Chapter 110

Chapter 110 The Bargaining Chip in Ming Xian’er’s Hand

“Concubine Yu, why do you always want to give the Fourth Lady trouble? The Fourth Lady has nothing to do with you becoming Young Master Yongning’s concubine. You made her lose her engagement already. Why can’t you just give her a break? What on earth do you want from the Fourth Lady?” Yu Dong let go of Yu Qingmeng’s hand and stood before Qu Moying, showing his loyalty as a maid.

“I…I didn’t mean to…” Yu Qingmeng panicked as she didn’t expect things to become like this. Her plan was totally ruined because Yu Dong grabbed her hand tightly to stop her from kneeling.

“Concubine Yu, I know you and Young Master Yongning love each other. As you wished, you finally married the person you like. The position of a concubine may not be satisfying for you. Still, it has nothing to do with the Fourth Lady anymore. Even if you want to vent your displease on someone, you should go to Second Lady Duan’s place. Why do you have to target the Fourth Lady?”

Yu Dong questioned in a loud voice, gazing sternly at tearful Yu Qingmeng.

Since Yu Dong was not restrained by female virtues and the Qu Family’s rules, he felt free to say things that people didn’t dare to say.

His words directly implied that Yu Qingmeng and Xu Lipeng hooked up with each other long ago, which was why the Marquis Yongning’s Family broke off the engagement with the Qu Family. People all guessed that Fourth Lady Qu must have had some complaints since her fiance was suddenly taken away by someone else. Yu Dong’s words caused a great shock. Yet, they were also a hard confirmation of the seeming gentleman Young Master Yongning and Yu Qingmeng’s dirty relationship. The rumors were all true.

It turned out that Young Master Yongning was just pretending that he didn’t mind marrying Fourth Lady Qu.

Among the onlookers, some young masters couldn’t help but chuckle sarcastically.

The elders in their families loved to use Young Master Yongning as their role model when scolding them for their misbehaviors. Although Fourth Lady Qu was far away from qualified to be his wife, Young Master Yongning still remained this improper engagement and kept the promise made by his parents. His loyalty and honor made him stand out among his peers. Thus, those elders always asked the youngsters to learn from Young Master Yongning, a real young gentleman in their eyes.

Now that Xu Lipeng’s disguise was thoroughly peeled off, he seemed nothing different than his peers.

“No wonder she used to be a decent noble lady but got married as a concubine. She had no other choice!”

“She is indeed a pretty woman, probably better than Fourth Lady Qu. That’s why they all say men always marry concubines for their appearances…”

“Xu Lipeng is more cunning than I thought…”

…

Some young masters passing by talked in complacency. When the elders scolded them for being a playboy in the future, they finally had a solid reason to argue back.

The perfect gentleman, Young Master Yongning, did something even more shameless than what they did. At least they dared to admit they were playboys while Young Master Yongning pretended to be perfect on the surface but did dirty things behind everyone’s back.

At the same time, Xu Lipeng was hiding behind a tree with his face turning pale in anger. He gnashed his teeth and turned around to leave as quickly as possible. He couldn’t show up right now.

Everything Yu Qingmeng did gained nothing but ruined his name. He thought he could use Yu Qingmeng’s hand to teach Qu Moying a good lesson this time. All Yu Qingmeng needed to do was kneel in front of Qu Moying in public and let everyone see Qu Moying’s indifferent and cruel attitude. He even hinted Yu Qingmeng to use the baby in her womb if it was necessary.

She could still bear more babies after losing this one. But if his name was ruined, it would be a bad start to his career, and there would be no way back.

The good reputation he had built for years kept being affected by Yu Qingmeng. At this critical moment when he was about to start his career, this was the recovery plan he came up with, agreed by Yu Qingmeng.

However, things totally went in a different direction. It was not Qu Moying but Yu Qingmeng who was put under pressure and became speechless in panic. Moreover, because Qu Moying’s maid grabbed her hand, she couldn’t even carry out her kneeling-and-egging plan.

Yu Qingmeng was indeed a useless woman.

He shook his sleeves in rage and strode away…

“Concubine Yu, the engagement between Young Master Xu and me was broken off. As his concubine, I’m not even a threat to you anymore. Why are you still trying to find me trouble?” holding Yu Chun’s hand, Qu Moying stood up and questioned Yu Qingmeng coldly. Her face was still pale due to her illness, but she acted calmly.

Yu Qingmeng wanted to step closer but was blocked by Yu Dong.

“Concubine Yu, don’t come any closer. If you really have something to tell me, say it right there. You don’t look well today. If you approach me and anything bad happens to you, I can’t afford it.” Qu Moying gazed at Yu Qingmeng, whose haggard face told her that the owner had some tough days.

A trace of coldness flashed across Qu Moying’s eyes. She didn’t want to get involved with Xu Lipeng and Yu Qingmeng at all, but they still wanted to frame her to gain back what they had lost, which was the same in Yu’s case.

Qu Moying curtsied to Yu and turned to walk down another path as Yu Dong stayed behind, still blocking Yu Qingmeng from approaching his master. After Qu Moying and Yu Chun left for a while, Yu Dong suddenly turned around to catch up with them. The way he ran away looked so flustered, as if Yu Qingmeng was some monster that he didn’t want to be touched by.

“So, that’s the truth! I’m impressed by Young Master Xu. His concubine doesn’t seem like a decent lady either,” those playboys smirked. People were not stupid, and they soon figured out Yu Qingmeng’s evil intention after she suddenly showed up here to stand in Fourth Lady Qu’s way.

Through watching their interaction, many people even concluded that Yu Qingmeng hooked up with Xu Lipeng long ago and might even get pregnant. Otherwise, why did Fourth Lady Qu avoid her as if she was untouchable?

Hearing people’s discussion, Yu Qingmeng wished she could find a crack on the ground and hide inside. She turned around and ran away while covering her face and crying, making the rumors even more convincing.

It seemed that every woman in the Yu Family was malicious. Both the Second Madam of the Qu Family and the young woman who just ran away were the proofs of it. If a man married a woman from the Yu Family, she would probably bring trouble or even ruin the whole family just like her family did. People were determined to warn their family not to marry a woman from the Yu Family as a wife, let alone a concubine.

No one dared to cause any trouble in the Eastern Palace. After Yu Qingmeng left, the crowd scattered.

Qu Moying made a detour with her two maids and finally arrived at the Crown Princess’s altar room.

The altar room was pretty quiet right now. Qu Moying didn’t see the Crown Prince Pei Luo’an and Ji Youran, only Ming Xian’er, kneeling on the ground and burning paper money in a brazier.

Hearing the noise from the door, Ming Xian’er lifted her head and looked at the visitor with her red, swollen eyes. After recognizing Qu Moying, a trace of excitement showed up on her blank face but soon was hidden behind her sorrowful expression.

Holding a maid’s hand, she stood up and moved her ankles. Then she walked to a desk, ignited some incense sticks, and passed them to Qu Moying.

Qu Moying took the incense sticks from her hands, bowed to the coffin, and walked up to the altar to insert the sticks into the burner.

Then she cast another gaze at the large, solemn coffin, only feeling ironic. Everyone was here to mourn for the deceased Crown Princess, but who knew there was nothing inside the coffin. It had been months since she fell from the Linyuan Pavilion and died. Her body probably disappeared in the deep lake long ago, but Pei Luo’an didn’t announce her death until now. What a loving husband he was!

Now, she was standing here, mourning for herself in the past life.

Looking at the empty coffin made her feel like everything was a joke where everyone was so pretentiously sorrowful. Even Ming Xian’er, who had never met Ji Hanyue before, looked so sad as if someone important to her had just died.

Everything was so fake but also felt so real.

“Fourth Lady Qu, don’t be too sad. The Crown Princess in heaven won’t be happy seeing you so upset,” Ming Xian’er comforted her softly. Her voice was hoarse, clearly because of too much crying.

Qu Moying’s cold eyes fell on the coffin in the center. If she had enough power, she would destroy this fake altar room long ago and not even need to stand here to mourn for herself. The honored title of the Crown Princess was such a burden to her family and even cost their lives. She was determined to take her revenge, even at the cost of her life again.

However, her life still has some value to her right now. Before everything was ready, she would not give it up yet.

With her current identity, her death wouldn’t even make a tiny difference for Pei Luo’an. If she died right now, the world would just have one more poor person who died of injustice.

Her eyes slowly moved onto Ming Xian’er.

Feeling her sharp gaze, Ming Xian’er subconsciously took a step back, somehow having a sense of fear. She swallowed nervously to make up her mind and whispered to Qu Moying, “Fourth Lady Qu, do you want to take a look at thing left by the Crown Princess?”

She didn’t have any method to contact this Fourth Lady Qu, who would go back home tomorrow. As a concubine in the Eastern Palace, it was almost impossible for Ming Xian’er to meet her again after she left. She knew this was her last chance.

Ming Xian’er was sure that after this chance, Ji Youran would keep a close eye on her, and any of her strange behavior would be reported to Ji Youran. In the end, she still didn’t have a way out. Soon, there would be many other beauties marrying into the Eastern Palace. Who knew if the Crown Prince would still remember her after half a year? She couldn’t just wait and do nothing.

She had to break in the funeral before to let the Crown Prince see her, or she would lose her life. To make up for her disrespect for the deceased Crown Princess, she volunteered to guard the coffin. But right now, she had to grab every chance to find herself a backer, and Fourth Lady Qu was the ideal one.

“Who are you? What do you want to show me?” Qu Moying said frigidly.

“Fourth Lady Qu, I’m His Royal Highness’s concubine. Please follow me,” said Ming Xian’er. She was no longer just a servant anymore since Ji Youran acknowledged her identity yesterday. It was reasonable for her to introduce herself as the Crown Prince’s concubine in public.

Qu Moying turned around to look at her and then glanced over other maids present. One of them lifted her head and stared at Ming Xian’er in shock, clearly not expecting her to address herself this way.

This maid should be Ji Youran’s pawn, but she didn’t dare to say anything right now. After all, making any noise in front of the Crown Princess’s coffin would be a severe crime.

Qu Moying followed Ming Xian’er to a side room. She would go back home tomorrow, so she deliberately came here to meet Ming Xian’er today. She believed Ming Xian’er would have some surprise for her.

Ming Xian’er had the nerve to break into the Crown Princess’s funeral and accuse Ji Youran in public, which meant she was not a stupid girl. The first step was done, and it was time for Qu Moying to make the next move. There were not many people in the Eastern Palace who could help her. Since Ming Xian’er started it this time, she must have a bargaining chip in hand. Qu Moying wanted to see if it had some value to her…