There were the sounds of footsteps coming up the stairs. The one in front was a little hurried, while the one behind was very steady. Every step was almost the same. It can be guessed that the person coming was a very serious person and should be very self-disciplined.
Although the young ladies from aristocratic families have many demands, especially those from big aristocratic families, who even control their every move, the Zhou family was in decline at the beginning.
A fallen family could raise their daughter to be like this. If it wasn't for the family's own strength, then it must be the self-discipline of this young lady that could have made it happen.
Miss Zhou Jinruo is obviously a lady who will abide by the rules even if she does not have the conditions in order to create them for herself.
Qu Moying had seen people like this before, but they were very rare.
Being able to willingly demand that one do better, in such a declining family, one must have suffered a lot of grievances. Maids from the palace generally seldom go to such declining families. On the one hand, it is because of insufficient financial resources, and on the other hand, they feel that it is of no use.
The whole family has fallen on hard times, so how much can a girl achieve with her efforts
Just for this reason, Qu Moying would not underestimate Zhou Jinruo.
Yuxiu led the way and bowed to Qu Moying, "Master, Miss Zhou Er is here."
She moved aside, revealing Zhou Jinruo behind her.
"Jinruo greets the princess." Zhou Jinruo stepped forward, smiled slightly, and bowed sideways. His manners were polite and he knew when to move forward and backward. This was obviously because he had been well-educated.
And she is not an ordinary nanny. Although her every move is not very imposing, she maintains very good manners. Her smile is gentle, her appearance is above average, she looks beautiful and lovely, but not aggressive. She can easily make friends with other ladies. She knows how to advance and retreat, and her every word and action is very likable.
Such a person seemed to have no edges or corners, and was kind and friendly to everyone. After the two families got engaged, Luo was not very satisfied at first, but now she is very happy, and feels that it is a blessing for the Qu family that her son can marry such a daughter-in-law.
"Please take a seat, Miss Zhou Er." Qu Moying stretched out his hand and led her to the side.
Zhou Jinruo responded and sat down aside. He just sat down slightly with excellent manners, not bending at all, and the smile on his face was just the right amount, which was pleasing to the eye.
The maid served the tea and left.
Qu Moying picked up the teacup, took a sip, and put it down.
"Ms. Zhou Er, do you still remember the ointment you gave me?" Qu Moying asked with a smile.
Zhou Jinruo was stunned for a moment, as if she didn't remember it all of a sudden. After blinking twice, she smiled and nodded: "My princess, are you talking about the bottle of ointment that Jinruo used on you before? It's been so long since the incident happened. Now that you mention it, Jinruo can't remember it all of a sudden. What's wrong? Is there something wrong?"
"This ointment... is there anything wrong with it?" Qu Moying looked at Zhou Jinruo with a faint smile and continued to ask. This was a rhetorical question, as if it was a counter-question because of Zhou Jinruo's previous words.
"Jinruo doesn't know." Zhou Jinruo shook his head. "This is the best ointment left by our ancestors. It is also one of the rare things that the Zhou family can offer. The queen needed it at that time, so Jinruo took it and presented it to the queen. Is there anything wrong with the queen using it?"
Zhou Jinruo's eyes were confused, and it was obvious that he was ignorant of the situation. The corners of his lips slightly opened, and he looked Qu Moying up and down, as if trying to find out if there was anything wrong with her.
Face
The smile on his face slowly faded, and he looked more cautious and uneasy.
With Qu Moying's current identity, it is indeed not something she can plan for. If something goes wrong, she will be blamed, not to mention that she is Qu Minghui's fiancée.
With such a title, her status is very close to Qu Moying.
"After using it... it didn't feel good. I was allergic." Qu Moying said frankly.
"How... is this possible?" Zhou Jinruo's face changed slightly in shock, and he hurriedly explained, "This was handed down from our ancestors, one of the wisest ancestors of the Zhou family. Many people scrambled for the medicine left by the ancestor, so there was nothing wrong with it. How... is this possible?"
Zhou Jinruo took a deep breath and was a little panicked by this accident.
"Miss Zhou Er, do you think the ointment can't be harmful?" Qu Moying's long eyelashes fluttered twice, and she asked with a serious look in her eyes.
"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible... Our ancestor was famous in the past, but now he is gone, everything he left behind is good. He once... sent it to the palace to save the life of a queen." Zhou Jinruo shook his head again without hesitation, "If our ancestor's ointment was not good, Jinruo would never have given it to the queen."
After Zhou Jinruo finished speaking, he looked at Qu Moying's face again.
There was not a trace of redness or swelling on her beautiful face, nor any suspicious acne marks. She looked as white as jade, without any flaws.
Then he let out a long breath, and a faint smile appeared on his face again: "Your Majesty, you are joking with Jinruo!"
"Are you sure... there's nothing wrong here?" Qu Moying asked again, his eyes deeply fixed on Zhou Jinruo's face, examining her.
From the outside, Zhou Jinruo didn't seem to have a single flaw, as if he was truly unaware and also seemed to have deep faith in the character of his ancestors.
It is said that she was once sent to the palace and saved the life of a lady. This should be true. It is not difficult to find out such things, especially since Qu Moying is now the Princess of England.
Therefore, it sounds like the medicine prepared by Zhou's ancestor is flawless.
But a good doctor is also a good poisoner...
"Empress, do you remember that when Jinruo brought the medicine to you, it was also sealed. Even if someone wanted to do something, they could not open the lid and put anything bad into the medicine bottle." Seeing Qu Moying hesitating in silence, Zhou Jinruo explained softly.
This means two things. The first is that the medicine of Zhou's ancestors is absolutely good and there is no way it can be bad. The second is that the medicine sent by Zhou was unopened and there is no way anything could be mixed in it.
If there was anything, it was caused by other people and had nothing to do with the people in Zhou Mansion.
When the ointments were first given to Qu Moying, Miss Zhou Er repeatedly advised Qu Moying to use them. Based on the circumstances at the time, Qu Moying should have chosen them.
No one wants to be left with scars. With such a good medicine, who would not use it
But Qu Moying didn't use it at the time, and didn't open the seal...
"Does this mean... that only after the bottle is opened can bad things get mixed in?" Qu Moying looked at her suspiciously and asked.
"That should be the reason, otherwise the ointment would not be bad." Zhou Jinruo continued.
The door of the attic on one side was suddenly pushed open, and Ji Youran walked out angrily, with a veil on her face to hide the traces of blood on her face.
The wound was burning with pain. Even after taking medicine, it was still painful and festering.
She got up and went to the King of England's palace, and it was she who cried and begged Pei Luoan.
Pei Luoan brought her over and sat inside at this time, and sitting with him was Pei Yuanjun.
Pei Yuanjun ignored him and continued reading a book, leaning against the wall. Even so, he still had an elegance and composure that could not be ignored. It was unknown what he saw, but the corners of his lips curled up slightly, and his handsome eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was completely unaware of the tense atmosphere outside.
Pei Luoan already felt it was a surprise that he could sit with him for a while, so he would not ask him to say anything more at this moment.
Listening to the noise outside, Pei Luoan frowned. Ji Youran must have said that Princess Ying knew something and would beg him to come over just to find out the truth.
The imperial physician said that Ji Youran's allergy was related to the ointment. The ointment was mixed with some medicinal powder that caused wound allergies and ulcers. When applied on the face, other parts of the face were fine except for the wound and scar. Ji Youran's scar had almost healed, but in fact it was still there and had not been eradicated.
Pei Luoan almost forgot how Ji Youran got that injury. He heard that it was because Ji Youran was careless at that time. However, seeing the scar reminded him of their wedding night. Thinking of what happened that night, he felt particularly uncomfortable. He would rather that incident disappear from his memory.
Seeing the festering part on Ji Youran's face, Pei Luoan turned his head away immediately. He didn't want to see it, and didn't want to see it...
"Concubine Ji?" Zhou Jinruo didn't expect Ji Youran to come out from another room. She was startled for a moment, with a hint of panic in her eyes, but she quickly calmed down, stood up, and bowed to Ji Youran.
"Pa" a heavy slap made Zhou Jinruo take two steps back and almost fall down. The maid beside her hurried forward to support her.
“Concubine Ji… what do you mean?” Zhou Jinruo took two steps back and stood a little further away from Ji Youran. Then his face turned cold and his brows furrowed.
"What's in your ointment? Why do I have an allergic reaction after using it?" Ji Youran stared at Zhou Jinruo through the veil with a gloomy look.
She didn't think she had any grudge against Zhou Jinruo.
But if it wasn't Zhou Jinruo, she didn't think anyone else could have tampered with it. When she got the ointment, the seal on it was intact. This matter could not be blamed on Qu Moying. Although Qu Moying was the most suspicious, she couldn't talk nonsense. Now Qu Moying was not someone she could deal with easily.
Begging the prince to bring her here and confront the man face to face was already the best the prince could do for her.
"Concubine Ji, there is nothing in my family's ointment. It is something left by our ancestors, so how can we add anything randomly? There is no possibility of any accidents. If there is, it must not be related to us. If there is really something wrong, Concubine Ji can check who can handle the ointment after it is opened."
Zhou Jinruo had tears in her eyes. She covered her face with her hands and looked at Ji Youran stubbornly, biting her lip.
Never believe that there is anything wrong with your own ointment.
The look on her face made people feel that it was real. Even at this time, she did not look guilty at all. Even if she felt wronged, she insisted on her position. It made people feel that if they were not mistaken, she must be innocent.
Qu Moying slowly picked up the teacup and took a sip. Zhou Jinruo didn't understand Ji Youran's personality, but she knew...
She has waited too long for this day...