“What just happened?”

“Something about Lady Yu, a lady related to the Qu Family. It seems that she used her cousin, Third Lady Qu, to frame Fourth Lady Qu.”

“Isn’t Lady Yu Second Madam Qu’s niece?”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t matter now. I heard Lady Yu married Young Master Yongning.”

“But Young Master Yongning just broke off the engagement with the Qu Family. It’s said that he is going to marry Second Lady Duan. Why is he involved with Lady Yu now? Lady Yu must’ve married him as a concubine! She literally couldn’t wait a single second to be his concubine after his engagement was canceled. So shameless!”

“I can’t believe a noble lady like her lowered herself to marry someone as a concubine. It’s disgusting.”

Yu Qingmeng moved into the Marquis Yongning’s Mansion secretly, so not many outsiders knew about it.

“I heard Young Master Yongning took Lady Yu and Fourth Lady Qu to go shopping one day, and they had an accident when sitting in the carriage. But Young Master Yongning ignored his fiancee and went to save Lady Yu. Moreover, the two directly held each other in public. In the end, Young Master Yongning sent Lady Yu home instead of his actual fiancee at that time, Fourth Lady Qu.”

Someone who witnessed their carriage accident told everyone about it.

“I see, so they hooked up long ago.” These vulgar people didn’t care about formalities and said it out loud directly while smirking at other people. The crowd burst out laughing.

“Then it means Young Master Yongning has been dissatisfied with his engagement since long ago and trying to find a way to break it off. Didn’t they say that Young Master Yongning saved a lady who fell into a lake and was forced to break off his initial engagement and marry her?” Rumors about the real reason behind the breaking off of Xu Lipeng and Qu Moying’s engagement had been spread these days.

Before, everyone said the lady Young Master Yongning saved was a shrew. She fell in love with him and designed a shameless trap to force him to marry her. She was the real reason why the Marquis Yongning’s Family cut the relationship with the Qu Family and broke off the engagement.

But after seeing what just happened, people started to suspect the authenticity of those rumors. It seemed that Young Master Yongning was not a responsible, devoted gentleman as they thought. Maybe he had always looked down on Fourth Lady Qu, so he hooked up with Lady Yu, who lived in the Qu’s Mansion, and framed the Minister of Food and Beverage’s daughter. After abandoning his fiancee, he married a concubine and would soon marry another lady as his wife. In the end, he gained the most benefits from the situation!

Meanwhile, Fourth Lady Qu’s life was really miserable. As everyone remembered seeing Fourth Lady Qu just now, wearing a long veil on her eyes and standing quietly alone, they started to grow some pity toward her.

Rumors are always like wildfire. Soon, the story became way more exaggerated than it was initially. People all said that Yu Qingmeng was jealous of Qu Moying because she started to secretly date Xu Lipeng long ago. That was why she used her cousin’s hairpins to frame Fourth Lady Qu. After her evil plan was revealed, her aunt, Second Madam Qu, was so angry that she even passed out.

Third Lady Qu’s careless maid packed three hairpins from two similar pairs. Lady Yu knew her cousin, Third Lady Qu, gave one of her hairpins to Fourth Lady Qu when she visited her. So, she sent someone to steal the hairpin from Fourth Lady Qu to frame her. Afraid of being noticed by Third Lady Qu, Lady Yu went to check the left hairpins at Third Lady Qu’s place and found out the one Fourth Lady Qu got was different from the ones Third Lady Qu wore. Then she replaced one in her accessory box with the current one she stole from Fourth Lady Qu.

Later, Third Lady Qu saw the purple pearl hairpin in her accessory box and thought it was the one she wore before. Without noticing the difference, Third Lady Qu put it on and went to worship the Buddha with Fourth Lady Qu. But she found that Fourth Lady Qu didn’t wear the one given by her before. Moreover, she didn’t know the one she gave out was not the same as the one she wore.

Then, Third Lady Qu found that a man had the same hairpin as the one she wore, so she thought it was the one she gave to Fourth Lady Qu. That was why she said that she gave Fourth Lady Qu that hairpin…

The whole thing was complicated, also confusing. Yu sent some old maids to mingle with the crowd and explain it to them.

Those maids dressed up like ordinary citizens so that no one would suspect their identities. Their words were organized, making people figure it out immediately. After hearing their explanation, those listeners all nodded at them, agreeing that Lady Yu was indeed a malicious lady. Destroying Fourth Lady Qu’s engagement was not enough for her. She even wanted to ruin her name and take her life.

As for Young Master Yongning, he didn’t sound like a gentleman that everyone praised either. Otherwise, he wouldn’t choose such an evil woman over Fourth Lady Qu and even break off their engagement for her.

Now, they had more pity toward the poor, blind Fourth Lady Qu, who lost her engagement. Some people claimed that they saw Fourth Lady Qu was trembling while hearing the truth. She must be so angry and upset…

As the whole place was buzzing, Yu Dong took a plate from the carriage and went back to the mansion. The Fourth Lady asked him to stay near the crowd for a period to see if Yu would do anything else for her plan. As the Fourth Lady expected, some old maids mingled with the group and deliberately explained everything to those curious onlookers after the Qus returned to the mansion.

Thanks to Yu Dong’s good hearing and sight, he noticed it immediately!

Yu was indeed willing to do anything to protect her own daughter, including sacrificing her niece’s name…

In the Old Lady’s Kangming House, Yu, who already woke up, was kneeling on the ground while wailing, “Mother, I really didn’t know it was Qingmeng. I…I promise I will let my big brother give her punishment. We will never allow her to do this again. I’ve treated her so nicely these years. I…I can’t believe she did this to me.”

Next to the crying madam, Qu Qiuyan was kneeling as well, quietly wiping her tears with a hanky. Her eyes were red and swollen.

“Humph, I’m impressed by you…and Yu Qingmeng…” the Old Lady sneered furiously, staring at Yu.

Granny Wu hurriedly pulled the Old Lady’s sleeve to calm her down.

The Old Lady pressed her lips, trying to suppress her anger, and then asked, “Is it true that Yu Qingmeng designed all of it?”

“Mother, it was really designed by Qingmeng. Look at this hairpin left in the mansion. Qingmeng should have the other one from the same pair right now. I will go ask her to return it soon,” Yu was well-prepared for this scene and said with a grievance. Then she bowed her head on the ground in front of the Old Lady, “Mother, I know Qingmeng made a big mistake, but after all, I’ve watched her growing up. I…I can’t stand watching her like this…”

“What do you want?” the Old Lady’s voice was cold.

“Mother, can’t we just call an end to it? Qingmeng has already had her punishment now. She’s Young Master Yongning’s concubine, not even a noble concubine, and her whole life will be like this. If we make the scene bigger and irritate Marchioness Yongning, Qingmeng…Qingmeng’s life will be miserable,” Yu cried sorrowfully, “Mother, please spare her this time.”

“Spare her this time? When she was thinking about framing Ying, why didn’t she spare my granddaughter?” The Old Lady sneered and said sternly, “She made a man claim that he received a hairpin from Ying and wanted to return it. Was it have any different than killing Ying directly? Ying just lost her engagement, and now…now…”

The Old Lady was too irritated to finish her words.

The cancellation of Qu Moying’s engagement plus her own conditions already made it very hard for her to find a suitable husband. If people thought she was interested in another man when she was in the village, her name would be totally ruined!

Reputation was the most important thing for a female. Qu Moying was already affected after her engagement was broken off. No matter what the reason was and whose responsibility was, females were always on the weaker side. The Old Lady was sure that her son would do something to punish Ying if that were to happen.

Even though her son didn’t want to do it, his wife Yu would find an excuse to make him do so. Being around Yu for so many years, the Old Lady just knew her too well. Yu was the kind of person who couldn’t allow anyone to stand in her way.

If Yu was really a kind-hearted woman, she wouldn’t pretend that she didn’t understand the Old Lady’s hints of bringing Qu Moying back to the mansion. She only did it because the Old Lady showed her determination directly in front of her.

Watching Yu faking her care about Qu Moying just now outside the mansion, the Old Lady was disgusted by her, but she had to tolerate it quietly. The harmony of a family is the cornerstone of its prosperity. The Old Lady still believed that Qu Qiuyan was a good girl deep down inside but was influenced by Yu too much. Moreover, Qu Qiuyan’s marriage hadn’t been settled yet. Ruining her name didn’t do any good for the Qu Family.

Lady Yu became the shield for Qu Qiuyan, which was the only positive outcome the Qu Family could get in this troublesome situation.

That was why the Old Lady wanted to stop Yu’s acting but ended up not doing it.

“Xuexin, Caiyue, Moying, you should all be tired now. Go back to your yards and have some rest!” the Old Lady waved her hand at them and said. She needed some private time to talk to Yu.

Understanding the Old Lady’s intention, the three ladies stood up, curtsied to their grandmother, and headed back to their yards.

Qu Moying’s yard was close to the Old Lady’s, while Qu Xuexin’s and Qu Caiyue’s were far away in the East Mansion. But there was a path they had to walk through together in the beginning.

“Moying, are you alright?” After a few steps, Qu Xuexin asked with a soft look on her pale face, “Don’t be afraid. Grandmother likes you the most among us. She won’t let anyone take advantage of you right now.”

“Thank you, First Sister. I’m fine now! What about you? Do you feel any better?” Qu Moying raised her eyes to look at Qu Xuexin. Her words sounded soft, but the look in her eyes was indifferent.

“Nothing new there. Like Grandmother, I’ve always been like this. It happens when it happens. Sometimes I just can’t even get off my bed.” Qu Xuexin let out a sigh, “It’s partly my fault too. If I didn’t feel unwell, I should be with you and Qiuyan at that time. Then we could clarify the situation immediately, and you two wouldn’t be through all this trouble.”

“I appreciate it, First Sister.” Soon, they walked to a crossing and were about to separate.

“Are you really alright, Moying? How about I stay here with you for some time? I’m not in a hurry to go back anyway,” Qu Xuexin suggested worriedly, holding her maid’s hand. Her body was still slightly wobbling. Clearly, she was still feeling unwell, and right now, she was struggling to stand.

“Don’t worry about me, First Sister. I’m fine. Just go back and have some rest. Grandmother has made everything clear already,” Qu Moying shook her head and rejected.

“Well, then be careful by yourself. If you feel upset, you can come to me and talk about it,” Qu Xuexin added amiably. She didn’t seem fully relieved.

After Qu Moying thanked her again softly, Qu Xuexin took Qu Caiyue away, who had been quiet for the whole time. Surprisingly, her face was as pale as Qu Xuexin, and she acted very differently than usual.

“My lady, the Second Lady looks frightened,” Yu Dong said with confusion, watching the two leaving.

Qu Moying curled up her lips, “she was frightened.”