Reborn to Be A Noble Wife - Chapter 349

Chapter 349 Hankering for the Position

The maid ran over and wiped her sweat. Seeing that the maid was not the one who bumped into her just now, Qu Xuexin could not help but feel disappointed.

Hong Mei was just as excited as Qu Xuexin. She looked at the maid and asked anxiously, “Who… who is your Master?”

The maid was stunned by the question. She looked at the two of them in confusion and asked, “My Master is Princess Ji. Who else can it be?”

“No… We just thought that there were other Masters in Eastern Palace.” Qu Xuexin hurriedly stopped Hong Mei from asking again. The blush on her face faded, and she was disappointed.

“Princess Ji is the only Master of Eastern Palace’s inner yard. How can there be any other Master?” The maid curled her lips and continued, “Just now, our Master forgot to reward you ladies. Please wait a moment.”

“Reward… reward us?” Qu Xuexin was stunned.

They were here today to beg for forgiveness. It was already good enough to explain this matter clearly. She didn’t expect to be rewarded.

As they spoke, another three maids appeared. This time, the three maids each held a brocade box in their hands.

The maid said with a smile, “First Lady Qu, this is for you. The other two are for Third Lady Qu and Fourth Lady Qu.”

Qu Qiuyan and Qu Moying were originally in the carriage, but hearing the noise outside, they got off the carriage. The three maids each held a brocade box, one of which was pink, and the other two were both green.

The maid pointed at the brocade box in the middle to Qu Xuexin. This brocade box’s color was different from the other two, and its size was bigger. It seemed that there were more things inside.

Qu Moying glanced at Qu Xuexin calmly. Then, she withdrew her gaze. She was the youngest among the three sisters present. Qu Xuexin and Qu Qiuyan would react first, and she was not in a hurry to do anything.

Qu Xuexin said hurriedly, “Many thanks for Princess Ji’s reward!”

Qu Qiuyan and Qu Moying also bowed sideways.

The maid at the front waved her hand. “First Lady Qu, you’re welcome. In the future, maybe you will become a frequent visitor to our Master. What happened this time is an opportunity for you two to know each other.”

The three brocade boxes were presented, and each of the three ladies’ maids received one. Hong Mei was almost overjoyed.

Hong Mei’s personality was somewhat similar to Qu Xuexin’s. The two of them used to look very calm, but now their eyes were shining with excitement.

Since the rewards were given, Eastern Palace’s maids retreated, and the three ladies got on the carriage again in turn.

The carriage turned around and drove towards Qu Mansion.

“Eldest Sister, what’s in your brocade box?” As soon as they all got on the carriage, Qu Qiuyan opened her brocade box and saw a hairpin in it. Although it was beautiful, it was just an ordinary one. It should be the most unremarkable kind for Ji Youran, who was the Side Princess of Eastern Palace.

Qu Moying silently opened her brocade box and took a look. It was the same as Qu Qiuyan’s.

However, Qu Xuexin held the brocade box tightly and did not open it.

Hearing Qu Qiuyan’s question, Qu Xuexin shook her head. “I’ll open it after getting home. It’s inappropriate to open it now!”

“Eldest Sister, I just want to take a look. Why are you so stingy?” Qu Qiuyan was unhappy. She reached out and grabbed the brocade box from Qu Xuexin’s hand.

Qu Xuexin didn’t expect that Qu Qiuyan would snatch it away. She would seem to be over-reacting to take it back, so she could only put down her hands.

Qu Qiuyan quickly opened the brocade box. She saw a flower-shaped necklace inside. She picked it up and found that it was extremely exquisite and beautiful. She couldn’t help but widen her eyes. “Eldest Sister, your reward is really fantastic. Ours are just average. She has apparently ignored the two of us.”

The rewards for the two of them were rather intended to serve as a foil to Qu Xuexin’s.

Qu Qiuyan was not jealous, but she didn’t want to see Qu Xuexin having something better than hers. After looking it over, she casually put it back into the brocade box and curled her lips. “Eldest Sister, you are the one who had a conflict with Princess Ji. But now, you actually won her favor. How strange!”

It was hard for Qu Xuexin to reply to her words. She only took the brocade box that Qu Qiuyan threw over and carefully put it into her sleeve. There was still a faint smile on her face. Even now, she still felt like she was dreaming.

“The Crown Prince actually took a fancy to me and even deliberately kept my sachet.”

“A woman’s sachet could not be casually given away. How could the Crown Prince not know it? However, he still asked for my sachet, which means he likes me. When did he take a fancy to me?”

“Was it yesterday?”

“Did he see me from such a long distance yesterday?”

Thinking of this, she was thrilled, and her face was burning.

She had lost her hope before, but now it seemed that she had a greater possibility. She thought she might be the one to marry the best among the ladies of Qu Mansion in the end.

“Eldest Sister… Eldest Sister…” Qu Qiuyan’s voice woke Qu Xuexin up from her trance.

Qu Xuexin quickly raised her head. “What’s the matter?”

“What are you thinking? You seemed to be excited. Didn’t you hear what I said just now?” Qu Qiuyan was very unhappy. She had asked Qu Xuexin several questions just now, but she got no reply. She was really unreconciled.

Qu Xuexin said, “I really don’t feel well. Sorry to neglect you, Third Sister!”

Qu Qiuyan glanced at her and cursed in her heart, “What a liar! She is so weird today. Does she think I am a fool?”

But looking at Qu Moying, who was sitting opposite her with her eyes closed, Qu Qiuyan shut her mouth.

The carriage quieted down. The three of them sat in it with their own thoughts.

One of them was excited, one of them was mocking in her heart, and the other was depressed and confused…

“Your Highness, I heard that First Lady Qu fell just now. I hurried over, but she had already left, so I had someone send rewards to the three ladies of Qu Mansion.” Ji Youran sat in Pei Luo’an’s study. She was dressed delicately, but she looked a little pale and haggard.

However, she still smiled gracefully.

“So be it.” Pei Luo’an said indifferently. He did not even raise his head as he continued to read the documents on the desk.

“Just now, First Lady Qu said…” Ji Youran hesitated.

Her pause finally made Pei Luo’an look up. He pressed his forehead and asked gently, “What did she say?”

“She said that she saw you hang Love Lanterns with a woman last night. She followed you because she was too curious. She didn’t expect to have a conflict with me.” Ji Youran said as she secretly observed Pei Luo’an’s face. She ventured with a smile, “Your Highness, whom did you bring with you to hang the lanterns yesterday? Shall we tell her…”

“Tell her what?” Pei Luo’an’s face darkened.

“Tell her that the lanterns were broken and ask her if she wants to hang another pair of lanterns? If she wants, our mansion can make a pair of even more beautiful Love Lanterns. Your Highness, you carried that kind of lantern before.” Ji Youran hurriedly lowered her head, not daring to peep at Pei Luo’an’s expression.

Pei Luo’an did carry a pair of Love Lanterns to Ji Hanyue before. He originally prepared to hang them with Ji Hanyue, but she did not go with him. In the end, Ji Youran got this pair of Love Lanterns. She secretly hung them in the Sea of Lanterns and took them as the lanterns for Pei Luo’an and her.

She even accidentally hurt her hand because of this. Pei Luo’an felt sorry for her and said that he would hang Love Lanterns with her in the future.

However, even after Ji Hanyue died, Ji Youran was still not the one to hang Love Lanterns with Pei Luo’an.

Ji Youran’s eyes turned red, and her face darkened. Although she still had a smile on her face, it was a forced smile.

Seeing that she still forced a smile while handling matters for him although she was dispirited, Pei Luo’an became soft-hearted. “Well, this is Mother Empress’ idea, not my intention.”

What he liked most about Ji Youran was that she cared about him wholeheartedly. He liked her gentleness.

But recently, Ji Youran had been playing too many tricks in private, which made him very unhappy.

“Has the Empress found someone appropriate?” Ji Youran lowered her head, tears streaming down her face. She didn’t complain anything, but she looked extremely pitiful.

It was natural for her to raise this topic by using Qu Xuexin, and Pei Luo’an would not suspect that she had followed him.

Pei Luo’an stood up from the chair and turned to the corner of the desk. He reached out to hold Ji Youran’s hand and comforted her, “Mother Empress arranged it for me. I may not be able to give you the position of Princess Consort, but don’t worry. As long as I am alive, I will never let anyone bully you. Hanyue couldn’t, and neither could anyone else.”

This was a promise to her, but Ji Youran could not feel happy.

She was nailed to be a Side Princess forever. She could only be a Side Princess, whereas Liu Jingyu would be a Princess Consort. But why? If she didn’t help Pei Luo’an, Ji Hanyue would still be his Princess Consort. How could it be Liu Jingyu’s turn?

Why was she nailed to be a Side Princess? He had clearly promised her the position of Princess Consort, and he said he would promote her when the right time came.

“Your Highness, I… I…” Ji Youran could not control her tears, and her voice trembled. She tried her best to control her emotions, but she failed despite her efforts.

Pei Luo’an quietly looked at Ji Youran. He knew what she was up to, but he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty for a moment when he saw her aggrieved look. He stretched out his hand, but when he was about to touch Ji Youran’s face, he saw the scar on her temple, and he stopped.

Then, he slowly put down his hand with a complicated look in his eyes.

“Your Highness…” Ji Youran noticed that something was wrong. She raised her head and looked at Pei Luo’an with tears in her eyes.

The scar on her temple was not obvious, but it was hard to remove it for a while because of two incidents. Ji Youran usually covered it with her hair so it was not conspicuous. At this time, she lost control of her emotions and raised her head high. In addition, Pei Luo’an specially looked at her, so it immediately became obvious.

Her originally beautiful face became somewhat unsightly because of this scar.

Even though Pei Luo’an reminded himself that it was nothing, he still felt uncomfortable. That scar reminded him of the truth that he was unwilling to uncover…

“You can leave! I will accept whatever Mother Empress has arranged for me.” Pei Luo’an said coldly. He turned around and sat behind the desk again.

Behind him, Ji Youran’s eyes were filled with disbelief. She lowered her head and reached out to press her hair. Her eyes were filled with hatred. She clearly knew that the Crown Prince’s heart had softened at that moment, but after he saw the scar on her face…