Chapter 369 – The “Affectionate” Crown Prince
Chapter 369 The “Affectionate” Crown Prince
The old maid lowered her head in embarrassment. Previously, she didn’t pay enough respect to Qu Moying because she thought Qu Moying was just the daughter of a Vice Minister, which was why she impolitely looked at Qu Moying. However, she didn’t expect Qu Moying’s maid to be so fierce that she dared to glare at her.
The old maid pretended not to notice Yu Dong’s glare and lowered her head to avoid meeting Yu Dong’s eyes. Then, she continued to lead the way with a smile but did not dare to be disrespectful to the young lady in the carriage anymore.
The carriage entered Grand Princess Changyu’s mansion through the side door and arrived at the parking lot after making a turn. A few carriages had already been parked there, and two ladies were getting off the carriages. After looking at each other, they greeted softly and walked to the inner yard together.
They behaved intimately and naturally. Obviously, they were close friends.
Qu Mansion’s carriage stopped. Yu Dong got down first, followed by Yu Chun with a qin box in her arms. Then, the two junior maids got down as well. Finally, Qu Moying got off the carriage by holding Yu Dong’s hand.
Yu Dong took the qin box from Yu Chun, and he would be holding it!
Hearing the noise on their side, the two young ladies who were walking forward turned their heads and looked over. From their angle, they only saw the slim back of Qu Moying, who was listening to Yu Dong telling the two junior maids what to do next.
Seeing Qu Moying’s dress, the two ladies were somewhat amazed. Qu Moying’s dress and temperament were obviously better than normal ladies. The two ladies looked at each other. They could not figure out which lady who came today would have such a temperament.
However, they did not know Qu Moying. They turned their heads and walked inside while guessing who the lady was. They made a lot of guesses, but neither of them thought that the lady was Qu Moying, who had eye disease and couldn’t face strong light.
After Yu Dong gave the order, Qu Moying led him and Yu Chun while following the old maid who was leading the way.
At this time, the old maid had learned her lesson. She no longer looked at Qu Moying rudely. On the way, she would introduce the view for Qu Moying whenever she saw Qu Moying stop.
The scenery in Grand Princess Changyu’s mansion was indeed beautiful. The mansion was much bigger than Qu Mansion, and the pavilions and towers here were spacious and made people feel more relaxed. Qu Mansion’s scenery was also beautiful, but the space was a bit limited, and the vision wasn’t wide enough.
Qu Mansion’s foundation was still too weak. It couldn’t even compare with some of the old aristocratic families, not to mention a princess’ mansion.
Suddenly, Qu Moying stopped in her tracks and landed her gaze on the edge of a tower’s eave.
She felt that the tower looked familiar. She once saw it in a picture, but now it was built into a real object.
It was a new tower, not big but was built delicately. It had eight edges, but it wasn’t a regular tower. There were some walking beasts carved on the eight edges. The edge Qu Moying was facing had a glutton carved on it. It had a sheep’s body and a human face. Under its armpit, there were tiger teeth and human claws. It had a big head and a big mouth. It was the Taotie among the nine sons of the dragon.
In fact, Taotie was rarely carved on the edges. It would sometimes be carved, but it would be carved behind other beasts. After all, it was said to be a greedy beast.
On the other hand, Taotie was once an auspicious beast of the previous dynasty, so it was unpopular in the current dynasty. It was rare to see Taotie being carved first in the buildings.
The old maid puffed out her chest and proudly pointed at the tower. “This is the tower that our Young Master got people to build. The Crown Prince has also seen it. He quite fancied it and said that he also wanted to build such a tower in Eastern Palace.”
Qu Moying asked after a moment of silence, “The Crown Prince likes it too?”
“Yes, the Crown Prince said that he really liked its design. He even asked our Young Master to give him the design paper. I heard it is about to be built in Eastern Palace in a few days.” Even the Crown Prince liked this tower. Thinking of this, the old maid became prouder, almost appearing complacent.
“Where did your Young Master get the design paper for this tower?” Qu Moying seemed to ask casually, but she clenched the round silk fan in her hand but soon relaxed after a while.
She slightly curled up her lips and thought to herself, “There aren’t so many whys. I’m overthinking.”
“What does Pei Luo’an have to do with me? Even if the design paper of it looks like the one I drew for fun before, so what? The answer doesn’t really matter.”
“I don’t know. I guess our Young Master paid a high price to hire someone to draw it. He was excited after getting the design paper, and he specially let people build this tower here.” The old maid shook her head. She had only heard about it and didn’t know where exactly the Young Master got the design paper.
But she was not completely ignorant of it, so she added a few more details, indicating that she knew something.
After she finished speaking, she saw Qu Moying turn around and walk away leisurely without any compliments. Just now, she clearly saw Qu Moying’s surprised face. In the past, those young ladies who came here and saw the tower would ask her about it. When they knew it had something to do with the Crown Prince, they would definitely be impressed and ask a few more questions.
They would even take the chance to ask whether the Crown Prince would come or when he would come. However, this Qu Moying seemed to have no interest in it.
She was really different from the other young ladies!
With this thought in mind, the old maid turned around and chased after Qu Moying, continuing to lead the way in the front.
The curtain on the second floor of the tower was lifted up. A handsome man stood in front of the window. He looked somewhat sick, but he was still noble and gentle. His light-yellow brocade robe showed his identity. He was the Crown Prince, Pei Luo’an, and beside him stood a tall young master.
He was Zhao Qingxuan, Grand Princess Changyu’s only son and Young Master Jingyang. He was a handsome young man, not inferior to the Crown Prince in terms of facial features, and even a little more heroic. The royal family members were all good-looking. Moreover, Marquis Jingyang was a rare talent when he was young, and his son was even more outstanding.
Pei Luo’an’s eyes fell on Qu Moying’s back. When he lifted the curtain just now, Qu Moying had already turned around. Now, he could not recognize who she was from her back. Although Qu Moying’s eye veil was slightly fluttering with the wind, it was of the same purple color as the clothes, so he just thought it was a decoration although he noticed it.
Many noble ladies were coming today, and many of them were specially dressed up.
Seeing Pei Luo’an looking at Qu Moying’s back silently, Zhao Qingxuan smiled and teased. “Your Highness, do you take a fancy to this young lady?”
He was Grand Princess Changyu’s son, and his status was not ordinary. He was about the same age as the princes, and they were cousins. They grew up together and had a close relationship, so it was natural for him to joke with the Crown Prince.
Pei Luo’an frowned slightly, deep in thought.
When he lifted the curtain just now, he almost thought the lady was Ji Hanyue. Although her figure and face were different from Ji Hanyue, her bearing and manner easily reminded him of Ji Hanyue. Was it that all the noble ladies acted similarly after practicing royal etiquette and rules?
Pei Luo’an couldn’t figure it out for a moment. He just looked at Qu Moying’s back, deep in thought.
Hearing Zhao Qingxuan’s words, he smiled bitterly, shook his head, and said helplessly, “How is that possible? My marriage is not something I can decide right now.”
After saying that, he turned around and sat down in the chair in the middle. He picked up the teacup at hand and took a sip. The tea was his favorite Longjing, but it tasted much thicker than usual, so much so that it felt a little bitter today.
He played with the cup in his hand for a moment and put it down.
“Your Highness, how could it be? If even you couldn’t decide your marriage, how desperate will I be? You see, my mother asked me to sit here to watch the ladies. If I take a fancy to any lady, she will propose marriage to her family for me. It seems that she will be satisfied no matter whom I like. Am I that bad? She seemed to get enough of me.”
With a helpless smile on his face, Zhao Qingxuan sat down and sighed heavily, “Your Highness, no matter whom you will marry, at least you have once married someone you like. As for me, I still can’t find a suitable one.”
Thinking about how his mother forced him to watch here in stealth to choose a wife, Zhao Qingxuan felt unhappy. He was actually younger than the princes and really wasn’t that eager to get married so early.
Pei Luo’an’s eyelids twitched as he heard Zhao Qingxuan mention Ji Hanyue. He said, “Why don’t you try to pick someone? I can’t give you any advice. I heard that the noble ladies coming today all have a good status. If you take a fancy to any of them, Grand Princess will definitely be happy.”
“But I don’t like any of them. Didn’t you also see a few ladies just now? They were pretentious. Some of them seemed to notice us, so they walked really quietly and even didn’t want to leave. The so-called distinguished families’ ladies are boring! Really boring!”
Zhao Qingxuan let out a sigh and leaned back, feeling extremely depressed.
Suddenly, he saw Pei Luo’an slowly lower his head and seemed to be thinking about something. He rolled his eyes, leaned over to Pei Luo’an, and whispered, “Your Highness, I think the young lady in purple just now is not bad. Although we only saw her back, she looked quite elegant. Judging from her silhouette, she must be a rare beauty. Why don’t you pick her as your extra option?”
He asked Pei Luo’an to pick an extra option because he knew that Pei Luo’an was probably going to marry Liu Jingyu, but the Empress hadn’t made up her mind yet.
Zhao Qingxuan actually didn’t like Liu Jingyu. Previously, Liu Jingyu wanted to marry Lord Jing, another cousin of his. He thought Liu Jingyu really thought too highly of herself. How dared she pick among princes? Who did she think she was?
Zhao Qingxuan wouldn’t hesitate to make things difficult for her!
Pei Luo’an sighed. “There’s no need. Anyway, they are all the same. It’s meaningless to choose one more. I will just wait for Mother Empress’ decision! I will listen to her. She can choose anyone for me. I don’t care!”
His words were so sad that even Zhao Qingxuan couldn’t help but look dejected.
Looking at Pei Luo’an, he couldn’t help but want to say something…
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