"Miss, this is the thing, please take a look." Yudong handed over the thing in his hand.
It turned out to be a small box wrapped in a handkerchief. Qu Moying took it and looked at the untied handkerchief.
There were words on the handkerchief: "I return your pearl with tears in my eyes!"
When I opened the box, I found that it was actually a pair of pearls, a pair of round and crystal clear oriental pearls.
Judging from the appearance and size, one can tell at a glance that they are top quality, and they are not ordinary Dongzhu. Qu Moying has seen quite a few Dongzhu before, and this pair is obviously of great value.
"Miss, I heard that it seems that the Second Master has another woman, and this woman is not someone Madam Yu can afford to offend. It seems... it seems that the mistress and Madam Yu are no match for that woman..." Yu Dong had already reported everything she had heard to Qu Moying. Seeing her carefully examining the pair of Dongzhu, she added.
A woman who is not easy to mess with, a woman that Qu Zhizhen really cares about, and Yu also knows this person.
Qu Moying curled the corners of her lips in sarcasm. She really didn't know that her cheap father had such a woman. But there was one thing she was sure of, her cheap father was not that simple.
I just don't know what kind of woman she is that would make Yu so taboo. And in all my time in the mansion, I have never heard of such a woman.
Could a man like Qu Zhizhen be so affectionate towards a woman
Qu Zhizhen's experience is actually very simple. After passing the imperial examination in Beijing, he married the daughter of the Yue family in Jiangnan. After that, he rose rapidly in career. His momentum at that time was even comparable to that of the current Minister Liu. In a sense, he was also a rival of Liu Shangshu. But later, for some reason, his career was not so smooth.
Later, he was gradually surpassed by Minister Liu, and the former classmates became superiors and subordinates.
But even so, it still proves that this cheap father is quite capable.
With his resume, it seems impossible for him to meet any powerful woman. And if he really cared about her, why didn't he marry her? Was it because she looked down on him, or had he already married his mother at that time
Qu Moying still believed what Yu said at this time. What Yu said at this time must be true. It seems that he has to pay more attention to this stepfather.
The handkerchief was very old, and the writing on it was also very old. One could tell at a glance that it was an old item, but one did not know whether it was Minister Liu's old item.
Minister Liu had been in a relationship with my mother before, and Qu Moying had already found out. Originally, it was Minister Liu and my mother who were supposed to be engaged. This might be the engagement token that Minister Liu left with my mother in Jiangnan before he came to Beijing. But why did it end up in Yu's hands
The handwriting on the handkerchief was in the hairpin-flowered small style. Ji Hanyue's biological mother, Da Yue, also wrote in this hairpin-flowered small style well. It seemed that this style was passed down from generation to generation.
If you think so, these words must have been written by my mother. Does this mean that she wants to break off the previously arranged marriage with Minister Liu
But he didn't expect that this thing fell into Yu's hands. After hearing what Yu said, it seemed that Yu wanted to involve himself in such a scandal.
My mother’s reputation
He smiled coldly, "Yuchun, put this away!"
Since her mother didn't want this thing, she would give it away, thus severing the last connection between her mother and Minister Liu.
Since this Minister Liu had married the daughter of the Duke of Qi,
It is a betrayal of this relationship and he is not worthy of his mother's true love.
Even if the emperor had issued an edict, it could be said that the engagement had already been arranged but was rejected. After all, when the edict came down, the emperor would specially call his subjects over to ask about it, as he was afraid that his subjects would get married too early. He couldn't let the daughter of the Duke of Qi be his concubine!
Since Minister Liu said nothing at the beginning, it is obvious that he has already betrayed my mother. Keeping this Dongzhu would be a blasphemy to my mother!
Yuchun came out from behind Qu Moying, took the handkerchief and carefully wrapped the jewelry box again.
"Miss, what should I do?" Yu Dong asked.
"Don't do anything, just wait!" Qu Moying shook her head, her watery eyes looking out the window at the darkness, "Yu wants to cause trouble, but my father doesn't want that, so let's just wait and see!"
Qu Zhizhen's attitude was too suspicious, and Qu Moying always felt that this matter was not that simple.
Besides, she still had some doubts, suspecting that her biological mother's death was not that simple.
Yu herself had problems. She entered the Qu Mansion while pregnant. After she had been in the mansion for a while, her mother also found out that she was pregnant. After that, Yu gave birth to a pair of children, but her mother was forced to leave the Qu Mansion and go to a nunnery to practice asceticism. At that time, her mother was still a pregnant woman, and she gave birth outside.
Finally, she gave birth to herself and then died.
Putting all things together, Qu Moying didn't believe so many coincidences. She wanted to see how this old story was dug up.
She knew too little about the past, so let those who knew about it take the initiative to dig it out...
It was both expected and unexpected for Liu Jingyu to be summoned by the Queen.
After taking out the clothes he had prepared long ago and changing into them, Liu Jingyu went to say goodbye to his mother first.
Mrs. Qi smiled slightly when she saw her daughter coming. After looking at her for a few times, she was very satisfied. Her illness had not been fully recovered yet and her face looked a little pale.
"After entering the palace today, you must serve the Queen carefully. If she asks you about what happened before, do as your mother told you."
"Don't worry, mother. I will. I'm just afraid... the Queen will hold her accountable." Liu Jingyu said worriedly. She was really panicking. Thinking of the Queen's rebuke in a while, she felt uneasy.
"It's okay. The Queen is kind and compassionate. She won't ask you questions that you can't answer. Just respond well. Your Highness..." Madam Qi sighed, "If Your Highness mentions the Crown Princess, you must respond carefully. After all, the Crown Prince is still young."
There was a lot of hidden meaning in these words, but Liu Jingyu understood them and nodded repeatedly: "Mother, don't worry, I know what to say."
"When facing the Crown Princess, you have to be humble. There is nothing to fight for with a dead person." Madam Qi saw the unwillingness on her face and gave another order.
"Mother, I know I won't. Ji Hanyue is already dead. No matter what, she is a dead person. There is really nothing to fight for." Liu Jingyu nodded again, and the expression on his face was not as tense as before.
Seeing her appearance, Madam Qi smiled and let her enter the palace. As she watched Liu Jingyu slowly leave, the smile on Madam Qi's face slowly faded.
"Madam, will the county lady really be okay?" A maid standing behind Madam Qi asked in a low voice.
"Of course it's okay, my daughter, how could anything like this happen!
"Mrs. Qi smiled coldly, then turned and walked into the inner room naturally and gracefully.
Her movements were smooth and appropriate, and upon closer inspection, they looked even more elegant and natural than Liu Jingyu's. After all, she was the eldest daughter of the Duke of Qi's family, and her upbringing was not comparable to that of an ordinary daughter of aristocratic family.
After hearing her mother's words, Liu Jingyu felt much more at ease. She followed the palace servant who was summoned into the palace. She didn't wait long outside Queen Wang's Pepper Room before she saw a palace maid come out to call her in.
After she entered, Liu Jingyu saw the high and mighty Emperor and Empress, and he stepped forward respectfully and saluted: "Greetings, Empress."
"Get up!" Queen Wang looked at her and nodded.
Liu Jingyu stood up, but did not sit down directly. He stood aside politely with his head lowered, looking very respectful.
This action made Queen Wang slightly satisfied. Compared with Ji Hanyue, Queen Wang was more satisfied with Liu Jingyu. At least when Liu Jingyu saw her, that kind of respect came from the bottom of his heart.
"Is your mother feeling better?" asked Queen Wang.
"Reporting to the Queen, my mother is feeling a little better now. She just said that she would come to the palace to thank the Queen as soon as she felt better. Thank you for the gift."
Liu Jingyu answered softly, his eyes fixed on the space inch in front of his shoes, not daring to change even a little.
"Your mother was on good terms with me when she was in the boudoir. She said thank you or not." Queen Wang smiled. "Sit down and talk. The prince will be here soon."
"Yes!" Liu Jingyu lowered his head and sat down on the chair beside him. He just leaned forward a little and did not sit down firmly. He looked as if he was ready to stand up and serve the queen at any time.
This is actually no more comfortable than standing.
"Tell me, what happened yesterday? Why are people saying that you did something wrong and went to the Qu Mansion to apologize? I heard that Miss Qu didn't wake up until midnight yesterday. And what does the matter of the sachet have to do with you?" Prince Wang said lazily.
This sounded lazy, but it made Liu Jingyu feel frightened.
As expected, the Queen Mother knew everything, needless to say the Crown Prince should also know it. Thinking of the unpredictable Crown Prince, Liu Jingyu felt a little uneasy. He calmed himself down and looked up again. She looked gentle and her eyes were slightly red, but she didn't cry. Although she seemed aggrieved, she was still able to handle things appropriately.
The demeanor of the lady from aristocratic family can be seen.
"Your Majesty, this was an accident. Please listen to Jingyu's detailed explanation." Liu Jingyu said.
Queen Wang leaned back and nodded with a sad look in her eyes.
Liu Jingyu has already told the "process" of the incident. After he finished, he continued, "Father thinks that what grandma said is reasonable. We should indeed apologize to the Qu Mansion. No matter what, the Third Miss Qu has not woken up. The Duke of Qi's Mansion is responsible. I saw that the situation was abnormal at the time, and I did not report it to grandma in time. It is indeed my fault."
Her words did not sound like she was trying to shirk responsibility, and she fully supported the decision of the Duke of Qi and his wife. There was even an expression of regret and guilt on her face. Although she looked aggrieved, her behavior was generous and appropriate. As for King Jing's words, although she did not elaborate, her words implied their meaning.
This was clearly out of consideration for the relationship between the Crown Prince and Prince Jing. Hearing Queen Wang nod, her eyes became a little kinder when she looked at Liu Jingyu.