As if someone was watching him, Qu Moying subconsciously raised his head and looked into the distance. Jingyu County Lord by the window withdrew his gaze, rolled up his sleeves, picked up the tea on the table, took a sip elegantly, and then slowly put it down.
"The Queen Mother said that there will be a palace banquet in a few days. Will you go?" Chen Hailan had recovered by now and asked in a low voice. The two of them had always had a good relationship, so they had the idea of sitting outside and drinking tea, and were not in a hurry to return home.
Chen Hailan also heard that the imperial concubine in the palace was very fond of Lady Jingyu and seemed to want to marry Lady Jingyu to King Jing.
"We'll see when the time comes!" County Lord Jingyu frowned.
"What's wrong? Is there anything wrong?" Chen Hailan asked.
Jingyu County Lord shook his head, the sadness on his face slightly reduced, looked at Chen Hailan, and asked, "What do you think?"
"I don't know either!" Chen Hailan shook her hand, her eyes more thoughtful, no longer the look of a young girl thinking about love. A lady from a noble family like her is not likely to lose her composure easily, but the feeling Pei Yuanjun gave her just now was too strong, making her lose her mind for a moment, so she said such rude words, "Let father decide on this matter!"
"Will the Left Prime Minister... agree?" Jingyu County Lord asked again in a low voice.
Chen Hailan shook her head. "I don't know. What about you? Will your family agree?"
"I don't know either!" Jingyu County Lord shook his head helplessly, "We can't make the decision on this matter."
"Then wait!" Chen Hailan saw that her smile was bitter, and couldn't help but comfort her jokingly, "You have the best reputation in the capital, and you look so good, so you're not afraid that no one will propose to you!"
The two of them are close friends, so they say such things. Otherwise, people would think they are disrespectful.
County Lord Jingyu blushed and reached out to pinch Chen Hailan, "What nonsense are you talking about? Aren't you also so beautiful? And you're still talking about others!"
"I'm not as pretty as you. Your mother is a famous beauty in the capital, the most beautiful one even. She gave birth to a beauty like you. Your grandfather is so good to you. He didn't ask for a title for his own granddaughter, but gave it to you. It shows that the Duke of Qi really loves you."
After hearing this, even Chen Hailan felt relieved.
This kind of love is not just superficial. Some people even say that as long as she marries Lady Jingyu, she will not only get the support of the Minister of Works, but also the support of the extremely senior Duke of Qi. The Duke of Qi saved the emperor's life and is from a prominent family. With the Duke of Qi behind her, Lady Jingyu will have no choice but to marry a bad one.
"What nonsense are you talking about." County Lady Jingyu's face turned red, and her complexion was as bright as a flower, which made me feel pity for her.
Lady Jingyu was indeed proud of this. Her grandfather had always been good to her and her mother, and would always think of her when anything good happened. However, her grandmother had always been ordinary to her and her mother, and she didn't know why.
But even so, my grandmother's love for me is unique...
Qu Moying didn't know that County Lord Jingyu was looking at her. She got on the carriage at the door and went straight back to the Qu Mansion this time.
When they arrived at Qu Mansion, he helped Yu Dong out of the carriage and asked the housekeeper to find a sedan chair. Qu Moying asked someone to apologize to the lady-in-waiting and then returned to Qianyueju first.
In her current condition, it is really inconvenient for her to go and pay her respects to the lady dowager.
Qu Moying just sat down in the inner room when my nanny came.
"Fourth Miss, have you asked a doctor to see you?" After entering the room and paying her respects, my nanny looked at Qu Moying's face. Seeing that she looked fine, she breathed a sigh of relief.
When the lady heard that Qu Moying had fallen in the Prince's Mansion, she immediately sent my nanny over.
"I'm fine. I asked the imperial physician to check me when I was at the Prince's Mansion. He said there's nothing wrong." Qu Moying shook his head and said with a smile.
Wu Ma Ma hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Fourth Miss, how did you almost bump into someone? Are the servants in the Prince's Mansion so unruly?"
"He's not a servant from the Prince's Mansion, but the Prince of Yun." Qu Moying was silent for a moment. Eventually, word would spread about this matter, and the old lady would definitely know. It would be better to tell her something first so that she would have an idea in mind and avoid being frightened.
Older people can’t afford to be scared.
"Bumped into... bumped into Prince Yun?" Aunt Wu's heart skipped a beat and she began to stutter. Even though she was always calm, she lost her composure at this moment.
That was the Prince of Yun, not anyone else.
"I didn't hit him, I almost did. I was the only one who fell down. Prince Yun was fine, and he wasn't hit either." Qu Moying smiled soothingly, fearing that he might scare the lady.
"Is there nothing else?" Aunt Wu asked again.
"What could possibly happen? I just fell and sprained my foot. There's nothing else going on. The concubine in the Prince's Mansion is always polite and wanted me to stay for a while. I thought it would be better for me to go back to the mansion to rest, so I came back first." Qu Moying explained.
"Yes, yes, I'll feel more at ease if I go back home and rest." My nanny nodded repeatedly, then asked some details, and then hurriedly turned around to report.
After Nanny Wu left, Yuchun served tea and stepped aside.
Madam Miao came in to report, "Miss, I have checked and found that there is a new maidservant by the Third Miss's side. This maidservant used to be with the Second Madam and was not a top-ranking maidservant. Not long after she followed the Second Madam, she was sent to the Third Miss by the Second Madam. Recently, she has been highly regarded by the Third Miss."
Although Qu Moying had instructed Yu Dong before, he later thought that it would be easier to let Nanny Miao inquire about such matters in the inner courtyard.
Nanny Miao has been in the mansion for some time and has become familiar with the people there. Now, Nanny Zhou basically helps handle matters in the courtyard, making it more convenient for her to gather information.
"How long ago did you get here?" Qu Moying asked.
"It should be after the young lady arrived at the mansion." Nanny Qu thought for a moment and reported.
Qu Moying put down the teacup in his hand, looked at the light blue pattern, and asked, "Is it something that happened after the fire started?"
"Yes, it's what happened after the fire. I heard it was because of what happened to Qinghe after the fire. It was said that Qinghe was not dedicated enough, so they found another old woman like this to come in, but she will first train with the Second Madam for a few days." Nanny Miao's eyes lit up and she nodded repeatedly.
"Is there anything special about this old woman?" Qu Moying said after pondering for a while.
"I didn't find out anything. Her surname is Qing and everyone calls her Nanny Qing. She is also close to the Third Young Miss, but she is not the most favored one. She is not the housekeeper in the Third Young Miss's courtyard. She is just a second-class maid. If not..." Nanny Miao paused here.
Qu Moying's eyes turned and she asked softly, "Is there anything that makes you suspicious and feel that something is different?"
She believed in Aunt Miao, and this made Aunt Miao suspicious.
"Yes, there are some differences. From the looks of it... he doesn't seem to be from the Central Plains." Aunt Miao hesitated and said vaguely.
Nanny Miao herself is not from the Central Plains. She fainted accidentally in front of the farm where Qu Moying lived. She has no relatives or friends. She originally came here to look for a relative, but that person was missing. She was cold and hungry, and meeting Qu Moying was completely an accident. If there was nothing wrong, she would have returned to her hometown.
I stayed because I was grateful to Qu Moying.
"What does Nanny Miao think?" Qu Moying asked.
"This old servant... Actually, I'm not too sure. When I secretly went to see her, I felt that she didn't look like a complete Central Plains person. But if there are any details, this old servant really can't tell clearly, or maybe she looks a bit like a Great Zhou person who lived in the northern border." Aunt Miao shook her head. She just felt that there was something different.
"When Nanny Miao is free, you can pay more attention to her, but don't let her find out that you are checking on her." Qu Moying reminded.
"Miss, rest assured. I will be careful." Madam Miao nodded repeatedly, thought for a while, and finally said, "Miss, I have seen people from the Great Zhou before, a long time ago."
"When?" Qu Moying asked casually.
"About twenty years ago, I met people from the Great Zhou Dynasty like this. Their clothes were a little different from those of the people from Northern Xinjiang, but also different from those of the ordinary people from the Great Zhou Dynasty. They looked a little strange." Miao Ma thought for a while and said, "When I met them at that time, I deliberately took a few more glances at them. I thought they were traitors of the Great Zhou Dynasty or something like that."
The rebellion of the Great Zhou? Qu Moying thought about it for a moment and knew what she was talking about. Thirty years ago, there was indeed a rebellion. It was said that it was the rebellion of several princes at that time. The Rebellion of the Three Princes was the most famous event at that time. When she was still Ji Hanyue, she heard her father talk about that event many times.
As for the three kings who plotted treason, they all died in the end, but some descendants of the Pei family escaped. I heard that the most powerful branch fled to the northern border, but my father also said that it was a rumor that almost all the people at that time were dead. Even if they are left now, they are not pure people of the Great Zhou, and they are no longer descendants of the Great Zhou royal family.
Daddy had repeatedly used this as an example to tell me about the Rebellion of the Three Kings. In fact, one of the kings was extremely innocent at the time, but the situation had become so bad that he had to rebel even if he didn't want to.
It is said that on the day when the three kings surrendered, many noble families in the capital also fell. Many of the implicated families were killed or demoted. Many noble families fell into ruin as a result. Among the complicated ties between the families, there were very few innocent people. Of course, there were also those who tried to atone for their mistakes.
Some direct branches were damaged as a result, and those that remained were not the original direct lines. The Duke of Qi's Mansion was the most typical one among them. The original Duke of Qi was the eldest brother of the current Duke of Qi, but he was also involved. The entire lineage of the Duke of Qi's first wife was executed, and only the current Duke of Qi made contributions, so the Duke of Qi's Mansion was not stripped of its title, and the title fell to the lineage of the current Duke of Qi's second wife.
"Miss, the third lady sent someone to deliver a message." A maid standing outside the door reported to the person inside.
Behind her stood three maids and two old women, who were the servants in Qu Qiuyan's yard.
"What's the matter?" Yu Dong walked out and asked a few people, then looked at the objects in their hands, his face full of surprise!