Chapter 354 – Chapter 354 Another Troublemaker
Chapter 354 Another Troublemaker
The man who walked in the lead was about fifty years old. His face was fairly white-skinned, but he had no beard at all. He was a eunuch and seemed to have a special identity.
Beside him were four young eunuchs, escorting him like stars around the moon. His aura was incomparable to that of an ordinary eunuch.
When they reached the gate of Qianyue House, they stopped, and the leading eunuch asked, “Is it this yard?”
“Yes, this is the yard. It is my daughter’s residence now.” Qu Zhizhen said with an obsequious smile. The eunuch’s name was De Fu. He used to be the head steward of the Empress Dowager’s palace. Although the Empress Dowager was gone now, he still enjoyed quite a bit of respect from the Emperor.
Eunuch De Fu glanced at Qu Zhizhen with a fake smile. “Your youngest daughter? She should be the one Lord Jing likes, right? I heard Lord Jing mention her before.”
He was referring to Qu Qiuyan. Before Qu Moying returned to the capital, very few people in the capital knew about her. Most people thought that Qu Qiuyan was Qu Zhizhen’s only daughter and the youngest child.
Qu Zhizhen smiled obsequiously. “No, Eunuch De Fu. She is the youngest daughter of my ex-wife.”
If it was in the past, he could gloss it over and indicate that Lord Jing liked his youngest daughter, but now, he did not dare to mix up the facts.
He was afraid of irritating Lord Yun, especially when he thought of the fact that his son almost lost his life in West Prison after having a few words with Third Young Master He.
“Vice Minister Qu, you actually have another daughter.” Eunuch De Fu smiled and said indifferently. Then, he pointed at the yard and asked, “Can we go in and take a look?”
“Of course, of course. Eunuch De Fu, please.” Qu Zhizhen nodded repeatedly.
Seeing Qu Zhizhen coming over, the old maid guarding the gate hurried forward to bow to him. Qu Zhizhen ordered, “I will take Eunuch De Fu to look at the pine tree in the yard. Tell your lady not to panic. She could just rest in her room!”
The old maid retreated and entered the main room to report.
Standing in front of the window, Qu Moying looked outside with a cold smile. “Sure enough, a follow-up has been arranged. But Xiao Hanyuan has left, and he did not cause any trouble here, so I didn’t get involved.”
Her eyes fell on a lad servant beside Qu Zhizhen. Qu Zhizhen had brought many lad servants this time, but this person clearly looked crafty. He looked in the direction of the main room from time to time with a face full of doubts. He seemed to know something.
“Lady, he is the head eunuch who used to work for the Empress Dowager. His name is De Fu. Even if the Empress Dowager has passed away, he still enjoys the respect of others and even His Majesty. It is because he once protected His Majesty when His Majesty was young. The matter seemed to be related to the rebellion of the three princes.”
Yu Dong said in a low voice.
Although he had never interacted with Eunuch De Fu before, he had seen him from afar, so he knew his identity. Although the current head eunuch in the palace was Eunuch Li Quan, who was by the Emperor’s side, Eunuch De Fu was actually quite powerful.
“What is he doing here?” Qu Moying frowned, sensing something unusual.
It had been too long since the rebellion of the three princes. It was said some of the three princes’ children escaped. However, it had nothing to do with Qu Moying. She just treated it as a story, and she did not know if it was true or not. It had been more than thirty years, and there were still a few people who remembered it clearly!
“I don’t know, but I heard that Eunuch De Fu is directly in charge of the Empress Dowager’s mausoleum. He does not stay in the palace, so he must have come because of something important.” Yu Dong was also puzzled. Eunuch De Fu didn’t usually stay in the capital. Instead, he was at the Empress Dowager’s mausoleum, which was a distance away from the capital.
Qu Moying’s heart skipped a beat. She narrowed her eyes and felt that this matter was becoming more and more complicated. Was it really the scheme of Qu Mingcheng alone?
He wasn’t this capable!
The room quieted down. Qu Moying and Yu Dong listened carefully to the sound outside the room.
Eunuch De Fu walked up to a large red pine tree on his right in the yard and examined it. This red pine tree was originally inside the yard. When Qu Moying moved in, she had specially looked at it a few times. She thought that such a large pine tree must have a lifespan of over a hundred years. She wondered when it was planted and who planted it.
Eunuch De Fu walked to the front of the pine tree and patted it. He repeatedly nodded, “Good… not bad, this one will do!”
Qu Zhizhen said, “Yes, I will arrange it immediately. Since you like it, it will do!”
“Why didn’t you mention such a pine tree before? I’ve always been looking for a pine tree.” Eunuch De Fu turned to look at him, and his gloominess made Qu Zhizhen feel a chill on his back.
“Sorry, Eunuch De Fu. It’s all my fault. I didn’t notice that there was such a pine tree in my mansion that could impress you. It’s my negligence.” Qu Zhizhen nodded repeatedly, not daring to defend himself.
He really forgot that there was such a pine tree in his mansion. It was more than a hundred years old. Although he had seen it in the past, he did not pay much attention to it. He forgot it after seeing it, although he heard that Eunuch De Fu was looking for such a tree and that the Empress Dowager liked this kind of pine tree that was over a hundred years old.
After all, the Empress Dowager was gone, so Qu Zhizhen naturally wouldn’t think too much about it.
However, now that Eunuch De Fu had come to him, he naturally had to receive him properly, which was why he brought him here.
“Vice Minister Qu, you’re really careless. Did you also forget something else? Tell me about it so I don’t have to come again.”
Eunuch De Fu said as he grinned.
Being stared at by Eunuch De Fu like this, Qu Zhizhen only felt cold sweat on his back. He hurriedly shook his head and said, “No… no. There’s nothing else.”
Eunuch De Fu asked with a smile, “Really?”
“Yes. There’s really nothing else!” Qu Zhizhen hurriedly said, not daring to hesitate.
“But I heard that one of your daughters…” At this point, De Fu paused and looked at Qu Zhizhen.
Qu Zhizhen’s face changed. He raised his head in shock. He did not understand what Eunuch De Fu meant by this. “What he said just now clearly meant that he thought I only have one daughter, and she is the one related to Lord Jing. But what does he mean now?”
Eunuch De Fu said with a smile, “I heard that you have a daughter who has seldom met people of the opposite sex. She was brought up in a quiet place. Unlike the vain noble ladies who were brought up in the capital, she can be considered the purest noble lady. She has rarely seen men and doesn’t like to associate with them either.”
As soon as he said this, not only Qu Zhizhen, but also Qu Moying and Yu Dong behind the window changed their expressions.
The so-called “purest girl” was almost an exaggeration. But how many girls could deserve this compliment? Even an unmarried noble lady who barely went outside her house would also see men, such as her father, her cousins, and so on. How could there be such a girl who barely saw men?
However, Qu Moying was different. She grew up in the village, accompanied by a lot of women and almost no men. She sometimes returned to the mansion, but Qu Zhizhen might not be able to see her. Compared with the other noble ladies, she was really much purer in this sense.
“Lady…” Yu Dong’s face changed as he said in a low voice.
Qu Moying gently shook her hand, indicating for him not to speak. She looked at Eunuch De Fu, who was standing in the middle of the yard, her eyes deep and cold.
She could already figure out his meaning now.
She had heard about such a thing when she was still Ji Hanyue. But she did not take it seriously at that time. She had forgotten it because it had been too long since she had heard it. After hearing Eunuch De Fu mention “purest lady”, she remembered something.
Just now, Xiao Hanyuan came to make a scene here, so she was naturally not nice to him. But Eunuch De Fu would think that she disliked men if he witnessed the scene.
Sure enough, it was a chain of traps that would force her into the corner.
They were looking for a purest girl who didn’t like to interact with men. She didn’t expect that they were still looking for such a girl after so many years.
She really didn’t expect it.
“Eunuch De Fu, you must have made a mistake. My daughter’s marriage has been arranged!” Qu Zhizhen said with a smile. If not for Lord Yun’s warning, he wouldn’t say anything that might offend Eunuch De Fu.
Even the Emperor respected Eunuch De Fu.
Eunuch De Fu said with a fake smile, “She is engaged? You must be lying. I’ve found out before that your daughter isn’t engaged with anyone now. Her previous engagement was canceled. I heard that your daughter disliked men even more because of Young Master Yongning. Vice Minister Qu, I am doing this for the Empress Dowager. If there is really such a lady, she is what the Empress Dowager wanted.”
“But… but her marriage really has been arranged.” Beads of sweat broke out on Qu Zhizhen’s forehead.
Eunuch De Fu said domineeringly, “Who is the other party? It can be canceled, right? After all, this matter is related to the Empress Dowager.”
If Qu Moying was engaged to anyone other than Lord Yun, Qu Zhizhen would immediately agree to Eunuch De Fu’s request, but now he did not dare.
He looked around and waved his hand. The lad servants following him all took a few steps back. Only then did Qu Zhizhen take a few steps forward, lean close to Eunuch De Fu’s ear, and whisper, “If you don’t believe me, you can ask His Majesty or Her Majesty.”
He did not dare to mention Pei Yuanjun directly, so he could only bring up the Emperor and the Empress. Since Lord Yun firmly said that Qu Moying would enter his mansion, he must have told the Emperor and the Empress about his decision.
“She actually got engaged to someone in the royal family?” Eunuch De Fu’s face darkened. The one who told him about Qu Moying did not mention this.
Did that person deliberately instigate his trip to Qu Mansion?
In fact, the matter of the pine tree was not important. Qu Zhizhen’s daughter was more important. Hearing that there was such a pure girl, Eunuch De Fu immediately came to Qu Mansion. But now, it was not a small matter because it was related to the Emperor and the Empress. Did that person deliberately make him provoke the two of them?
His face darkened as he thought of this. He looked at Qu Zhizhen gloomily, wanting to see through him.
But Qu Zhizhen didn’t seem to cheat him, and he did not dare to lie to him.
Behind the window, Qu Moying gave Yu Dong a look. Yu Dong understood, turned around, and walked out of the main room. He went to the wing room on the side to look for someone…
