Chapter 380 – Where Is The Crown Prince?
Chapter 380 Where Is the Crown Prince?
“It was true that Prefectural Princess Xiangrong didn’t invite me. I do come uninvited. I came here because I had something to tell Grand Princess Changyu. I heard that many ladies were here, and Grand Princess Changyu asked me to come over and have a look. She said maybe I could see some old friends here and chat with them. I didn’t expect to see Cousin Moying. It was a pleasant surprise.”
Ji Youran explained in a soft voice with a smile on her face, as if she didn’t notice the sarcasm in Liu Jingyu’s words.
She also explained the reason why she stood up for Qu Moying.
In fact, she was not familiar with most of the young ladies in front of her. They were basically not in the same circle. Ji Youran was like Ji Hanyue’s attendant in the past. She had never got close to anyone Ji Hanyue disliked, and the noble ladies looked down upon her, who was just Ji Hanyue’s attendant.
They respected Ji Hanyue because she had an extraordinary identity, but Ji Youran was nothing to them.
Liu Jingyu’s face darkened. The more Ji Youran explained, the ruder Liu Jingyu would be. Liu Jingyu knew that she was indeed too harsh just now, and she knew she would give herself away if she kept speaking, so she decided not to say anything. Anyway, she could deal with Ji Youran however she wanted as long as she entered Eastern Palace.
But it was not the time to deal with Ji Youran now!
“Princess Ji, since you are here to meet with old friends, I won’t bother you. I originally had something to talk to Prefectural Princess Xiangrong, but now I feel unwell, so I will take my leave first.” Liu Jingyu knew that she shouldn’t fight it out with Ji Youran now, so she said indifferently and left with her people.
She had no intention of getting close to Ji Youran.
Ji Youran smiled as she watched Liu Jingyu leave and then turned to Qu Moying. “Cousin Moying, are you alright?”
“Thank you, Princess Ji.” Qu Moying bowed respectfully and took a step back to distance herself from Ji Youran. “I was frightened just now, and I’m afraid I can’t keep you company when you meet your friends. Please allow me to leave first.”
Qu Moying said politely. She used an excuse similar to what Liu Jingyu just used. Since Liu Jingyu had used such an excuse, Qu Moying could also use it.
Ji Youran was happy to hear Liu Jingyu excuse herself because it meant that she had the upper hand in their confrontation. Moreover, the Crown Prince must have witnessed the scene. Such a situation was very beneficial to her.
However, when Qu Moying excused herself for a similar reason, Ji Youran felt aggrieved. She kept showing how close she was to Qu Moying, but from Qu Moying’s words, it seemed that Ji Youran was just throwing herself at Qu Moying. It even made people think that Ji Youran had deliberately made use of Qu Moying to deal with Liu Jingyu.
After all, most of the young ladies present had heard that the next Crown Princess of Eastern Palace would be Liu Jingyu!
Since everyone had heard about this matter and the matter of First Lady Qu that happened on Qixi Festival, there was no reason that Ji Youran did not know about it at all.
It could be seen that Qu Moying was not close to Ji Youran. Qu Moying politely addressed Ji Youran as “Princess Ji”. When the two of them talked, Ji Youran appeared to be really close to Qu Moying, and she fought for justice for Qu Moying, but it seemed that Qu Moying was not close to Princess Ji at all.
Ji Hanyue, the ex-Crown Princess, was indeed Qu Moying’s cousin sister, but Ji Youran wasn’t! If it was in the past, everyone might think that Ji Youran was so intimate with Qu Moying because of Ji Hanyue. After all, Ji Youran followed Ji Hanyue’s every word and always took care of her. She appeared to be someone who treated Ji Hanyue really well and was willing to do anything for Ji Hanyue.
Moreover, Ji Youran entered Eastern Palace to take care of Ji Hanyue who was seriously ill or injured. She directly became the Side Princess of Eastern Palace without any ceremony. It could be seen how deep the relationship between her and Ji Hanyue was.
However, after the ex-Crown Princess passed away, things that happened in Crown Prince’s Mansion showed that Ji Youran was actually not simple. Ji Youran might have had an affair with the Crown Prince long ago. If that was the case, all she had done before was just for show. She had been plotting against Ji Hanyue.
She was not sincere to Ji Hanyue, so how could she be sincere to Ji Hanyue’s cousin sister?
But Qu Moying might be of use to Ji Youran. Perhaps Ji Youran could deal with Liu Jingyu, the future Crown Princess, by utilizing Qu Moying.
“Cousin Moying…” Ji Youran obviously thought of this as well. She hurriedly reached out to hold Qu Moying’s wrist, trying to show her intimacy with Qu Moying.
At this time, Qu Moying had already finished speaking. She turned around and happened to avoid Ji Youran’s hand. It seemed that she didn’t see Ji Youran’s hand because she happened to turn around, so she wasn’t being impolite at all. At the same time, she instructed Yu Dong beside her something. Ji Youran’s voice was not loud, so it was understandable that Qu Moying did not hear her.
Ji Youran’s hand froze, and she could only slowly retract her hand. When she saw that Qu Moying had finished giving instructions to the maid, she smiled and called out again, “Cousin Moying!
“Princess Ji, I will take my leave first!” Qu Moying turned around and bowed to Ji Youran respectfully again. She was extremely respectful, and she kept a distance from Ji Youran, which showed that she was not close to Ji Youran. Moreover, the smile on Qu Moying’s face was both polite and alienated.
Ji Youran wanted to give Qu Moying a hard slap on the face, but she had to continue to put on a gentle smile, “Cousin Moying, since you are not feeling well, do you need me to find an Imperial Doctor to check on you?”
“Thank you, Princess Ji. I was just frightened. I will be fine after a short rest. There is no need to trouble an Imperial Doctor.” Qu Moying coughed softly. Her face was originally pale, and now she looked even paler.
At this point, Ji Youran could no longer keep Qu Moying. She could only nod with a smile. After comforting Qu Moying with a few more words, she watched Qu Moying leave. Her eyes were full of worry and concern, and she looked very sincere.
The young ladies looked at each other with different thoughts.
Qu Moying had left, but Ji Youran had better not leave so quickly. Although she was not familiar with the young ladies here, she knew most of them, so she began to chat with a few young ladies whom she had met several times before.
She was now the Side Princess of Eastern Palace. No one wanted to offend her. The Crown Prince was the heir to the throne, and he would become the future Emperor. These young ladies couldn’t afford to offend anyone from the inner yard of Eastern Palace. The future Empress would definitely have great power, but Ji Youran would also have a high position.
They all witnessed what happened just now, and Liu Jingyu seemed to be at a disadvantage. In the future, even if Liu Jingyu had a higher status, it might still be Ji Youran who was more favored.
Ji Youran was now a different existence from the one she used to be.
Therefore, Ji Youran chatted with the ladies really happily. The ladies were willing to flatter her, which satisfied her.
This was something she had never enjoyed in the past.
In the past, Ji Hanyue was always the one to be flattered, and Ji Youran was nothing. Now that Ji Hanyue was dead, it was her turn to enjoy others’ flattery. She felt really good!
Of course, it would be even better if she could be the Crown Princess!
With this thought in mind, Ji Youran chatted more and more intimately with the ladies. At the same time, she got to know the whole story of what had happened just now. She spoke tactfully and secretly directed the spearhead to Liu Jingyu and also portrayed Qu Moying as a poor victim.
As for Liu Jingyu, she was probably bullying Qu Moying by leveraging her status.
Ji Youran led the ladies to this topic. A few young ladies who were close to Liu Jingyu faintly sensed something. They exchanged a look with each other and remained silent.
However, there were a few ladies who were not that close to Liu Jingyu, and some didn’t get along with Liu Jingyu, so they said whatever they wanted to say. After all, they were not the one who started the topic. Ji Youran was favored by the Crown Prince, and they didn’t dare to offend her.
They chatted for a while. Ji Youran stopped at a suitable time. After saying goodbye to the young ladies, she turned around and entered a yard not far away.
At this time, the young ladies realized that Ji Youran seemed to have come from there.
They wondered if there was someone else in the yard.
However, it was not a good idea for them to follow Ji Youran and take a look. They could only carefully avoid the yard.
Ji Youran opened the half-closed door with a smile and walked in. However, she didn’t see Pei Luo’an behind the door. She was stunned for a moment. She thought that Pei Luo’an would stay and listen to their chats after seeing the scene just now. Unexpectedly, there was no one behind the door.
A palace servant closed the door behind her. Ji Youran thought for a moment and walked towards the back door. She came to this yard with Pei Luo’an from the back door just now.
The back door was indeed open, but there was no one.
Ji Youran’s face darkened. She did not know when Pei Luo’an left and how much of the conversation he had heard. Had she said those words in vain?
However, there was no one from Eastern Palace beside her, so she could ask nobody.
Just as she was feeling annoyed, she suddenly saw a eunuch come over in a hurry. It was one of the eunuchs beside Pei Luo’an.
“Greetings, Princess Ji. His Highness wants you to go back first!” The eunuch bowed to Ji Youran and conveyed Pei Luo’an’s words. Previously, Pei Luo’an had said that he would go back with Ji Youran.
Ji Youran restrained the anger on her face and asked with a smile, “Is His Highness still in the mansion?”
The eunuch replied, “Yes, His Highness still has some things to do!”
“When did His Highness leave this yard?” Ji Youran continued to ask gently, just like how she usually spoke to the people beside Pei Luo’an.
The eunuch answered, “It was a while ago. His Highness thought that you should be about to return to this yard, so he asked me to come over and tell you.”
“Did he leave when… County Lady Jingyu left?” Ji Youran could hardly remain calm. She took a deep breath to keep the smile on her face.
“Almost at that time!” The eunuch answered after thinking for a moment. He remembered that the Crown Prince left not long after County Lady Jingyu left.
Ji Youran almost couldn’t force a smile, and her eyes darkened because of jealousy. She cursed Liu Jingyu in her heart. “She is a noble lady with an extraordinary status. How dare she privately meet the Crown Prince before marrying him? The thing has not settled yet! She is shameless!”
She thought that Pei Luo’an left to meet Liu Jingyu, but in fact, when Liu Jingyu left, Qu Moying also left…
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