Chapter 94

Chapter 94 Charming, Coquettish Qu Qiuyan

“Why will the Crown Princess rest in peace?” Pei Yuanjun raised his brow and asked. It seemed that he didn’t understand Pei Luo’an’s words.

Although Pei Yuanjun’s clothes were pure white, they still had exquisite embroidery patterns, obviously not made for a funeral. He looked more elegant than usual in white but weird since even the Crown Prince was wearing rough clothes. However, no one dared to blame Pei Yuanjun for not obeying the etiquette.

Moreover, even the Crown Prince couldn’t expect more from Pei Yuanjun. He thought Lord Yun had already shown enough respect for him and the dead Crown Princess by wearing white clothes.

Pei Yuanjun was his uncle who had a dignified identity and was favored by the emperor. Pei Luo’an didn’t dare to challenge him on such a small matter.

Hearing his words, the Crown Prince froze for a second and then explained to him in embarrassment, “When the Crown Princess was still alive, she felt sad every time she mentioned Fourth Lady Qu, thinking Fourth Lady Qu was a poor girl. Although the Crown Princess passed away, I will treat Fourth Lady Qu as my own cousin and take care of the Qu Family in the name of the Crown Princess.”

Pei Yuanjun’s eyes darkened. His sullen glance fell on Qu Moying as he suddenly chuckled, “So, you will treat her in the same way as to First Lady Ji?”

Pei Luo’an’s expression changed immediately as a trace of irritation showed up in his eyes. But he held it back in the next second and said, “Uncle, stop teasing me. Princess Ji, of course, is different than Fourth Lady Qu…”

“How? Because Princess Ji is prettier, or because you are more into Princess Ji?” Pei Yuanjun asked jokingly.

His evil sarcasm almost made Pei Luo’an lose his sanity. Pei Luo’an had to gnash his teeth and clench his fists to suppress the burning anger in his chest. He knew Pei Yuanjun dared to laugh at the Crown Prince, the future heir of the throne, only because of the military power he had.

Pei Luo’an thought he must win back the military power in the future. Someday, he would show this evil person what the rules were and who was the real boss.

“Uncle, please choose your word wisely in front of the Crown Princess’s coffin,” Pei Luo’an lowered his head and said.

“In front of the Crown Princess’s coffin? Oops, I almost forgot how the Crown Princess passed away. She was indeed a poor woman who loved you so much but ended up like this. On the opposite, I can tell that Princess Ji has been doing pretty well, caring for the Crown Princess for you. After the Crown Princess died, she can finally become the only princess in the Eastern Palace.”

Hearing Pei Yuanjun’s words, Pei Luo’an almost lost his temper again. But seeing Pei Yuanjun take some incense sticks from a young eunuch and put it on the altar in person, he dropped his jaw in shock.

Knowing Pei Yuanjun’s arrogant personality, Pei Luo’an only expected him to go through the formality and let his servant finish the mourning session. He was so surprised to see Pei Yuanjun doing it by himself to show respect for Ji Hanyue.

After putting the incense sticks in the burner, Pei Yuanjun stepped back, cast a glance at the coffin in the center, and narrowed his eyes. “The Crown Princess… What a pity!”

Then he swiftly brushed his sleeves and turned around to leave. When he walked to the door, he suddenly turned back and said to Pei Luo’an, who was following behind him, “Your Royal Highness, you must’ve been exhausted. You don’t need to mingle with the guests outside. Stay here with the Crown Princess and leave everything to me! I will help you make all the arrangements. Just let Vice Minister Yue help me with it.”

“Uncle, thank you,” Pei Luo’an said while holding a eunuch’s arm to steady himself. His face looked pale and haggard as if he would collapse at any second because of grieve. “She is dead. This is the only thing I can do for her…”

Pei Luo’an’s eyes became red, and he turned his head aside while wiping his tears. The mourning music in the back made everything look even more sorrowful.

While everyone else was showing their sadness, Qu Moying didn’t feel grieved at all. Her face and even her lips looked as pale as the Crown Prince’s as her whole body was trembling. With her head lowered, no one could see the icy smile on her face.

Pei Luo’an was acting truly like a loving husband. If she weren’t the one who went through it, she would believe him herself.

This malicious couple took her life and cruelly murdered her father and younger sister. Right now, they even used her funeral to build a good reputation for themselves.

Qu Moying gnashed her teeth. This body she had was too weak, but she could still hold it a bit longer. She was a person who should’ve been dead since long ago but was reborn by accident. She didn’t mind waiting and tolerating pain at all as long as she could achieve her goal.

Qu Qiuyan didn’t notice Qu Moying was trembling abnormally since she literally couldn’t take her eyes off Lord Jing, who entered the room together with the Crown Prince and Pei Yuanjun. Lord Jing cast a glance at Qu Qiuyan and immediately was attracted by her appearance. The annoyance he had since yesterday even became less.

Qu Qiuyan looked gorgeous today. Lord Jing’s attention was immediately caught by her fair skin, watery eyes, and red, soft lips. Feeling Lord Jing’s gaze, she blushed at once, looking even more coquettish and charming. Pleased by her reaction and her appearance, Lord Jing stared at her affectionately.

He almost forgot how angry he felt yesterday. After all, he heard Qu Qiuyan was framed by Yu’s niece later.

The rough clothes outstood Qu Qiuyan’s beauty more than usual. Qu Qiuyan was always a beautiful woman, but her face looked particularly attractive and alluring at this moment, giving Pei Yusheng an impulse that he never had when he saw her before. Right now, he literally couldn’t take his eyes off her.

After their eyes met, he gave Qu Qiuyan a gentle smile. They didn’t say anything to each other, but their minds were connected at this second.

Seeing Lord Jing’s affectionate smile, Qu Qiuyan’s face turned redder as she looked even more coquettish. She lowered her head, trying to hide the grin on her face. She knew Lord Jing still liked her the most, and Liu Jingyu stood no chance to compete with her.

“Your Royal Highness, have some rest here first. I’m leaving,” ignoring Pei Luo’an’s pretentious acting, Pei Yuanjun said impatiently and strode away.

Pei Luo’an wanted to follow him out, but he was indeed exhausted from this loving-husband performance. Reluctantly, he looked at Lord Jing, “Yusheng, help me take care of our uncle.”

“Yes,” Lord Jing had to agree since he had no excuse to stay. He glanced at Qu Qiuyan again and turned around to leave.

Yue Wenhan looked at the Crown Prince, bowed to him, and followed Lord Jing out.

Without Pei Yuanjun’s presence, Pei Luo’an didn’t need to keep up with his disguise anymore. In a weak voice, he said to the young eunuch who was holding his arm, “Help me sit down.”

The eunuch hurriedly seated him on a chair opposite to Qu Moying and Qu Qiuyan. As the Crown Prince, whose status was much higher than the Crown Princess, he had already shown enough love for the Crown Princess by staying with her coffin.

During this period, many families had come to mourn for the Crown Princess. In a short break, Qu Moying walked outside with Yu Dong’s help for some fresh air. When she got to the door and saw Yue Wenhan rushing over, she stopped to talk to him. But before she opened her mouth, she suddenly lost consciousness and fell to the ground. Startled, Yu Dong hurriedly steadied her falling body.

Yue Wenhan hurriedly walked to them but didn’t reach out to help her up. Although they were cousins, the etiquette still didn’t allow Yue Wenhan to touch her since he was a male. Noticing Qu Moying’s pale face, he asked in worry, “What’s wrong?”

“I…I don’t know what’s going on. The Fourth Lady has been feeling unwell and trembling for a while. I thought she was just exhausted, so I helped her walk out to have some fresh air. I don’t know why she…she suddenly…” Flustered and worried, Yu Dong started to cry with Qu Moying in his arms.

“Take your master to the private room aside,” Yue Wenhan said. He had helped the Crown Prince with the funeral and knew an Imperial Doctor was waiting inside that private room. The Crown Prince had ordered the doctor to stand by there since the funeral started, knowing his own health conditions.

Two maids of the Eastern Palace came to help Yu Dong, who was in a panic, to move Qu Moying away. Suddenly, one of them started to scream, seeing the red and swollen skin on Qu Moying’s wrist that hung out of her sleeve. Startled by what she saw, she almost dropped Qu Moying on the ground.

Yu Dong hurriedly went up to steady Qu Moying’s body and gave a stern glare at the maid.

“The…the skin on her hand is…is so swollen and red…” in shock, the flustered maid explained.

“Move her to the room, quickly,” Yue Wenhan said hurriedly as the expression on his face changed. He saw Qu Moying’s hand just now too.

Even the Crown Prince noticed the chaos and sent a servant over to check on Qu Moying since meeting a lady in private was inappropriate for him.

Qu Qiuyan wanted to get up and take a look at Qu Moying, but she soon dropped the idea. Since her mother told her to sit tight and watch when something happened to Qu Moying, all she needed to do was pretend she didn’t know anything.

No matter what happened to Qu Moying, she had nothing to do with it. Before someone called her over, she wouldn’t get up. She didn’t care if Qu Moying died or did something to shame herself.

After Pei Luo’an sat in front of the altar for a while, he felt a bit better than before. Then his eyes fell on Qu Qiuyan, who was still kneeling on the ground as his brows twisted into a frown. What a selfish woman Third Lady Qu was! How come she still knelt here after knowing something bad happened to her own younger sister?

After standing up and steadying himself, Pei Luo’an walked to Qu Qiuyan and softly called her, “Third Lady Qu!”

Since Third Lady Qu didn’t have a grasp of the situation, he had to remind her. Qu Moying was an essential tool for him to show people his deep love for Ji Hanyue right now, and he couldn’t allow anything terrible to happen to her.

While kneeling on the ground, Qu Qiuyan had peeked at the Crown Prince many times. She had never been this close to him before. She noticed that the Crown Prince looked very gentle and was even touched by his affectionate glances at the coffin. Although the Crown Prince had a weaker body than Pei Yusheng, he had his own unique aura of tenderness, which was also very attractive.

Having the Crown Prince’s deep love, the Crown Princess must’ve died happily!

If the Crown Prince could treat her like this, would she fall in love with him too? After the Crown Princess’s death, the Crown Prince had to marry another woman. Did that mean she could stand a chance too? The impulsive thought made Qu Qiuyan more and more excited as she started to feel the gentle and affectionate Crown Prince was also a good choice for her.

If she married Lord Jing, she would be Madam Jing. But if she chose the Crown Prince, she would be the future empress. From this perspective, Lord Jing was not even comparable with the Crown Prince.

Lost in her wild thoughts, Qu Qiuyan suddenly heard someone calling her softly. She hurriedly looked up and saw the Crown Prince. As her eyes became even more watery and charming, she talked to him in a coquettish voice, “Your Royal Highness…”