The first one was a man in his fifties with a white face and no beard. He was a eunuch and looked to be of an unusual status.
Following him were four other young eunuchs, who were almost like the moon surrounded by stars. Their aura was not something that ordinary eunuchs could match.
"Is this yard?" A group of people stopped in front of the gate of Qianyue Residence.
"Yes, it is this courtyard. Now it is my daughter's residence." Qu Zhizhen said with a smile. This eunuch Defu was the chief steward in the late Empress Dowager's palace. Although the Empress Dowager is gone now, this chief steward still has some respectability in front of the Emperor.
"Minister Qu's little daughter?" Eunuch Defu laughed, with a hint of fake smile, and glanced at Qu Zhizhen, "I heard Prince Jing mention her."
He thought he was referring to Qu Qiuyan. Before Qu Moying returned to Beijing, few people in Beijing mentioned her. Most people thought that Qu Qiuyan was Qu Zhizhen's only daughter and the youngest daughter.
"She is the youngest daughter born to my ex-wife." Qu Zhizhen said with a smile.
If it were in the past, he could still say yes, indicating that it was his little daughter that King Jing favored, but now he dared not confuse people anymore, because he did not dare to mess with the Prince of Yun.
The son just went to pass on a message and nearly lost his life.
"Minister Qu actually has another daughter." Eunuch Defu laughed and said nonchalantly, pointing to the yard, "Can I go in and take a look?"
"Of course, of course, please come in, sir." Qu Zhizhen nodded repeatedly.
When the maid guarding the gate saw him coming, she hurried forward to pay her respects. Qu Zhizhen ordered, "I'll take you to see the pine tree in the yard. I'll tell your young lady not to panic and just take good care of herself!"
The old woman responded and withdrew, going into the main room to report.
Qu Moying stood in front of the window, looking at everything outside through the gauze, with a cold smile on the corners of his lips. Sure enough, there was a follow-up here, but now Xiao Hanyuan had left and there was no commotion here, so he was not involved.
Her eyes fell on a servant beside Qu Zhizhen. Qu Zhizhen brought quite a few servants this time, but this servant looked obviously sneaky. He looked towards the main house from time to time with a puzzled look on his face, as if he knew something.
"Miss, this is the chief eunuch beside the Empress Dowager, named Defu. Even though the Empress Dowager is gone now, this eunuch Defu is still very prestigious. Even the Emperor respects him a little. I heard that it is because when he was young, he once protected the Emperor and it seems that he was related to the rebellion of the three kings."
Yudong said in a low voice.
Although he had never dealt with this Eunuch Defu, he had seen him from afar and naturally knew his identity. Although the current chief steward of the palace is Eunuch Liquan who is beside the emperor, the power of this Eunuch Defu is still considerable.
"What is he doing here?" Qu Moying frowned slightly, feeling that this place was not simple.
It’s been too long since the Three Kings’ Rebellion. It’s said that the three kings and their descendants managed to escape, but this matter has nothing to do with Qu Moying. She just heard some of it as a story and didn’t know whether it was true or not. It’s been more than 30 years since the incident, and how many people can remember it so clearly!
"I don't know, but I heard that this eunuch Defu has been in charge of the affairs of the Empress Dowager's mausoleum. He was not in the palace in the past. He must have come here because of important matters.
"Yu Dong was also puzzled. This eunuch Defu was not in the capital before, but at the tomb of the Empress Dowager, which was quite far away from the capital.
Qu Moying's heart moved and he narrowed his eyes slightly. He felt that this matter was becoming more and more complicated. Was this really just the work of Qu Mingcheng
He doesn't have such a big budget!
The house became quiet, and the master and servant listened carefully to the noise outside.
But Grandpa Defu walked to a big red pine on the right side of the yard and started to examine it. This red pine was originally in the yard. When Qu Moying moved in, he took a few special glances at it and felt that such a thick pine tree must have a history of hundreds of years. No one knew when and by whom it was planted.
Grandpa Defu walked up to the pine tree, patted it with his hand, and nodded repeatedly: "Good... Not bad, then this is the one!"
"Yes, I will do it right away. Since you like it, then just take it!" Qu Zhizhen said repeatedly.
Eunuch Defu turned his head and glanced at him. The eerie feeling made Qu Zhizhen feel a chill in his back. "Why haven't I heard Minister Qu mention such a pine tree before? I have been looking for a pine tree in the past."
"Yes, yes, it was my fault that I didn't notice that there was such a pine tree in my house that could catch your eye. It was my negligence." Qu Zhizhen nodded repeatedly and didn't dare to argue.
He really didn't notice that there was such a pine tree in his house, which was more than a hundred years old. Although he had seen it before, he didn't pay much attention to it and just forgot about it. Although he heard that Defu, the steward of the Empress Dowager, was looking for such a tree, saying that the Empress Dowager liked pine trees over a hundred years old when she was alive.
After all, the Empress Dowager was gone, so Qu Zhizhen naturally wouldn't think too much about it.
But now that this eunuch Defu had come to his door, he had to greet him with a smile, so he brought the person here.
"Minister Qu is so careless. If you have forgotten anything else, just tell me all of it! This way I don't have to come here again."
Eunuch Defu chuckled.
"No... No more, no more." Being stared at like this by Eunuch Defu, Qu Zhizhen felt cold sweat on his back and shook his head hurriedly.
"Is it really gone?" Eunuch Defu asked with a smile.
"It's really gone!" Qu Zhizhen said hurriedly without hesitation.
"But why did I only say that Minister Qu has a daughter..." De Fu paused here and looked at Qu Zhizhen.
Qu Zhizhen's face changed and he looked up in astonishment. He didn't understand what Eunuch Defu meant by this. Didn't he just hear that he had only one daughter, and that this daughter was related to King Jing
"I heard that Minister Qu has a daughter who is not indifferent to men. She has been raised in a clean place for so many years, living a quiet and calm life. She can be considered the purest lady from aristocratic family. Unlike those flashy girls who were raised in the capital, she has never seen many men in her life and does not like to interact with men." Eunuch Defu said with a smile.
As soon as these words were spoken, not only Qu Zhizhen in the yard changed his expression, but also Qu Moying and Yu Dong inside the window.
As for the so-called purity of not interacting with men, how many women in this world can do it? Even a young lady from a noble family who has been raised in seclusion will still meet men, her closest relatives, and cousins among her relatives. How could it be that she has really never seen a few men
But Qu Moying is different. He has been following Zhuangzi since he was a child.
She grew up in a wealthy family, and was surrounded by women only, with almost no men around. When she occasionally returned to the mansion, Qu Zhizhen might not see her. Compared with other young ladies from aristocratic families, she was truly a pure person.
“Miss…” Yudong’s expression changed and he said in a low voice.
Qu Moying gently shook his hand, signaling him not to speak, and his eyes fell on the face of eunuch Defu in the middle of the courtyard, his eyes deep and cold.
She now understood some of the meaning.
I heard these things when I was with Ji Hanyue, but I thought they were just talk at the time and didn't take them seriously. Besides, I had heard about this for many years and had long forgotten it. But now when I heard these pure and innocent words again, and in this situation, I remembered them a little.
Xiao Hanyuan came to his place and made a scene, so he would definitely not be in a good mood. In the eyes of this eunuch Defu, would this be another manifestation of his dislike for men
It turns out that everything is linked together, and the goal is to trap myself here.
What a pure girl, what a girl who doesn't like to associate with men, pure as a baby? I can't believe that after so many years, I'm still looking for her.
It was really unexpected.
"I'm afraid you've made a mistake, eunuch. My daughter is already married!" Qu Zhizhen said with a smile. If it weren't for the warning from Prince Yun, he would not have been willing to offend this eunuch Defu.
This guy is a senior eunuch whom even the emperor respects.
"Married? Minister Qu must be lying to me. I have inquired clearly before. Your daughter actually has no marriage. The earliest marriage was also cancelled. I heard that it was because of the Yongning Marquis's son. Because of this, your daughter dislikes men even more." Eunuch Dehai said with a smile, "Minister Qu, I am also considering the welfare of the Empress Dowager. If there is really such a lady, it is in line with what the Empress Dowager said back then."
"But... but there really is a marriage." Sweat broke out on Qu Zhizhen's forehead.
"But you don't know which family it is? In fact, the engagement can be cancelled, right? After all, it is a big matter for the Empress Dowager." Eunuch Defu pressed.
If it were any other company, Qu Zhizhen would have agreed immediately, but now he didn't dare to.
He looked around and waved his hand. The servants who followed him stepped back a few steps. Qu Zhizhen then stepped forward and whispered to Eunuch Defu, "If you don't believe it, you can ask the emperor or the queen."
He didn't dare to speak directly to Pei Yuanjun, and could only push the blame to the Emperor and the Empress for the time being. Anyway, since the Prince of Yun said so, it must have been communicated between the two places.
She was actually engaged to a royal family? Eunuch Defu's face darkened and he looked very ugly. The person who told him about this at the beginning did not say that.
Did he choose to come here on purpose
In fact, the matter of the pine tree is not important. What is important is the daughter of Minister Qu. When Eunuch Defu heard that there was such an innocent girl, he immediately wanted to come and see her. But now this matter also involves the emperor and the queen, which is not a trivial matter. Did he deliberately pick him to provoke these two
Thinking of this, his face immediately turned grim, and he looked at Qu Zhizhen gloomily, trying to read some meaning from his face.
But after looking around, he felt that Qu Zhizhen did not lie to him, and he did not dare to lie to himself.
Inside the window, Qu Moying glanced at Yu Dong, who understood and turned around and walked out of the main house lightly, going to the side room to look for someone...