While Concubine He was responding to the emergency, the Empress Dowager and the Eastern Palace were also making a lot of moves in secret.
The next day, there was a lot of conversation in the court. Most people were criticizing Concubine He for interfering in government affairs and being extremely chaotic. They especially focused on the fact that Concubine He went to the emperor to cry and make a fuss because of a pet cat, and even punished important officials in the court for it.
Not only the censor, but also other officials reported Concubine He, and some of them even led the charge to King Jing.
There were even some generals who failed to educate their daughters properly, which led to Miss Liu entering the palace, breaking the rules and causing such a disaster.
Of course, there were also people who criticized the Empress Dowager for her inability to control the harem, causing the court officials to lose face.
There were so many of them that the court officials were arguing fiercely. Some were on the side of the crown prince, some were on the side of King Jing, and some were neutral. Everyone had their own opinions, and there were all kinds of them.
The emperor sitting above just watched them quarreling coldly. Each of them insisted on his own opinion. Finally, he got so angry that he threw down several memorials.
The final conclusion was that Concubine He was fined for three years' salary, and the Empress was fined for one year. As for Prince Yun, who was at the center of the incident, he suffered great "injustice" because of this incident, and his title should be promoted. In fact, he was supposed to be promoted to the second-class prince originally, but they couldn't find a good reason at the time. Now this reason is sufficient.
The emperor asked the Ministry of Rites to handle this matter and make sure it was done in the near future and to select a suitable title to be bestowed.
This matter caused a lot of uproar in the court, with the focus on the Empress, Concubine He and Prince Yun. Qu Moying was not involved much.
She and Liu Lanxin were just an excuse. There were very few people in the court who were involved with her, even fewer than Liu Lanxin.
Qu Zhizhen came back from court and deliberately asked her to come over. When the incident happened yesterday, he was in the palace and did not return home in time. When he returned home in the evening, it was already very late.
After listening to Qu Moying's "detailed" account of the matter, Qu Zhizhen frowned tightly and looked at Qu Moying with a somewhat gloomy look.
After Qu Moying finished speaking, he stood quietly with his head lowered.
"You just went to Dabei Temple and didn't go anywhere else?" Qu Zhizhen asked again.
"Yes, and then I returned home." Qu Moying said frankly.
Qu Zhizhen didn't know about the tablet of Empress Yuan in the Great Compassion Temple. This was information that only the core members of the royal family had the opportunity to know, and it was not something that an outsider could find out.
Qu Zhizhen had experienced some of yesterday's events. The place where the incident happened was not far from him, but even if it was not far away, he could not find out about it in the palace.
He really had no idea about this matter, but he always felt something was wrong.
"His Royal Highness the Prince of Yun said when the imperial edict would come down to settle your two affairs?" Unable to think of anything, Qu Zhizhen picked out the issue that concerned him the most and asked.
The relationship between Qu Moying and Pei Yuanjun was arranged long ago, and Pei Yuanjun also agreed to the position of concubine. However, there has been no news for so long that Qu Zhizhen began to feel uneasy, fearing that the situation with Qu Qiuyan would happen again.
Qu Qiuyan initially had her eyes on the position of Princess of Jing, and Prince Jing seemed to agree at that time. But now, she had finally gotten a concubine, and the most important thing was that she got "sick" right after she got it. Now the one who is in charge of the inner court of Prince Jing's mansion is not her own daughter, but her niece whose status is not as high as her daughter.
How can a daughter and a niece be the same
"My daughter doesn't know."
Shadow lowered his head and spoke quietly.
"Didn't His Royal Highness the Prince say anything yesterday?" Qu Zhizhen asked impatiently.
"I didn't say anything. I just took my daughter to the back mountain of Dabei Temple to pay homage." Qu Moying said lightly.
Qu Zhizhen was upset. He looked at Qu Moying with a complicated expression. After a long while, he waved his hand and said, "Go down!"
Qu Moying turned sideways and bowed to Qu Zhizhen, then turned around and walked away.
Just as I reached the door, I suddenly heard Qu Zhizhen's voice behind me. I stopped and turned around.
"The lady of the Duke of Qi's Mansion wants to invite you to her house. Please go and get ready and she will be there soon." Qu Zhizhen said. Although the old Duke had beaten him, the one in charge now was the Duke of Qi, the old Duke's son, and it was impossible for him to really have a big fight with the Duke of Qi's Mansion.
If Qu Moying interacts normally with the Duke of Qi's Mansion, it means that the two families have reconciled.
An old-established family like this cannot be compared with an upstart like the Qu family. Qu Zhizhen had no choice but to confront the Duke of Qi's Mansion before. Now that there is an opportunity for reconciliation, he will certainly not let it go.
This was proposed to him by the Duke of Qi with a smile when they were just leaving court, and he readily agreed.
"Yes! Father!" Qu Moying said respectfully.
"Go back and prepare!" Qu Zhizhen waved his hand.
Qu Moying bowed to him again and then walked out of the study.
In the study, Qu Zhizhen frowned, looking at the direction where Qu Moying left, his brows knotted and his face gloomy. It took him a long time to pull out a piece of paper, pick up a pen, and start writing.
After writing a few simple words, he let the paper dry for a while, took out an envelope, folded the paper, put it in, sealed the envelope again, called the servant at the door and gave him a few instructions.
The servant took it carefully, put it in his arms, turned around and left...
Qu Moying didn't expect that Qu Zhizhen had prepared gifts for her, not only for Madam Qi, but also for the old Duke.
But considering Qu Zhizhen's personality, it doesn't seem strange at all!
The old lady had already received the news from Qu Zhizhen, but she was still worried and gave Qu Moying a few more instructions. The old lady was still scared when she thought about what happened yesterday. She thought it would be best if Qu Moying did not go anywhere and stayed in the house.
However, Qu Zhizhen had already agreed, and the other party was the Duke of Qi's Mansion, so he had no choice but to let Qu Moying go out.
Qu Moying left under the worried gaze of the lady dowager, got on the Qu Mansion's carriage, and took Yu Dong to the Duke of Qi's Mansion.
When they arrived at the gate of Duke Qi's mansion, the gatekeeper had already received the news and did not report it again. He directly led her into the side door.
The carriage entered through the side door, made several circles, and arrived at the parking lot.
Qu Moying got off the carriage, and a maid from the Duke of Qi's mansion stepped forward with a smile and saluted: "I was sent by the Madam, and I am honored to meet the Fourth Miss Qu."
"Are there other guests?" Qu Moying smiled and looked at the other carriage nearby. It was parked quite far away and he couldn't tell clearly which family it belonged to.
This should be a parking lot for guests, not the Duke of Qi's own parking area.
"My cousin is here too." The old woman said with a smile as she led the way inside.
Qu Moying brought Yu Dong and followed behind her, walking with her inside.
"Lord Jingyu County?" Qu Moying asked casually.
"Yes, the county lord has come, and he has only been here for a short time.
If Miss Qu Si had come a little earlier, she might have met him." The old woman said proudly.
Lady Jingyu is the cousin of our family, and now she is the future Crown Princess. Her future will have endless possibilities. This is something that the entire Duke Qi’s Mansion is proud of.
"What a coincidence." Qu Moying said nonchalantly, "Does the County Lord Jing often come to visit the Madam?"
"Jingyu County Lady is our Taifu's favorite granddaughter. Even Auntie doesn't have the face that Jingyu County Lady has in front of our Taifu. Our Taifu has loved our cousin very much since she was a child." The old woman said, "Even her own granddaughter is no better than this!"
The Duke of Qi’s Mansion has a so-called granddaughter, but she is not the wife of the Duke of Qi, so she is naturally not as good as Liu Jingyu’s.
"Does Madam Liu come back home often?" Qu Moying asked calmly, and it seemed like he was just asking casually. The conversation happened to end here, and the question also ended here.
"Our aunt seldom comes home because she is not in good health. But even if she doesn't come home, County Lord Jingyu always comes over. Sometimes she comes almost every day. The old lady and the old Duke both like County Lord Jingyu. They all say that she is gentle and considerate, and is filial and well-behaved."
The old woman smiled and praised Liu Jingyu all the time when she mentioned him. It was obvious that everyone in the Duke of Qi was extremely satisfied with Liu Jingyu.
"Minister Liu won't accompany Madam Liu back home?" Qu Moying's questions were asked along a straight line and were not abrupt.
"Our son-in-law is even busier, but when the lady comes home... he will come occasionally. As long as he is not busy, he will definitely accompany the lady." The old woman hesitated for a moment and said vaguely with a wandering look in her eyes.
This is the relationship between this couple, it is really not that good!
Qu Moying already had some plans in her mind. Originally, the Liu Mansion had nothing to do with her Qu Mansion, but there were always countless connections between the two mansions, from her mother and Madam Liu to herself and Liu Jingyu, as if an invisible hand had brought two different pairs of mother and daughter together.
The lady was still in the original courtyard. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she heard laughter coming from inside.
Qu Moying followed the old woman to the door of the main house and stopped. The old woman went in to report, and soon a maid came and lifted the curtain.
"Please welcome Miss Qu Si."
Qu Moying entered the main room and saw that the person sitting in the main seat was none other than the Dowager Lady of the Duke of Qi's Mansion. The person sitting next to her, looking considerate and well-behaved, was none other than the Lady of Jingyu County.
Seeing Qu Moying coming in, the county lady smiled slightly, looking generous and decent.
"Greetings, Madam Qi." Qu Moying stepped forward to greet her and said softly.
"Miss Qu Si, you are too polite. Please sit down and talk first!" Madam Qi said with a smile and waved her hand to her. She pointed to a seat on the other side which looked closer.
"Thank you, Madam!" Qu Moying said softly, and bowed to Liu Jingyu again. Then he sat down beside her as the Madam instructed.
As soon as they sat down, Madam Qi asked with concern: "Did something happen in the palace yesterday? How was it, was nothing wrong?"
"Thank you, Madam. I'm fine." Qu Moying said.
"That's good, that's good. It's best if nothing happens. I heard about this today... How could... How could such a thing happen?" Madam Qi frowned and reprimanded vaguely.
Although she was Madam Qi, she could not really reprimand the concubines in the palace. Moreover, the one who was in trouble this time was Concubine He. She could only express her dissatisfaction vaguely.