"Miss Qu San, if there is any misunderstanding, we can talk about it nicely. This hairpin might have been given to you by someone to frame you on purpose. Go back and ask Minister Qu to investigate. There will always be some clues. For something like this, you two girls will never find anything by investigating like this." Pei Yusheng said.
This gave Qu Qiuyan a way out, implying that someone wanted to deal with Qu Zhizhen and ruin the reputation of Qu Zhizhen's daughter. It also meant that this matter had nothing to do with Qu Qiuyan and she was also a victim.
Qu Moying raised his eyes and stepped back silently, leaving space in the crowd for Qu Qiuyan and Pei Yusheng.
"What exactly happened? Why is Prince Jing so protective of Miss Qu San?" Chunxiu arrived late and did not see the whole scene. She looked around suspiciously and asked a maid beside her carefully and in a low voice.
Qu Qiuyan felt very aggrieved at this time and wiped her tears with a handkerchief. If there weren't so many people gathered here, she would have thrown herself into Pei Yusheng's arms for comfort.
"I don't know, judging from the way they look... they do seem to have some relationship... maybe Prince Jing likes this Miss Qu San!" The old woman also replied in a low voice, but her voice was actually quite loud. There were so many people around and everyone was talking, so if she didn't speak louder, she wouldn't be able to hear clearly.
"His Royal Highness Prince Jing is helping Miss Qu San?" Chunxiu exclaimed. This time her voice was a little louder and many people turned around to look. Even Pei Yusheng was startled. Chunxiu was very embarrassed and quickly put her hand over her mouth. She smiled apologetically to the people who were looking at her and lowered her head hastily.
Everyone present suddenly fell silent, and their eyes returned to the center, this time looking at Qu Qiuyan and Pei Yusheng. Many people felt that they saw something.
In this case, it is clear that Miss Qu San wanted to harm her own sister. She said that the hairpin was given away, and then it appeared in a man's hand. The man said that it was given to her by a maid. Since the hairpin was originally in Miss Qu San's hands, it was naturally given to her by someone.
The hairpin was given in the name of his sister, and the one who gave it was a poor but seemingly principled scholar. The scholar was so angry that he returned the hairpin. Everything that happened afterwards was clearly a frame-up.
After this King Jing appeared, he said that this was a frame-up of Minister Qu's mansion by someone else
Most people didn't believe it, especially after hearing what Chunxiu had just said.
"Okay, let's leave it at that for now. Ladies, please go back and ask Minister Qu to investigate this matter." Pei Yusheng's face didn't look very good. He looked at Chunxiu deeply, turned around and left with his men.
If Chunxiu wasn't Liu Lanxin's maid, he would have taken advantage of the situation to attack her. But he couldn't do anything to Chunxiu at the moment. Not only could he not do anything, but he also had to think carefully about how to explain the matter to Miss Liu. He couldn't have any relationship with Qu Qiuyan at this time.
In the past, he thought Qu Qiuyan was considerate and gentle to him. Although she had a bad temper occasionally, she would be fine after that. She was also easy to coax and looked the way he wanted. But now he felt inexplicably irritated. He should not have met her in private on Madam Qu's birthday, otherwise people would not have spread rumors about him and Qu Qiuyan, which got in the way of his business.
"Your Highness, what happened?" County Lord Jingyu followed Pei Yusheng, took two steps, looked back, and asked softly.
"What could it be? It's just a matter between officials. I will go back and report to my father." Pei Yusheng swung his sleeves angrily.
Jingyu County Lord didn't dare to say anything else. He turned around and left with the others. Just as he was about to leave everyone's sight, he turned back again, and this time his eyes fell on Qu Moying...
…
Now that things have come to this point, there is naturally no need to worship the Buddha anymore.
"Miss, where is your stick?" Yu Dong looked around and found that the stick in Qu Moying's hand was gone.
Qu Moying looked at his hand, his eyes darkened for a moment, and then he shook his head: "It must have been lost when I left the hall just now!"
"Oh, that's a pity. Otherwise, we could ask that master to interpret the divination. I heard it's very effective." Yu Dong said with regret.
Qu Moying didn't say anything and lowered her head slightly. She was the one who threw away the lot herself. She always felt that there was some inexplicable meaning in it, as if her secret would be known to others.
What she didn't know was that the fortune slip was actually picked up by a monk when she dropped it...
Qu Qiuyan and Qu Moying returned to the old lady's courtyard. The old lady had already received the news. When she saw the two of them coming in, her eyes fell on Qu Qiuyan with a cold expression: "Girl Yan, tell me about your hairpin."
"Grandma, I really gave the hairpin to my fourth sister. My nanny also saw it." Qu Qiuyan said hurriedly, pursing her red lips slightly, tears welling up in her eyes, looking extremely pitiful. "Grandma, I don't know why the hairpin I gave to my fourth sister ended up in a man's hands, and I don't understand what happened to that man. One moment he said my fourth sister sent someone to deliver it, and the next moment he said he didn't know."
"Miss Third, I saw you pull out a hairpin and give it to Miss Fourth, but I didn't see clearly which one you gave it to." Wu Ma Ma stepped forward and said respectfully.
She was in the corridor at the time and did hear and see some movements, but she didn't see them clearly. Qu Qiuyan always had several hairpins on her head, so she couldn't tell which one was pulled out without seeing it with her own eyes.
"Miss Third, the maidservant next to Miss Eldest came over and said that she did see Miss Fourth's hairpin being bumped into and taken away. Miss Fourth took two maidservants and looked for it for a while." My nanny said again.
"Grandma, I..." Qu Qiuyan didn't know how things turned out like this. It was obvious that this matter had nothing to do with her at all. It was at most an unintentional cause. How come now she was framing Qu Moying, and there seemed to be solid evidence.
"Everyone go back and pack up and return home." The old lady said sternly. It had only been a short time since they arrived at the Great Compassion Temple, and so many things had happened. If it had only happened in the mansion, so many people would not know about it. The old lady was so angry that her heart ached, and she could not stay here for a moment longer.
The lady had the most things, but she had already packed them up before the others came back. The others didn't have much either, so they packed up in a short while and everyone got on the carriage together.
But this time, the person sitting with Qu Xuexin was Qu Moying.
Qu Caiyue and Qu Qiuyan together.
In the carriage, Qu Qiuyan's face was gloomy and dark, her teeth were clenched, and she was on the verge of an outburst.
Qu Caiyue already knew what had happened by now, and a look of genuine concern appeared on her face. She said carefully, "Third sister, don't be angry. This must be related to that bitch Qu Moying. You must have been tricked by her. That's how she plotted against me in the first place."
"Bitch, bitch, bitch." Qu Qiuyan lowered her voice and cursed fiercely with hatred in her eyes.
She had a lot of grievances today but couldn't say anything. First, she suffered a loss at the hands of Qu Moying, and then Prince Jing actually said that the hairpin was lost from his house. It was obvious that he didn't want to acknowledge that it was given to her. Then she thought of Lady Jingyu who was by Prince Jing's side at the time, and she felt jealous and hateful. She had also heard vaguely that Concubine He liked Liu Jingyu.
But later King Jing also explained to himself
She said that this was just Concubine He's wishful thinking. Just now, Prince Jing was not only with Lady Jingyu, but also refused to admit that the hairpin was given to him, saying it was a token of love. She even saw mockery in Liu Jingyu's eyes.
That’s right, it was ridicule, and more than once. Although Liu Jingyu didn’t say anything, this expression, coupled with the look in his eyes, made Qu Qiuyan grit her teeth in hatred.
Besides Qu Moying, the second person she hated the most right now was Liu Jingyu.
She only got the title of county lady because she was the granddaughter of Duke Qi. What's so great about it? Do you really think she will be the future Princess Jing
"Third sister, think about what to do now. Grandmother has always protected that bitch. It won't end like this. Besides, outside... outsiders..."
Qu Caiyue looked at Qu Qiuyan, whose eyes were about to bulge out of anger, and dared not say anything further.
The rumors outside are saying that Qu Qiuyan harmed Qu Moying. This is not clear enough to explain. It can even be said that she has no positive evidence to prove that she is wrong. Instead, she has negative evidence, which shows that what she said are all lies and the situation is completely different from what she imagined.
The driver suppressed his anger, Qu Qiuyan lowered her eyes and sneered, "Are you very happy, Second Sister?"
“No... no, no, I... I’m worried about my third sister..." Being glared at by Qu Qiuyan’s vicious eyes, Qu Caiyue hurriedly shook her hands.
"It's better not to have one, otherwise, my second sister would know about my..." Qu Qiuyan said sternly.
"Yes, I know, I know. Third sister can ask me to do anything. I will definitely help third sister." Qu Caiyue said flatteringly.
Qu Qiuyan curled her lips in sarcasm, full of contempt. What else can a concubine's daughter do except curry favor with her? But at the moment, Qu Caiyue is not useless. Her mother will definitely find a way to make amends. Who knows, she might need Qu Caiyue by then...
Several carriages returned to Qu's mansion together. When they arrived at the gate, they saw Yu, who had already received the news, standing at the door. When she saw the carriage coming, she hurried forward.
The old lady got off the carriage first. Her face was pale and blue. Her health had not fully recovered. She forced herself to take her granddaughters to the Dabei Temple to relax them, but she didn't expect that things would become more serious than the last, and her mood became even worse.
Qu Xuexin got off the carriage, and then Qu Moying got off. When they stood still, they saw Yu approaching them affectionately: "How is your life in the mountains, Ying girl? Is there anything wrong? If you need anything, just tell me. You have been away from home for so many years, and you are not talkative. I am always afraid that I have treated you badly. If I have done something wrong, just tell me directly. We can't be estranged as mother and daughter."
After saying this, the talented singer wiped the tears from his eyes with a handkerchief.
From this look, those who didn't know would think that Qu Moying was Yu's biological daughter. When Qu Qiuyan got off the carriage behind, Yu ignored her.
The lady had already walked to the gate. She held my nanny's hand and looked back coldly at Yu, who was both a good singer and a good composer.
Qu Qiuyan and Qu Caiyue came forward and saw Yu. Before she could say anything, her eyes turned red and she said in a sad voice, "Mother..."
After she shouted this, tears suddenly fell. She covered her eyes with a handkerchief, tears welled up in her eyes, and her body almost collapsed. Fortunately, Qu Caiyue who was with her hurriedly supported her.
Qingju, the maid who followed her, also hurried forward to pay her respects.
But the next moment, Yu stretched out her hand and slapped Qingju hard on the face, causing Qingju to step back two steps and fall heavily on the bluestone floor in front of the mansion gate...