The emperor had never met Guardian General Liu Xiangshan’s daughter before, but he heard she was a peerless lady. He didn’t understand why Pei Yuanjun didn’t want to marry her.
As for her eye problem, it was just a minor issue since she could still see things. What’s more, Pei Yuanjun seemed to have something to do with it, which made their engagement more reasonable. If Pei Yuanjun was not satisfied with a lady with an eye problem, the emperor could just let him marry some other second wives.
Liu Xiangshan’s daughter had equal status with the Crown Princess, Ji Hanyue, since they were both ladies from aristocratic families. Liu Xiangshan was Pei Yuanjun’s deputy when he was at the border, which should create many chances for Pei Yuanjun and Lady Liu to meet each other. Facing such a well-educated and stunning young woman, the emperor didn’t believe that Pei Yuanjun had no feelings for her.
The emperor looked at Pei Yuanjun, expecting hi
“Concubine Yu, why do you always want to give the Fourth Lady trouble? The Fourth Lady has nothing to do with you becoming Young Master Yongning’s concubine. You made her lose her engagement already. Why can’t you just give her a break? What on earth do you want from the Fourth Lady?” Yu Dong let go of Yu Qingmeng’s hand and stood before Qu Moying, showing his loyalty as a maid.“I...I didn’t mean to...” Yu Qingmeng panicked as she didn’t expect things to become like this. Her plan was totally ruined because Yu Dong grabbed her hand tightly to stop her from kneeling.“Concubine Yu, I know you and Young Master Yongning love each other. As you wished, you finally married the person you like. The position of a concubine may not be satisfying for you. Still, it has nothing to do with the Fourth Lady anymore. Even if you want to vent your displease on someone, you should go to Second Lady Duan’s place. Why do you have to target the Fourth Lady?”
Ming Xian’er’s words successfully drew Qu Moying’s interest. “The Crown Princess’s private maid was killed by Princess Ji’s maid?” looking at Ming Xian’er’s nervous face, she asked.“Yes, it’s true. That maid is not the one who follows Princess Ji around right now. It is the other one. On...on the Crown Prince’s wedding night, I went to take a look and saw the two maids brought to the Eastern Palace by the Crown Princess. But one of them died that night. She...she was pushed off the Linyuan Pavilion by Princess Ji’s maid,” Ming Xian’er stuttered.Her words didn’t make sense because of her nervousness, hard to understand.Ming Xian’er had never told anyone about it before.That night, she heard that assassins broke into the Eastern Palace and went to hide in the Linyuan Pavilion in terror. She saw a woman in red escaping into the Linyuan Pavilion from the spot she was. But many people were wearing red clothes that day, celebr
“Her Majesty will soon start to pick the next Crown Princess among the noble ladies!” There were only a few words on the note. After making sure Ming Xian’er saw them clearly, Qu Moying put back the piece of paper and nodded at her. Then she turned around and walked to the side door connecting the altar room.She wouldn’t support Ming Xian’er’s unrealistic plan, but she would still offer her a way out to ease her worry.Hearing her footsteps, the maid outside hurriedly hid.Then she saw Qu Moying show up at the side door with her two maids, without Ming Xian’er.Qu Moying entered the altar room again and bowed to the coffin. Then she left with her two maids.After seeing her hint, Ming Xian’er should know what to do as a smart girl. Ji Youran must think she was only one step away from the official hostess of the Eastern Palace, so did many people. After all, she married the Crown Prince because of the Crown Prin
After they arrived at the mansion, they visited the Old Lady first. The Old Lady checked Qu Moying’s arms and found the skin not swollen anymore, only looking a bit redder than usual. It was a relief for her. Then she dismissed her two granddaughters to let them have some rest first. After all, their life in the Eastern Palace was still not as convenient as back home.After Qu Moying went back to the Qianyue House and got changed, a maid came to visit. She was sent by Qu Zhizhen, asking her to have a talk in the study.Qu Moying washed herself up and headed to Qu Zhizhen’s study with Yu Chun.The study was located at the outer yard, quite far from the Qianyue House. After several turns, they finally saw the yard where sat the study. It was the first time Qu Zhizhen formally called her over after she came back to the mansion. Before, she only met him in the Old Lady’s yard or the garden.Every time Qu Moying saw him and curts
Both of them stopped from a distance.After a short pause, Qu Moying walked up, curtsied to Qu Qiuyan, and left with Yu Chun immediately. Qu Qiuyan gazed at her coldly but didn’t lose her temper this time.It took her a while to actually hold back her anger. She had already realized she underestimated her stepsister before, and she couldn’t let her guard down again. Right now, she finally received a message from Lord Jing. It was not the time to start another fight with Qu Moying. Qu Qiuyan’s priority was power now, or all her hard work would become in vain.After a few steps, Yu Chun made sure that no one was around. Then she looked back and asked in shock, “My lady, how come the Third Lady has such a good temper today?”Qu Qiuyan and her maid were long gone.“She is occupied with other things and doesn’t have time to deal with me right now,” said Qu Moying in a flat tone. Qu Qiuyan had to pass Lord Jing’s test
“Nothing wrong. It’s just...the earl is heavily sick right now. He usually doesn’t see guests.” The smile on the chief maid’s face became even more awkward.“But I’m not an ordinary guest. He’s my uncle, and our families are related. Shouldn’t I visit a sick elder in the family?” Qu Moying asked back.It was natural for a youngster to visit a sick elder unless the two families didn’t want to keep in touch.A second ago, the chief maid said the two families should get closer to each other. But right now, she said Qu Moying was just a guest. Her words were clearly inconsistent, obviously rejecting Qu Moying. Shocked by the maid’s rude behavior, everyone looked at her with confusion.“Emm, I mean the earl is too weak to see people. He doesn’t have the energy to meet guests now.” The maid’s explanation was unconvincing.Sitting in the center, the Old Lady frowned and suggested, “How about I let Ying’s father go visi
“Ying, Yu has been ill recently, and her situation seems pretty serious. I wanted to lock her up in the family temple and tell the outsiders that she was sick, but I didn’t expect her to really fall ill. I want to let you and Yan manage the family affairs together. What do you think about it?”“She’s really sick?” Qu Moying lifted her head and asked.Judging by Yu’s personality, Qu Moying knew she wouldn’t give up like this. For Yu, the best way to get around with the situation was to take a step back. If Yu was too sick to even get off the bed, people couldn’t really do anything to her. This was what Qu Moying thought before.Right now, what the Old Lady said seemed to be quite different than her expectation.“It’s true. Even the Imperial Doctor we invited from the royal palace said it would be hard to treat her,” the Old Lady nodded with a sullen face.It was not that easy to bribe the Imperial Doctors, which
“I don’t know who...set me up. It’s just I didn’t notice anything unusual when my younger sister was with me. Then she said she needed some fresh air outside because she felt unwell. I helped her walk out, and then...she never came back. Soon after she left, I...I felt my whole body heated up as the Crown Prince walked up to me and wanted to ask about her.”Qu Qiuyan cried sorrowfully, “Then I didn’t know what happened later. I only...only remember Your Royal Highness and other people came inside...”She didn’t directly say it was Qu Moying, but her indication was clear enough to understand. She meant that Qu Moying framed her after she helped her walk out.Of course, Qu Qiuyan didn’t have direct proof, but she didn’t need it since she didn’t directly say Qu Moying was the one behind it. “Your younger sister doesn’t seem as simple as she looks!” Pei Yusheng stayed silent for a second and said with a displeased look on his f