Chapter 267 – Duchess Yu Was Involved
Chapter 267 Duchess Yu Was Involved
“Your mother’s dowry?” Qu Qiuyan was stunned. Her heart skipped a beat, and she looked at Qu Xuexin beside her, only to see Qu Xuexin nodding at her.
“Yes, it is my mother’s dowry.” Qu Moying said flatly. The corners of her lips curled into a faintly mocking smile.
“You… you’re talking nonsense. They belong to the mansion. They are father’s shops.” Qu Qiuyan shook her head in disbelief and said subconsciously.
Qu Moying still smiled and said, “They are my mother’s property. How could they be the mansion’s property? Grandmother has made it clear. Third Sister, please give the account books to me so that I could investigate them clearly in case the Ministry of Justice comes to us again and charges us with the crime of deception.”
“What… what do you mean?” Qu Qiuyan’s expression changed drastically. Why was this related to the Ministry of Justice?
“I heard that someone from Mrs. Yu’s family is taking care of my mother’s shops. He spread fake information to sell one of the shops, and he accepted the buyer’s money but he could not give the buyer the shop. Now, the buyer has sued him to the Ministry of Justice.”
“Which family is the buyer from?” Qu Qiuyan’s heart was in a mess.
“I don’t know, but it must be an aristocratic family. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have caused such a big fuss. It is actually the Ministry of Justice that is dealing with this matter. Perhaps our father has been questioned.” Qu Moying said to Qu Qiuyan with a faint smile.
Qu Qiuyan turned to look at Qu Xuexin. She wanted Qu Xuexin to tell her that Qu Moying was lying. However, Qu Xuexin nodded at her again.
“You…” Qu Qiuyan felt like she couldn’t make a sound. She opened her mouth but could not spit out a word.
Qu Moying looked at Qu Qiuyan and said slowly and firmly, “Third Sister, please return my mother’s shops. If you think that something is wrong, you can ask Father. Father happens to have something to tell you. He said that he has found some clues about the scoundrel, and he might need you to help confirm it!”
The scoundrel was related to Granny Qing, who worked for Qu Qiuyan. Although Granny Qing was dead, Qu Qiuyan was not cleared of suspicion. Now the scoundrel had fallen into Qu Zhizhen’s hands. Perhaps Qu Zhizhen had really obtained some information. Qu Qiuyan thought her father was so capable that he must have found out the truth.
The previous slap he gave her had proved it.
She was no longer the daughter that her father loved dearly. When she thought of this, Qu Qiuyan’s eyes turned red. She gritted her teeth, and her face stiffened.
Qu Qiuyan believed that if Yu was still Qu Mansion’s madam-in-charge, Qu Moying would not dare to insult her like this. However, Yu could do nothing now.
“Third Sister, please hurry up. Grandmother is waiting for me to return.” Qu Moying looked at her and said word by word.
This made Qu Qiuyan feel even more humiliated. She pressed her hands on the corner of the table and clenched her fists tightly. Her eyes were red as she glared at Qu Moying, as if she wanted to devour her.
“Qiuyan, quickly take them out. Grandmother is really waiting.” Seeing her like this, Qu Xuexin hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed her hand.
“Go and bring over the account books of these shops.” Qu Qiuyan suppressed the various emotions in her heart and said, gritting her teeth.
Her heart was burning with jealousy and hatred.
Qing Ju hurriedly went into the room and took out a set of account books. They were the latest account books, and the rest of the account books were in the storeroom.
Yu Dong stepped forward and took them from Qing Ju. After a quick examination, he nodded at Qu Moying.
“Third Sister, since the matter has been settled, we will go back first.” Qu Moying stood up and said leisurely as if she did not see Qu Qiuyan’s vicious expression.
Qu Qiuyan bit her lips and did not say anything because she was afraid that she couldn’t control herself when she spoke. She only glared fiercely at Qu Moying.
Qu Moying smiled at Qu Qiuyan again and turned to leave with Yu Dong.
Qu Xuexin still wanted to say something to Qu Qiuyan, but she knew Qu Qiuyan wouldn’t listen to her in this situation. Previously, Qu Qiuyan was the most respected one among Qu Mansion’s three ladies, and she was indeed the most outstanding one. She always received special treatment when there was something nice. But now, the situation had changed.
Shaking her head slightly, Qu Xuexin stood up and followed behind Qu Moying.
Granny Wu walked in the back and bowed to Qu Qiuyan. She comforted Qu Qiuyan gently, “Third Lady, don’t be angry. These were originally the ex-Madam’s shops, and they are indeed left for the Fourth Lady.”
Qu Qiuyan bit the corner of her mouth until it was dark red. The hatred in her eyes could not be concealed as she lowered her head forcefully.
Seeing that she was silent, Granny Wu sighed and advised her, “Third Lady, there are still many shops in the mansion. They are still under your control. Just manage them well.”
Qu Qiuyan still did not respond.
Seeing her like this, Granny Wu could not say anything else and could only turn around and leave…
Qu Moying was quite surprised because she got the account books smoothly. At the same time, she was truly moved by the Old Lady. If the Old Lady did not specially keep them for her and if Yu got these shops, Qu Moying would not be able to regain them so easily.
Granny Wu found some old account books and moved them from the storeroom to Qianyue House.
It was rare for Granny Yan to intervene, and she actually helped Qu Moying check these past accounts, which helped Qu Moying a lot.
The others were not very familiar with the accounts. In fact, only Qu Moying was able to read them. Now that Granny Yan had helped, Qu Moying sorted out so many accounts quickly.
For the past gains of the mansion, Qu Moying did not want to reclaim all of them. After all, some of the benefits were taken by the mansion. Although Yu took a lot, the mansion also got some of them. It was not good to settle accounts too precisely because Qu Moying had not broken off with Qu Mansion, and she still needed Qu Mansion.
Moreover, the Old Lady was in the mansion, and she was deeply moved by the Old Lady.
She did not want to make the Old Lady unhappy because of this kind of thing. It was already such a surprise that she could get all the shops back so quickly. She originally thought that she would have to spend a lot of effort, but the Old Lady saved her much trouble.
The subsequent things would also be easier…
When Hai Lan came back from the Ministry of Justice, she first went to see the Old Lady.
“What happened? Which family did he trick?” The Old Lady asked.
“He tricked someone from Duke Yu Mansion.” Aunty Hai Lan’s face was deathly pale. She knelt to the Old Lady and began to cry, “Your Ladyship, please speak up for Madam. This matter has nothing to do with Madam. Madam does not know anything. She hasn’t seen Yu Qian for a long time. How could… How could she tell him to sell the shop? Moreover, Madam does not have the deed of this shop.”
Hai Lan was Yu’s confidant. Of course, she knew the truth. Yu only had the account books and profits. The most essential thing, namely, the deed of the shop, was still with the Old Lady. It was impossible for Yu to let people sell the shop.
Yu Qian insisted that Yu send someone to tell him to do that. Then, he took out a pouch with some silver inside. It was an ordinary pouch, and many Qu Mansion’s servants had this kind of pouch. Yu Qian said that he let an old maid come to ask her. Hai Lan explained that she thought he asked about the matters in the shop, and she told him to do as Madam said.
She didn’t know Yu Qian misunderstood it.
There was one thing that could absolutely prove that Yu was innocent. The deed of this shop was not in Yu’s hands, but it had to be verified by the Old Lady.
The trickiest part was that the matter involved Duke Yu Mansion.
Although Duke Yu Mansion had declined, it was still a Duke’s mansion. It could not be defamed. Although Duke Yu didn’t hold a position in the court and didn’t even stay in Duke Yu Mansion on normal days, nobody dared to look down on him. After all, he was once a valiant general of Great Zhou.
It was only because he had been implicated that he lived a low-key life. He was actually not that old, and he was about the same age as Qu Zhizhen.
But when Qu Zhizhen was still a nobody, Duke Yu was already famous in the country. There were even rumors that Lord Yun hardly listened to others, but he would listen to Duke Yu. After all, Duke Yu was no worse than Duke Qi in terms of military talent, and he was much younger than Duke Qi.
“Which person did he trick?” The Old Lady’s face did not look good. She did not expect Duke Yu Mansion to be involved.
“It seems to be a manager who served Duchess Yu.” Aunty Hai Lan cried.
“Duchess Yu?” The Old Lady asked.
“Yes, it’s Duchess Yu.” Aunty Hai Lan said with certainty.
The Old Lady fell silent. When Duchess Yu was young, she used to be Great Zhou’s most famous beauty. She met Duke Yu, who was a young master at that time. Their marriage had once caused a stir in the capital. Whether it was in terms of family background, identity, or appearance, they could be called a perfect couple.
Unfortunately, Duke Yu Mansion was also implicated because of Duchess Yu, which led to the decline of Duke Yu. However, there was one thing that made the capital’s people praise him. Although Duke Yu was implicated by Duchess Yu back then and was deprived of his military power, he remained affectionate to Duchess Yu.
He rarely lived in Duke Yu Mansion because Duchess Yu was not in good health and was recuperating in the village outside Duke Yu Mansion. It was said that Duchess Yu had been sick since she returned to the capital. She had been in poor health and had never socialized with other madams for so many years.
Even if there were some occasions that she had to attend, she would attend them with her son. It was said that he was a capable person. He was young but sensible, and he was good at martial arts. He was famous in the capital.
The Old Lady was unable to access people around Duchess Yu. Duchess Yu had not shown up for so many years, so she had to turn to Duke Yu.
“Is Zhizhen back?” The Old Lady looked at Granny Wu and frowned. She could do nothing about Duke Yu Mansion’s matter. Duchess Yu was not in good health, and she wouldn’t even show up for the royal family’s things, let alone such a trifle.
“He’s already back.” Granny Wu said.
“Let’s go and see him.” The Old Lady stood up and said. She could not solve this thing. She had to deal with it as soon as possible. Otherwise, it would be even trickier.
