This zither looked extremely ordinary, even inferior to the guqins that Qu Moying had seen in those musical instrument shops before. Even after it had been dusted off, this zither still looked gray, dull and inconspicuous.
Qu Moying sat down in front of the piano, stretched out her hand and stroked it a few times, her eyes lit up. After looking at the appearance of the piano, she originally had no idea, but now she immediately judged that this piano was a good piano, and a rare good piano at that. Such a piano could play better music than the one she was used to.
How could such a piano be nameless
Qu Moying examined it carefully, but no matter how she looked, the zither did not have a name. There was only a scratch on the bottom, a small spot where there should have been words. It seemed that the zither should have had a name but it was deliberately scratched out.
"It wasn't drawn by Madam." Nanny Zhou also saw Qu Moying's action and said hurriedly.
That was even more strange. Who would give a guqin with a name deliberately crossed out to my mother? Why not give her an ordinary one that looked gorgeous
"Before mother got married, had she ever met anyone? The kind of person who met alone?" Qu Moying put aside the doubts in his heart, put the musical instruments flat again, and asked slowly.
This musical instrument was so strange that she couldn't help but think about it.
"No, the madam never met outsiders before she got married." Nanny Zhou shook her head affirmatively.
"How is that possible? Has mother never been out on the street?" Qu Moying was extremely surprised. Although young ladies from ordinary aristocratic families would not go out of the main door or the second door, rules are rules. They can go out when accompanied by elders or when there is a need to go out.
Just like I went out of the house for the first time today.
As long as you are careful with your words and actions, it is okay occasionally.
"Yes, Madam never goes out. Even Lady Ling Anbo has left the house, but Madam has not." Nanny Zhou shook her head, a trace of sadness flashed in her eyes, "Madam has been quiet since she was a child and doesn't like to go out. The old lady and the old master are also very strict with Madam, so she has never gone out. Even if there are invitations from other houses, Madam will not go."
"Are everyone else going?" Qu Moying was even more surprised. This didn't make sense.
No matter how much you love quietness, it is impossible for you not to attend banquets held by other mansions. Aren't you afraid that people will think you are not giving face to others
"Yes, every time she was invited, she would just say that the Madam was not feeling well and would not go out. Later, there were even rumors that there was no Second Miss in the Liu Mansion at all, but that the old lady did not keep the Second Miss when she gave birth, so she deliberately said this to comfort the old lady who missed her daughter."
Nanny Zhou said.
Qu Moying's eyelashes fluttered. This time she was really shocked. There were such rumors even outside. It showed how strange it was that her mother never went out at that time.
That would be even more strange. Who would specifically give a guqin to my mother, who never meets outsiders
I plucked the strings twice. The sound was beautiful. It was definitely not an ordinary piano.
"Mother had never left the house before she married father?" Qu Moying asked.
“Yes, she had never been out. When she got married, it was the first time that Madam went out. She was very happy that time and was full of imagination about the future…” When Madam Zhou said this, tears welled up in the corners of her eyes and she choked up.
That day, the lady in her bright red wedding gown was as happy as a child. She looked carefree and carefree in the past.
She seemed to be gentle and submissive to the old master and the old lady in everything, but in fact, who could be so content to be locked up in the mansion all the time? Although the lady always told the old lady and the old master that she didn't want to go out.
But in fact, every time a maid talked about the new things she saw outside, the lady would stop and listen attentively. Nanny Zhou felt that the lady was willing to go out, but the old lady and the old master never let her go out, so she got used to it.
Also because few people saw her, when she occasionally saw this handsome and elegant Mr. Liu in the mansion, she fell in love with him at first sight. However, she did not expect that in the end, due to a mistake, she would get married hastily and even lost her life.
"After mother married into the Qu family, she wasn't very willing to go out?" Qu Moying pondered for a moment and asked again.
"After getting married, Madam seldom goes out, but she still goes out for social events occasionally. It's hard to change the habit of so many years in a short time." Nanny Zhou wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and nodded.
Qu Moying pondered, this sounded strange, very strange.
It's no wonder she thought too much. Ji Hanyue was known as one of the most famous noble ladies in the capital at that time. She was taught in accordance with the rules and her every word and action was in accordance with the rules. But she had never heard that she had to stay in the house all the time and was not allowed to go out. She was the future crown princess, so she could be cautious when traveling and did not need to be locked up in the backyard all the time.
Then why did my grandparents keep my mother locked up
But he doesn't lock up his own mother. Is it because his mother is strong by nature, or is there some other reason
Qu Moying couldn't figure it out for a moment, so he had to let it go. He asked Nanny Zhou to go down first and find the old woman that Yu Qian had contacted before, and asked her to pass on the message.
Nanny Zhou said she understood, then wiped the tears from her eyes and left...
Yu Qian came in the evening. He drank a lot of wine and passed out in the private room of the teahouse. It was the waiter of the teahouse who woke him up later. After he sat down, he ordered a pot of cold tea. Yu Qian drank several cups before he felt a little better. The previous scenes, half dream and half awake, made him wonder whether they were real or fake for a while.
Fortunately, he saw a purse placed on the corner of the table and realized that it was real.
The material for this purse was the same batch he had sent to the Qu Mansion before. This batch of cloth was also brought from Jiangnan. The dyeing was pretty good, but the quantity was not large and they were all small pieces of cloth, which could only be used to make small things. Seeing that these could not be made into ready-made clothes, Yu asked him to send them to the maids and old women in the mansion to make some handkerchiefs, purses, etc., to match the clothes.
There were a few banknotes in his purse, not a small amount, but not enough to pay his debts.
Yu Qian sat in the private room, thinking back and forth for a long time, and finally figured it out.
It turned out that the shop that he had always run belonged to the aforementioned Mrs. Qu. After a younger sister from the clan married into the Qu family and became the lady of the family, the shop fell into the hands of the younger sister.
Normally, after so many years, no one would think of this matter anymore, but now the fourth young lady of the Qu family has returned home, and it seems that this fourth young lady is not as useless as the rumors outside say. It seems that she is fighting with the lady. In this situation, the lady's condition does not look too good.
Previously, there were rumors that the Madam had harmed Miss Qu Si and even harmed the Crown Princess's spirit. These were all big events. Afterwards, the Madam fell ill and refused to see any outsiders. It seemed that there was another reason.
At this moment, selling this shop can
On the one hand, it can help him solve his own dilemma, and on the other hand, it can also prevent Miss Qu Si from finding out anything. In a sense, it is also a favor to the lady.
But did he really help the lady? Yu Qian still had some doubts. After all, this was a big deal, a shop, and one that had been in business for such a long time.
After thinking it over, Yu Qian had no choice but to tidy up his clothes, walk out of the teahouse, and call a carriage to Qu's house. He did not receive the prepared words from the lady, so he still did not speak.
Although he felt that this must have been ordered by his wife, he was still dizzy at the time and was not sure.
Yu Qian has always been loyal to his wife.
The carriage stopped at the backyard of Qu's mansion. Yu Qian got off the carriage and went up to knock on the door. The maid guarding the back door opened the door and saw that it was Yu Qian. She was not surprised at all. In the past, Yu Qian would come from time to time, and sometimes he would go through the back door. The maid in the backyard also got a lot of benefits, so naturally she would not stop him.
But now it’s not like before, and the lady is not seeing guests now.
Yu Qian made the excuse that he was going to look for the Third Young Miss, and the old woman let him go. As long as he didn't go looking for the Madam, anything could be discussed. Of course, even if he wanted to see the Madam, he couldn't. It was said that there were people guarding outside the Madam's courtyard gate, and the Second Master forbade others to look for the Madam.
The old woman didn't want to explain the money in detail.
Yu Qian walked skillfully along a small path. After walking for a while, he saw an old woman bending over to sweep the floor. He saw that she was the one he was looking for and was overjoyed.
"Go and find out if anyone from the lady's side has gone out today?" Yu Qian took out a piece of silver from his arms and handed it to the old woman who raised her head.
This old woman was the one he had asked to inquire about the information before.
The old woman smiled with her eyes full of flowers, nodded repeatedly, threw away the broom in her hand, ran out happily, and came back panting a few moments later.
"Manager Yu, I saw Aunt Hailan next to the Madam."
"What did she say?" Yu Qian said excitedly. Hailan was the lady's close personal. As long as she said something definite, it must be accurate.
"She just told you to do what the Madam wants." The old woman said vaguely, and then asked curiously, "What is the Madam's will? Shopkeeper Yu, did the Madam ask you to do something? If I hadn't almost bumped into Aunt Hailan just now, I wouldn't have said that you wanted to see the Madam outside the mansion."
The old woman said with a certain amount of complacency.
"It's nothing, I'm leaving!" Yu Qian was originally a little skeptical, but after hearing what the old woman said, his doubts disappeared immediately. At this time, he didn't have the mood to say anything else. He bowed, turned around and left.
It should still be inconvenient for the lady to see him, but Aunt Hailan's meaning is very clear. Since Aunt Hailan means this, he will quickly deal with the matter of selling the shop. This kind of thing cannot be completed in a short time, but he cannot wait for too many things, so he has to take care of it well.
Yu Qian left in a hurry, all doubts gone, and turned to rush to the back door. When he was far away, Yu Dong appeared from behind a big tree, looked at Yu Qian's back, curled the corners of his lips slightly, and sneered at the old woman again: "You did a good job, I will tell the fourth lady when I go back, I will let you go this time."
"Thank you, Fourth Miss, and thank you, Aunt Yudong." The old woman nodded repeatedly, feeling relieved. If the master knew that I had passed on the news to the mistress, he would beat me to death...