Chapter 224 – Who Would Pay So Much Attention To Her?
Chapter 224 Who Would Pay So Much Attention to Her?
These words were very unexpected, but after they were said, they sounded quite reasonable to Qu Moying. Her watery eyes narrowed slightly. Sure enough, no one was stupid.
Although it was just a simple sentence, there was a different meaning in it.
“Moying, I am different from Qiuyan. I am East Mansion’s young lady and your cousin. We are like passengers on the same boat. If you are suffering, what benefits will I get? What’s more, Second Sister just encountered such a thing. I heard that she entered the palace because of Third Sister. It was Third Sister who went to ask Grandmother for permission. After entering the palace, Second Sister, who has always been close with Third Sister, followed you instead of her.”
Qu Xuexin continued with a serious expression.
As they spoke, their footsteps became slower and slower, and they gradually lagged ten steps behind the crowd.
Qu Qiuyan turned around and glanced at the two of them. Seeing that they were talking intimately, she secretly smirked. At this time, she had already made up her mind, and there was no longer the panic she had before.
Her uncle had said before that even if the matter failed, she would not be involved, so she was relieved.
Anyway, when they were selecting carriages, she had asked to take the same carriage with Qu Moying. It was Qu Moying who rejected her. After that, something happened, and she wasn’t to be blamed. She almost got on that carriage, and she barely avoided the risk of being assassinated.
She was sure about Qu Xuexin’s personality and knew she would invite her to sit with her.
“Eldest Sister, you also think that the matter in the palace is suspicious?” Qu Moying curled her lips.
“Even if Second Sister saw Third Sister and Lord Jing together, she would automatically avoid them, and it is impossible for her to stay beside you.” Qu Xuexin did not directly answer Qu Moying’s words and she just said slowly.
The four sisters were the ones clearest about the situation at that time.
When it happened, Qu Xuexin was also stunned. She felt that the one who should have had an accident at that time was Qu Moying, and it should not be Lord Jing. Even if someone wanted to scheme against one of the two princes, the target should be Lord Wei. The relationship between Lord Jing and Qu Qiuyan was almost clear to everyone in the mansion. It was just that Lord Jing did not officially announce his attitude.
So who would scheme against Lord Jing at a time like this?
If the scheme didn’t work out, the person would be in a mess. If it did, the person wouldn’t be sure of the results, and would end up in a similar situation just like Qu Caiyue. Considering Qu Qiuyan’s relationship with Lord Jing, even if Qu Caiyue risked her life, her status wouldn’t be high. Qu Qiuyan was wife-born, whereas Qu Caiyue was concubine-born, and the most important thing was that what Qu Caiyue did was equivalent to offering herself to a man in bed. Qu Xuexin felt that if Qu Caiyue was the one who schemed, her best result would be just a low-class concubine of Lord Jing.
Nevertheless, her father and Second Uncle discussed a lot in the study. Could this kind of thing even be discussed? Right now, the most important thing was Lord Jing’s response.
“Eldest Sister, do you think Lord Jing will marry her?” Qu Moying smiled and glanced at Qu Qiuyan in front of her.
Qu Xuexin understood who she was talking about. She thought about it and shook his head hesitantly. “Probably not.”
“I heard that Lord Jing is going to marry Minister Liu’s daughter.” Qu Moying looked at her indifferently and said straightforwardly.
“County Lady Jingyu?” Qu Xuexin was stunned for a moment. She suddenly raised her gaze and looked at the woman who was walking over. She was surrounded by a few maids protecting her. It was none other than County Lady Jingyu. “Isn’t she… Crown… Crown Prince’s Mansion…”
When Qu Xuexin said this, she immediately realized something and shut her mouth!
Compared with Duke Qi’s Mansion’s granddaughter, County Lady Jingyu’s pomp was indeed eye-catching. Four maids followed behind her, holding her supplies. The setup was bigger than any of the noble ladies. She had never seen Liu Jingyu make such a big show in the past. This current setup was comparable to some imperial concubines in the palace.
Qu Moying’s heart skipped a beat. Her gaze calmly swept over the few maids who were following Liu Jingyu. They looked a little familiar!
When she first arrived at Crown Prince’s Mansion, in order to give others a dignified and respectable appearance, she, the future Crown Princess, had indeed brought four maids over.
Now, it seemed that the Crown Prince’s Mansion had selected Liu Jingyu. Even her stance was different from before!
Considering Qu Xuexin’s words, some speculations were actually about to come to light!
“Maybe the rumors are wrong,” Qu Moying said indifferently. Seeing that the crowd had stopped, she also slowed down. Although she was still walking, she was very slow.
Liu Jingyu had already greeted the other noble ladies who were present, and they seemed to be very familiar with her. After a while, they were already smiling and talking to each other. It could be seen that County Lady Jingyu was the focus of this group of people.
Qu Qiuyan was already squeezed out of the crowd. She just stood on the side watching silently. In terms of status, Qu Qiuyan could not compare with Liu Jingyu.
“Fourth Lady Qu?” Liu Jingyu’s gaze suddenly passed through the crowd and landed on Qu Moying. After a brief glance, she slowly walked over.
A large group of people followed behind her.
“Greetings, County Lady Jingyu!” Qu Xuexin and Qu Moying bowed together.
“Fourth Lady Qu, you are too polite,” Liu Jingyu said with a smile. Her voice was gentle and full of smiles, which made people very fond of her. “I just heard that Fourth Lady Qu’s birth mother is actually close to my maternal grandfather’s family. In the future, we need to stay connected more!” Liu Jingyu smiled and said to Qu Moying. It was very easy for people to have a good impression of her.
“I also just found out,” Qu Moying said.
“Since that’s the case, our two families are friends for generations. Although I am a few years older than you, we are peers. If you have anything you don’t understand, you can come and find me.” Liu Jingyu smiled.
“Sure!” Qu Moying lowered her head slightly.
“Can we sit there for a while? It’s too sunny here. Fourth Lady Qu’s eyes are not good, so it will hurt her eyes!” Liu Jingyu pointed to the pavilion on the side and appeared to be quite considerate of Qu Moying.
Tea and pastries had already been prepared in the pavilion. The scenery on the side was also good. It was a good place to admire the scenery.
Qu Moying nodded.
Liu Jingyu brought the group of ladies into the pavilion. The pavilion was not small. After the few ladies sat down, it still seemed empty. After a few maids poured tea for their ladies, they all retreated to the outside of the pavilion and stood far away. There was a distance between them and the Masters. There were many noble ladies, so the maids naturally stayed far away to avoid disturbing the Masters.
Even the maids who were next to Duke Qi’s Mansion’s young lady moved far away. Who would be so insensible as to move closer instead?
However, Yu Dong was one who was “insensible”. He also followed the group of maids out, but she turned around and stood behind Qu Moying at the fence. Although she was standing outside, she was still waiting on Qu Moying.
There were not many stone stools, and most of the ladies were willing to sit by the fence. Not only was the view there wide, but they could also relax without having to put on airs.
Liu Jingyu sat on the stone stool in front of Qu Moying. Two of the four maids who had been serving her went out. The other two were standing not far away. They stood by the fence ready to serve Liu Jingyu anytime. There were actually quite close to Yu Dong, which ensured that they could respond to their Masters as soon as possible.
There were another two maids standing closely behind Liu Jingyu.
The fence that Qu Moying was sitting by was behind her.
“Fourth Lady, this pastry is not bad. It is made according to a recipe from the palace. Would you like to try it?” Liu Jingyu pointed at a plate of pastries on the table. The maid, who was standing behind her, immediately stepped forward and brought the plate of pastries in front of Qu Moying.
Qu Moying hesitated for a moment and slowly reached out to take a small piece. The maid then placed the plate back on the stone table.
After taking a bite, Qu Moying nodded. “It is indeed not bad.”
“This is actually based on a recipe from the palace. I heard that the recipes in the palace are not to be revealed.” One of the ladies said in surprise. She reached out to take a piece and took a bite. Her eyes immediately lit up. “It is indeed delicious.”
Hearing her say this, several other ladies immediately stretched out their hands. There were not many pastries, and the plate was empty in a few moments. Those ladies who did not get to taste them were extremely regrettable.
Although they had all eaten pastries granted by the palace, the pastries were all cold by the time they were delivered to their mansions. Naturally, the taste was not as good. When they were in the palace, even if the Masters in the palace gave them pastries, they could not eat them at will. Seeing that there were actually hot pastries coming from the palace and that they had been eaten by others, they felt even more envious.
“Is there more?” Liu Jingyu asked her cousin, Qi Xiangyu.
The two of them were of the same age, but Qi Xiangyu was born a few days earlier. However, because Qi Xiangyu was the daughter of Duke Qi’s concubine-born son, her status in Duke Qi’s Mansion was not comparable to that of Liu Jingyu, a maternal granddaughter.
Obviously, she was the only paternal granddaughter in Duke Qi’s Mansion, but she could not compare with Liu Jingyu at all. Grandmother even gave the title of County Lady to Liu Jingyu. It would be strange if Qi Xiangyu was convinced.
But in front of others, Qi Xiangyu did not show it. Hearing Liu Jingyu’s question, she only smiled and called the maid, who was taking care of her, to go to the kitchen to ask. Although the maid could not hear her Lady’s voice from afar, she saw her Lady’s gesture and immediately came over. After receiving the order, she turned and left.
Qu Moying finished the pastry in her hand and wiped her hands with a handkerchief, but she kept feeling that her fingers were greasy and sticky. She pinched her fingers and felt a little uncomfortable.
The pastry was indeed good, but her fingertips were really uncomfortable after touching the pastry.
She was not the only one who had this feeling. Several ladies had already asked, “Is there a place to wash hands? My fingers are too sticky.”
“Indeed. It is very sticky.”
“Miss Qi, can we have a place to wash our hands?”
Qi Xiangyu was the hostess. She wanted to ask the maid to take those ladies to wash their hands at the resting place, but she realized that her maid, who was taking care of her, had already left. On the other hand, Liu Jingyu brought four maids here. Two were outside the pavilion, and two were inside.
“Cousin, I’ll borrow a maid of yours to take these ladies to freshen up,” Qi Xiangyu said to Liu Jingyu with a smile.
“Cousin, you are welcome. These two are originally your mansion’s maids. It’s all Grandmother’s fault. She insisted that your mansion’s maids are good, so she asked them to follow me. Of course, you can ask them to bring the ladies over. They are originally from the mansion, and they are familiar with the road.”
Liu Jingyu pointed at the two maids standing outside and said with a smile.
Only then did everyone realize that these two maids were dressed differently from the other two.
“Thank you, cousin.” Qi Xiangyu smiled and gestured to the two maids standing outside. “Bring these ladies to the yard for women to rest.”
The two maids answered, “Yes!”
The ladies who wanted to wash up stood up one after another. Qu Moying was also one of them.
“Moying, I will come with you.” Qu Xuexin stood up and volunteered.
“No need, Eldest Sister. You can sit for a while. I’ll be back soon.” Qu Moying refused with a smile and shook her head. “There are so many ladies going too. Nothing will happen.”
“Alright, be careful.” Qu Xuexin looked a little worried. She warned in a low voice, hesitated for a moment, and said in a low voice, “Be careful, don’t let people you don’t know get close to you!”
It seemed that the carriage assassination scene from before had scared Qu Xuexin.
Qu Moying nodded and followed the other ladies out of the pavilion. When she arrived outside the pavilion, she frowned. She did not look back, but she felt that someone was looking at her. Who cared so much about her? She was not familiar with the others present.
Who would pay so much attention to her?
It was a very strange feeling…
