"Miss Qu Si, our master wants to ask you a few questions. I wonder if it is convenient for you to do so?" A servant stood in front of Qu Moying and blocked her way.
Qu Moying raised his eyes to look at the servant, pondered for a moment, and nodded.
The servant immediately made way, led the way, and took Qu Moying to the study in the front yard.
Qu Moying stopped in front of the study door and asked, "Could you trouble Master Liu to go out for a chat?"
If possible, she would not want to make such a trip and would not want to see Minister Liu.
The two of them had no relationship, and there was a difference between men and women. If the news got out that he had stayed in the study for a long time, it would be bad news. But if someone with ulterior motives took advantage of it, it would be more than just bad news.
The servant hesitated for a moment, but turned around and ran in to report.
After a while, Minister Liu followed the servant out, walked to the door, glanced at Qu Moying, with a hint of displeasure in his eyes, and pointed to the pavilion in front: "Miss Qu Si, please go over there to talk!"
After saying that, he walked towards the pavilion not far away with his hands behind his back, and Qu Moying followed with two maids.
The old woman sent by Liu Jingyu to lead the way looked around and wisely did not follow. She simply stayed at the door. She could see but not necessarily hear.
Minister Liu waved his hand, and the servant stepped aside. He looked at the old woman who was leading the way from afar and was very satisfied. It was obvious that his lord did not want anyone to hear it, even though this old woman was the county lady's person. Qu Moying and her maid stood under the pavilion and did not follow them in.
"Miss Qu Si?" Minister Liu frowned.
"Lord Liu, if you have anything to say, please speak." Qu Moying said generously. She had no intention of following him into the pavilion, nor did she think she had anything to say to this Minister Liu.
Minister Liu looked at Qu Moying unhappily, but seeing that she had no intention of coming in, he ignored her and turned to look at Yu Dong and Yu Chun.
"Could you trouble Miss Qu to ask the two maids to step back? I have something to ask Miss Qu." Minister Liu said slowly.
"There is nothing that cannot be told to others. If Lord Liu has anything to say, please tell me." Qu Moying said unmoved.
Minister Liu's face turned ugly. He had been the minister for a long time and had quite a bit of official authority. In the past, his subordinates would tremble with fear when they saw him get angry.
Qu Moying responded with a smile, without a trace of panic.
"Miss Qu Si, what I want to talk about is your mother's affairs. Are you sure you want the two maids to listen here?" Minister Liu spoke slowly again.
"Master Liu, I don't think there is anything going on between you and my mother!" Qu Moying smiled, a little coldly, and raised her watery eyes. "Although there are rumors outside that my mother had an engagement with you, after all, it wasn't arranged at that time. It was just an agreement between the two parties. It doesn't count in the eyes of outsiders, right?"
Minister Liu choked, and his brows turned cold. He didn't know how to respond. This was what he wanted to say originally, but Qu Moying got there first, so he didn't know where to start for a moment.
After looking at Qu Moying solemnly, Minister Liu continued, "At the beginning, it was indeed just a verbal agreement. Both parties just said so, but later the emperor granted the marriage, and I had to agree. Speaking of which, I feel very sorry for your mother."
"Master Liu, what happened back then is all in the past. My mother is no longer here.
It has been so many years, and talking about this past again, and saying who is right or wrong, will only make people think it is a joke. "
Qu Moying said bluntly.
This choked Minister Liu again, "Miss Qu Si, I am telling you some old stories about your mother. I am also saying that what happened back then was helpless and it was not a matter of one person betraying another. For so many years, I have always..."
Minister Liu was really displeased. He didn't expect that such a gentle and pure woman like Xiao Yue would give birth to such a daughter. It was really surprising.
As expected, she was raised in a farm without any education or education, and she does not have the elegance and dignity of a lady from an aristocratic family.
Qu Moying interrupted Minister Liu right before he finished speaking: "Master, please be careful with your words! What happened to my mother is all in the past. It is clear who betrayed whom. It cannot be explained away. As for my mother, she has no relationship with Master Liu. Instead, it is Madam Liu who has always been hostile to my mother."
Always what? Always in love
Qu Moying just thought it was a joke. All the rumors pointed to Madam Liu. But what about Lord Liu? If he was really a good person, even if he did not refuse the marriage, he should have explained the past to the old Duke in private. Knowing that he was originally going to marry Yue from Jiangnan, the old Duke would never snatch the marriage from his own daughter.
At that time, if he had said just a little bit, it would have been impossible for Madam Liu to snatch away my mother's marriage.
He didn't say anything at the time, and he was indifferent to his mother's situation afterwards. But now he comes to show that he has always been in love with his mother and ruin her reputation. She had thought about this Minister Liu before and what kind of person he was, but now she feels that he is not only selfish and trying to climb up the wealth and status, but also an out-and-out villain.
When he said this, it sounded affectionate, but if it was heard by people on Madam Liu's side, it would be another testimony of his mother's uncleanness, and even make people think that his mother was unfaithful to her husband. Then it would be reasonable for Madam Liu to hate his mother, and she would think that all these things had cause and effect, and that his mother deserved it.
Being interrupted by Qu Moying without any hesitation, Minister Liu felt a little embarrassed, but he was good at cultivating his Qi, and he didn't get angry after all: "Fourth Miss Qu, your mother and I are not what you can imagine. At the beginning... it was indeed my fault, but I have not lived happily for all these years."
Minister Liu sighed, raised his eyes and fell on a withered willow tree in the corner. At this time, the willow tree was no longer the slender and soft tree it had in spring. It was so withered that even the branches and leaves were almost fallen off.
"It's really useless for you to tell me something, Lord Shangshu. My mother has passed away, and she has nothing to do with you... My mother left a letter, and everything in the past was written clearly. Even her previous relationship with Shangshu Liu was only a one-time or two encounter, and after that, we were just passers-by, passers-by who I have never seen again, so there is not much to talk about."
Looking at Minister Liu who seemed to be filled with nostalgia, Qu Moying said lightly.
A junior, and a woman at that, spoke to him like this again. Lord Liu was very angry. He was about to reprimand Qu Moying, but when he heard her words, he was stunned for a moment: "Left a letter?"
This was something he never expected.
"Yes, the whole story is very clear. The letter is still in my grandmother's hands. It was sent to me from Jiangnan some time ago." Qu Moying glanced at him.
, said slowly.
Minister Liu opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but couldn't say anything for a while. How could there be a letter left? Why did Xiao Yue write this? The two of them knew their affairs best. There was really nothing going on. Why would Xiao Yue suddenly write such a letter
"This letter was written by mother when she first moved into the nunnery. Your good wife must have wanted to deal with mother at that time, and mother sensed it, so she wrote a letter to Jiangnan, explaining the cause and effect of the matter clearly. As for your wife's hostility, it came out of nowhere."
Qu Moying spoke word by word, "I don't know why Madam Liu cares so much about my mother for so many years? Is it really just because of a marriage that happened so many years ago, and it was a marriage that didn't work out. The beneficiaries of this marriage were the Shangshu and the Madam, and my mother was the one who was abandoned. But why has she been restless for so many years?"
Qu Moying talked about the fabricated letter and looked at Minister Liu calmly, as if he really had such a letter in his hand, his eyes fixed on Minister Liu.
Minister Liu tilted his head uncomfortably, not looking at Qu Moying's expression, and coughed softly: "My wife... has always been like this, I'm sorry for your mother!"
"My mother has not been wronged, and it has nothing to do with you. I just hope that the Minister will not mention my mother again in the future, otherwise I cannot guarantee that I will publish this letter."
Qu Moying curled his lips sarcastically.
"How dare you!" Minister Liu was enraged and shouted harshly.
"Sir Shangshu, my mother has passed away a long time ago, but you have used her as a shield for so many years. Now I just want to protect my mother's reputation." Qu Moying said, and bowed deeply to Shangshu Liu, "Forgive me, I still have things to do, so I will take my leave first!"
After saying that, he turned and walked out.
The old woman that Liu Jingyu had sent to lead the way was standing at the gate of the courtyard. Seeing Qu Moying leave first, she looked at Shangshu Liu and then at the direction where Qu Moying went, and finally followed him. The county lady asked her to send him to the gate, and now that the conversation was over, she naturally left.
The old woman trotted to Qu Moying's front and continued to lead the way.
They got on their own carriage and drove out of the Shangshu Mansion. In the carriage, Qu Moying leaned against the side of the carriage with her eyes slightly closed and her face cold.
Yuchun looked at Yudong and motioned for him to say something, but Yudong shook his head.
"What do you think this Minister Liu wants to express?" Qu Moying suddenly asked, opening her watery eyes with a hint of confusion in them. All the words she had heard recently indicated that Madam Liu and Minister Liu did not have a good relationship. Not just bad, it could even be said that they were a couple of grudges.
But the reason was never my mother. Both Madam Liu and Minister Liu seemed to subconsciously use my mother as a shield. My mother had been gone for so long, why did Minister Liu still bring her up? It was clear that the two of them had no entanglement long ago, so why? Minister Liu's behavior was also very strange!
In the past, she only noticed Madam Liu, but what about Minister Liu? Originally, Qu Moying was just a vague suspicion, but now, because of Minister Liu's words today, he has a vivid outline!
This Minister Liu brought up an old matter again, and it was an old matter from a long time ago. Is it really because of the rumors outside that it is also unfavorable to him
So he's trying to cover up something...