by Ning er
Yun Qian Meng immediately went over and bowed, "Greetings to biaoge."
After experiencing a life and death situation, Qu Zhang Qing naturally knew that his biaomei had done a lot for him. Now, he treated Yun Qian Meng totally the same as Qu Fei Qing.
Qu Zhang Qing lightly lifted his tightly closed lips and smiled, "Quickly get up. Zumu is currently in Rui Lin Yuan. I'll encompany you there."
Yun Qian Meng nodded. The two of them walked side by side and talked about things that happened recently. But Qu Zhang Qing was sharp-eyed and noticed that Yun Qian Meng looked serious today, as if something bad has happened. He immediately calmed himself down and went into Rui Lin Yuan with her.
"The weather's so hot today. Why did you come?" seeing her granddaughter, Gu laotaijun naturally felt happy. But realizing that she came over despite the high temperature, she still felt somewhat sorry for her and immediately let the mama beside bring her a bowl of iced sweet and sour plum juice.
Yun Qian Meng was not in the mood to taste it now. After she greeted laotaijun, she frowned and briefly told her about the matter of the hu ge right away.
"Wai zumu, it's all Menger's fault. I shouldn't have presumptuously let the yatou make the medicine and end up losing the most important ingredient." Yun Qian Meng had felt rather guilty for the incident. If it wasn't because of her relaxed vigilance, Ying Qiu would not not have sufferer this crisis and the hu ge would also still be stored properly; moreover, her jiujiu's poison would also be cured!
But she was too careless to think that just by hiding Xia mama and the others, the hidden enemy would not be able to discover them. Who would have known that in a place as big as the capital, one could still find Xia Mama by searching carefully. She was too confident in herself.
Gu laotaijun did not expect Yun Qian Meng to silently do so many things for Fu Guo Gong Fu. Although the medicine was lost, she could not blame Yun Qian Meng for it regardless.
If they gave the hu ge to the tai yi, who would know if there was also someone among them who was assigned by the enemy? Even if they gave it to doctor Xiao Nie, with so many people in Fu Guo Gong Fu, they still would not be sure that all of them were loyal. These kind of things were really impossible to guard against.
Yun Qian Meng's method of silently taking it to somewhere else to refine was actually the best
But the person behind it was really too cunning to even find out this small piece of information. This made Gu laotaijun's expression suddenly darken and become fierce. Her hands softly patted Yun Qian Meng's and comforted her, "There is always a way out! Since you've already found two boxes, then there should also be more."
But this was exactly what Yun Qian Meng was worried about. Thinking of Hai Tian's attitude a while ago, she was sure that Hai Tian would not easily give the hu ge to her.
Everyone knew what Hai Tian wanted. Aside from letting her marry Chu Fei Yang, Yun Qian Meng was afraid that nothing else could persuade her to give the hu ge.
The problem was, Hai Tian had long contracted enmity with her. Even if she was able to marry Chu Fei Yang, why would she give the hu ge to her enemy?
It seemed like the only solution now was to secretly steal the hu ge; otherwise, jiujiu's life would be in danger.
"Menger, leave this to wai zumu. You've been busy for a long time now. Go home and take good care of yourself."
Yun Qian Meng suddenly felt that her heart skip a beat. She felt that although laotaijun had found a way, it was a decision against her will. Just when she wanted to say something, laotaijun smiled at her comfortingly then ordered Mu Chun to accompany Yun Qian Meng to Qu Fei Qing.
Only Gu laotaijun and Qu Zhang Qing were left in the room. Laotaijun coldly said with gloomy expression, "Zhang Qing, send more loyal guards to protect Meng'er secretly."
Qu Zhang Qing lowered his head and agreed, but thinking of laotaijun's words a while ago, just like Yun Qian Meng, he also felt rather worried. "Zumu, could it be that you want to marry Fei Qing to Hai Chen Xi?"
Laotaijun slightly closed her eyes with pain, then slowly opened them again and said firmly, "Or do you want to see Hai Tian marry Chu Fei Yang? At that time, the power of Hai wangfu will greatly increase and it will be impossible to suppress them."
"But if we do that, Fei Qing's whole life will be…"
Totally ruined...
Qu Zhang Qing did not finish his sentence. He realized that he could not say that now. She was the sister he had been watching after since her birth. She was simple, cute, kind, and gentle. If she really married Hai Chen Xi, who was experiencing hardships in Hai wangfu, she might even die without her corpse buried.
But it seemed like Gu laotaijun had already made the decision now and would not tolerate any objections from Qu Zhang Qing. But Qu Fei Qing was still her most beloved granddaughter! How could she have the heart to marry her into the dangerous Hai wangfu?
"Zhang Qing, your sister is the eldest legal daughter of the family. She wasn't born just to enjoy glory and wealth, she also has her own mission to accomplish. Even if she wasn't married to Hai Chen Xi, she would still be married to other people. This is her responsibility, you should understand it." After saying that, laotaijun stood up and walked out of Rui Lin Yuan with the help of the yatou to go and look at Qu Ling Ao.
Qu Zhang Qing stood steadily with his eyebrows knitted. His hands at the his sides had already become fists. He hated himself for being unable to be more powerful and unable to even protect his own family.
Yun Qian Meng went to Ting Yu Ge with the yatou. Qu Fei Qing was sitting up beside the window doing embroidery. Looking at her gentle figure, she immediately thought of laotaijun's expression a while ago and suddenly realized...
Chapter 93: part 1: Lotus pond lecher's moral lesson | Chu Wang Fei
"Biaojie has a good temperament. It is such a hot day and you are actually able to sit still." Seeing Qu Fei Qing hands with the small embroidery needle, her appearance was so serious as she carefully stitched a line of a red peony flower. Le Yao who was standing beside Qu Fei Qing had a goose feather fan in her hand, gently fanning Qu Fei Qing to relieve some of the summer heat. Their appearance was remarkably like those of traditional paintings of beautiful women to Yun Qian Meng. Appreciating this moment of exquisite and beautiful scenery, she made satisfied sound.
As she was focused solely on her needlework, Qu Fei Qing had not noticed Yun Qian Meng's arrival. Only just now did she see Yun Qian Meng, who was sweating from head to toe as she entered the inner room. Qu Fei Qing immediately put down the needle and instructed Le Yao to prepare an iced bird's nest soup as she welcomed Yun Qian Meng in herself.
"You silly girl. You're already here but you did not let the yatou announce your arrival. With this much heat outside, how can you just stand there and do nothing?" Qu Fei Qing pulled Yun Qian Meng to sit down at the summer sleeping mat, picked up a circular fan, and fanned them so they could enjoy the cool air.
Qu Fei Qing’s behavior and style was like that of a lady from a wealthy family. Thinking about Gu laotaijun’s decision, she felt cold in her heart, but kept the light smile on her face. But she still spoke offhandedly to Qu Fei Qing, "Is biaojie well? I do not know why biaojie would decide to do embroidery on such a hot day. Careful, or you might ruin your eyes.”
At this moment, it had already passed noon time, Yun Qian Meng saw that Qu Fei Qing's eyes were bloodshot and instantly knew that she had been embroidering for a long time. The eyes would be fatigued after doing such a detailed work. If she did not stop, sooner or later it would damage the her eyes.
"A few days ago, zumu had entered the palace to see the Empress Dowager and brought a handkerchief I embroidered with her. The Empress caught sight of it, and took to the flowery patterns, so she had me do embroideries of some images of outstanding beauty. As you know, these days a lot of things had happened in the family, so I was not in the mood to do embroidery. Now that older brother has finally recovered and Fu Guo Gong Fu's injustice has been washed away, I have a li
ttle free time. I thought I had better start the embroidery to make up for the lost time, so that the Empress won't have to wait any longer." Le Yao came carrying a cup of bird's nest soup which she placed it in front of Yun Qian Meng while Qu Fei Qing was speaking simply and elegantly.
Yun Qian Meng could not help but be surprised in her heart. Within the Emperor's harem, the most well-known was the Empress Dowager.
Although the harem changed with each emperor's succession, the Empress Dowager's prestige in the harem was still growing. Even though her position was similar, the Empress of the country was rarely spoken of.
In addition, these days the Empress rarely socialized with others. Yun Qian Meng felt that the Empress seemed to be conducting herself humbly while Emperor Yu Qian treated the Empress Dowager with this such filial piety and great esteem.
Although the Empress had come from Ruan shu fei of the Ruan Family, in those days, the Ruan Family had no legitimate xiaojie born into their family. As a result, when Emperor Yu Qian was succeeding the throne, the Empress Dowager and the Ruan Family's Jiang laotaijun who were in charge had worked side by side to appoint the legitimate xiaojie of a branch of the family as the Empress.
And so, though the Empress was backed by a huge family, but actually, there was not a bit of affection between her and the direct line. On an ordinary day, the conduct of the Empress seemed very low-key, very cautious, and solemn. She absolutely did not allow people to catch the slightest mistake so as to avoid being disowned.
Yun Qian Meng stood up and walked to embroidery piece which looked like it only lacked the finishing touches. The petals of all the flower peonies embroidered were very realistic, similar to the real flower. They might even attract butterflies and bees to perch upon them. It was very admirable work.
"Biaojie your embroidery is very exceptional. Meng'er is so ashamed." Yun Qian Meng spoke truthfully. In modern times, Yun Qian Meng could only sew back a button. If she was asked to hold a needle and do such delicate embroidery for a whole morning, it would surely just be a waste of a good materials.
"What is so difficult? If you want to learn, come over everyday. I'll teach you little by little." Qu Fei Qing said as she laughed. Upon hearing that she would be learning embroidery, Yun Qian Meng's face crumpled and her nose wrinkled. This caused Qu Fei Qing, who was watching her expression, to shake her head and laugh.
"There are countless young ladies who do embroidery in the Palace. With so many outstanding young ladies to choose from, why did the Empress ask biaojie?" Emperor Yu Qian had succeeded the throne for some years now. Why only now did the Empress see Qu Fei Qing's embroidery? Perhaps asking for the embroidery was just a facade.
Yun Qian Meng thought that some time ago, Mi mama had mentioned something. That the Empress' family was really vulnerable. Although they were able to produce an empress, the sons marriages were unremarkable that even the Empress was worried.
Nowadays Emperor Yu Qian relied most heavily on the Qu Family, the Ruan Family, and Chu Fei Yang.
The Ruan Family was the Clan of the Empress and naturally beyond one's scope to entice. Chu Fei Yang behavior was rather difficult to understand, so he was also not good. Only the Qu Family's legitimate xiaojie, educated and well-rounded, gentle and virtuous, was the most suitable to entice.
It was hard to imagine that of all the unremarkable women in the Palace, the Empress was inclined to properly analyze people.
As Yun Qian Meng's stared at the large peony flower, her eyes grew cold as her hands gently brushed across the big red peony flower...
"Ah... “ Unknowingly, a fingernail had accidentally hooked into the middle of the largest peony flower. Accidentally pulling out a length of the red thread, Yun Qian Meng quietly cried out. Immediately worried, she blamed herself and looked towards Qu Fei Qing, hurriedly uttering, "Biaojie, this is all my fault.”
Qu Fei Qing heard her cry before and had immediately stood up to hurry to the embroidery. Seeing the long thread, her eyes also somewhat panicked.
But in Qu Fei Qing's eyes, Yun Qian Meng was not one who was so careless and impulsive. Especially after hearing that this embroidery was for the Empress, Yun Qian Meng had suddenly become greatly interested and asked a lot. Qu Fei Qing's panic abated and she turned calm eyes towards Yun Qian Meng to immediately ask, "Did you think of something?”
"Has biaojie already known about it?" Yun Qian Meng replied with a question as her eyes flashed with untold wisdom.
Qu Fei Qing actually had a helpless and reluctant smile. "How can I not know when the Empress has so obviously expressed her goodwill? Give me a hand and quickly help me. Recently, I've actually been doing a great deal of thinking, but after all she is the Empress. I absolutely cannot disregard this matter. She casted a hook, but actually failed to catch anything. Besides, for the Empress Dowager's sake, she would not take me. She also needs to realize that I am not as good as the rumor say and stop with her assumptions.”
"Actually, biaojie doesn't have to worry. Do you not have the Empress Dowager? You are her niece, how could she not have planned your future?" after having said so, both Yun Qian Meng and Qu Fei Qing understood that these were just words of comfort.
Yun Qian Meng was certain of one point. The Empress's Family had no actual power and Empress Dowager would absolutely would not marry off the legitimate xiaojie of Fu Guo Gong Fu to that family.
In fear of the Empress Dowager's intervention, the Empress was very unlikely as to go so far as to make things difficult for Qu Fei Qing regarding the peony embroidery.
"I had Le Yao look into this matter. Did you know that Ruan gongzi always relies on his elder sister who entered the palace as the Empress. It's enough to make him act tyrannically like a street thug. It is also said that he spent his youth pursuing women from ordinary families relentlessly which angered Jiang laotaijun who then had him confined. If she had not, I do not know how many women would have been ruined by him." Qu Fei Qing took out embroidery tools and cut off the red thread that had been pulled out. She then fixed the pattern by connecting the two ends together and concealed the excess thread beneath the rest. Brushing over it softly, it looked as if it had been no different from before.
Only by careful examination beneath could one see that there was a difference there that showed the tiny flaw that had ruined Qu Fei Qing's efforts. Yun Qian Meng's eyes held some remorse, but Qu Fei Qing just faintly smiled as if she did not mind that such high quality embroidery had now became low class embroidery.
"Is that true? Ruan gongzi could be compared to that Yuan Qing Zhou of Yuan Fu. If those two get together, who knows what terrible things will happen. Luckily, there are already grudges between the two families to put an end to the pair of troublemakers." Yun Qian Meng jokingly said when she thought of the similarly ignorant and incompetent Yuan Qing Zhou.
"Humph, these rich and powerful families are actually quite deep so as to hide their disgusting affairs. I actually envy Jiu Xuan shitai, who was disillusioned to the human society long ago and escaped these kinds of quarrels. Although it seems hard, but that is the real freedom from men." Qu Fei Qing looked out the window, the scorching sun shined right onto her face as she listened to the sounds of the frogs. Her words had faintly revealed her heart's true desires.
For biaojie to have unexpectedly said such a thing, Yun Qian Meng's heart leaped in alarm as she walked to her side. With her her eyes looking out the the peaceful clouds above, she solemnly said, "Biaojie how do you know that Jiu Xuan shitai had no troubles? Even the king of heaven does. As long as she has on the Western Chu land, then she a part of Western Chu's people. Naturally, that means she is unable to escape society's trifles. Moreover, Pu Guo An is one of Western Chu's most famous temples, every year the Imperial Harem go to pray and pay respect to Buddha. How could Jiu Xuan shitai not be there in person? Therefore, biaojie should not think of these trivial matters. If one's heart is free, the place doesn't matter.”
Qu Fei Qing actually laughed for a moment, because of the wa
y Yun Qian Meng had stated it. "I was just saying it, don't get so worked up. While daddy still isn't cured, how can I have those thoughts?”
After saying that though, Qu Fei Qing's eyebrows drooped and her face appeared to be really concerned.
Seeing her this way made Yun Qian Meng's mood became even more serious. If only they could find Jiu Xuan shitai's stolen box of hu ge, otherwise laotaijun would have to let Qu Fei Qing marry into the Hai wangfu.
Thinking about what happened last time at Hai wangfu, Yun Qian Meng only felt a chill from the soles of her feet all the way to her head.
If Hai wang did not have such inclinations, that would be quite fortunate, but if he did, regardless of success or failure in the future, biaojie would not have a good end.
Raising her head to gaze upon Qu Fei Qing, her appearance that was elegant and beautiful. Yun Qian Meng was very aware the of the reasons Gu laotaijun had declined the engagement before, she needed to find the missing box of hu ge.
Turning the circular fan in her hand, Yun Qian Meng immediately smiled and said her farewell, "I've already been here for half of a day, I should probably return.”
As she was about to leave, Qu Fei Qing eyes immediately had a look of reluctance. She held onto Yun Qian Meng's hand to stop her. "Have dinner first before you go.”
Yun Qian Meng shook her head and told Qu Fei Qing there was no need to send her off as she left with Mu Chun at her side.
"Return to xiangfu." If they were to directly go to Tian Fu Lou now, it would have been too times in a day already and it would only arouse people's suspicions. It would be better to just send Mu Chun over after a while so as to avoiding unnecessary troubles.
Along the way, Yun Qian Meng closed her eyes to think quietly as the carriage rode on at a slow pace. Eventually, they arrived at xiangfu.