Chapter 273 – Reclaimed The Shop
Chapter 273 Reclaimed the Shop
“Hey, what are you talking about? It’s Madam Duan who invited our miss here. What do you mean by saying that Madam Duan is seriously ill and it’s inconvenient for her to receive guests?” Standing at the gate, Yu Dong shouted.
Seeing that this maid was so tough and that Qu Moying was invited by Madam Duan, the guard felt helpless. Although Xiao didn’t allow Madam Duan to see guests, he couldn’t refuse Qu Moying because she had already come to the gate and she was invited by Madam Duan.
Although the first branch was weak, Young Master Ling’an was still around. It was hard to say what would happen in the future.
After hesitating for a moment, the guard went in to report. Not long after, Madam Duan arrived at the door. Although she was Earl Ling’an’s legitimate wife now, she remembered her identity as Yue’s servant before. She was very respectful to Qu Moying, her little master.
“Greetings, Madam Duan.” Qu Moying bowed to her. Now that Madam Duan was her formal elder, she should do the courtesies.
Madam Duan took two steps forward to hold Qu Moying’s hand and said gratefully, “Fourth Lady Qu, please save the formalities.”
“Madam Duan, I came here to see Old Lady Ji.” Qu Moying stood up straight and said.
“Fourth Lady Qu, please follow me.” Madam Duan said without hesitation. She did not ask why Qu Moying wanted to see Old Lady Ji. She admired Qu Moying from the bottom of her heart.
“Cousin brother will be here in a while. Madam Duan, please tell the servants at the door to take him to Old Lady Ji when he arrives.” Qu Moying said with a serious face.
She had already asked Granny Miao to invite Yue Wenhan. Besides Ji, there was also one person who had legitimate rights concerning the dowry shops, Yue Wenhan.
No matter if it was Younger Yue or Elder Yue, they were both from the Yue Family, so Yue Wenhan had a lot of say over this issue.
In fact, before this, Qu Moying had secretly communicated with Yue Wenhan through letters. She asked him something about her shop, and she also mentioned Yue’s Gold Pavilion. She asked Yue Wenhan if he was busy today and if he could help if she couldn’t manage the matter of the shop.
Yue Wenhan agreed immediately and told her that he was in his mansion this morning and that she could look for him if she needed anything.
Her biggest secret was her rebirth, so she definitely would not let others find out, not even Yue Wenhan. Such a thing would only make people feel strange and suspicious and even make people think that she was a monster, so she would naturally hide it carefully.
She had to do everything carefully and naturally.
Old Lady Ji did not want to see Qu Moying, but Qu Moying had already been led over by Madam Duan. She glared coldly at Madam Duan, waved her hand, and said, “Invite Fourth Lady Qu in!”
Qu Moying had helped her in Dabei Temple, so she had to see her.
Qu Moying came into the room and greeted Old Lady Ji. Then, she sat down on a chair on the side and looked up at Old Lady Ji. She frowned and said, “Your Ladyship, is my aunt’s shop taken away by someone?”
“What do you mean, Fourth Lady Qu?” Old Lady Ji’s face darkened.
“My mother and aunt both came from the Yue Family in the South. When they married into the capital together, their dowry shops were adjacent to each other. But today, I saw that the shop next to my shop changed its name, and I heard that its owner has also changed. I don’t know what happened. Your Ladyship, if someone really took away my aunt’s shop by utilizing cousin sister, please tell me.”
Qu Moying said bluntly, looking at Old Lady Ji.
“Someone took away your aunt’s shop? How could that be?” Old Lady Ji was not in charge of the affairs, so she didn’t pay attention to these matters. Hearing Qu Moying’s question, she found Qu Moying not only annoying but also indiscreet.
“Your Ladyship, don’t you know about this?” Qu Moying said lightly. Her eyes under the eye veil were calm. She naturally knew that Old Lady Ji had never been in charge of anything. Everything was under the control of the second branch’s Xiao. However, when Ji Hanyue was in the mansion, Xiao was not that daring.
“Fourth Lady Qu, what you said is indeed very strange. You are an unmarried lady from Qu Mansion. Even if something happens to the Ji Family, it is none of your business, right?” Old Lady Ji said unhappily. Her face darkened, and she put down the teacup in her hand.
She and Qu Moying had dealt with each other several times, but she faintly felt that Qu Moying stepped on her bottom line from time to time. She was annoyed. She felt like Qu Moying knew her bottom line because Qu Moying almost overstepped her bottom line every time, but Qu Moying did not really overstep it, so she had no excuse to be angry with Qu Moying.
But now, Qu Moying had crossed the line.
“Your Ladyship, Mr. Yue wants to see you.” An old maid reported from outside the curtain.
“What Mr. Yue?” Old Lady Ji asked impatiently.
“The Vice Minister of the Dali Temple.” The old maid added.
The veins on Old Lady Ji’s forehead throbbed. Both Qu Moying and her cousin Yue Wenhan came. It seemed that the two of them had planned to come together today. She had let Qu Moying in, so she could not say no to Yue Wenhan.
“Invite him in.” Old Lady Ji said coldly.
The old maid said “yes” and went out.
Seeing that Old Lady Ji had sent someone to invite Yue Wenhan, Qu Moying became more and more confident. She smiled and said, “Old Lady Ji, something happened in front of my aunt’s shop just now, and court runners of the governor of the capital have intervened. Some bigger trouble might happen.”
Old Lady Ji’s heart skipped a beat. Her face darkened. Right now, she was most afraid that things would get out of hand. No matter what it was, it was best to prevent it from escalating.
The biggest secret she hid was one that could destroy the whole Earl Ling’an’s Mansion. Although no one told her about this secret, and it was her own guess, and her guess was almost right.
Therefore, she didn’t dare to ask too much about many things. If she did, she might break the peace. It was better to pretend that she didn’t know anything. She couldn’t destroy the entire Earl Ling’an’s Mansion. Even without the first branch, she still had the second branch.
The eldest son and the second son were both her sons.
The eldest granddaughter and the second granddaughter were both her granddaughters. They were the same to her.
She couldn’t harm one granddaughter for the other granddaughter. Moreover, the eldest granddaughter was the one she liked the most. She liked her from the bottom of her heart. She even wished that the eldest granddaughter was the one who married into Eastern Palace.
“What exactly happened?” A trace of panic appeared on Old Lady Ji’s face.
Qu Moying sneered in her heart. Old Lady Ji panicked when she heard that things might get worse, which showed that she actually knew something. But all she cared about was herself. She had never cared about Ji Hanyue and Third Lady Ji.
She was mean and heartless! She had never shown family affection to them!
Thinking of this, Qu Moying decided to forget about her previous kinship with Old Lady Ji…
After confirming again and again, she was even more certain that Old Lady Ji knew something. Otherwise, it was impossible for her to have such an attitude. With her status as Earl Ling’an’s Mansion’s old lady, how could she be afraid of other people causing trouble?
“Your Ladyship, please prepare yourself. Maybe this matter will become even bigger. I came here to figure it out, so that I can answer others if they ask me. After all, the shop belongs to my aunt. Nobody is allowed to take it.” Qu Moying deliberately glanced at Old Lady Ji with a slightly angry face.
She pursed her lips tightly. Although her eyes could not be seen, they must have been filled with anger.
Seeing Qu Moying like this, Old Lady Ji became more and more restless, but she was still calm on her face because she had gone through a lot in the past. She asked, “Your words are really strange. You are a young lady of Vice Minister’s Mansion. Why do you interfere with our mansion’s matters? You even wanted to make it a bigger deal? What are you trying to do? Please make it clear!”
“Do you want me to make it clear?” A faint sneer appeared on the corner of Qu Moying’s mouth.
“Yes. Fourth Lady Qu, please explain clearly. Why are you constantly making trouble for our mansion? You have been on the opposite side of our mansion again and again. You made a scene in our mansion. You are an unmarried lady. Aren’t you afraid of ruining your reputation by doing so? Don’t you think you have gone too far?”
The curtain of the door was lifted. Xiao stood at the door with a gloomy face. She had just received the news and rushed over. When she heard Qu Moying’s words, she was extremely angry. Her words were extremely unpleasant to hear.
Seeing her come over, Qu Moying was not surprised. Looking at Xiao who was coming over, she stood up and bowed. “Greetings, Mrs. Xiao.”
Xiao ignored Qu Moying’s greetings and said with a gloomy face, “Fourth Lady Qu, what brought you here today?”
Qu Moying stood there calmly and looked up at the angry Xiao. She knew that Xiao must have rushed over after hearing the news that she had come. It was impossible for her to get the news that something had happened to the shop because the shop was not under her control but under Ji Youran’s control.
However, Ji Youran was injured before, so she might not be able to know and deal with the matter immediately. She might even delay it. After all, it was a matter of a small shop. She was Eastern Palace’s Princess Ji. A mere shop manager could not casually see her. Moreover, she was injured now.
“I came here to ask something about my aunt. If I offended you and Her Ladyship, please forgive me. Mrs. Xiao, as for what you have just said, it was too much. My aunt has passed away, so I naturally have to take care of her things. How can I not ask about it since someone has taken away my aunt’s shop?”
Qu Moying said calmly.
“Fourth Lady Qu, you have gone too far! This is our own business. It has nothing to do with Qu.” Xiao said grumpily.
“But my mother was from Yue Family, and so was my aunt.” Qu Moying said indifferently.
“Then let Yue’s people come. It has nothing to do with Qu.” Xiao hated Qu Moying for always showing up to cause trouble, so she blurted out these words.
“As expected, you will insist on letting Yue’s people come over. Alright then, let me take care of it.” A voice came from the door, carrying a bit of coldness.
