Chapter 327 – He Mansion’S Betrothal Gifts
Chapter 327 He Mansion’s Betrothal Gifts
“He Mansion has sent people here to deliver the betrothal gifts?” The Old Lady pressed her hand against the corner of the table and almost fainted.
Luo immediately answered without thinking, “Yes, they came to send the betrothal gifts to Xuexin. At that time, the one to whom they wanted to propose marriage was Moying. Why did it become Xuexin now? Mother, go and explain to He Mansion’s people that the betrothal gifts should be sent to Moying. They are mistaken!”
Third Young Master He was now a disaster. No lady would be willing to marry him. He tortured not only his maids but also his newly married wife to death.
The Old Lady’s face darkened, and she angrily scolded, “What nonsense are you talking about!”
“Mother, I am not talking nonsense. This marriage was for Moying back then, wasn’t it?” Luo argued. She placed a great hope in her daughter, and she definitely would not be willing to let her daughter marry Third Young Master He, who even asked her daughter to go to the border with him. Her daughter might die there. She would never agree to it.
The Old Lady rudely interrupted Luo, “Dowager Consort Qu has made the decision on Moying’s marriage.”
Luo was stunned for a moment. She did not know this before and did not know how to respond for a moment.
Was it because Dowager Consort Qu was in charge of Qu Moying’s marriage so that Third Young Master He, who proposed to Qu Moying before, decided to marry Qu Xuexin now?
If Third Young Master He’s case hadn’t been exposed, Luo might have agreed to the marriage. After all, Lord Jing was behind He Mansion. Even if Third Young Master He had married once, so what?
But right now, she would definitely disagree.
Luo was unconvinced, “Mother, even if Dowager Consort Qu is in charge of Moying’s marriage, the proposed marriage with He Mansion is only related to Moying. It has nothing to do with Xuexin.”
“Is it? I heard that the day when Third Young Master came to our mansion, Xuexin went to see him. She said she accidentally bumped into him. How could she bump into him when the others didn’t?” The Old Lady said angrily. She found out about these things after an investigation.
“Mother, this… this must be an accident.” Luo blushed, feeling both angry and ashamed.
The Old Lady said angrily, “Ask Xuexin yourself whether it was an accident or not. This proposed marriage had nothing to do with her at that time. Why did she make such a fuss? He Mansion’s people don’t dare to make trouble for Moying now, so they came to make trouble for her.”
If Qu Xuexin was really innocent, the Old Lady could be tougher towards He Mansion’s people. But anyone who heard about the situation at that time would think that Qu Xuexin and Third Young Master He had feelings for each other.
“Mother… But Xuexin couldn’t marry him. Or she will be dead!” Luo had no point in arguing, and she began to cry again.
“Go to tell them that there was indeed a marriage proposal being discussed between Qu Mansion and He Mansion, but we didn’t come to an agreement. We will not marry Xuexin to He Mansion now. Ask He Mansion’s people to go back.”
The Old Lady said angrily.
Luo cried bitterly, “But Xuexin’s reputation will be…”
“Reputation is useless. We should put her safety in the first place. Moreover, we haven’t reached an agreement. He Mansion is just trying to use this matter to disgust us.” The Old Lady was very decisive. This matter couldn’t be delayed. The longer it was delayed, the worse it would be for Qu Xuexin. Although a woman’s reputation was indeed important, the Old Lady thought it could be sacrificed to some extent sometimes.
Qu Xuexin could marry some promising scholar from a humble family who could also have a bright future after taking the imperial examination.
Luo didn’t stop crying, “Mother, but Xuexin…”
The Old Lady ignored her and turned to Granny Wu. “Go to East Mansion and ask He Mansion’s people to go back. Tell them that we won’t marry Xuexin into their mansion. They only proposed to our mansion once. How could they say that Xuexin likes Third Young Master He?”
Since none of He Mansion’s masters came, the Old Lady thought there was no need for any master in Qu Mansion to go over either.
Sending Granny Wu to deliver the message was already enough.
Granny Wu nodded and brought a few maids and two old maids to East Mansion to deal with this matter.
Luo was worried. She wiped her tears and said goodbye to the Old Lady.
The Old Lady nodded.
When the news reached Qianyue House, Qu Moying was also stunned. She did not expect Third Young Master He to be so shameless that he still wanted to marry someone in Qu Mansion.
Of course, all of this was Qu Xuexin’s own fault, and she could not blame anyone else.
Qu Xuexin must have played a part in the collision of Qu Moying’s and Yan Yujiao’s carriages, not to mention what happened back then. She deserved to suffer what happened to her now.
Yu Chun didn’t quite understand. She asked curiously as she put down the teacup, “Lady, will First Lady really marry into He Mansion?”
Qu Moying put down the embroidery in her hand. She was now embroidering a simple qin cover, on which there was only a pair of butterflies. She did the embroidery not because the previous qin cover was not good but because she had nothing to embroider recently. She did not want to embroider butterflies on a dress or a handkerchief because that would be too eye-catching, so she decided to embroider butterflies on a qin cover.
After all, very few could see her qin cover.
Qu Moying smiled and shook her head. She took a sip of the tea and said slowly and indifferently, “No, Eldest Sister has always been in pursuit of wealth, glory, and fame.”
Yu Dong gloated, “Even if First Lady does not marry Third Young Master He, she will not be able to marry a noble young master.”
From the bottom of his heart, he did not like the sinister Qu Xuexin.
Yu Chun asked with her eyes wide open, “What… how should she live in the future?”
Yu Dong said meaningfully, “Who knows? Maybe someone important will help her think of a way!”
Qu Moying gently pursed her lips, deep in thought. The relationship between Qu Xuexin and Liu Jingyu was extraordinary. There were few people that Qu Xuexin could ask for help now. Qu Qiuyan could not even protect herself. In Qu Xuexin’s eyes, Liu Jingyu was very noble and might be the future Crown Princess, so she was more reliable.
“Even if she has the help of someone important, so what? Her reputation has been ruined! Lady, I heard that First Lady and Third Young Master He had an affair long ago, which is why there is a marriage proposal. The two have met more than once in private. Now that something has happened to Third Young Master He, First Lady is not willing to marry him!”
Yu Chun had secretly been to East Mansion to watch the fun before and she only came back now.
“Did they fight?” Yu Dong’s eyes lit up. He was very willing to watch the fun.
Yu Chun said, “They didn’t fight, but He Mansion’s betrothal presents were thrown out. I heard that there is broken brocade in the gifts. He Mansion didn’t treat First Lady as a proper lady at all.”
It was said that Third Young Master He would leave the capital tomorrow. This farce was designed to ruin Qu Xuexin’s reputation. He Mansion would naturally not send anything good over. It was inevitable that Qu Mansion would turn He Mansion down and throw the betrothal gifts out.
However, He Mansion still did this. It could be seen that Third Young Master He had a deep grudge against Qu Mansion. Back then, Qu Moying took a glance at him from afar. Thinking of this, she frowned. She didn’t see him clearly, but now she thought about it, she felt that he was not simple, and he must have an ulterior motive to marry her.
The biggest possibility was that he wanted to have a wife who was easy to bully or fool because she was blind.
But now, he changed his mind and said that he had intended to marry Qu Xuexin in the first place. He changed his mind so effortlessly that everyone believed it!
Qu Moying told herself to pay attention to such a tough opponent who could change his mind so quickly as to make Qu Mansion suffer a loss and obtain the consent of Pei Yusheng!
The matter developed. It was naturally impossible for Qu Xuexin to marry Third Young Master He. However, the gossip that First Lady Qu was supposed to marry Third Young Master He spread out with the latter’s case.
When people in the capital were talking about Third Young Master He, they also talked about First Lady Qu.
There were different versions of stories.
Hearing that Qu Xuexin had fainted from crying in her own yard, Qu Moying only smiled slightly. She did not feel any sympathy for anyone who had maliciously framed her!
Qu Xuexin was not a good person, and she finally got what she deserved.
Third Young Master He left the capital the next morning. But even if he had already left the capital for the border, the rumors about him in the capital did not stop. On the contrary, because of his departure, the focus shifted to his proposed marriage with First Lady Qu.
Although Qu Mansion refused to acknowledge the marriage proposal and even threw out He Mansion’s betrothal presents, others still thought that First Lady Qu had a tainted reputation.
Qu Moying went to Qu Xuexin’s yard on the afternoon of the day Third Young Master left the capital. The Old Lady wanted her to comfort Qu Xuexin. Even if this matter was over, it was not a good time for Qu Xuexin to get married now. Her marriage had to be delayed again.
Hearing that Qu Moying had come over, Qu Xuexin had someone bring Qu Moying in. Qu Xuexin’s eyes were red and swollen when Qu Moying saw her, but her face still looked calm. At least, she was much calmer than Luo. When Qu Moying saw Luo on the road just now, Luo looked terrible and she ignored Qu Moying’s greeting.
It seemed that she blamed Qu Xuexin’s matter on Qu Moying.
However, Luo could not tell others that the proposed marriage was intended for Qu Moying.
After sitting down, Qu Moying looked at Qu Xuexin’s pale face and said slowly, “Eldest Sister, Grandmother said it’s over.”
“Thank you, Moying.” Qu Xuexin lowered her head and twisted her handkerchief. Qu Moying could not see the hatred in Qu Xuexin’s eyes from where she was seated. Qu Xuexin thought she was Qu Moying’s scapegoat.
Qu Moying invited Qu Xuexin, “Eldest Sister, do you want to go out for a walk? It just so happens that I’m going to Yue’s Clothing Pavilion again. It’s opening tomorrow.”
“I’m not going. Where can I go at this time?” Qu Xuexin shook her head bitterly, pursed her lips, and wiped the corner of her eyes with a handkerchief.
“Alright then!” Qu Moying nodded and stood up. “Eldest Sister, have a good rest these days. Grandmother said that you don’t have to go over to greet her these few days. You could take a rest in your own yard.”
Originally, East Mansion’s two young ladies did not need to go and greet the Old Lady every day because of the relationship between East Mansion and West Mansion. But after Qu Caiyue entered Lord Jing Mansion, the relationship between Qu Xuexin and West Mansion suddenly became close. Nowadays, she almost went to greet the Old Lady every day in the same way as Qu Qiuyan and Qu Moying.
However, she did not go to greet the Old Lady for the past two days.
“Thank Grandmother for me.” Qu Xuexin raised her head, her face full of gratitude. Then, she bit her lips, and her tears fell again. “Moying, please bring me out on the Qixi Festival. I’ve been so bored these past few days that I want to go out at night. The more I thought about it these past few days, the more I felt sad!”
She still had a chance…
Qu Moying’s eyes swept over Qu Xuexin’s aggrieved and sad face. She sneered in her heart. Even now, Qu Xuexin still hadn’t given up on hurting her…
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