Chapter 368 – She Had Planted An Agent There
Chapter 368 She Had Planted an Agent There
Liu Jingyu was very proud of one thing.
When her mother married into the Liu Family, the dowry she brought with her was almost half of Duke Qi’s Mansion’s savings. Her maternal grandfather loved her mother the most and gave her whatever she liked. Even her maternal grandmother felt the dowry was way too substantial, but her grandfather was still very generous.
On her mother’s wedding day, more than a hundred servants carried her dowry items over to Liu Family. Moreover, some dowry items had been moved into the Liu Family before the wedding.
It was said that when Ji Hanyue married the Crown Prince, Ji Hanyue’s dowry was also extravagant, which was quite a sight. But Liu Jingyu believed that if she was going to marry the Crown Prince, her dowry would definitely be much more substantial than that of Ji Hanyue.
She believed that she would have whatever Ji Hanyue had and also what Ji Hanyue didn’t have.
In this regard, she thought she could exceed Ji Hanyue. Moreover, behind her, she had Duke Qi’s Mansion and the Liu Family, which were much more powerful than Earl Ling’an’s Mansion.
If her grandfather was still holding the military power when the Crown Prince first chose a wife, she would have been chosen at that time. However, her grandfather had not been in charge of the military for a long time, so Ji Hanyue took the position which Liu Jingyu thought should be hers. But she didn’t worry about Ji Hanyue now. What made her unhappy was that if she married the Crown Prince, she would be his second wife.
She was dissatisfied with the word “second”.
But she was not anxious to deal with it now because she believed she would have a way to deal with it in the future.
Ji Hanyue was dead. How could she really occupy the Crown Prince’s heart? In Liu Jingyu’s opinion, the Crown Prince didn’t love Ji Hanyue that much, and he was just pretending to be affectionate.
And she was confident that she could win the Crown Prince’s heart and make him obsessed with her. As for Ji Youran, she was not worried about her at all because Ji Youran was just a Side Princess, and she could deal with her easily after she entered Eastern Palace. Unlike Ji Hanyue, she would not show mercy to Ji Youran…
As for how to deal with Qu Moying, she already had a plan. She knew which place in Grand Princess Mansion Prefectural Princess Xiangrong loved the most, and the gathering should be held there this time. She had long asked her maid to get along well with a maid who was working in that place. She had planted an agent there for a rainy day, and she could make use of her this time…
Grand Princess Changyu’s mansion sent out quite a few invitations, and many young ladies had received them. Some of them couldn’t attend it, and they specially apologized to Prefectural Princess Xiangrong.
As for those who could attend the gathering, they were all busy preparing clothes and accessories. Although they didn’t want to cause a sensation, they didn’t want to be outdone by other ladies. After knowing that the controversial Qu Moying would also attend the gathering, they worked even harder on their preparations.
It had been a while since Qu Moying had returned to the capital, but not many people had seen her. Many young ladies still believed the rumor that Qu Moying was neither talented nor beautiful.
However, the rumor had faded recently. Many people who had seen Qu Moying said that she was not as untalented as they had imagined, and she might be good-looking. Although the eye veil covered her face and concealed her specific features, it was certain that she was not ugly.
Some people were curious about her. Some people wanted to make things difficult for her. Some people found it sarcastic. Qu Qiuyan had always been the one in Qu Mansion to attend such gatherings, but Qu Moying was the one to show up this time. What did this mean? After all, everyone was saying that Qu Qiuyan would definitely enter Lord Jing Mansion, and even Lord Jing vaguely showed his interest in Qu Qiuyan.
It was not explicitly stated, but since Lord Jing was interested in Qu Qiuyan, they naturally thought highly of her. Who was this Qu Moying?
Qu Mansion didn’t let Qu Qiuyan attend the gathering but sent Qu Moying. It seemed that there was no better option than Qu Moying in Qu Mansion.
However, they were happy to see Qu Moying make a fool of herself. Recently, a number of incidents happened in Qu Mansion from time to time, and they were happy to watch the fun.
People held different kinds of thoughts. The ladies who were going to attend the gathering were actively preparing clothes and accessories. Even the business of Qu Moying’s shop, Yue’s Clothing Pavilion, was much better. It was mainly because the five-color brocade that Yue’s Clothing Pavilion purchased from the South was nice, and many ladies liked it and went there to make clothes.
Qu Moying also chose the clothes made from five-color brocade for herself because she thought it was a good opportunity to publicize her shop. She had not worn the clothes that her grandmother sent to her from the South yet, so she chose a set from those clothes. She wore a light purple coat and an eight-piece white dress with light purple flowers, which immediately stunned the maids.
“Lady, you are really beautiful. I know this dress is beautiful, but I didn’t expect it could be so beautiful when you put it on.” Yu Chun’s mouth was wide open in astonishment. Qu Moying was really beautiful after dressing up, but it was a pity that she was still unwilling to remove the eye veil and show her face.
Yu Dong also nodded repeatedly and smiled brightly. “Lady, you are really beautiful. I thought that this set of clothes was a bit plain, but you look so good in it.”
Yu Dong’s aesthetic standard was different from that of ordinary maids. He thought that fancy clothes were the most beautiful, and he had just argued with Yu Chun about this. But after seeing Qu Moying put on the dress, he thought there was no need to argue because Qu Moying was really beautiful!
Qu Moying wore a light purple belt, which outlined her slender waist. During this period of time, Qu Moying was taken good care of. She had grown taller, and her figure became slenderer and more elegant. Recently, Granny Yan had even chosen a prescription from the palace to help her recuperate, so Qu Moying appeared to radiate a special aura like jade now.
She was even more outstanding than before.
Her skin was as fair as jade, and her face was tender and pink. Her dark hair was tied up high. The pair of pearl earrings and pearl hairpins she wore were both faint purple. Although the pearls were small, they matched the clothes very well, making her look even more charming.
The belt she wore was also light purple. Its color was really light, but its purple color could be seen if one took a closer look, and it matched her clothes well.
The most eye-catching accessory she wore was the small jade fan with a purple tassel on her slender waist. It was chic and elegant, making Qu Moying look much nobler.
Moreover, Qu Moying’s conduct and bearing were eye-catching. People would be amazed by her with just a glance and know that she was a beautiful lady.
Looking at Qu Moying, Granny Yan kept smiling and nodding. She felt she had good taste because the things she picked were in line with Qu Moying’s status and were also elegant and decent.
After dressing up, Qu Moying went to report to the Old Lady that she was leaving for the gathering. Seeing Qu Moying, the Old Lady also smiled. She let Qu Moying twirl twice to take a better look at her. Then, she let Qu Moying go with satisfaction.
Qu Moying brought two senior maids and two junior maids with her, and everything she might need was ready.
They walked out in a group. Unexpectedly, they saw Qu Qiuyan at the inner gate.
Qu Moying slightly bowed to her and said, “Greetings, Third Sister.”
Qu Qiuyan sized up Qu Moying with an unfriendly gaze as she snorted, “Moying, are you going to the gathering? I heard that it is held in Grand Princess Changyu’s mansion. I wonder if Grand Princess Changyu knows that you are the one who is going to attend the gathering!”
Qu Qiuyan had already known about this matter for a few days and was very angry.
Qu Moying raised her head and smiled. “Third Sister, you can also go if you want!”
Grand Princess Changyu’s mansion only sent one invitation card over, which meant that only one lady from Qu Mansion was invited, so how could she go with Qu Moying together? If Qu Qiuyan were to attend the gathering, she would be humiliated.
Qu Qiuyan said arrogantly, “Moying, you are quite lucky. Grandmother is partial to you and gave you the invitation card, so you are naturally the one to attend it. I hope you can have the last laugh.”
“Third Sister, thank you for your kindness. Since you will not be there, I believe I will be fine.” Qu Moying said indifferently and walked straight out. When she passed Qu Qiuyan, she deliberately glanced at her with endless ridicule, almost making Qu Qiuyan lose her temper.
Qu Qiuyan glared at the receding figure of Qu Moying and gritted her teeth.
Qing Mei cleverly comforted her, “Lady, don’t be angry. In the future, you will definitely do better than Fourth Lady. Second Young Master is still waiting for you. Lady, do you want to go over now?”
Qu Qiuyan was originally going to East Mansion to see Qu Mingcheng, but she deliberately came here because she wanted to see how Qu Moying dressed. In her opinion, others would laugh at Qu Moying no matter how she dressed up because she had never attended such gatherings, so how could she know what to dress?
She didn’t expect Qu Moying to dress so well that even she was stunned, which also made her even more resentful.
“Let’s go!” Qu Qiuyan gritted her teeth and turned her gloomy gaze to Qu Moying’s back, and she fumed again.
Qu Qiuyan thought she was the noblest lady in Qu Mansion, and she behaved the best outside. But now, she could only stay in the mansion, whereas Qu Moying was going to attend the gathering. She couldn’t accept it.
She forcefully suppressed the anger in her heart. Qu Mingcheng had told her to be patient. Thinking of his words, Qu Qiuyan turned around and left. Her grandmother and her father were both on Qu Moying’s side, she had better listen to her brother and be more careful…
The carriage had already been waiting at the entrance of the mansion. Qu Moying and four maids got on the carriage together. This carriage was much more spacious than the usual ones. It was the one that Old Lady usually took when she went out.
It was spacious even for five people.
The carriage went all the way to Grand Princess Changyu’s mansion. Although Grand Princess Changyu married Marquis Jingyang, they usually lived with their children in Grand Princess Changyu’s mansion.
Grand Princess Changyu had a son and a daughter. Her son was Young Master Jingyang. Her daughter was Prefectural Princess Xiangrong, and this title was bestowed from the palace at her request. Prefectural Princess Xiangrong was said to be extremely outstanding.
The carriage drove past a few streets before finally arriving in front of Grand Princess Mansion. An old maid was already waiting there, and she walked up to the carriage and asked.
“May I ask which mansion you are from?”
Yu Dong lifted the curtain and said to the old maid outside, “We are from Vice Minister Qu’s Mansion.”
“So, it’s Fourth Lady Qu. Please come with me.” The old maid had seen the name list and knew which young ladies were coming. Hearing Yu Dong’s words, she immediately knew it was Qu Moying in the carriage. As she spoke, she curiously looked inside the carriage. Qu Moying was the most controversial one and had eye disease, so the old maid was curious about her appearance.
Yu Dong raised his eyebrows and glared at the old maid, which forced the old maid to look away…