Chapter 54

Chapter 54 The Arrogant Second Lady Qu

Qu Moying got up early the next morning. She brought two maids with her and left all the affairs in her yard to Granny Miao. With Granny Miao in charge, she was not worried at all.

When she arrived at the Old Lady’s yard, Yu and her daughter were already waiting, but the Old Lady hadn’t got up. Qu Moying saw many servants coming and going hurriedly, all keeping their voice low.

“Second Madam, good morning. How’s grandmother?” Qu Moying bowed to Yu and asked.

Yu seemed worried, “the Old Lady doesn’t feel well. She caught a cold last night.”

“Then we are not leaving today?” Qu Moying’s instinct told her that something was wrong.

“It’s not that bad. Your grandmother is getting up. She told us to wait for her. You’re still going.” Yu said in a low voice, “Take a seat first. She will be ready soon.”

Qu Moying nodded at her and sat down. Soon, the two ladies from the East Mansion arrived. Each of them was followed by two servants – one was for taking care of their daily life; another acted as a companion.

The First Lady Qu Xuexin seemed to be an amiable girl, always wearing a genuine smile, whether she was talking or not. She was well reputed for her easy-going personality, and Qu Moying heard about it in her past life. But when she was Ji Hanyue, she was surrounded by high-born ladies, so they hadn’t met each other yet.

All she knew was that First Lady Qu had a mild personality, treating everyone with a friendly smile. Although she was not as beautiful as Qu Qiuyan, it was still very pleasing to be around her.

The Second Lady Qu Caiyue had a relatively long face shape, looking similar to Qu Xuexin but a bit more coquettish. When she gazed at Qu Moying, her eyes were apparently filled with sarcasm, showing her bilious temperament. Before she sat down, she sized Qu Moying up quietly in disdain. Without her saying anything, Qu Moying could already tell she was an arrogant, ill-mannered girl.

In fact, the Second Lady did feel shameful sitting next to the ugly, blind girl with a bad reputation. If her aunt didn’t ask her for help, she would never get close to Qu Moying.

The Old Lady looked dispirited when she showed up, clearly tired from her sickness. She only had a bowl of congee for breakfast and left quickly as her four granddaughters followed behind. She already tried to get ready as soon as possible, but still, they departed much later than expected.

Four carriages were waiting for them outside of the mansion. The one for the Old Lady was the most spacious, and the two behind were for the young ladies, having the same size. The last one was for the servants.

The Old Lady climbed into the carriage with Granny Wu’s help. Not having the energy to talk at all, she lay down and closed her eyes immediately after she got inside.

“Madam, do you want me to call the Fourth Lady over?” asked Granny Wu, knowing the Old Lady planned to share her carriage with her favorite granddaughter.

“Forget about it. I don’t want to get her sick,” the Old Lady said feebly. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“No problem. Then allow me to go help the ladies get ready,” Granny Wu nodded and asked someone to bring the cushion they prepared for the Old Lady. After she settled her master, she turned around and said to Yu, “Second Madam, the Old Lady doesn’t feel well. It’s better to let her rest in the carriage alone. The remaining two carriages should be able to accommodate four ladies perfectly.”

“Don’t worry, Granny Wu. Leave it to me. Please take good care of the Old Lady!” Yu smiled at her.

With a maid’s help, Granny Wu climbed into the carriage too.

Qu Xuexin came out from the mansion and got into the second carriage first, followed by Qu Qiuyan. Now, the third carriage was the only one left for Qu Caiyue and Qu Moying.

The last carriage was crowded. It carried servants, candles they would use in the temple, and the ladies’ luggage that couldn’t fit in the front carriages.

Qu Moying brought Yu Dong to her carriage while Yu Chun got into the last one. It was the same for Qu Caiyue, who was accompanied by a young maid, and the old maid she brought sat in the servant carriage.

Yu Dong and Qu Caiyue’s maid were both holding a package that would be put in their carriage.

The two ladies got in with the two maids sitting next to them, and they placed the two packages together aside.

The carriage prepared by the Qu Family had a quite big space that could easily accommodate four people and two packages.

After all people settled themselves, the carriages took a slow turn around and left the Qu’s Mansion.

“Moying, have you seen the peach forest in the Dabei Temple?” Qu Caiyue asked, beaming friendly.

Qu Moying shook her head, “No, I haven’t.”

She barely left the village before. How could she possibly go to the Dabei Temple?

“What a shame. The Dabei Temple is well-known for its peach blossom. After a while, the peaches will be ripe, and the taste of them is amazing. But they are not for sale, only gifted to the temple’s guests who come for the worship.” Qu Caiyue sounded regretful, “When autumn arrives, we can ask grandmother to take us there again. Then we can have some delicious peaches.”

“But grandmother is sick,” Qu Moying lowered her head.

“She’s always like that. Don’t worry,” Qu Caiyue said carelessly, “a few days of rest, and she’ll be fine again.”

“She’s always like this?” Qu Moying’s heart suddenly missed a beat.

“You know, just being old. Grandmother’s health condition is not that good, and she gets sick from time to time. We don’t know the exact cause, but sometimes she will have palpitations when she gets anxious, stressed, or angry. Maybe she’s irritated because of you this time! After all, you lost a perfect marriage arrangement. Who wouldn’t be angry?!” said Qu Caiyue.

Her tone was still amiable, but the implication in her word sounded hurtful.

Qu Moying raised her eyes, looking at Second Lady Qu, who’s wearing a friendly smile. However, a trace of disdain flashed across her eyes – clearly, she didn’t respect Qu Moying at all.

“Grandmother has been unwell for a long time?” Qu Moying ignored her meaningful words and continued to ask as if she didn’t understand her implication.

“No… Her health has been fine, but I bet she is so furious this time because your engagement was broken off all of a sudden. No one will be willing to marry you in the future. Even if there’s one, he will never be as excellent as Young Master Yongning,” said Qu Caiyue as her lips twisted into a smirk.

Qu Caiyue couldn’t understand how Qu Moying could be so lucky to get such an amazing fiance. The Fourth Lady was barely comparable to her. Still, she got an enviable engagement for something her mother said. Qu Caiyue had met Young Master Xu a few times when she came to the mansion and had a good impression of him. There was no better choice of a husband than him, who was a handsome, tender gentleman. How did he end up being engaged with a blind girl like Qu Moying?

She even tried to find more excuses to visit the mansion and meet this young master more. She wished Young Master Xu could notice her and be attracted by her charm. But after she was ignored by him a few times, she gave up. Now, it had become her biggest regret since their engagement was broken off. She should have chased after him more persistently, then maybe she would be the one who married him now.

If she were in Qu Moying’s position, she would never allow her fiance to rescue Second Lady Duan. Every noble lady knew that she was an ill-mannered shrew. If Young Master Xu didn’t mind marrying that shrew, he should be more willing to marry her.

Second Lady Duan had been a hot topic in town recently. People all said that she fell into the lake in front of Young Master Xu on purpose. Otherwise, why did the rail suddenly break? It must be her scheme because she was the only one who gained benefits from the situation.

Qu Caiyue only wished she could come up with that kind of idea. She bet Young Master Xu would be much happier rescuing her rather than that shrew.

Qu Caiyue just couldn’t stop talking about Qu Moying’s canceled engagement. Qu Moying pressed her lips into a straight line. She glanced at her, leaned back, and stopped responding to the Second Lady Qu.

“Moying, the engagement between you and Young Master Xu is such a pity. We all know he’s one of the most promising young men in the capital, and he has never complained about the unfair marriage arrangement with you. Who would have thought he married Duan Jinxiang in the end? Moying, if I were you, I would not go easy on her.”

Qu Caiyue was still bubbling, not noticing Qu Moying’s frowning eyebrows.

“Second Lady, the Fourth Lady is tired. She wants to have some rest,” Yu Dong interrupted her non-stop talking and said beamingly.

“Hey, how can you be so rude?! We are sisters. What’s wrong with us chatting on the way to kill some time?” Qu Caiyue hit the ceiling immediately. She had no choice but to act obediently in front of the other two ladies. Now she finally got a chance to trample on someone else’s ego, yet a bold, low-life maid dared to chip in her great lecture. This was something she couldn’t tolerate.

“Second Sister, if you want to have some chat, you can join them in the other carriage,” Qu Moying said in a flat tone, with her eyes still closed.

Hearing that Qu Moying wanted to drive her away, Qu Caiyue’s eyes darkened immediately. She had always enjoyed the feeling of pushing other people around, following Qu Qiuyan’s lead. Now being looked down on by a useless lady like Qu Moying, she totally lost her temper as her face turned gloomy.

Facing people who had a higher status than her, like Qu Qiuyan, Qu Caiyue would act like the kindest girl in the world, doing everything she could to flatter them. If they hit her on her left face, she would even turn her head and show them the right one. However, if it was Qu Moying, who she thought poorly of, she would turn into a bad-temper person. Right now, she was on the edge of losing her temper.

Not until her maid pulled her sleeve hard did she remember the thing Qu Qiuyan asked her to do. She had no choice but to suppress her rage, yet the look on her face was still disdainful.

“Moying, what a well-behaved maid you have! How dare she meddle with her masters.” Qu Caiyue couldn’t do anything about Qu Moying right now, and only bubbling could make her feel a bit better.

“She’s just concerned about me!” Qu Moying leaned next to the window with a calm look on her face.

Only a few words had already shown Qu Caiyue’s true colors. Qu Moying didn’t want to waste time on her as her mind was occupied with the Old Lady’s health condition. It was the first time she heard about it. Having palpitations didn’t sound like a good sign for her. It might be not a big deal, but it also could cause severe problems like a stroke. If her grandmother was not taken good care of, her life would be easily put at risk. She couldn’t underestimate it.

It’s better to prepare some medicine that could ease her palpitations or make some sachets to help her stay calm!

“Moying, your package looks quite big. What’s in there? Let me have a look.” Qu Caiyue went more irritated because Qu Moying deliberately ignored her. She took a glance at the package next to Yu Dong’s feet, bent over, and quickly reached out her hand.

This was what she had suppressed her anger for. Otherwise, she would never sit next to Qu Moying and act so friendly. Qu Qiuyan told her that she would pay her back with a considerable price if Qu Caiyue helped her with it. She even promised to grant Qu Caiyue’s biggest wish. And of course, Qu Caiyue agreed…

Dealing with the Fourth Lady would be a piece of cake for her. After all, Qu Moying was just a blind rustic that no man wanted…