When Qu Moying returned to the flower hall, Huasheng was passed around among the people, but no one could see anything unusual. They just felt that if Huasheng was not blocking the light, it would be just an ordinary Huasheng, and there was nothing unusual about it.
Qu Moying had asked Yu Dong to wash away the grass juice when dark patterns could be seen on it.
There's nothing unusual to the touch now.
But if you hold it up to candlelight, you can clearly see the shadow of the phoenix pattern on it.
"Where did this come from?" Seeing Qu Moying coming over, another lady couldn't help but ask.
"The previous clothes and accessories were all given by the Duke of Qi's Mansion." Qu Moying reiterated.
“The Duke of Qi’s Mansion and the Second Madam’s family… have such a good relationship?” Princess Xiangrong couldn’t help but ask, is the relationship between the Yue family in Jiangnan and the Qi family in the capital so good that it can even benefit the third generation
"Maybe it's because of what happened before. He feels guilty for not being able to provide timely treatment to his mother!" Qu Moying shook his head and smiled bitterly.
Xiao Yue died at the hands of Yu, and everyone in the capital knew it.
Is it because of this incident that the Duke of Qi's Mansion feels so guilty towards Fourth Miss Qu and wants to compensate her in this way
"Xiangyu, your family really values friendship and loyalty." Princess Xiangrong sighed, and handed the Huasheng that had been passed around to Qu Moying again.
"I heard that my grandfather and the head of the Jiangnan Yue clan were close friends. I don't know who saved whom back then. It might be that the Jiangnan Yue clan saved my grandfather, so he paid special attention to the Jiangnan Yue clan. When Miss Qu's biological mother got into trouble, our family was unaware of it, so we didn't help."
Qi Xiangyu sighed.
Madam Qi just took Liu Jingyu away and left her granddaughter here. It was not right for her to leave, nor was it right for her not to leave, leaving her in such an awkward situation.
"The Duke of Qi's Mansion is so kind!" Princess Xiangrong sighed again.
Afterwards, several ladies and young ladies also said goodbye one after another. The reason why they did not leave all at once was to give face to the Qu family and Miss Qu.
After everyone left, Luo sat down and took a breath: "Ying girl, are you really okay?"
She was also at a loss now. Seeing that Qu Moying was still calm, she couldn't help but ask her for advice.
"Don't worry, aunt. Our family is not at fault in this matter." Qu Moying knew that she was timid. Although the previous incident with Qu Xuexin was in the past, she was still scared to death. He was afraid that she would be frightened again, so he said hurriedly.
"That's good, that's good." Luo heaved a sigh of relief, "Fortunately the coming-of-age ceremony is over, otherwise it would be unlucky."
A girl's coming of age is a big event, and when something like this happened, everyone felt that it had disrupted the whole thing. Although the ceremony was considered complete after three bows, it had to happen at this time, and Luo felt uncomfortable no matter how she thought about it.
After Qu Moying repeatedly assured her that everything was fine, Luo took her maid back to the East Mansion. Such a big event as the coming-of-age ceremony turned out like this, and everyone would feel very depressed.
Qu Zhizhen in the front yard was also in a bad mood when he heard the news, but he couldn't come in and ask Qu Moying directly about this matter. He heard that the King of England was about to arrive, so he could only wait in the study.
The carriage of the Prince of Ying's Palace stopped at Qu's Mansion. Pei Yuanjun got out of the carriage and walked slowly inside with Ji Hai, neither hurried nor slow.
Someone had already gone into the Qu Mansion to report, and Qu Zhizhen came out to greet them from afar, feeling uneasy.
"Phoenix robe?" Pei Yuanjun asked leisurely.
Very, he walked slowly forward with his head back, but he was in no hurry.
"I heard it was, but I didn't see it either, so I don't know if it's true." Qu Zhizhen didn't dare to answer this question and could only say it vaguely.
"This phoenix robe is not something that ordinary people can wear. It's just like the emperor's dragon robe. Even ordinary concubines cannot wear it." Pei Yuanjun smiled faintly, his expression changing, making people dare not look directly at him.
Of course, this made people dare not respond. Qu Zhizhen had cold sweat on his back. If he said this, he could really say so. He secretly hated the Jingyu County Lord. Why did he come to his house? Otherwise, whether this matter was discovered or not, it had nothing to do with the Qu Mansion!
But now there is no way to escape!
"This... might... might be a mistake."
"Mistaken? Do you think Minister Qu could make a mistake in this matter?" Pei Yuanjun asked with a smile, and glanced at Qu Zhizhen, sighing, "Minister Qu really thinks of others!"
This time, Qu Zhizhen's forehead also began to sweat: "This... this matter... this matter I don't know either, I dare not say anything."
"I really shouldn't have said that. If I had known there would be so much fun to see today, I would have come to take a look." Pei Yuanjun walked into the study room leisurely, as if he was the owner.
Qu Zhizhen followed behind with sweat all over his forehead, asking the servant to bring him tea.
After the tea was served, Qu Zhizhen asked cautiously, "My Lord, what should we do now?"
Pei Yuanjun looked at Qu Zhizhen with his dark eyes, and suddenly smiled, with an elegant and noble look. He reached out and took the teacup, took a sip, and then put it down: "What do you think, Minister Qu?"
"This... I really don't know!" Qu Zhizhen said helplessly.
"This happened in the Minister's residence. Even the Minister doesn't know about it, so how would I know?" Pei Yuanjun raised his eyebrows and said with disapproval.
"This... This is because I thought that the prince might... might be able to help us." Qu Zhizhen rubbed his hands.
"What if I don't help?" The smile on Pei Yuanjun's face turned cold. His originally gentle eyebrows were tainted with a hint of sinisterness because of this sneer. The air in the study suddenly became cold.
“Your Highness… Your humble servant… I am also…” Qu Zhizhen did not expect that he would suddenly turn hostile at this time. He felt a cold wind blowing down his back. This murderous look did not seem like someone who could help them make decisions for their family.
For a moment, I felt like being thrown off a boat at the head of a river thousands of feet high. I felt chilled to the bone and came to my senses.
He lowered his head hastily and explained, "It's... it's my fault. I thought..."
"Do you think I am here to clean up your mess? Do you think this matter is not a big deal with me here?" Pei Yuanjun relaxed his brows again and smiled gently, "I am actually very easy to talk to. If you satisfy my curiosity, I may be able to meet your request."
"Your Highness... Your Highness, please speak," Qu Zhizhen's legs and feet went weak. He no longer felt that the King of England looked easy to talk to, and he might even help him for the sake of his fourth daughter.
"Actually, it's nothing. I just heard that Minister Qu has been very close to the Duke of Qi's Mansion recently?" Pei Yuanjun asked with a smile.
Qu Zhizhen's heart skipped a beat. How could he have found out about this? After what happened at the palace gate, who would still think that he was close to the Duke of Qi's mansion
It was found out by the West Prison
Right? If that's the case, it's going to be a disaster!
"Your Highness, it was actually because of Ying'er. The old Duke punished me because of Ying'er's biological mother. I went to apologize afterwards, and the old Duke forgave me for Ying'er's sake! Since it's all for Ying'er, we can't really quarrel with each other. Wouldn't that make it difficult for Ying'er!"
Qu Zhizhen explained with a wry smile.
"Minister Qu really takes the overall situation into consideration." Pei Yuanjun said with a smile.
"This... This is actually the residence of the Duke of Qi, whom I cannot afford to offend." Qu Zhizhen had no choice but to admit defeat. He was forced to say this and he lost all face. It was obvious that he was very helpless.
"Since I have married the fourth lady of your family, Minister Qu is my elder. Even if we go against the Duke of Qi's Mansion, I am not completely powerless! If you lose, how about I support you?" Pei Yuanjun said with a smile, without any trace of the sinister air just now, as if he really thought so.
But Qu Zhizhen no longer dared to take these words as true.
He immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I dare not."
"Really?" Pei Yuanjun asked with interest, "In fact, there is really no need to be so troublesome. Although I am not good, the father of my princess will not lose when facing the Duke of Qi's Mansion. Even if they are the maternal family of the Crown Princess, it is useless."
Pei Yuanjun didn't care at all that he was talking about the Duke's Mansion of the current dynasty, and he seemed to care even less about the Crown Prince.
But he dared to say it, but Qu Zhizhen didn't dare to listen. He felt more and more that his previous thoughts were too fantastic. Why did he think that the King of England might really like his daughter? He thought that since he would hold a coming-of-age party for his daughter, there must be some meaning behind it, especially since his daughter was so beautiful.
Sure enough, I was overthinking it!
Now I feel extremely clear-headed.
Now that I am sober, I just want to solve the current problem and don’t dare to have any more unrealistic thoughts.
"Your Majesty is joking."
"Has the old Duke really forgiven you?" Pei Yuanjun suddenly changed the subject and asked again.
"Old Duke is very generous." Qu Zhizhen laughed dryly.
"You are really generous. You can forgive such a thing. The old Duke is really magnanimous. If it were me..." Pei Yuanjun stopped here and said with a smile, "If it were me, I would definitely peel off his skin and smash his bones to make fan bones. It would sound good. What do you think, Minister?"
There was no wind in the study, but Qu Zhizhen felt a chill for no reason. He remembered the unheard-of methods in the Western Prison, and there were such rumors. This really was not groundless. He felt as if he was being stared at by something cold and at this moment he didn't even dare to move.
"Your Majesty..."
He wanted to reply with a smile, but he didn't know what to say at this moment, so he could only give a dry laugh.
"Are you scared, Minister? Actually, there is no need to be afraid. With my character, how could I do such a thing? How could I do such an ungentlemanly thing?" Pei Yuanjun suddenly smiled, stretched out his slender fingers, and tapped the table lightly twice, with elegance and a bit of laziness.
Qu Zhizhen felt as if his throat was being strangled, and this time only a burst of cold air came out.
What he was sure of was that this person was absolutely adept at doing this kind of thing.
"Minister, how do you think we should deal with this matter now?" The clear and bright voice came again, and this time the question seemed to be about serious matters...