Reborn to Be A Noble Wife - Chapter 323

Chapter 323 Granny Yan Asked for an Audience with Qu Moying

Xie Feng sobbed so hard that she almost collapsed to the ground. She looked really sad!

Pei Luo’an frowned and looked at Xie Feng with a darkened face. After a while, he asked, “Why did she pull out your hairpins?”

“I don’t know either. Maybe she is unhappy about me serving you, Your Highness.” Xie Feng continued crying.

“How rude she is!” A trace of anger appeared on Pei Luo’an’s face. He was angry that a mere Vice Minister’s daughter dared to offend him like this.

“I have explained that I am now yours, and I did not serve two masters. But Fourth Lady Qu didn’t listen to me and even let her maid slap me twice. All the servants in the Ji Family were watching at that time. I felt like I had disgraced you, and I wanted to kill myself by hitting the pillar. But I thought I had to come back to report to you, so I didn’t kill myself on the spot.”

She cried as she continued, “Your Highness, now that I have reported to you, I am willing to die to preserve your dignity.” With those words, Xie Feng stood up, and she staggered as if she was about to hit the pillar with her head.

Pei Luo’an slapped his hand on the table and snapped, “Enough!”

Xie Feng was frightened and did not dare to make any more noise. She still knelt there and cried.

Pei Luo’an said coldly, “You can leave now!”

“Your Highness…” Xie Feng still wanted to say something, but she saw Pei Luo’an glare at her and hurriedly lowered her head. She did not dare to be impudent and could only say with grievance, “Your… Your Highness, I… I will leave first!”

Pei Luo’an waved his hand.

Xie Feng stood up, feeling wronged. She turned around, wiped away her tears, and was about to leave.

“Don’t talk nonsense after you get out. Otherwise…” Pei Luo’an said coldly. Someone was impeaching him with Ji Hanyue’s matter, which annoyed him.

“I know. Please rest assured, Your Highness.” Xie Feng immediately responded. After saying that, she carefully retreated to the door. Standing still, she wiped her tears and saw a maid sneering at her beside the door.

The maid used to be the Crown Prince’s bedroom maid, but her place was taken by Xie Feng now, so she disliked Xie Feng very much.

Seeing that Xie Feng had suffered a setback inside, she was very happy. She walked over with small steps. She stopped a few steps away from the Crown Prince’s study and sized up the battered and exhausted Xie Feng. “What’s wrong? Is His Highness going to avenge you? Is he going to deal with the ex-Crown Princess’ cousin sister for you?”

“Does it have anything to do with you?” Not to be outdone, Xie Feng said coldly. She also disliked this bedroom maid.

“Of course it has. I just heard a good show. You cried pitifully inside. But His Highness didn’t seem to have any pity for you. It seems you are doted on for only two days, and maybe you gained the favor only because of the ex-Crown Princess.” The maid waved her hand as if she was chasing away something dirty.

However, she was waving in Xie Feng’s direction.

Xie Feng was so angry that her entire body trembled. However, she was afraid because the maid was right. Did the Crown Prince really favor her? Others might not know, but Xie Feng was very clear about it.

But now, she was at the door of the Crown Prince’s study, so she did not dare to make a scene here. She glared at the maid and turned to leave, and the maid who served her followed closely behind her.

When she walked outside, she thought about it again and still felt unreconciled. She couldn’t tell what the Crown Prince’s attitude was, and she was not sure whether he would help her vent her anger or not.

The pair of hairpins was her most presentable collection, so it was really heartbreaking for her to lose them like that. After standing still and thinking for a while, Xie Feng went to Ji Youran with her maid.

She had told Ji Youran about the thing perfunctorily before, but this time, she went to Ji Youran for her support.

Of course, she would say that the Crown Prince asked her to tell Ji Youran about it and let Ji Youran handle it because he was too busy. Anyway, the Crown Prince had indeed said such words. Xie Feng did not think that there was anything wrong with her complaining to Ji Youran and asking her for help.

That was what the Crown Prince meant!

Ji Youran was also very annoyed. Originally, she wanted to use Xie Feng’s matter to let the Crown Prince interfere with the issue concerning Earl Ling’an’s Mansion. It would be best if the Crown Prince directly gave the final say on the problem of Ji Hanyue’s dowry. As long as the Crown Prince gave the order, she believed that Madam Duan and Ji Yuanhai would not dare to say anything no matter how many dowry items she returned.

However, she did not expect Xie Feng would come back so quickly with a tearful face, which really annoyed her. She would not be merciful to women because she was not the Crown Prince. Actually, she had kept Xie Feng only because she was useful. But now, she was annoyed. She only said a few words to Xie Feng coldly and then sent her away.

Since Madam Duan didn’t sign the dowry list, it meant that the dowry matter was not over yet. She still had to think of a way to make Madam Duan sign on it. The Crown Prince had already reprimanded her, so she had to hurry up with this matter.

When Xie Feng came to complain the first time, Ji Youran comforted her kindly and even rewarded her. But this time, Ji Youran asked her to leave before she could finish her words. Seeing the mocking faces of Ji Youran’s maids, Xie Feng felt ashamed and angry, but she could only leave.

She angrily returned to her own residence, gnashing her teeth in anger. The one she hated the most was Qu Moying. She still wanted to find an opportunity to complain to the Crown Prince. She would not let this matter end like this!

Xie Feng was very angry, and she was eager to deal with Qu Moying. But Qu Moying knew her very well. She knew that Xie Feng would only tell half of the truth for her own good and would pretend to be innocent.

The truth would be distorted and concealed because Xie Feng covered up the real cause of the incident. Qu Moying didn’t care about whether Pei Luo’an would get angry with her for a maid. She was a lady of Vice Minister’s Mansion as well as Ji Hanyue’s cousin sister, but Xie Feng was only a maid. Pei Luo’an had always fished for fame and honor, and he definitely would not do anything to her!

She had pulled out the pair of hairpins on purpose…

There was a bamboo gauze box in front of Qu Moying. It was the one she brought from Yue’s Clothing Pavilion. After looking at it over and over again, she was sure that it was a fake. However, it was made very exquisitely, and it was exactly the same style as the real one. If the person who made this box had not seen the real one before, he would not be able to make it.

But how did a fake get to Yue’s Clothing Pavilion?

Her long eyelashes fluttered, and her eyes fell on the bamboo gauze box in front of her. She was deep in thought. She had asked Aunt Yang today. Aunt Yang said she had asked many people who had worked in the shop, but all of them said they had never seen that shop assistant again. It was as if he had really disappeared. Or maybe, he had left the capital.

However, Qu Moying knew that it was not the case. She knew the shop assistant must be hiding in a place which she couldn’t find. He was the key to finding out about the bamboo gauze box and the case that Yue’s Clothing Pavilion had once sold tributes.

It would be no big deal if no one exposed it. However, if it was exposed, Yue’s Clothing Pavilion would definitely have to be closed. Fortunately, the person in charge of the shop at that time was Yu. Even if this matter was investigated, she would not be implicated, but the shop would definitely be sealed.

Did Yu really dare to do such a thing?

No matter how greedy Yu was, she did not have the ability to get this kind of tribute. Moreover, the tributes were available for sale for several years.

Why did they stop selling them? How did they stop selling them? Why were the tributes placed in Qu Mansion’s shop? Was it related to someone in Qu Mansion? Where were the missing account books? Who got them?

Qu Moying sighed softly. She pressed on the bamboo gauze box with her tender fingers, deep in thought. She felt like there was an invisible thread that connected her previous life with this life.

Even though things that happened in Qu Mansion were only inner yard’s disputes, Qu Moying had sensed the smell of danger in them.

Was it Qu Mansion’s people? Was it Dowager Consort Qu? Was it another concubine? Or was it another concubine’s family?

She thought Dowager Consort Qu was the least possible one, but who was it?

Was it Qu Zhizhen?

She thought Qu Zhizhen was more suspicious than Yu, but she had no evidence.

She didn’t have a close relationship with her father who didn’t care about her, so even if she wanted to verify something, she couldn’t just ask her father directly, which made it even more difficult for her to find out the truth.

Qu Moying finally retracted her finger from the bamboo gauze box, lightly tapped the table, and said, “Yu Chun, put it away!”

Yu Chun came over to take the bamboo gauze box and carefully put it away.

At this time, Yu Dong came back from outside and brought dinner. Qu Moying still felt dizzy and did not have much appetite. After eating a little, she asked the two maids to clear the table.

After Yu Dong finished cleaning up the room, he saw Granny Yan coming in from outside the courtyard with a serious face. He walked forward and bowed to her.

Granny Yan looked at the lights in the main room and asked, “Did lady have dinner?”

Yu Dong replied, “Lady has finished the dinner.”

Granny Yan hesitated for a moment and said to Yu Dong, “Go and report to lady that I have something to report to her.”

Yu Dong nodded, turned around, and went in. After a while, he walked outside and said to Granny Yan, “Granny Yan, lady invites you in!”

Yu Dong still had some respect for this palace maid. Granny Yan had at least helped Qu Moying once after she came to the mansion. Because of this, Yu Dong felt that Granny Yan was not bad.

Granny Yan nodded at Yu Dong and entered the room with a heavy expression.

In the room, Qu Moying did not wear the eye veil. Granny Yan was familiar with her current appearance now. Qu Moying knew that Granny Yan had seen her without the eye veil before, so she did not put the eye veil on at this time.

Qu Moying watched her coming into the room with her bright eyes open. Seeing her face, Granny Yan was stunned. Although she had secretly observed Qu Moying’s face several times, she had never seen it directly in such a way.

Qu Moying had a pair of beautiful and bright eyes. Her pupils were darker than others. When she was serious, her eyes were like a pool of water, pure and clean. But when she smiled, they were charming. There was a touch of light red in the corner of her eyes, which made her exceedingly gorgeous and attractive.

Her facial features were extremely delicate. Even if she wore an eye veil, many people could sense that she was a stunning beauty. However, if they could see her without the eye veil, they would know that she was not only good-looking. She was drop-dead gorgeous, and she really was an incomparable beauty…

Granny Yan thought again and made up her mind. She met Qu Moying’s smiling eyes and slowly knelt down…