Chapter 397

Chapter 397 Yue’s Gold Pavilion Changed Owners

“Third Lady Qu is going to enter Lord Jing Mansion, isn’t she?” Old Lady Ji sighed. In fact, she was also very angry. She had never seen an unmarried lady do such a thing as Qu Qiuyan. Qu Qiuyan actually sent a maid to speak up for Duan. Old Lady Ji was reluctant to let Duan out, but she couldn’t say no because she didn’t make any excessive requests but only asked to let Duan go out.

However, Old Lady Ji felt very aggrieved. When her eldest son was alive, she had never been treated like this.

Back then, if she showed a trace of displeasure, those madams and ladies would try their best to please her.

She compared her two sons in her heart and felt that her second son was really useless.

Moreover, the second branch couldn’t compare with the first branch.

Xiao said disdainfully, “Mother, even if she enters Lord Jing Mansion, with her reputation, she will at most be a concubine. She couldn’t even be a Side Princess.”

Qu Qiuyan’s reputation had declined greatly. Her reputation used to be good, but it couldn’t get any worse now. Moreover, most of the rumors about her were true.

Old Lady Ji said, “Even if she can only be a concubine, she cannot be underestimated. After all, she will be Lord Jing’s woman.”

Seeing Old Lady Ji showing weakness, Xiao stomped her feet angrily, “Mother, what are you afraid of? Youran is still the Crown Prince’s Side Princess. She has a dominant position over Third Lady Qu. Third Lady Qu won’t dare to say anything even if you are harsh on her!”

Old Lady Ji was unhappy that her daughter-in-law was stomping her feet here. She said with a bit of annoyance, “Who knows what will happen between Eastern Palace and Lord Jing Mansion in the future?”

Xiao was shocked. “Mother, what do you mean?”

Old Lady Ji also knew that she had made a slip of the tongue. She shouldn’t have said these words and instead should keep them to herself. No one knew whether the Crown Prince or Lord Jing would inherit the throne.

“Alright, stop messing around. You don’t want the Crown Prince to start a fight with Lord Jing. If they do, Princess Ji will be affected.” Old Lady Ji said grumpily. She waved her hand, indicating for Xiao to leave.

“Mother, how could Youran be affected? Third Lady Qu is a lady with a bad reputation. No one will take her seriously.” Xiao said. She was exasperated at Old Lady Ji’s attitude.

Old Lady Ji had already closed her eyes. She didn’t want to continue the topic. She snorted and warned, “Xiao, Duan is your sister-in-law. Even if you don’t like her, she is still your sister-in-law. You have to respect her. Otherwise, I will not spare you.”

Xiao was so angry that her face turned pale. Old Lady Ji thought that Xiao could not tolerate Duan because of Duan’s previous identity. Now that Duan had become the first branch’s legitimate wife, Xiao could not say anything even if she was really dissatisfied.

A part of Ji Hanyue’s dowry had been returned to the first branch, which was what Xiao couldn’t accept the most. She thought her children should enjoy the benefits since there wasn’t anyone important in the first branch. However, Duan and Ji Yuanhai enjoyed the benefits.

If Xiao’s plan this time worked, she could obtain a lot of benefits, which were worth at least half of Yue’s Gold Pavilion.

Although she could not directly take over Yue’s Gold Pavilion, the benefits would be enough for her to open two shops by herself in the capital. Her daughter had told her that these shops like Yue’s Gold Pavilion were too eye-catching and she should not interfere. However, she could secretly help others and obtain benefits from it, and no one would know about it.

However, Duan had gone out now, which meant that Xiao couldn’t accomplish what she had promised others before. Xiao was afraid that it would affect her final gain.

Old Lady Ji closed her eyes and did not say anything else. It seemed that no matter what Xiao said, Old Lady Ji would not listen. Xiao could only turn around and leave with hatred. “This old woman is useless. She always ruins my plans!”

Xiao decided to tell her daughter about this so that if Duan stirred up any trouble, Ji Youran would be able to suppress it. Before, Xiao thought that she didn’t have to trouble her daughter because all she needed to do was to stop Duan from going out, which was just a piece of cake.

When Madam Duan arrived at Yue’s Gold Pavilion, Qu Moying was already there waiting for her. They both volunteered to deal with the ownership matter, so they only needed to take contracts with them and go to the Yamen to register.

However, Qu Moying couldn’t get the ownership of Yue’s Gold Pavilion right away because Yue’s Gold Pavilion was in a lawsuit. Only after the case was settled could the shop be officially handed over to Qu Moying.

But the registration was done, which meant that Qu Moying had the right to deal with the case. If the case was successfully settled, she would be the owner of Yue’s Gold Pavilion.

They dealt with the matter in Yamen quite smoothly. After going over the procedure, Madam Duan entrusted the case to Qu Moying. Her current situation wasn’t good, but it was much better than before. At least for the time being, Xiao did not dare to do anything to her. What Madam Duan needed to do now was to protect the little Young Master, Ji Yuanhai.

She was afraid that Xiao would hurt Ji Yuanhai.

Qu Moying knew Madam Duan’s difficulties, so she did not keep her. She explained the situation to Yamen. After that, she was able to intervene in Yue’s Gold Pavilion’s matters. At the same time, she expressed to Yamen that she was temporarily on Madam Duan’s behalf. As for Yue’s Gold Pavilion’s shopkeeper, Madam Duan told him to follow Qu Moying in the future.

After a simple handover, Madam Duan returned to the mansion.

Qu Moying stayed to deal with Yue’s Gold Pavilion’s affairs. Right now, the most important thing was to deal with the lawsuit. Qu Moying asked Yu Dong to inquire people in the Yamen who the customer was that made the ruby customization order and where he lived.

It would be better to settle this matter privately, but Qu Moying felt that this matter was not simple, so she asked Yu Dong to investigate the people around Xiao.

Since this matter had something to do with Xiao, someone around Xiao must have done something behind it.

Although they had not completed the formalities in Yamen, they handed over the job in front of Shopkeeper Zhang, so Shopkeeper Zhang now took Qu Moying as his master.

In fact, Shopkeeper Zhang and Aunt Yang both used to work in Yue’s Clothing Pavilion. It did not matter to them whether to follow Little Yue or Elder Yue.

Moreover, Elder Yue was gone, and her daughter was also gone. Fortunately, Little Yue’s daughter was still alive. Shopkeeper Zhang did not have any uncomfortable feelings about working for Qu Moying.

After dealing with a series of matters, Qu Moying returned to Qu Mansion. As soon as she sat down at Qianyue House, she saw an old maid coming in with a smile. It was Old Lady Qu’s old maid.

“Fourth Lady, just now, Earl Ling’an’s Mansion’s Madam Duan sent someone over to tell you that the Buddhist scripture that she lent you was not the one used by the ex-Crown Princess before. She gave you the wrong one. This is the right one. Please take it.” The old maid respectfully presented a Buddhist scripture to Qu Moying.

Qu Moying stood up and respectfully took it. Since this was the ex-Crown Princess’ Buddhist scripture, she should take it respectfully.

Qu Moying ordered, “Yu Chun, send this scripture to Third Sister and tell her that the previous one was not the right copy, and she could just put it aside.”

Yu Chun complied, respectfully took the Buddhist scripture, and headed towards Qu Qiuyan’s yard.

When Qu Qiuyan received the Buddhist scripture and the words that Madam Duan had sent over, she heaved a sigh of relief. She had been back in Qu Mansion for a while, and she had been waiting for the message from Earl Ling’an’s Mansion. It seemed that Madam Duan was a person who handled matters appropriately. Since the message was delivered by Qu Moying’s maid, it meant that Qu Moying was also informed.

Qu Qiuyan was very satisfied. She smiled and gave Yu Chun a big reward.

But after Yu Chun left, Qu Qiuyan’s face darkened again. She spent a large sum of money this time and ended up getting an average Buddhist scripture. Although this Buddhist scripture was said to be used by the ex-Crown Princess before, it did not have much value. She couldn’t even send it to Noble Consort He to please her.

All of this was caused by Qu Moying!

Qu Qiuyan gritted her teeth in hatred. She went for wool but came home shorn this time. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She picked up the teacup on the table and smashed it on the ground.

Her maids stood aside, trembling. They didn’t dare to say or do anything to calm her down.

Qu Qiuyan was still very angry after smashing a teacup. She stood up and walked to the antique shelf. Then, she pushed it hard. The shelf fell down, and the fine porcelain items on the shelf fell one by one and broke into pieces on the ground…

“Your Ladyship, our Duchess thanks you for your generous gifts. She sent gifts to the two ladies in your mansion in return. Your Ladyship, please accept them.”

The old maid from Duke Qi’s Mansion said with a smile and pointed at the four maids beside her, each holding a gift box.

The boxes were open, and there were brocade and jewelry inside them.

The brocade in the first box looked a little dark, which was obviously prepared for the elder. The brocade in the other boxes was bright, and there were some flower hairpins and two pairs of jade bracelets. These should be the gifts prepared for Qu Qiuyan and Qu Moying.

“Please thank your Duchess for me!” Old Lady Qu smiled with satisfaction. She was not greedy for these gifts, but she could see Duchess Qi’s attitude through such appropriate gifts that were delivered by Duchess Qi so quickly.

Qu Mansion was still a little weak among the capital’s powerful families, but things would be different if Qu Mansion could get along well with Duke Qi’s Mansion, or at least, it would benefit Qu Moying.

Old Lady Qu secretly sighed in her heart. She hoped that she was doing the right thing instead of taking the wrong step.

“Your Ladyship, it’s too polite of you. Our Duchess said that she wanted to invite Third Lady Qu and Fourth Lady Qu to our mansion in a few days because we are going to hold a chrysanthemum viewing party.” The old maid smiled and handed over an invitation. “Not many people are invited to this event. The ones who are invited are all old friends of our mansion. The chrysanthemums are obtained from other places by our Duke. They are very precious!”

“Have they bloomed?” Old Lady Qu asked curiously. In fact, the chrysanthemums had not yet bloomed at this time of the year.

The old maid answered, “They will be bloomed in these few days, so our Duchess wants to hold a gathering again. She wants to invite Third Lady Qu and Fourth Lady Qu to come.”

Old Lady Qu said, “Many thanks for your Duchess’ invitation. By that time, the two of them will naturally go over.”

Granny Wu went forward and took the invitation.

Duke Qi’s Mansion’s old maid bowed to Old Lady Qu again before leaving.

“Send the gifts to Qiuyan and Moying. Tell them about the invitation. Moying should go. As for Qiuyan…” Old Lady Qu hesitated for a moment. In fact, she did not want Qu Qiuyan to go, but it was not good to let Qu Moying go alone. After thinking for a while, she nodded and said, “Let her prepare too. Let them go together. Later, let the embroidery workshop of our mansion make two sets of clothes for the two of them!”