"Miss Fourth Qu, you cannot enter here casually. You must have Madam's permission to enter." The old woman said with an unpleasant look on her face, but she did not refuse to step forward and make things clear.
"I'm just going to take a quick look, or you can go and report to your wife now?" Qu Moying said indifferently.
The old woman hesitated.
If she went to report now, there would be no one here, and this Fourth Miss Qu would not know that she had gone in, and she would be scolded by the Madam. By the time the Madam sent someone over, this Fourth Miss Qu would have seen everything she should have seen.
“Your servant… Your servant…” Although the old woman was smart, she was confused by Miss Qu Si who did not play by the rules.
"Okay, our young lady is just going to take a look, nothing will happen. If you go and report to your wife, our young lady has finished looking at it. Even if your wife is willing to let our young lady look at it later, our young lady will not look at it." Yu Dong took over the topic and said impatiently.
This certainly means that they will not really wait here just because the lady in the mansion doesn't know about it, and will not go in after she comes back after reporting.
If I report it, I will be scolded. If I don't report it, nothing may happen. I can just take a look. If I don't say anything, Miss Qu Si and her maid will certainly not tell anyone.
With this thought in mind, the old woman immediately stepped aside to make way for the escape and stopped blocking the way.
Qu Moying walked towards the side door, which was slightly open with a small gap. She bit her lip, calmed herself, reached out and pushed the door open. The door made a heavy sound when it opened. The corners were already rusted. It had only been a few months, and everything seemed to be covered with a layer of dust and looked desolate.
The yard still looked big and wide. It was also the main yard of the mansion, but it was a little off to the side, which meant that my mother was not liked by Madam Ji.
There was a tear in his eye and he pursed his lips tightly, looking at the peach trees planted on the right side of the yard. They were in full bloom and were in great shape. These peach trees were well cared for. I heard that they were not the kind grown in Beijing, but were brought from the border by his father to his mother's yard.
In the past, at this time of year every year, I would come here to enjoy the flowers with my sister. But now, the things are still there, but the people are gone.
He walked slowly to the peach blossoms, raised his eyes and looked towards the peach tree. In the vastness, he seemed to still hear his sister's laughter that day. His heart felt as if it had been hit hard, as if it had been stabbed by a sharp blade, and blood was spurting out.
"You..." A side door was gently pushed open, and a woman in her forties walked out. She looked at them and hesitated for a moment, obviously not recognizing who they were.
Qu Moying's gaze fell on the simply dressed old woman, and a hint of excitement appeared in her eyes. She knew this old woman. This was Nanny Zhou who served her mother. She had been living here since her mother passed away, taking care of everything in the yard. And today she came here just for Nanny Zhou.
There were some things that she knew some when she was with Ji Hanyue, and some more when she was with Qu Moying.
"What is this?" Qu Moying turned his gaze from the tree and looked at Nanny Zhou. After looking her up and down, he asked.
The maid from the Ji Mansion hurried forward and introduced her to Qu Moying with a smile: "Fourth Miss Qu, this is the maid who served our Madam. Now that Madam is gone, there is only this maid left to watch over the door."
She glared at Madam Zhou and said, "This is the fourth young lady from Minister Qu's residence. Why don't you come forward and greet her?"
The housekeeper beside my mother was now described as a crude servant. Even Xiao's
An ordinary old woman dared to glare at her. Qu Moying felt inexplicably sad. If she hadn't seen it after her rebirth, she would never have imagined that it would be such a scene.
When she married into the Eastern Palace that day, Xiao repeatedly assured her that she would take good care of her sister and mother's yard for her and would make sure to clean it exactly as it was when she was there. She also said that if she wanted to in the future, she could come back to take a look, and if there was anything she was not satisfied with, she would punish herself.
The words from that day are still fresh in my mind, but now I have become Qu Moying.
Now that she was dead and Ji Youran had taken over, Xiao would certainly not keep her promise to her to treat Nanny Zhou well and take good care of the courtyard that once belonged to her mother.
"Fourth Miss Qu?" Nanny Zhou was stunned for a moment, then raised her eyes and looked at Qu Moying excitedly, with tears flashing in the corners of her eyes, "Is it... the fourth miss born to Madam Qu?"
"Yes, our young lady is Miss Qu Si, born to Minister Qu's first wife." Although Yu Dong didn't understand why the old woman was so excited, she still answered for Qu Moying.
"Really... It's really Miss Qu Si, this old slave... This old slave..." Madam Zhou was so excited that her body was shaking, and her eyes were fixed on Qu Moying, "This old slave is the dowry nanny of Madam Qu Er."
"You are... my mother's dowry nanny?" Qu Moying asked in surprise.
The maid next to her was also confused and could not help but scold her, "What nonsense are you talking about? This is the fourth young lady of Minister Qu's mansion, not our young lady."
"I am really the dowry nanny of Miss Qu Er. Mrs. Qu Er died after giving birth to Miss Four! After Madam Bo went to the Qu family and had a quarrel, she took me away." Nanny Zhou wiped her tears.
"Why did Madam Bo take you away?" Qu Moying paused, seeming half-believing and half-doubting.
"The Qu family said that I did not take good care of the Second Madam, which caused her to have a difficult delivery. She died after giving birth to the Fourth Miss. The Qu family wanted to kill me, and the Lady Bo was so angry that she took me away." Madam Zhou cried and told the whole story.
According to this statement, she is not really from the Ling'anbo Mansion, but just an old servant who is temporarily staying in the Ling'anbo Mansion.
Yu Dong and the maid from Ling Anbo's mansion looked at each other in surprise.
"Now that the lady of the earl's house is gone, and since you are mother's old friend, you might as well stay with me." Qu Moying calmed down, looked Madam Zhou up and down, and suggested.
The maid who was listening to this felt a pang in her heart, and immediately knew that something was wrong, and hurriedly said, "Miss Qu Si, I cannot make the decision about her affairs, and I have to ask our Madam first."
Originally, I just wanted to take a stroll and it would be fine as long as no one told anyone. Now, is this going to cause trouble for the Madam? The old woman was panicked and regretful. It would be difficult for the Madam to pass the test. She would definitely blame herself for the matter.
“This old servant… This old servant had to guard this place for Madam Bo, but now Madam Bo is gone, the Crown Princess is gone, even… even Miss Three and Master Bo are…” Madam Zhou burst into tears when she said this, and couldn’t even continue talking. In a word, the entire main house in Ji Mansion is gone.
"Since my uncle's whole family is gone, why should Nanny Zhou stay here? Will people treat this place well just because Nanny Zhou is here?" Qu Moying pointed around. Anyone could see that everything here was in a state of desolation. At most, Nanny Zhou was the only one taking care of this place.
But she was just a servant and no one listened to her.
The former housekeeper, the head nanny, has now fallen to the level of an ordinary servant.
Nanny Zhou hesitated. It was really useless whether she was there or not. But she was really reluctant to leave here. After all, she had lived here for so many years, longer than she had lived in the Qu Mansion.
But she couldn't refuse. Originally, she wanted to find an opportunity to send the things left by Mrs. Qu Er to Miss Qu Si. She had never sent them in the past because she felt that the timing was not right. Miss Qu Si was still young, and she would have to wait until Miss Qu Si was older. But now she had to send them and keep them with her, otherwise they would be gone one day.
Seeing her decline in power, the other servants in the mansion no longer respected her as before. There were even a few dishonest ones who kept hanging around near the yard. If she was not careful and lost the things in her hands, she would feel ashamed of the Second Madam and the Fourth Miss.
These things are very important. She has been looking for an opportunity to deliver them to Miss Qu Si, and now is a good opportunity.
Seeing that Madam Zhou was still hesitating, Qu Moying gently advised: "Madam Zhou, the Ji family now has no descendants from the first house, and those who remain will be descendants from the second house. Why should you stay? Mother was originally your master, and it is right for her to follow me now. Even the Ji family has no reason to refuse. As for the Qu family, don't worry, I will protect you."
It was not difficult to guess what Qu Zhizhen was thinking when he wanted Madam Zhou to pay with her life. He was just thinking of finding someone to take the blame. Otherwise, Yu, who had given birth to a pair of children earlier than his mother, would become the target of public criticism.
But not now. Not to mention that the matter has passed, it would make people suspicious if Qu Zhizhen brought it up again. Just looking at his current strength, it is still a simple matter for him to protect Nanny Zhou.
The Ling family of Ling Anbo and the eldest branch of the family are all finished!
After understanding what Qu Moying meant, Nanny Zhou couldn't help crying again. The smart and gentle Second Miss and the clever and lovely Third Miss were both gone now. Even if she stayed, she might not be able to keep this courtyard. A few days ago, a housekeeper came to take a look and said that this area needed to be changed into a new courtyard for the eldest young master to live in. This place was not too far from the outer courtyard and was a good place.
This is obviously the lady's yard, and everyone in the mansion agrees to keep it.
But now, even if they changed it like this, Nanny Zhou could do nothing. After all, she was just a servant. The Lord Earl, the Crown Princess, and the Third Miss were all gone. Who could keep this place
The lady's yard was no longer there, so there was really no point for her to stay.
After thinking for a while, he nodded vigorously and said sadly, "Yes, I will obey Fourth Young Miss in everything."
"Then go and clean it up!" Qu Moying narrowed his eyes and nodded.
Nanny Zhou wiped her tears with her sleeve, nodded, turned around and walked towards the side room, packed her luggage and prepared to leave with Qu Moying.
The maid who led the way was so anxious that her face changed drastically. Needless to say, she would definitely be blamed for this matter. "Fourth Miss Qu, Madam Zhou was the housekeeper Madam used to work for the lady. How could she leave like this?"
Qu Moying glanced at her coldly, and raised the corners of his lips: "I will tell your wife about this."
"Miss Qu Si, this matter..." The old woman wanted to persuade her, but was interrupted by Yu Dong rudely, "You can't make the decision on this matter. In the end, your wife has to make the decision. Let's not talk about this for now. I heard that the Crown Princess's courtyard is not far ahead. Let's go and take a look together!"
After hearing this, the old woman's lips trembled with fear...