Chapter 370 – A Sample Built For The Crown Prince’S Reference
Chapter 370 A Sample Built for the Crown Prince’s Reference
There were no outsiders at this time, so Zhao Qingxuan boldly asked, “Your Highness, are you really going to marry County Lady Jingyu?”
Pei Luo’an nodded. “It is what Mother Empress wants.”
“Did you… really go to hang Love Lanterns with her?” Zhao Qingxuan continued to ask. Many aristocratic families knew about this matter, and he naturally had heard his mother talk about it.
Pei Luo’an said calmly, “Yes.”
“But didn’t you say… that you were deeply in love with the ex-Crown Princess?” Zhao Qingxuan stuttered, and his face turned red.
“It was Mother Empress’ idea… I have to listen to her.” Pei Luo’an’s face darkened. He looked at a corner of the window and smiled bitterly.
“But… but County Lady Jingyu used to be with…” Zhao Qingxuan stopped before finishing his words. He did not dare to say it out bluntly.
The marriage between Liu Jingyu and Lord Jing had once been discussed, but the two sides didn’t reach an agreement in the end. In this regard, Liu Jingyu did nothing wrong.
“Alright, let’s stop talking about it. I know, but I don’t want to know. Hanyue has been gone. Marrying anyone makes no difference to me.” Pei Luo’an seemed to know what Zhao Qingxuan wanted to ask. His words carried so many meanings that Zhao Qingxuan had to ponder them over and he finally gave up on saying what he wanted to say next.
Zhao Qingxuan thought to himself, “The Crown Prince has already made it very clear. Since even I know it, how could he not know?”
Zhao Qingxuan stopped talking about Liu Jingyu but reminded Pei Luo’an of another matter, “Your Highness, the matter between Princess Ji and Qu Mansion also happened on Qixi Festival. The rumors about it are not pleasant to hear.”
The Crown Prince himself had nothing to blame, but because of Ji Youran and Liu Jingyu, people kept gossiping and doubting him.
Pei Luo’an said, “She is the ex-Crown Princess’ cousin.”
Zhao Qingxuan said with a straight face, “Your Highness, you treat her well because she is the ex-Crown Princess’ cousin, but what she did have already affected you.”
Pei Luo’an nodded. “I know. It was indeed because of the ex-Crown Princess that I tolerated her again and again. I have told her to reflect on herself.”
Although Qu Zhizhen and Qu Zhilin, especially the latter, were not high-ranking officials, they were still courtiers. Moreover, Qu Xuexin was forced to be a home-based nun now, which was quite pitiful. Knowing that it had something to do with the Crown Prince’s women, some courtiers were indignant, and some of Qu Zhilin’s colleagues were preparing to condemn the Crown Prince by submitting reports to the Emperor.
Of course, behind these matters, there were Lord Jing’s people fanning the flames.
If no one instigated them, the officials would not dare to criticize the Crown Prince, who was slated to become the future Emperor.
“Alright, you don’t have to worry about my matters. I am here today to help you pick a suitable wife so that Grand Princess won’t be worried about you all the time.” Pei Luo’an shook his head and stopped Zhao Qingxuan from continuing the topic. He smiled and switched the topic.
Seeing that the Crown Prince was not willing to talk about his private affairs, Zhao Qingxuan tactfully stopped. He stood up and walked to the window. The window was covered with a piece of chiffon, and one could see the outside from the inside, but the people outside couldn’t see the inside. The path below was the only way to the inner yard, and here was perfect for observing every young lady.
Of course, some well-informed ladies knew that today’s gathering was related to Zhao Qingxuan’s marriage.
A young lady walked over slowly. She deliberately stopped when she was about to reach the tower and seemed to ask the old maid something. Then, she sat in the pavilion on the side and happily talked with her maids. She looked very charming. If she hadn’t looked up at the tower a few times when leaving, Zhao Qingxuan would have thought she had come over unintentionally.
But he had noticed it, and he was really displeased.
He didn’t like this lady because she was too pretentious. He liked straightforward ladies, but he only knew one such kind of lady, and she was not someone he could covet.
He felt depressed as he thought of some things, but then he restrained his thoughts and turned around with a smile. “Your Highness, why don’t you come and take a look? Maybe you will see someone you like. Who knows? There are so many beauties in this world. With your status, you can get whatever kind of beauty you want.”
Pei Luo’an waved his hand and didn’t go over. Then, he looked around the room and said, “This place is not bad, but it needed to be modified. Otherwise, it will not be perfect.”
“Your Highness, this is built as a sample for your reference, so it is totally based on the original design paper. If you find any place unreasonable, you can modify it. You are so affectionate to the ex-Crown Princess. If the ex-Crown Princess knew about this, she would definitely be grateful.”
Zhao Qingxuan pointed around and stopped in front of the window, “Your Highness, do you think this place should be improved? Isn’t it a little small?”
Pei Luo’an nodded. He also felt that the window needed to be bigger, and the protruding part was not enough, which made the window appear not magnificent enough. If he were going to build this tower in his mansion, he would make it more exquisite. “I have brought people here today. They will sort out the places that need to be improved, and I will make some adjustments. Hanyue is no longer around me. This is all I can do for her.”
The idea of building such a tower first appeared in Ji Hanyue’s mind. At that time, she even drew a design paper, but actually, she only briefly mentioned the idea and drew a simple picture. As for the details, they could not be demonstrated in such an amateur design paper.
However, this tower of Zhao Qingxuan was built according to the design paper. Although some places were unreasonable, as Zhao Qingxuan said, it was just to give Pei Luo’an a reference. Pei Luo’an could modify it if he found any place imperfect. Anyway, Zhao Qingxuan was just an heir-apparent to a marquis. It was his own business if the building was flawed.
Zhao Qingxuan sighed again. “Your Highness, you are so affectionate.”
While the two of them were talking, the craftsmen of Crown Prince’s Mansion arrived. Zhao Qingxuan invited Pei Luo’an to follow him to another place to rest so as to leave this place for the craftsmen to have a better examination.
Not many people knew that the Crown Prince was at Grand Princess Changyu’s mansion, but there were still people who knew this…
After Pei Luo’an and Zhao Qingxuan left, a few other ladies came around the tower. The one in the lead was dressed very well. It was County Lady Jingyu, who had been discussed the most secretly in the capital. After hearing that she was about to become the Crown Princess, the young ladies around her began to curry favor with her.
Although Liu Jingyu was bestowed the title of County Lady, such a title could not compare with the Crown Princess.
Qu Moying followed the old maid inside. After passing the flower gate, she came to a reception hall where a few ladies were seated. Seeing Qu Moying, the ladies were stunned. They immediately knew who she was after seeing the eye veil on her face.
They knew that Qu Moying had an eye disease.
Prefectural Princess Xiangrong was sitting in the middle. Seeing Qu Moying come in, she smiled slightly. She appeared to be quite gentle. “Fourth Lady Qu, here you are. Please take a seat!”
“Greetings, Prefectural Princess Xiangrong!” Qu Moying stepped forward and bowed, ignoring the prying eyes of the people around her. There was not the slightest mistake in her manners.
Such a bearing impressed Prefectural Princess Xiangrong, and the smile on her face became gentler, “Fourth Lady Qu, please save the formalities. Come and sit next to me!”
Prefectural Princess Xiangrong pointed to a chair on the left of her, and it was close to her chair. Seeing her action, the ladies in the reception hall quieted down.
Many of them looked at Prefectural Princess Xiangrong in shock and then looked at Qu Moying suspiciously.
In their opinion, Qu Moying was not qualified to take that seat. It was the seat closest to Prefectural Princess Xiangrong, and it used to be taken by County Lady Jingyu in the past. Now, the other seat next to Prefectural Princess Xiangrong was taken by another Prefectural Princess.
County Lady Jingyu was about to become the Crown Princess, how could she lose her seat?
Was Prefectural Princess Xiangrong mistaken?
Under the confused gazes of the ladies, Qu Moying sat down steadily on the seat with a smile on her face. She was here to blend into the circle of noble ladies, so she could not appear nervous or petty in public. If she hesitated and acted cowardly, she would not be accepted by them and would become a joke in the capital.
She had a big goal. The current situation was an opportunity for her. She would definitely not allow today’s event to stand in her way.
Seeing that Qu Moying actually sat down without hesitation, the ladies around could not help but examine Qu Moying once again. Was she too ignorant to be fearful? Or was she confident?
How could Qu Moying be so confident?
However, she was totally different from what the rumors said. If she did not wear an eye veil, they would not believe that she was Qu Moying.
Just based on the way she took her seat, they could tell that she was not an ignorant woman.
They had clearly seen how Qu Moying bowed. Her words and actions were all flawless. They were noble ladies who had practiced their manners of speech and demeanor since childhood, but they were surprised by how Qu Moying behaved. Qu Moying was said to be vulgar because she was brought up in the village, but if such a well-behaved lady was vulgar, almost everyone present today was a vulgar person.
The way Qu Moying walked and bowed really convinced these noble ladies.
As for Qu Moying’s appearance, although her eyes were covered by an eye veil, they saw that her lips were pink and tender, and her face was as fair as jade. They could tell that she was not ugly.
It seemed that Qu Moying’s stepmother deliberately spread rumors that Qu Moying was neither talented nor beautiful to ruin her reputation and then abandoned Qu Moying.
But Qu Moying’s appearance and manners quashed the rumors!
Many ladies felt that they had found out the truth. Qu Mansion’s Second Madam Yu was not a good person, and she was still locked up now. If she hadn’t given birth to Vice Minister Qu’s only son, she might have been divorced long ago…
