Chapter 371 – They Wore The Same Accessory
Chapter 371 They Wore the Same Accessory
Qu Moying didn’t care about the prying eyes around. She sat calmly, shaking the fan in her hand gently and leisurely.
When she was Ji Hanyue, no matter where she went, she was always the center of others’ attention. There would be many people looking at her. Therefore, she didn’t care about the meaning of others’ gaze, and she was very calm and composed.
It was the same right now!
Only a few ladies stared at her, and she did not feel uncomfortable in the slightest.
“Fourth Lady Qu, your fan looks good. Can I have a look?” Prefectural Princess Xiangrong suddenly asked with a smile as her gaze fell on the jade fan at Qu Moying’s waist.
She had noticed this jade fan when Qu Moying entered the door because it was a good one. It was neither too simple nor too flamboyant.
Moreover, an old maid behind her reminded her of something about the jade fan. The old maid served Grand Princess Changyu in normal days and came to help today.
Qu Moying smiled and stood up. Yu Chun went forward to take off the jade fan for her. Qu Moying took it and handed it to Prefectural Princess Xiangrong. “Prefectural Princess, here you are.”
The old maid behind Prefectural Princess Xiangrong stepped forward and took it from Qu Moying’s hand. After carefully examining it, she nodded at Prefectural Princess Xiangrong and handed it to her.
After looking through the jade fan a few times, Prefectural Princess Xiangrong could not help but praise it, “The jade material is really good, and it is quite inventive to use the jade to make such a fan. Good, very good.”
Qu Moying sat down with a smile and glanced at the old maid who had already stood behind Prefectural Princess Xiangrong again.
Although this old maid was also standing behind Prefectural Princess Xiangrong as the other maids and old maids did, she was obviously different from them. The other maids were a little further away from this old maid, and she seemed to be in the middle of the other maids. She was standing right behind Prefectural Princess Xiangrong. Was she Prefectural Princess Xiangrong’s most trusted old maid?
“Fourth Lady Qu, where did you get this jade fan? Where was it made?” Prefectural Princess Xiangrong was interested in the jade fan and asked after examining it a few more times.
Qu Moying shook her head. “This is passed down from the elders. I don’t know where it was made. I happened to see it when I was looking for accessories. I liked it very much, so I put it on.”
Prefectural Princess Xiangrong looked over it a few more times. Apparently, she really liked it. Seeing her reaction, a lady couldn’t help but say, “Prefectural Princess, since you like it so much, you can buy it from Fourth Lady Qu. Fourth Lady Qu, you can offer a high price for it. Prefectural Princess will pay for it, and neither of you will suffer a loss.”
A few other young ladies immediately echoed, “Yes, this is the best.”
“Neither Prefectural Princess nor Fourth Lady Qu will suffer a loss.”
Prefectural Princess Xiangrong seemed to be tempted and looked up at Qu Moying. “Fourth Lady Qu… is this okay?”
Qu Moying calmly refused, “Prefectural Princess, this is an item left behind by a deceased elder. I really do not dare to sell it. Otherwise, I will be unfilial. I hope that you will understand.”
Although she was smiling, her smile seemed to be cold.
As she expected, this gathering was more than just for having fun. Prefectural Princess Xiangrong must be sounding her out, and so were the other ladies.
Fortunately, she had thought it over before she came here. She would not flinch in the face of such a dilemma. If she was stumped so quickly, others would not pity her but would look down on her.
No one expected that Qu Moying would refuse without hesitation. The reception hall quieted down again. They thought if Qu Moying wanted to refuse, she should say it tactfully, or she could give Prefectural Princess Xiangrong something else to make amends. They didn’t expect that Qu Moying would say that it was unfilial to sell the jade fan. As the one who forced her to sell the jade fan, how embarrassed would Prefectural Princess Xiangrong be?
This was a gathering of young ladies, but it was also closely related to the imperial palace. What happened might affect their reputation, so it was important to them.
“Since you don’t want to sell it, then forget it.” Prefectural Princess Xiangrong’s face darkened. She placed the jade fan in her hand on the table and looked very unhappy.
Qu Moying stood up and bowed deeply to Prefectural Princess Xiangrong. “Prefectural Princess, I am truly sorry.”
“It doesn’t matter!” Although Prefectural Princess Xiangrong said so, she didn’t look happy. After that, she did not even pay attention to Qu Moying and only spoke to the other young ladies.
Qu Moying hung up the jade fan again and sat down on the chair. Even if no one spoke to her, she still had a calm smile. Her eyes under the eye veil seemed to be paying attention to everyone present. She was very calm and composed.
Suddenly, a maid hurried in and said, “Your Highness, County Lady Jingyu has arrived at the mansion!”
“Here County Lady Jingyu comes. I heard that she is going to make her way. Let’s go and welcome her together.” Prefectural Princess Xiangrong raised her head and said jokingly. Then, she stood up.
Since she stood up, everyone else also stood up.
Everyone knew what Prefectural Princess Xiangrong’s words meant. Liu Jingyu was only a County Lady whose title was several grades lower than Prefectural Princess at present, but if she got married to the Crown Prince, the ladies at present, including Prefectural Princess Xiangrong, would need to take the initiative to welcome her.
Of course, there was no need for that now. However, it did them no harm by welcoming Liu Jingyu although Prefectural Princess Xiangrong was just joking. In any case, it was a good chance to get along well with Liu Jingyu, and they didn’t care whether they would condescend themselves if they went to welcome her this time.
If Liu Jingyu’s status became higher in the future, they would have to welcome her.
Of course, there were some who were reluctant to welcome Liu Jingyu, but since Prefectural Princess Xiangrong had said so, they could not refuse. They could just follow her. Anyway, they could not show that they did not get along well with Liu Jingyu!
The few young ladies followed Prefectural Princess Xiangrong out. Qu Moying did not walk very fast. She walked behind the ladies, and she was not intended to walk in the front. She just went as a mere formality.
At the gate of the reception hall, Liu Jingyu appeared, followed by a few young ladies. Seeing Prefectural Princess Xiangrong coming over to welcome her, she was complacent, but she said, “Prefectural Princess Xiangrong, I dare not let you welcome me!” She hurriedly took two steps forward and bowed. “Greetings, Prefectural Princess Xiangrong.”
“I heard that you are going to make your way soon, so I brought these young ladies to welcome you. Don’t forget us in the future!” Prefectural Princess Xiangrong smiled and reached out to hold Liu Jingyu’s hand.
The two of them had always been on good terms. In the past, Prefectural Princess Xiangrong saw Liu Jingyu as the future Princess Jing, but now she regarded her as the future Crown Princess.
The status of the Crown Princess was higher than that of Princess Jing.
“Prefectural Princess Xiangrong, you are so nice. But I am not going to be any different. I am still me.” Liu Jingyu’s face turned slightly red as the compliment referred to her marriage.
She looked really beautiful at the moment. She was born beautiful, and she was even more beautiful after dressing up.
A few young ladies looked at her with jealousy. She was really good-looking. No wonder the Empress liked her, and the Crown Prince chose her.
“You are still hiding it from us!” Prefectural Princess Xiangrong smiled and turned around. Just as she was about to walk in, she suddenly saw Qu Moying beside her. She pointed at Qu Moying as she said to Liu Jingyu with a smile, “You have seen all the other young ladies here, but I don’t know if you have seen Fourth Lady Qu. She is a young lady of Vice Minister Qu’s Mansion.”
In fact, Liu Jingyu had been looking for Qu Moying the moment she entered the door. However, Qu Moying was not tall and was behind the ladies, so she did not see her. Now that she saw Qu Moying, she found that Qu Moying actually dressed up so well. She could see that Qu Moying was beautiful even with an eye veil on. She thought of how she failed to scheme against Qu Moying, and her eyes turned cold.
She thought to herself, “How could a country bumpkin like Qu Moying dress up so well? How is this possible?”
But then she showed a smile on her face and went forward to Qu Moying enthusiastically. She stretched out her hand as if she was going to hold Qu Moying’s hand. “Of course I know Fourth Lady Qu. I talked to her in my grandfather’s mansion before, but Fourth Lady Qu left in a hurry, so we didn’t have a chance to get close to each other.”
Qu Moying took a step back and then bowed sideways. She happened to avoid Liu Jingyu’s hand. Her action was so natural as if she did not notice Liu Jingyu’s hand because she was bowing to her.
“Greetings, County Lady Jingyu.”
“Fourth Lady Qu, please save the formalities. How have you been recently? I thought it would be Third Lady Qu who would come. I didn’t expect it to be you.” Liu Jingyu felt it was embarrassing for her to be avoided by Qu Moying. She slowly lowered her hand, and a hint of sternness flashed in her eyes. She secretly cursed Qu Moying for not knowing how to appreciate favors.
However, there was a gentle smile on her face.
She looked kind and nice.
“Thank you, County Lady Jingyu. I’m fine. My Third Sister is not feeling well, so I came instead.” Qu Moying replied in a soft voice. Her words were neither humble nor pushy, and there was no mistake in her manners.
Prefectural Princess Xiangrong stood at the side with a smile on her face. She quietly watched the two of them speak, but she was deep in thought. She knew the future identities of the two of them the best.
“Although Qu Moying couldn’t compare with Liu Jingyu, she will be the aunt of the Crown Prince in the future. Moreover, she will be Lord Yun’s woman. Even only based on this, the people of Eastern Palace have to look up to her.”
“Mother’s old maid has just hinted to me that the jade fan should be from Lord Yun Mansion. It seems that my nominal uncle is not that negligent to his future Side Princess. At least he has never prepared any accessory for any woman before, and maybe he will not do such a thing in the future.”
“However, I don’t think he will truly care for Qu Moying. He does care for her, but not that much. She is just a plaything that he likes, and she is sometimes useful to him.”
“He has never been easy to get along with.”
“County Lady Jingyu, the jade fan you wear is similar to that of Fourth Lady Qu. Were they made in the same place? Just now, Fourth Lady Qu said that it was passed down from her ancestors!”
A young lady suddenly exclaimed in a low voice.
Liu Jingyu took the opportunity to look at Qu Moying. In fact, when she saw Qu Moying just now, she noticed her jade fan. Originally, Liu Jingyu was most satisfied with the jade fan in her dressing today. So, when she looked at the ladies, she couldn’t help but look at the accessories they hung on their waists. When she saw that the accessory on Qu Moying’s waist was actually a jade fan, the smile on her face froze, but she quickly hid it.
“County Lady Jingyu, Fourth Lady Qu, did you two agree on wearing the same accessory?” A young lady wearing a gold embroidered dress shook a round silk fan and smiled. It was hard to tell whether she meant well or badly.
But her words sounded to be meaningful at this time.
Qu Moying looked up at the young lady who spoke and found it was someone she knew. It was Junior Prime Minister’s Mansion’s Second Lady, Chen Hailan. Previously, she had wanted to marry the Crown Prince before.
Was she trying to stir up trouble or to offer Liu Jingyu a chance to show her prowess?
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