A group of people went in, paid their respects and lit incense and candles.
After the first round of worship, Qu Zhicheng took his son and nephew to the side hall on the left to handle some chores.
If there are male guests coming later, they will be received in the side hall on the left. The side hall on the right is reserved for the female family members to rest.
A ritual was held for the Xiaoyue family, mainly for the female members.
Yuchun tied a white coarse cloth belt around Qu Moying's waist and helped Qu Moying kneel down on a mat beside him. Yudong moved a brazier over and placed the basket he had prepared next to Qu Moying. The other basket prepared by Luo was placed a little far away, as if he wanted to burn his own basket first and then the one prepared by Luo.
There was a seat on one side of the hall. Qu Xuexin was not feeling well, so Qu Zhizhen had asked her to rest there. Luo Shi was now sitting beside her.
Qu Moying is Xiao Yue's biological daughter, so naturally she should kneel down to burn paper money and clothes.
"Mother, this belt... why is it different from my eldest and second brothers' belts?" Seeing Qu Moying's belt, Qu Xuexin coughed softly and asked Luo in a low voice.
"She prepared it herself." Luo said nonchalantly, her face full of concern, "How are you? Are you okay? Do you want to go to the side hall to rest?"
"Mother, I'm fine. I can still hold on. If I can't hold on any longer, I'll go and rest aside." Qu Xuexin said softly.
"It doesn't matter if you're not here. Mom is here!" Luo was still worried because her daughter's face looked too bad.
"Don't worry, mother. We'll just wait for fourth sister to finish burning these small clothes and then leave." Qu Xuexin said casually with a smile, and it was obvious that she was forcing herself to hold on.
Luo was heartbroken, but there was nothing she could do since Qu Xuexin was so strong. She just hoped that Qu Moying could finish burning the incense quickly. Seeing that Qu Moying burned the incense slowly and carefully, she said to the maid beside her, "Let the fourth young lady burn it faster and watch the fire. It's not good if it goes out."
The old woman obeyed the order and went over to carry the basket that was placed behind a pillar and brought it to Qu Moying from behind.
Yu Dong saw it, and quickly came over to take the basket: "You don't need the things in this basket yet, just put them aside for now."
"The lady is afraid that the fire will go out, which is unlucky." The old woman whispered.
"It's OK, it won't go out." Yu Dong said, "Our young lady burns the incense slowly to show her filial piety. If it's burned too early, it won't be good if there are guests coming to pay their respects."
The old woman thought about it and agreed that this made sense. In fact, there was no need to burn the incense too quickly. After burning all of this, she had to burn paper money. After all, she couldn't let her filial sons and daughters kneel and do nothing!
"Then burn them faster." The old woman had just stood behind the Luo mother and daughter. She knew that the eldest lady wanted to wait until all the clothes were burned before leaving, so she had to remind her.
Yu Dong said perfunctorily: "Okay, okay, our young lady will burn quickly."
Seeing that the old woman had returned empty-handed, the basket was still placed next to the pillar, far away from Qu Moying. Qu Xuexin's eyes flashed with a hint of displeasure. She had taken great pains to get these things to Qu Moying. If Qu Moying refused to accept them, wouldn't she have wasted her efforts in vain
No matter now or in the future, she needs her second brother's help. If her gesture of allegiance this time does not satisfy her second brother, it will be difficult to get his help in the future. This time, she can only succeed and cannot fail.
No matter what, Qu Moying cannot be allowed to escape.
Qu Moying is in trouble.
Only in this way can she get better and get her second brother to help her more. With her own status, even if she entered the Prince's Eastern Palace, if no one helped and supported her, she would probably not have a good ending in the end. Qu Xuexin has thought this very clearly during this period of time.
She went to the Prince's Eastern Palace to enjoy wealth and glory, not to be controlled by others.
Even though she is now a step slower than others, she believes that she can gain the favor of the prince. The prince treats her differently, which was clear when she first met the prince.
As long as she has another chance to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, everything will be possible. Today, not only does she want to make sure that Qu Moying gets into trouble, she also wants to meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and enter the Crown Prince's East Palace. She never wants to go back to the West Palace again, and never wants to be locked up by the Lady Dowager again. She is the most honorable eldest daughter in the entire Qu Mansion.
Why should I let Qu Moying suppress me!
She took a deep breath, and her throat began to feel uncomfortable again. She covered her chest and coughed softly. She felt really uncomfortable and thought she was going to faint, but she couldn't do that now. It was not the right time yet.
She was really sick, not pretending. Even if the imperial physician came to check on her later, it would be true.
The second brother said that if she wanted to enter the Prince's Mansion, she would have to pay a price, even if the price was her own body, she had to pay it.
As for Qu Moying's life or death, it has nothing to do with me from now on. Even if it is found out later that I am related to this matter, so what? I will already be the prince's person at that time. No matter how long my second uncle's hand is, it cannot reach the prince's mansion. Even if my grandmother is angry, what does it matter
Thinking of this, Qu Xuexin showed a hint of satisfaction on her face. She narrowed her eyes and glanced at Qu Moying. This time, even if Qu Moying didn't die, his appearance was ruined. The so-called "no talent and no looks" would come true.
Thinking of his pride, he couldn't help but start coughing again.
Seeing her coughing repeatedly, Luo was at a loss what to do. She then took her anger out on Qu Moying. She was about to send someone over to burn all the clothes in the basket for Qu Moying when she suddenly saw a maid trotting over and said, "Madam, Concubine Ji from the East Palace is here."
"Please come in." Luo stood up happily and went out to greet him.
Qu Xuexin also wanted to go out, but she stood up reluctantly. Her feet went weak and she almost fell. She could only stand aside with a pale face, waiting for Ji Youran to come in.
When Ji Youran came in, he immediately saw Qu Xuexin standing aside with a sick face, who seemed to be holding on. He hurriedly smiled and said, "Miss Qu, please take a seat!"
"Thank you, Concubine." Qu Xuexin said weakly, holding the maid's hand and sitting down.
Ji Youran stepped forward to offer sacrifices to Xiao Yue and lit three incense sticks, then retreated to sit next to Luo and the servants brought her tea.
"The clothes that Fourth Sister is burning, are they made by her herself?" Ji Youran asked as she watched Qu Moying kneeling and burning clothes and socks.
"The fourth girl made it herself. She is not good at sewing, and the amount she can make is already her limit." Luo explained with a sigh.
"It's really good!" Ji Youran nodded, agreeing with Luo's words, "Cousin Qu has an eye disease, so she probably wasn't good at sewing in the past. It was not easy for her to make all these."
“Ying’s eye disease is indeed…” Luo nodded in agreement.
"Cousin Qu's veil cannot be removed yet? Didn't they say it was almost healed?" Ji Youran asked with concern.
"this…
...I really don’t know, she didn’t say anything herself! After all, I’m just your aunt!” Luo said in a low voice, feeling extremely helpless.
"Madam has done enough. Cousin Qu has a miserable life, and aunt has taken such good care of her. I would like to thank you on her behalf." Ji Youran said.
"You are too polite, Your Majesty. This is what I should do." A faint smile appeared on Luo's face. She was very pleased with Ji Youran's compliment.
As they were talking, Qu Moying, who was burning clothes, turned her head and started coughing violently. Luo hurriedly asked the maid to come over and see. Knowing that she had choked accidentally, she asked the maid to comfort her.
Yudong moved the brazier further away, and Qu Moying continued to burn it.
"Is this all we need to burn?" Ji Youran suddenly asked.
"Not only these, but also the ones outside. The ones outside are prepared by the mansion. We asked the maid to find a place outside to cook them together. These are made by the young generation themselves. As a token of their love, let Ying girl cook them here. And the basket at the back also needs to be cooked."
Luo pointed to the big basket placed next to the pillar at the back and said proudly, "That was prepared by Xin'er. I'll have Ying cook it later."
"Let me do it!" Ji Youran stood up.
"This... How can this be possible!" Luo said hurriedly.
The smile on Qu Xuexin's face froze, and she subconsciously clenched her handkerchief. She wanted to speak, but after looking at Ji Youran and then at Qu Moying, she suddenly felt that if... it really happened, it might not be a bad thing. She was going to enter the Prince's Mansion, and this Concubine Ji would be her biggest rival.
It was an accidental act that led to the tree growing into a forest. This was something Ji Youran had brought upon herself, and it had nothing to do with me.
The handkerchief slowly loosened.
"It's okay. My cousin is not in good health. If she keeps burning like this, she will probably continue to cough. I'll burn some for her. I'll just burn paper money later, and you can let the maid burn it." Ji Youran came here today to show her goodwill to Qu Moying, and also to do it for others to see. Of course, the better the better, the better.
The prince is right outside. Even if he didn't see it with his own eyes, he would definitely ask about it. Ji Youran has not had a good time in the East Palace during this period. This is a rare opportunity to go out, so she must perform well.
As he said that, he walked towards where Qu Moying was kneeling.
Seeing that she was determined to do so, Luo tried to stop her but failed, and could only helplessly ask someone to prepare the brazier.
"My Lady, our young lady said that both of them have a fever at the same time, so we can't get too close. Otherwise, both of us will be affected and will cough non-stop." Yu Dong came over to stop Ji Youran from getting too close, pointing to the side of the pillar, "Our young lady said that place where both of us won't be affected is the best."
The pillar was indeed far away from where Qu Moying was burning, and it was behind them, so it had little impact. This was the best distance estimated by Yu Dong.
Ji Youran came here mainly to show her close relationship with Qu Moying. Even if this was a bit excessive, she couldn't care less. She smiled and agreed, and said to Luo who looked unhappy, "Madam, that place is not bad either. Cousin Qu was coughing badly just now. I'm here to help her, not to hurt her."
As he said this, he knelt down in front of the cushion beside the pillar.
Luo was still trying to persuade her, when she suddenly heard the maid behind her screaming, "Miss, Miss!"
As soon as she heard it, she knew something was wrong. Luo Shi didn't care about Ji Youran anymore and ran back in a panic...