Qu Minghui took two steps back and looked at her warily, "Cousin, I don't know... If you were here, if you knew..."
"If you knew, cousin wouldn't have come, right?" Han Xuenniang's eyes were red, she lowered her head slightly, and rubbed the handkerchief in her hand.
"Cousin, I... I just want to talk to you about this matter..."
"No need, in fact, it's really not necessary. Your matter... Father and Mother will help you." Qu Minghui hurriedly waved his hand.
"I know, I know my aunt and uncle will help me, but I still want to have a good talk with my cousin, I'm just afraid that he will misunderstand me. What my aunt said that day..." Han Xuenniang wiped her tears with a handkerchief, trying to put on a strong expression, but she looked weak in character, and she didn't look strong this way.
"What's past is past. You can't take it seriously just because of a joke in the past. My mother and aunt haven't mentioned it for so many years, which means they don't take it seriously. You should go back and have a rest first. My fourth sister is coming home today. If she sees it, I don't know what she will think." Qu Minghui interrupted her by looking at the side door behind her, feeling a headache.
This is already the West Mansion. Han Xueniang only came here to pay her respects to the lady when she first arrived, and she has never come here again since then. Moreover, she came here alone today with her maid, which is not in accordance with etiquette.
"Cousin, I know... I came here to see the Princess of England. I came a little late that day and didn't see the Princess of England's wedding. I heard from the servants in the mansion that the Princess of England was a weak-looking person, but she was dignified and her beauty was even more stunning. I couldn't help but be curious, so I came to see."
Han Xuenniang wiped away her tears and spoke obediently. She did not force Qu Minghui to talk about the previous topic. She only had a dim look in her eyes when she lowered her head.
She should have left...
"Do you want to see Fourth Sister?" Qu Minghui frowned.
"No, just take a look secretly. Princess Ying will definitely not like me if she sees me." Han Xueniang lowered her head again, complaining to herself, "I don't dare to go in front of Princess Ying either."
"Since you are not here to see Fourth Sister, then go back. If Fourth Sister sees you, you will have to explain again." Qu Minghui waved his hand very bluntly.
If he hadn't experienced it himself, he wouldn't have believed it.
How come a cousin suddenly appeared? She is a cousin from my aunt's family.
My mother said that when they were young, they were considered married.
My mother meant it as a joke and no one took it seriously. At that time, the aunt was not married yet and my mother had just become pregnant with me. The two sisters had a very good relationship. I pointed to my aunt in my mother's belly and said that the daughter she gave birth to would marry into my family. After that, my aunt married far away and we basically had no contact.
Neither family had such intention afterwards, and everyone was talking about marriage on their own. If his mother hadn't suddenly brought it up that day, he would never have known about it.
It was precisely because of the mother's casual remark at that time that the two of them felt particularly embarrassed.
Now with this cousin who suddenly showed up, Qu Minghui is really troubled.
He asked for the marriage himself, and he was very fond of Miss Zhou Er, so he couldn't have another cousin at this time.
He would avoid Han Xuenniang when he saw her. These past few days, Qu Minghui had been busy arranging for Qu Moying to return home, and he rarely even went back to the East Mansion.
I was afraid that Zhou Jinruo would have some ideas, and he would be able to solve them.
It’s hard to explain. It would be best if this cousin stayed away from me. Then nothing would happen.
"Cousin, I'll go back first." Han Xuenniang said softly, and did not insist on seeing the Princess of England.
"Go quickly!" Qu Minghui nodded, signaling her to leave quickly.
Han Xuenniang left, looking back every few steps. Qu Minghui stood there with a frown on his face, his brows tightly knotted. Finally, he sighed heavily, turned around and left.
He wanted to marry Miss Zhou Er. He had always done this. He would help her find out about her cousin's affairs and let her go back after finding out everything. The longer she stayed here, the more worried he would be...
The lady was resting inside, while Qu Moying and Luo were sitting on a pit nearby and talking.
"Princess, there is something I can ask you." After chatting for a while, Luo finally spoke. She watched Qu Moying open her mouth several times before she spoke with embarrassment.
"If there is anything I can do, I will definitely help you, aunt." Qu Moying smiled slightly. She had long seen through Luo's worries. Although she was chatting with her just now, she seemed absent-minded. She didn't dare to say anything when the lady was around.
There were no outsiders around at the moment, so Luo couldn't hide what he said anymore.
"I just want His Royal Highness to help me check someone." Luo hesitated for a long time, and finally said, "It's someone in the army."
"What's wrong with the people in the army?" Qu Moying's heart skipped a beat. If such a thing really happened, his uncle was an imperial censor and was not an official with real power. Such a thing would definitely not be possible.
"It's nothing serious. He just joined the army and was said to be back in three years. But so much time has passed and there's been no news. We don't know where he went." Luo sighed and her eyes turned red.
"Don't worry, aunt. I will ask the King of England to help investigate." Qu Moying said softly to comfort Luo.
"Okay, let's investigate it thoroughly. If he's alive, we want to see the person. If he's dead, we want to see the body. How can he just disappear like that?" Luo said, wiping her tears with a handkerchief.
"Don't worry, aunt. Now that you have joined the army," Qu Moying said again.
"Something happened to my sister from my mother's side, and her daughter came to Beijing to find me the day after your wedding. She wanted us to help find someone, but this is really not easy to do." Luo knew her own affairs well. She originally asked Qu Zhizhen for help, but Qu Zhizhen thought about it and felt that it would be better to talk to Qu Moying.
Let Luo find an opportunity to ask about this matter in private.
The missing man was actually the cousin's fiancé. The marriage was arranged a long time ago. Three years ago, this young man who loved martial arts and didn't like reading followed an elder in the army, saying that he was going to join the army. But he has been gone for so many years and there has been no news since then.
That elder died on the battlefield again, and no one knew where he went since then.
Luo's sister wrote to the letter, also very anxious, saying that her daughter was grown up and her fiancé was not around, and it was not good to keep her at home all the time. There must be an explanation. If he really died, her own daughter would not be left alone. Now he was dragging on like this, and the girl would die.
Luo's sister is probably very dissatisfied with her daughter's fiancé now. She mentioned the joke between the two of them, implying that she would marry her daughter to Beijing. The matter between her daughter and the fiancé would only be known by the villagers in the village. Who would know about it after she enters Beijing
This is Luo
After receiving her sister's letter, she sighed on the spot, but she didn't expect that her sigh was wrong. Her son left angrily, and her niece fell to the side crying with grievance and sadness.
Later, even Qu Zhilin blamed her. If she hadn't said this, nothing would have happened. But now that she said this, it made the two younger ones feel awkward when they met each other.
Qu Minghui is engaged, and the match is not bad. Miss Zhou Er is outstanding in both character and appearance. Even if Mrs. Luo is biased, she cannot really take her niece into the family. Besides, Miss Zhou Er was asked for by her son himself.
Luo didn't want to think about anything else now. She just wanted to find out the information about that person and send her niece back directly, so that her sister wouldn't say anything else to embarrass her.
Luo did not tell Qu Moying about these things. Nanny Miao heard them from other servants.
Another story is that this young lady came from Jiangnan. She looked delicate, gentle, and pitiful. She was always cautious in her dealings with people and made people feel pity for her.
Qu Moying said that he would definitely help if he could.
When the carriage returned, Qu Zhizhen sent the King of England and his wife to the door, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them get on the carriage and leave.
"Second brother, no matter how majestic the King of England is, he is still the husband of Ying girl. You don't have to be so cautious." Qu Zhilin looked at Qu Zhizhen who was relaxed.
"Brother, you are joking. How can a younger brother be careless in front of the King of England?" Qu Zhizhen shook his head with a wry smile. His elder brother was more polite than capable, and he did not hear the other meaning of the King of England's words just now.
"Ying girl married the King of England, and your house is empty now. Your mother wanted you to marry another one. You can't just live like this?" Qu Zhilin remembered his mother's instructions and said as he walked in with Qu Zhizhen.
There is no mistress in the West Mansion, and there is not even a daughter who can help manage the affairs. The lady is really anxious. She has mentioned this matter before, but Qu Zhizhen declined.
Now it’s like bringing up old things again.
"There's no rush." Qu Zhizhen shook his head.
"Why not? You are alone now, without even a decent mistress. It will be awkward to go out for social events in the future. Besides, this house will be in chaos without a mistress." Qu Zhilin saw his brother pushing again and became angry. "There are three unfilial acts, and the worst is to have no offspring. Although you have a son like Mingcheng, he is still a bastard, and his biological mother is still the same. Even if Mingcheng has a promising future, people will talk about his bastard status."
What matters in officialdom is ability. If it was just a simple case of legitimate or illegitimate children, it wouldn't be a big deal. It's just that the Yu family incident made such a fuss. Everyone knows that Qu Mingcheng's biological mother viciously killed the mistress and wanted to kill Qu Zhizhen's only legitimate daughter. Can the offspring born by such a vicious person really have a good character
Wouldn’t it lead to greater trouble
Anyone who uses him will have such doubts. His biological mother can make such a mess in the entire Qu Mansion in the backyard. What if this happens in the officialdom
Qu Zhizhen pressed his brows with a headache. He was also troubled by this matter. His son's future career would be much more difficult because of such a biological mother.
"Second brother, you have to give birth to a legitimate son, a legitimate son." Qu Zhilin advised with the airs of an elder brother, "How can you have only one son?"
"And my son's..." Qu Zhizhen had a headache and said casually, but he quickly stopped talking...