Chapter 345 – Three Ladies Went To Eastern Palace
Chapter 345 Three Ladies Went to Eastern Palace
Seeing Qu Xuexin come out of the yard, Xiao Hanyuan called out at the door with a face full of concern, “Eldest Cousin Sister.”
“Cousin Xiao, I’m leaving now.” Qu Xuexin was not in the mood to speak to Xiao Hanyuan. She bowed slightly, turned around, and left. She did not even bother to waste any time with him.
Originally, Xiao Hanyuan was useful to her, but now he was of no use at all. She had to think of a way by herself. The best way at present was to ask County Lady Jingyu for help.
She thought the conflict with Crown Prince’s Mansion could be solved with Lord Jing’s intervention. However, there was another trouble. If County Lady Jingyu could intercede with the Crown Prince for her, dealing with a Side Princess would not be a problem.
Seeing Qu Xuexin leave without looking back and recalling the hint of disgust in her eyes just now, Xiao Hanyuan was really stunned. He almost couldn’t believe what he had just seen.
“Does she dislike me?”
“How could she dislike me? She is so gentle. How could she be like this? Am I mistaken?”
Staring blankly at Qu Xuexin’s receding figure, Xiao Hanyuan began to doubt Qu Xuexin for the first time…
After saying goodbye to the Old Lady, Qu Moying also left. The one to make the decision on this matter wasn’t her, but the Old Lady together with her two sons, Qu Zhizhen and Qu Zhilin.
She came here because Qu Xuexin mentioned her, and she was asked over to tell what had happened. Qu Qiuyan was not here now, so Qu Moying could tell that the final decision on this matter had nothing to do with her.
When she walked out of the yard, she saw Xiao Hanyuan standing outside, staring at Qu Xuexin’s back in a daze. With a silent smile, she turned to walk in another direction.
Qu Xuexin was not in the mood to care about Xiao Hanyuan now. Of course, she could not be as considerate as she used to be, making Xiao Hanyuan appear to be self-sentimental.
The solution to this matter was informed to Qu Moying in the afternoon.
She, Qu Qiuyan, and Qu Xuexin were asked to go to Eastern Palace together to apologize to Princess Ji. As for whether Princess Ji could forgive them or not, no one could be certain. But such a visit could show Qu Mansion’s seriousness regarding this incident.
Qu Moying was not surprised by this result.
No matter how many conflicts there were between the three of them, they were one in the eyes of outsiders.
Qu Qiuyan was not involved before for the sake of Lord Jing. But Lord Jing didn’t really help in this matter, so Qu Qiuyan was involved now. At least she somewhat represented Lord Jing. Even if Princess Ji didn’t consider other people, she had to consider Lord Jing.
Qu Moying should have been involved for a similar reason.
However, Lord Yun was not Lord Jing, and he did not care much about Qu Moying, so Qu Moying was probably just a sort of make-weight. After all, it could show the sincerity of the Qu Mansion if the three of them went together.
“Lady, after First Lady went back to her yard, she did send someone out, but the one she sent out hasn’t come back yet.” Granny Miao reported as she entered the room.
She did not manage Qianyue House’s matters. She only needed to build a good relationship with the servants in the mansion, including both the East Mansion and West Mansion. Everyone in the mansion knew that she was Qu Moying’s trusted servant and had suffered a lot with Qu Moying. Qu Moying treated her well now and did not burden her with many things for the sake of the hardship they had been through together.
Every servant thought that Granny Miao was quite lucky. Although the one she served was Qu Moying, who was insignificant, Qu Moying was nice, and she treated people around her generously. She let Granny Miao have an idle job. Granny Miao didn’t have to do many things, but she could get the salary of a chief maid, which was really enviable.
Because of this, Granny Miao had a good relationship with many old maids in the mansion. She knew this information because she went to chat with a gate-keeping old maid of East Mansion, and they talked about this matter.
Qu Moying nodded. She guessed that Qu Xuexin must have sent someone to look for Liu Jingyu. Qu Xuexin must have thought that the one she could rely on right now was Liu Jingyu.
But it could be useless because even if Liu Jingyu met the person, she might not agree to help Qu Xuexin. The person hadn’t come back yet, which showed Liu Jingyu’s attitude.
Liu Jingyu treated Qu Xuexin just in the same way the latter treated Xiao Hanyuan. It was indeed a typical example of karma.
The carriages had already waited outside. Qu Moying, Qu Xuexin, and Qu Qiuyan got on the big carriage in the front together. Granny Wu took the carriage behind, which also carried the gifts for Princess Ji. The gifts were prepared by East Mansion, and the Old Lady put some extra gifts into the carriage to make sure that Princess Ji would be satisfied.
This matter could be played down as a slap in the face of Princess Ji, but it could also be exaggerated as a disgrace to the Crown Prince.
Who would dare to disgrace the Crown Prince?
Seeing Qu Xuexin enter the carriage, Qu Qiuyan asked unhappily, “Eldest Sister, you fell into the water at that time. Why were you still in the mood to go to the Sea of Lanterns? Could it be that you went with Young Master Wang?”
She was inexplicably involved, and now she was full of anger.
Moreover, this matter somewhat embarrassed Lord Jing, so how could Qu Qiuyan be nice to Qu Xuexin? She would enter Lord Jing Mansion in the future. She felt that her status was not inferior to Princess Ji. But now, she was forced to apologize to Princess Ji with Qu Xuexin. How could she not feel aggrieved?
Before Qu Moying returned to the mansion, Qu Qiuyan was the most powerful one among the three ladies in the mansion. East Mansion’s Qu Xuexin and Qu Caiyue had to be watchful and reverent in front of her.
Qu Xuexin sat down with a darkened face. The maid she sent to ask County Lady Jingyu for help had not come back yet. She did not know if it was because she had not seen County Lady Jingyu or for other reasons.
So far, Qu Xuexin had not received any reply. She was not in the mood to quarrel with Qu Qiuyan. She was very annoyed. She twisted the handkerchief in her hand and lowered her head in silence.
She didn’t seem to hear Qu Qiuyan’s mocking words.
The carriage slowly drove forward. The atmosphere in the carriage was very dull. Although Qu Qiuyan was angry, she did not know what to say because Qu Xuexin did not reply to her whatever she said. She looked at Qu Moying and held back the urge to provoke. In the end, she did not say anything. Qu Mingcheng had told her that she’d better not provoke Qu Moying.
She didn’t know why Qu Zhizhen and the Old Lady treated Qu Moying so well. She thought she should not do anything to Qu Moying for the time being because her mother could not back her up, but she had plenty of opportunities in the future. After she entered Lord Jing Mansion, she would definitely let Qu Moying suffer.
When the time came, she could do whatever she wanted to Qu Moying easily.
Last night, Lord Jing treated her kindly. He even sent her back to the mansion and went to talk to Qu Zhizhen for a while before leaving. She thought it showed that Lord Jing still cared about her. As for what he talked about with Qu Zhizhen, Qu Qiuyan thought it must be about her marriage to him.
Thinking of this, Qu Qiuyan was very confident.
She glanced at Qu Moying and Qu Xuexin with disdain. She thought it was disgusting to just sit with them. They looked miserable.
She did not say anything else. The three of them sat in the carriage with different thoughts silently.
When they arrived at Crown Prince’s Mansion, the maids got off the carriage behind that of their masters and helped the ladies down from the big carriage one by one. The three ladies walked to the gate of Crown Prince’s Mansion and handed over their name cards to inform their visits.
The servant of Eastern Palace at the gate should have received the news that they were coming. He glanced at them and said coldly, “Wait here.”
After saying that, he slowly went in to report.
After a long time, an old maid came out and sized them up before saying, “Three Ladies, please follow me in!”
Then, she turned around and walked in. Qu Xuexin took the lead, followed by Qu Qiuyan, and Qu Moying was the last. The three of them followed the old maid with their maids.
In such a situation, no one knew what to say. Even Qu Qiuyan, who had always been domineering, did not dare to make a loud noise.
They followed the old maid all the way. After passing a few paths, they arrived at Ji Youran’s yard. As soon as they entered the yard, they saw someone come out. It was actually the Crown Prince. The three of them quickly lowered their heads and bowed.
Pei Luo’an came out of Ji Youran’s room and saw the three of them coming over. He stopped and said, “No need for formalities!”
The three of them stood up straight, each of them lowering their heads and quietly waiting for the Crown Prince to pass.
Pei Luo’an’s gaze shifted from Qu Xuexin to Qu Qiuyan and finally fell on Qu Moying. Then, he took a serious look at Qu Moying.
He naturally knew that Lord Yun took a fancy to Qu Moying, and she would enter Lord Yun Mansion. But he thought the so-called fancy was just a coincidence. It would be ridiculous if Lord Yun seriously took a fancy to Qu Moying.
However, would such a weak woman really survive after entering Lord Yun Mansion? Pei Luo’an felt that it was a joke.
Pei Yuanjun was like a fiend. Even a man had to avoid him, not to mention such a delicate woman.
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but take another look at Qu Moying. But then, he shifted his gaze back to Qu Xuexin, who was said to be the cause of the accident yesterday. Lord Jing had spoken up for her once, and Pei Luo’an had only casually told Ji Youran about it. As for how to deal with the matter, it was up to Ji Youran. After all, it was not a big deal.
Ji Youran was pushed to the ground, which disgraced him as well. Even if Lord Jing had said something to him, Ji Youran could still make a fuss. Otherwise, others would say that he was afraid of Lord Jing.
He glanced at Qu Xuexin casually. He lifted his foot, but then he stopped. He looked at Qu Xuexin with a burning gaze. Then, he turned around and walked to Qu Xuexin.
He stopped in front of Qu Xuexin.
Qu Xuexin was so nervous that her whole body almost went stiff. Just now, she felt that the Crown Prince was looking at her, and he actually walked over now. What did he mean? Did he take a fancy to her? The great joy made her mind blank, not knowing what to do for a moment. She stood still and looked at the pair of golden embroidered boots in front of her.
“Where… did you get your sachet?” The Crown Prince’s gentle voice rang in her ears, which made her feel warm.
“I… I embroidered it myself.” Qu Xuexin was so nervous that she could not hear herself. At this time, she could not remember what she had embroidered. In the past, she had embroidered some sachets. Although she did not know which sachet she used today, she must have embroidered it herself.
But which one did she hang today? She couldn’t remember, and it was inappropriate for her to turn her head to take a closer look. She only vaguely saw a touch of color.
She wondered which sachet it was…
