Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Chapter 57 How Many People Were Involved?

After Ji Youran finished her words, she looked at Qu Moying beamingly, expecting an enthusiastic response.

It should be a great honor for Qu Moying to be related to the Crown Prince’s wife. If Qu Moying were a smart girl, she would agree immediately. After all, it was a win-win situation for both of them.

Ji Youran also heard that Qu Moying’s engagement with Young Master Yongning was broken off. Becoming Princess Ji’s cousin would benefit Qu Moying a lot when she had no one to rely on.

However, the blind girl fell into silence for a long time, long enough to make Ji Youran’s smile freeze on her face.

“It’s my pleasure, Your Royal Highness!” Qu Moying finally uttered some words. She lowered her head, her voice was slow and calm, even with a trace of indifference. She would never allow such a malicious woman to be around her in this life.

Well, no one could immediately get along with a stranger who claimed to be her cousin. Moreover, Qu Moying was known for being solitary and introverted.

Ji Youran pressed her lips into a straight line, feeling displeased. She shouldn’t expect this girl who grew up in a village to know about proper manners. She didn’t really care about her, but people close to Ji Hanyue were all dead except for her. Otherwise, she would never make friends with a low-life girl she looked down on to prove her good relationship with Ji Hanyue.

“Cousin, are you here to visit the Dabei Temple too? How many people came with you?” Ji Youran ignored her indifference and kept her friendly smile, looking graceful.

“I came with my sisters and grandmother,” Qu Moying said in a flat tone. She had already hidden all her emotions and turned back to her usual self.

“I will stay in the temple for a period as well. You can come to hang out with me when you are available. I still have something else to do, and I’ll leave first.” Ji Youran casually pointed at one random place and left with her group.

She didn’t really mean to get acquainted with a blind girl since all she needed was to make a show in public.

When Ji Hanyue’s death was announced in the future, she could use Qu Moying to show the touching family love between her and Ji Hanyue as cousins. By then, no one would relate her to the Crown Princess’s death.

Subconsciously, she touched her cheek. Near her ear was a scar made by Ji Hanyue, hidden under her long, thick hair. On the day Ji Hanyue died, Ji Hanyue held her and jumped into the water, and Ji Youran’s face hit a rail while falling. It hadn’t recovered yet, and the Imperial Doctor said the scar might stay on her face permanently. Thinking about it, she couldn’t help but gnash her teeth. That woman just couldn’t give her any peace even after her death! The reason why she was here was Ji Hanyue as well – the Crown Prince asked Ji Rouran to pray for Ji Hanyue in the Dabei Temple so that she could rest in peace.

Pray? She’d love to see Ji Hanyue go to hell after death!

Watching Ji Youran leaving, Qu Moying’s eyes only showed coldness. It was lucky for her that Ji Youran showed up herself since she was planning to approach her anyway.

Butterfly patterns were Ji Hanyue’s favorite, and now ironically, it became Ji Youran’s favorite…

Now that Ji Youran left, the street was crowded again. Qu Moying wearing the veil drew the interest of some punks. They walked over and said frivolously,

“Look, this chick is waiting for someone. I wonder who that is!”

“She’d rather hide in the gap than leave when that noble lady came. She must be waiting for her secret lover! But this man is quite rude to let the chick wait for so long.”

“The chick looks pretty cute, but she’s blind. What a pity!”

“What’s wrong with her being blind? It’s fine for me as long as she’s cute…”

The punks talked carelessly as they walked closer. Yu Dong stood in front of Qu Moying to protect her. It was not that he was afraid of these brats, but it was better not to expose themselves now. He glanced over a crossing nearby where the two secret guards he brought were hiding.

Lord Yun assigned him these two before, and he brought them here just in case something bad happened during this trip.

“How dare you harass a lady in public? Who are you?!” A young man scolded, who was wearing a dark blue brocade robe, followed by some servants.

The punks fell into silence, looked at each other for a second, and fled away.

They could tell he was a young master from a noble family, and they’d rather not offend him.

Qu Moying’s eyes fell on the young man, but she didn’t recognize him. Judging by his righteous look and decent appearance, he seemed to be a gentleman. He even bowed to Qu Moying politely before talking to her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Fourth Lady Qu.”

“Who are you?” Qu Moying looked at this stranger.

“I happened to hear your conversation with Her Royal Highness. That’s why I know you are Fourth Lady Qu,” the young man said with a smile. He acted naturally and confidently as he reached out and pointed at a corner. “Fourth Lady Qu, can we have a talk in private?”

The corner was behind the booths with fewer people around.

“What’s the matter?” Qu Moying didn’t move an inch.

“Can we talk in private? It’s… about the Marquis Yongning’s Family. Young Master Yongning is my…” He was hesitant when saying these words.

His hesitance annoyed Qu Moying at once, let alone he wanted to talk about her ex-fiance.

Qu Moying sneered at him and sized him up. Then she turned around from the gap between the booths and walked away with Yu Dong, leaving this good-looking young master standing alone there.

Even topics about the Marquis Yongning’s Familycouldn’t draw her attention. No wonder everyone said she was a weirdo.

The young man watched Qu Moying leaving and started to understand Xu Lipeng’s situation more. She was the one who set Lady Yu up, forced her to become a concubine, and made Xu Lipeng end up marrying a shrew. No one would want to marry a weird woman like her, who looked weak but did things with such malice. Xu Lipeng was really unlucky being tricked by her.

The young man’s lips twisted into a smirk as he waved the paper fan in his hand. From his temperament, it was easy to tell that he had an ulterior motive.

He talked to her so politely and even saved her just now from the punks. Instead of expressing her gratitude, she left him alone rudely.

What an uncourteous girl!

He shook his head and left. He didn’t achieve his goal today, but at least he finished half of it. All he needed was to inform those from the Qu Family and see what they would do for the next step.

Before, Yu Qingmeng contacted him to ask for a favor. She claimed that with his help and her arrangement in the Qu Family, things would work out. Since he was not the first son in his family, he didn’t care about his reputation. There was no harm to help her.

He thought this of showing his good intention to Lord Jing. Although he didn’t necessarily need Lord Jing’s help in the future, he surely didn’t want to have a grudge against him. Moreover, helping Lady Yu could stop his mother from urging him on marriage temporarily. He didn’t want to get married at all now.

Generally speaking, it was not a bad idea.

Besides, he never liked Fourth Lady Qu in the first place. He’d love to do something that could kill three birds with one stone…

After Qu Moying came back from the market, she went straight to the Old Lady’s yard. After having some sleep and taking the medicine, the Old Lady regained a bit of energy. She heard Qu Moying entering the yard, so she sent a servant to let her in.

“Why did you come back alone? Where are the others?” the Old Lady saw her coming inside alone and asked surprisedly.

She remembered Granny Wu said the ladies went out together.

“I got lost and was separated from the others. It’s getting late, so I came back by myself first,” Qu Moying said smilingly as she held the Old Lady’s wrist and acted coquettishly by shaking her hand. Meanwhile, she quietly lowered her head and pressed her thumb on the Old Lady’s vein to feel the pulse.

“It’s okay. You can go there with me next time,” the Old Lady said gently, amused by her childish behavior.

“Yeah, let’s go together next time, Grandma. With you, I won’t get lost,” Qu Moying responded with a smile.

However, the Old Lady’s heart suddenly lost a beat as something crossed her mind. She knew the market in front of the temple was popular among the tourists, but she never heard that someone got lost there. The other three granddaughters never got separated before when she took them here. This time, the ladies left together, but the lost one happened to be Ying, who rarely went out.

This was too suspicious. The Old Lady knew Qu Qiuyan disliked Qu Moying, which made her wonder if this was designed by Qu Qiuyan.

“Your three sisters are all gone? How did you get separated?” the Old Lady asked as she pondered for a while.

“I don’t really know. We were looking at some kites at a booth because everyone said they wanted one. After I picked mine, I couldn’t find them anymore,” said Qu Moying blankly. Then she shook the Old Lady’s hand again and pouted cutely. “Grandma, it’s okay. Maybe they had something urgent to do. Fortunately, I remember the way back.”

“Why couldn’t they tell you before leaving you alone?!” The Old Lady got irritated. She thought her first granddaughter was a reliable girl, yet she didn’t expect her to be so irresponsible, leaving her youngest sister without saying anything in a place crowded with people.

When the Old Lady was thinking about it angrily, some noise suddenly came from outside. An old maid came in and reported, “Madam, the First Lady, the Second Lady, and the Third Lady are back.”

“Let them in!” the Old Lady’s voice was cold.

Qu Moying stayed quiet, moved a little bit away from the Old Lady, and seated herself near the door. She wondered how many people were involved this time. One, two, or three?

The three ladies noticed Qu Moying sitting aside when they came in, and all looked a bit flustered. Qu Caiyue was the first to make a sound, but it was a rude scold, “Moying, you are back?! How could you not tell us? We’ve been looking for you!”

“You are looking for me?” Qu Moying raised her eyes and asked.

“Yeah. We went to the opposite booth to buy some candies. But when we returned, you were already gone. We’ve been looking for you everywhere, but the place was too crowded. Luckily, we met a young master who saw you before. He told us that you walked in the direction of the temple. Otherwise, we would still be looking for you right now,” said Qu Caiyue.

She meant it was Qu Moying’s fault to leave by herself and cause them trouble to look for her. Strangely, she particularly mentioned a young master. But there were so many people on the street. Who would notice her and watch her walking all the way to the temple?

Qu Moying sneered inwardly. Before, she still doubted if it was just a coincidence or something done on purpose. But right now, Qu Caiyue was the first one to talk and accused her before she said anything. She was sure that this was their trap set for her. Besides, the direction Yu Dong told her they went in was not somewhere opposite.

“Sisters, did you go to the opposite booth? But I don’t remember there’s a candy booth on the opposite side. I’ve also looked for you around, and I didn’t see you there,” said Qu Moying as her lips curled up, looking kind and generous. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter now since I’m back. I’m glad to see you alright!”

“Xin, where have you been?” However, the Old Lady didn’t intend to go easy on them. With a stern look, she questioned her eldest granddaughter, who was the most well-mannered and gentle one among the three.

It was not the first time that the three ladies had come to the temple, so of course, they would be fine. It was most likely that her youngest granddaughter would run into danger since she was a timid girl who just came back from the village and hadn’t met many people yet. Qu Caiyue’s words sounded more like accusing Qu Moying of no reason, not convincing at all, which irritated the Old Lady more.