This time, Qu Moying nodded, agreeing to this matter.
"After my uncle passed away, the Ling'an Marquis's Mansion became much quieter. Many courtyards were vacant, and only my mother and Madam Duan lived there. Who would have thought that the once prosperous place... would become like this now? Every time I return to the mansion, I always think of the scene when I played in the garden with the Crown Princess..."
Ji Youran couldn't say any more at this point. Her eyes were red. She turned her head away and wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. After calming down, she turned her head again and forced a smile on her face: "I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, cousin Qu."
“No, I also want to know some things about my cousin. Back then, I was deeply indebted to her. Unfortunately, when I left the manor, my cousin had already… entered the Eastern Palace, and something happened to her.” Qu Moying lowered his head, not wanting to look at Ji Youran’s extremely sad face, and spoke calmly.
"Who could have thought that something like this would happen! Crown Princess..." Ji Youran's voice became hoarse for a moment, revealing pain. Then she waved her hands vigorously, as if to wave away the pain in front of her. "Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. After all, Madam Duan and my mother are still here at the Ling Anbo Mansion, as well as my younger brother, the Crown Prince."
"Yes, it will all pass!" Qu Moying raised his face, the corners of his lips slightly raised, revealing a faint smile.
It will all pass. When all the darkness is over, the truth will be revealed to the world. Hate! It can no longer describe her mood at this moment!
But her eyes were as calm as water, without a ripple, and she listened quietly to Ji Youran's next words.
Some hatred is not just words!
"That day, I suddenly thought of the Crown Princess and had trouble falling asleep. When I got up, I sat in the empty courtyard and suddenly remembered the time when I watched lanterns in the courtyard with the unmarried Crown Princess. But now, everything has changed and I don't know if the Crown Princess' lantern is still there. I made it with her."
Ji Youran sighed.
Did Ji Hanyue help Ji Youran to light the lantern? Qu Moying didn't think so.
"Since the Concubine is still thinking about the lanterns she made with the Crown Princess, why not ask Madam Duan to help find them?" The maid following Ji Youran suddenly spoke.
"How can I find it at this moment? So much time has passed." Ji Youran shook his head with a wry smile.
"How can you not find it? Go to the Crown Princess's old residence and you'll definitely find it." The maid continued to persuade, with a hint of disapproval, "You're thinking about the Crown Princess so much, just tell Madam Duan about it, it's not a big deal."
Qu Moying glanced at the maid, said nothing, and continued to listen to Ji Youran's words.
She really didn't remember about the lantern. She didn't think there was such a lantern. So what on earth did Ji Youran want to do that he found such a maid to sing the same tune with her.
“But mother and Madam Duan are in such a mess now... I’m afraid it’s not a good idea to go to the Crown Princess’s old residence again.” Ji Youran hesitated.
"My Lady Concubine, don't you have Miss Qu Si? You can ask Miss Qu Si to accompany you. With Miss Qu Si here and you are sincere, Madam Duan won't say anything." The maid said, turning her gaze to Qu Moying and asked with a smile, "Miss Qu Si, don't you think this makes sense?"
The topic fell quietly on Qu Moying, and she also agreed to persuade Duan
Madam's words were very logical.
"The Concubine wants to find the lanterns that my cousin made before. It shouldn't be difficult. I'll tell Madam Duan later. If Madam Duan thinks it's appropriate, she will naturally let the Concubine go and find it." Qu Moying thought for a moment and replied.
"Then I'll trouble Miss Qu Si." Concubine Ji thanked him, and her eyebrows slowly frowned again. It was obvious that she was very sad. "Then I'll trouble Miss Qu Si to talk to Madam Duan about this matter later. I've been thinking about the Crown Princess lately, and some unfinished business, which makes me very sad in my heart!"
"Okay!" Qu Moying nodded. She also wanted to see what Ji Youran wanted to do.
"Sorry to bother you, cousin Qu!" Ji Youran said softly, apologetically. "It's getting late. I have to offer incense to the Crown Princess later, so I won't accompany you, cousin Qu."
"Please do as you please, Concubine!" Qu Moying stepped aside and made way.
Ji Youran nodded to her and left with the maid, leaving Qu Moying standing there alone, looking at Ji Youran's back thoughtfully, and for a moment he couldn't figure out what Ji Youran meant.
With Ji Youran's identity, it would be just a matter of saying a word if she wanted to find Ji Hanyue's things. Why did she have to drag herself into this? Judging from what she said just now, it felt very strange.
"Miss, what does Concubine Ji want to do?" Yu Dong was also confused and asked in a low voice.
This matter seemed very mysterious to him. It seemed strange no matter how he looked at it. One was the co-wife who had just been mentioned and had no status, while the other was a concubine of the Eastern Palace. If they wanted to find something for the Crown Princess, it would only take a word. Yu Dong didn't think that Madam Duan had much say in the Ling'anbo Mansion.
Why does it seem like Concubine Ji is asked to be humble and submissive
"Let's go and take a look first!" Qu Moying shook his head. He couldn't figure it out for the moment, so he simply stopped thinking about it for the time being and turned around to return along the same route.
When Qu Moying returned to the side hall, Madam Qu and Madam Ji seemed to be having a pleasant conversation. When she saw Qu Moying come in, Madam Qu looked at her face with concern, and found that her face was still calm, so she breathed a sigh of relief.
He stretched out his hand and waved to Qu Moying: "Ying girl, come here."
After Qu Moying took two steps forward and saluted the two ladies, he sat down next to Lady Qu. As soon as he sat down, he saw Madam Duan and Xiao coming from the main hall.
"Why aren't you guarding over there?" Mrs. Ji asked in an unfriendly tone when she saw both of them coming over.
"The concubine came over and said that she wanted to accompany the Crown Princess quietly, so she asked the two of us to come back." Xiao stepped forward to explain.
After hearing her explanation, Mrs. Ji's expression improved a little. She waved her hand and asked the two of them to sit down.
Xiao took the lead and sat down next to Madam Ji. Madam Duan looked at Qu Moying and walked a few steps to sit next to him.
The servants brought tea and stepped aside.
Madam Qu and Madam Ji continued to talk about things, some related to Qingyun Temple and some trivial matters in the capital.
Qu Moying listened quietly, holding the handkerchief in her hand casually.
Suddenly, someone seemed to pull his sleeve gently. He raised his eyes and saw Mrs. Duan's smiling face. A faint smile also appeared on his face.
"Miss Fourth, do you have something to tell me?" Madam Duan looked at the two ladies above her, and when she saw that they didn't notice her, she lowered her voice and asked.
"Who said that?" Qu Moying also said
He asked back in a lowered voice.
"Just now, the maidservant beside the Concubine told me that Miss Qu Si had something important to tell me." Madam Duan said, "Is it about the Yuejin Pavilion? Is there something else that has not been dealt with?"
Qu Moying had someone tell Mrs. Duan about the final outcome of this matter, but they didn't have time to explain the details. Now that the two were sitting together, Mrs. Duan thought that Qu Moying was looking for her anxiously just because of this matter.
"Has Concubine Ji asked you for your cousin's things recently?" Qu Moying asked calmly, his eyes fixed on Madam Duan's face.
"The Crown Princess's things?" Madam Duan was stunned for a moment. She didn't understand what Qu Moying meant. She glanced at the two ladies at the top and shook her head gently. "I didn't say that. Besides, it's useless to tell me. These things are not my business now!"
Her voice was extremely low, a few decibels lower than before. If Qu Moying had not been paying attention to her, he would not have been able to hear her.
"Why?" Qu Moying's heart moved.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, don't move." Madam Duan whispered while paying attention to the two ladies at the top.
"Don't let me touch the things in my cousin's yard?" Qu Moying's eyes were cold, and she felt more and more mocking in her heart. What was Pei Luoan planning to do? He was about to marry Liu Jingyu, but he was still pretending to be in love? It was really ridiculous. As expected, Ji Hanyue would be pulled out in any place where she was used. Even if "she" died, she would not be allowed to rest in peace!
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has told me not to let anyone enter that courtyard. He only asked me to arrange for someone to clean it, and that person must be someone from our main room, preferably someone who has served the Crown Princess before. He said he doesn't want strangers to disturb the Crown Princess's peace. Everything in there was used by the Crown Princess at the time, and no one is allowed to desecrate it."
In fact, the so-called servants were just the other servants in the courtyard at that time, and the few close ones all followed her into the marriage.
Madam Duan lowered her head, her nose astringent. The Crown Princess was gone just like that. Madam Duan still couldn't help crying when she thought about it. That was the young lady she had protected wholeheartedly before. When Madam Duan was away, the Crown Princess took on the responsibilities early on. Although she was still young, she was a very sensible and capable girl.
Now the Crown Princess is nowhere to be seen. How can one not be sad? Not only the Crown Princess, but also the Third Young Miss. She has sent people to inquire about the matter many times in the government office, but they always say they are investigating. However, they cannot find out the truth. Needless to say, it must be the concubine who did something, otherwise such a thing would not be clear!
The people in the yamen were just going through the motions, and Mrs. Duan had no choice.
"Only people from the main house can enter the Crown Princess's former residence?" Qu Moying raised his eyebrows, feeling that he had heard important news. So was this an important reason why Ji Youran had tricked him into coming here to lobby Madam Duan
"That's what I said." Mrs. Duan nodded.
"Has anyone ever disobeyed?" Qu Moying thought about it carefully and asked again. Pei Luoan's personality is not one that can be easily broken by words, especially when it comes to fake things like this, he would make it sound even more real than the real thing.
"Who dares to disobey the Crown Prince's words? No one in the mansion dares to approach the Crown Princess's former residence at will. I only sent two maids who used to work in the Crown Princess's courtyard to clean it carefully." Madam Duan shook her head. She naturally didn't dare to disobey the Crown Prince's words, and neither did anyone else in the mansion.
"Where's the concubine?"