Reborn to Be A Noble Wife - Chapter 405

Chapter 405 Why Don’t We Go and Check Third Sister’s Place?
They checked the wing rooms one by one, but they didn’t find anything. Finally, they stopped at a wing room, and Yu Dong looked hesitant.

Qu Mingcheng asked gently as usual, “What’s wrong?”

“This is my… room!” Yu Dong said timidly, lowering his head.

Qu Mingcheng asked, “Who do you live with?”

“I live here alone.” Yu Dong shook his head. According to Qu Mansion’s rules, two senior maids shared one room. But Yu Dong lived in a single room because he was actually a man. Therefore, Yu Chun also lived alone.

Qu Mingcheng stopped and asked with a gentler voice, “You live alone?”

“Yes… I live alone. There are many rooms in Qianyue House, so Lady let me and Yu Chun live alone.” Yu Dong pinched the handkerchief in his hand with an uneasy and flustered look.

“Go in and take a look!” Qu Mingcheng waved his hand, and two old maids went into the room to check.

Yu Dong carefully followed them in.

The two old maids skillfully searched and soon rummaged through everything. However, although they checked everything, they didn’t find any forbidden items in the room. Just as they were about to leave the room, a sharp-eyed old maid saw a pouch hanging behind Yu Dong’s bed. They just checked the front of the bed, but they did not notice that there was a pouch tied to the corner behind the bed.

The place where the pouch was placed was suspicious. The old maid walked over and wanted to take a look at the pouch.

The old maid’s movement startled Qu Mingcheng. He looked at the old maid and then looked at Yu Dong, whose hands were trembling while holding a handkerchief. He knew that the pouch should be the one he had given Yu Dong before. He waved his hand and said, “If there’s nothing strange, let’s go somewhere else!”

The old maid pointed to the back of the bed and said, “Second Young Master, there is something over there…”

“Let’s go!” Qu Mingcheng walked out without even looking at the old maid. The old maid thought for a second and decided to let it go. Since Second Young Master didn’t intend to check the pouch, she didn’t have to insist and offend Fourth Lady’s senior maid.

She would pretend not to see it. Anyway, she really didn’t see it just now.

They searched the next few rooms one by one, but they did not find anything. However, they did not dare to check Granny Yan’s room because Granny Yan used to be a high-grade palace maid, and lowly old maids like them were not qualified to check her room.

The few old maids stood at the door of Granny Yan’s room, not daring to enter. Sitting in the room, Granny Yan took a sip of tea and glanced at the old maids.

A lad servant rushed over and drove the old maids away. Then, he bowed deeply to Granny Yan at the door and slowly retreated. This was to give Granny Yan a face and also show his respect for her.

Granny Yan stood up and walked to the window. She looked at Qu Mingcheng in the yard. Qu Mingcheng was young and good-looking. Dressing in a brocade robe, he looked exactly like a handsome young master. His eyes were especially like Yu, and there was a trace of a smile in them. He looked gentle, but there was a hint of slyness deep in his eyes.

Granny Yan had seen many people. Moreover, she used to work in Empress Dowager’s palace, so she had seen many people who looked gentle but actually had ulterior motives. Thus, she could tell at a glance that Qu Mingcheng was not as casual as he appeared on the surface. He was targeting Qu Moying.

Fortunately, Qu Moying had already instructed her to sit here quietly and told her that she didn’t have to worry about anything else.

The several old maids didn’t find anything after checking the rooms in the yard. Qu Mingcheng went to the door of Qu Moying’s main room. After thinking for a while, he walked forward. Yu Chun had already seen him inside the room, so she walked forward to lift the door curtain for him.

Qu Mingcheng walked in. Yu Dong hurriedly made a cup of tea and placed it on the table in front of Qu Mingcheng. He hesitated for a moment but still stood in front of Qu Moying. His eyes involuntarily looked at the desk at the window, where the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone that Qu Moying usually used were placed.

Yu Dong took a few more glances at the bottom drawer on the left side of the desk and then quickly looked away as if he was frightened.

Although Yu Dong’s movements were short and brief, they fell into the eyes of Qu Mingcheng, who was sitting opposite Qu Moying. He now figured out, “Qing Mei is quite capable. It seems that Yu Dong has put the jade pendant in Qu Moying’s room.”

Qu Mingcheng said to Qu Moying with a warm smile, “Moying, Qiuyan lost an important item that she is supposed to use tomorrow. Father just went to Grandmother’s place to check around, and he asked me to come to your place to have a look. If what I have done just now offended you, please forgive me.”

Qu Moying asked indifferently, “Second Brother, what exactly did Third Sister lose? Why do you guys make such a scene and even alarm Grandmother?”

They really made quite a scene and even alarmed Old Lady Qu. Qu Moying was speechless.

“Actually, it’s just a jade pendant, but this jade pendant… is not ordinary. Maybe a servant picked it up and thought that it was a common valuable item. Qiuyan hasn’t been out for the past few days. Other than going to see Grandmother, she only met you. That’s why I came to your yard.”

At this time, Qu Mingcheng did not beat around the bush and directly explained his purpose, “Moying, can you let me take a random look at the things in this room? I don’t mean that you take the jade pendant, but I’m afraid that there may be some insensible servants who hid it in your room.”

Qu Moying’s face darkened. “Second Brother, what do you mean? Are you suspecting my two private maids? Or my Nanny?”

They were in Qianyue House’s main room. Only Qu Moying’s few confidants could enter this room.

Qu Mingcheng said with an apologetic smile, “Moying, I have no choice but to do so. I actually don’t want to think this way, but Father has already gone to Grandmother’s place… He was there to check Grandmother’s room. If I don’t search your room, it will be difficult for both of us to explain to Father!”

He was putting pressure on Qu Moying with Qu Zhizhen and the Old Lady.

“Second Brother, did Third Sister really lose the jade pendant?” Qu Moying asked with a cold expression and pursed her lips tightly.

Qu Mingcheng laughed. “Of course, she lost it. If she didn’t lose it, why did she say that she lost it?”

“It’s hard to say. Previously, I borrowed a Buddhist scripture from Earl Ling’an’s Mansion and sent it to Third Sister, but it was broken after it was sent to Third Sister’s yard. What happened next confused me. Earl Ling’an’s Mansion’s Madam Duan actually said that the Buddhist scripture she lent me was the wrong one. It was not the one that was used by the ex-Crown Princess. I didn’t expect it to turn out this way.”

Qu Moying said coldly.

“Moying, if you don’t believe her, let’s go to Qiuyan’s place to take a look if I find nothing here in your room. Is this OK?” Qu Mingcheng acted like he was trying to calm things down.

Qu Mingcheng was just trying to appease Qu Moying. He believed that the jade pendant was in Qu Moying’s place. He had deliberately shown his affection to Yu Dong before. At the very beginning, he asked Qing Mei to convey his feelings to Yu Dong. Later, he sent Yu Dong the pouch. Yu Dong did not reply after receiving the pouch, which was taken as a sign of accepting Qu Mingcheng’s offer.

After that, Qu Mingcheng asked Qing Mei to bring the jade pendant and let Yu Dong hide it. Qing Mei claimed that it was for the good of Qu Moying and Qu Qiuyan and also for the good of Yu Dong. If Qu Moying and Qu Qiuyan were at odds, it would be difficult for Yu Dong, Qu Moying’s maid, to go and serve Qu Mingcheng, who was Qu Qiuyan’s biological brother. Even Qu Qiuyan might not accept such a thing, let alone Qu Moying.

The traps were all set, and he was waiting to catch his prey.

Qing Mei told Yu Dong to hide the jade pendant in Qu Moying’s room as soon as possible. Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to defend himself if anyone saw the jade pendant in his room. She told Yu Dong to put the jade pendant in a random spot in the yard after today and let other maids or old maids pick it up and give it to Qu Moying, who would return it to Qu Qiuyan. After that, they would be reconciled.

Qing Mei repeatedly warned Yu Dong not to keep the jade pendant because it would be difficult for him to defend himself if anyone saw it.

Since Qing Mei had said so, any sensible person would not keep the jade pendant by their side, and Yu Dong had always been smart and quick-witted by Qu Moying’s side.

In fact, this plan was not perfect. There were some flaws in it. However, if a maid tried to reap the benefits by making the two young ladies reconcile with each other, she might be blinded and think that she was doing the right thing. Most importantly, this plan didn’t seem to harm Qu Moying at all. It was intended to help Qu Moying in the first place.

Qu Mingcheng felt that it was not so easy to make Yu Dong betray Qu Moying, but it was still feasible to let Yu Dong put something in Qu Moying’s room out of “good intentions” and for her own benefit.

Qu Moying raised an eyebrow. “Go to Third Sister’s place to see if the jade pendant is there?”

“Yes, as long as it can make you satisfied.” Qu Mingcheng said generously as if he only wanted to make Qu Moying happy.

Yu Dong, who was behind Qu Moying, became increasingly uneasy. He looked up at Qu Mingcheng and then looked at Qu Moying’s back. He couldn’t help but move his feet. It seemed that he was really nervous.

Qu Moying asked calmly, “What if Third Sister doesn’t allow us to search her room?”

“I will make her agree!” Qu Mingcheng patted his chest. Qu Qiuyan gave the jade pendant to Qing Mei, and Qing Mei gave it to Yu Dong, so how could it be found in Qu Qiuyan’s place?

“Second Brother, since you have said so, you may let your people search my room!” Qu Moying said coldly.

Qu Mingcheng nodded and looked at the old maid beside him. This old maid had followed him in just now. After hearing Qu Mingcheng’s instructions, she bowed to Qu Moying and carefully began to check around.

Qu Moying looked at her coldly and did not say that she wanted to leave. Qu Mingcheng sat to the side with a smile and seemed to have forgotten to remind Qu Moying to leave.

In fact, there were not many things in the outer room. The old maid checked it in a few seconds, but there were a few closed drawers under the desk in front of the window. After looking at the things on the table, the old maid turned back to look at Qu Mingcheng. Her meaning was very obvious.