"It is true that Princess Xiangrong did not invite me. I came here uninvited. I originally had something to tell Princess Changyu. When I heard that all the young ladies were involved in this matter, Princess Changyu asked me to come and see. Maybe I could see some old friends and talk to them. I didn't expect to see my cousin Qu. It was a pleasant surprise."
Ji Youran said softly with a smile on her face, as if she didn't hear the sarcasm implied in Liu Jingyu's words at all, and she even explained it deliberately.
It also explains why she stood up for Qu Moying before.
In fact, not many of these young ladies in front of her were familiar with her before, and they were basically not from the same circle. Ji Youran used to be Ji Hanyue's follower, and she would try hard to show that she was unwilling to get close to anyone Ji Hanyue didn't like. And these young ladies from high-ranking families also looked down on Ji Hanyue's followers.
Ji Hanyue’s identity convinced them and forced them to bow their heads, but what was a Ji Youran
Liu Jingyu's face turned cold. The more Ji Youran explained, the more rude she seemed. It was true that she had spoken too radically just now. Knowing that the more she said at this time, the more mistakes she would make, she simply stopped talking. After entering the Eastern Palace and the Crown Prince's Mansion, she could deal with Ji Youran however she wanted.
But now is not the time!
"Since Concubine Ji is here to look for an old friend, I won't bother you. I originally had something to do with Princess Xiangrong, but now I feel unwell, so I'll take my leave first." Liu Jingyu felt that this was not the time to argue for the upper hand, so he said lightly and left with his men.
There is no intention of getting close to Ji Youran.
Ji Youran smiled as she watched Liu Jingyu leave, then turned to Qu Moying: "Cousin Qu, are you okay?"
"Thank you, Madam Concubine." Qu Moying bowed respectfully, took a step back, and distanced himself from Ji Youran. "I was frightened just now, so I'm afraid I can't accompany Madam Concubine to visit old friends. Please allow me to leave for a while."
Qu Moying spoke very politely and used a similar reason as Liu Jingyu. This was the reason Liu Jingyu had just used, so naturally she could use it as well.
When Liu Jingyu said this, Ji Youran was very happy. In this round, she had the upper hand in the confrontation between the two, and this advantage was clearly seen by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, which was of great benefit to her.
But when Qu Moying said something similar, Ji Youran felt very aggrieved. Her previous friendly hints towards Qu Moying seemed too deliberate because of Qu Moying's words. It even made people feel that Ji Youran was deliberately using Qu Moying to deal with Liu Jingyu.
After all, most of the ladies present had heard that the next Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace would be Liu Jingyu!
Since everyone has heard about it, including what happened to Miss Qu during the Qiqiao Festival, there is no reason why Concubine Ji would not know anything about it.
Judging from her appearance, Qu Moying was obviously not familiar with her. Didn't you hear this Fourth Miss Qu calling her "Concubine" all the time? In the conversation between the two, only this Concubine Ji was cordial and warm, as if she was standing up for Qu Moying. However, this Fourth Miss Qu was obviously not familiar with Concubine Ji.
The Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace, Ji Hanyue, is certainly Qu Moying's cousin, but Ji Youran is not! If it was in the past, everyone would think that Ji Youran was so affectionate to Qu Moying because of Ji Hanyue. After all, in the past, Ji Youran always listened to Ji Hanyue's words and put Ji Hanyue first in everything. In front of others, she was a person who loved her cousin and was willing to do anything for her cousin.
Later, in order to take care of Ji Hanyue who was seriously ill or injured, Ji Youran didn't even go through the formalities and went straight into the East Palace as a concubine. This shows how deep the sisterly love between the two sisters is.
But since the death of the Crown Princess, what happened in the Crown Prince's Mansion and various scenes have shown that Concubine Ji is actually not simple, and she may have been entangled with the Crown Prince for a long time. If this is really the case, then everything she did before was just acting, and she has always had plans for her cousin.
She is such a person that she is not sincere to the Crown Princess, so how can she be sincere to a cousin of the deceased Crown Princess
Unless this cousin has other uses, such as being able to use this cousin to deal with the Crown Princess who is about to marry
"Cousin Qu..." Ji Youran had obviously thought of this as well, and hurriedly reached out to pull Qu Moying's wrist, showing more affection and intimacy.
Qu Moying had finished speaking at this time and happened to turn around to avoid her hand. When she turned around, she didn't seem to see Ji Youran reaching out her hand, so there was nothing rude about it. What's more coincidental was that she was giving an instruction to Yu Dong beside her, and Ji Youran's voice was not loud, so it was understandable that she didn't hear her.
Ji Youran's hand froze, and she slowly retracted it helplessly. After seeing Qu Moying finish instructing the maid, she smiled unwillingly and called out, "Cousin Qu!"
"Empress Concubine, I'll take my leave first!" Qu Moying then turned around and bowed again respectfully. It can be seen that her courtesy is very appropriate. The distance between the two of them is not that of a particularly familiar distance. The smile on Qu Moying's face is both polite and distant.
Ji Youran wanted to slap Qu Moying hard on the face, but she had to continue to show a gentle smile: "Since cousin Qu is not feeling well, how about I find an imperial physician to come and check you out?"
"Thank you, Concubine. I was just frightened. I will be fine after a short rest. There is no need to trouble the imperial physician." Qu Moying coughed softly. Her face was originally pale, and now it looked even paler.
Having said that, Ji Youran could no longer keep Qu Moying and could only nod with a smile. After comforting Qu Moying with a few more words, he watched her leave. The worry and concern in his eyes could not be hidden and it seemed real.
The ladies watching looked at each other, with different ideas in mind.
Since Qu Moying had left, Ji Youran couldn't leave immediately. Although he was not familiar with the ladies here, he knew most of them, so he found a few ladies he had met several times and started chatting with them.
She is now the Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace. If possible, no one would want to offend her. The Crown Prince is the king of the country. When he inherits the throne, he will be the future master. No one in his inner palace can be offended. Although the Queen has great power, the position of Concubine Ji will not be light in the future.
Judging from the situation just now, Liu Jingyu seemed to be at a disadvantage. In the future inner palace, even if Liu Jingyu occupies a more prominent position, it is possible that Concubine Ji will be more favored.
The Ji Youran in front of me is not the Ji Youran from before.
With this idea in mind, Ji Youran was very happy chatting with the ladies. The ladies' polite and flattering attitude made Ji Youran very satisfied.
This was something she had never enjoyed before.
In the past, Ji Hanyue was the one who was flattered, and she was nothing. Now that Ji Hanyue is dead, it is her turn. This feeling is really good!
Of course if this is too
It would be even better if the position of consort is mine!
Thinking this in her mind, Ji Youran talked to the ladies more and more intimately, and by the way, she also learned the whole process of what had just happened. What she said was very skillful, and after a while, she vaguely pointed to Liu Jingyu and Qu Moying as the victim.
As for Liu Jingyu just now, he was suspected of using his identity to suppress Qu Moying.
Ji Youran led the ladies to talk about this topic. Several ladies who were on good terms with Liu Jingyu felt something was wrong. They looked at each other and stopped talking.
But there were still a few who were just so-so with Liu Jingyu, and were just pretending to be so, and some even didn't have a very good relationship with her. Of course, they said whatever they wanted at this time. Anyway, they were not the ones who started the conversation. Concubine Ji was the favorite concubine of the Eastern Palace, and they dared not offend her.
It was almost time to talk, so Ji Youran decided to stop and after saying goodbye to the ladies, she turned around and entered the half-closed courtyard door not far away.
It was only then that everyone realized that Concubine Ji seemed to have come from there.
I wonder if there is someone behind this door? Everyone is guessing!
But it is not convenient for everyone to follow and watch, so they can only carefully avoid this place.
Ji Youran pushed open the half-open door with a smile and walked in. She was stunned to see that Pei Luoan was not at the gate. She thought that Pei Luoan would stay to listen more after seeing what had just happened, but she didn't expect that there was no one there.
The palace servant closed the courtyard gate behind her. Ji Youran thought about it and turned to the back door. She saw Pei Luoan coming from that side just now.
The backyard door was indeed open, but there was no one there.
Ji Youran's face looked ugly. She didn't know when Pei Luoan left, how much she had heard, and which words she had said were in vain!
But there was no one from the Eastern Palace around her, so she had no one to ask even if she wanted to.
Just as he was getting angry, he suddenly saw a eunuch hurrying over. It was one of the eunuchs beside the prince.
"Greetings, Queen Concubine. Your Highness allows you to go back first!" The eunuch stepped forward and saluted, conveying Pei Luoan's intention. Pei Luoan had previously expressed that he wanted to go back with Ji Youran.
"Your Highness is still in the mansion?" Ji Youran suppressed the anger on her face and asked with a smile.
"Yes, Your Highness still has some things to do!" the eunuch reported.
"When did His Highness leave this courtyard?" Ji Youran continued to ask with a smile, her voice soft, just like the way she spoke to the people around Crown Prince Pei Luoan every day.
"It was some time ago. His Highness thought that the Queen would be back soon, so he asked me to come and tell her." The eunuch replied.
"Was it just now... when County Lord Jingyu left?" Ji Youran couldn't bear it any longer, so he took a deep breath and kept the smile on his face.
"That's about right!" the eunuch thought for a moment and said. He remembered that he left not long after Lady Jingyu left.
Ji Youran's smile almost couldn't be held back, her eyes darkened with jealousy, and she cursed Liu Jingyu in her heart, saying that he was the daughter of a noble family, but she had a secret meeting with the Crown Prince before she even got married and the matter was still undecided. It was really shameless.
She was thinking that Pei Luoan left when Liu Jingyu just left, but in fact, Liu Jingyu left, and Qu Moying also left...