Chapter 217 – Tore Down The Facade Of False Sisterhood
Chapter 217 Tore Down the Facade of False Sisterhood
Early the next morning, Qu Moying got up and went to greet the Old Lady.
After paying her respects, she did not leave. She accompanied the Old Lady for a while. The Old Lady was not in a good mood and looked unhappy.
She knew that the Old Lady was worried about Qu Caiyue. This matter was started by Qu Caiyue herself. But now, Lord Jing only said a few words at the time of the incident. After that, there was no news about it anymore. Rumors had already been spread about the matter of the Second Lady of Qu Mansion.
The rumors were becoming increasingly outrageous!
Luo was so annoyed that she complained to the Old Lady several times. Now that such a thing happened, it would definitely affect Qu Xuexin’s marriage prospect. It was good timing for Luo to find a good marriage for Qu Xuexin. Some families had already agreed to meet Qu Xuexin. Unexpectedly, now they directly said that they had already found someone else suitable or that it was inconvenient to meet her now.
Although they rejected Luo politely, their meaning was obvious. They disliked the fact that there was such a lowly woman in Qu Mansion who actually climbed into Lord Jing’s bed. What was worse, at present, her identity in Lord Jing Mansion was still not clear, and Lord Jing Mansion obviously disliked her too. It was also said that the Imperial Noble Consort meant to give Qu Caiyue only the status of a bedroom maid.
For a dignified noble lady to fall into such a state as a bedroom maid, it was better for her to be dead, lest she embarrassed her family.
The Old Lady was also very angry, but she couldn’t take Qu Caiyue’s life for real.
Lord Jing Mansion didn’t say anything and didn’t send anyone to explain either. Qu Mansion could only wait. After all, no matter how one looked at it, it was Qu Caiyue’s own fault. Although Qu Caiyue kept saying that this matter was really an accident, the Old Lady didn’t believe her story, and the others also didn’t believe it.
Could it be that Lord Jing had taken a fancy to Qu Caiyue himself, so he abandoned Qu Qiuyan, which was why there was such an accident?
“Old Lady, Third Lady has come to pay respects to you.” A maid came in and reported.
The Old Lady nodded and said, “Let her in!”
It was already late, but the Old Lady was not in the mood to make a fuss about it.
Qu Qiuyan walked in. It had only been a few days, but she had become much more haggard and much thinner. She greeted the Old Lady in a very perfunctory manner. However, after she bowed and got up, she looked up and saw that Qu Moying was there. She was stunned for a moment. A trace of hatred immediately appeared in the corner of her eyes.
She projected all the anger in her heart on Qu Moying.
It was clearly Qu Moying who was supposed to be the victim. The person who had the accident should have blamed Qu Moying. Why did it end up with Qu Caiyue and Lord Jing being found in bed together? Even if Qu Qiuyan did not have the opportunity to ask Qu Caiyue in private now, she knew that Qu Moying must have done something. However, she had no evidence. She gritted her teeth in hatred, but she had to swallow this anger.
Granny Qing told her that she had to endure even more now at such a time, but she really could not bear it anymore.
These few days, when she paid her respects, she deliberately came late. On one hand, she was too lazy to get up early. On the other hand, she did not want to see Qu Moying. She was afraid that she would not be able to control herself when she saw Qu Moying.
Qu Caiyue had already been grounded by her father and no one was allowed to visit her. Qu Qiuyan could do nothing except guess and speculate, but she was definitely sure of one thing—all of this was Qu Moying’s fault. It was Qu Moying who caused her to fall into this kind of dilemma. She had already secretly left the mansion several times, but she had never been able to see Pei Yusheng.
Originally, she had been convinced, but now she was flustered.
“Third Sister.” Seeing her look over, Qu Moying smiled and bowed in a generous manner.
“How dare you…” These days, Qu Qiuyan was both anxious and hateful. When she saw the gloomy look in the Old Lady’s eyes, she quickly shut her mouth and calmed her anger. She asked, “Fourth Sister, what happened that day when Second Sister left with you? Why did something happen to Second Sister but you were okay?”
Qu Qiuyan could not help but ask.
The smile on Qu Moying’s face slowly faded away. “What do you mean, Third Sister? Do you think that something should have happened to me just because something happened to Second Sister? I didn’t have any ill intentions, and I wouldn’t casually enter any house in Dowager Consort Qu’s palace. Why would something happen to me? Does Third Sister know something? Coincidentally, Grandmother is also here. Third Sister can just say what you know and let Grandmother judge. Why do you think that something should have happened to me?”
The Old Lady was a little unhappy about the quarrel between the two sisters, but the meaning in Qu Moying’s words made her frown tightly. She looked at Qu Qiuyan but did not speak to stop Qu Moying.
Could it be that this matter was not what it seemed on the surface? It was just that Caiyue insisted that it was an accident, and the Old Lady could not ask anything out of her.
“Moying, what are you saying? I don’t understand. Do you mean that I know something and want to harm you? After you returned to the mansion, you kept hinting that Mother and I wanted to harm you. If we wanted to harm you, how could you always be safe after so many years? What exactly do you have against Mother and me?”
Qu Qiuyan retorted, her eyes cold and angry.
Qu Moying had been alive and well, which meant that her mother had never harmed her. As for those unsuccessful cases, Qu Qiuyan believed that Yu had already dealt with them properly. It had been so many years. At that time, Qu Moying was still young. She did not believe that Qu Moying would remember so many things.
“Third Sister, since you said so, then I will ask frankly why Madam and you can’t tolerate me, like during the Crown Princess’ funeral, and now you are saying the same things? Before, two persons out of nowhere pretended to be my parents, and where did you find such a couple? As for why I can still live until now, it can only be said that I am lucky. Let’s not talk about other things but how the fire right after I returned here to the mansion did not burn me to death. Isn’t it just because I am lucky?”
Qu Moying said coldly. She looked through her eye veil and coldly stared at Qu Qiuyan. It seemed that Qu Qiuyan could not bear it anymore. Very well. Judging from Lord Jing’s actions that day, he must not have the intention to soothe Qu Qiuyan at this time. Qu Qiuyan had been having a hard time these past few days. Now she saw that Qu Moying was living a good life, she could not hold back the anger in her heart anymore.
Very well!
This was the effect she wanted. She wanted the Old Lady to see clearly that Qu Qiuyan had never been kind to her. Everything she did was just a facade of peace.
It was just a false affection. Since Qu Qiuyan had made a move, she should directly break things off with her!
“You… How dare you say that…” Qu Qiuyan only thought of how Yu would not leave any traces behind for the matters in the past, but she did not think that the recent events were all badly planned and done. She gritted her teeth and her eyes turned red. She turned her head to look at the Old Lady, tears falling from her eyes. “Grandmother, look at her. What does she mean? Has she always been looking down on my mother and me? I have always thought of her as my own sister…”
“Your own sister? But the first thing you said was that I should have been the one that suffered? Third Sister, so you think that Second Sister should not have been the one in trouble but me, right? You mentioned the so-called sisterhood bond, but I don’t know whom you regard as your sister. As for that fire, I almost died there. Is it really just a matter caused by a maid?”
Qu Moying raised her head and her gaze fixed on Qu Qiuyan’s face, showing no sign of backing off.
There was no grievance at all in her tone. However, the words she said were even more heartbreaking. If this was really done by Qu Qiuyan, then Qu Qiuyan was on par with Yu in terms of ruthlessness.
The Old Lady choked for a moment. Although she felt that it was all Yu’s fault back then, what if Qu Qiuyan was really involved? After all, that maid was Qu Qiuyan’s private maid. And just now, she also noticed that Qu Qiuyan was full of hostility toward Qu Moying. Did she really treat Qu Moying as her sister?
Seeing that the Old Lady had been silent and her face was gloomy, Qu Qiuyan knew that the situation was against her. Just now, she could not hold back but attack Qu Moying. Now, Grandmother became suspicious. Her legs went soft and she knelt down. “Grandmother, what happened back then has already passed. What I’m talking about now is the current matter. Something suddenly happened to Second Sister. How can I not worry? When the accident happened, she was with Fourth Sister.”
“Third Sister, so you feel that you would rather something happened to me than Second Sister? The one who should have been in trouble is me?” Qu Moying looked at the frightened Qu Qiuyan coldly.
The Old Lady’s originally relaxed expression immediately tensed up. Qu Moying was her favorite granddaughter. How could Qu Caiyue compare with her?
Her hand slammed heavily on the table. “Yan, what exactly do you want to say?”
“Grandmother, I am really just worried about Second Sister.” Qu Qiuyan explained in a panic. She did not expect things to get to this point. If she had known that she would be at a disadvantage, she would not have taken the initiative to attack.
She had come in a hurry today and did not expect to meet Qu Moying. Everything was out of her control now.
“Third Sister, don’t say it’s about Second Sister. You are more worried about Lord Jing, aren’t you? I heard that you have secretly left the mansion to look for him several times,” Qu Moying said bluntly.
She guessed that Qu Qiuyan had secretly been out these few times to see Lord Jing.
“What?” The Old Lady really did not know about this matter. When she heard this, her eyes became stern. Before this, when Qu Qiuyan and Lord Jing were together and were seen by others, it was no big deal and could also be interpreted as a coincidence. One party was the host and the other was the guest, and they just happened to meet.
But what was the current situation? Lord Jing was urgently expected to give Qu Caiyue a status, and it had nothing to do with Qu Qiuyan. Even if Lord Jing had feelings for Qu Qiuyan before, what she was doing now made her look insensible.
“Qiuyan, did you really go to see Lord Jing?” The Old Lady was furious. She asked in disbelief, her voice trembling.
“Grandmother, I… I…” Qu Qiuyan did not dare to tell lies. If the Old Lady investigated, she would definitely find out. The carriage driver who sent her there that day was from the mansion.
“You… you… how can you be so muddle-headed?” The Old Lady was so angry that her face was pale and she was gasping for breath. Since ancient times, the man was the one coming over to ask for the woman’s hand in marriage. How could a girl meet the man at his residence like this? Besides, the man even had such an ambiguous affair with the girl’s sister?
If Lord Jing really cherished her, he would naturally come and settle the matter with Qu Caiyue properly. After all, Qu Caiyue was only a daughter of a concubine. But now, how could Qu Qiuyan go to see him herself? Was she planning to embarrass the entire Qu Mansion by letting Lord Jing trample on them as he pleased?
Seeing the Old Lady was so angry, Qu Moying hurriedly stepped forward and patted the Old Lady on the back to let her catch her breath. She was afraid that the Old Lady would lose her breath due to anger.