Chapter 229 – Broke Duke Qi’S Brush Washer?
Chapter 229 Broke Duke Qi’s Brush Washer?
It was actually her Grandfather’s servant.
If her Grandfather was looking for her Grandmother, why didn’t this servant go in? Why was he sneaking around? There seemed to be something in his hands. Did her Grandfather ask him to show it to her Grandmother?
Although Liu Jingyu was surprised, she did not take it to heart. She had something more important to do, so she continued to move forward.
The servant, who was hiding in the shadows, shrank back and carefully avoided Liu Jingyu’s gaze. He was still waiting. He had just come over, but he did not see the person he was waiting for.
Qu Moying sat quietly behind Madam Dowager. She lowered her head and played with the handkerchief in her hand, casually listening to the conversation of the madams in the reception hall.
“Moying, Moying.” Qu Moying felt her sleeve was pulled by someone, and she looked up at Qu Xuexin.
Qu Xuexin leaned over and whispered to her, “Moying, could you accompany me to change the clothes?”
Qu Moying nodded.
Qu Xuexin said to Madam Dowager in a low voice. Madam Dowager nodded. Then Qu Xuexin and Qu Moying walked behind everyone and went out of the hall from the side. When they got out of the hall, they called a maid to lead the way and went out together. The servant in the shadow moved and followed them.
The maid led Qu Xuexin into a place while Qu Moying waited outside. Suddenly, a servant came from the side and seemed to be about to crash into Qu Moying. Yu Dong hurriedly stepped forward to block him. The servant also tried his best to stop. In the end, he did not bump into Qu Moying, but he fell heavily to the ground, and the thing in his hand shattered under Qu Moying’s feet.
“Ah, the brush washer.” The servant crouched down in panic and cried out with a panicked voice, “Duke Qi’s brush washer.”
Qu Moying lowered her head and took a closer look. It was really a brush washer. Even if it was broken, it could still be seen that it was a fine item.
“Miss, this… this is the brush washer of our Duke…” The servant cried and wiped his tears. He looked young.
Hearing his words, Yu Dong was annoyed, “You are not going to blackmail our miss, are you?”
“I dare not. Miss, I just want you to testify for me.” The servant cried.
“Testify for what?” Qu Moying asked gently.
“I want you to testify for me in front of the Duke that I did not deliberately break the brush washer. It was broken because I almost bumped into you and fell because of imbalance.” The servant cried and said, looking really pitiful.
It seemed that he was not going to shirk his responsibility.
“I am a woman. I’d better not go to the front yard.” Qu Moying said gently.
“You don’t need to go to the front yard. The Duke is in the pavilion, not far away. He has something to ask Madam, but he’s not in a hurry. He is waiting in the pavilion in front.” The servant hurriedly said. He stretched out his hand and pointed ahead. Qu Moying could really see a pavilion, and there was indeed someone in the pavilion.
“Miss, please help me. If the Duke thinks that I broke it on purpose, I will be punished.” The servant cried so hard that his eyes turned red.
Qu Moying nodded.
The servant was overjoyed. He wiped his tears and led Qu Moying forward. He did not even bother to pick up the broken brush washer on the ground.
The pavilion seemed close, but they walked for a while to reach it. When Qu Moying arrived at the pavilion, she saw there was indeed a person sitting in it. It was an old man in his fifties or sixties. Although he was old, he looked energetic and dignified. He should be Duke Qi, and she had heard that he was an old general.
He was no longer in charge of military affairs now. Unlike civil officials, he still looked energetic. After all, he had been a general and had been on the battlefield before.
The servant asked Qu Moying to wait outside. He went to explain the situation to Duke Qi. Qu Moying did not know what he said, but Duke Qi turned his eyes to her and nodded slightly.
The servant continued to say something. He was far from Qu Moying, and he said in a low voice. Even Yu Dong did not hear their specific words. She only vaguely heard Duke Qi say, “OK” and “Alright.”
After the servant finished speaking and got Duke Qi’s permission, he turned around and trotted to Qu Moying with a big smile on his face, “Miss, Duke Qi invites you over.”
Qu Moying nodded. Since she was here, she naturally had to come over to greet Duke Qi.
She followed the servant to the pavilion and bowed to the Duke. “Greetings, Duke Qi.”
“You are the fourth miss of Vice Minister Qu’s Mansion?” Duke Qi’s gaze fell on Qu Moying. After examining her for a long time, he slowly said, “No need for formalities!”
“Yes!” Qu Moying stood up straight and looked at the ground in front of her.
Her appearance was too eye-catching. Her long eye veil covered most of her face. People could see her from afar. She was unique even in the capital. Anyone who had heard of her would be able to recognize her more easily.
“The servant said that he accidentally broke the brush washer, and he almost bumped into you. Is that true?” Duke Qi asked slowly. His voice was neither high nor low, but there was a hint of dignity in it.
“Yes!” Qu Moying nodded.
She could feel that Duke Qi was still looking at her up and down, and she just stood there quietly.
“He didn’t bump into you, did he?” Duke Qi asked.
“No. I’m fine.” Said Qu Moying. Duke Qi’s gaze fell on her again. He looked at her again and again. The pavilion was quiet. After a long period of silence, Qu Moying frowned uncomfortably. The Duke made her feel a little weird.
In her previous life, when she was Ji Hanyue, she had never seen this Duke. It was said that he didn’t care about anything now and liked to live in the village outside the city. He seldom stayed in his mansion in the capital. She didn’t expect to see him the first time she came to his mansion.
Wasn’t he seldom in the mansion?
“Your mother is from the Yue Family. I have a good relationship with your maternal grandfather. If you have any difficulties in the future, you can come here to seek help.” Duke Qi finally spoke slowly.
“Thank you, Duke.” Qu Moying bowed to him again.
Duke Qi nodded. He stood up and gave Qu Moying a deep look. Then, he slowly left with his hands behind his back, and the servant hurriedly followed him.
When the footsteps were far away, Qu Moying slowly raised her head and looked at the back of Duke Qi. She frowned slightly. She felt strange, but she couldn’t tell why. Did Duke Qi specially come to see her?
This idea suddenly occurred to her, but she soon denied it. She was sure that this was the first time she saw Duke Qi in both her previous life and this life. There was no intersection between the two of them. Was it because of her father? Or her mother?
“Miss, why didn’t the servant clean the brush washer up?” Yu Dong looked at Duke Qi’s back and then looked in the direction they had come from. The servant didn’t ask anyone to clean it up, but he followed Duke Qi to leave. It was really strange.
“Maybe someone will clean it up!” Qu Moying said with uncertainty as she slowly walked towards the place where the incident occurred.
As expected, when they walked back, the brush washer on the ground had already been clean up, but there were no maids around. It could be seen that they had long gone.
It wasn’t a long time since Qu Moying went to the pavilion.
“Moying!” Hearing Qu Xuexin’s voice, Qu Moying came back to her senses. Seeing Qu Xuexin standing beside her, Qu Moying smiled and nodded.
“Let’s go!”
The two of them walked back together.
“Moying, why did Princess Ji look for you just now?” Qu Xuexin asked while walking.
“She asked something about cousin sister.” Qu Moying answered vaguely.
“About the ex-Crown Princess? Why did she ask you things about the ex-Crown Princess?” Qu Xuexin asked in surprise. Immediately after that, she realized her rudeness and said apologetically, “Moying, I didn’t mean to inquire about anything. I am just afraid that Princess Ji will harm you. I don’t think she is really good to you.”
“Sister, what did you find out?” Qu Moying turned to look at Qu Xuexin.
“I didn’t find out anything, but…” Qu Xuexin hesitated for a moment but still answered, “It’s just that she has the highest status in the Crown Prince’s Mansion, and it should be the same in Earl Ling’an’s Mansion, but she came to ask you, which made me feel strange.”
“She asked me about the things when cousin sister came to see me.” Qu Moying paused and replied.
Qu Xuexin took a deep breath and said, “That’s good, that’s good. I’m just afraid that Princess Ji doesn’t like you. That would be troublesome.”
As they spoke, they had already returned to the yard. After entering the door from the side, they walked and sat down behind Old Lady Qu and listened to the other madams’ talk in the hall.
After a while, Liu Jingyu walked in. She seemed tender. When she looked at people, she had the same smile on her face as before. However, Qu Moying could tell that there were some differences. At least she could see a touch of gloominess in Liu Jingyu’s eyes from time to time, which showed that Liu Jingyu was not in a good mood.
Ji Youran was obviously here to intimidate Liu Jingyu today. Liu Jingyu wanted to be the Crown Princess, so she was naturally unhappy.
It seemed that Liu Jingyu was a match for Ji Youran, which was good for Qu Moying. With Liu Jingyu confronting Ji Youran, Qu Moying could do her things boldly.
After a while, the banquet began in another large hall on the side. The hall was full of women. There weren’t many people. Everyone gathered together, chatting and laughing happily.
There were not many young ladies, so they just sat at the same table. Qu Qiuyan was sitting with her besties but not with Qu Xuexin and Qu Moying. After entering Duke Qi’s Mansion, Qu Qiuyan did not sit with them anymore, which showed that she disliked them very much.
Qu Moying sat down gracefully. Qu Xuexin sat on one side of Qu Moying, but no one sat on the other side of Qu Moying. The maids deliberately kept this seat. Soon, Liu Jingyu rushed over and happened to sit on this seat. She looked at Qu Moying, who was sitting next to her, and smiled. “Fourth Lady Qu.”
“County Lady Jingyu.” Qu Moying stood up and bowed.
“Please be seated, Fourth Lady Qu. I have something to ask you.” Liu Jingyu smiled gently. Her attitude was kind and natural. It was as if everything Qu Moying had seen in the past was an illusion.
