There was no one else in the hall. Concubine Qu's only confidant had already left, and there were only the two of them in the empty hall.
"The King of England grew up in the palace when he was young. The Queen Mother was there at the time and she didn't like him. She even found excuses to punish him. Unexpectedly, the Emperor protected him to the utmost and punished and beat those around the Queen Mother. After that, those who stayed behind were also trembling with fear and no longer dared to help the Queen Mother find excuses to punish him."
Concubine Qu sighed, leaned back, and a hint of reminiscence flashed in her eyes.
"Even if he is her own son, he is no better than this. How can the Empress like him? Some of the actions taken by the Empress Dowager were actually influenced by the Empress. It's just that the Empress didn't dare to do it herself."
The Empress Dowager thought that since she was the Emperor's biological mother, punishing a nephew was no big deal. However, she did not expect her son's reaction to be so great. Not only did he punish the people around her, he also ignored her for several days. When you really talk about these things, there are some different feelings.
Not to mention the Queen Mother, even Concubine Qu felt that there was something fishy going on.
But no one in the palace dared to talk about or mention such things.
"The prince's position is secure, so why should the queen care about the King of England?" Qu Moying pinched the handkerchief in her hand, raised her eyes to look at Concubine Qu, and said the treasonous words without dodging.
"The position of the crown prince... has never been stable. Concubine He's lineage is related to Empress Yuan and is deeply trusted and favored by the emperor. The emperor had long wanted to depose the crown prince." Concubine Qu lowered her voice.
She shouldn't have said these words to Qu Moying, but now that Qu Moying has become the Princess of England, she will inevitably encounter such things in the future. Concubine Qu is worried that Qu Moying knows nothing about it, and then she will fall into someone else's trap, or become a weapon in someone else's hands without knowing it.
"When did it happen?" Qu Moying was shocked. She really didn't know about this.
"It was before the Crown Prince's wedding." Concubine Qu said slowly, her eyes narrowed again, "At that time... the Emperor wanted to depose the Crown Prince."
"Why? Why would the crown prince be deposed when he is fine?" Qu Moying was shocked. The crown prince is the heir to a country's throne, how could he be deposed if he wanted to? This would shake the foundation of the country.
Pei Luoan was cruel and ruthless, and he killed Ji Hanyue's family, but no one else knew about this matter and it had never been revealed.
"I don't know the details. I only heard that the emperor was furious in the imperial study, and the empress and the prince both knelt in the study. It was also said that an edict was issued, but in the end it was left unresolved. I don't know what the prince did to make the emperor so angry." Concubine Qu said.
"Just before the prince's wedding? How long exactly?" Qu Moying's heart skipped a beat.
"It should be not long before the wedding." Concubine Qu couldn't tell the exact date. She thought for a moment and smiled bitterly, "The Crown Prince's position is unstable. The Queen thinks everyone has the intention to seize the throne. This is the case with King Jing, and even King Wei and King Yan are like this. King Ying has always had a holy heart."
"She... does she suspect the King of England?" Qu Moying gasped.
"I can't say I doubt it, but the King of England is extremely important. Winning over the King of England or having the King of England taken away by another prince may affect the succession of the throne."
Concubine Qu spoke slowly, her eyes fixed on the empty hall, "The palace has been peaceful for so long, but now there is trouble coming again."
"Thank you, Queen Concubine, for your advice." Qu Moying exhaled deeply, his eyes cold.
So, at first
Was my accident somehow related to the Crown Prince almost being deposed
Although there is no evidence at present, Qu Moying inexplicably feels that there must be a connection here.
Before the wedding, the prince had repeatedly expressed his desire to get close to her family and had been very gentle and affectionate towards her. But suddenly he became angry and took the lives of all the people in his family overnight, even his young sister. It could be said that he had cut off the roots of his family.
What exactly is the reason that makes Pei Luoan so heartless
Wouldn't it be more beneficial for him to use his father's status? Why would he do such a shocking thing? If he married me at that time, wouldn't he be better than Liu Jingyu now
So, is there any reason that I don’t know about
After coming out of Concubine Qu's palace, Qu Moying has been thinking about this matter, carefully sorting out what happened around her before the accident, and always feels that she has missed the biggest key.
He got off the palace sedan and boarded his own carriage, which returned to Qu's mansion.
He first went to see the lady and report to her, and then was about to return to his own Qianyue Residence, but stopped in front of the courtyard gate.
"Miss." Yudong didn't understand why she stopped.
"Let's go and see what it is?" Qu Moying's eyes fell on a place at the corner of the courtyard gate.
Yudong hurried forward, walked to the corner, and picked up a letter from the ground.
"Miss, it's a letter!" She took it and looked at it. It was still sealed, but it said "From my fourth sister!"
It's a letter to Qu Moying.
"Let's go in and take a look!" Qu Moying said indifferently and walked inside.
Yudong hurriedly followed, and after washing up again, Qu Moying sat down.
Yudong had already opened the letter and would deliver the stationery to Qu Moying's hands.
Qu Moying took it and read it quickly. After finishing reading, he handed the letter to Yudong, who took it and started reading it as well.
"The young lady is asking you for help?" Yu Dong said in surprise after reading it.
"Yes, please ask me to save her." Qu Moying said calmly.
"This... How is this possible? The eldest lady plotted against me before, how can she still have the nerve to ask you for help now?" Yu Dong said angrily.
"It means that there is no way out, or that I can't wait, or that I have nowhere to turn to, and it just so happens that the emperor has granted me a marriage."
Qu Moying wiped his hands with a handkerchief and spoke slowly.
"Then... is this a real letter from the young lady?" Yu Dong's eyes widened in shock.
"What do you think?" Qu Moying smiled slightly, her long eyelashes fluttered twice, and her eyes, which originally had a bit of charm, became cold and bleak, making people dare not look at them directly.
"I think it's unlikely... right!" Yu Dong couldn't say for a moment, and said hesitantly, "Under normal circumstances, the young lady should not look for you."
"What if it's not a normal situation?" Qu Moying said sarcastically. She was sure that this was related to Ji Youran. It seemed that Ji Youran's problem was not serious, otherwise she would not have the energy to plot against her.
"That is what the young lady said just now, that there is no way out, no one can save him, and he can only turn to you? If it was before, the young lady was also unable to save him, but it is different now?" Yu Dong guessed according to the idea given by Qu Moying.
The present time is indeed different from the past. Qu Moying's identity is no longer the fourth young lady of Minister Qu's mansion who no one cares about.
"But this
How did the letter... get to us?" According to common sense, Yu Dong's words were correct, but Yu Dong was not an ordinary maid. After she finished speaking, she added, "The young lady only has one maid, how could she deliver the letter to our house without anyone noticing, and actually deliver it to the young lady? Even if the eldest lady helped, I don't believe it."
Yu Dong would never believe that Qu Xue Xin had such connections.
"Answer it!" Qu Moying said suddenly.
“What…what…” Yu Dong didn’t hear clearly and asked more.
"Take this letter, and then everyone in the yard move a little..." Qu Moying was silent for a moment, "Just you and Yuchun go out and find out about the Prince's Chengxiao Manor. Chengxiao outside the east city is just five miles away from the city. I heard that the manor belongs to the Prince's Mansion."
Pei Luoan had several villas outside the city, which should be the farms closer to the capital. The scenery in that area was nice and cool. Every summer, I would occasionally go to Jing Xiao's villa with Pei Luoan to rest and cool off.
"Miss wants to help Miss?" Yu Dong said anxiously, fearing that Qu Moying would fall into a trap.
"No, let's go explore the way first, let them think we will help." Qu Moying glanced at the letter in Yu Dong's hand, the corners of his lips curled up, and he smiled sarcastically, "Since they have the ability to deliver the letter to me, they naturally have the ability to find out what you two maids went out to investigate. Who knows, someone may take the initiative to find you!"
She was sure that Ji Youran was behind this. Coincidentally, the matter of the Qu Mansion had come to a temporary end. The Prince's Mansion, Ji Youran... She had waited too long for the grudge from the previous life!
She was originally thinking about how to get closer, but since Ji Youran kept bumping into her, she would feel guilty if she didn't accept it.
In the afternoon, Yudong and Yuchun went out together. They were dressed as ordinary maids and headed towards the East Palace.
When they saw the East Palace from a distance, the two of them did not go over. After each taking a look, they went their separate ways.
The two maids walked into the crowd, stopping from time to time to chat with people, and then continued walking forward. After going around in a circle, the two finally met again and went to the east gate together without returning to Qu Mansion.
Five miles away from Dongxiao, two maids sat in a pavilion to rest, exhausted and sweating. Looking outside, they realized that if it weren't for the hand-drawn map that the young lady had drawn for them, they would not have been able to find this place.
There is a farm in front. It looks like it belongs to a wealthy family. It must be this one.
The two men didn't go in, but were pointing and talking outside, looking very sneaky and didn't seem like they were up to no good.
A carriage stopped in front of the pavilion, and a man who looked like an old doctor came out with a medicine box on his back. He glanced at the two maids, but didn't pay any attention to them. He carried the medicine box into the pavilion, sat down in front of the stone bench, and looked up at the two people who had stopped.
"You are not from this area, are you? Whose maid are you?" The old doctor said slowly, "This place is not for snooping. You should return to where you came from. Don't bring yourself into trouble."
"I... we are just passing by. Whose place is this and why is it not allowed to peek in?" Yu Dong stuttered, looking a little guilty.
"I can't say... I can't say!" The old doctor shook his hand and looked them up and down suspiciously, "You really weren't sent by His Highness, were you?"