Chapter 75

Chapter 75 The Wavering Trust

“There’s nothing between them!” Xu Lipeng interrupted her immediately.

Yan Yu had told him about it already.

“But if there’s really something between them, will Second Young Master Yan marry Fourth Lady Qu?” asked Yu Qingmeng, her voice curious.

“No!” Xu Lipeng answered affirmatively.

“Why? If Second Young Master Yan really likes Fourth Lady Qu and wants to marry her, Earl Fengyang won’t necessarily disagree. After all, Second Young Master Yan is not his first son, so he shouldn’t have a high expectation for him.” Yu Qingmeng looked confused, but she talked about the possibility of Yan Yu marrying Qu Moying again.

After she mentioned it a few times, it even started to sound real.

Xu Lipeng really began to think about the thing that sounded impossible for him before.

Qu Moying and Yan Yu? Letting Yan Yu marry Qu Moying? Yan Yu was just a playboy. Even if he married Qu Moying, he would treat her like a decorative article and not care about her too much. Then for Qu Moying, marrying Yan Yu would be way worse than marrying Xu Lipeng. After all, Xu Lipeng would give her the proper respect in public as his wife, but Yan Yu couldn’t.

“Young Master, Second Young Master Yan is here!” a young servant reported at the door.

“Hurry, let him in!” Xu Lipeng smiled and let go of Yu Qingmeng in his arms.

Yu Qingmeng stood up, wiped her eyes with her hanky, turned around, and entered the inner room. Although she was familiar with Yan Yu, she’d better leave these two men alone for now.

Yan Yu entered, greeted Xu Lipeng with a smile, and sat down in a guest chair.

“I heard you got to the temple too, so I hurriedly come here to check, and you really are! I thought you wouldn’t have time to go out after marrying your darling,” said Yan Yu jokingly. He patted his paper fan on his palm and raised his brow, his words sounding meaningful.

“Come on, stop teasing me.” Xu Lipeng let out a sigh as the smile on his face faded away.

“Why? Did something bad happen? Well, you already canceled the engagement with the Qu Family, and your family and Fourth Lady Qu’s are no longer related. What can make you upset now?” Yan Yu leaned back in his chair and asked lazily.

“That day was truly an accident. It’s my fault to break off the engagement with Fourth Lady Qu and make her so miserable. I shouldn’t save Second Lady Duan that day. I even heard before that some ladies would use this kind of method to… But I didn’t expect that kind of story could really happen to me.”

Xu Lipeng lowered his head, looking more upset.

Yan Yu was with him that day. Before he jumped into the lake to save the lady, Yan Yu even pulled his sleeve, trying to stop him.

“It’s not your fault. Who would have known Second Lady Duan is that type of person.” Yan Yu had been close friends with Xu Lipeng since they were kids. Naturally, he would choose to stand at Xu Lipeng’s side and blame everything on Second Lady Duan, who had a bad reputation.

Moreover, Yan Yu was not the only one who said that. Many noble madams had the same opinion as well.

Young Master Xu saved a lady out of good intention but expectedly sacrificed his own engagement confirmed more than a decade ago. Among all the people involved, Qu Moying was the most pitiful one. That was why her reputation was still much better than those ladies whose engagement was broken off typically.

Because most of the blame was put on Duan Jinxiang.

“I owe Fourth Lady Qu,” said Xu Lipeng with a serious look. Then his eyes fell on Yan Yu. After hesitating for a few seconds, he continued, “I heard…you are somehow involved with Fourth Lady Qu after you got to the Dabei Temple. Are you…interested in her?”

“No, no, no. Why will I be interested in her?” Yan Yu shook his hand and hurriedly explained, “It really has nothing to do with me. I just want to teach her a lesson for you since I heard you were forced to marry Second Lady Duan because of her scheme. Is it true?”

“I-I’m not sure.” Xu Lipeng shook his head with a bitter smile, “I only know that Second Lady Duan followed First Lady Duan to the lake. Then Fourth Lady Qu called First Lady Duan away, and you know what happened later… Although Fourth Lady Qu’s appearance and personality are not that great, she should not be such a malicious person. It must be just rumors!”

Xu Lipeng’s tone sounded hesitant, different than his normal confident attitude. Yan Yu’s smiling upturned eyes fell on him while he said jokingly as usual, “Not necessarily. Some women look pitiful but actually have an evil heart. Who knows if Fourth Lady Qu is that kind of person?”

“Yan, you can’t say that about a noble lady!” Xu Lipeng stopped him, looking righteous.

“Aye, don’t be so cautious. It’s just us two here. We have been close friends, and you have my full trust. You are such a gentleman! The engagement with Fourth Lady Qu had already delayed you for so long. Now that it’s finally broken off, you have to marry that one. I guess many noble ladies in the capital are heartbroken.”

Yan Yu’s pretty words pleased Xu Lipeng, and he couldn’t help but laugh out. After a bit of chat, Yan Yu took his leave.

When Yan Yu walked out of the yard, he saw Yu Qingmeng sitting under a tree, looking at the beautiful flowers, and strode over.

“Second Young Master Yan, good to see you.” Yu Qingmeng had been waiting for him for a while. Seeing him, she stood up and curtsied with a smile.

“Concubine Yu!” Yan Yu cupped his hands in front of his chest.

“Second Young Master Yan, did our plan fail?” Yu Qingmeng asked him directly.

“Concubine Yu, why did you ask that stupid girl for help? She failed to send the thing out but even kept it in her own hands. She seemed not afraid to ruin our plan at all,” Yan Yu snorted.

“It indeed was Second Lady Qu’s fault. She didn’t expect Qu Moying to be so cunning and walked into her trap. Please forgive her this time, Second Young Master Yan.”

“Regardless of forgiving her, I hope there’s no next time, Concubine Yu.” Yan Yu pulled a long face and said sternly, “I know my reputation is not that great, but it is still my reputation, not something people can easily ruin as they want!”

“Yes, I apologize to you, Second Young Master Yan! I was not being thoughtful enough,” Yu Qingmeng curtsied to him again, sounding pretty honest.

Her cousin told her to act as humbly as possible.

As she expected, the look on Yan Yu’s face softened a bit as he nodded at her, “Since then, I’ll leave first.”

“Second Young Master Yan, please wait for a second,” Yu Qingmeng hurriedly stopped him, who was turning around.

“Anything else?” Yan Yu looked at her.

“Nothing big. It’s just…it’s just Young Master Xu has been distraught because of Qu Moying. That malicious girl set up both him and me. I wonder if you can help us once more, Second Young Master Yan?” Yu Qingmeng asked hesitantly.

“No,” without even asking the detail, Yan Yu rejected her immediately.

“Wh-Why?” His determined attitude surprised Yu Qingmeng. She raised her head and looked at him in shock. After Xu Lipeng suffered so much because of Qu Moying, as his close friend, Yan Yu should be very willing to help Xu Lipeng again.

Even though his reputation was affected a bit last time, he never cared about it anyway. Since their plan failed, shouldn’t he try to help one more time?

“I don’t see any point in doing so. Even Xu Lipeng himself felt guilty for Fourth Lady Qu. In my opinion, it seems that Fourth Lady Qu didn’t do anything rather than became a victim due to the accident. She is just a poor lady whose engagement was broken off suddenly. Be a kind person, Concubine Yu. You shouldn’t fixate on her so much. After all, you are the one who married Xu Lipeng instead of her.”

Yan Yu’s smile was bright, but his words hit hard on Yu Qingmeng’s heart.

What did he mean by Xu Lipeng felt guilty for Qu Moying? It was Qu Moying who made her marry Xu Lipeng as a concubine instead of a wife. Why did Xu Lipeng feel guilty for Qu Moying?

A flame of rage started to burn in Yu Qingmeng’s chest as her eyes darkened.

Did that blind bitch do something behind her back again to make Young Master Xu feel guilty?

“Of course, if your plan can be more discreet and won’t affect me, I can still consider helping you, Concubine Yu.”

Yan Yu waved his paper fan lazily as he stared at Yu Qingmeng’s irritated face and suddenly changed his mind.

“Are you really willing to help me again, Second Young Master Yan?” The change in his attitude made Yu Qingmeng forget about her anger, and she asked hurriedly.

“Of course! After all, I’m Young Master Xu’s friend!” Yan Yu nodded at her, “Just send a person to tell me when you need my help as long as the same mistake won’t happen again.”

“Don’t worry, Second Young Master. It won’t happen again,” Yu Qingmeng promised and kept nodding. She had to make a perfect plan with her cousin this time. She wouldn’t let Qu Moying get around with it again…

After Yu Dong walked Yu Qingmeng out, he received a message from a secret guard outside. “My lady, Lord Yun asks you to go over,” he quickly returned to the room and reported to Qu Moying.

“Right now?” Qu Moying asked, frowning. The Dabei Temple had been bustling with all kinds of people recently. People should or shouldn’t be here all showed up as if something big was about to happen.

“Yes, right now, in your current outfit.” Yu Dong took one of Qu Moying’s cloaks hung on the screen and passed it to Yu Chun.

After Yu Chun helped Qu Moying tie it up, the three of them walked out together.

It seemed like they were just taking a casual walk, but actually, Yu Dong was walking half-step ahead of them, leading Qu Moying to the back mountain behind the Dabei Temple.

The back hill behind the Dabei Temple actually occupied a lot of space. They first saw a forest of peach trees, on the right side of which was another mountain. From a distance, they could see different layers of mountains expanding endlessly. After they walked further in, they could still see some blooming peach trees standing aside of the path from time to time, and the dark color of the surroundings set off those bright flowers even more. However, it was silent around, and they hadn’t seen anyone in a while.

Any guest of the temple had access to the peach forest but apparently, not this mountain. A small door blocked the tortuous road where stairs led up to the top.

It was said that only royal members could enter this place.

However, Qu Moying had been here with Pei Luo’an as the future Crown Princess in her past life. She also knew about the secret behind the door, a royal family secret that ordinary people had never heard of.

A small nunnery was on this mountain…