Chapter 226 – The Maid Who Made A False Charge
Chapter 226 The Maid Who Made a False Charge
“Alright!”
“Then let’s go!”
“If not for waiting for Fourth Lady Qu, we would have left long ago.”
The ladies stood up one after another, and a few of them glanced at Qu Moying. Their words didn’t sound friendly.
Just now, they were about to leave, but Liu Jingyu asked them to stay and wait for Qu Moying. They didn’t expect that they would wait so long. Seeing Qu Moying slowly walk over and there was nothing wrong with her, several ladies were very unhappy, but they didn’t dare to blame Liu Jingyu. They just thought Qu Moying, who was only a vice minister’s daughter, was really good at putting on airs, which was really annoying.
Qu Moying did not say anything and continued to follow behind them.
However, they were still a bit late. Just as they reached the intersection ahead, they met the group of young masters whom Qu Moying had seen just now. They seemed to have changed their clothes, and they all looked elegant and refined.
Although they were a bit surprised to see the ladies, they immediately cupped their hands in greeting courteously.
“Cousin, why are you here?” Liu Jingyu looked at Qi Xiuran, who was at the front, and said in surprise.
“I bring these young masters over for a walk.” Qi Xiuran said with a smile. His eyes fell on Qu Moying because her gauze eye veil was too conspicuous. She was clearly the young lady that he wanted to find out. It seemed that she was the Fourth Young Lady of Vice Minister Qu’s Mansion.
He had seen the list of people who came to the mansion today. The Guardian General’s daughter, First Lady Qi, did not come. However, Vice Minister Qu’s Fourth lady came. It was obvious that she was the one in front of him.
For some reason, he felt relieved. He thought Fourth Lady Qu should be more easy-going than the Guardian General’s daughter. It was said that the Guardian General’s daughter didn’t even care about Lord Jing, let alone him, so she would definitely not give the music score he wanted to him.
“Cousin, do you know Fourth Lady Qu?” Liu Jingyu looked at Qi Xiuran with a smile. It was obvious that she saw Qi Xiuran sizing up Qu Moying.
“I almost bumped into Fourth Lady Qu in the book shop earlier. Please accept my apology.” Qi Xiuran smiled apologetically.
Qu Moying gracefully bowed. “Young Master Qi, it’s nothing.”
“Fourth Lady Qu, did you get a qin music score that day? I wonder if you can give it to me. I will richly repay you.”
Qi Xiuran asked straightforwardly. He liked qin music scores very much. Although he knew it was a little impolite, he couldn’t help but ask.
“I did get a few qin music scores in the bookstore that day, but they are all my beloved things. I’m afraid I can’t…” Shaking her head with a smile, Qu Moying refused.
Qi Xiuran seemed to be a good person, but Qu Moying was wary of Duke Qi’s Mansion now. She didn’t know if he was really good or if he had other plans, so she had to be careful.
“Lady… Did… did you show up in the front yard just now? I… I am sorry.” A maid cut in in a timid voice.
Only then did Qu Moying see the maid walk out from behind Qi Xiuran. The maid was the one who had spilled water on Qu Moying’s clothes earlier. She was also the one who had said that it was Qi Xiangyu’s resting place, and there were no outsiders. Qu Moying had almost been tricked by her into changing her clothes there.
Qu Moying went to the outer yard and dirtied her clothes. The clothes she was wearing now were clearly not the same ones she had worn before. Could it be that she had really changed her clothes in the outer yard?
Hearing the maid’s words, the ladies remembered something. They exchanged glances and then looked at Qu Moying in surprise. There was quite a lot of information in the maid’s words. Was it really what they thought?
What was Qu Moying trying to do?
“Outer yard? Didn’t you say that was the place where Miss Qi rested?” Qu Moying said with a faint smile.
The maid fell to her knees with a thud and said, “I didn’t say that. I only said that it is where young masters and ladies rested, but I didn’t say that it is where our miss rested. Our miss sometimes does rest there if she goes to the outer yard.”
“The place where I rest?” Qi Xiangyu asked in confusion.
“Yes, the place where you occasionally rest.” The maid nodded repeatedly. She looked anxious and uneasy as if she was frightened.
“Is it the place where cousin brother rest? Why did Fourth Lady Qu go there?” Liu Jingyu looked at the two of them and softly asked in surprise.
It was indeed Qi Xiuran’s place, but it was not his main courtyard. It was a place he used for resting, but he rarely went there. If Qi Xiangyu was tired from walking to the outer yard, she would also rest there for a while. Therefore, it could also be said that it was where she rested.
Liu Jingyu naturally knew about the place.
“Fourth Lady Qu, although that place seems to be close to ladies’ yard, it is actually very far. Did you take a detour to get there?” Qi Xiangyu also realized something and looked at Qu Moying with displeasure.
As a guest, Qu Moying took a detour to the front yard, which was quite suspicious. Qi Xiangyu didn’t want any trouble to happen, or her Grandmother would blame her again after knowing what happened.
Her brother would be the future Duke Qi, so she couldn’t let anything happen to him.
“I didn’t see Fourth Lady Qu. Maybe she went there by mistake and left immediately after. After all, the two places are really close.” Said Qi Xiuran. His gaze fell on Qu Moying. He saw that she was standing there calmly. She pursed her lips, and she did not panic at all.
The group of young masters behind Qi Xiuran nodded. They indeed did not see Qu Moying.
“As for this maid, where did she come from? Why did she follow us here?” Qi Xiuran looked at the maid, who was kneeling on the ground, with a cold expression.
There were so many people just now that he didn’t notice that there was a maid in the crowd.
“Young Master, I… I have been following you just now!” The maid was shocked. She didn’t expect that the first one to get angry was actually her master Qi Xiuran. Her face changed greatly out of fear.
“You are just a house cleaning maid. Who asked you to come over?” Qi Xiuran had noticed that there was something fishy. He had found it weird just now when the maid stood out to testify against Qu Moying.
“Young Master, I…”
“Someone, take her away and give her to Grandmother. She doesn’t need to stay by my side anymore.” Qi Xiuran said coldly.
Although he was a little rude in the matter of the qin music score, it did not mean that he was not sensible.
A young servant came over and pulled the maid up.
The maid did not dare to struggle and retreated while crying.
Qi Xiuran cupped his hands and bowed deeply to Qu Moying. “Fourth Lady Qu, the maid lied. She almost tricked you. Sorry, I hope you don’t mind.”
Qi Xiuran’s simple remarks explained the matter and helped Qu Moying get out of the trouble.
He was quite nice and smart. With just a few words, the situation immediately reversed.
How could Qu Moying not understand Qi Xiuran’s kindness? She turned and bowed. “First Young Master Qi, thank you. It was originally a misunderstanding. Perhaps your maid misunderstood something.”
As for what the misunderstanding was, and whether it was convincing or not, everyone had their own view.
Since Qi Xiuran had taken the initiative to help her out, Qu Moying would not be so narrow-minded as to keep picking on him. As for other things, she just needed to know in her mind. Everything in Duke Qi’s Mansion made her feel weird.
Whether it was goodwill or malice, it seemed to be just the tip of the iceberg. She felt that there was something going on, but she couldn’t tell what it was and when it began.
“Fourth Lady Qu, it’s very nice of you!” Said Qi Xiuran. He glanced at Qi Xiangyu and said, “Xiangyu, since you are enjoying the scenery here, we will not disturb you. I will bring the gentlemen to the Waterside Pavilion to admire the scenery.”
He was hinting Qi Xiangyu not to bring these ladies there.
“Okay, brother.” Qi Xiangyu got his meaning and nodded.
Qi Xiuran left with the young masters. After taking a few steps, he turned around because he still couldn’t give up on the qin music score. He sincerely said to Qu Moying, “Fourth Lady Qu, if you don’t like it so much in the future, can you lend it to me?”
He really wanted the music score.
“First Young Master Qi, since you like it so much, I can lend it to you first.” Qu Moying agreed softly, for the sake of Qi Xiuran’s good character.
Qi Xiuran was overjoyed. He folded his sleeves and bowed deeply again. “Thank you, Fourth Lady Qu.”
He just wanted to try again, but he didn’t expect that Qu Moying would agree. He was overjoyed. As expected, Qu Moying was easy-going, but the Guardian General’s daughter was probably not.
Since he had already achieved his goal, Qi Xiuran did not dawdle and turned to leave.
After the men left, the young ladies returned to normal. Since it was a misunderstanding, and it was a misunderstanding deliberately caused by a maid, no one took it to heart. They just thought that this maid was so bold that she actually dared to mislead Qu Moying. No one knew what the maid was up to.
But Qu Moying was truly innocent.
Liu Jingyu looked at Qi Xiuran’s back and then at Qu Moying, who was acting as if nothing had happened. She could not help but frown, feeling unhappy.
However, she did not show it on her face. She continued to take the young ladies to stroll around. Before they could finish their walk, Duchess Qi had already sent for them, saying that someone important had come over and asked them to greet the person together.
Who would come at this time? More importantly, who would want to see these young ladies?
The ladies were surprised. Then, they went to the nearby yard to freshen up and put on some makeup. No matter who the visitor was, they had to be careful.
After everyone freshened up, they went to the flower hall together. When they arrived outside the hall, they saw young and old maids standing in neat rows on both sides.
There were a few eunuchs and palace maids standing there.
The important person was actually from the palace?
The young ladies looked at each other and did not dare to be careless. A maid went in to report. Then, she came out to summon Liu Jingyu and Qi Xiangyu. They were hostesses here, so it was natural for the visitor to see them first.
Qu Moying waited outside the door with a group of young ladies. Her gaze fell on a eunuch standing outside the door, and she felt that he looked a little familiar…
