Chapter 230 – Who Is Your Second Brother?
Chapter 230 Who Is Your Second Brother?
“County Lady, please go ahead!” Qu Moying said lightly after pondering for a moment.
“I heard that you are the ex-Crown Princess’ cousin, and she took good care of you in the past. But when the ex-Crown Princess was seriously ill, why didn’t you go to the Crown Prince’s Mansion to take care of her? And you made a scene at the ex-Crown Princess and Earl Ling’an’s funerals. Is the rumor wrong? Is there something we don’t know between you and the ex-Crown Princess?”
Liu Jingyu said in a gentle voice with a polite smile on her face. She even lowered her head and said, “If I said something wrong, please forgive me. Grandmother was kind to you out there just now, so I couldn’t help asking.”
What she meant was that everyone knew these things and was spreading rumors. She wanted to know the truth from Qu Moying.
A hint of gloominess flashed through Qu Moying’s eyes. This time, she was sure that Liu Jingyu was really unkind to her, but she could not remember having offended Liu Jingyu so that the latter actually said these words to her.
Liu Jingyu’s words were apparently provocative.
However, it was not the right time to think about it. Qu Moying looked at Liu Jingyu, and her eyes turned cold. “County Lady Jingyu, why do you ask so much about the ex-Crown Princess? Is it because you want to be the Crown Princess?”
No one expected Qu Moying to say such sharp words. Some of the people present knew something about the incidents they talked about, some were at a loss, but all of them shut their mouths at this moment.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense!
The ex-Crown Princess had just died. Even if the Crown Prince wanted to marry someone else, or even if some ladies wanted to marry the Crown Prince, they should hide their thoughts. After all, the Crown Prince’s love for the ex-Crown Princess was well known and highly praised in the capital.
Liu Jingyu did not expect that her probing words would lead to such a sharp response from Qu Moying. The smile on her face froze.
“Fourth Lady Qu, how dare you! How dare you talk to our County Lady like this?” The maid behind Liu Jingyu stepped forward and scolded Qu Moying harshly.
Not to be outdone, Yu Dong stepped forward and glared at the maid, “Ladies are talking. You are just a maid. It’s not your turn to speak here.”
“You are also a maid.” The maid beside Liu Jingyu said furiously.
“I’m scolding you! Even though our lady is nobody, she is still the ex-Crown Princess’ cousin. It hasn’t been long since the ex-Crown Princess died, but someone dares to bully her cousin now. I think everyone knows what that means!” Yu Dong said fearlessly.
Although Yu Dong was disguised as a maid, he was not really a maid. In the past, when he followed Pei Yuanjun, he used to frighten others. Even scolding Liu Jingyu was nothing, let alone a maid.
Although they didn’t make much noise, the two maids still attracted others’ attention. Seeing that the other madams were looking over, Liu Jingyu quickly controlled her expression and smiled apologetically to the madams at the front tables, “The two maids are not sensible. Sorry to bother you, madams.”
Seeing that it was a quarrel between two maids, the madams went on to chat. After all, nothing serious could happen between maids.
Seeing Liu Jingyu stop her maid, Qu Moying also called Yu Dong back. Liu Jingyu sat down again.
“Fourth Lady Qu, I’m sorry. Just now, Princess Ji mentioned you…That’s why I couldn’t control my emotion for a moment. It’s my fault. I am sorry to anger you.”
Liu Jingyu said apologetically.
Qu Moying believed that if she hadn’t said those words, and Yu Dong was not that tough, Liu Jingyu wouldn’t have made a concession.
Liu Jingyu was not a simple woman. With only one sentence, she passed the buck to Ji Youran without turning a hair.
Liu Jingyu was clever, and she was obviously unfriendly to Qu Moying, so Qu Moying told herself to be more careful.
“I wonder what Princess Ji said to you that made you angry and even blame it on me.”
Qu Moying asked calmly.
“Actually, it’s nothing big. It’s because of my misunderstanding.” Liu Jingyu said vaguely.
“Are you not on good terms with Princess Ji?” Qu Moying seemed to not understand and blurted out.
Since Liu Jingyu started the war, Qu Moying wouldn’t let her off easily. Qu Moying didn’t care what Liu Jingyu meant before. Whether Liu Jingyu wanted to threaten her, test her, or vent her anger on her, Liu Jingyu had to bear the consequences.
As expected, as soon as Qu Moying finished her words, the other ladies at the same table stopped talking. What Liu Jingyu had said was indeed very surprising because she didn’t seem to be a person who would say something like that. But no matter what, Liu Jingyu did speak those words.
What did she mean?
A young lady dressed in light yellow and sitting on the other side of Liu Jingyu couldn’t stand it anymore. She snorted, “Fourth Lady Qu, it’s just a slip of the tongue by County Lady Jingyu. Why are you still picking on her?”
Qu Moying knew this lady. She was Yan Yujiao, the young miss of Marquis Fengyang’s Mansion. Qu Moying always saw her by Liu Jingyu’s side. It was said that she had a good relationship with Liu Jingyu.
“I am not picking on anyone. County Lady Jingyu just talked to me about that. Is there anything wrong?” Qu Moying smiled and said calmly.
Liu Jingyu turned around and instructed a maid in a low voice. As she spoke, the maid nodded repeatedly. It seemed that she was talking about something important so that she didn’t notice the tension between the two people beside her.
Because Liu Jingyu turned aside to talk with her maid, Qu Moying and Yan Yujiao met each other’s eyes. Yan Yujiao glared at Qu Moying.
“Fourth Lady Qu, what do you mean?”
“I mean what you mean.” Qu Moying said indifferently. This was her first time attending an event in an aristocratic family. If she was suppressed again and again, what would people think of her in the future?
“You… You’ve really gone too far…” Yan Yujiao seemed to be a spoiled young lady. At this time, she could no longer suppress her anger. If the person who spoke up to her was a young lady with the same family background as her, she certainly would not be so angry. However, as long as she thought that Qu Moying was actually nothing but dared to contradict her, she got even angrier.
In fact, she was just bullying Qu Moying because no one would back Qu Moying up.
Qu Qiuyan sat at the side and watched the fun. She was secretly pleased. She knew Yan Yujiao and the two of them got along quite well. Back then, when Yan Yujiao’s elder brother, Second Young Master Yan, went to Qu Mansion with Xu Lipeng, he sometimes brought his sister, Yan Yujiao, with him.
Qu Qiuyan had badmouthed Qu Moying in front of Yan Yujiao just now, and it seemed that her words worked.
“Yujiao, don’t be angry! Fourth Lady Qu, I’m really sorry. Yujiao is from the Yan Family. She might have been angered by something. Her mood is a bit out of control today.” Liu Jingyu turned around and seemed just to notice the tense atmosphere. She hurriedly reached out to pull Yan Yujiao while smiling at Qu Moying.
Qu Moying smiled but did not say anything.
Yan Yujiao really wanted to flare up, but when she saw that the madams had turned around again because of the commotion, she angrily shut her mouth. Liu Jingyu had stopped her before, but she just could not suppress her anger.
Qu Moying vented her anger on Yan Yujiao’s brother because of Young Master Yongning. How could she do that?
Yan Yujiao knew her Second Brother was good for nothing, but others were not qualified to blame him, especially Qu Moying, who was neither talented nor beautiful and was even blinded. Could it be that she had taken a fancy to her Second Brother?
Marquis Fengyang’s Mansion had a higher status than Marquis Yongning’s Mansion!
“Alright, Yujiao, please stop being angry for my sake.” Liu Jingyu pulled Yan Yujiao’s sleeve again with a smile. Only then did Yan Yujiao’s expression soften a bit. She still pulled a long face, but it seemed that she wouldn’t continue the fight.
Qu Moying glanced at Yan Yujiao and then Liu Jingyu indifferently. She did not continue to speak.
The rest of the meal time was relatively peaceful. The ladies finished the fastest because they did not eat much.
After a few young ladies left, Qu Moying also stood up and excused herself to Qi Xiangyu. Then, she left with Yu Dong.
After all, Qi Xiangyu was the real hostess. Compared with Liu Jingyu, she was more qualified to receive guests. However, up until now, almost everyone present had ignored her. They all deliberately ignored Qi Xiangyu while talking to Liu Jingyu. When they mentioned the hostess, they all referred to Liu Jingyu.
But Qi Xiangyu kept smiling as if she didn’t care at all.
When Qu Moying spoke to her, she only nodded with a smile and didn’t say anything else. It was not until Qu Moying excused herself to Qi Xiangyu before leaving that everyone remembered Qi Xiangyu was the real hostess of the banquet today. When the next few young ladies left, although they still said goodbye to Liu Jingyu, they also said goodbye to Qi Xiangyu.
For a moment, the hostess and the guests were in harmony.
Qu Moying and Yu Dong slowly walked along the road while admiring the scenery. When she came out, she did not go with the other young ladies. She casually chose a direction to walk.
“Fourth Lady Qu, please wait!” After walking a few steps, Qu Moying heard a voice from behind.
Qu Moying turned around and saw that it was Yan Yujiao. She was not surprised. She just glanced at her casually and continued to walk forward. However, she slightly slowed down.
Seeing that Qu Moying did not stop, Yan Yujiao became angrier. She strode forward, walked to Qu Moying’s side, and said angrily, “I know you are blinded. But are you deaf, too? Did you not hear me talking to you?”
“Miss Yan, what’s the matter?” Qu Moying said calmly, narrowing her eyes slightly.
“Fourth Lady Qu, my Second Brother has nothing to do with Young Master Yongning’s matter. Don’t try to blame it on my Second Brother. Although my Second Brother is not the eldest son, he is still a wife-born son. He will never marry a woman whose engagement has been canceled.” Yan Yujiao looked at Qu Moying arrogantly, her eyes full of contempt.
Qu Moying couldn’t help but laugh. She raised her eyes under the eye veil and said, “Miss Yan, did you hear something? Or was someone trying to stir up trouble? I didn’t even blame Young Master Yongning. Why would I blame your Second Brother? And who is your Second Brother? Does he have anything to do with me?”
Her words were quite aloof.
Yan Yujiao immediately blushed, and her face blanched and then became livid. She wanted to vent her anger, but Qu Moying’s indifferent reaction made her feel like punching hard on a bag of cotton.
