Chapter 97

Chapter 97 Being Driven Out of the Eastern Palace

Yu’s panic soon passed as it was replaced by excitement since she assumed that something had happened to Qu Moying according to her plan. She then pretended that she didn’t notice people’s strange behavior, waiting for what would happen next.

Even Qu Moying’s death couldn’t be enough to pay for a mistake like seducing the Crown Prince in the Crown Princess’s altar room. In Yu’s eyes, Princess Ji didn’t look like a kind one who would go easy on Qu Moying if she really did as Yu planned. Maybe Qu Moying would end up marrying a mediocre husband and move to a small town far away from the capital. By then, Yu could literally do whatever she wanted to Qu Moying, including taking her life.

Suddenly, a maid rushed inside and looked around. After her eyes fell on Yu, she ran up to her with a flustered face.

“Madam, Second Madan, Princess Ji wants to meet you.”

It was Qing Ju, Qu Qiuyan’s maid. After recognizing her, the Old Lady pulled a long face. She was occupied talking with a close friend before and didn’t notice Yu’s and other people’s behavior, but Qing Ju’s words somehow made her unsettled. Since they were at the Eastern Palace, if Princess Ji wanted to meet them in an ordinary situation, she should send someone from the Eastern Palace instead of a maid from the Qu Family. Something must have happened.

“Mother, let’s go,” Yu said beamingly, looking calm. She stood up and went to help the Old Lady up, more convinced that something had happened to Qu Moying. Of course, Princess Ji should be the one to handle it since it was related to the Crown Prince. Yu even wished the scene could be made bigger.

“Qing Ju, where’s your master?” the Old Lady asked the maid in a low voice after standing up, thinking something might happen to Qu Qiuyan. Seeing Yu’s beam, the Old Lady couldn’t understand why Yu didn’t seem concerned about her daughter at all.

“The Third Lady… The Third Lady…” Qing Ju’s face was flushed with nervousness. Even she couldn’t repeat Princess Ji’s embarrassing insult. Right now, she only wished she could find a crack on the ground and hide inside.

Yu finally realized something was wrong. “What happened to Qiuyan?” the smile on her face disappeared as she asked worriedly.

Unconsciously, she raised her voice, which gave those madams and ladies a perfect excuse to look at them. After all, everyone had been paying close attention to people from the Qu Family after hearing about the rumors.

“Let’s go there first,” the Old Lady said and cast a glare at Yu. Then she strode outside, followed by Luo and her two unmarried granddaughters, Qu Xuexin and Qu Caiyue. Yu froze at her spot for a second and immediately went to catch up with her family.

The group of people arrived at the private room near the altar room. Upon entry, they saw Ji Youran sitting in the center with her face covered by a veil and Qu Qiuyan kneeling in front of her while sobbing. There was no sigh of Qu Moying but a strong smell of herbs lingering in the air. Apparently, something was wrong.

The Old Lady’s heart missed a beat when she saw the situation in the room. Hurriedly, she went up to curtsy to Ji Youran, followed by Yu, Luo, and other people.

“Madam, please have a seat,” said Ji Youran as a maid came to help the Old Lady sit on a chair aside.

Luo, Yu, and other people stood up and seated themselves on the two sides of Ji Youran. Yu couldn’t wait but asked directly, “Your Royal Highness, what happened? Did someone offend my daughter?”

Yu couldn’t stand seeing her daughter’s pitiful look. If it weren’t in front of Princess Ji, she would’ve helped Qu Qiuyan up long ago.

“Second Madam Qu, you probably don’t know what happened,” said Ji Youran with a friendly smile on her face, but her eyes looked cold. “The Third Lady from your family surely dresses herself up for the funeral today. When her younger sister was in a coma, she stayed in the altar room and had a good talk with the Crown Prince. She was even too occupied to notice Princess Changyu and Lord Jing when they entered the room.”

“What?” The Old Lady trembled in shock and almost passed out.

Ji Youran’s words were not as friendly as her tone. Qu Qiuyan dressed herself up and spent some time alone with the Crown Prince in front of the Crown Princess’s coffin after Qu Moying fainted. Even Princess Changyu and Lord Jing witnessed everything?

“That’s impossible!” after hearing Ji Youran’s words, Yu yelled. “Your Royal Highness, do you mistake someone else with my daughter? Yan has always been a well-behaved lady and will never make this kind of mistake. She is different than the Fourth Lady!”

Moreover, Yu knew better than anyone that this was a trap designed for Qu Moying. Shouldn’t the person who made mistakes be Qu Moying? However, she would never say her doubt out loud.

“How’s Ying right now?” the Old Lady took a deep breath and asked.

“The Fourth Lady’s clothes were soaked in some sap of a specific herb which will make people’s skin red and swollen. The Fourth Lady has an allergy reaction all over her body. Even my face started to swell because the Fourth Lady swiped my tears with her sleeve. Second Madam, I heard you are the one who prepared all the mourning clothes for the Qu Family. I’m truly impressed by your scheme.”

Ji Youran’s aching wound made her lose all the patience to keep up with a friendly attitude. Her words turned sharp and sarcastic.

She had yet to climb up to the position of the Crown Princess. If her face was disfigured because of Yu and her daughter, she would make them pay for it.

“Yu, what’s going on?” the Old Lady turned around and asked Yu sternly.

“Mother… I-I don’t know…” Yu stared at her blankly and stuttered. Things turned out to be far from her expectations since she only put something on the gauzy flower hairpins and shoes but not the clothes.

“Second Madam Qu, please give me the cure right now.” Ji Youran’s tone was flat, but the threat in her words was clear enough. The Imperial Doctor who checked her face had sent an ointment, saying that her allergy could be cured after she applied it on her skin for a few days. However, her old wound opened up again and had been aching.

The pain from her face reminded her of those things she tried to forget. In annoyance, she wished she could ask someone to beat Qu Qiuyan to death, but she knew she couldn’t. She could only try hard to suppress the boiling anger.

She had to act as the Crown Prince told her, to be a noble lady who was elegant and well-behaved. After all, she had to make herself qualified to be the Crown Princess!

“Your Royal Highness, I have no idea. I don’t know anything about it…” Yu was truly in a daze. She turned to look at the Old Lady, “Mother, I really don’t know what’s going on…”

“Madam, I don’t know how your family has educated the ladies, so it’s not right for me to judge it. However, what the Third Lady did in the Crown Princess’s altar room is quite disgusting. Even the Crown Prince agrees that she needs a good lesson. As for Second Madam Qu, I really wonder why do you allow such a malicious woman to marry into your family.”

Ji Youran picked up her teacup, drank it up, and showed the Old Lady the bottom of her cup, rudely signaling her to leave.

“I have something else to do. Madam, sorry that I won’t have time to walk you out.” Ji Youran stood up, “Fourth Lady Qu is still lying inside. It’s better not to move her for now since her whole body is hurt. Let her stay in the Eastern Palace for a few days, and I will send her back after she feels better.”

“Your Royal Highness, can I leave a maid here to care for Ying?” the Old Lady had to bear the insult and act politely.

“Sure. Just don’t leave another one here like Third Lady Qu. Otherwise, I won’t act as friendly as this time,” Ji Youran snorted and turned around to leave with her servants.

Qu Qiuyan cried out loud right after Ji Youran left and went up to hug Yu. Holding her daughter, Yu started to wail with her. She felt so irritated but couldn’t tell others the real reason.

The Old Lady ignored them directly and went to the inner room to check on Qu Moying.

Qu Moying was lying feebly on the bed with her sleeves rolled up. The clothes she was wearing still had the same white color but apparently was not made by the Qu Family. Her lips looked almost as pale as her face. With her veil still covering her eyes, she lied there quietly, making people feel more sorry for her.

“Madam,” seeing the Old Lady coming in, Yu Dong hurriedly curtsied to her. Qu Moying heard the noise and wanted to struggle up, but the Old Lady stopped her by pressing her arm.

“Lie down. Tell me what happened.”

“Grandmother…” Qu Moying replied faintly, trying hard to move her lips.

“Madam, please allow me to speak for Fourth Lady,” Yu Dong hurriedly said. The Old Lady nodded at him. He then described the whole process to the Old Lady, including things about Qu Qiuyan that he heard when Ji Youran called Qu Qiuyan over and scolded her.

The Old Lady couldn’t believe Yu and her daughter were the cause for everything. She was so furious that she wished she could let them kneel outside immediately. But she knew it was not the time for it since they were still in the Eastern Palace.

“Ying, have some good rest here for a couple of days. Once you feel better, send someone back home, and I will ask people to come to pick you up,” the Old Lady told her granddaughter, suppressing the anger.

“Grandmother, don’t worry,” Qu Moying nodded at her obediently.

“Your First Sister will stay here to accompany you. People won’t have a chance to spread any rumors about you with her being here,” the Old Lady added.

It was inappropriate for an unmarried lady to stay in the Eastern Palace alone. That was why the Old Lady wanted Qu Xuexin to stay with Qu Moying.

“Thank you, First Sister,” Qu Moying looked up at Qu Xuexin and said.

“Don’t even mention it, Moying. It’s my responsibility to take care of you as your older sister,” Qu Xuexin’s voice was soft.

After telling the two ladies about things they needed to be careful with, the Old Lady went out to silence Yu and Qu Qiuyan, who were still weeping and left with them. Qu Zhizhen had been waiting for them outside since he heard the news. Seeing them coming out, Qu Zhizhen flushed in anger and hurriedly went up to slap Yu in her face. He said with hatred, “You are such a vicious woman…”

“Enough. We will talk about it once we are home,” the Old Lady glared at her son sternly and said in irritation. Many people came for the funeral today, and she didn’t want to catch everyone’s attention.

Knowing his mother’s intention, Qu Zhizhen stared at Yu with a scowl and turned around to get on his horse.

Yu was about to cry out loud again, but her voice softened immediately once her eyes met Qu Zhizhen’s fierce stare. In a low voice, she started to sob.

People from the Qu’s Mansion all got on their horses or climbed into the carriages and left hurriedly from the side door of the Eastern Palace.

Since they left, rumors had spread out from people with big mouths. All the clues had pointed at Yu, making people more convinced that Yu was trying to scheme her husband’s ex-wife’s daughter.

It was said that when Fourth Lady Qu’s clothes were stained by tea, Third Lady Qu even stopped her from changing her clothes. Otherwise, Fourth Lady Qu wouldn’t have such a strong allergy reaction and end up lying in bed with her whole body red and swollen.

Third Lady Qu’s behavior clearly showed that she was a part of the scheme, working with her mother to frame her younger sister. But she said she always treated her younger sister nicely, and it had always been Yu’s niece who wanted to frame Fourth Lady Qu. What a pretentious girl! It turned out that none of Third Lady Qu and her cousin was a kind lady.

It was even possible that Yu and her daughter masterminded the scheme, and Yu Qingmeng was just their helper.

Marchioness Yongning was the first one who explained for Yu Qingmeng, and people found her words even more convincing in this situation. Rumors about Yu being a malicious woman and trying to harm Fourth Lady Qu existed long ago. Now, the cold truth was presented in front of everyone’s eyes. Even Princess Ji was involved in this absurd drama.

Technically, Princess Ji was one of their victims as well!