Under the light, there were still cries in the main courtyard. The maids and old women stood outside trembling with fear, and no one dared to speak.
Inside the house, Xu Qinglu fell down crying in front of the wife of Marquis Fengyang and kowtowed repeatedly. There was already a bruise on her fair forehead, but she seemed unaware of the pain and continued to kowtow.
"Don't kowtow anymore." Lady Fengyang felt so distressed that she hurriedly pulled her to stop her from kowtow.
"Aunt, today... I would rather die here than be a concubine. I beg you to grant my wish." Xu Qinglu stopped crying and almost couldn't speak. She fell limply into the arms of Madam Fengyangbo. "Aunt, you know my mind. How could I be a concubine? If I really were a concubine, I would never fall in love with the Second Young Master Qu. That incident... was really an accident. It was the Second Young Master Qu who came up to me and made a move and said those words. Aunt, I... I am really innocent."
She would not be willing to be a concubine. That was why she chose Qu Mingcheng in the first place, just to avoid being a concubine.
Qu Mingcheng looks good and is said to be talented. He has the Qu family to rely on and is the only son of Shangshu Qu. He also has close relations with the Jing Palace. No matter from which aspect, Qu Mingcheng is very suitable. Even if his current identity is awkward and he fails the exam this time, so what? He has a lot of invisible resources. Xu Qinglu believes that he will definitely make a name for himself in the future.
Besides, Qu Mingcheng's status is a bit lower now, which is also good, at least she is more worthy of him.
Be it a bastard's son or a person who failed the exam, these are all temporary. Shangshu Qu has only this one son, his only son. This is enough to prove that no matter what happens now, everything in the future belongs to Qu Mingcheng, and all he has to wait for is an opportunity.
Patience, she is the most tolerant!
Otherwise, he wouldn't have endured so many years without getting married, just so that he could have a good marriage in the future.
She is not a concubine, but the real wife of the first house. She can also let those people in the Fengyang Marquis's Mansion who look down on her take a good look at her. Even if she is living under someone else's roof, she is not comparable to those people.
Even though her acquaintance with Qu Mingcheng was an accident, the moment she understood Qu Mingcheng's identity, she knew that he was her best choice. However, she did not expect Qu Mingcheng to have an engagement so early.
But even so, what she sets her eyes on will definitely be hers.
For this purpose, she even went to ask Jingyu County Lord for help.
Yan Yujiao was best friends with Jingyu County Lord, and during her limited trips, she was basically with Jingyu County Lord.
Yan Yujiao treated her cousin as a maid, but County Lord Jingyu didn't do that. She even showed her goodwill to Xu Qinglu early on. Xu Qinglu was smart and accepted County Lord Jingyu's kindness early on.
Now that she has Qu Mingcheng, County Lord Jingyu pays more attention to her, which is good. With County Lord Jingyu's support, she can go higher in the future...
The fourth young lady who helped Lady Jingyu deal with the Qu Mansion, the current Princess Ying, was not the only one who did this. She had sent a maid to the Qu Mansion before.
Xu Qinglu had always thought that she was smart and was very careful. She had never even confronted Qu Moying. She was also very careful when helping the Crown Princess Jingyu County Lady. However, she did not expect that she would be exposed so quickly and be seen by so many people...
"Aunt, please save me, please save me. If you don't save me, I will die." Xu Qinglu panted, looking at Madam Feng Yang with eager eyes, holding tightly to her chest with both hands.
She seemed to be holding onto the last straw.
"You don't want to... enter the Qu Mansion?" Lady Fengyangbo felt distressed and only regretted that she had not been there at the time. Now seeing her like this, she helped her sit down aside and said.
"Aunt, if I marry... I am willing, but if I am just a concubine... and... and always a concubine... I don't want to." Xu Qinglu cried, holding on to the sleeve of Mrs. Fengyangbo, and was unwilling to let go.
"But now this matter... has become like this..." Madam Fengyangbo was both hurt and annoyed, "Why did you cause such a thing at that time?"
"I don't know, aunt, I don't know. I was just hit there. I looked at the wound. I don't know how Mr. Qu got in. Then Mr. Qu's fiancée came in. Then she said that the two of us murdered her together, but I actually know nothing."
Xu Qinglu flatly denied it.
Tears fell like strings of pearls from a broken string. Her beautiful eyes were already swollen from crying, and her voice was so hoarse that her former gentleness could hardly be heard.
It looks so miserable.
"Is this true?" Lady Fengyang asked subconsciously, her heart already in a mess. This was different from what the uncle said. Could it really be just an accident
"Aunt, this is true, I... If you don't want to believe me, I will die in front of you to prove my innocence." Xu Qinglu looked around in despair, suddenly stood up, and wanted to crash into the corner of the table.
Mrs. Fengyang was very anxious and grabbed her and said, "My son, you are going to kill your aunt!"
Xu Qinglu took advantage of the situation and hugged Lady Fengyang back, crying and begging: "Aunt...Aunt..."
The cry was pitiful and weak, accompanied by Xu Qinglu's heavy breathing, as if she was going to die in the next moment. No matter how much suspicion Mrs. Fengyang had, she was too distressed to think about it at this time: "I will go to the Qu Mansion to tell them about this matter. Don't worry, they have to give us an explanation. You were also murdered. It was the Second Young Master Qu who chose you and wanted to cancel the marriage. What does it have to do with you?"
"Aunt!" Xu Qinglu threw herself into Feng Yangbo's arms and said sadly.
There was a flash of excitement in her eyes. She naturally didn't believe what Lady Fengyang said completely, but at least this was an opportunity. She wanted to marry into the Qu Mansion and become the legal wife...
She had already sent a message to the Crown Princess. If the Crown Princess still wanted to use her, she would definitely help her get out of this predicament...
So, she waited...
"Miss, I'm back." A maid reported in a low voice outside the door.
"Come in!" Xu Qinglu wiped her tears with a handkerchief and whispered. This was the maid she sent to the Prince's Mansion. It was this maid who had been in contact with the Prince's wife in the past.
A maid in red came in from outside the door.
"What did the Crown Princess say?" Xu Qinglu asked in a hoarse voice. She had cried so hard before that she hadn't recovered even after Marquis Fengyang left.
When she spoke now, her throat felt sore and swollen. Her health had been poor to begin with, and now it had reached its limit. She felt dizzy and weak. If she hadn't been holding her breath, she would have fainted by now.
"Her Majesty said that she can invite Princess England to her house tomorrow. You can..." the maid said in a low voice.
May
Qinglu nodded as she listened, tightly clenching the handkerchief in her hand. This was indeed her only chance. As long as Princess Ying gave in, this matter would be much easier to handle. Qu Zhizhen had always been wary of this daughter, and now he could only deal with this matter from the root.
The Crown Princess is indeed smart. She has come up with a plan in such a short time.
If she could get through this safely, she would definitely obey the Crown Princess' orders in the future and put the Crown Princess first in everything...
When I marry into the Qu Mansion and gain a firm foothold in the Qu Mansion, I can help the Crown Princess even more. The so-called Princess of England is just borrowing the title of the King of England, but the King of England does not seem to hold a woman in the palm of his hand. What the Princess of England is borrowing now is just the title of the King of England's main wife...
"Master, the Crown Princess invites you to her house. She said she has some matters concerning the Crown Princess that she wants to discuss with you." Yuxiu came in to report.
Yuchun was combing Qu Moying's hair, looked at the person in the mirror and said, "Master, do you want to go?"
"The former Crown Princess?" Qu Moying muttered to herself as she looked at herself in the mirror, a hint of coldness flashing across her eyes. Inviting herself over under the name of Ji Hanyue was really the right name.
If it was anything else, he could still refuse, but in the name of Ji Hanyue, how could he not go as his cousin who had always cared about the former Crown Princess.
If I don't go, all my previous efforts will be seen as a farce deliberately created to curry favor with the former Crown Princess, just to increase my own value. As for the future matters concerning my cousin, it would be inconvenient for me to interfere too much.
Liu Jingyu is really amazing. He grasped the key as soon as he went out.
They sent people over so early in the morning, which showed that they were in a hurry, but it was Liu Jingyu and Xu Qinglu who were in a hurry, not her!
"Prepare the carriage and go to the Prince's Mansion after breakfast." Qu Moying said lightly.
"Yes, I'll send someone to prepare it right away." Yuxiu responded and stepped back, asking someone to go downstairs to prepare the carriage.
After breakfast, the carriage was ready. Qu Moying took Yuxiu and An Dong on the carriage. The carriage drove out of the gate of the King of England's Palace and went out.
There is still some distance between the British King's Palace and the Prince's Palace, and it cannot be reached immediately.
In the large carriage, Qu Moying leaned on the couch behind him with his eyes closed. Yuxiu and An Dong sat on each side. The curtains on Yuxiu's side were drawn, while on An Dong's side, the curtains were slightly lifted, covered only by a layer of gauze, through which one could see the pedestrians passing by on the street outside and the shops on both sides.
The carriage was not moving fast, and Qu Moying was not in a hurry. He also specifically told the coachman to just go slowly.
This carriage was specially customized by Pei Yuanjun for Qu Moying. Although it is not as big as the largest one, it is still much larger than ordinary carriages. It is comfortable to sit in it, unlike ordinary carriages which are narrow and uncomfortable.
The carriage crossed a road and was about to move forward when suddenly a man rushed out from the intersection and slammed into the carriage.
The carriage was originally moving at a fast pace, but now it was about to pass this intersection. The coachman had looked at the intersection before and saw nothing unusual, so he relaxed his hands a little, and the horse took a few more brisk steps. But it was just these few steps, and now, when this person suddenly rushed out, the coachman wanted to pull the horse back, but the horse had already passed.
I heard a cry and a man fell down in front of the carriage...