Chapter 356 – Mysterious Woman
Chapter 356 Mysterious Woman
Seeing that Qu Moying’s face was pale and she was silent, Yu Dong hurriedly called out in a low voice, “Lady! Lady!”
Qu Moying let out a deep breath. She felt depressed. Although there was no direct evidence, she couldn’t help but feel depressed. She felt like she was trapped in a confined space, and she could see nothing but the dappled light from outside.
Why was it like this?
Did someone really set up a trap, or was she overthinking it?
It was almost impossible for someone to set up such a big trap, but she couldn’t help but think this way.
Qu Moying gently pursed her lips and asked, “They failed to find such a girl for a long time, but why did they suddenly start to look for such a girl again?”
It had been a long time since the matter of looking for a purest girl was brought up for the first time. No matter how much the Emperor cared about the Empress Dowager, he would not be so keen on this matter.
“I don’t know. Perhaps it is because Eunuch De Fu has returned to the capital.” Granny Yan shook her head. Since she had taken Qu Moying as her Master, she would not hide anything from her.
“Could it be that someone deliberately mentioned this and might even give him some benefits?” Qu Moying said coldly. It was obvious that Eunuch De Fu was a wily old fox. She didn’t think that he would offend a prince for the sake of the deceased Empress Dowager.
After all, he had acted based on the assumption that she was going to marry a prince in the first place.
“Maybe.” Granny Yan thought about Eunuch De Fu’s personality and nodded. Then, she said with certainty, “However, whoever they are, the people who told him about this will definitely fall into the pit of their own digging.”
Eunuch De Fu was not the kind of person who would do nothing after suffering a loss.
Qu Moying lightly flicked her fingers on the table, and a trace of coldness flashed through her eyes. If this really was a trap set up for her mother and her, she would overturn it and bring the truth into daylight.
Her mother was only a lady from the Yue Family of the South, which could not be compared with those aristocratic families in the capital. Who are those people that could not tolerate her?
Thinking about it carefully, Qu Moying felt that she was worrying too much.
However, regardless of whether she was overthinking it or not, she would keep this matter in mind. This was her second life, and she had to be extremely cautious. Otherwise, she would fall into irreversible danger at any minute.
Qu Moying analyzed in an orderly manner, “Just be careful for the time being. See if anyone is watching us. Eunuch De Fu left without looking back. If the person wants to know what happened, they might send someone to inquire. Since they have not figured out what exactly is going on, I think they haven’t left yet.”
Yu Dong immediately understood. He rolled his eyes and said, “Lady, I will go out and take a look.”
Qu Moying nodded.
Yu Dong quickly turned around, walked to the entrance of the yard, and popped his head out to look around. Then, he walked out and took a side path.
He was sharper than ordinary people. Just now, when he looked around, he found something unusual. He took this side path because he just saw a figure on this path, and the figure immediately hid at the sight of him.
He couldn’t tell who the person was from behind, so he took this path to find out who it was.
A hint of coldness appeared on Yu Dong’s face as he thought, “You petty maid. I would definitely find you.”
Qu Zhizhen chased Eunuch De Fu to the gate of Qu Mansion. However, Eunuch De Fu kept a straight face and ignored his obsequious manner. He looked at him coldly and said in a sharp voice, “Vice Minister Qu, please go back, lest I offend you.”
After saying that, he left without looking back. Qu Zhizhen’s face immediately darkened.
He watched Eunuch De Fu leave. He didn’t expect things to turn out like this, nor did he expect that Eunuch De Fu had been here not for the pine tree but for Qu Moying.
Qu Zhizhen felt much aggrieved that Eunuch De Fu vented his anger on him. If Eunuch De Fu had said he was here for Qu Moying, Qu Zhizhen believed that he would have told him the truth in the first place. In that case, Eunuch De Fu would not have been embarrassed.
In fact, if Qu Moying was not related to Lord Yun, Qu Zhizhen would have given her away!
However, he did not have the slightest say concerning Qu Moying’s fate now.
He stomped his foot at the gate of the mansion, turned around and went to the study with a frustrated look.
A few young eunuchs helped Eunuch De Fu up to the carriage. One of them timidly shrank to the side, afraid that Eunuch De Fu would see him. At this time, the carriage had already set off.
Eunuch De Fu sneered and asked, “Little Li, what was all this about? You found out about this. You told me that the youngest lady of Vice Minister Qu’s Mansion was turned down by men again and again, and she no longer trusted men and that she had barely seen men since she was a child, so she was the purest girl I have been looking for.”
Eunuch De Fu’s voice was very gloomy. “Little Li, you are up to something, aren’t you?”
“Eunuch De Fu, no! I dare not! I dare not!” Little Li plopped down on his knees in the carriage, his voice trembling. Although he was just eleven or twelve years old, Eunuch De Fu appreciated him very much. He was clever and deeply trusted by Eunuch De Fu.
Eunuch De Fu had once said that he would take Little Li as his godson, and the relationship between them had become even closer.
“Tell me… what exactly was going on?” Eunuch De Fu said coldly and pressed his hand on the table in the carriage. His eyes were cold.
“That is what I heard… I asked a few people, and they all said the same thing. They said that Fourth Lady Qu was brought up in the village, so she barely saw anyone. She couldn’t even see her father, not to mention other men. They also said that Young Master Yongning cancelled the engagement with her, and it was his fault.”
Little Li was so panicked that he stuttered.
“With just a few passers-by’s words, you were sure that Fourth Lady Qu was suitable. Little Li, how dare you!” Eunuch De Fu smiled sinisterly. As long as he thought about how he had almost provoked the terrifying Pei Yuanjun, Eunuch De Fu couldn’t help but get angry.
Fortunately, Lord Yun was not in the capital right now. Otherwise, he might be having a hard time now.
Every aristocrat in the capital knew how much attention the Emperor paid to Pei Yuanjun’s marriage. Pei Yuanjun had never agreed to marry any woman for so many years. Now that he finally wanted to be with someone, the Emperor must be very happy. Things would get easy if Pei Yuanjun wanted to be with someone.
Although Qu Moying’s status as Vice Minister Qu’s daughter was not high enough, she would at least be Lord Yun’s Side Princess since Lord Yun wanted to be with her. If she became Lord Yun’s Side Princess, her status would be higher even than those princes’ Princess Consorts. Moreover, the Emperor liked Lord Yun so much that even in the Emperor’s harem, no one would dare to scheme against Qu Moying.
At the very least, they would maintain a certain level of respect for Lord Yun’s woman on the surface.
Little Li still hadn’t figured out why, and he stuttered again, “Eunuch De Fu, I… I really didn’t expect this. But even if he is a prince… even if he is the Crown Prince, he is still the Empress Dowager’s junior!”
Slap! Eunuch De Fu hit Little Li so hard in the face that his head swayed to the side.
“Do you think that I will believe you with just these few words?” Eunuch De Fu sneered and gritted his teeth. The light through the curtain of the carriage shone on his teeth. The other young eunuchs were so scared that they did not dare to breathe heavily.
They were all Eunuch De Fu’s subordinates. They had been guarding the Empress Dowager’s mausoleum for several years under Eunuch De Fu.
In the Empress Dowager’s mausoleum, Eunuch De Fu had the most power. He could decide these young eunuchs’ lives.
“Eunuch De Fu…” Tears streamed down Little Li’s cheeks. He felt both pain and fear.
Eunuch De Fu leaned back and closed his eyes. “I know you won’t tell the truth. Actually, I don’t need you to tell the truth. After you go back, you can die. It can be considered as repaying your Master.”
Little Li was so scared that he collapsed to the ground and begged, “Eunuch De Fu… Eunuch De Fu, please spare my life!
“Someone, pull him down.” Eunuch De Fu frowned unhappily and ordered without opening his eyes.
Two young eunuchs stepped forward, ordered the carriage driver to stop the carriage, and pulled Little Li down from the carriage. Then, they followed behind the carriage all the way to Eunuch De Fu’s temporary residence in the capital.
In the carriage, Eunuch De Fu sneered, pursed his lips, and muttered to himself, “I haven’t been back to the capital for a long time. I thought things like this had nothing to do with me, but I didn’t expect to encounter such a thing just one day after returning. Moreover, even I was involved. The one behind this is really capable.”
Another clever young eunuch stepped forward, poured him a cup of tea, and asked cautiously, “Eunuch De Fu, are you really going to kill Little Li?”
“Not now. Otherwise, I will have no evidence. Beat him hard, but make sure that he is alive so that I could explain to Lord Yun after he returns to the capital. If not so, I’m afraid that Lord Yun will think that I am playing tricks on him. That will destroy my relationship with Lord Yun.” Eunuch De Fu laughed creepily.
The young eunuchs shivered and tried their best to control their expressions, not daring to reveal expressions of fear.
Behind the gauze curtain, a woman said with surprise, “What? Little Li, the one by Eunuch De Fu’s side?”
“Yes, it is Little Li, the one by Eunuch De Fu’s side. He passed the news over, and Eunuch De Fu found it was his doing. Eunuch De Fu just came back from Vice Minister Qu’s Mansion. Maybe… maybe…” The old maid’s voice was getting smaller.
Behind the gauze curtain, the woman snorted and scolded, “How useless! Never make, but always break! A good chess piece is wasted!”
It was not so easy to plant an agent around the shrewd Eunuch De Fu, but now the one they arranged was out of use.
“Then… what should we do?” The old maid said in a low voice as if she had not heard the woman’s scolding.
The woman said coldly, “There’s no need to do anything. Let’s just wait and see what will happen. We don’t need to contact Little Li anymore. He doesn’t know who we are anyway.”
“Yes!” The old maid knelt on the ground and lowered her head.
There was no more sound behind the gauze curtain. When the old maid looked up again, there was no one.
The wind rolled up the curtain, revealing a large chair with a few gold ornaments…
