Xie Feng went to Ji Hanyue's mourning hall. She had asked Mingyu to keep an eye on it before, but now it was her turn.
It is impossible for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince not to know that Mingyu went to keep an eye on the mourning hall. The two nuns saw Mingyu nearby many times, so it was natural for them to go there next time.
After all, Mingyu is not himself, but she is the one who serves him. It is understandable that he is still obsessed with his former master and wants to pay homage to her.
"Miss, you can't enter here!" Seeing her about to enter, a Taoist nun stepped forward to stop her, first bowed, and then said.
"I want to pay tribute to my master. I am a maid who entered the Eastern Palace with the Crown Princess." Xie Feng lowered her head. Her coarse clothes made her out of place with the atmosphere of the entire Eastern Palace.
"Are you the Crown Princess' maid when she was alive? Did you come as a dowry from the Ling Anbo Mansion?" The Taoist nun asked slowly after looking her up and down.
“Yes, I came here as a dowry from the Crown Princess. I prepared some cakes that the Crown Princess loved to eat when she was alive and sent them over to pay tribute to her. The Crown Princess… has been gone for so long, I… I miss the Crown Princess.” Xie Feng said as he knelt down, tears falling one by one.
"I beg you two, please let me in to pay my respects to our Crown Princess."
"Is there an order from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?" The two Taoist nuns looked at each other and did not let them go immediately.
"No, I... I'll just take a quick look. It won't waste much time. Just serve the pastries." Xie Feng took the food basket he was carrying behind him, opened the lid, and a sweet smell came out. It was indeed a freshly made pastry. Judging from the steam, it hadn't been long.
"You cannot enter without the Crown Prince's order!" The Taoist nun shook her head and refused.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had clearly told them that no one was allowed to come here without his permission, not even the concubine.
In fact, at the beginning, the concubine was allowed to come, but later the prince made a clear rule that now only His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can enter the mourning hall.
As for whether concubines would be allowed in in the future, they didn't know, but at least no one could enter now.
Moreover, when the prince was offering sacrifices, they were not allowed to watch, and the doors were closed, so not even a maid could be allowed in.
"No... Can't I?" Xie Feng wiped away his tears, "I really just want to pay tribute to my master. The Crown Princess left me... It's been a long time. The Crown Princess and I grew up together. She is a kind person. Even though I am a maid, she would not treat me badly and treats me like a sister. Now that she is gone, I... Can't I pay tribute to her even if I want to?"
Xie Feng became more and more sad as he spoke, and he cried so hard that he couldn't make a sound. He reached out and grabbed the sleeve of a Taoist nun, begging, "I'll just... go in and take a look, even if it's just for one look. Leave these things behind. These are not just the things the young lady likes to eat... but also the things she especially liked in the past. Please... just let me go in and take a look!"
She was dressed in cloth, carrying a food basket, and crying like this, it really seemed like the relationship between master and servant was very strong.
The two Taoist nuns were also very moved. They looked at each other again and said helplessly, "Although I really want you to go in, it is really impossible. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has issued a clear order. If you violate His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's order, not only will I be implicated, but the entire Qingyun Temple may be implicated. Miss, please go back!"
"Just take a look, okay?" Xie Feng pleaded.
"Not even a glance. Without the order from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I dare not let you in."
The Taoist nun shook her head again.
Xie Feng cried even more sadly, and finally, seeing that they really did not agree, he knelt at the door to worship.
Seeing how persistent she was, the two nuns did not stop her this time. They just shook their heads and said that as long as she didn't go in, it was fine. The prince didn't say that people were not allowed to worship outside. The little maidservant before seemed to be about to come over but didn't come over, so she seemed to have the intention of worshipping as well.
But as long as you don't come forward, they won't meddle in other people's business.
Besides, it was obvious that the maid in front of him was not an ordinary maid, otherwise how could she dare to come here so openly, and even wear such coarse cloth clothes. Now the whole mansion is preparing for the new Crown Princess to marry in, and many places are wearing red. With this look, is she really not deliberately bringing bad luck to the new Crown Princess
Fortunately, this place is at an angle, so generally no one will come here, and you can't even see a single person, otherwise there would be another lot of trouble.
The Taoist nuns didn't want to cause trouble. When they came here before, their master had reminded them what they needed to do and what they couldn't do in the East Palace!
For now, we can just turn a blind eye to all this.
The cakes were put down, the incense and candles were put down, and finally a comb was carefully placed in front of the incense burner.
Xie Feng was very considerate and found a corner in front of the mourning hall, placed these things, burned some paper money, and after crying for a while, he stood up and left, wiping his tears.
The two Taoist nuns had no intention of paying attention to her matter and did not come out again. When they came out later, Xie Feng had already left early, but the house was a bit messy now. Why didn’t this maid clean it up before leaving!
Looking at everything in front of them, the two nuns were in a dilemma. The incense burner could be put away, the burned paper could be swept away, and the cakes could be brought in as offerings, but what about this comb
The dark red comb was inlaid with rubies. One could tell at a glance that it was not something a maid could get. So, was it something belonging to the Crown Princess
Thinking of this, his face immediately turned unhappy.
"This... what should we do?" One nun asked another nun. She looked around and found that the maid was gone. How could she keep this thing
"Put it away first!" another Taoist nun said helplessly.
"Where should I put it?" The first one was a little dumbfounded. If they really put this kind of thing away, if it really belonged to the Crown Princess, they couldn't keep it with them.
"Just keep it as a sacrifice. If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asks, just tell the truth." Another Taoist nun said helplessly. If they had known there would be such a troublesome matter, they should have kept an eye on it at the time and not let anyone lose such an important thing.
Now, it seems that this is the only way!
The two Taoist nuns placed the comb on the altar in front of the spirit tablet in the main room.
Placed together with some fruits and pastries, this comb is actually very eye-catching...
Qu Moying's jewelry was delivered. They were all designs she drew herself and were delivered by Aunt Yang.
It was not convenient for a man to enter the inner courtyard alone, so the shopkeeper of Yuejin Pavilion asked Aunt Yang to come over and asked her to ask the master and the young lady if there was anything else she was not satisfied with.
Of course, Shopkeeper Zhang also said that Fourth Miss Qu and the Crown Princess are indeed cousins, and the styles of the jewelry they made are somewhat similar.
Aunt Yang happened to get the news and was originally planning to come over. With the help of Manager Zhang's matter, it became even more legitimate for her to come over.
"The comb was used as a sacrifice?" Qu Moying raised the corners of his lips slightly, and pointed his fingers at the table.
He flicked his face twice. Xie Feng knew a lot. She had been making mistakes again and again. Now he had pointed out a truth to her, but he wondered how she would act...
"Yes, that's all. It said the comb had been offered as a sacrifice! Nothing else was said." Aunt Yang said. She didn't understand the meaning of the words, but when she heard that the words were passed on to the fourth young lady, she thought it would be better for her to go there herself.
A woman passed the message to the waiter, who then passed it to Aunt Yang. When Aunt Yang went out to look for the person, the person was gone and no one knew who it was.
But since this matter concerns the young lady, Aunt Yang naturally had to pass on the message, which is also the reason why she came here today.
This sounds irrelevant and has little to do with my young lady, but this comb is a piece of jewelry. My young lady is getting married and has ordered a lot of jewelry from Yueqin Pavilion. Could it be that someone is trying to harm my young lady
Thinking of this, Aunt Yang was even more afraid to take this as gossip.
As soon as Qu Moying heard this, she understood. It must be about the comb. Maybe Mingyu couldn't find a reason to leave the Eastern Palace, so she just casually called someone and said this. People who didn't know what was said would not understand, but people who knew it would understand it very well.
The maid who cleaned the house was specially chosen to have a good relationship with Xie Feng, and she also arranged for Madam Duan's people to leave early.
Before, it was not certain what would be taken away. What kind of thing could remind Pei Luoan of his former crown princess and allow Xie Feng to climb up with the help of this thing
Now it is clear that the comb is a good thing to pick!
There was a sneer in his eyes, but it wasn't visible on his face. He then asked about the jewelry in front of him.
Aunt Yang, because she had received instructions from Shopkeeper Zhang, said, "Miss, Shopkeeper Zhang said that the jewelry you and the late Crown Princess ordered are somewhat similar. They are indeed cousins."
"Like?" Qu Moying picked up the bracelet in front of him, looked around, and shook his head: "I don't think it looks a bit like it, do I?"
"Shopkeeper Zhang said it is similar. When the Crown Princess got married, she asked Yuejin Pavilion to make a batch of jewelry. Shopkeeper Zhang said that except for some butterfly and flower decorations that are not similar, the other base patterns are somewhat similar."
When Manager Zhang saw Qu Moying's drawings before, he didn't have so many thoughts and just ordered him to do it. But after he finished it, the more he looked at it, the more familiar it seemed. Suddenly, he thought of the drawings of the Crown Princess. After checking the inventory, he found that they were still there. Fortunately, he asked Aunt Yang to send them over.
Although this kind of thing is not a big deal, it is always good to give a reminder.
"Miss, Manager Zhang asked his subordinates to bring the Crown Princess's drawings as well." Aunt Yang carefully took out the drawings from her arms.
Qu Moying reached out to take it, and after looking at it, her brows furrowed.
It is really hard to tell from one aspect alone. Even she, the person involved, only made a fuss about avoiding important butterflies and flowers, but the basics are almost the same. If you really talk about it, it looks like she copied Ji Hanyue's idea.
None of the maids around him had seen Ji Hanyue's drawings, and no one had discovered this matter...
This matter is not a big deal, but Qu Moying is afraid that people will find something from some small clues. After all, rebirth is too weird. Normal people would not think in this direction. But what if there are really various signs leading in this direction? Some things are hard to say...
It is appropriate to change it...