Reborn to Be A Noble Wife - Chapter 191

Chapter 191 Jealousy! Why Did It Have To Be Moying?

“Grandmother, why did Duke Qi’s Mansion give us the invitation?” Qu Moying asked the Old Lady curiously. She flipped through Duke Qi’s Mansion’s invitation.

Sitting opposite her was Qu Qiuyan, who was called over by the Old Lady. She was also surprised.

An old aristocratic family like Duke Qi’s Mansion had a distinguished status. Yu’s status wasn’t high enough to communicate with Duchess Qi. As a result, Duke Qi’s Mansion had never sent invitations to Qu Mansion.

“I don’t know either. I heard that your father used some kind of method.” The Old Lady said with a smile. Originally, she didn’t like to go out, but this time, she must go out to take a look. If she didn’t go, Qu Mansion’s several ladies couldn’t go out too. As of now, Yu couldn’t attend the banquet.

Thus, the Old Lady had to be there herself.

The fourth lady’s marriage could not be delayed for too long. It wasn’t just the fourth lady. Efforts had to be put into the first lady’s and the second lady’s marriages, too. As for the third lady’s marriage, the Old Lady didn’t want to care anymore. Her son had clearly expressed his attitude, and the third lady’s attitude was also very obvious. If the Old Lady continued to obstruct them, it would seem that she was being too nosy.

In fact, the Old Lady didn’t think that Lord Jing was a good match. If he really liked the third lady, it would not be this hard to meet him at such a time. In the past, he would come over from time to time. Whatever reason it was, she could always see that Lord Jing cared about Qu Mansion. But now, he was very cold toward Qu Mansion.

The Old Lady wasn’t completely ignorant. She heard the rumor that Lord Jing was going to marry a Princess, but it seemed that it had nothing to do with Qu Mansion.

However, since her second son had decided to interfere in this matter, she had no choice. The Old Lady knew very well what kind of personality her son had.

“Grandmother, do we have to go?” Qu Moying put the invitation on the table and asked.

“Of course, we have to go. It’s rare to have such a chance. Don’t you want to go out for a walk, Ying?” The Old Lady asked with a smile. She did not mention the marriage directly, for fear that Qu Moying would feel antipathy to it.

“With my condition, I can’t go.” Qu Moying shook her head and moved her feet.

“There’s no rush. We just need to send a note first. At least there’s still some time to prepare. Maybe it’ll be a bit later than your visit to Dowager Consort Qu in the palace,” the Old Lady explained.

“Grandmother, Dowager Consort Qu has never been close to our mansion before. I have never even heard of her. Is she really related to our mansion?” The Old Lady attracted Qu Qiuyan’s attention, and Qu Qiuyan asked.

Qu Moying looked up at Qu Qiuyan and did not speak. Qu Qiuyan asked the question that she had not found the opportunity to ask.

“Dowager Consort Qu’s surname is Qu, but she is scarcely related to us. In the past, she was only Concubine Qu. Because she only had one daughter, she was low-key and did not appear in front of people much. She also said that she was not in good health, so she rarely met anyone, and it was an accident that she met me. When she heard that my husband’s surname was Qu, she asked me a few more questions. In terms of ancestors, it was likely that our two families were descended from the same branch, but now that it had been at least several generations apart, the branches then went their own way and no longer contacted each other.”

Old Lady Qu explained.

“Grandmother, did you contact Dowager Consort Qu after that?” Qu Qiuyan asked again.

“No, until now, I have only seen her once. I did not know that she is staying in the palace as a Dowager Consort. I thought she had gone to Xinning Monastery.” The Old Lady shook her head. She had only met Dowager Consort Qu by chance. After that, Dowager Consort Qu didn’t contact them, so she did not dare to take the initiative.

After a long time without any contact, this imperial concubine seldom came to the Old Lady’s mind.

“We have not contacted each other for so many years. Why did Dowager Consort Qu suddenly contact us? Moreover, she sent a Discipline Granny to teach Moying etiquette. Why is she so good to Moying?” When Qu Qiuyan said this, a trace of jealousy flashed in her eyes. She was clearly the most respected lady in the mansion. Why was Qu Moying ahead of her now?

At the thought of Qu Moying getting Dowager Consort Qu’s attention, Qu Qiuyan felt it difficult to calm down.

She knew that Dowager Consort Qu not only gave many brocades to Qu Moying, but also sent a person called Granny Yan from the palace to Qu Mansion. When Qu Moying’s foot was better, Granny Yan would teach Qu Moying the imperial palace etiquette and even the rules of attending to people.

This was what Qu Qiuyan was most jealous of, but she had to suppress the jealousy in her heart. In the past few days, she even purposely ran into Granny Yan several times in order to leave a good impression on the latter. Unexpectedly, Granny Yan was very arrogant. When she saw Qu Qiuyan, she only glanced at Qu Qiuyan indifferently and then walked straight over. It was extremely rude. However, Granny Yan was a female officer in the palace with a rank. Qu Qiuyan could not throw a tantrum at her.

Qu Qiuyan now understood the matter of Madam Duan. With such a person like Granny Yan around, even if Madam Duan had guts, she would not dare to make a scene.

Granny Yan was exactly the reason why the plan failed.

“Maybe the two families haven’t contacted each other for a long time, so Dowager Consort Qu is too lonely in the palace and wants to find someone to chat with her,” the Old Lady said vaguely.

“Then why must it be Moying? Xuexin has always been gentle and is the most eloquent. She is very popular with the elders,” Qu Qiuyan said with a smile. She seemed to be indignant for her eldest sister, Qu Xuexin.

“Although your eldest sister has a good temper, she usually doesn’t go out, and… because of that matter, she even lost her engagement…” the Old Lady sighed. The marriages of her several granddaughters were not going well, and the Old Lady was in a bad mood. “Perhaps Dowager Consort Qu doesn’t feel satisfied with this…”

“Moying’s engagement was also called off.” Qu Qiuyan was at a loss. She acted as if she had just said it casually. However, she immediately came to her senses after she finished speaking. She hurriedly stood up and bowed deeply to Qu Moying with an apologetic expression on her face. “Moying, I’m really sorry. I accidentally hurt you because of Xuexin’s matter.”

Although it was an apology, it sounded very heart-wrenching. Moreover, it repeatedly highlighted that Qu Moying’s engagement had been called off by Marquis Yongning’s Mansion and that she was the one who was disliked.

“It’s fine. I heard that Marquis Yongning’s Mansion has been in trouble recently. Fortunately, Grandmother helped me cancel this engagement.” Qu Moying smiled and said.

These words made Qu Qiuyan’s face flush. She rubbed the handkerchief in her hand hard. Only then did she suppress the hatred in her heart.

She knew best what happened to Yu Qingmeng. Now, Yu Qingmeng was locked up in a yard in Yu Mansion’s backyard. Yu Family was currently discussing how to deal with her.

It was impossible to release her. She had made a fool of herself to such an extent. If she still stayed in the family, it would be a stain on the entire women of Yu Family. It was best to send her far away quickly. They planned to send her out of the capital. When Marquis Yongning’s Mansion sent her over, they also made it clear that Yu Family should announce that she had been kicked out. Otherwise, it would be hard for Marquis Yongning’s Mansion to find a proper response to Duan Mansion.

It could be said that Yu Qingmeng had reaped what she had sown, but it was also caused by the failure of Yu and Qu Qiuyan. Or it could be said that the failure of their scheme against Qu Moying led to Yu Qingmeng’s suffering now.

Originally, they wanted to frame Qu Moying and make Qu Moying bear such suffering, but now the victim turned out to be Yu Qingmeng.

Qu Moying’s words were sarcastic. It was not that Marquis Yongning’s Mansion had broken off the engagement, but that Qu Mansion had taken the initiative to break off the engagement. And now, the entire Marquis Yongning’s Mansion had become a laughing stock in the capital.

“Alright, this matter is over. What happened to Marquis Yongning’s Mansion has nothing to do with our mansion. It is Young Master Yongning who hasn’t behaved well in his private life, and Yu Qingmeng herself is a vicious person. Also, Second Lady Duan…” The Old Lady paused at this point. In her heart, she was very much in agreement with the cancellation of the engagement. None of these few people was easy to deal with.

Of course, Xu Lipeng was not a good person, and Yu Qingmeng had a cheap temperament. As for the shrewish and domineering Second Lady Duan, the Old Lady had long heard that she was not a good person either.

There were some things that the Old Lady could not say in front of her two granddaughters. After a vague sentence, she stopped.

“Ying’s clothes are already being made, and there are quite a few of them. Yan, you should go and get a few clothes made too. There are too many things in the mansion lately, and we have neglected your clothes,” the Old Lady said. Then, she deliberately turned around to Qu Qiuyan, “Your father’s suggestion is that you and Ying shall be in charge of the family affairs in the future. It makes no difference for your Aunt Luo to teach Ying at the same time as she teaches you. Let’s not bother another teacher to teach another one of you.”

“Grandmother, do you want Moying to take care of the family affairs with me? But didn’t Moying say that she just wanted to stand by?” Qu Qiuyan was stunned and said anxiously.

“That was before. Recently, your father has said that you’ve learned those things earlier than your sister, so if there’s anything she doesn’t understand, you should teach her first. If she still doesn’t understand, she can come and ask me or Aunt Luo. I have already discussed this with Aunt Luo. Don’t worry,” the Old Lady ordered.

“Yes, Grandmother.” Qu Qiuyan felt hatred in her heart, but she had no choice but to back down.

“Thank you, Grandmother, and also Father, for worrying about me.” Qu Moying smiled gently, agreeing to this matter and not refusing anymore.

“Alright, you guys can go back first. Ying, you should rest more for the time being. Wait till your feet recover, and then you can start to take care of the affairs step by step. Yan, you have been doing well recently. Start to prepare Duke Qi’s Mansion’s gifts. Draw up the list, and I will help you check it first.”

“Yes!” The two granddaughters stood up and bowed.

As the Old Lady looked at the beautiful granddaughters in front of her, a smile appeared on her face. It was a good thing that Yu was not by the side of the third lady so that she wouldn’t give the latter bad ideas of what to do.

The Old Lady did not want to care about Yu at all. After all, her second son had said that he just wanted to let Yu recuperate like this, and he would pay more attention to the matters in the mansion in the future. Her second son had vaguely expressed that he wanted to marry a noble concubine, but the Old Lady had not agreed to this idea.

Marrying a noble concubine? Wasn’t Yu also a noble concubine when she married into the mansion? Later on, she kicked up a fuss and caused Yue’s death. Although Yu did not live up to the Old Lady’s expectations, she had a son and a daughter. The Old Lady did not want Qu Zhizhen’s family to have a fight between a wife and a concubine again, which could cause the backyard to be in chaos. If he married a noble concubine and if she became his wife again, Qu Mansion would be a joke in the capital again.

Her second son was very talented in other aspects. But when it came to the matter of women and inner yard, he was not good at dealing with it at all, but he himself wasn’t aware of this.

She had to think about this matter again. Even if he wanted to marry another woman, it was better for him to marry a decent concubine. In the future, when her two granddaughters got married, the decent concubine could also take over the duties of managing the mansion.

It could be seen that her second son had made up his mind to imprison Yu this time.

Qu Moying and Qu Qiuyan bid farewell to the Old Lady and left together. They left the Old Lady’s yard one after another but did not leave directly. They were heading to East Mansion, as the Old Lady specially ordered them to take this trip, saying that this matter was very important…