Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Chapter 43 A Necessary Reason

“My lord, what about Qingmeng? What about Qingmeng now? If we break off the engagement, they will never allow Qingmeng to marry into the Xu’s Family. Marchioness Yongning won’t agree.” Tears flowed down Yu’s cheeks. She stared at Qu Zhizhen with a pitiful look on her face, sobbing. If it were before, Qu Zhizhen would soon soften and agree to her request.

However, he was still annoyed by Yue Wenhan since he made him lose face in public. At the same time, hearing Yu talking about Qingmeng this whole time instead of Qu Moying became even more irritating. He flew into a rage and reached out to push Yu away rudely.

That was not what Yu expected. She stepped back and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Auntie Hai reacted quickly and stepped forward to keep her from falling.

“My lord…” Yu whined and pouted as her tears fell down.

“Stop, stop, stop! All you know is crying. Can you do something useful? Look at you, letting your own niece have a love affair with Xu Lipeng in front of all my servants. Have you ever thought about my reputation? Who on earth is your daughter, Yu Qingmeng or Qu Moying?”

Qu Zhizhen glared at her and scolded, venting his anger.

“M-My lord… H-How could you say that to me…? It’s… It’s not my fault! I have no clue about it.” Yu started to cry even louder. She definitely would not admit her role in this.

“Yu, I don’t know what you are planning, but you have to know that Ying is my daughter. You ruining her name for an outsider is no different from ruining my name.” Qu Zhizhen didn’t want to listen to her explanation. He was already exhausted because of the traveling. After this long, exasperating day, he had lost all his patience.

“When Ying was a kid, it was you who made her half-blind because you didn’t let the servants take good care of her. And look at what you are doing right now. Yu, don’t you really think I’m an idiot?!” He turned around and left immediately.

No matter how loud and sorrowful her cry sounded, it couldn’t pull him back. Qu Zhizhen left her behind, feeling irritated. He used to think of Yu as a good wife who was gentle and considerate. It seemed like he overestimated her. He couldn’t believe that his own wife ruined the engagement approved by him and made him lose his face in front of the youngsters.

No one could keep a good mood in this situation.

“My lord… where are we going?” A young servant trotted to catch up with Qu Zhizhen and asked cautiously.

“The study!” Qu Zhizhen’s voice was cold.

He didn’t want to see Yu’s face at all for the next few days because it would remind him of Yue Wenhan’s irritating words. His implicit comparison between Yu Qingmeng, Xu Lipeng, and Ying’s situation and Qu Zhizhen’s own situation years ago upset him.

Were they really the same? Of course, it was not. His marriage, when to marry, whom to marry – every step was calculated by him in advance.

And he had always been firm about his own feelings. How could he be the same as that playboy, Xu Lipeng?

“Hai Lan, Hai Lan, what should I do? H-He insists on breaking off the engagement. What should I do? What will happen to Qingmeng?!” Seeing Qu Zhizhen walking away without any hesitation, Yu started to wail with grief.

Auntie Hai helped her sit on a chair and reassured her, “Second Madam, take it easy. Things have already happened, and since the master already made up his mind, just let it be!”

If this continued, it wouldn’t do any good to both families’ reputation.

“No, I can’t let Qingmeng lead a miserable life. The only person she can marry is Xu Lipeng right now, but Marchioness Yongning has never liked her. If she becomes his concubine, and the wife Xu Lipeng marries later is an aggressive one, her life will be ruined!” Yu wiped her tears as a vicious look appeared on her face. She pulled Auntie Hai closer and whispered, “Tomorrow, I will let someone trick Qu Moying into going out while you go find someone that can drag her name through the mud. Let’s see if she wants to marry Xu Lipeng or not after this.”

“Madam… Th-This is too obvious. The Old Lady won’t go easy on you.” Hearing her plan, Auntie Hai was frightened, with her hands trembling.

“For Qingmeng, I will take whatever punishment from that old woman. She can’t make my husband divorce me since I still have Yan and Mingcheng. It will be fine,” Yu gritted her teeth, determined to ruin Qu Moying’s life.

“Madam, if you do so, you will irritate Mr. Yue. Think about what he’s capable of. Lady Yu… Not only Lady Yu’s name but also the Third Lady’s will be in tatters. I’m afraid the Third Lady’s marriage will be even affected since Lord Jing will never marry a lady without a good reputation.”

Auntie Hai knelt down in front of Yu with fear.

Even if Yu dared to do so, she didn’t. If they really tried to frame the Fourth Lady in such an obvious way, things were likely to go wrong. The Second Madam would be fine, but she was just an ordinary servant. She was even aware that the madam would surely blame everything on her afterward. Then she remembered Granny Wang, who was still lying on the bed with her face swollen and red, and felt flustered.

Auntie Hai knew that Yu wouldn’t listen to her, and Yue Wenhan was the only hope she had. Even the master was afraid of him, so the Second Madam should fear him as well.

“They had a fight?” asked Qu Moying. Under the dim light, Yu Chun helped her take off the veil and started to gently massage the acupoints around her eyes. This was a special treatment that was good for the recovery of her eyes.

“Yeah, I heard it was a big one. The master even moved to the study!” Granny Miao said smilingly, not hiding her delight at all. “They said the Second Madam was wailing like hell in the yard. Good for her!”

Wail? Qu Moying smiled grimly. Her eyes were closed, but they were still moving slightly as she was thinking. This was just the beginning, and Yu already wailed like hell? That woman was determined to ruin her life, and she was just returning what Yu deserved. Qu Moying would make her cry harder later!

She smiled when she thought about it. Her beautiful long eyelashes lay on her ivory skin, but the smile on this delicate face showed a trace of cattiness.

“My lady, I also heard that the Third Lady sent a letter to Young Master Yongning today!” Granny Miao continued. She actually found it out by accident today.

During these days, Granny Miao spent many efforts on getting along with other servants in the mansion by giving medicines around and helping treat some sick people. She told them that because of the Fourth Lady’s health situation, she had met many doctors and learned some knowledge and skills.

They completely believed her, and she did help a lot with her knowledge. With all the good relationships Granny Miao built in the mansion, it was now very convenient for her to dig for information.

Some clever servants even noticed that the Fourth Lady seemed to be different from what people said. She was capable of teaching a good lesson to the Second Madam and the Third Lady, let alone others. They realized that although they were not close to the Fourth Lady, it was better not to offend her.

They would do things for her convenience as long as it was within their power since she was under the protection of the Old Lady. As for the Second Master, she was not the true master of this mansion anyway.

“Why did the Third Lady give Young Master Yongning a letter? Is she offering some evil ideas to them?” Yu Chun stopped her movement and asked with alert.

“No!” Qu Moying shook her head after thinking about it. “She’s probably trying to convince Xu Lipeng to stop the drama and marry Yu Qingmeng as his wife. It’s beneficial for both families, especially for her!”

A cousin who’s a concubine and a cousin who’s Young Master Yongning’s wife were two totally different things. But with Qu Moying involved, Qu Qiuyan was destined to be disappointed.

Many people in the mansion were aware of her feelings for Pei Yusheng, Lord Jing. For the Old Lady’s birthday banquet this time, Yu had sent an invitation to Lord Jing, but he didn’t even bother to reply. After Qu Qiuyan sent her servant to go with Yu’s servant again and gave him her own invitation, he finally agreed to attend.

There were rumors that Pei Yusheng’s biological mother, Noble Consort He, didn’t choose Qu Qiuyan but the granddaughter of Prime Minister Xu, Xu Haitang, as her daughter-in-law candidate. However, because this Lady Xu could only be considered good-looking but not stunning, Lord Jing was not satisfied with this arrangement. Qu Moying wondered if this was the reason that he started to hook up with Qu Qiuyan.

Qu Qiuyan indeed had a beautiful face, better than Xu Haitang’s.

But according to what she knew from her past life, the candidate that Noble Consort He chose was actually the minister of Works, Mr. Liu’s daughter, honored with the title “County Lady Jingyu” by the emperor. This lady had secretly competed for the position of Crown Princess against her before. But of course, people barely knew about it.

“Lady Yu is so determined to marry Young Master Yongning. Normally with her background, she can definitely marry into a decent family as a wife. But she’s even willing to lower herself and marry him as a noble concubine.” Granny Miao said with disdain as she pressed her lips. Then something else crossed her mind. She hurriedly said to Qu Moying, “my lady, will Young Master Yongning use her as the reason to break off your engagement?”

Engagement couldn’t be easily broken off. The Xu’s Family must give a proper reason that could be accepted by the outsiders.

“No, he won’t!” Qu Moying shook her head. Xu Lipeng was obviously the person to blame for the matter about Yu Qingmeng. Meanwhile, he didn’t want to marry Yu Qingmeng as his wife. But if he broke off the engagement for a concubine, it would only bring shame to the Xu’s Family.

“Then… what will they use as the reason?” Granny Miao mumbled, feeling lost.

Qu Moying slowly opened her eyes and gazed at herself in the mirror. The look on her face was icy. She didn’t care about who ended up marrying Xu Lipeng. No matter what, this engagement had to be broken off!

The Old Lady told her that the Xu’s Family finally decided to break off the engagement the next morning. Although she was already pretty sure about it, hearing the news was still a relief to her.

Since the Xu’s Family took a stand, the engagement was officially broken off. The Old Lady sent Granny Wu to take out all the things gifted by the Xus before. They would return everything untouched. If any gift was already used, they would send back items with the same value. The Qu’s Family didn’t want to owe them anything or get involved with them again.

After this, the Old Lady finally saw Xu Lipeng’s true colors.

“But the Xus hope to announce it after my birthday, which is coming soon. They said since the two families have been in a good relationship for years, treating each other as family, they still want to attend the banquet and take it as the last farewell. Otherwise, the breaking-off will be too abrupt.” The Old Lady didn’t want to wait, but what they said was indeed reasonable in terms of etiquette.

After Xu Lipeng was not related to Ying anymore, whatever he did would have nothing to do with the Qu’s Family. Since their agreement to break off the engagement was quick, the Old Lady was satisfied enough, so she agreed to their suggestion.

Somehow, Qu Moying felt her heart skipped a beat, and her eyelid twitched for a second after hearing it. She asked, “Do they mean Young Master Xu will attend your birthday banquet still in the name of my fiance?”

“Yes, this is their request. But don’t worry, the breaking-off is already confirmed. Even though the Xu’s Family tries to delay it, they can’t do anything about it,” the Old Lady reassured her as she reached out to pat the girl’s soft hands.

“Alright, then he will be welcomed!” A mocking smile showed up on Qu Moying’s face. Before, she even felt sorry for the next weak, gentle girl who would be chosen to marry that douchebag. She saved herself from it but couldn’t help this other girl. But now, it seemed that they didn’t let it go yet, and they were still plotting some scheme.

These people were truly heartless…

“Your father told me today that he invited one of the most famous opera performers in the capital for the banquet. Her name is… What’s her name again? Anyway, she’s excellent at female roles and singing,” the Old Lady rubbed her temples and started to chit chat with Qu Moying.

Hearing her words, Qu Moying’s eyes lit up. She had to squeeze the handkerchief hard to suppress her excitement.