The ritual was scheduled and lasted for quite a long time, but no one from the Qu residence returned.
A large group of people came here in a lively atmosphere, and now he is left alone. Qu Moying felt mocking in his heart. It turned out to be just a show...
Of course, it is impossible for Luo Shi to come back in this situation. His eldest brother Qu Minghui has to take care of Luo Shi, and Qu Moying doesn't expect to come back. If something like this happens, the entire East Mansion will be in turmoil, and he has no time to take care of himself at this time.
However, his adoptive father was nowhere to be seen. After the afternoon, someone came from the mountain to deliver some things for the ritual.
The servant sent by Qu Zhizhen said that he had important official business to attend to, and Qu Mingcheng could not leave for the time being, so he would ask Qu Minghui to go up the mountain to help Qu Moying pack up, and then accompany her down the mountain.
Qu Moying could guess that Qu Mingcheng had not come back, so he didn't pay any attention at the moment and just responded and continued to guard.
It doesn't matter if other people from the Qu Mansion are not here. I can also perform a proper ritual for my mother.
Qu Moying followed the ritual rules and lit three incense sticks for her mother every once in a while, knelt down and bowed, then quietly listened to the Taoist nuns singing and beating the ritual instruments, and burned some talisman paper from time to time.
The person who presided over the ritual at the Qu Mansion was a middle-aged Taoist nun. Coincidentally, this Taoist nun was actually the Taoist Master Qinghe, whom the Luo family had failed to invite many times before.
Before Luo left, she had not come yet, and only sent two disciples and a few young Taoist nuns to come first.
When she came over, the ritual hall had already been moved, and Luo had already gone down the mountain, so the two did not meet.
Seeing that there was no one in charge of the Qu Mansion, this Taoist Qinghe did not treat Qu Moying badly. His every word and action made people feel very favorable. No wonder so many noble families in the capital wanted to invite this Taoist Qinghe.
However, she didn't perform the ritual for long. She only came once in the afternoon, and then one of her apprentices helped to look after the place.
The winter sun sets quickly. Yu Dong has looked out the door several times but didn't see anyone coming. He stamped his feet anxiously. It was already this late and the eldest master hadn't come yet. He was so anxious.
He waited there for a while without giving up, and then ran outside to look for him, but still no one from Qu Mansion was there. Looking at the weather, Yudong could no longer wait.
He turned back and walked into the main hall, coming in front of Qu Moying: "Miss, the eldest master hasn't come yet."
"It's getting late?" Qu Moying was inside the hall and didn't notice the sky outside.
"It looks like it's getting dark soon, miss, what should we do?" Yudong asked.
Qu Moying was silent for a moment, then said calmly, "Pack up and let's go down the mountain by ourselves!"
"Are you not waiting for the eldest master?" Yu Chun put down the teacup she had just changed, feeling a little anxious.
"Pack up first. If they come, we'll go back together. If they don't come... just go back by yourself." Qu Moying said calmly.
Since she said that Qu Minghui would come to pick her up, it seemed that something unexpected had happened. Fortunately, she was prepared and there was no trace of panic on her face.
"Okay, I'll ask someone to pack up right away." Yu Dong nodded, went to tell the Taoist nun in Qingyun Temple first, and then asked the maids and old women who stayed in Qu Mansion to pack up.
Seeing that it was getting late, the servants packed up quickly. The disciple of Master Qinghe came over and bowed to Qu Moying, who turned sideways and returned the greeting.
"Miss Qu Si, are you going down the mountain now?"
"It's getting late. We have to go down the mountain. Thank you for your help, Taoists." Qu Moying smiled and asked Yuchun to bring the reward for the ritual and hand it to the Taoist nun.
"Miss Qu Si, you're too polite. I've already received the reward, so there's no need to pay more." The nun shook her hand.
"This is a token of my appreciation, not a token of respect." Qu Moying insisted. If possible, she would rather pay for everything herself rather than have Qu Zhizhen pay first.
Seeing her insistence, the nun asked the younger nun behind her to take it away, and then said with concern: "It's getting late, and it seems that no one else in the mansion will come to pick you up. Miss Qu Si, do you want to stay here for one night and go down the mountain at dawn tomorrow? It will be safer."
"Thank you, sir. My brother is almost here. I will definitely meet him when I go down the mountain." Qu Moying declined with a smile.
Hearing that the eldest son of the Qu family would come, the Taoist nun nodded and said, "I was worrying too much."
"You're too polite, sir." Qu Moying said with a gentle smile.
Everything over there had been almost cleaned up, so the Taoist nun took her and a few other young nuns and left.
Qu Moying smiled as she escorted the person to the main hall gate, and watched the Taoist nun lead the people in the temple away.
Yudong had been urging them. Everyone knew it was getting late by the time it got dark, so they moved quickly. They had originally planned to go down the mountain today and there was no way they could stay on the mountain.
When we finished cleaning up, the sun was still hanging in the sky, although it was already very far to the west.
Yu Dong breathed a sigh of relief, and followed Qu Moying with his men to the parking lot.
The Qu family left two carriages at the parking lot.
The masters and servants got on the carriages. Qu Moying was still in the front carriage, bringing two maids, Yudong and Yuchun.
The other maids and old women took their belongings and got on the carriage at the back.
"Where are the people?" Qu Moying asked in a low voice after sitting down.
Yu Dong also lowered his voice and replied, "Follow us."
Qu Moying felt a little relieved and his heart slowly settled down.
All the way down the mountain, there was no man accompanying him, and at this time, it seemed unsafe no matter how he looked at it, so Qu Moying had to prepare early.
The road down the mountain from Qingyun Temple is very long and winding. Looking at the sky, the sun will disappear halfway, and then it will get dark very quickly.
It was no longer possible for Qu Minghui to come and pick him up.
Today's affairs were all about Qu Xuexin, and Qu Mingcheng did nothing. Of course, it's not that he didn't get involved in Qu Xuexin's affairs, but under such circumstances, with Qu Mingcheng's personality, how could he not prepare something as a backup
Qu Minghui is very good at studying and can be considered a young talent, which shows that he has good wisdom and strategy.
Qu Moying was naturally on guard here as well.
The coachman whipped the whip and the carriage started slowly, but after moving just a little, it suddenly stopped again.
Yudong lifted the curtain and leaned out: "What's the matter?"
"Miss Fourth, please wait a moment. A stone has been stuck in the wheel. I will remove it and leave soon." The coachman echoed from under the carriage, and he must have jumped off the carriage to deal with it.
After waiting for a while, the carriage still couldn't move. Qu Moying glanced at Yu Dong, and Yu Dong understood and jumped off the carriage.
The coachman squatted in front of the wheel and tried hard. His face turned red and his neck became thick. He finally took out a small stone from under the wheel, but there was something sharp on the top.
"Fortunately, it was taken out. If we were not careful, it might have punctured the wheel, which would have been even more difficult to deal with." The coachman smiled and handed the stone in his hand to Yudong.
After reading it, Yu Dong nodded without commenting, "Can we go now?"
"That's all right, that's all right!" said the coachman cheerfully.
Yudong turned around and got on the carriage, his face darkening.
The coachman also jumped onto the shaft and started the carriage slowly, while saying to Qu Moying in the carriage: "When the Fourth Miss's carriage goes downhill, some places are quite steep, so you must hold on firmly."
"Our young lady knows." Yuchun spread the message.
The coachman said no more and drove out, with the other carriage following behind.
"Miss, the stone is not too big or too small, but if it was really pressed down just now, when I took it down directly, the carriage would have shaken a little, or it might have been pulled forward. If the stone was behind the carriage, I would have felt the vibration when I got off. When I got off just now, the carriage did not shake at all, it was just pushed a little."
Yudong analyzed in a low voice.
He was not a maid in the inner courtyard who knew nothing. He paid more attention to such details. At just one glance, he saw many of the things he wanted to see.
"There is something wrong with this coachman. He seems to be deliberately delaying time." Yu Dong concluded.
It was already getting dark, and everyone was in a hurry to get down the mountain. All the people here were women, and the only two coachmen were men, so it was easy for something to go wrong.
"Be careful." Qu Moying was mentally prepared and not too panicked. She pursed her cherry lips slightly and whispered.
"I know." Yu Dong said with a heavy face. At the current speed of the carriage, it would probably be dark when it reaches halfway up the mountain.
We can't rush, as this is the way down the mountain. It's getting dark, so we have to be more careful. The coachman also said that this road is not easy to travel on, so we have to go safely and securely.
Sure enough, they moved very slowly along the way. Even though everyone in the carriage was extremely anxious, no one dared to urge them.
The sun has set, and the road down the mountain has become darker. The people coming from the opposite direction are now farther away, and even their facial features cannot be seen clearly.
Suddenly, the carriage made a "creak" and slid heavily. Yuchun screamed unconsciously. Yudong grabbed Qu Moying's sleeve and looked outside the carriage with a nervous expression.
Fortunately, the carriage stopped after a violent vibration.
The anxious voice of the coachman came from the carriage: "Fourth Miss, I didn't see there was a pit here and I accidentally fell into it. Can you get off first and let me push the wheel out of the pit?"
"Let's go down and take a look." Qu Moying calmed down a little and whispered that the wheel was stuck and the people in the car must get out, otherwise it would be more difficult to push it out.
Yudong let go and jumped off the carriage first, followed by Yuchun, and the last one was Yuchun.
The carriage in front stopped, and of course the one behind also stopped. Several maids and old women got off the carriages and went to the carriage in front.
At this moment, if you look closely, you can still see people clearly.
"What's going on?" The coachman at the back squeezed over and asked the one in front.
"The wheel is stuck." The coachman in front pointed to a large hole under the wheel and said with a frown.
This pit is right next to the mountain road. In the past, no one would drive so close to the outside when going up and down the mountain road, so it was unlikely that someone would fall into the pit.
Outside the mountain path, there are cliffs a little further away, and it is not safe to go any further.
"It was dark and I couldn't see clearly, so I drove in accidentally." The coachman in front said helplessly.
"Then what are you waiting for? Let's help get the carriage out." The coachman at the back looked up at the sky and said decisively that they couldn't wait any longer. It would be completely dark soon and the way down the mountain would be even more dangerous.