"Grandma, why did the Duke of Qi's Mansion give us a note?" Qu Moying asked the old lady curiously, flipping through the note from the Duke of Qi's Mansion.
Sitting opposite her was Qu Qiuyan, who was called over by the lady dowager. She was also surprised.
An old aristocratic family like the Duke of Qi's Mansion was of noble status, and the Yu family was not qualified, so they were one level lower in terms of interactions with the inner family. Therefore, no notice from the Duke of Qi's Mansion had ever reached the Qu Mansion.
"I don't know about this either. I heard that your father used some trick." The old lady said with a smile. She originally didn't like to go out, but this time she must go out and take a look. If she didn't go, the young ladies of the Qu Mansion would not be able to follow her, and it would be impossible for Yu to attend the banquet right now.
The lady had to go by herself.
The fourth girl's marriage cannot be delayed, and not just the fourth girl. The eldest and second girls also have to do their best. As for the third girl's affairs, the lady doesn't want to care about it. Her son's intentions are very clear, and the third girl's intentions are also very clear. If she continues to interfere, it would seem like she is being too nosy.
In fact, the lady did not think that Prince Jing was a good match. If he really liked the third girl, she would not be nowhere to be seen at this time. In the past, he would come over from time to time. No matter what the reason was, it was always obvious that Prince Jing cared about the Qu Mansion, but now he was very cold.
The lady was not completely ignorant of everything. She heard rumors outside that Prince Jing was about to choose a princess, but it seemed to have nothing to do with the Qu family.
But since her second son had intervened in the matter, there was nothing she could do. The lady knew her son's character very well.
"Grandma, do we have to go?" Qu Moying asked as he put the note on the table.
"Of course we have to go. It's a rare opportunity. Girl Ying, don't you want to go out for a walk?" The lady asked with a smile. She didn't talk about marriage directly for fear that Qu Moying would be disgusted.
"I can't go recently." Qu Moying shook his head and moved his feet.
"It's not urgent. Just send a note first. It will take at least some time to prepare. It may be later than Concubine Qu in the palace." The lady explained.
"Grandma, Concubine Qu was never close to our family in the past. I've never even heard of her. Is she really related to our family?" Qu Qiuyan's attention was drawn to the lady, and she asked.
Qu Moying looked up at her without saying anything. Qu Qiuyan asked about her doubts which she had not had the chance to express before.
"Qu Taifei's surname is Qu, but her Qu is very different from our Qu. She used to be just Concubine Qu because she only gave birth to a daughter. She was also very low-key and did not show herself to the world. She also said that her health was not very good and she rarely saw people on weekdays. It was a surprise for her to meet me. When she heard that my husband's surname was Qu, she asked me a few more questions. In terms of ancestors, the two families should have been from the same family at the beginning, but they were separated by at least several generations. After that, the branches went their separate ways and there was no contact anymore."
Mrs. Qu said.
"After that, grandma never contacted Concubine Qu again?" Qu Qiuyan asked again.
"No, I've only seen her once until now. I didn't know she stayed in the palace for the Concubine Dowager. I thought she also went to Xinning Temple." The lady shook her head. They only met occasionally at the beginning, and there was no close behavior from this Qu family after that, and her own family did not dare to take the initiative.
After that, I didn't keep in touch with him anymore, and I no longer thought of him.
A palace concubine.
"We haven't been in touch for so many years, why did Concubine Qu suddenly contact us, and even hired a tutor to educate Fourth Sister, and was especially good to her?" When Qu Qiuyan said this, a hint of jealousy flashed in her eyes. She was obviously the most honorable one in the mansion, so why did Qu Moying get the first place.
Qu Qiuyan felt unhappy when she thought about Qu Moying having obtained the blue eyes of Concubine Qu.
She knew that Concubine Qu not only gave a lot of clothing materials to Qu Moying, but also sent a maid named Yan Ma from the palace to the Qu Mansion. After Qu Moying's foot got a little better, she taught Qu Moying the palace rules and etiquette, as well as all the etiquette for dealing with people.
This was what Qu Qiuyan was most jealous of, but she had to suppress her jealousy. She even ran into Nanny Yan a few times in the past few days, hoping to win her favor. However, Nanny Yan was very arrogant. When she saw her, she just glanced at her lightly and then walked straight past her. It was extremely rude. However, she was a female official of a certain rank in the palace, and Qu Qiuyan could not lose her temper.
Qu Qiuyan has now figured out what is happening with Madam Duan. With Madam Yan around, even if Madam Duan has some courage, she wouldn't dare to cause any trouble.
The whole thing was ruined by Nanny Yan.
"It may be that the two families have not been in contact for a long time, and Concubine Qu is lonely in the palace. She wants to find someone to chat with her." The lady said vaguely.
"Then why must it be the fourth sister? The eldest sister has always been gentle, the best at speaking, and very popular with the elders." Qu Qiuyan said with a smile, and it sounded as if she was speaking up for Qu Xuexin.
"Although your eldest sister has a good temper, she doesn't go out on weekdays, and... because of that incident, she didn't even get married..." The old lady sighed. The marriages of her granddaughters were not going well, and the old lady was in a bad mood. "Qu Taifei may feel that it is not good..."
"Fourth sister was also rejected for engagement." Qu Qiuyan looked bewildered, as if she had just said it casually, but she reacted immediately after she finished speaking, and hurriedly stood up, bowed deeply to Qu Moying, and said with an apologetic look on her face, "Fourth sister, I'm really sorry, I accidentally hurt you because of my eldest sister's matter."
Although the words were an apology, they sounded very hurtful, and it was repeatedly stated that Qu Moying's engagement was broken off by the Yongning Marquis' Mansion and that she was the one who was despised.
"It's okay. I heard that there has been a lot of turmoil in the Yongning Marquis' Mansion recently. Fortunately, my grandmother helped me cancel this marriage." Qu Moying said with a smile.
Qu Qiuyan's face flushed after hearing this, and she rubbed the handkerchief in her hand vigorously to suppress the hatred in her heart.
She knew best what fate Yu Qingmeng had suffered. She was now imprisoned in a yard at the backyard of the Yu Mansion, and the Yu clan was planning how to deal with her.
It is impossible to release her. She is so disgraceful that if she stays here, she will be a stain on all the women in the Yu family. It is best to send her away quickly, far away from the capital. When the Yongning Marquis' Mansion sent her here, they also made it clear to the outside world that she was bribed, otherwise they would not be able to explain to the Duan Mansion.
It can be said that Yu Qingmeng had it all her own fault for ending up like this, but it was also the fault of Yu and Qu Qiuyan, mother and daughter, or their failure against Qu Moying.
The original intention was to deal with Qu Moying and bring Qu Moying to this point, but now it has become Yu Qingmeng.
Qu Moying's words were very embarrassing. It was not the Yongning Marquisate that broke off the engagement, but the Qu family that took the initiative to break off the engagement.
The joke of the capital.
"Well, it's all in the past. What happens to the Yongning Marquis' Mansion has nothing to do with our family anymore. The Yongning Marquis's son has done something immoral, Yu Qingmeng is a vicious person, and with the addition of the Second Miss Duan..." The old lady paused here. In her heart, she very much agreed with the decision to cancel the marriage at that time. There were only a few people like them, and none of them was easy to deal with.
Xu Lipeng is certainly not a good person, Yu Qingmeng is even more of a low character, and as for the aggressive and domineering Second Miss Duan, it was heard long ago that she was not a good person.
There were some things that the old lady was not comfortable saying in front of her two granddaughters, so she said something vaguely and then stopped.
"Ying's clothes are already being made, and there are quite a few of them. Yan, you should also make a few sets. There have been a lot of things to do in the mansion recently, and your clothes have been neglected before." The lady said, and then turned to Qu Qiuyan deliberately, "Your father meant that the affairs of the mansion will be managed by you and Ying together in the future. Your aunt can teach one person as well as two people, so one guest does not bother two hosts."
"Grandmother wants Fourth Sister to take charge with me? But didn't Fourth Sister say before that she would just take a look?" Qu Qiuyan was stunned and said anxiously.
"The past is the past. Recently, your father also said that you learned earlier than your sister. When there is something she doesn't understand, I will tell her first. If she still doesn't understand, she can ask grandmother or your aunt. I have already talked to your aunt, so there is no problem." The lady ordered.
"Yes, grandma." Qu Qiuyan secretly hated her, but had to bow her head.
"Thank you grandma and father for your concern." Qu Moying smiled softly, agreeing to the matter and no longer refusing.
"Okay, you guys should go back first. Ying girl should rest recently and take care of her feet first, then slowly start to handle the housekeeping work. Yan girl has done well recently, and the gifts for Duke Qi's Mansion are also being prepared. You can prepare the list, and I'll take a look at it for you first."
"Yes!" The two granddaughters stood up together and returned the greeting.
Looking at her granddaughters who looked like sisters, the old lady's face was filled with smiles. It was a good thing that Yu was not bossing the third girl around.
The old lady doesn't want to care about Yu's affairs at all now. Anyway, her second son said that Yu should just rest and recuperate, and he will pay more attention to the affairs of the mansion in the future. The second son even expressed his desire to marry a concubine, but the old lady has not agreed to this idea yet.
A concubine? Wasn't Yu a concubine? Later, Yue died. Although Yu was not doing well, she still had a pair of children. The lady didn't want Qu Zhizhen to make trouble again, and let a concubine take over, and let the Qu family become a joke in the capital.
The second son is very talented in other aspects, but when it comes to the matter of the women's inner courtyard, he is not the person who can handle this kind of thing, but he is unaware of it.
She still needs to think about this matter again. Even if she wants to marry into the family, it would be better for her to be a concubine. After her two granddaughters get married, the concubine can also take over the management duties of the mansion.
It can be seen that the second son has made up his mind to imprison Yu this time.
Qu Moying and Qu Qiuyan said goodbye to the Madam and left together. They left the Madam's courtyard one after the other, but did not leave directly. They wanted to go to the East Mansion. The Madam specifically asked them to make this trip, saying that it was important...