Qu Mingcheng was dragged out like this, and right in the courtyard of the study, he was put on a stool and started to be beaten.
Qu Mingcheng gritted his teeth and endured it for two times, but he couldn't hold it back anymore. When the stick fell again, he was screaming in pain, his face was pale, and sweat was pouring down his forehead.
From childhood to adulthood, Qu Mingcheng had never suffered any hardship. He had always been brought up in the palm of his hand. How could he withstand such a beating? After ten times, he could no longer hold on.
Qu Mingcheng's screams from being beaten also stopped. He was gasping for breath but could no longer make any sound.
A large group of people rushed in at the gate of the courtyard, one of whom was the old lady. Seeing Qu Mingcheng being beaten, the old lady rushed over with heartache, hugged him, and her eyes became red.
On the other side, Qu Qiuyan had already burst into tears, squatted down and pulled Qu Mingcheng's sleeve. She had just discovered from outside that the situation inside was not good, so she had no time to complain and hurried back to get help.
When the old lady heard that Qu Zhizhen was making a big fuss, she could no longer sit still. In the old lady's heart, Qu Mingcheng had always been the most sensible. She disliked Yu's mother and daughter, but she still liked this grandson very much. He was also the only son of the second eldest son, so she usually felt very sorry for him.
Now seeing him being beaten like this, he felt angry and annoyed.
Qu Zhizhen inside actually felt that it was about time, and was about to ask people to stop. Now that he saw his mother come out, he naturally went with the flow and pretended to be scolded. He asked people to carry Qu Mingcheng down to rest, and Qu Qiuyan followed him down crying.
Qu Zhizhen asked the lady to sit inside. When she saw her son's expression and thought about what had happened just now, she knew that her son had something to say.
He waved his hand, left all the maids and old women around him outside the door, and only took the nanny in.
After sitting down, the lady's eyes fell on the pot of water lilies on the desk. The pot of flowers was too conspicuous and too beautiful when placed on the second son's desk.
The lady had no choice but to pay attention.
"What happened today? You made such a fuss as soon as you came back. Do you really want Mingcheng's life?" After taking a quick look, the lady scolded Qu Zhizhen painfully.
"Mother, I don't want this to happen, but I have to beat him. I'm afraid the Prince of Yun won't let him off." Qu Zhizhen slapped the table angrily, feeling helpless. "Who made him provoke the Prince of Yun?"
"How did he offend the Prince of Yun? He was just studying in the mansion, how could he cause so much trouble?" The old lady had been kept out of the news these days. Neither Qu Zhizhen nor Qu Moying bothered her with this matter, so she didn't know what had happened.
She only knew that her granddaughter had gone into the palace to visit Concubine Qu, and that her son had beaten her grandson to death when he left the house. As for when Madam He came to the house, she also knew something about it. She had heard that Madam He had gone to Qu Qiuyan and made a scene, and was very angry. She was just about to tell her son that people like Madam He should not be allowed in from now on.
Anyway, there is no lady in charge of the inner court in the mansion now, only two unmarried young ladies, so it would not be convenient even if he wanted to see them.
According to the information obtained by my nanny, this Madam He came in with bad intentions. She first went to Qu Qiuyan's yard, then went to Qu Moying's yard aggressively, and finally went back to Qu Qiuyan's yard, where she made a big noise. It is said that she did not behave like a lady from an aristocratic family at all.
.
But before she could go find Qu Qiuyan, Qu Qiuyan came to her house and asked for help, and she was asking for help for her grandson, which had never happened before.
"Mother, you also knew before that Concubine Qu sent Nanny Yan to teach Ying. She also said before that it might be related to Prince Yun, but there has been no news since then. You said that this should be unlikely, but I just met Prince Yun, and this is true!"
Qu Zhizhen lowered his voice.
"What...what?" The lady was so shocked that she almost stood up. Her hand was on the corner of the table and she trembled slightly. "What did he say?"
"Yes, that's what he said!" Qu Zhizhen nodded.
The lady turned her head in bewilderment, frowning tightly, "This... What should I do? With Ying's status, she is a daughter who lost her mother, and she was raised on a farm. She will definitely be looked down upon, not to mention the royal family. The position of the queen will never fall on her. This..."
Thinking that Qu Moying was going to be someone's concubine, even if she was a concubine, she was still a concubine, the lady felt so distressed that her eyes became red.
"Mother, this matter is no longer something we can decide, even if it is the Prince of Yun's will." Qu Zhizhen said, pointing to the water lily on the side, "He asked me to bring this back for Ying."
"This... this, what does he mean?" the lady said anxiously.
Qu Zhizhen shook his head: "I don't know either. When I went to see Mingcheng just now, he took me to the West Prison for a tour. There..."
Qu Zhizhen stopped here, afraid that speaking out loud would scare his mother.
But even though he didn't say anything, when he mentioned the Western Prison, he still scared the old lady. The old lady shuddered and her face turned pale immediately.
"West Prison? What are you doing in West Prison?"
"Mingcheng went to the He residence to ask Mr. He San about some things. It happened that the West Prison arrested Mingcheng and took him with them. I went to bring him out and happened to talk about Ying girl's unsuccessful marriage. The Prince of Yun got angry when he saw it and said he wanted to teach Mingcheng a lesson. I thought it would be better for me to teach him a lesson, so I used the family rules to punish Mingcheng."
Qu Zhizhen explained half-truthfully.
"He... is he angry?" the lady said in panic.
Qu Zhizhen nodded, "He also said that the palace had already made up its mind and told us not to worry about Ying's marriage anymore. He also said that the person the He family was looking for might not be Ying. I... I immediately agreed with him." Qu Zhizhen sighed and did not hide anything from his mother.
At that time and place, it was all he could do.
"Then our Ying girl can only be his concubine?" The lady started crying and gently wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.
"Mother, let's call off Ying's marriage!" Qu Zhizhen nodded, "Now that things have come to this, we can only wait!"
Now they have no initiative. The initiative lies in the palace, or in the hands of the Prince of Yun. The lady was anxious to find a marriage for Qu Moying before, but in fact she was secretly afraid of such a thing. She originally thought that there would be no follow-up to the matter, even if it was in the past, she didn't expect that the royal family didn't go there at all and were waiting here!
Moreover, before the matter is officially announced, the Qu family cannot say anything!
"I actually wanted Hanyuan to marry her." The lady said bitterly, feeling very sad. All they could do now was
Maybe it's all up to fate.
"Mother, there's no rush. Fortunately, Ying is still young." Qu Zhizhen comforted her, "Maybe after a while, it will be fine!"
These words were said perfunctorily, and not only did the Madam Dowager not believe it, but Qu Zhizhen also did not believe it. He was probably certain that his little daughter would definitely enter the Prince of Yun's Mansion in the future, and it seemed that the palace had known about it a long time ago and had also agreed to it, and was just waiting for a suitable opportunity. Or perhaps the Prince of Yun did not want to get married yet.
After all, this person hasn't wanted to get married for so many years.
"Then... it has to be like this." The lady had no choice but to wipe away her tears.
"Mother, we can't worry about the affairs of Yan and Ying. If you have time, you should worry about our eldest brother's family!" Qu Zhizhen said.
"Is there something wrong?" The lady seemed to sense something and looked up and asked.
"When Mr. He San left that day, he met with my niece. He said that they bumped into each other by accident. The two of them had a conversation and then they called a doctor. I don't know the details. If mother wants to know, she can go and ask." Qu Zhizhen said.
He had heard a little about this matter, but didn't take it seriously at the time. But now he brought it up and told the lady about it. After all, this was the West Palace, not his eldest brother's East Palace, and this niece was actually not a likable person. As her uncle, it was not easy for him to say anything directly about this matter.
The lady heard the meaning behind this and nodded. After thinking for a while, she said, "I have previously expressed my wish for a marriage between the two families in the Xiao family. I hinted that it was Ying girl, but I didn't mention it directly. Now it's okay if it falls on Xin girl. At least it's a matter of marriage between the two families. But I have to wait and see about this matter."
The lady felt that she needed to take a closer look at this marriage. Even if it was her own nephew's grandson, there would definitely be no problem with his family background. It would just be a matter of seeing what kind of person he was!
Do you get along well with Xin Yatou
The lady was also displeased when she thought about Qu Xuexin secretly bumping into Mr. He San. The child has grown up, and if she doesn't find a good marriage for her, the more she keeps them, the more they will become enemies!
"Did the second master send this?" Qu Moying was stunned for a moment when he saw the water lily pot on the table. He turned his head and took a closer look. It really looked familiar.
"Yes, the Second Master asked me to deliver it, saying it was sent from the Prince of Yun's Mansion. It just so happened that the Second Master thought the young lady liked it, so he brought it here." The servant explained with a smile.
Qu Moying pursed her lips, already knowing what Pei Yuanjun meant.
"I heard that second brother is back, how is he?" Qu Moying turned his gaze back and fell on the servant.
The servant said bitterly, "The Second Young Master was just beaten by the Master. If the Madam hadn't come here, the Second Young Master would have been in real trouble this time!"
Qu Zhizhen asked him to say this.
"Why beat the Second Young Master?" Qu Moying pretended to be ignorant. With such a loud commotion, how could she not know? She thought it must be Pei Yuanjun's trick to let Qu Zhizhen beat his most beloved son personally. It was quite interesting!
I feel inexplicably relieved!
"I don't know either. I just saw that the master was very angry." The servant shook his head.
As they were talking, they suddenly heard someone outside asking, "Is the second sister here?"
Qu Moying smiled slightly, with a thoughtful look on the corner of his lips. What a coincidence that Qu Xuexin came. The news from the East Palace was not slower than that from the West Palace...