Chapter 280 – Who Was Behind This?
Chapter 280 Who Was Behind This?
“County Lady Jingyu and Miss Yan are good friends.” Duan Jinxiang finally interjected.
However, Qu Moying and Xu Lipeng both gave her a cold look.
Xu Lipeng realized that something was wrong, and he cupped his hands towards Qu Moying with a cold face, “Fourth Lady Qu, I was rude today. I must have fallen into someone else’s trap.”
Qu Moying gracefully stood up, bowed sideways in return, and said seriously, “Young Master Xu, let bygones be bygones. Your current fiancee is Second Lady Duan. You two are a good match. Please cherish it. As for my matter, you don’t have to worry about it.”
Her words were extremely cold, and she did not show the slightest bit of shyness in front of Xu Lipeng, which could be seen that she had no feelings for him.
After being silent for a moment, Xu Lipeng said, “Goodbye!”
Then, he turned around and left. Duan Jinxiang still wanted to say something, but seeing that he was leaving, she could only glare at Qu Moying fiercely before turning to leave.
Xu Lipeng and Duan Jinxiang walked out of the shop. As expected, the few young ladies waiting outside were chatting and laughing. Seeing the two of them come out, one of the young ladies asked in surprise, “Didn’t Young Master Xu and Second Lady Duan have a quarrel?”
As soon as these words left her mouth, the young lady knew that she had misspoken. She immediately shut her mouth and lowered her head with embarrassment.
“Why would I quarrel with Second Lady Duan?” Xu Lipeng asked coldly. He glanced at the few young ladies coldly, causing them to stop talking and become uneasy.
Xu Lipeng looked at Duan Jinxiang and asked, “Second Lady Duan, can I have a word with you?”
“Alright!” Duan Jinxiang did not expect that Xu Lipeng would want to talk to her. She lowered her head shyly, her face blushing.
The two of them walked aside to talk.
“Second Lady Duan, you have seen it too. Someone must have schemed against me, and it’s a woman. I wonder if there is anyone who has a close relationship with County Lady Jingyu among your friends?”
Xu Lipeng asked coldly with a hint of impatience in his eyes.
Qu Moying’s words reminded him. It had been a while since that incident. At that time, he did not think too much about it and just thought that he was unlucky.
Duan Jinxiang thought about it and said, “Yes, there is one. She is over there. She was the one who urged me to come out for a walk.”
“You’d better be wary of her and County Lady Jingyu in the future.” Xu Lipeng’s face darkened after he confirmed his guess. He did not have any interaction with County Lady Jingyu, but why did she do this to him? Or did she intend to deal with Qu Moying?
But no matter what, he was already involved.
“Okay, I will be careful.” Duan Jinxiang felt that Xu Lipeng was caring for her. She shyly twisted the handkerchief in her hand and was about to say a few words of concern, but Xu Lipeng had already turned around and left.
She became angry again.
Seeing that Xu Lipeng had left, the few ladies came over to Duan Jinxiang and asked, “Second Lady Duan, is there anything wrong? Is Fourth Lady Qu inside? Did she talk to Young Master Xu before?”
A young lady came over, held Duan Jinxiang’s hand, and said with a face full of concern, “If there really is something, we will definitely stand on your side. Right now, you are Young Master Xu’s fiancee.”
Hearing her words, the other ladies nodded, saying that they would support Duan Jinxiang.
Duan Jinxiang turned to look at the young lady who spoke first. She was the one who had a very good relationship with County Lady Jingyu whom Duan Jinxiang had just mentioned. Duan Jinxiang heard that this lady was even some sort of a relative of County Lady Jingyu. Thinking of this, Duan Jinxiang immediately became angry. She reached out to push her and said angrily, “What do you mean? Are you deliberately stirring up trouble? You asked me to come out for a walk and then led me here. Now you are speaking ill of Young Master Xu. Who told you to do this?”
The young lady did not expect that Duan Jinxiang would directly push her. She lost her balance and fell backwards. She was in so much pain that her tears fell down. How could she defend herself?
“What are you trying to do? Are you trying to break up me and Young Master Xu? Do you have a crush on Young Master Xu and that’s why you did this?”
The anger in Duan Jinxiang’s heart surged. She couldn’t say anything when she faced Qu Moying just now, and Xu Lipeng left ruthlessly. Thinking that she might have been set up by others, she got angry and stared at the lady on the ground fiercely.
Being reprimanded by Duan Jinxiang like this and seeing that all the passers-by turned to look at her in a sorry state, the lady immediately cried out.
Some of the young ladies went over to help her up, and the others went to comfort Duan Jinxiang. For a moment, it was a mess…
Xu Lipeng ignored the few young ladies who were in a mess behind him and frowned. He suddenly remembered one thing. After he cancelled the engagement with Qu Moying, he went to the Ministry of Appointments to ask if he could become an official as planned. His appointment had almost been settled, but an official told him that he probably could not be an official because his reputation was tainted.
The official from the Ministry of Appointments had a close relationship with Marquis Yongning’s Mansion. Under Xu Lipeng’s repeated questioning, the official told him that this matter had something to do with Duke Qi. He said that Duke Qi had specifically told the minister of the Ministry of Appointments that Xu Lipeng was not a good person and that he was pretending in the past. He said that Xu Lipeng was hypocritical and it was not a good idea to put him in an important position. Therefore, Xu Lipeng failed to be an official as planned at that time.
After the matter, Xu Lipeng thought that Duke Qi misunderstood him because he did not deal with the engagement with Qu Moying properly. However, after listening to Qu Moying just now, he realized that County Lady Jingyu seemed to be behind this. Duke Qi was County Lady Jingyu’s grandfather. Could there be something that he did not know about?
Duke Qi was dissatisfied with him. County Lady Jingyu even framed him and Qu Moying. What was the reason for this? Was Duke Qi or County Lady Jingyu the one behind this?
If Duke Qi wanted to deal with him, it would be a piece of cake. What was happening now was more like a woman’s trick.
He was sure that County Lady Jingyu was the one behind the scene. But he had rarely seen her. She was a good-looking woman from an outstanding family. How could she have anything to do with Qu Moying? Qu Moying lived a simple life in the village before. She didn’t seem to have anything to do with County Lady Jingyu.
“If her target is not Qu Moying, is it me?”
At the thought of this, Xu Lipeng suddenly stopped in his track and clenched his fists in disbelief. Was it because County Lady Jingyu had a special feeling for him that she was so hostile to him and Qu Moying?
If this was the case, it seemed to be a proper reason why Duke Qi was angry with him at first and why County Lady Jingyu dealt with him, Qu Moying, and even Duan Jinxiang later.
It turned out that County Lady Jingyu was in love with him, but he didn’t know anything. It was difficult for him to do anything now.
Xu Lipeng was annoyed. He just wanted to turn back time. If he had known it earlier, he would not have chosen Duan Jinxiang as his fiancee. He was angry, but he was also secretly happy. He had a mixture of feelings and did not know what to do next.
County Lady Jingyu was not a normal noble lady. Her status was very high, and her background was not something that Duan Jinxiang could compare with. For a moment, he could not help but think about it…
“Miss, they have all left.” Yu Dong came in and reported. He only came in after seeing the young ladies leave.
Qu Moying nodded and continued to review the account book in her hand. She casually asked, “Is Young Master Xu thinking while walking and stopping as if he has realized something?”
Yu Dong nodded repeatedly. Qu Moying had really guessed everything. “Yes, after a few words with Second Lady Duan, Young Master Xu turned around and strode away. But before he went far, he suddenly stopped, not because of the quarrel between the young ladies behind him. After standing for a while, he left thoughtfully slower than just now. I saw that the expression on his face was very strange.”
Yu Dong saw Xu Lipeng’s expression when he was turning a corner. Xu Lipeng’s expression was indeed strange. He could not tell how exactly Xu Lipeng felt because he seemed to feel sad, remorseful, and even a bit helpless.
Qu Moying turned a page and curled her lips silently. It seemed that Xu Lipeng indeed had realized something. It was not in vain for her to mention Liu Jingyu just now.
“Miss, why is County Lady Jingyu making things difficult for you?” Yu Dong asked curiously. He thought Liu Jingyu was really strange.
“I don’t know.” Qu Moying shook her head. She really couldn’t figure it out, but she knew Liu Jingyu had hated her for a long time, and she tried to destroy her again and again.
Yu Dong thought for a moment and suddenly said, “Miss, could it be that County Lady Jingyu also likes Lord Yun, so that she is jealous of you?”
Qu Moying looked up at Yu Dong speechlessly. “You are thinking too much!”
In terms of appearance, Pei Yuanjun, who was even more good-looking than ordinary women, could indeed be said to be incomparably handsome. It was understandable if many women liked him. However, his nickname was “Devil King”, and his aura was terrifying. Qu Moying really did not think that Liu Jingyu had taken a fancy to Pei Yuanjun.
Liu Jingyu was most likely interested in the Crown Prince, Pei Luo’an. According to what had happened, she would try to be the Crown Princess next. But Qu Moying didn’t think she had anything to do with it. Did she block Liu Jingyu’s path?
There was no inexplicable hatred in this world. There must be a conflict of interests between the two of them. But Qu Moying couldn’t figure out why Liu Jingyu had wanted to ruin her since she was a little girl.
However, Qu Moying was not a pushover. A trace of ruthlessness flashed through her eyes. Since Liu Jingyu was so vicious, she would fight back.
“Have the previous words been spread out?” Qu Moying asked. She had already asked Yu Dong to do it.
“Yes. I think many people have already known about those words now. They are all talking about this matter.” Yu Dong nodded. While everyone was talking about what happened, he spread out the words. By this time, maybe the matter had spread all over the city.
Qu Moying nodded. Since Liu Jingyu had intervened in this, she would pull her into the limelight and see what she wanted to do!
At this time, the matter had indeed caused a sensation. Crown Prince’s Mansion, the Ji Family, and even Minister Liu’s House were all involved.