I was just worried… I was afraid… I was worried…” Qu Qiuyan burst into tears and felt wronged.

“What a sin. What a sin. You… you… you may leave now!” The Old Lady was powerless to say anything else. She only felt dizzy and her vision was blurry. Qu Caiyue’s matter had not been settled, and there was Qu Qiuyan stirring up another trouble. The Old Lady had a headache. What if people found out that both these two granddaughters were to enter Lord Jing Mansion, and they were both low-ranking concubines.

Qu Caiyue was negligible. She was not liked by the Old Lady in the first place. Moreover, she was a concubine-born daughter of East Mansion. But Qu Qiuyan was different. She was also the wife-born daughter of Vice Minister’s Mansion.

Getting the position of Princess Jing was a bit too much, but it was not completely impossible. The Old Lady’s second son also said that as long as they planned carefully, she could naturally become Princess Jing. But now… what was going on?

Qu Qiuyan was taken away crying. Looking at her back, the Old Lady felt that she had to talk some sense into her second son. Back then, after listening to her second son talk about this matter, she originally opposed it. However, she gave her consent after his repeatedly saying that Lord Jing had fallen in love with her third granddaughter at first sight. He also said that Lord Jing was a man of virtue and would not do any indecent behavior.

But what was going on now? Was Qu Mansion so desperate to send a lady to Lord Jing Mansion?

“Grandmother, you take a rest first and take good care of your health.” Qu Moying walked behind the Old Lady and said softly. It could be seen that the Old Lady was really sad.

However, even if this had not been exposed now, it eventually would. It was impossible for Qu Qiuyan to get the position of Princess Jing or even the position of Side Princess. When the time came, Pei Yusheng would have the final say on her fate. The Old Lady was kept in the dark, and it would be even more unacceptable for her when she found out the truth later.

“I’m fine.” The Old Lady shook her head. Her smile was wry, and her eyes slowly closed. She leaned back on the chair behind her and muttered, “How can this be? How can this be?”

“Grandmother, I should have told you about this earlier, but recently, you…” Qu Moying knelt in front of the Old Lady. She put her hand on the Old Lady’s knee, lowered her head and said, “I argued with her just now in a fit of anger. Please forgive me, Grandmother!”

“My dear child… get up first!” The Old Lady opened her eyes and looked at her. She looked a little tired, but her face was very kind. She reached out and pulled her up.

Qu Moying held the Old Lady’s hand. “Grandmother, no matter when, you still have me.”

Grandmother was the only person she truly wanted to protect. In this mansion, Grandmother was the only one among the so-called “relatives” that she wanted to protect.

“My sweet child.” The Old Lady’s eyes were red. She reached out and hugged her slender body into her arms. She patted her back and comforted her gently. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

“Ying, I know that Yu is not a good person. She failed to teach Yan properly. She is a little selfish and doesn’t care about the dignity of a woman at all. But she is still… your sister. Even if you don’t want to be on good terms with her, at least in front of people, you have to save face for her…” The Old Lady said with difficulty. Her voice was choked with sobs. If she had known that Yu was the root of the trouble, she would not have let her marry into Qu Mansion.

Or even if she accepted Yu into the mansion, she should have given her the status of just a lowly concubine. In that case, no matter how Yu made a fuss, it would be impossible for her to take over the position of the legitimate wife, and there wouldn’t have been such trouble now.

“Grandmother, don’t be sad. I understand, but I was too angry just now. I couldn’t control myself,” Qu Moying said.

These words made the Old Lady burst into tears. This scene reminded her of a somewhat similar scene. She remembered Yu and Yue back then. Yue had also tried to make peace by sacrificing herself like Qu Moying in the past, but in the end, she ended up that way. Thinking of this, Old Lady could no longer bear it. She wiped her tears with a handkerchief.

“Ying, if I find out that she really maliciously harmed you, like how her mother did, I will not forgive her,” the Old Lady said.

After saying that, she felt sadder and sadder. If she had been so strong-willed back then, Yue might not have had to leave the mansion. It was all because Yu said that Yue deliberately caused her premature delivery, but in fact, it was quite usual for twins to be born earlier than expected. This could not be blamed on anyone.

However, her son listened to Yu and kept blaming Yue. He even flew into a rage and wanted to divorce Yue. In the end, the Old Lady had no choice but to let Yue avoid him by moving out to live temporarily in a convent. She did not expect that this would be Yue’s death place. Now that she saw Qu Moying in front of her, how could the Old Lady not be sad?

This motherless child was really pitiful. If Yue was still here, how could Qu Qiuyan dare to be so arrogant? Not to mention that Yu even bullied this child so brazenly.

Qu Qiuyan cried all the way back to Furong House. As soon as she arrived, she lost her temper and smashed a few porcelain items in the room. The maids and old maids in the room did not even dare to breathe. All of them trembled in fear, afraid that they would be implicated.

A second-class old maid walked to the door and winked at Qing Ju who was inside and at a loss. Qing Ju immediately nodded and waved her hand. The maids and old maids in the room all left. This particular old maid came in with a cup of tea. She smiled and put the tea in front of Qu Qiuyan.

“Third Lady, why did you come back like this? I heard that the Old Lady even asked you to reflect on yourself.” Just now, the old maid by the Old Lady’s had sent someone to send Qu Qiuyan off to her door. When they arrived at the gate of the courtyard, they specially ordered Qing Ju, which made Qu Qiuyan feel even more humiliated.

“It’s all because of that slut Qu Moying.” Qu Qiuyan wiped away the tears on her face and said hatefully.

“Fourth Lady? Didn’t you say you were avoiding the Fourth Lady these few days? How did you bump into the Fourth Lady?” The old maid asked in confusion.

“Granny Qing, I did what you said and deliberately avoided her. I was afraid that I would not be able to hold myself back if I saw her. Today, I did the same to avoid her, but she deliberately waited there to stir up trouble. She said that I wanted something awful to happen to her instead of that idiot Qu Caiyue.” As she mentioned this matter, Qu Qiuyan felt even more resentful.

She gritted her teeth with hatred.

She wished that Qu Moying would appear right in front of her and she could directly smash her face.

“Third Lady, since you know that the Fourth Lady did it on purpose, why did you still go against her?” Granny Qing asked with a smile.

“I… I was just too angry at that time…” Qu Qiuyan lowered her head.

“Third Lady, no matter how angry you are, you can’t be like this. Fourth Lady is not easy to deal with. Just think about Madam and you will know. If Madam had listened to me at that time, she would not have fallen to this state now.” Granny Qing sighed. “I have seen this kind of thing many times. If any concubine in the palace wants to survive, she must be an expert in controlling her temper. Third Lady, you have to hold it in!”

“Hold it in? I can’t hold it anymore.” Qu Qiuyan slammed the table with hatred.

The table shook so much that the tea in the cup spilled out.

“Third Lady, I know it is very uncomfortable to hold it in now. But if you don’t, you may suffer a crushing defeat next,” Granny Qing calmly reminded.

These words made Qu Qiuyan silent for a while, and the expression on her face slowly calmed down. After a long time, she asked, “What should I do now then?”

“Be good and copy Lessons for Women. From now on, get along well with the Fourth Lady. Or at least on the surface, you have to get along well with her. Not that you have to be very friendly, but at least you can’t be all a tit-for-tat. Didn’t you do a good job before? Why did you suddenly lose your composure today?”

Granny Qing asked.

“That bitch Qu Moying, she was too evil. She deliberately provoked me and made me angry,” Qu Qiuyan said angrily.

“In that case, my lady, you have all the more reasons to keep calm. Third Lady, the Fourth Lady is just a blind person, and she has no upbringing. How can she compare with you in the future? She may not be anything in the future. When she sees you, she probably has to bow at you from far away. You are a pearl jade, and she is just a piece of debris. It is really not worth it for you to clash with her!”

Granny Qing advised.

These words made Qu Qiuyan’s anger subside completely, and she nodded repeatedly. “Granny Qing, you are right. I will copy Lessons for Women later. Since Grandmother wants me to copy it, I will. But what about Lord Jing…”

At the mention of Lord Jing, Qu Qiuyan grew worried again.

“Third Lady, don’t worry about Lord Jing. If Lord Jing really has feelings for you, he will naturally have a solution, and he won’t let you down, but if…” When Granny Qing said this, her look was no longer as confident, and she seemed a little hesitant.

“What do you mean?” Qu Qiuyan’s heart skipped a beat as she asked anxiously.

“If Lord Jing doesn’t take you seriously, the situation might be extremely disadvantageous for you this time. No matter what, this time, you could see through Lord Jing thanks to this episode. Third Lady, you just wait for news in the mansion. Moreover, the Second Master thought highly of Lord Jing before. If Lord Jing really… Vice Minister would definitely ask him for an explanation.”

Although Granny Qing hadn’t been with Qu Mansion for a long time, she could see that there was an interaction between Lord Jing and Qu Qiuyan. Moreover, this interaction was approved by Mr. Vice Minister Qu.

“Yes, Father can help me out.” Qu Qiuyan’s eyes lit up and she nodded repeatedly.

“So Third Lady, just copy the Lessons for Women for now. Maybe, Mr. Vice Minister will come over in a while.” Granny Qing smiled and retreated.

“Granny Qing, you ought to stop being a second-class labor maid. I will promote you in a while and let you be my nurse-in-charge.” Qu Qiuyan said when she saw Granny Qing retreating respectfully.

“Third Lady, thank you for your kindness, but I have only just arrived at the mansion. It is hard to convince the others, and I’m not clear on many things yet. If you still think that I am useful after some time, you can promote me by then. At that time, no one will gossip, and I can really help you.”

Granny Qing replied with a smile.

Qu Qiuyan was satisfied with these words. She felt that this Granny Qing was really useful. She would definitely promote her soon. Unlike the others around her, this Granny Qing had retired from the palace. She knew more and could be of greater help.

Qu Qiuyan put on a serious look and began to coy the Lessons for Women. Sure enough, later that night, Qu Zhizhen came. The father and daughter shut the doors and started a discussion…