Chapter 304 – The So-Called Elder
Chapter 304 The So-Called Elder
Liu Jingyu, Duke Qi’s Mansion’s wife-born daughter, harbored some secrets, and so did Qu Moying’s mother. Qu Moying’s mother had never attended a banquet before she got married. Was it because of her health, or was it because of other reasons? A bold guess suddenly appeared in Qu Moying’s mind.
But then she ruled it out.
That was impossible!
If the root cause wasn’t with her mother, it would be with her. However, her life as Qu Moying was simple, and she had not seen many people.
Qu Moying couldn’t figure it out, so she just stopped thinking about it. Some people were destined to be enemies. Since Liu Jingyu was staring at her like a poisonous snake and was ready to spit venom at her at any time, she would not sit and do nothing.
Granny Miao hurried in to report, “Lady, Mrs. He is coming over with her maids!”
Qu Moying was slightly stunned, but she soon came to a realization. Since Qu Qiuyan pushed Mrs. He to her, Qu Moying would naturally make good use of her.
“When will she arrive?”
Granny Miao said angrily, “At any minute. Third Lady must have said something to Mrs. He, so she is coming over. Mrs. He seems to be aggressive. She is obviously here to start a quarrel.”
“Let her come!” Qu Moying said indifferently as she sorted out the music scores beside her hand and instructed Yu Chun, “Bring that qin over for me.”
“Yes, Lady.” Yu Dong answered and retreated.
“Lady, are you going to play the qin?” Asked Granny Miao. After pondering for a moment, Granny Miao clapped her hands and said with a smile, “Lady, this is a good idea. When she comes, I will stop her outside. No matter how angry she is, I will not let her rush in.”
Qu Moying said with a faint smile, “This might not work.”
Mrs. He was every inch rude and unreasonable, and she had Noble Consort He as her backer. There were probably not many madams in the capital who could afford to offend her, let alone Qu Moying.
“Then, what should we do?” Granny Miao frowned. Thinking of the aggressive Mrs. He she had just seen, Granny Miao felt that what Qu Moying said was reasonable.
Qu Moying reached out her hand and patted the qin music score gently. With a mysterious smile, she said, “Granny, since you can’t stop her, let someone who can do it stop her. In fact, there is no need to stop her immediately. Just let her calm down a bit so that she can be rational when she sees me!”
Mrs. He must have heard something from Qu Qiuyan, which was why she was coming here in a fit of anger. She would definitely do or say something awful to Qu Moying, but Qu Moying didn’t want to mess around with her, or she would fall into Qu Qiuyan’s trap, and Qu Qiuyan would reap the benefit in the end regardless of how she and Mrs. He handled today’s incident.
No matter what Qu Qiuyan said to Mrs. He, the latter would not be so impulsive if she was stopped twice before seeing Qu Moying.
“I know who can stop her! Granny Yan can do it!” Granny Miao’s eyes lit up.
Qu Moying smiled without saying anything.
Yu Dong took out her qin and removed its lid. Yu Chun had already prepared a clean towel and warm water. Qu Moying took them, carefully cleaned the qin with water, and wiped it with the towel. Then, she took a three-legged censer on the table and lit three incense sticks in it.
After everything was done, Qu Moying sat down in front of the qin. She gently plucked the strings and said to Granny Miao, “If she asks you later, tell her that I am playing the qin to mourn the ex-Crown Princess and wish that she could live well in another world.”
“Yes, I get it.” Granny Miao understood and went out to look for Granny Yan.
Mrs. He indeed came over aggressively. Thinking of what Qu Qiuyan had said just now, she couldn’t help but get angrier. Qu Qiuyan asked her to endure it for the time being and not to argue with Qu Moying because Qu Moying grew up alone and was self-righteous.
Therefore, it would probably be useless to reason with Qu Moying.
However, Mrs. He couldn’t endure it. She didn’t let Qu Qiuyan send her off. After asking a maid where Qianyue House was, she came to Qu Moying with her maids.
Just as she arrived at Qianyue House’s gate, a thin old maid walked towards her and stopped her with a smile, “Madam, what can I do for you?”
A maid behind Mrs. He stepped forward and said coldly to Granny Miao, “Our madam wants to see Fourth Lady Qu. Quickly report to her.”
Granny Miao said awkwardly, “I’m afraid it is not the right time.”
The maid said arrogantly, “Why not? Our madam is He Mansion’s Mrs. He. She is Third Young Master He’s mother. Third Young Master He and Fourth Lady Qu’s marriage is under discussion, and our madam wants to talk to her about the marriage.”
The maid thought, “If Third Young Master He wasn’t interested in her, how could this Fourth Lady Qu have a chance to marry him? But now, she actually despised Third Young Master He and even added insult to injury. How infuriating!”
Granny Miao said with a smile, “Our lady is playing the qin. Listen, Mrs. He!”
Mrs. He tilted her head to listen. Only then did she hear the sound of the qin coming from the yard. She was so angry just now that she did not think that it was Qu Moying playing the qin although she heard the sound of the qin.
Although the sound of the qin was beautiful, Mrs. he didn’t appreciate it. She was even angrier. She took two steps forward, forcing Granny Miao to step back. “Go and tell her that I’m here. She could play the qin at any time. Even if she is not well-educated, she should respect the elders!”
“Does she really think of herself as lady’s elder?” Granny Miao sneered at Mrs. He in her heart, but she did not reveal the slightest bit. She still had a smile on her face. “Mrs. He, our lady is playing the qin to pray for the ex-Crown Princess. She has just taken a bath, changed her clothes, and lit the incense sticks. It is not the right time to interrupt her. Please wait a moment, Mrs. He. This piece is not long, and it will be finished in a while.”
Mrs. He didn’t expect that Qu Moying was praying for the ex-Crown Princess. Feeling annoyed, she stopped in her tracks. If Qu Moying was praying for someone else, she would rush in. But it was for the ex-Crown Princess, so she had to behave herself.
Therefore, she waited with a darkened face.
Granny Miao smiled and stood to the side.
However, the music continued after she had waited for quite a while, and she got more and more irritated. She had been waiting for a while, but Qu Moying still didn’t show up. She thought Qu Moying did it on purpose, and she couldn’t wait any longer but rush towards the yard.
Even if she made a scene, others couldn’t say that she didn’t respect the ex-Crown Princess. Moreover, the ex-Crown Princess was gone, and it was said that the Crown Prince’s love for the ex-Crown Princess was fake. Even if she really made a scene, no one would spread it out.
Thinking of this, she was full of courage.
Granny Miao wanted to go up and stop her, but this time, she was stopped by a maid behind Mrs. He.
Seeing how aggressive Mrs. He was, the other servants in the yard didn’t dare to stop her. They stood far away from her.
Mrs. He strode to the corridor outside Qu Moying’s room. Just as she was about to rush in, she saw Granny Yan standing in the corridor. Granny Yan was looking at her coldly, which made her subconsciously stop.
She remembered Granny Miao, the palace servant who brought Qu Moying into the palace last time. She was said to be a Dowager Consort’s palace servant, but why was she here with Qu Moying?
Could it be that she had followed Qu Moying out of the palace?
Last time outside the palace gate, Mrs. He paid all her attention to Qu Moying, and she didn’t notice Granny Yan at all, so she didn’t see Granny Yan get on the carriage together with Qu Moying.
Therefore, she was stunned now at the sight of Granny Yan.
Granny Yan slowly walked down and bowed to Mrs. He. Then, she stood still and said indifferently, “Mrs. He, please wait a moment!”
Unlike Granny Miao, Granny Yan was a ranking female official who served a Dowager Consort in the palace. Mrs. He had asked Noble Consort He before and knew that the Dowager Consort was related to Qu Mansion, but this Dowager Consort was like an invisible person in the palace. Even Noble Consort He had rarely heard of her, which could be seen that this Dowager Consort was not powerful.
However, Granny Yan was still a servant of the Dowager Consort, and the Dowager Consort was an elder of Noble Consort He. Therefore, Mrs. He couldn’t neglect her.
However, even so, Mrs. He only forced a smile. She slightly raised her head as she thought, “Why isn’t this granny serving the Dowager Consort in the palace? Why is she here in Qu Mansion? Does the Dowager Consort like Qu Moying so much that she even let her servant serve Qu Moying?”
The palace servant should serve the nobles in the palace. Qu Moying was only a Vice Minister’s Mansion’s lady. How could she have a palace servant serve her?
Mrs. He believed that the Dowager Consort knew the rule, and so did this palace servant, so she believed that this palace servant wouldn’t dare to say that she was here to serve Qu Moying.
Even in the case of He Mansion, Noble Consort He would at most send a palace servant to send a message. She would not let a palace servant stay in He Mansion and serve He Mansion’s masters.
Moreover, every time when Noble Consort He’s servants came to He Mansion, He Mansion’s people were respectful to them, not daring to make the slightest mistake.
As long as Granny Yan said that she was staying here just for the time being, she could not interfere in this matter and stop Mrs. He. Thinking of this, Mrs. He could not help but smile complacently. She looked at Granny Yan, whom she thought was merely a palace servant of an insignificant Dowager Consort, and waited for her to speak.
Except for the empress’ people, Noble Consort He’s people were the most powerful in the palace. Anyone smart enough would not offend Noble Consort He.
But in the next moment, Mrs. He’s smile froze, and her face darkened because Granny Yan smiled at her with a bit of pride and said, “Mrs. He, the Dowager Consort did ask me to come over to teach Fourth Lady Qu. I am in charge of many things around Fourth Lady Qu.”
Granny Yan was not here to serve Qu Moying, yet she could interfere with Qu Moying’s affairs because she was a Discipline Granny. Moreover, she was sent here by Dowager Consort Qu.
Granny Yan dared to be so proud and confident because the empress also knew about this.
It was Consort Xiang who suggested this to Dowager Consort Qu, but how could Consort Xiang mention it for no reason? In the palace, Consort Xiang and the empress had the closest relationship.
Therefore, she was not worried that Mrs. He would make today’s incident known to people in the palace.
