“Grandmother, we were really at the candy booth…” Qu Caiyue hurriedly explained, looking flustered. She didn’t seem confident in her words as her eyes avoided her grandmother.

“Granny Wu, take Third Lady away and let her kneel in the yard,” the Old Lady said with an icy voice.

Qu Caiyue’s face turned pale immediately. She looked at Qu Qiuyan, wishing Qu Qiuyan could help her, but Qu Qiuyan lowered her head and ignored her.

“Third Lady, this way, please!” Granny Wu walked up to Qu Caiyue and said coldly. The Third Lady was terrible at understanding the situation. How dare she, a concubine’s daughter, fabricate a story in front of the Old Lady when the First Lady and the Second Lady didn’t even say anything?

Qu Caiyue didn’t dare to utter another word, walked out, and knelt on the ground with a pale face, trembling in fear.

“Xin, tell me what happened!” the Old Lady continued to question the other two granddaughters, her voice was still angry.

“Grandmother, we were really buying some candies. It’s just… It’s just a bit far away from the kite booth. We didn’t know Moying would leave by herself…” Qu Xuexin bit her lip and said. Then she looked at Qu Moying and bowed to her, “Moying, it’s my fault. I forgot it’s your first time going out. I’m sorry to make you frightened in a place unfamiliar to you.”

Her words sounded honest, and she didn’t use any excuse to defend herself. The Old Lady’s expression softened a bit as she continued to ask, “who suggested it?”

Subconsciously, Qu Xuexin glanced at Qu Qiuyan, who was still staring at the ground with her head lowered. She bit her lip and answered, “Grandmother, no one suggested it. We were talking about the local candies, saying they taste better than what we have in the mansion. Then… Then we left together.”

She made it sound mild, but the Old Lady saw her petty reaction clearly. Without the need for confirmation, she already knew that Qu Xuexin was covering up for Qu Qiuyan, again. The Old Lady almost laughed out in rage, and she pointed at Qu Qiuyan, “Yan, you tell me. Who suggested it?”

“I-I don’t really remember. It’s like everyone was talking about it.” The Old Lady’s anger was beyond her expectation, making her flustered. Qu Caiyue did as she said and drew their grandmother’s anger to her, but she didn’t expect the Old Lady to punish Qu Caiyue that hard by letting her kneel in the yard.

There were many guests in the temple, and they all lived close to each other. If the Old Lady asked her to kneel as well, there would be no difference from losing her face in public.

She inwardly cursed Qu Caiyue for her stupidity, which put her in such an awkward situation. All she could do right now was saying things consistent with Qu Xuexin’s story and not admitting her fault no matter what happened.

“Do you really not know whose fault was that?” asked the Old Lady again.

“Grandmother, I-I really don’t remember… Everyone was talking about it, and I can’t remember who said it first. Maybe it was me; maybe it was First Sister,” she defended herself in a low voice, sounding frightened.

Qu Xuexin almost jumped up hearing her name from Qu Qiuyan’s mouth, but she didn’t deny it. She looked at the Old Lady, “Grandmother, I will make sure this won’t happen again. I will protect Moying with all my heart in the future. If you want to punish someone, please punish me! I’m the eldest sister here, and it’s my fault to let Moying get lost!”

Compared to her eldest granddaughter, who took the responsibility proactively and didn’t blame it on others, Qu Qiuyan’s attitude was more disappointing. The Old Lady gave Qu Qiuyan a displeased glare but didn’t ask her to kneel with Qu Caiyue.

Qu Moying immediately understood the Old Lady’s concern. Apparently, the Old Lady was aware of what was happening between Qu Qiuyan and Lord Jing. She might not think it was the best choice for Qu Qiuyan to marry Lord Jing, but she couldn’t insult Qu Qiuyan too much. After all, who knew what would happen in the future?

Qu Qiuyan was obviously involved in this. But Qu Xuexin took the blame, while Qu Caiyue didn’t have the guts to speak out the truth. There was no need for the Old Lady to go further on the questioning.

Asking them more didn’t do anything good, and luckily, Qu Moying came back safe and sound. The situation came to a conclusion for now. The Old Lady lectured the two granddaughters and asked them to apologize to Qu Moying. Then after a few words, she dismissed them.

After Qu Moying returned to her yard, she sent Yu Dong out. But Yu Dong came back hurriedly soon after and said, “My lady, I ran into the young master we met today just now.”

“Where?” Qu Moying put down the teacup in her hand as her eyes darkened. This coincidence was too unnatural!

“A few minutes ago, when I came out of Granny Wu’s place, I noticed someone who looked very suspicious. It was that young master, followed by only one servant,” said Yu Dong.

Yu Dong went to the Old Lady’s yard because Qu Moying wanted to ask about her grandmother’s daily diet and the cause of her long-term sickness. It was improper to talk to the Old Lady about it directly, so she sent Yu Dong to ask Granny Wu in private. She didn’t expect Yu Dong would meet that man here.

Yu Dong had a good sight. Although they were far away, he still recognized the young master. He thought that man was just a stranger they ran into on the street, but it was not a simple coincidence anymore since he showed up here.

“Did you see him near our side of the yard or the other side?” Qu Moying asked. She meant Qu Qiuyan’s place by the other side.

“Near our place. He was looking in our direction at a distance. I don’t know if he is walking over right now. My lady, do you want me to go ask him why he’s stalking us?” Yu Dong said in anger.

He didn’t look like a pervert, but he was behaving like one right now. It would be a disaster if people saw him, a playboy coming out of nowhere, follow a lady all the way here.

“Don’t. If you go, people will think it’s my order,” Qu Moying shook her head and refused his suggestion.

“You’re right, my lady!” Yu Dong understood her intention immediately and kept nodding. He almost forgot that his current identity was the Fourth Lady’s maid. If a maid went out to meet someone, people would naturally think it was an order coming from her master. He represented his master now. “Then what should we do now? Just let him do whatever he wants?”

“Let’s wait and see. I’m not involved yet, so it’s not the time to make a move,” Qu Moying said calmly as her eyes darkened. If her guessing was correct, Yu and Qu Qiuyan should be the ones behind everything. Qu Caiyue was just the one to execute their plan.

Her only concern was how Yu made her grandmother sick at the right moment.

Because her grandmother was sick, she had to share a carriage with Qu Caiyue. Then Qu Caiyue got the chance to give her that piece of clothes, and everything else would make sense too.

Otherwise, she would’ve visited the market with the Old Lady. And it would be impossible for her to run into that young master, let alone make him follow all the way here. Right now, more things were probably waiting for her to deal with.

She was impressed by the well-thought plan. Did Yu come up with it herself?

Qu Moying was knowledgeable in medicine now since she had been sick for a long time. Moreover, she had Granny Miao around. When she checked the Old Lady’s pulse just now, she could feel it was blocked somewhere, and the blood flow was not smooth. Her sickness was real, and it did look like a long-term health issue. But it still felt unnatural for Qu Moying. After everything she had been through today, Qu Moying didn’t believe this was just a coincidence.

There were many coincidences in the world that people designed on purpose.

If everything was designed, the plan made by Yu was very impressive…

“My lady, I think the Second Lady is definitely involved,” Yu Dong said, seeing his master deep in her thoughts.

But this was not what Qu Moying cared about. Her eyes fell on him, and she suddenly asked, “Do you know the princess we met today?”

She was talking about Ji Youran.

“I haven’t met her before, but I’ve heard of her. She and the Crown Princess are cousins, and she was also acquainted with the Crown Prince. She took the chance to move into the Eastern Palace, using the Crown Princess’s sickness as an excuse. But I don’t think she’s there only for taking care of her sick cousin.” Yu Dong recalled everything he knew about Ji Youran and made his own summary.

Part of it was from the rumors he heard, and the rest was his guessing.

According to his analysis, this Crown Prince’s second wife didn’t seem to be a good-hearted person. She was definitely not as simple as she looked, and her excuse of taking care of the Crown Princess sounded a bit fake to him.

“What makes you think that?” Qu Moying was interested in his words.

“My lady, I don’t think taking care of her sick cousin is her true intention.” Yu Dong had no scruples about telling Qu Moying his honest opinions, treating her as his real master. “I heard the Crown Princess is heavily sick, and she indeed needs someone to take care of her. But I bet she has many servants around. Why does she need her cousin in the Eastern Palace to take care of her? Moreover, that princess doesn’t look like one who is good at caring for others. Why does she spend so much effort going all the way to the Eastern Palace?”

“What do you think she’s here in the Dabei Temple for?” Yu Dong’s words reminded Qu Moying of something.

“I think she’s just having fun here with the excuse of praying for the Crown Princess,” Yu Dong said carelessly.

“So, that means the Crown Prince will be here too?” Qu Moying curled up her lips with a stern look on her face.

“Probably. Princess Ji wouldn’t dare to come here alone. No matter what happens, she has to keep up with her image of a kind cousin who cares about the Crown Princess a lot,” said Yu Dong. Then he muttered, “I heard that Noble Consort He moved into the royal palace with the same excuse of caring for Empress Yuan, who was sick at that time. After Empress Yuan passed away, Noble Consort He gave birth to Lord Jing.”

Qu Moying suddenly laughed grimly, reminded by Yu Dong’s words. The same case happened before – when Empress Yuan was sick, Noble Consort He moved into the royal palace to take care of her. After Empress Yuan recovered, He married the emperor and was given the title of noble consort. Then Empress Yuan was banished to the Cold Palace while Noble Consort He was living a good life and gave birth to Lord Jing.

People said the emperor loved Empress Yuan deeply, and she got banished to the Cold Palace because someone set her up. But no one expected the empress died there. Afterwards, the emperor gave all his love to Noble Consort He, which was why Lord Jing and the Crown Prince’s power was comparable nowadays.

After thinking about it, Empress Yuan’s story was exactly the same as the Crown Princess’s.

The smile on Qu Moying’s face was bitter, with her eyes having a trace of resent!

“Wait at the door and keep an eye on the outside. If people come to look for trouble, bring them inside,” Suppressing her rage, Qu Moying said. She stood up and walked to the window. It was still early before dinner time. Some of the guests who wouldn’t stay overnight probably hadn’t left yet. It should be the best timing for them.

“Yes, my lady!” Yu Dong understood her intention immediately and left the room.

While they were talking, Yu Chun had lost them long ago. She was a girl, but not smart enough to understand their conversation. She tried to figure it out herself but gave up after a little while. She was aware of her role, which was taking good care of her master since she fully trusted the lady to make all the arrangements. Her master had a smart brain, and all she needed to do was to follow her orders.

As Qu Moying expected, after they waited for a while, noises came from outside. Qu Moying let Yu Chun help her put on the veil, quietly sitting inside…